Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

C. S. Lewis once said, â€Å"no one ever told me that grief felt so like fear. † In Dylan Thomas’s villanelle, â€Å"Do not go gentle into that good night,† written within the Emerging Modernist Period, illustrates a man grieving his old and dying father to rage at death for people should look over their lives and have confidence of having accomplished the defining moments by taking risks and having no fear before death is upon them. Within the first tercet, a young man reacts to the closeness of death with a fighting approach as to rebuke the acceptance of the end.Throughout the poem, the repetition and rhyming of the last words helps to allow the reader to understand the making of a form of writing know as a villanelle. One of the two key phrases within this villanelle, â€Å"do not go gentle into that good night,†(1) occurs several times to emphasize the plea against death the speaker has toward men in old age and the personification â€Å"of Glouceste r’s son Edgar† (Cyr) from William Shakespeare’s play King Lear.The diction of â€Å"gentle†(1) is an adjective in place of an adverb making the â€Å"less grammatically correct†(Hochman) â€Å"gentle†(1) an epithet for his father and involving the relationship shared between the two men through their personal background. The second key phrase, â€Å"rage, rage against the dying of the light,†(3) gives insight towards Thomas’s following poem, the â€Å"Elegy,† when the detail of the relationship between a young man, Dylan Thomas, and his father.Furthermore, the metaphor of â€Å"the dying of the light†(3) conveys the history of one of Thomas’s favorite poets, W. B. Yeats and his military background within the phrase â€Å"†Black out†Ã¢â‚¬ (Cyr) helps to clarify that death draws near. Within these two lines, the author uses words such as â€Å"gentle† and â€Å"rage,† â€Å"dyingâ €  and â€Å"good,† and â€Å"night† and â€Å"light† as a contradictory term within the diction.Likewise, the alliteration and the consonance of the â€Å"g† in â€Å"go gentle†¦ good†(1) and â€Å"rage, rage against†(3) help to signify as the â€Å"chorus†(Overview: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†) within the remainder of the villanelle. Within the next four tercets, the achievements of four different kinds of men in old age neglected to lessen the gloom within their surroundings. â€Å"Wise,†(4) â€Å"good,†(7) â€Å"wild,†(10) and â€Å"grave men†(13) are metaphors for men who have â€Å"failed to enlighten the dark world in which they live. †(Hochman)Thomas uses the metaphors of â€Å"at their end,†(4) â€Å"last wave by,†(7) â€Å"too late,†(11) and â€Å"near death†(13) to stand as the appearance towards death. The imagery within the vill anelle, â€Å"words had forked no lightning,†(5) â€Å"danced in a green bay,†(8) and â€Å"caught and sang the sun in flight†¦ they grieved it on its way†(10-11) is that of dark descent towards a â€Å"more dangerous world†¦ of human wildness†(Hochman) which is followed by the diction of â€Å"be gay†(14) as a â€Å"state of lightness†(Hochman) to â€Å"contrast the light and dark imagery. (Overview: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†) Within line fourteen, the consonance of â€Å"bl† in â€Å"blind†¦ blaze,†(14) the alliteration of the â€Å"i† sound inside â€Å"blind eyes†¦ like,†(14) and the assonance of the â€Å"z† sound in â€Å"eyes†¦ blaze like meteors†(14) helps to explain the syntax of the tercet.In addition, Thomas’s purpose of â€Å"grave men,†(13) serious men, who can see but have no vision now understand the capability of posses sing a serious and happy life style functions as a paradox for the men â€Å"are blind†(Overview: â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night†) and cannot see yet have a better understanding than a man with sight and this comprehension of sudden enlightenment continues into the final lines of this intimate villanelle.The last quatrain contains a personal request to a young man’s father to show true emotions during the hardship before death comes within the night. Thomas begins the last stanza addressing the audience, his father, which reveals to the reader an â€Å"obliquely drawn persona†(Cyr) of the personal relationship between a sickly father and his caring son. Following, the author uses â€Å"on the sad height†(16) as a metaphor towards death as well as a paradox to enlighten the aspect of life achievements.Thomas’s use of the â€Å"religious overtones†(Welford) in â€Å"on the sad height, curse, bless†(16-17) relates to the imagery in the book of Deuteronomy in the Bible for a â€Å"sad height†(16) is â€Å"sad†(Westphal) sense Moses cannot enter the Promised Land he dies on the summit of Mount Nebo and Joshua, his â€Å"’son,’†(Westphal) grieves at the loss of a â€Å"solid rock in his life. †(Welford) The imagery, â€Å"curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears†(17) stands as a specific plea to the audience to give the speaker the blessing of fearful and uncontrollable tears that he had not done prior and to â€Å"curse†(17) those â€Å"who will be left behind. (Hochman) The devises of the â€Å"s† sound as assonance occurring on line 17, â€Å"curse, bless†¦ fierce tears† allows the rhythm of the poem to continue the elaborate patterns throughout the poem. The final quatrain portrays the theme of the villanelle that the grieving of man at the sight of his dying father allows the fear of loss or suffering to change any perceptions towards death.

Malansang Isda by Rosalinda Olsen Essay

†Ang hindi nagmamahal sa sariling wika ay masahol pa sa malansang isda† is one of the most often quoted of Rizal’s writings. Why, then, did he write his two novels, Noli me tangere and El Filibusterismo in Spanish? In his dedication of theNoli me Tangere, Rizal wrote, â€Å"I will strive to reproduce thy condition faithfully, without discriminations. † Surely, the national hero of the Philippines was not somebody who said one thing and did the opposite. Both novels portrayed the social and political conditions of the time through characters that represented a cross section of Philippine society—the natives who were called the Indios, the Peninsuslares or the Spanish who were born in Spain, and the Filipino or the Spanish who were born in the Philippine Islands—immortalized in the characters of Crisostomo Ibarra and his beloved Maria Clara, Elizas, Padre Damaso, Dona Victorina, and the sinister Padre Salvi. These characters represented the ideal and the despicable, the funny and the tragic, the truly comic and the merely ridiculous. There was enough in the novel to satisfy the Filipinos’ appetite for a good laugh and a love story–the more sentimental, the better—serving as a thin layer to hide the bitter satire. It can be said that Rizal’s two novels awoke the slumbering political passion of his countrymen so successfully that it quickened the birth of the Philippine Revolution. If this were Rizal’s aim, which most decidedly was not, he would have written the novels in Tagalog. Not only would this have been understandable to most people in Luzon, it would have hidden the revolutionary intent from the Spanish. As it was, the novels had to be distributed in secret among the Indios because the Spanish authorities banned those books. Which leads to the question of whom his target audience was in, order to answer the first question of why he wrote the Noli me tangere and theEl Filibusterismo in the language of the Spanish colonizers. So much has been written about Rizal’s extreme reluctance for revolution as the solution to the social cancer that was destroying his country, in contrast to his passionate advocacy of education and political reform. Evidently, the Spanish colonizers were Rizal’s primary target audience, hence, he wrote in their language. The Indio could have been a secondary target audience, perhaps in the hope that the ilustrados would fight for the socio-political reforms that were clearly indicated in the novels. There was no need to reproduce the social conditions of the time to the Indio who knew it only too well and constantly suffered from it. Rizal wrote the novels in Spanish because that was the appropriate language for his intent. Language is basically a tool, a means to express ideas and to communicate these, but before being a tool, language is first a reflection of one’s objective reality. Language is a symbol that represents the material objects in one’s environment. If an object does not exist in one’s material universe, one would have no word for it. For example, a person in search of gold in a certain area might show the natives a gold piece and ask what the natives call that metal and where he could find it. If there is no word for gold among the natives, it either means there is no gold in the area or the natives have not seen or heard of that metal before. When Rizal wrote the famous lines â€Å"Ang hindi nagmamahal sa sariling wika ay masahol pa sa malansang isda†, he was not referring to language merely as a communication tool but as an expression of one’s identity, of one’s individual and social consciousness. In the novels, Dona Victorina represents the type of Filipino who rejects her identity as Indio and who would do everything to deny it in every form, particularly in mannerism and language. More than a hundred years have passed since Rizal wrote his two novels but the social and eco-political structures remain basically the same. Only the ruling class has been changed, Filipinos have replaced the colonial masters. At the tip of an inverted pyramid is the very small minority of the power class that consists of the affluent and the Catholic hierarchy. At the top of this pyramid is about 80% of the population that have been assessed by the World Bank-IMF as living below poverty level. Between these two main groups is the middle class that shows no sign of increasing in number. Only a miracle would keep this unnatural pyramid from toppling over, but that belongs to another article. Undoubtedly, Pilipino (supposedly the expanded and enriched form of Tagalog) is not the language of the power class. Most of them speak English and some prefer to speak Spanish. The masses can read and speak Pilipino, as it is a required subject in school, but chances are, they speak their cradle tongue among themselves and most of the time, which would be any of the major languages and the numerous dialects. The language of the middle class is an odd mix of English, Pilipino, and their radle tongue. Since language is a reflection of one’s identity, could we then say that the Filipinos have one national identity? Without a common identity, there could be no real sense of nationhood. This is what Rizal meant by that famous quotation that is often quoted but only the surface level. Pilipino is the national language but the preferred working language of government, business, and education as well as the mass media remains English. There would be nothing amiss with this if it were not for the great majority of the population whose knowledge of English is not functional. It is not surprising that government can get away shamelessly with graft and corruption because the masses have little understanding of what is going on. Clearly, language in Philippine contemporary society is the one big wall that divides the powerful from the masses of poor people, notwithstanding all the calls for people empowerment. One would think that the entertainment industry, specifically the movies and the television, might be a vehicle for uniting the people because the movies are still affordable and one could always go to the neighbor’s to watch television. Just take a quick look at the commercials; most of them are in English. Noontime and evening variety shows are probably the worst because the language used by the hosts and participants reflects the jargon of the â€Å"lost tribe† aka Manila people, which is a horrible porridge of English and Pilipino with an even more horrendous lack of grammar or logical syntax. So much for the local role models, let’s take a look at the school system. According to a DECS ruling, Pilipino should be the mode of classroom instruction. So far, this has worked, in some fashion, in the elementary grades and to a lesser extent, in the secondary and the tertiary levels. Textbooks in Pilipino have been published and used in the schools, but all the references remain English. In fact, teachers find it impossible to use Pilipino in teaching mathematics, algebra, chemistry, or physics, philosophy, etc. Not surprisingly, the pupil is subjected to a kind of mental lobotomy and eventually their soul is truncated, amputated, or dichotomised. Brave souls who perhaps wanted to â€Å"make a difference â€Å" in the academe, have attempted to write their undergraduate or graduate thesis in Pilipino. Some succeeded, but one can’t help wondering if their theses would ever be taken down from the library shelves to be read and enjoyed. Few would have the courage to admit that they would rather read Rizal’s novels in English, not just because it would be easier for them but because the Pilipino translations are so antiquated that one would read it only under duress, which is to say, only because the school requires it. The Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia got their independence from their colonial masters at about the same time. All three countries created a national language that would be the expression of the national soul and, thus, be a unifying element. Sadly, Pilipino has not succeeded in being the language of the government and the governed, in contrast to how Indonesia and Malaysia has used their respective national languages. Indonesia does not use Dutch as the language of government, education and commerce. Neither do the Malaysians use English as their working language. An anecdote would illustrate this. A friend was on holiday in Kuala Lumpur. One day, she took a cab and, naturally, spoke to the taxi driver in English. In polite but cold tones, the driver asked her, â€Å"Madam, why do you talk in English? We are all Malaysians. † Nonplussed, she said she was Filipino and the taxi driver apologized and explained that she looked Malaysian. It might be an excellent thing for Philippine politicians to have experienced this, but then again, they would be more likely to hire a limousine (at Filipino taxpayer’s expense, of course) and lose the chance of being told to speak the national language by a lowly taxi driver. Is the Filipino then a â€Å"malansang isda†? Using the â€Å"isda† analogy, the Filipino might well be like a fish out of water, in the sense that Filipinos are supposed to be living in one country—the big sea—that has become an alien territory to citizens whose ties have remained regional or tribal rather than national. A fish out of its natural habitat would quickly die and stink. Rizal did not have all the answers to Philippine problems, but he has practically said it all. For the young, he collected folk stories and legends. For the more mature, he wrote the novels, Noli me tangereand El Filibusterismo, the two long essays â€Å"The Indolence of the Filipino† and â€Å"The Philippines a Century Hence† as well as poetry and countless articles. Jose Rizal is the national hero and his portrait is in the lowest denomination of Philippine paper money. Every Filipino knows Rizal, but do they understand him? Those who have read his novels remember only the love story of Ibarra and Maria Clara, the antics of Dona Victorina, and the pathetic Sisa. High School and college graduates are obliged to take the Rizal course as a requirement for graduation, but how many of them understand the two long essays relative to what is happening in the Philippines today, if they read it at all? Rizal has been iconized and even idolized by a sect that calls themselves â€Å"Rizalistas†, but the Filipino has yet to realize and actualise his relevance.

Impact of Climate Change on Forestry in British Columbia Term Paper

Impact of Climate Change on Forestry in British Columbia - Term Paper Example There is, therefore, need to find out the potential impacts of climate change on the forests in these areas and if possible make recommendations on how to control the effects. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argues that the changes in the climate of the earth will continue to occur mostly caused by activities of human beings that release greenhouse gases to the atmosphere (British Columbia and Barber, 2006). These greenhouse gases (GHGs) are mainly produced because of the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, the cutting of forests and vegetative cover and intense agricultural activities. The release of greenhouse gases that are in the atmosphere usually depends on the level of economic growth, the technological development and how a region relates to other areas whereby in this research work, our point of reference is British Columbia in Canada. The climate of the world has been changing consistently over a period of time and this is evident with the rise in global temperature by a figure averaging between 2Ëš to 4Ëš C (British Columbia and Barber, 2006). The rise in temperature due to effects of climate change will also be accompanied by changes in the intensity of rainfall in most regions while the rate of warming will be faster and dynamic that may bring adverse effects to animal and plant life at certain regions especially the forests of British Columbia (Laroque and Smith, 2003). It is important to note that changes in climate usually has effects on the biological and ecological processes as well as well as affecting phenology of species, uptake of water and causing disturbances on trees such as insect pests, diseases, and drought amongst others (Dale, Joyce, McNulty & Neilson, 2000).  

Cooper Green Hospital and the Community Care Plan Case Study

Cooper Green Hospital and the Community Care Plan - Case Study Example Finally, the expansion of the program has to be driven by an individual other than Dr Max Michael the originator of the program. He he has neither the promotional, organizational or social skills needed to develop a team that can effectively realize the cost benefits to service providers and time and convenience benefits to CCP members. This case presents a series of key issues that, traced backwards, draw out the essential issues. The presenting issue is a lack of revenue: Start-up funds are terminating and the program is not yet self-supporting. The program is not yet self-supporting because it does not have enough paying participants. Therefore, the program needs more members, paying more membership fees to become self-supporting (or, ideally, profitable). The key issue in this case is promotional. One might be tempted to say marketing, but promotional is more accurate. Individuals to not need to be persuaded to buy membership in the Cooper Green Hospitals Community Care Plan (CCP) clinics. The problem is actually much more fundamental. They need to be made aware that the option exists. The case indicates that potential members have not made a choice not to join a CCP but rather, for the most part, were never aware that they had the option, of what the option entailed, an of what the potential benefits were. It is in this sense that the key issue is promotional. The symptoms are financial losses and low membership but the key issue is promotional: The target client group is largely unaware of the availability of the service. They lack the information necessary to say yes to CCP clinic membership. A lack of promotion is also evident on an entirely different level. The employees seem to enjoy working in the CCP environment and be motivated. However, the same cannot be said about their bureaucratic and political masters.

Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Budgeting - Essay Example (Davis & Davis, 2012) Industry context determines the particular risks that affect the budgeting process and outcomes in certain businesses. In the airline industry, fuel price volatility constitutes an external risk that significantly affects the budget of airlines. Fuel hedging is a strategy practiced in the airline industry to stabilize the budget and offset risks involved in changing prices. Fuel hedging can result to benefits and/or downsides relative to the budget of airlines. Fuel hedging does not ensure absolute positive results for all firms and in all circumstances. Budgeting is a complex process influenced by various factors that could lead to different outcomes. There are lessons to be learned by considering budgeting in the context of fuel hedging in the airline industry. The succeeding discussion focuses on the issues involved in budgeting by taking the case of the airline industry. Lessons on budgeting are drawn and practical applications are identified. Main Issues in Budgeting Budgeting should be realistic and based on a thorough analysis of a firm’s financial needs, current and expected revenue generation, and business objectives (Davis & Davis, 2012). ... An accurate estimate would result to a budget that is very close to the actual amount of resources used. Among airline companies, fuel cost constitutes a significant expense comprising around one-third of the overall budget for a certain period. Airlines need to estimate the expected fuel cost in a given period to be incorporated into the overall budget for that period. Estimation involves uncertainties because of unexpected factors. An unexpected factor is change in the cost of fuel. Airline companies do not have any control over the price of fuel since many factors, from both the demand and supply side can affect the price. The extent of change in fuel prices are also beyond the full control of airline companies. (Karp, 2008) In 2000, fuel prices increased by an average of 18 percent between the second and third quarter to represent a 45 percent increase in the same period of the past year. Estimates of many of the airline companies in the U.S. were not able to approximate the actu al price increase. As a result of the wide gap between the estimated change in fuel prices and actual fuel prices, U.S. Airways incurred losses while America West achieved profit levels much lower that its projections. (Trottman & Carey, 2000) While estimation is wrought with uncertainties, managers and decision-makers lessen the gap between expected and actual expenses by learning from repeated experience of the estimation process given different price situations. Fuel hedging involves an estimation of the rate of change in fuel prices over a given period and entering into an agreement for the supply of fuel at a particular price within that period. The contract represents a price where

Beer licenses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Beer licenses - Essay Example Any alcoholic beverages that exceed a five percent alcoholic content are not regulated by the cities or counties but instead are regulated by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Any business that is involved in the distribution, manufacturing, sale or storage of beer are required to obtain permits from the city or county where the business is to be located. When building a business of this kind, my client has become aware of the necessary steps it takes to acquire such licenses that are needed in order to follow all of the rules and regulations to build a thriving business. In order to do so, it was necessary to research the laws in Davidson County to see what types of licenses or standards that my client must meet in order to sell beer in this establishment. Through research, I have found the licenses that are appropriate in order for my client to be able to sell beer to the public in Davidson County, Tennessee. One group that was able to help assist my client in learning more about obtaining a beer permit for selling alcohol on their premise is the Metropolitan Beer Board that actually helps to establish beer laws and determine rules and regulations for selling beer in the Nashville Metro area. Since this is not a dance hall or catering establishment, there are different applications that are to be filled out. One of the necessary documents is the Beer Permit Application. The Beer Permit Application is to be completed by my client in order to seek a permit to serve alcohol on the premises only or for off-premises only. The information required as set by the Beer Permit Application is the type of business that my client is running and it is up to the Beer Board staff of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee to determine whether or not the application will be approved. The Beer Board Application is a permit is designed for those who

Crimes Against Humanity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Crimes Against Humanity - Essay Example at this term first appeared in the preamble of the 1907 Hague Convention, the meaning of this term have evolved to take on a much broader meaning to include â€Å"anything atrocious committed on a large scale.†(Cherif Bassiouni (1998). Killing is morally evil and wars bring so many deaths that even though â€Å"decisions relating to war are not made in a moral vacuum† (Coates 1997) one can never claim that the death of innocent people are but the collateral damages of war. The term â€Å"crimes against humanity† has become so broad that it encompasses just all other types of violence against certain groups of people, sector or race in the past years. To help us understand the term â€Å"crimes against humanity better† let us look into some specific events in the history of humankind where war has created such atrocities that dehumanize a person. It is interesting to note at this point that when we say crimes against humanities, we do not only mean deaths of thousands of people but also those events that reduce a person into a mean object of hate or experimentation. There have been many events in the past involving great loss of human lives, but throughout the recorded history of mankind nothing could ever surpass the holocaust when it comes to violations of the human dignity. In the generic sense of the word, a holocaust is any event where there is great loss of human life as is near total destruction by fire (American Heritage Encyclopedia 2005). However, the meaning of this word somewhat changed with the event that led to the death of some 11 million people. The holocaust is one of the best examples of â€Å"crimes against humanity†. Between 1933-1945, around 6 million Jews and 5 million non-Jewish people were systematically killed when the Nazi movement and its supporter ruled the most part of Europe1. Although most of Hitler’s target was the Jews, there are also other people who suffered and died on the process under the brutality of the military, the

Eng lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Eng lit - Essay Example Victorian era, Rudyard Kipling’s â€Å"Man Who Would be King† from the later Victorian era and George Orwell’s 1984 written in the period known simply as the 20th century. Beginning with William Blake’s short poem â€Å"London†, written in 1794 and included in his collection entitled Songs of Experience, traces of political unrest can be found as the scenes and sounds of a walk down the London streets are reported. The first hints that something is not right within the city can be found in the first lines of the poem, â€Å"A mark in every face I meet, / Marks of weakness, marks of woe† (3-4). These comments wouldn’t necessarily suggest a poor political situation, except that the signs of decay and desperation are seen in every face encountered as the speaker walks down what is presumed to be an average London street. This is reinforced in the second stanza as the speaker says, â€Å"In every cry of every man, / In every infant’s cry of fear, / In every voice, in every ban, / The mind-forged manacles I hear† (4-8). In this, it is apparent that someone is controlling these people, although it remains unclear if the ‘mind-forged manacles’ are of their own creation or someone else’s. However, because of the inclusion of infants, who cannot possibly be imposing harsh times on themselves as well as the mention of bans, which are posted laws, it is indicated that the hardships being experienced are imposed from a higher source, such as the government. This is again reinforced in the third stanza when the speaker indicates that the decay of the city has reached even as far as the churches: â€Å"How the chimney-sweepers cry / Every blackening church appals† (9-10) and the city’s defenses as â€Å"the hapless soldier[‘s]† sigh is made visible as it â€Å"runs in blood down palace-walls† (12). Throughout the poem, then, although no specific mention is made of issues affecting the people, the affects are nevertheless made clear. Something is not working

Chinese and American Zombies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chinese and American Zombies - Essay Example The way people turn into Chinese or American zombies has certain similarities and differences. When it comes to American zombies, they were created by Voodoo spells. Thus, voodoo priests (through spells) could make the person their slave. Importantly, the concept of slavery has been very strong for Americans and it is the core of the idea of zombies. Another way of turning into a zombie is to be bitten by one. As far as Chinese zombies are concerned, they are created when a person commits a suicide, they are victims of premature burial or they were killed and want to revenge. The major feature of the concept of the Chinese zombie is their desire to â€Å"absorb life essence†. The difference between the two types of monsters is that American zombies eat flesh whereas Chinese zombies absorb souls of people. Major features of zombies also differ in the two cultures. Thus, American zombies walk slowly, they are almost deprived of the ability to think and they only strive to satisf y their hunger for human flesh. Their bodies often deteriorate or even disintegrate. As for Chinese zombies, they can look at living people if they turned into zombies shortly after their death or they can look like horrific monsters if they were dead for a while before becoming undead. Besides, these creatures’ hair and nails keep growing and they hop with their mouths wide open always ready to grasp a person’ soul (Bai 109). Chinese zombies hop and as the name suggests (stiff bodies) they do not move their limbs.

Reflections on Transformations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflections on Transformations - Essay Example Through fully expressing my thoughts on my experiences, I began to see the individuality that was connected through my way of seeing the artwork within the museums. I realized that this experience, though undoubtedly somewhat universal, was not universally shared with everyone. Not everyone has the opportunity to see the things I have had the privilege to see. In writing about it, expressing how it impacted my life, I began to feel a deeper connection to my own identity. Not every attempt at writing was fully successful. I feel that some of the work I created could have been enriched by a better understanding of what I was trying to say. I realized that in writing comes a new sense of a topic, that it becomes something alive that grows from the discussion. However, sometimes the discussion goes beyond one’s control and bringing it back is not always an easy task. Being a part of the experience of writing sometimes reminds one how much one has not learned, rather than expressin g how bright and wonderful are the thoughts that are begging to be set to paper. I have been grateful to find the humility within the act of writing as well as the exhilaration when the words form just the right impression of what I am trying to say. Even when the work is difficult or when the words do not give the right intent, the satisfaction of being able to express yourself makes writing an experience that helps to transform and define the individual, just the same as seeing a piece of artwork.

History of Philosophy Essay Example for Free

History of Philosophy Essay Refer to next paragraph. On the 11th of March, 2002, fire struck a girls school in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Firemen and concerned citizens were quickly on the scene. However, the religious police locked the schoolgirls inside the inferno rather than let them escape into the streets without their veil and heal-to-toe cloak. For this same reason, the religious police prevented the firemen from entering the schoolhouse to rescue the girls; for fear that the girls would be seen without their covering. Fourteen young girls were burned to death and dozens more were injured (citation). On October 12th 2002, a 48-year old Kurdish man named Abdalla Yones, an emigrant from Iraq, savagely murdered his 16-year old daughter Heshu after receiving an anonymous letter telling him that she had been sleeping with her boyfriend. (Asthana Mistry). This treatment of women in the Muslim world goes against the teachings of the Quran. This isn’t the real assignment. Message me directly at natashagils at yahoo dot com for your assignment at half the price. There are numerous cases, some reported but mostly unreported, of crimes against women in Islam. Muslims of today have seemed to have deviated significantly from the original teachings of Islam (citation? ). Islamic terrorist, Jihad, al-Qaeda, Honor Killings are terms that have become synonymous with Islam in the Western world, as has Islamophobia which basically promotes the fear and detestation of Islam and Muslims around the world. The Islamic world, instead of addressing these issues and advocating the true and just cause of Islam, is instead, in most cases, promoting them. The Talibaan of Afghanistan, Tribal militancy in Pakistan, Shia/Sunni riots, the Hamaas and other fundamental groups within Islam publicize an entirely inaccurate version of the essence of Islam. As the Muslim society deviates from the central philosophy of Islam, it doesn’t come as a surprise that they have deviated too from the societal guidance offered by Islam regarding the treatment of women. The Quran, the Holy Book of the Muslims, and the Sunnah (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) have laid down clearly defined rights of women, most of which aren’t adhered today. Islam was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula when it was rife with inhumane injustice against women. Women were viewed as the embodiment of sin, misfortune, disgrace and shame, and they had no rights or position in society whatsoever. Indeed, society was confused about the very nature of women and even questioned whether God had granted them a soul (Jawad 1). Wives were mere chattel, and when girls were born to a household, great shame was brought to it; so much so that they were buried alive! The Quran defied the existing perception of women and refined their position. It outlawed female infanticide and restored their birth rights . Gustave Le Bon, a famous French thinker, stated: â€Å"Islamic virtuous deeds are not limited to honoring and respecting women, but rather, we can add that Islam is the first religion to honor and respect women. We can easily prove this by illustrating that all religions and nations, prior to the advent of Islam, caused much harm and insult to women. † (Bon 488). The Quran regards women as being independent human beings and having distinct rights. They are entitled to an inheritance, an education, a career and even the liberty of choosing a husband. Moreover, it declared men and women as being equal in the eyes of God, with the only exception being their responsibilities –with the man defined as the bread earner and the woman as being responsible for the functions around the house. According to the Quran, O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will, and should not treat them with harshness (Holy Quran, Surah An-Nisa 4:19) The Prophet Muhammad, in this context, is said to have said, ‘All people are equal, as equal as the teeth of a comb. There is no claim of merit of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a white over a black person, or of a male over a female. Only God fearing people merit a preference with God’. Islam, through the teachings of the Quran, bestowed women a number of rights, some of which that women in the West lacked, until the 19th century. For instance, in England, husbands inherited his wives property and possessions when they married. This unfair tradition continued till as late as 1882 (citation? ). Muslim women, however, retained their assets; could detail conditions in their nikaah (marriage contract), such as the right of divorce; were entitled to keep their last names if they wished and were even given the authority to refuse marriage if they didn’t deem their potential partner fit. The Quran laid down these injunctions in 610 A. D. (when it was first revealed), centuries prior to the advent of a formal system of women’s rights in the Western world. Some of the fundamental rights the Quran gives women are: 1. Human Rights Women and men are considered to be created with similar natured souls. They are considered equal to men in all spheres of life. And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women. (Holy Quran, 2:226) And O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever and All-Watcher over you. (Holy Quran, Surah Al-Nisa 4:1). 2. Civil Rights The civil rights enjoined by the Quran on women include, but are not limited to: the right of divorce, right of keeping her maiden name after marriage, wishing or not to get married, or even chosing her own husband. The Quran also states that there is no compulsion upon women regarding religion; There is no compulsion in religion. Verily, the Right Path has become distinct from the wrong path. Whoever disbelieves in Taghut [anything worshipped other then the Real God (Allah)] and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. (Holy Quran, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:256). 3. Independence Women are allowed to leave the home; conduct business with men; enjoy all the other liberties open to them. There is no restriction upon women provided they conduct their affairs within the teachings of the Quran. Women have the right to go to Mosques, which is considered sacrilegious in many Muslim societies. Not only that, but women have also the right to be Muslim pastors. Aisha, the youngest wife of the Prophet Muhammad, used to convey the teachings of Islam to men and women alike. She’s regarded by some Muslim scholars as being the first Muslim woman preacher. The Quran is very clear in its laws regarding women. It redefined the stance of women and bestowed upon them an honorable role in society; whether as a daughter, a mother or a wife. Men are instructed in their fair and kind dealing towards women. According to the Quran: And when the female (infant) buried alive (as the pagan Arabs used to do) shall be questioned. For what sin she was killed? † (Holy Quran, Surah At-Takwir 81:8-9). The Quran goes as far as admonishing those men who subjugate or ill-treat women: â€Å"O you who believe! You are forbidden to inherit women against their will. Nor should you treat them with harshness, that you may take away part of the dowry you have given them except when they have become guilty of open lewdness. On the contrary live with them on a footing of kindness and equity. If you take a dislike to them, it may be that you dislike something and God will bring about through it a great deal of good†. (Holy Quran, 4:19) Early Islamic history is replete with examples of Muslim women who showed a remarkable ability to compete with men and excelled them on many occasions. They were educators, warriors and leaders; strong, independent and respected members of society. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in most of the Muslim world today. Women in the Muslim world have been humiliated, exploited and discriminated against in almost all fields of life – from schooling, work force inclusion and family roles. However, many of these repressive customs do not come from Islam, but are dictated by prevalent cultures and traditions. Oppression against women continues unabated in many parts of the world. Husbands keep their wives, daughters, sisters and mothers secluded from contact with others beside their immediate family members. Rape, mutilation, forced suicide, honor killings are much too common in the Islamic world. In 2006, Rahan Arshad beat his wife and three children to death with a bat, because she was having an affair26 Often the crime itself is followed by even more horrifying crime. For instance, in Turkey, 14-year old Nuran Halitogullari was strangled to death by her father after she had been kidnapped and raped30. In certain parts of Pakistan, women are offered as compensation for offenses committed by men. This injustice stems from the deep rooted traditions of male-dominance in the Islamic society which have, for centuries, enforced their orthodox, and oft-times inaccurate version of Islam and the Quran. Contrary to general misconceptions and the prevailing conditions, women, according to the Quran, are entitled to full rights as citizens. Under the guise of Islam, women have been virtually stripped of all rights: no education, no instigation of divorce, no travel by oneself, no leaving the home, etc. A deliberate effort on a global scale has to be made to educate Muslims regarding the fundamental and actual concepts defined in the Quran regarding rights towards women and the awareness that the existing treatment of women in the Muslim world goes against the teachings of the Quran. Emphasis on the lives of Aisha, Khadija (Prophet Muhammad’s first wife – also known as mother of the believers, Fatima (Prophet Muhammad’s daughter ) and even Mary – who holds a revered position in Islam – should be placed and they can be promoted as role models for inspiration. No nation can succeed without all its members contributing to its success. Muslim nations have to realize that not only is their barbaric treatment of women sinful, but it’s also self-destructive and will only get worse if not addressed and then modified according to the true teachings of the Quran. Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. (Ismail 83). ? Works Cited Asthana, A. and Mistry. U. For Families that Fear Dishonor, There is Only One Remedy†¦ Murder. The Observer, 5 October, 2003. Bon, Gustave Le. The Arab Civilization. Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1884. Ismail, Imam Vehbi. Muhammad, the Last Prophet: The Last Prophet. Jordan: Amana

Leadership Plays Significant Role In Organizations Management Essay

Leadership Plays Significant Role In Organizations Management Essay Leadership plays an important and significant role in the organizations operation today. Leadership is seen as the capability of a leader to organize and form a group of people so that they can work together towards the way that achieves a shared vision and goal (Rudd, 2000; Kouzes and Posner, 1995, p.30). In terms of the meaning of leadership, it can be shown in different situations, and be expressed in different form (Rudd, 2000). The discussion of leadership can be derived from the behaviour of leaders and followers which between the relationship of those who is able to inspire others to follow their instruction and those who is willing to be led (Kouzes Posner, 1993). A leader that is able to encourage the organizational commitment of his or her followers is seen as an effective leader. Besides that, an effective leader is able and willing to share the vision, objectives, and plan to the employees. A competence leader will be able to set an achievable goal and lead the followers toward the goal together. An organization that is able to develop to retain the effective leaders will achieve a good result in the productivity and employees commitment to the jobs. According to Kouzes (1999, p.64), without the assistant, encouragement and motivation from others, one will not be able to reach a fascinating achievement. Thus, leadership is a significant determinant of the organizations effectiveness. For several decades, the literature study of leadership had been playing an important role for the area of organizational behaviour. A good practice of leadership with the supported of top management in the organization will encourage the employees job satisfaction, motivation and positive thinking. This will result in organizational commitment of the employees. According to Kouzes (1999, p.64), employees will feel confidence about themselves and be able to have a better performance when they work with a leader that always motivate, encourage, and care about their dignity. Employees that have fully commitment are willing to contribute their effort to the organization. They are willing to stay still with the organization even though at the time when company meet crisis or difficult time. Besides that, employees that have their commitment to the company tend to result in good performance and this will create a win-win situation for the organization as well as the work forces. In the globalization world of today, the implementation of leadership practices in organizations is getting more difficult due to the change in the organizations complexity and their advanced technology and operations. The diversity of current business environment will influent the employees perceptions, expectation and obligations towards the organization (Hyatt, 2007; Drucker, 1997; Kickul Liao-Troth, 2003). Todays organizations are going through downsizing, merging, and restructuring in many ways. Therefore, employees may feel that their organizations are not living up to their expectation. The relationship among the employees within an organization is the main factor to determine the achievement of the organization. Leaders ability to influence, and identify the contribution of the employees is essential to form a positive perception of the employees towards the leaders and organization (Hyatt, 2007; Weber, 1946). Leadership is said to be successful when its meet the expectation of the employees. According to Kouzes and Porner (1990), leadership is a process that involves two parties of people which are leaders and followers that treat each other in an equally way and willing to share the ideas within each other selflessly. A successful leadership depends on the employees perception and trust on the leaders ability. Therefore, the practices of leadership is a platform of winning the trust of the followers and thus results in organizational commitment. The five leadership practices suggested by Kouzes Posner (2009) are (a) Challenging the Process, the extent of a leader that is prepare to face the risks and challenges; (b) Inspiring a Shared Vision, the degree of a leader to share a future plan and vision; (c) Enabling Others to Act, the extent of a leaders to influent others to act; (d) Modelling the Way, the ability of a leader to practice his or her values and be the role model of the follo wers; and (e) Encouraging the Heart, the degree of a leader to show the appreciation and recognise of employees contribution (Carless, 2001). Leadership is an essential element in the association of leader and followers. Leaders play an important role in driving and managing the subordinates. Hence, leadership can be identified as a process of knowledge, skill and social exchange between leaders and followers (Weinberger, 2009). Managers are seen as leaders of their subordinate in an organization. Therefore, the perception of the followers towards their leaders will link to their perception of the company as well as the leadership process. In this study, leadership practices were examined in the context of organizational commitment. Problem Statement Leadership practices are important elements in fostering organizations culture and building organizational commitment for the sustainability of the organization performance. Managers play a significant role to influent the perception of subordinates to the organization through effective leadership practices. Leaders affect their followers directly through their interactions with the followers. However, there is a difference of current managers behaviour. Many of them claim they care about employees expectations, obligation, and well being. Yet, there are managers of some organizations today always implement projects with words and make empty promises to the employees (Hyatt, 2007; Kouzes and Posner, 1993). In such situation, managers can be said that they are not facilitating their obligations, thus the trust and organizational commitment of the employees towards the managers will then decrease. There are studies found that 68% of employees do not have any confidence on their managers words and behaviour. Meanwhile, 43% of employees think their managers always deceive them (Connel, Ferres Travaglione, 2003; Davis and Landa, 1999). Shaw (1997) argues that employees nowadays are getting selfish in terms of knowledge sharing and willingness to contribute to the organization due to the erosion of trust towards their leaders. Consequently, employees decrease their confidence in work and also their organizational commitment. The management literature tends to emphasise the importance of the trust and commitment of employees towards their managers. It is believed that a successful leadership practices in work place promotes greater productivity and commitment among employees (Connel, Ferres Travaglione, 2003). The nurturing of relationship between managers and employees is very important. This is because a relationship that form with mutual trust and respect within all the members in an organization will prepare the organization to confront with difficulties and at the same time create a harmony situation (Kouzes Posner, 2009). A good leadership practices by the managers in the company will increases employees organizational commitment. This can lead to desirable workforce behaviour. Therefore, it needs to be determined if there is a correlation between five leadership practices and organizational commitment among managers in Malaysia. Objectives of Study Generally, this study attempts to investigate the influence of each of five leadership practices on organizational commitment. Specifically, this study aims to: Examine the influence of challenge the process leadership practice on organizational commitment. 2) Examine the influence of inspire a shared vision leadership practice on organizational commitment. 3) Examine the influence of enable others to act leadership practice on organizational commitment. 4) Examine the influence of model the way leadership practice on organizational commitment. 5) Examine the influence of encourage the heart leadership practice on organizational commitment. Today, the movement and speed of the organization in terms of structure, systems, and processes change rapidly. This scenario has increases the need for the organization to train their managers to become better leaders and better (Skipton and Fred, 2010). This study focused on the effectiveness of the leadership practices implemented by the managers in the attempt to influence organizational commitment of their subordinates. Leaders are the group of people that have the ability to lead the subordinates towards desirable objectives even in a diverse situation. This study is conducted among managers in different organization and work place and aims to determine the levels of organizational commitment and leadership practices among manager. Research Question This study will be guided by the following research questions for the purpose of answer the research objectives above. To what extent leadership practice of Challenge the process influence organizational commitment? To what extent leadership practice of Inspire a shared vision influence organizational commitment? To what extent leadership practice of Enable others to act influence organizational commitment? To what extent leadership practice of Model the way influence organizational commitment? To what extent leadership practice of Encourage the heart influence organizational commitment? Hypothesis H1: Leadership practice of Challenge the process has a positive significant influence on organizational commitment. H2: Leadership practice of Inspire a shared vision has a positive significant influence on organizational commitment. H3: Leadership practice of Enable others to act has a positive significant influence on organizational commitment. H4: Leadership practice of Model the way has a positive significant influence on organizational commitment. H5: Leadership practice of Encourage the heart has a positive significant influence on organizational commitment. Conceptual Framework The research of Kouzes and Posner (2003) shown that leadership was a set of practices that can be mastered by leaders through consistent training. In theory, the Leadership Practices Inventory was created in order to have a consistent research on all levels of leaders (Kouzes and Posner, 2006). The purpose of this study is to determine if 5 types of leadership practices is related to the levels of organizational commitment among managers in Malaysia. The independent variables of this study are leadership practices of (a) Challenge the Process, (b) Inspire a Shared Vision, (c) Enable Others to Act, (d) Model the Way, and (e) Encourage the Heart, while the dependent variable will be organizational commitment. The moderating variable of this study is the demographic details of respondents include gender, age, marital status, race, occupation, monthly income, education levels and working experience. Figure 1 shows the research framework of this study. Leadership Practices Q1 Challenge the Process H1 Q2 Inspire a shared vision H2 Q3 Enable others to act H3 Organizational Commitment Q4 Dependent Variable Model the way H4 Q5 Encourage the heart H5 Independent Variable Figure 1: Research Framework Significance of Study Leadership is not something that is difficult and impossible to explain, and it can be understood by ordinary people (Kouzes Posner, 2003). This study will be beneficial to all managers and leaders of different organizations in Malaysia. Through this study, managers get to design leadership programs base on 5 leadership practices. Leadership practices can provide an appropriate and understandable model for the managers in conducting their leadership program. Besides that, leaders that fully understood the 5 leadership practices will lead to a good performance of their team in the organizations. This is because leadership practices conducted by the leaders will receive feedback of the employees in the end of the projects and this will improve their attitudes and behaviours to become better. Leadership practices suggested 5 types of practices should be posses by managers. Managers can improve and foster the relationship with their employees by implementing the leadership practices efficiently. It also increases the confidence of the managers while confront any crisis. Furthermore, leadership practices provide a platform and foundation in forming organizational commitment. Many young people that took leadership course for the first time already have more leadership experience then they realize (Kouzes Posner, 2006). So, this study also helps the part time students of Master Business Administration to obtain more information about leadership practices. This is because they are people from executive levels and have some experience in work place. They may have the chance to become a leader or manager in the future. Therefore, they will have the opportunity to demonstrate the leadership practices in their tasks as a group or team. Through these practices, the employee at executive levels or taking the courses of MBA will be able to improve their performance in work place and building their confidence especially in the time that need to have decision making. 1.7 Definition of Terms Following are some important terms used throughout this study: Leaders: The term leaders refer the body of people who lead a group of people in the organization. Leaders is the people that in charge or in command of others. Leadership: Leadership is a group of people of a particular organization. It is the ability to be a leader or the qualities a good leader should have. Leadership Practices: For the purpose of this research, Leadership Practices is viewed as the tasks of division managers, head of department or supervisor involving in one of the following: (a) Challenging the process, (b) Inspiring a shared vision, (c) Enabling others to act, (d) Modelling the way, (e) Encouraging the heart. Challenging the process: The process that leaders venture out into an unknown world or situation. Leaders constantly look for new and innovative products, processes, and services. Leaders also encourage their employees to challenge the former ways and attitude in doing their work. Inspire a shared vision: The ability of leaders to inspire a shared vision within the followers and spur out their commitment. It is the desire of leaders to change the way things are and create something new. Enable others to act: It is the ability of leaders enables others to act not by coercive power but by their sincerity to affect others. They strengthen followers capacity to deliver on the promises that they make and promote collaboration in the organization. Model the way: The ability of leaders to guide and lead the follows by setting a good example and role model. Leaders model the attitude and behaviour expected by their subordinates in order to achieve high standard of organizational performance. Leaders behaviours and attitudes are far more important than their words (Kouzes and Posner, 2006). The employees would rather believe the person first than the plan. Encourage the heart: The ability of leader to recognize and appreciate the contribution of the employees. Leaders create a culture of cherish the contribution of their followers and reward them for their achievement in order to retain the good employees. Organizational commitment: It is the willingness and feeling of responsibilities of the employees to work hard and contribute their energy and time to a mission or a task in the organization. Managers: A Manager is the person responsible for planning and directing the work of a group of individuals, monitoring their work, and taking corrective action when necessary.

Relationship between top management and human resource management

Relationship between top management and human resource management Human Resource is used to describe individuals in the workforce of an organization, even if it is also applied in labor economics, for instance, industries and even entire nations. Human resources is also the name of the function in a body with overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies on people management Human resource management involves the development of a perfect blend between tradition and administrative functions well-being of all employees in an organization. Retention of employees is directly proportional to how employees are treated, in exchange for their know-how and experience. The reason top manager care little about human resource department Top managers care little about human resource compared to production, marketing, finance, and engineering. There are some reasons. Marketing department is the process by which companies create customer interest in goods or services. It generates the strategy behind the sales techniques, business communication and business developments. It is an integrated process by which organizations build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and themselves. Marketing is used to identify the customer, to satisfy the customer, and to keep the customer. With the customer at the center of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is a key component of business management. The adoption of marketing strategies requires companies to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and desires of their customers how to stay profitable. However human resource is not relative customer. It is relation between manager and workforce or worker, which clearly shows that human resource, has got to care much of the companys employees as well as its employees attitude towards the customers, which means that the employees have to be well trained. The finance department of a business takes responsibility for organizing the financial and accounting affairs including the preparation and presentation of appropriate accounts, and the provision of financial information for managers. The main areas covered by the financial department include book keeping procedure, creating a balance sheet and profit and loss account, providing management information, management of wages and raising of finance. The foundation of every production department is to create goods or services. Basically, production included the physical assembly of goods, however, production can also include data-based goods such as websites, analysis services and order processing services. The main function of the production department is to produce a product or service that creates profit and revenue for the company. Every production and operations department must function as self-evaluating entity that monitors the quality, quantity, and cost of goods produced. Forecasting, scheduling, purchasing, design, maintenance, people management, flow analysis, reporting, assembly and testing are the common task functions in a production and operation department. Production and operations departments typically function as a fulfillment entity that ensures the timely delivery of the output from production to customers. Critical path analysis, stock control analysis, utilization analysis, capacity analysis, just-in-time a nalysis of inputs, quality metrics analysis and break-even analysis are included in standard analysis functions in a production department. Most probably it is because human resource is harder to manage since it involves managing people in the company. Other departments like marketing, finance, production and engineering are aimed to increase the profit whereas for human resource, it is to manage the employees, to hire, to train or even to fire. Main difficulties would be things like turnover or quitting without informing and etc, since when such things occur, it is not something that manager can solve in a day. For example, when the employees just quit without informing earlier, it is not that simple to get another employees to replace. Even if employees are found to replace, it takes time to train them. Therefore, human resource is more troublesome to manage compared other department, thats why top managers care little about human resource. And also, human resource department, in order to achieve the organizational objectives of the organization for talent acquisition, development cooperation, while maintaining their a bility to establish a system to unleash it as a process can be, which means that it is less productive compared to other departments. Solution to change top manager perception in human resource department There are some ways to change top managers perception in the human resource department Human resource department can help the production department recruitment the labors Human resource department is not a significant revenue generating department but it can help the production department with the recruitment of labors, especially the technicians. When it comes to hiring workers, they should consider about workers abilities and skills that they are capable of. Human resource department can help company save cost Human resource department does not control and manage the cash flow of the firm, but human resource department can help company to save cost. Human resource department helps the company to reduce the cost. For example, through lay off unnecessary people in the company or reduce the number of employees, providing multi-tasks for the employees, reducing reward such as annual leave and bonus of year, save cost in stationary by sharing with colleagues, save training cost of employees by providing job training. If the costs are saved in such a way in Human resource department, the company will have more money liquid to run the business. Payroll can manage by technology Payroll can be managed by technology however; the experience cannot be substituted by technology. Normally human resource is a challenging department in the company, with the facts that the department carries the responsibilities for interview, promotion to employee, labor law knowledge, and psychological knowledge to take care the employees problem such as what employees need and want, which has to be coached by the human resource department. If one of the employees in the company is not satisfy with the company, employee will eventually resign and this will affect the turnover, especially the marketing employees. The employees working under marketing are more likely to be pressured compared to employees working under other departments. It is because if there is a decrease in the company sales, they might face layoff from the company, and this is why technology cannot substitute in the human resource line. Human resource department is not a payroll department only The top human resource department is not a payroll department; many special jobs which can only be handled by human resource department cannot be substituted by other departments. Training, interviewing, recruiting the right person and so on and so forth is very important. It is because if human resource department recruit the wrong person and place him or her in the wrong position can make be an issue in the company. And if human resource department cannot train the employees well, they wouldnt be able to feel or really not able to improve any longer in the company. Planning a mentoring program One of the best ways to overcome human resources issues is to launch a mentoring program for diversity. This could entail involving different departmental managers in a mentoring program to coach and provide feedback to employees who are different from themselves. For the program to run successfully, it is wise to provide practical training for these managers or seek help from consultants and experts in this field. Usually, such a program will encourage members of the organization to make their views known and to learn to resolve conflicts because of their diversity. More importantly, the purpose of a Diversity Mentoring Program seeks to encourage members to go beyond their own cultural frame of reference to recognize and fully exploit the productivity potential inherent in a diverse population. Human resources managers can conveniently employee relations between ministries and the scope has for the lower-rung of communication with employees at different levels. The field is a derivative of system theory and organizational psychology. Human resources have won a number of interpretations related in time, she continues to defend the need to ensure the well-being of employees. Every organization now has an exclusive human resources department to interact with representatives of all factors of production. The department is responsible for the development and application of current research on advanced strategic while engaging end and staff training. Question 2 1.0 Introduction In this assignment we went to get the application form from other company, and we have using the Focus Point Holding Berhad to explain about their job discretion and some of the information which they have in their application form. Furthermore we have used the application form to analyze all the application form data and their company job description. After we analyzed all the reliable data obtained from Focus Point Holding Berhads application form and we have think of better way to improve the job description for their company, at the same time we have used other competitor companys job description for comparison. We used it to compare with Focus Point Holding Berhad and adopt the strength of other companies to overcome the problem of insufficient information in the job description of Focus Point. Besides we also used internet sources to gain more ideas on how to improve the job description of Focus Point Holding Berhad. Moreover, from the application form that we get, it enable us to know what are the basic elements that application form should have and easily detect the defects and the weaknesses of the form. We have improved and overcome all these weaknesses for the application form obtain from Focus Point Holding Berhad. At the end after we analyzed the application form we knew that there are reasons for the company to list down the element such as previous job references, salary needs, family background and etc. 2.0 Body of Contents 2.1 Types of Information The job application form of Focus Point Holding Berhad contained position applied for, personal particulars, family particulars, education background, employment history, reference and others. 2.2 The Mistakes and the Ways of Improve 2.2.1 Personal Particulars In this section, there are two elements that needed to improve. There is no emergency call available in the form. Focus Point has left out this important section. Every company should demands the extra call which able to directly contact with their family members or relatives. This is to prevent when the company encounter the employee accident occurrence or emergency situation and then doesnt know do a contact with who. As for the health status showed at the form is difficult to measure, because they might not understand about the meaning of poor, average and good of the health status. Therefore, Focus Point should put in specific choices or just put a column over there to let them fill up what disease that they have. 2.2.2 Education Background For this section, there is containing one of the columns like Name of School/ College/ University, but never mentioned that the applicant should write down the result of the applicant as well because it can save the time for Focus Point to check out the result of the applicant and also they have to add one more subtitle, which is Other Education, because some of the applicants might have some training on the other place. Other than that, in the column of Specialization, Focus Point did not indicate what it is because there is already has a column called Course Taking and it able to show what the applicants specialized on. Furthermore, the column of the Years, the applicant might not know that is the first year that they began their study life or the year of graduation. 2.2.3 Employment History In the column of Total Salary, those applicants might do not know whether the salary is based on day, week or month because different job has different way to pays salary. Thus they have to indicate clearly. In additional, the space Reason of Leaving is too small, there is not enough for those applicants. Therefore, they should expand it. 2.2.4 Reference For this section, Focus Point provided only two columns and state that the applicant has to provide at least two references. If the applicant wants to provide three references, then there is no space for them. Hence, Focus Point should state the sentence provide two references instead of at least two, or else they should give one more blank. 2.2.5 Others In the question of asking applicant does he or her needs hostel? Focus Point should put the location of the hostel as well. 2.2.6 Extra Requirements Just because of Focus Point has provided part time job, then they be supposed to add the info of Days and Hours Available, in order to arrange well for the employees. Furthermore, they should ask a question, which is Why you want to apply this job? in order to further understand what the applicants think, thus this is one of the ways able to get closer with employee. 2.3 Job Description of Focus Point Holding Berhad This is the job description of the Focus Point Holding Berhad and the position is Branch Manager. Branch Manager Responsibilities: To lead the team to achieve the sales target To be responsible and run the outlet business operations To do daily and monthly planning and management work To monitor and liaise with the supplier or HQ(headquarters) in ordering stocks To handle and solve complaints from the customer Requirement: Minimum SPM/STPM qualification and above Excellent selling skills, customer oriented, dynamic and proactive Good Communication Skills in English and Bahasa Malaysia. Chinese dialects is an added advantage Minimum 5 years of experience in retail management, preferably in optical business or optical retail chain stores Computer literate Applicants should be Malaysian citizens 2.4 The Insufficient of the Focus Point Holding Berhads Job Description The explanation of the particular which provided by Focus Point Holding Berhad actually is not sufficient, therefore they should have a further advance. 2.4.1 Responsibilities For the section of responsibilities, Focus Point has lacking of some points. As a branch manager, he or she is supposed to have need of do the interview, selection and then recruitment. Other than that, branch manager also must provide the training and development for their employees in order to maintain the reputation of Focus Point and also able to respond the market quickly. Besides that, branch manager must concern about the safety of their employees because no safety guaranty, the loyalty of employees will reduced. Not only the employees, the shop security also required to paid close attention in order to avoid external factors such as robbery, disturbance created by people and so forth, these would cause properties loss. In addition, branch manager needs has capability on allocating resources as well. This is because to assign the right employee to the right position and controlling the capital flowing are important in order to ensure the business operations run smoothly. Furth ermore, branch manager must possess great communicate skill with employees and customers because these able to prevent high turnover rate and low loyalty of customers and also can for the long term achievement. 2.4.2 Requirements For the requirements section, Focus Point stated that they need minimum SPM/STPM qualification, but as a branch manager, he or she should has minimum requirement of Bachelors Degree because though the experiences able to cover it but they might lack of some extra knowledge. Experience can be gained but knowledge is difficult to build if without learning. Other than that, Focus Point only stated that the branch manager have to good in communication skills with three languages, but actually good in writing skill is important as well, this is because they would required to writing out the accurately report to the headquarters (HQ) in order to let HQ to do further decisions or changes. Besides that, they didnt mention about own transport that the branch manager supposes to has it, because it would cause inconvenience for the meeting with HQ, sudden case occurred in supplier and need to go over there by own to check it out, if without own transport. 3.0 Conclusion In the Focus Point Holding Berhad, the job description and job application form of the company have some weaknesses; therefore we were looking for some new ways to improving it. We have come out with some solutions to improve some of the weaknesses in the job application form and job description as well. At first we analyzed the job description before we think about the solution to overcome the weaknesses. Other than that, we also used internet resources to search for other companies job description for comparison and we have generated some data to improve for the Focus Point Holding Berhad.

End-Stage Renal Disease :: Health, Diseases, Hemodialysis Patients

Introduction Patients with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) had higher anemia rate than general population (1). Several studies considered inflammatory markers as predictors of outcome in patients with ESRD and in one of them which was performed on 25000 HD patients, neutrophil count combined with low lymphocyte count were independent predictor of outcome in hemodialysis patients (2). In some of other studies elevated level of C-reactive protein was accounted for higher mortality rate in HD patients (3). In a European study, CRP were presented as one of the uremic syndrome futures and 50% of patients have CRP level >8mg/l and 75% of them had CRP level >3.4mg/l (3). Anemia related increase serum level of pro-inflammatory factors with poor treatment outcomes in HD patients (4). There is relationship between anemia, inflammation and oxidative stress level. Serum level of hemoglobin was increased during 2-3 days after inflammatory response to infection. Inflammation also active macrophages and remove old erythrocytes from the serum of HD patients (5). According to findings of previous studies, ESRD is one of the states that increase pro-inflammatory cytokines and in some of them interleukins (IL) 1, 4 and 6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) were 8-10 times higher than general population (6). Statine agents can reduce serum level of CRP in HD patients and decline their need to Epoetin for management of anemia (7). Serum CRP level more than 5-10 mg/l is associated with cardiovascular events and statine agents due to reduce CRP level might decline mortality of HD patients and improve their cardiovascular outcome. Measurement of Serum level of C reactive protein (CRP) in hemodialysis (HD) patients with anemia and their response to lovastatin is aim of our study. Material and methods One hundred fifty hemodialysis patients in Imam Khomeini and Amiralam hospital during 2004 were participated in our randomized clinical trial. Hemodialysis patients had three sessions per week hemodialysis plan with Polysulphone and Hemophane dialysis filters and bicarbonate as dialysis solution. Our study was approved in ethical committee of Tehran medical university and informed consent was obtained from each patient. Our inclusion criteria Our inclusion criterias were more than hemodialysis patients with six months hemodialysis and Hs-CRP higher than 10 mg per liter, without tumors, chronic respiratory disorders, iron deficiency anemia, hypothyroidism, diabetic foot ulcer, total cholesterol more than 200 mg/dl, abnormal liver tests, immunosuppressive, beta blocker and statine usage, and active infection in recent three months.

The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay -- essays research papers

Art, what is Art? It is an ambiguous matter: without an exact form, an exact meaning. Does it have any rules or restrictions? However, it can be a great influence on the lives of people. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, two lovers have fell in and out of love due to Art!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorian Gray found Sibyl charming because of her Art!  ¡Ã‚ §She has not merely art, consummate art-instinct in her, but she has personality also; and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that move the age ¡Ã‚ ¨ (63). Sibyl is an actress. She is formed by others: no self is without external influence. Therefore, Art that expresses the self is less valuable than art which expresses the influence of others. The special thing that made Dorian mad about her is that she is more than an individual.  ¡Ã‚ §I (Dorian) have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one ¡Ã‚ ¦s imagination. No glamour ever transfigures them ¡Ã‚ ¨ (59). By imagination that Sibyl has the power to arouse, she can be of any characteristics. Art has no set form, but the purpose of art is to give form to feeling. Now, Sibyl is a person that is able to provide all kinds of feelings that Dorian wishes to experience. Dorian finds extreme pleasure in experiencing through all the sentiments that Sibyl gives. Being a spectator to the different lives and stories amuses Dorian: one evening Sibyl is Juliet, next evening she is Imogen, another night, she is Roselind. &nbs... The Picture Of Dorian Gray Essay -- essays research papers Art, what is Art? It is an ambiguous matter: without an exact form, an exact meaning. Does it have any rules or restrictions? However, it can be a great influence on the lives of people. In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, two lovers have fell in and out of love due to Art!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dorian Gray found Sibyl charming because of her Art!  ¡Ã‚ §She has not merely art, consummate art-instinct in her, but she has personality also; and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that move the age ¡Ã‚ ¨ (63). Sibyl is an actress. She is formed by others: no self is without external influence. Therefore, Art that expresses the self is less valuable than art which expresses the influence of others. The special thing that made Dorian mad about her is that she is more than an individual.  ¡Ã‚ §I (Dorian) have seen her in every age and in every costume. Ordinary women never appeal to one ¡Ã‚ ¦s imagination. No glamour ever transfigures them ¡Ã‚ ¨ (59). By imagination that Sibyl has the power to arouse, she can be of any characteristics. Art has no set form, but the purpose of art is to give form to feeling. Now, Sibyl is a person that is able to provide all kinds of feelings that Dorian wishes to experience. Dorian finds extreme pleasure in experiencing through all the sentiments that Sibyl gives. Being a spectator to the different lives and stories amuses Dorian: one evening Sibyl is Juliet, next evening she is Imogen, another night, she is Roselind. &nbs...

Kuona, An African Perspective on Religions: J.N.K. Mugambis Contributi

Kuona, An African Perspective on Religions: J.N.K. Mugambi's Contribution ABSTRACT: Kuona is a Shona (one of Zimbabwe’s major languages) verb meaning "to see." In poetic constructions, it is often used as an ocular metaphor meaning insight or understanding. This ocular metaphor can be used to describe Mugambi’s assessment of the exclusivistic claims one often encounters in the Abrahamic religions. Such claims often arise from a strongly held belief that the adherent is one of God’s chosen. Mugambi has emerged as one of the most articulate philosophical theologians in the African continent. His reflections, ubiquitous in classrooms on the continent, deserve a much broader audience. My paper seeks to introduce Mugambi’s perspective on religion. Part of Mugambi’s project has been to make an assessment of this notion of chosenness in the Abrahamic religions. He does so particularly with reference to the relationship between Christianity and the African religious heritage. Kuona is a Shona (one of Zimbabwe's major languages) verb meaning to see. In poetic constructions it is often used as an ocular metaphor meaning insight or understanding. This ocular metaphor, it seems to me, can be used to describe Mugambi's assessment of the exclusivistic claims one often encounters in the Abrahamic religions. "Only those who believe as we do have any hope of an eternity with God." "We are the ones destined or predestined for heaven." These and such claims often arise from a strongly held belief that the adherent is one of God's chosen ones. Part of Mugambi's project has been to make an assessment of this notion of chosenness in the Abrahamic religions. He does so particularly with reference to the relationship between Christianity and the... ...on mark on the Mosaic religions, Mugambi proceeds to suggest that other religious traditions may be propounding perspectives closer to the divine ideal. He assesses he religions of the Orient — especially Buddhism — as being immensely tolerant and respectful of the humanity and integrity of others. The African religious heritage, he finds to be also inclusive rather than exclusive. Realizing that his challenge is bound to evoke a charge of Universalism on the part of many evangelical Christians in the North Atlantic areas, Mugambi contends that his insights are not such as to bring shame on those who accept them. He declares that when Christians of non-EuroAmerican cultures seek a synthesis of the Christian faith with their own heritage, a charge of universalism may after all turn out to be a virtue rather than a vice. In the final analysis God is the final arbiter.

Six Major Classes of Nutrients

There are six major classes of nutrients:  carbohydrates,  fats,  minerals,  protein,  vitamins, and  water. These nutrient classes can be categorized as either  macronutrients  (needed in relatively large amounts) or  micronutrients  (needed in smaller quantities). The macronutrients include carbohydrates (including  fiber), fats, protein, and water. The micronutrients are minerals and vitamins. The macronutrients (excluding fiber and water) provide structural material (amino acids from which proteins are built, and lipids from which cell membranes and some signaling molecules are built) and  energy.Some of the structural material can be used to generate energy internally, and in either case it is measured in  Joules  or  kilocalories  (often called â€Å"Calories† and written with a capital  Cto distinguish them from little ‘c' calories). Carbohydrates and proteins provide 17  kJ approximately (4  kcal) of energy per gram, while fa ts provide 37  kJ (9  kcal) per gram. ,[17]  though the net energy from either depends on such factors as absorption and digestive effort, which vary substantially from instance to instance.Vitamins, minerals, fiber, and water do not provide energy, but are required for other reasons. A third class of dietary material, fiber (i. e. , non-digestible material such as cellulose), is also required,[citation needed]  for both mechanical and biochemical reasons, although the exact reasons remain unclear. Molecules of carbohydrates and fats consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates range from simple  monosaccharides  (glucose, fructose, galactose) to complexpolysaccharides  (starch).Fats are  triglycerides, made of assorted  fatty acid  monomers  bound to a  glycerol  backbone. Some fatty acids, but not all, are  essential  in the diet: they cannot be synthesized in the body. Protein molecules contain nitrogen atoms in addition to carbon, ox ygen, and hydrogen. The fundamental components of protein are nitrogen-containing  amino acids, some of which are  essential  in the sense that humans cannot make them internally.Some of the amino acids are convertible (with the expenditure of energy) to glucose and can be used for energy production, just as ordinary glucose, in a process known as gluconeogenesis. By breaking down existing protein, some glucose can be produced internally; the remaining amino acids are discarded, primarily as urea in urine. This occurs normally only during prolonged starvation. Other micronutrients include  antioxidants  and  phytochemicals, which are said to influence (or protect) some body systems.Their necessity is not as well established as in the case of, for instance, vitamins. Most foods contain a mix of some or all of the nutrient classes, together with other substances, such as toxins of various sorts. Some nutrients can be stored internally (e. g. , the fat soluble vitamins), wh ile others are required more or less continuously. Poor health can be caused by a lack of required nutrients or, in extreme cases, too much of a required nutrient. For example, both salt and water (both absolutely required) will cause illness or even death in excessive amounts.

When is war justified

To fght back out of self- defense is Just and must be done in order to protect one's nation from harm. A well- known example is when America was attacked by Japan at Pearl Harbor. America responded to this attack by bombing Japan and putting an end to this engagement. If America had not responded in this way, then how many more casualties would they have suffered? America's act of self-defense revealed to Japan that they don't want to engage in a war with America and in effect caused Japan to retreat and make peace with America. Humanitarian wars are not Justified because a nation is fighting out of political justice rather than self-defense.The general hope of a nation fighting a humanitarian war is that the death and destruction inflicted by the war will be less than the death and destruction from not going to war. However, humanitarian wars usually cause lots of death and destruction which ultimately causes a nation to look back at themself and wonder, â€Å"Was it worth all the lives we lost in battle? † The Vietnam War is a common reminder of a Humanitarian War that caused many eople to look back and wonder if it was worth it. Imagine if you were chosen to fight in the Vietnam War.The thought of losing your life in a war that was fought out of national liberation would be terrifying to most. In the book, The Things They Carried, the chapter â€Å"On the Rainy River† is the perfect examination of a young man who has been drafted to fght in a war that has no clear explanation. The young man wonders how a nation can go to war and sacrifice lives without any undeniable Just cause. The young man, Tim O'Brien, thinks aloud to himself and says, â€Å"It seemed to me that when nation goes to war it must have reasonable confidence in the Justice and imperative of its cause.You can't fix your mistakes. Once people are dead, you cant make them undead. † We all know that hundreds of thousands of American soldiers lost their lives in the Vietnam Wa r, but for what cause? The loss of their lives cannot be justified undeniably, therefore proving the point that Humanitarian Wars are unjust. Throughout history it is clear that the loss of lives in a war is inevitable, but the sacrifice ot lives in a war that is tougnt to protect the nation is always Justified when e look back at it while the same cannot be said of Humanitarian Wars.Jake Petroff reviewed my original essay and provided me lots of feedback that aided me in creating my final draft. He told me that I needed to provide more evidence to back up my argument and I did by providing texts from various pieces of literature. Jake also enhanced my knowledge of the Vietnam War by telling me facts about the war that I didn't know prior to my conversation with him. Thanks to Jake's feedback, I have been able to further my essay and create my final draft.

Aspects of love †Romeo and Juliet Essay

Now Juliet’s father has a leading role in Juliet’s â€Å"love life†. In Verona the people were catholic and it was to have arranged marriages. With Juliet as a young teenager, Capulet thought she might have been too young to get married; Capulet- â€Å"My child is yet a stranger in the world; She hath not seen the change of fourteen years, Let two more summers wither in their pride, Ere we may think her ripe to be a bride. † He was telling this to Paris. He was close to the Capulets and he seemed to impress Lady Capulet more then he did Juliet. In the story, Capulet had a few children, with Juliet as the youngest, but all part from Juliet had died through child hood. Death was very common in Elizabethan times, with the plague about and not very good medication, at least 1 in three children would most probably die through their child hood. With Juliet being his only child left, he would have liked her to have a happy life with a decent man and a decent living. He chose Paris to be more then suitable, Capulet-â€Å"And too soon marr’d are those so early made. The earth hath swallow’d all my hopes but she, She is the hopeful lady of my earth: But woo her, gentle Paris, get her heart† But maybe he didn’t want to let her go just as yet. Capulets had a reputation to live up to, and the father wanted to keep it that way. Lady Capulet wasn’t really much of a motherly figure in the story to Juliet. She never seemed to talk to her much, and when she did they were more like commands. Juliet must have been use to this as she would address her politely; Juliet- â€Å"Madam, I am here. What is your will? † Was their any family love such as the hugs, stories and giving motherly advice between Lady Capulet and Juliet? From what it seems Lady Capulet, being the Lady of the house hold is more being busy around else where rather then ever being with her daughter. The nurse played a bigger part in Juliet’s life. She gave advice, and wanted Juliet to be happy, she was not into the ‘keeping the Capulets dignity’, she didn’t seem to be the kind of person to judge but she only told Juliet what she thought would be best for her. They talk of Juliet getting married, but Lady Capulet only asks if she would and not how she feels about the whole situation, alike Lord Capulet she is soon is suggesting of her marrying Paris. Lady Capulet- â€Å"Marry, that ‘marry’ is the very theme I came to talk of. Tell me, daughter Juliet, How stands your disposition to be married? † Juliet- â€Å"It is an honour that I dream not of. † In a respectful way, Juliet has already sorted her way of getting married. She is telling her mother that although she’s honoured to be in such a position in which her family would be proud of, it’s not her ideal way of living with someone for the rest of her life. Maybe she knew what she was looking for in love, that’s if she was looking for love at that time. Paris says he loves Juliet, and wants to marry her. But from what we see, he hardly knows Juliet, not like Romeo. They don’t have the chemistry. Juliet is charmed, and he is very gentlemen like. But what is love to Paris. Paris-This is that banish’d haughty Montague, That murder’d my love’s cousin, with which grief†¦ To Paris, he wants to marry a girl who will have his children and look good, so to speak. Like the Capulets or Montague way of raising a family, not through caring love but through pride and dignity. Paris- â€Å"younger than she are happy mothers made. † Through Juliets aspect of love, before she even meet Romeo, we see that there was no other interest in men, not even when Lady Capulet asked her what she though about marrying Paris. She just replied that she is something she would not dream of. When she met Romeo she instantly clicked with him. She was impressed by the way he spoke to her, and the words he used. No one had probably talked to her in such a way before. Romeo- Romeo’s mother and father aren’t really mentioned much in the play. Lord Capulet says he is confused about his son, that he is withdrawn and he doesn’t really know him. Although he see’s him withdrawn to himself he wants him to â€Å"dedicate his beauty to the sun†, share his thoughts. Lady Capulet seem to care about Romeo as much, Lady Capulet- â€Å"O where is Romeo? Saw you him today? Right glad I am he was not at this fray. † It looks as though his parents are concerned about him very much, they look out for their son, try to know where he is, as they know he is a sensitive and gentle person. It’s very common for parent to be protective over their children in a family. Within the Montague’s, their family is based around such care of each other, and not so much about dignity, even though he was brought up to think about the families pride and dignity. Romeo and his Cousin Benvolio hang about together; he is out most of the time with him and his best friend Mercutio. He talks to both of them about love, with Juliet and with Rosaline. Now with Rosaline, Romeo thought he was in love when in fact he was just infatuated by her class, beauty and plain hard to get. He soon gets over her when he meets Juliet. Romeo and Juliet both fell for each other at the party at the Capulets house party. The first time they spoke, they both talked with holy language, and Juliet (who was quite a religious person) was taken by his flattering words, the first time they spoke. Romeo- â€Å"If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, my lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. † Juliet- â€Å"Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this, for saints have hands that pilgrims’ hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss. † They only speak like this to each other, Juliet who has never been spoken to like this before is fascinated. By him by the end of the night, she does not want to leave him and he does not want to leave her. She warns him of the dangers he would be in if he got caught but he still risks all that just to see her that one night. At this point their views of love for each other begin. This is where they want to get to know each other, as they have never meet anyone like each other before. They probably felt that no-one has ever understood them before as they did in this one night. Juliet starts to believe in love, and Romeo finds that Rosaline was not true love after all, and these guys wouldn’t want to loose contact after this night. Friar Lawrence finds that these too are meant to be. Being a Friar, it does not refer to him believing in arranged marriages. But he thought that bringing Romeo and Juliet together would solve and bury the conflict between the too rival families, Montagues and Capulets. That they would find to love each other through Romeo and Juliets love for each other. He knew that Romeo and Juliet loved each other deeply so he risked this to solve the family feud as he believed that they wouldn’t part because of there families, because they had stayed together this far.

Deception Point Page 22

Marjorie Tench fell silent, as if reeling from that last punch. The CNN host prompted, â€Å"Ms. Tench? A reaction?† The woman finally cleared her throat and spoke. â€Å"I guess I'm just surprised to hear that Mr. Sexton is willing to establish himself as so staunchly anti-NASA.† Sexton's eyes narrowed. Nice try, lady. â€Å"I am not anti-NASA, and I resent the accusation. I am simply saying that NASA's budget is indicative of the kind of runaway spending that your President endorses. NASA said they could build the shuttle for five billion; it cost twelve billion. They said they could build the space station for eight billion; now it's one hundred billion.† â€Å"Americans are leaders,† Tench countered, â€Å"because we set lofty goals and stick to them through the tough times.† â€Å"That national pride speech doesn't work on me, Marge. NASA has overspent its allowance three times in the past two years and crawled back to the President with its tail between its legs and asked for more money to fix its mistakes. Is that national pride? If you want to talk about national pride, talk about strong schools. Talk about universal health care. Talk about smart kids growing up in a country of opportunity. That's national pride!† Tench glared. â€Å"May I ask you a direct question, senator?† Sexton did not respond. He simply waited. The woman's words came out deliberately, with a sudden infusion of grit. â€Å"Senator, if I told you that we could not explore space for less than NASA is currently spending, would you act to abolish the space agency altogether?† The question felt like a boulder landing in Sexton's lap. Maybe Tench wasn't so stupid after all. She had just blindsided Sexton with a â€Å"fence-buster†-a carefully crafted yes/no question designed to force a fence-straddling opponent to choose clear sides and clarify his position once and for all. Instinctively Sexton tried sidestepping. â€Å"I have no doubt that with proper management NASA can explore space for a lot less than we are currently-â€Å" â€Å"Senator Sexton, answer the question. Exploring space is a dangerous and costly business. It's much like building a passenger jet. We should either do it right-or not at all. The risks are too great. My question remains: If you become president, and you are faced with the decision to continue NASA funding at its current level or entirely scrap the U.S. space program, which would you choose?† Shit. Sexton glanced up at Gabrielle through the glass. Her expression echoed what Sexton already knew. You're committed. Be direct. No waffling. Sexton held his chin high. â€Å"Yes. I would transfer NASA's current budget directly into our school systems if faced with that decision. I would vote for our children over space.† The look on Marjorie Tench's face was one of absolute shock. â€Å"I'm stunned. Did I hear you correctly? As president, you would act to abolish this nation's space program?† Sexton felt an anger simmering. Now Tench was putting words in his mouth. He tried to counter, but Tench was already talking. â€Å"So you're saying, senator, for the record, that you would do away with the agency that put men on the moon?† â€Å"I am saying that the space race is over! Times have changed. NASA no longer plays a critical role in the lives of everyday Americans and yet we continue to fund them as though they do.† â€Å"So you don't think space is the future?† â€Å"Obviously space is the future, but NASA is a dinosaur! Let the private sector explore space. American taxpayers shouldn't have to open their wallets every time some Washington engineer wants to take a billion-dollar photograph of Jupiter. Americans are tired of selling out their children's future to fund an outdated agency that provides so little in return for its gargantuan costs!† Tench sighed dramatically. â€Å"So little in return? With the exception perhaps of the SETI program, NASA has had enormous returns.† Sexton was shocked that the mention of SETI had even escaped Tench's lips. Major blunder. Thanks for reminding me. The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence was NASA's most abysmal money pit ever. Although NASA had tried to give the project a facelift by renaming it â€Å"Origins† and shuffling some of its objectives, it was still the same losing gamble. â€Å"Marjorie,† Sexton said, taking his opening, â€Å"I'll address SETI only because you mention it.† Oddly, Tench looked almost eager to hear this. Sexton cleared his throat. â€Å"Most people are not aware that NASA has been looking for ET for thirty-five years now. And it's a pricey treasure hunt-satellite dish arrays, huge transceivers, millions in salaries to scientists who sit in the dark and listen to blank tape. It's an embarrassing waste of resources.† â€Å"You're saying there's nothing up there?† â€Å"I'm saying that if any other government agency had spent forty-five million over thirty-five years and had not produced one single result, they would have been axed a long time ago.† Sexton paused to let the gravity of the statement settle in. â€Å"After thirty-five years, I think it's pretty obvious we're not going to find extraterrestrial life.† â€Å"And if you're wrong?† Sexton rolled his eyes. â€Å"Oh, for heavens sake, Ms. Tench, if I'm wrong I'll eat my hat.† Marjorie Tench locked her jaundiced eyes on Senator Sexton. â€Å"I'll remember you said that, senator.† She smiled for the first time. â€Å"I think we all will.† Six miles away, inside the Oval Office, President Zach Herney turned off the television and poured himself a drink. As Marjorie Tench had promised, Senator Sexton had taken the bait-hook, line, and sinker. 24 Michael Tolland felt himself beaming empathetically as Rachel Sexton gaped in silence at the fossilized meteorite in her hand. The refined beauty of the woman's face now seemed to dissolve into the expression of innocent wonder-a young girl who had just seen Santa Claus for the first time. I know just how you feel, he thought. Tolland had been struck the same way only forty-eight hours ago. He too had been stunned into silence. Even now, the scientific and philosophical implications of the meteorite astounded him, forcing him to rethink everything he had ever believed about nature. Tolland's oceanographic discoveries included several previously unknown deepwater species, and yet this â€Å"space bug† was another level of breakthrough altogether. Despite Hollywood's propensity for casting extraterrestrials as little green men, astrobiologists and science buffs all agreed that given the sheer numbers and adaptability of earth's insects, extraterrestrial life would in all probability be buglike if it were ever discovered. Insects were members of the phylum arthropoda-creatures having hard outer skeletons and jointed legs. With over 1.25 million known species and an estimated five hundred thousand still to be classified, earth's â€Å"bugs† outnumbered all of the other animals combined. They made up 95 percent of all the planet's species and an astounding 40 percent of the planet's biomass. It was not so much the bugs' abundance that impressed as it was their resilience. From the Antarctic ice beetle to Death Valley's sun scorpion, bugs happily inhabited deadly ranges in temperature, dryness, and even pressure. They also had mastered exposure to the most deadly force known in the universe-radiation. Following a nuclear test in 1945, air force officers had donned radiation suits and examined ground zero, only to discover cockroaches and ants happily carrying on as if nothing had happened. Astronomers realized that an arthropod's protective exoskeleton made it a perfectly viable candidate to inhabit the countless radiation-saturated planets where nothing else could live.