Ethics †Argumentative Essay

1. What is an â€Å"argument† in philosophy? A set of claims one of which, called the conclusion, is said to be supported by the other claims, called the premises. 1. Premise 2. Premise 3. Conclusion 2. What do the terms â€Å"valid† and â€Å"sound† mean? Valid Argument If the premises are true, then it follows necessarily that the conclusion is true, or it is logically impossible for the conclusion to be false. Sound Argument A valid argument that contains only true premises. Soundness = Truth + Validity. 3. Sketch the â€Å"benefits arguments† in favor of harvesting Baby’s Theresa’s organs. Set out the premises and conclusion for â€Å"Benefits Argument† in the Baby Theresa case. The Benefits Argument 1. If we can benefit someone without harming anyone else, we ought to do so. 2. Transplanting the organs would benefit the other children without harming Baby Theresa. 3. Therefore, we ought to transplant her organs. The Argument That We should Not Use People As Means 1. If we use someone only as a means, we do something that is morally wrong. 2. Taking Theresa’s organs would be using her only as a meas to benefit other children. 3. There fore, it would be morally wrong to take Theresa’s organs. 4. Sketch the â€Å"we should not use people as means† argument against harvesting Baby Theresa’s organs. Set out the premises and conclusion for â€Å"The Wrongfulness of Killing Argument† in the Baby Theresa case. The Argument From the Wrongfulness of Killing 1. If we harvested Theresa’s organs, then we would be killing one innocent person to save another. 2. We should not kill one innocent person to save another. 3. Therefore, if we should not harvest Theresa’s organs. Rachel’s Assessment *The prohibition against killing is strong, but most people do not think it absolute. Baby Theresa is (1) going to die soon anyway, (2) not conscious, and (3) her organs could help save several other children. Rachels states that we might even regard Baby Theresa as â€Å"born dead†. 5. Sketch the â€Å"Slippery Slope Argument† against killing Tracy Latimer. If one bad thing happens then others will follow after. 1. If we permit any sort of mercy killing, we will have stepped onto a dangerous â€Å"slippery slope† down which we will inevitably slide. 2. The mercy killing of Tracy was permissible. 3. Hence, we have stepped onto a dangerous slippery slope (which will lead to the view that all life is cheap). Objection: Are the causal claims supported by any evidence? In general, it is easy to make dire predictions concerning the future. Consider an analogy: Would gay marriage lead to the disintegration of the family? 6. What does Rachels’s â€Å"minimum conception of morality† consist of? Morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide one’s conduct by reason-while giving equal weight to the interests of each individual affected by one’s decision. Reason and impartiality consist stuff 7. What are five common features of Cultural Relativism? 1. Different societies have different moral codes. 2. (a) The â€Å"good† is determined by society; (b) an act is â€Å"right† if it is allowed by the guiding ideals od the society in which it is performed, and â€Å"wrong† if it forbidden by those ideals. 3. There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than an other’s. 4. The moral code of our society has no special status. 5. We should adopt an attitude to tolerance. 8. What is the â€Å"Cultural Differences† argument for Cultural Relativism? Does Rachels think it is sound? he thinks it is unsound, 9. If Cultural Relativism is true, then some odd consequences for ethical theory follow. What are they? 10. Does Rachels hold that there are some moral rules that all societies have in common? 11. What are the three traditional divine attributes of monotheism? 12. What is the difference between â€Å"theism†, â€Å"atheism†, and â€Å"agnosticism†? 13. What is the â€Å"problem of evil†? 14. What is the Divine Command theory? 15. What is Socrates’s question in the Euthyphro? How does it bear on the Divine Command Theory? 16. What are some of the main elements of Natural Law Theory? 17. Raise some objections to Natural Law Theory. 18. What is Ethical Egoism and how does it differ from Psychological Egoism? 19. Define â€Å"altruism†. Why does the Psychological Egoist hold that altruism is not possible? 20. Some object that Ayn Rand’s argument for Ethical Egoism presents us with a â€Å"false dichotomy†. Explain. 21. Why doesn’t Rachels think Ethical Egoism is a fair reflection of common sense morality? 22. What is the Principle Equal Treatment? How does it relate to Ethical Egoism? *There will be some extra-credit questions pertaining to material discussed in lecture.

The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 43

Best Intentions Pat, It's been a while, hopefully long enough. If you haven't ripped up this letter already, please read until the end. As you have discovered, I am a much better writer than I am a speaker at this point in my life. Everybody hates me. Did you know your brother came to my house and threatened to kill me if I made contact with you? His sincerity scared me – enough to keep me from writing earlier. Even my parents have reproached me for pretending to be Nikki. My therapist says my betrayal might not be forgivable, and by the way she kept repeating the word â€Å"unforgivable,† I could tell she was very disappointed in me. But the truth is, I did it for your benefit. Yes, I was hoping that once you found closure and got over Nikki, you would want to give me a shot – especially since we are such great dance partners, we both enjoy running, we are in similar housing situations, and let's face it, we're both fighting hard to maintain our grip on reality. We have a lot in common, Pat. I still believe you fell into my life for a reason. Because I love you, I want to tell you something I have never told anyone – except my therapist. It's sort of screwed up, so I hope you will be able to handle it. At first I wasn't going to tell you, but I figured the situation couldn't get any worse, and maybe a little honesty could go a long way right now. I don't know if you know this, but Tommy was a cop. He worked for the Meadowville Police Department and was assigned to the high school sort of as a counselor. So half of his hours were spent working with and counseling troubled teenagers, and the other half of his hours he was just a regular cop. I'm telling you this because it is important to understand that Tommy was a good man. He did not deserve to die, and his death absolutely proves that life is random and fucked-up and arbitrary, until you find someone who can make sense of it all for you – if only temporarily. Anyway, Tommy was really good with teenagers, and he even started a club at the high school designed to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving. Many of the parents thought the club condoned underage drinking, because it was not an anti-underage-drinking club but just an anti-drinking-and-driving club, so Tommy had to fight really hard to keep it afloat. Tommy told me that a lot of the high school kids drank every weekend, and underage drinking was even condoned by many of the town's parents. And the funniest thing to me was that the kids came to him and asked him to start the club because they were worried that someone was going to get hurt or die if their friends kept driving home after parties. Can you imagine talking to a cop like that when you were a teenager? That's the kind of guy Tommy was, people trusted him instantly. So Tommy organized assemblies and even put together this teacher karaoke night where students could pay money to hear their favorite teachers perform the current hits. Tommy could talk people into doing things like that. I'd go to these events, and Tommy would be up on the stage with all those teenagers, and he'd be singing and dancing with the other teachers, all of whom he had convinced to dress up in wild costumes – and parents, students, administrators would be all smiles. You couldn't help it, because Tommy was such a burst of positive energy. And he always gave speeches during these events – listing facts and statistics about drinking and driving. People listened to Tommy. People loved him. I loved him so fucking much, Pat. A funny thing about Tommy was he liked to have sex a lot. He always wanted to make love. I mean, as soon as he got home from work, his hands were all over me. I'd wake up every morning and he'd be on top of me. We could hardly eat a meal together without his hands sliding under the table, searching for my legs. And if Tommy was home, there was no way I'd ever get through a television show, because as soon as a commercial came on, he'd be rock hard and giving me that look. It was pretty wild, and I loved it for the first ten years of our marriage. But after ten years of nonstop sex, I got a little tired of it. I mean – life is more than sex, right? So one bright sunny morning, after we had just finished making love under the kitchen table, the teakettle whistled, so I stood and poured two cups. â€Å"I'm thinking maybe we should limit sex to so many times a week,† I said. I'll never forget the look on his face. He looked as if I had shot him in the stomach. â€Å"Is something wrong?† he said. â€Å"Am I doing something wrong?† â€Å"No. It's not like that at all.† â€Å"Then what?† â€Å"I don't know. Is it normal to have sex several times a day?† â€Å"Don't you love me anymore?† Tommy asked me with this wounded-little-boy look I still see whenever I close my eyes at night. Of course I told Tommy I loved him more than ever, but I just wanted to slow down a little with the sex. I told him I wanted to talk with him more, take walks, and find some new hobbies, so sex could be special again. â€Å"Having this much sex,† I told him, â€Å"sort of takes the magic out of it.† For some odd reason, I remember suggesting that we go horseback riding. â€Å"So you're telling me the magic is gone?† he said, and that question was the last thing he ever did say to me. So you're telling me the magic is gone? I remember talking a lot after he said that, telling him we could have sex as much as he wanted and that this was just a suggestion, but he was wounded. He was looking at me suspiciously the whole time, as if I were cheating on him or something like that. But I wasn't. I just wanted to slow down a little so I could appreciate sex more. Too much of a good thing, was all I wanted to tell him. But it was clear I had hurt him, because before I could finish explaining, he stood up and went upstairs to take a shower. He left the house without saying goodbye. I got the call at work. All I remember hearing was that Tommy was hurt and had been rushed to West Jersey Hospital. When I got to the hospital, there were a dozen men in blue uniforms, cops everywhere. Their glistening eyes told me. Later I would find out that Tommy had gone to the Cherry Hill Mall during his lunch break. They found a Victoria's Secret bag full of lingerie in his cruiser – every piece was my size. On his way back to Meadowville, he stopped on the highway to help an elderly woman whose car had broken down. Tommy called her a tow truck, but then he stood at the nervous old lady's window chatting with her, keeping her company while she waited. Tommy was always chatting with people like that. The cruiser was behind him, the lights were going, but he was standing at the edge of the highway's breakdown lane. Some driver who had drunk his lunch dropped his cell phone, and when he bent down to pick it up, he pulled the wheel to the right, crossed two lanes, and †¦ The lead in the local paper read â€Å"Police Officer Thomas Reed – who was responsible for starting Meadowville High School's Anti-Drinking-and-Driving Club – was killed by a drunk driver.† It was all so ironic, almost funny in a sadistic way. There were so many cops at his funeral. Kids from the high school made our front lawn into a living memorial – they stood on the sidewalk with candles and flowers. When I refused to go outside, these teenagers sang so sweetly to me through the first few evenings, a chorus of sad, beautiful voices. Our friends brought food, Father Carey talked to me about heaven, my parents cried with me, and Ronnie and Veronica stayed at our house for the first few weeks or so. But the only thing I could think about was how Tommy died believing I no longer wanted to have sex with him. I felt so guilty, Pat. I wanted to die. I kept thinking he would not have gone to Victoria's Secret on his lunch break if we had not had the fight, an d then he would have never passed the old woman in the broken-down car, which meant he would not have been killed. I felt so guilty. I still feel so fucking guilty. After a few weeks I went back to work, but everything in my mind got switched up. My guilt turned to need, and suddenly I was craving sex very badly. So I started to fuck men – any man who was game. All I really had to do was look at a man in that certain way, and within a few seconds I knew if they were going to fuck me. And when they did, I would close my eyes and pretend it was Tommy. To be with my husband again, I'd fuck men anywhere. In a car. In the coatroom at work. In an alley. Behind a bush. In a public restroom. Anywhere. But in my mind, it was always under the kitchen table, and Tommy had come back to me, and I had told him I wasn't tired of having sex, but would make love to him as many times as he needed, because I loved him with all my heart. I was sick. And there was no shortage of men who were eager to capitalize on my sickness. There were men everywhere who – with glee – would fuck this mentally ill woman. Of course this led to my losing my job, therapy, and many medical tests. Luckily, I did not contract any diseases, and I'd be happy to get tested again if that ever becomes an issue for us. But even if I had contracted AIDS or whatever, it would have been worth it to me at the time, because I needed that closure. I needed that forgiveness. I needed to live out the fantasy. I needed to fuck away my guilt so I could break out of the fog I was in, to feel something, to feel anything, and begin to start my life again, which I am only now beginning to do – since we became friends. I have to admit that during Veronica's dinner party I only thought of you as an easy lay. I sized you up in your stupid Eagles jersey and figured I could get you to fuck me, so I could pretend you were Tommy. I hadn't done it in a long time. I no longer wanted to have sex with strangers, but you weren't a stranger. You were handpicked by my own sister. You were a safe man with whom Ronnie was trying to set me up. So I figured I would begin to have sex with you regularly, just so I could fantasize about Tommy again. But when you held me in front of my parents' house, and when you cried with me, things changed – in a very dramatic way. I did not understand it at first, but as we ran together and ate raisin bran at the diner and went to the beach and became friends – simply friends, without any sex to complicate things – it was sort of nice in a way I hadn't anticipated. I just liked being around you, even if we didn't say anything. I knew I had feelings for you when I began to cringe inwardly at the sound of Nikki's name. It was obvious you were not ever going to get back together with your wife, so I called your mom and got her drunk at the local bar, and she told me everything about you. You didn't see me, but I was in the driveway when she came home so loaded and you helped her into the house. I drove her home that night. After what happened to Tommy, I don't drink at all. We've been meeting every week since, Pat. She needed a friend; she needed to talk to someone about your father. So I listened. At first I was just using her for information, but now we are sort of girlfriends. She did not know about the letters I was writing as Nikki, and she was really mad at me for a while after the Christmas episode, but she knows about this letter obviously, since she delivered it for me. She is a very strong and forgiving woman, Pat. She deserves better than your father, and maybe you deserve better than me. Life is f unny like that. I wrote those letters hoping to provide you with the closure I somehow found through casual sex after Tommy died. Please know I began the liaison scheme only after I was certain that Nikki would never agree to talk to you again under any circumstance. Maybe you will never be able to forgive me, but I wanted you to know I had the best intentions – and I still love you in my own fucked-up way. I miss you, Pat. I really do. Can we at least be friends? Tiffany

To what extent do the two texts present similar or different criticisms of society?

Both No Sugar, written by Jack Davis and Once Were Warriors directed by Lee Tamohori use a number of different themes to present extensively similar criticisms of society. In the play No Sugar, an indigenous family depicts the injustices and problems they face with both the white man and themselves. Also, in Once Were Warriors we see a Maori family struggling to cope with the harsh life they face in their run-down community overrun by gangs and crime. In both texts, the audience sees colonialist policies in extreme poverty, substance abuse, racism, violence and the effects of disintegration of the family. A major theme that is brought to light in Once Were Warriors and No Sugar is the effects of colonialism. In both texts, the characters endure racist policies and are exploited by the â€Å"white man laws† and as a consequence left disenfranchised from society. In Once Were Warriors, Tamohori contrasts Jake against Beth to illustrate how the loss of one's pride and tradition ultimately leads to their downfall. Jake is described as a â€Å"slave† and is clearly a victim to the laws imposed from the white invasion, opposed to Beth, who knows of a better life, involving family culture and traditions rather than crime and alcoholism; the two key reasons leading to Jake's demise. Similarly, in No Sugar, we see the effects of colonialism take its toll on the characters. Due to the paternalistic role cast upon the aboriginal people by those in authority such as A. O. Neville and the Chief Protector of Aboriginals, the characters resort to crime to get by. This is apparent when Jimmy is sent away to jail for months on end and being denied any communications between him and his family, brought about by the controlling laws cast upon the indigenous population at the time. Similarly, both texts present this criticism of society through demonstrating the affect these incidents have on all the characters. In No Sugar and Once Were Warriors, another criticism of the dominant society is its capacity to marginalize its native people. In No Sugar, this is evident in the majority of times the Aboriginal family is in contact with the local Sergeant and Constable. Jimmy: â€Å"Six months! I can do that on me fuckin' head. † Sergeant: â€Å"I'll see what I can do. † In this scene, Jimmy and Sam have been jailed in the Northam police station. This scene, and many like it which follow, demonstrates the injustices these characters face, and the paternalistic behavior of the government at the time. For this reason, the characters in the book were separated from their families and incarcerated for months and in that time, endured racist treatment while in prison. Comparable to this, Once Were Warriors depicts a racist society in a similar manner and through similar circumstances. The Heke family reside in a slum on the outskirts of the city. The family occupies a run-down government funded house in a suburb where crime and conflict with the police is an everyday occurrence. Despite being in a similar situation to the characters in No Sugar, due to the time difference, the family in Once Were Warriors are looked after by a better understanding government and legal system. This is evident when we see the son Mark in conflict with the law for misbehavior, consequently being sent to a youth camp. Unlike No Sugar, the camp that Mark is sent to proves to be a positive change in his life, one which ultimately alters the trends of his own family when he returns home. Compared to No Sugar, the racist treatment of these characters essentially produces a negative impact within their own lives and the lives of their families. Nevertheless, the creators purposely portray this theme in both texts to highlight it within our society, and in effect, through analyzing both texts the audience can notice significant gains that the characters from Once Were Warriors benefit from while the characters from No Sugar suffer as a result. Exposed in both texts, as a result of lost pride, was the theme of substance abuse, namely alcohol. Within the two texts, alcohol abuse plays a significant role in only the lives of the men, ultimately determining their behavior towards the others. In Once Were Warriors, the presence of alcohol is apparent in the majority of scenes. The main character, Jake ‘The Muss', relies on alcohol as a coping mechanism for the harsh, marginalized life he leads, but the affect it has on him and his family proves to be detrimental. A decisive example of this is the night that Gracie commits suicide subsequent to her uncle raping her. Throughout the whole incident, Jake remains drunk and seems to be impassive to his daughter's death. The next morning we see Jake, still with a bottle in his hand drinking away his troubles. No Sugar also portrays the theme of alcohol abuse; Jimmy Munday and Sam Millimurra, his brother-in-law have been drinking heavily and they begin to fight in a wild lumbering manner. The scene has a humorous tone – especially when Gran breaks up the fight, however on a serious level it expresses the problems the characters face because of their isolation and impotence. In both texts, the theme of substance abuse is displayed intentionally to further depict the despair and disempowerment the characters face and the way in which their lives and the people around them are impacted upon. Highlighted in both texts was the way the indigenous characters, who were once proud people, become lowered to impotent helpless figures. As we see in Once Were Warriors, the unstable Jake used his fist to release the pain, anguish and frustration he feels; as Jakes wife Beth states, â€Å"You're still a slave, to your fist, to your drink, to yourself. Likewise, in No Sugar, Jimmy is portrayed as a bitter character suffering the effect of extensive alcohol abuse. In both texts, the creators include these characters to demonstrate the frustrating effects of life without power and what its like to be entirely disenfranchised from society as well as their traditional ways and culture. Throughout No Sugar and Once Were Warriors, Tamohori and Davis recognize the ‘mediator' role that the women played – Beth and Gracie in Once Were Warriors and Gran and Milly in No Sugar. A significant scene which reveals Beth's function in the family occurs when she comforts Gracie – the only gentle soul amongst the tough family, subsequent to being physically abused by Jake. â€Å"[It] won't be easy, just gotta find the money†¦ we will, I promise†. This demonstrates the reassuring attitude Beth, as a mother, has towards her children despite the severe events that occur in the family, as well as the significant role in keeping her family strong and together. In the same way, Gran displays the sense of comfort and conciliation in No Sugar. Unlike Beth, Gran produces this sense of comfort through constantly resorting to their own people's traditional songs. The existence of Gran is paramount to the survival of those around her in that through her knowledge of traditional Aboriginal ways, she brings comfort, support and hope of a better future at times where something so out of reach seems possible. The societies shown in Once Were Warriors and No Sugar are similarly presented in a critical light as both Davis and Tamohori demonstrate the conditions brought about by the effects of colonialism. Both texts also depict the power of women, and the hope they provide the surrounding characters for a better future. Both texts, intentionally, finish in a similar way in that the audience are instilled with a sense of hope that through reconnection with their heritage the characters may escape the control of the oppressive society they inhabit.

Thinking and Decision Making Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Thinking and Decision Making Paper - Essay Example The employees who are known to possess the creative thinking abilities within their personalities are usually seen in a very positive way and they are given the room to exploit their strengths, not only for their own good but also for the sake of the long term success of the organization itself. Creative thinking thus opens many avenues for success and growth within the domains of the organizational reigns in an abundant capacity. Creative thinking does not usually depend a great deal on the way scientific and logical thinking models operate. It distances itself from the same and relies more on the creative input, brought forward by the artist (the employee). (Halpem, 1997) Thus creative thinking style is not possessed by each one of the employees within the workplace. It is a very sought after skill and one that is innate right from the onset of one’s recruitment within an office place setting. Creative thinking is usually rewarded in a very handsome fashion, with salary incentives, perks, medical allowances and so on. The creative artists or employees are seen in a much respected way and are given the dignity that they so richly

IT in US healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

IT in US healthcare - Essay Example A potential answer to this question is the slow pace of adoption of IT in the healthcare industry. In the last few decades, the benefits of IT in the manufacturing and service industries have been well demonstrated. These benefits can just as easily be implemented in the healthcare area. For example, much of current record keeping is paper based, disorganized, and often illegible. Thus, records can be easily lost or scattered, and are poorly linked together. This disorganization can cause up to 80% of errors in healthcare administration. Clearly, the information needs to be organized architecturally according to a designed framework while keeping in mind the privacy of health records. Automation and streamlining of information storage would enable the seamless flow of information and would contribute to overall cost reduction. Cost containment is one of the key drivers of this kind of change, particularly in light of the growing elderly population combined with a shortage of physicia ns and nurses. The rising proportion of healthcare costs with respect to the gross domestic product (GDP) is an important indicator of the significance of this issue. In 1960, healthcare costs amounted to 7.2% of the GDP. By 2005 they have escalated to 16% of GDP and are predicted to continue to grow to 20% by 2015. The increase in the average human lifespan has been made possible by the advancement in medical science and technologies. Despite the high cost, the availability of healthcare in America is dismal compared to other developed nations where the average healthcare cost is typically around 8% of the GDP [13]. Today, forty-four million Americans cannot afford health insurance because health-care costs have risen four times faster than wages [14]. Many hospitals and vital health care services are out of reach for needy Americans. The United States will spend 10 trillion dollars in health-care in next 10 years, which will have a significant negative impact on the economy. Worse, government programs such as Medicare do not cover the hospital costs. These unpaid expenses add to the cost private insurance for individuals and employers. To be sure, the cost of health-care must be addressed on a top priority. The inherent efficiency of the system is perhaps the leading culprit in producing these consequences. Condition of Current Practices is Critical Utilization of information technology in the healthcare industry has been minimal, and its adoption slow. Although health insurance is among the leading industries, 90% of the transactions within this $30 billion industry are performed by phone, fax or mail. Fewer than 5% of prescriptions from U.S. physicians are managed electronically. Most healthcare organizations spend only 1% to 4 % of their revenues on IT. This is half the amount that organizations in other leading industries spend on their IT infrastructures [3]. Clearly, more effort must be directed toward facilitating the implementation of IT in the healthcare field by addressing the barriers to its adoption. Some hospitals have already started to capitalize on this opportunity by using electronic medical record keeping technologies, and hospital information systems (HISs). For example, Kaiser Permanante allows its users to book and cancel appointments on-line. Such initiatives must be expanded in order to fully realize the benefits of IT for reducing the cost of healthcare. Indeed, they hold great promise for making

How is Let America be America applicable to today's America Essay

How is Let America be America applicable to today's America - Essay Example He is saddened that America has lost it way and says that he never felt true freedom in the USA. He appeals to the reader and indeed the general public at large that they should work to bring back America to the status of the leader of the free world. This poem was written in 1935 in the Great Depression Era (Rampersad, 4) but is relevant even today. Explanation This selection consists of two stanzas. In the first stanza (Hughes, 725) the poet says that the USA should revert to the ideal of being a dream fulfilled, as the leader of the free world. Just like the part of mankind searching for freedom from oppression, America should be a pioneer in ensuring that people enjoy freedom from oppression and enjoy civil liberties as their basic right, across the civilized world. This is a democratic ideal and America has been known to champion the cause of democracy across the world in the present times. It regards democracy to be the best system of Government because the people elect their o wn representatives who then are entrusted with the duty of serving the people in the most effective and efficient manner.

Qualitative Market Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Qualitative Market Research - Essay Example The researcher aims to develop primary research and gain first hand information from the customers for the launch of Kit Kat chocolate slab. Hence, employed in this research are two techniques of primary research to update perception of Kit Kat among chocolate eaters. Findings of the primary data have been presented. In addition the researcher has discussed in detail the various aspects of the research techniques employed. Researcher has also shed light on other techniques (that have not been employed due to resource constraint) identifying aspects that could have been explored based on employment of other techniques. Research Method 1- PRIMARY RESEACH Among two broad categorization of research is primary and secondary research. Primary research refers to research methodology with analysis and fact finding from data that has been collected for the first time and has not been through application of any techniques before (Glass, 1976). Among many techniques designed for primary researc h, two that have employed in this research are individual interview and focus group interviews. Both techniques have been employed face to face. Interview method of data collection refers to oral and verbal response to oral and verbal queries. ... The other method of unstructured interview provides interviewee with freedom to response but increases deviations resulting difficulty in comparing responses (Sekaran, 2006). 1.1.1- EFFECTIVENESS Effectiveness of personal interviews is dependent on the level of contribution from both sides; i.e. interviewee and interviewer. Interviewer shall provide comfortable environment providing ease to interviewee to openly and comfortably present his/ her views. Moreover, interviewer possessing dominant attitude affect the effectiveness of overall methods. Interviewee is usually asked for prior consent and hence, shall be true in information provision. 1.2- FOCUS GROUP SESSION Focused group discussion is conducted to explore responses of individuals' to any existing products, concept or ideas. It is based with degree of formal discussion usually among group of 6 to 8 participants. Participants are directed by moderator towards point of discussion acting as a psycho-therapist. During discussion moderator avoids reflecting any of personal views and encourages participants to provide increased response. This format also is generally initiated by moderator; however, rigidness of the order of question is somewhat relaxed in this format. 1.2.1- EFFECTIVENESS Effective focused discussion can be achieved with moderator playing role in true spirit, avoiding taking side of either participants and encouraging entire group to participate almost equally. Moreover, participants must also maintain to present their view than dominating the group. Effectiveness of the focused discussion can also be achieved with carrying discussion in well defined flow: initially warming up participants with thoughts; exploring important

Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War Essay

Colonialism in American Literature of Vietnam War - Essay Example The involvement of the American government in the war judged by critics slash historians as taking the nature of colonialism renders the bulk of American literature on Vietnam War as largely colonial in structure, content and focus. Michael Adas in his article, "A Colonial War: The United States' Occupation of Vietnam" argues and historically proves the colonial inclination and interest of America in Vietnam claiming that America veered away from its earlier anti-colonial position under Roosevelt then proceeded to support the continuance of French colonization in Indochina ( 29). In Adas's own words: In the next decade, three American presidents presided over an escalating political and military involvement in Indochina that had most of the main attributes of colonial interventions in the preceding centuries of European global domination. Defying the decidedly anti-colonial rhetoric of the Roosevelt years, they committed the United States to a massive colonial occupation in a postcolonial era. (29) Since the Vietnam War is the result of America's efforts to participate in the colonization endeavor of Europe in an era of decolonization, the subsequent literary product is essentially and categorically colonial. A colonial literature tackles and examines the issues arising from Imperialism such as the moral dilemma(s) of the colonizer or the imperialist as shown in the essay "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell. In the essay Orwell recalled how as a sub-divisional officer of the town he shot an elephant in Burma to earn the approval of the Burmese and to "avoid looking a fool" (Hunt & Perry 295) even though he thought it wrong to deliberately kill the beast. George Orwell's personal essay demonstrates how an imperialist system morally confuses the colonizer or the member of the colonizing nation who believes that imperialism is "an evil thing" (289) but on the one hand because of a sense of nationality is forced to play his or her part as the oppressor. One of the defining characteristics and key quality of a colonial literature is its denunciation of colonialism and its negative impact both on the colonizer and the colonized. It is highly critical of the system of imperialism, noting the impartiality in the relationship between the oppressor and the oppressed with the oppressor receiving most of the gains while the other party suffers and gets traumatized. Colonial literature discusses the social, economic and psychological implications or consequences of colonialist experience. In structure, colonial literature is "characterized by a strong sense of ambiguity: uncertainty about the morality of imperialism about the nature of humanity, and about the continuing viability of European civilization" ("Colonial Literature" 1). Through its form, colonial literature exposes the contradictions, paradoxes and ironies of imperialism. American Literature of Vietnam War is Colonial in theme, content, structure and focus Novels A.) Robert Olen Butler (The Alleys of Eden) 1981 This fictional narrative centers on Clifford Wilkes, an American soldier trapped in Saigon at the closing of the Vietnam War. In part, it is a romantic tale with Lanh, a Vietnamese lass, serving as his love interest and partner for nearly five years. Clifford's love for Lanh is keeping him from seeking refuge in the United

Research Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Research Proposal - Essay Example Pursuance of green sources of energy led Nevada and other neighbouring state to establish Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) regulation, which mandated the increase production of energy from renewable sources. For the state of Nevada, the RPS regulation required all energy producers to gradually increase the production of energy from renewable sources to 25% by the year 2025 out of which 6% must come from solar energy sources by the year 2016 (NECD, 2011). The strong emphasis on the use of solar energy is representative of the fact that Nevada is one of the best places in the United States where solar energy can be used. The purpose of this study is to establish the potential of Nevada's solar energy and its suitability as a source of energy for fulfilling current and future energy needs of Nevada in comparison with other alternative sources of energy. Statement of the Problem As the state of Nevada have been actively pursuing the strategy of using more renewable resources then conve ntional ones, research has been done measuring the total potential of each renewable resource in the state of Nevada. ... This research will also include a comparative study of suitability of other renewable resource and how they compare with solar energy. The purpose of the Study The primary purpose of this project is to find out if solar energy resource in Nevada State is sufficient enough to be utilized for energy needs of Nevada. This project will also demonstrate the utility of GIS in carrying out such suitability study. The research will make use of data, maps and images of Nevada available from MapCruzin website as well as other resources. Buffer Analysis will be utilized through ArcGIS software in establishing the suitability of solar energy. Literature Review Nevada is considered one of the most versatile states in the US when it comes to renewable energy. It has excellent a wide range of excellent sites which could be developed for all four renewable resources. At the moment a significant amount of state's energy is generated through renewable resources. This is due to the Renewable Portfolio Standard regulation passed in 2001, according to which 15% of the state's electricity is required to be produced through renewable resources by 2013 which would then eventually rise to 25% by 2025. Among the widely available renewable energy sources that have already been utilized for electricity production are Wind, Solar, Geothermal as well as hydropower (Energy Atlas, 2011). Geothermal Geothermal energy industry is also one of the more mature ones in Nevada, as the state is the second largest user of geothermal energy for electricity production in the US while a total power production of 550 megawatt and an untapped potential of a further 1000 megawatts make it number one in utilization of geothermal energy per capita. Nevada

Investigation of Restaurant Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Investigation of Restaurant Finance - Essay Example The restaurant has to offer high quality dishes as per cuisine menu because they are tested and people have gained trust to them. In this restaurant, range of products will be offered including, POSTRES and DESSERTS, ALA KARTA dishes, PLANTAINS and FRIED TANGS, HOT and cold salads, SANDWICHES’, BEVERAGES among other acceptable dishes as per cuisine menu. Having decided on what type of the restaurant is needed, the remaining part is getting the funds from most effective sources that will facilitate in any way possible to the success of the restaurant. Personal saving – in this, someone needs to think of the idea in quite reasonable time and develop an account of saving towards the venture. The magnitude of saving depends mostly on the size of restaurant one want to start and one will save proportionately towards the venture approximated cost. This type of funding is most convenient because one is assured that the fund is there. One may also save with the intention of getting more finance from a financial institution that offer loans on the basis of saving in the account. One of the challenges of this form of financing is that it may take centuries before one accumulates enough funds to start off the venture. Bank loan- the second option available as a source of fund is acquiring loan at the bank. With bank loans, one can be able to acquire enough capital to start off at age. It also gives one ample time to repay the loan as per agreement. The challenge of this form of finance is that limited to the policy of the bank and in one case or another one may qualify under the policies, one may not be granted the funds. Some limiting factors in this form of finance are needed for a guarantor, the need for collaterals that can be taken to repay the loans and also one may be required to have saved with bank some amount and for a specific time. If one does not meet these entire requirements, automatically one disqualify from getting the

Respond for the video david cole interviews dr. franciszek piper Essay

Respond for the video david cole interviews dr. franciszek piper - Essay Example olocaust is a debatable topic, Russians have always opined that Polish, Ukrainians and Russians suffered most, as their propaganda, post-world war, has little mention of Jews. The other part of story, which this tape reveals, deals with the existence of a huge disinfestations complex, where disease caused by lice was combated, using Zyklon B gas. These facts remain unpublicized along with other major evidences of the period which may not serve the purpose of holocaust glorification. In a way, the above chambers were real gas chambers, but the victims were not the inmates, but lice and other insects. The holocaust story has no definite proof, except the eye witness accounts, which could be exaggerated. For example the gas chambers, where the ultimate sacrilege had taken place did comprise of certain areas that never matched with the description of holocaust. These include the marks on walls and floors, indicating their knocking down. In addition, the holes in the floor suggest bathrooms’ existence at the gas chamber, which was never mentioned in the holocaust story. Cole David & Smith Bradley, Interview Transcript, 1992, â€Å"David Cole Interviews Dr. Franciszek Piper, Director, Auschwitz State Museum’, Retrieved on 9th Dec 2010 from:

Western Governor’s University Essay Example for Free

Western Governor’s University Essay A nurse can exert leadership without occupying a formal leadership position by taking a leadership stance. In the course, Becoming a Leader in Health Care, it describes leadership as an attitude and not just a position (Reinertsen, 2009, p. 2). Leaders take responsibility for problems and look for ways to solve them. The nurse on an interdisciplinary team serves as a leader by acting as a patient advocate and by coordinating with the other team members to work towards a common goal for the patient. The nurse is instrumental in directing the care and communicating the essential issues in the patient’s care to the whole team. Communication is an essential part to the healthcare team. The nurse communicates with all the members of the team the vital information and ensures follow up care is received. This coordination of care and effective communication leads to positive patient outcomes and increased patient satisfaction. Another way the nurse serves as a leader on the interdisciplinary team is by bringing forth process problems and asking for the teams input on how to solve a particular problem. For example, the nurse may identify a problem with a decrease in hand hygiene compliance. The nurse can solicit ideas on how to solve the problem. The nurse may also bring forward some of his or her own ideas to solve the problem like more dispensers outside of each room and visual reminders to staff to do hand hygiene that are not following the procedure to increase hand hygiene compliance. By doing this nurse is acting as a leader by taking responsibility for a problem. The leadership stance is a lets solve it attitude towards problem resolution. (Reinersten, 2009, p. 2). C. Active Involvement It is important for a nurse to be actively involved in the interdisciplinary team because teamwork is essential in effective patient care. One of the first ways a nurse plays a contributing role on the interdisciplinary team is by communication of relevant information. A structured communication tool called SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation) is used to relay relevant information between caregivers. An example would be a nurse communicating to a doctor regarding a patient with chest pain. Situation: â€Å"Mr. Clark is complaining of chest pain radiating down both arm.† Background: â€Å"He has a history of cardiovascular disease and has taken 3 sublingual Nitroglycerin without relief.† Assessment: â€Å"He is short of breath and diaphoretic.† Recommendation: â€Å"Can we institute the Acute Coronary Syndrome Orders until you get here? How long will it be till you arrive?† A second example of the way a nurse contributes to the interdisciplinary team is through the coordination of care. If the patient needs a bedside procedure such as a bronchoscopy the nurse needs to coordinate with the physician to provide informed consent and the equipment technician to set-up the equipment for the procedure. The nurse must coordinate with the pharmacist to obtain medications that will be needed for the procedure and the respiratory therapist to assist with the procedure. Lastly, the nurse must coordinate with the lab and radiology to do any post-procedure labs and x-rays. C1. Contributing Position The nurse can take an active contributing role with an interdisciplinary team by working with the other disciplines. The nurse collects data for the dietician such as height and weight, monitors fluid intake and output and diet intake. The nurse does a thorough assessment of the gastrointestinal system and monitors bowel movements. This information enables the dietician to better plan the nutritional needs of the patient. This collaboration leads to improved outcomes for the patient. A second way that the nurse can take a contributing role is by making sure core measures are done for specific diagnoses. These evidenced based measures guide the care and contribute to better outcomes for the patient. D. Culture of Safety The Institute of Healthcare Improvement defines the four characteristics of a culture of safety as psychological safety, active leadership, transparency and fairness (â€Å"Culture of Safety†, 2011). Psychological safety pertains to a safe environment where people feel comfortable in speaking up about a concern. For example, if site verification is done on an impending surgery and one member of the team feels there might be an error the person can feel safe to speak up and question without fear of being penalized or berated for speaking up. This promotes an environment where learning is increased and the risk of future harm to patients is decreased. Active leadership in a culture of safety is using effective leadership. Effective leaders set a positive tone in the environment, share information and invite others to share, call people by their names to create familiarity, and are approachable. An example of this would be surgeon who is about to perform surgery, he speaks to the team members using their first names, explains the case to the them, and asks the team to speak up if there is questions during the case. The surgeon maintains a positive attitude and the team feels that they can approach him with concerns. Transparency is the willingness of an organization to investigate errors that have occurred and share the information so that others can learn from the mistake. If transparency does not exist it can allow errors to continue to occur and risk patient safety. An example would be a wrong site surgery, if an important check was omitted and not reported the error could occur again. Transparency allows the organization to fix process problems that may have precipitated the error and help find solutions to prevent future errors. Lastly, fairness is another component to the culture of safety. Fairness relates to the fact that people are responsible for their behavior but the important distinction is the fact that some errors are made due to flawed systems and some errors are made due to poor decision-making. The three concepts of human behavior that need to be determined before accountability can be decided are human error where the nurse just inadvertently made a slip or lapse by forgetting to turn back on the tube feeding after giving medication. When the nurse creates a shortcut in a policy, such as running potassium faster than the recommended 10 meq/hr, is considered at risk behavior. Reckless behavior would be a nurse taking narcotic medication prescribed for a patient while on duty (â€Å"Culture of Safety†, 2011). Culture of safety is an important a spect to making patient care safer. References Reinertsen, J. (2009). Becoming a leader in health care. Retrieved from http://www.ihi.org/offerings/IHIOpenSchool/Courses/Pages/default.aspx PS 106: Introduction to the Culture of Safety. (2011). Retrieved from www.ihi.org/offerings/IHIOpenSchool/Courses/Pages/default.aspx

Data Warehousing: Benefits and Implications

Data Warehousing: Benefits and Implications WHAT IS DATA WAREHOUSING? The term data warehouse or data warehousing was first coined by Bill Innon in the year 1990 which was defined as a â€Å"warehouse which is subject-oriented, integrated, time variant and non-volatile collection of data in support of managements decision making process†. When referring to data warehousing as subject oriented, it simply means that the process is giving information about a particular subject rather than the details regarding the on-going operations of the company. Moreover, when data warehousing was referred to as integrated it means that the data or information which are gathered from a number of sources are then all gathered to synthesize a coherent whole. On the other hand, data warehousing being time variant simply means that the data available were identified on a particular period. Lastly, data warehousing as being non-volatile means that the data is stable and when a new data is added to the system, the old data are never removed, instead they just remain there and this enables the organization to be able to give the management consistency in their business (Inmon, 1995). In the existence of modern times with the advent of technological advancements inevitably affecting the businesses in major ways, there has also been a development and emergence of new measures, practices, and techniques which used technology to be able to provide an unwavering solution to the problems in the organization with regards to the level and kind of information that the organization needs to be able to survive and prosper amidst the increasing competition in the market. Undeniably, one of this techniques and practices refers to the emergence of data warehousing as a tool helping todays businesses to be able to manage competition and the turbulent economic condition. The birth f the concept of data warehousing can be contributed to various researches and studies which were conducted in the past to provide various organizations with the means of getting information in a manner which is efficient, effective, and flexible. The data warehousing which is known today among the cor porate practice is not what it was when it started almost two decades ago. The practice of data warehousing nowadays is a result of the experiences and technologies in the last twenty years. Bill Inmon and Ralph Kimball are two of the heavyweights when it comes to data warehousing. However, although their names are known in this field, these two scholars have two varying views with regards to data warehousing. The paradigm which was illustrated by Inmon holds that the data warehouse forms only a part of the general business intelligence system. On the other hand, the paradigm of Kimball assumes that the data warehouse is a conglomerate of all the data in the organization. Other researchers assume that there is no right or wrong theories among the two assumptions from the two heavy weighs in data warehousing. However, most of them support the notion of Kimballs paradigm. They believe that most data warehouses started only as efforts from various departments starting on what they call as data marts until they develop and evolve to become a data warehouse. Furthermore, according to Manning (1999), data warehousing ahs been heralded as one of the sustainable solutions to management information and dilemma and such also provide the organization and environment which entails various benefits if they are practiced in the right way and if the perspectives are directed towards the right goal. The process of data warehousing is said to have the intention of providing an architectural model which can best provide an illustration for the flow data from the systems regarding the operation to the decision support environments. However, according to the same author, one problems stems down from the data warehousing technique that is such a system is said to be too expensive to be affordable by some organizations or businesses. It is undeniable that data warehousing continues to attract interest, it is also undeniable that many projects are failing to deliver the expectations from what they are supposed to deliver and they still prove to be too hi gh of accost to be handled by some businesses. However, to be able to justify this relatively high cost, it has been said that organizations should look at the long term benefit of the warehouse rather than simply looking at the short term benefits that such can offer. Moreover, data warehousing is also said to be designed â€Å"to be able to support ad hoc data analysis, inquiry and reporting by end-users, without programmers, interactively and online† (Heise, n.d.). The author also mentioned some key factors which can make the data warehousing practice a success among different organizations. According to him one of the key ingredients to the success of the practice is to make the management, especially the higher management, aware and conscious of all the benefits which this tool entails and what can data warehousing do to improve the performance of the business. The author as a key to the success of data warehousing is choosing the right people to make it happen. By choosing the right people, the author does not disregard the fact that the contribution of individual minds should be recognized to form a synthesis and a greater whole. Training strategy, the right structure or architecture, a sustainable mission statement, showing early ben efits, ensuring scalability, understanding how important is the quality of data, and using only proven and effective methodology are some of the other key ingredients to make data warehousing a successful practice. THE BENEFITS OF DATA WAREHOUSING David Heise was able to identify some of the benefits of data warehousing. According to him some of the benefits that it offers include the fact that it has a relative orientation on the subject area, it has the ability to provide an integration of data which were retrieved from diverse and multiple sources, it allows data analysis from time to time, it adds ad hoc inquiry and reporting, it provides decision makers with the capabilities to analyze, it relieves the IT from information development, it ahs the ability to provide better performance for complex analytical queries, it relieves the burden of processing databases which are based on transactions, it allows a planning process that is perpetual and continuous, and lastly, it converts corporate data to make them strategic information which can help them in planning for a better performance of the organization. Another benefit of data warehousing is that it enables and it helps different organizations in the strategic decision making resulting into formulation of strategic decisions which are geared towards enabling a better business performance and yielding better results. It can be assumed that most data warehousing practices are not intended for strategic decision making because they are normally used for post monitoring of decisions regarding to how effective they are. Nonetheless, it should not be also disregarded that data warehousing, according to LGI Systems Incorporated, can also be sued for strategic decision making and can be used profitably. Another benefit of data warehousing is that it enables the user to have unlimited access to a relatively very large amount of enterprise information which can be used to potentially solve a large amount of enterprise problems which can even be used to increase the profitability of the company. A very well-designed data warehouse can yield a greater return-on-investment with unlimited benefits nad the ability to better assess the risks associated with the organization. SAPs DATA WAREHOUSING SOLUTION For most of the companies which are implementing SAP, the next logical step for them would be the consideration of data warehousing as a useful tool and technique in the conduct of their business performance. In some situations, there are companies which use data warehousing as being parallel with the SAP transaction system. SAP has usually been regarded among organizations as their most important reference for transaction data. With that, it can be regarded that data warehousing, when coupled with SAP, can provide a greater solution and better transaction records (Khan, 2005). It has been said that the main objective of data warehousing is the ability to be able to analyze data from a variety of sources which can support businesses when they a making decisions. BW or the Business Information Warehouse is regarded as being the SAPs data warehousing solution. BW refers to an end-to-end data warehousing solution which uses Sap technologies which are already in existence. It is composed of various layers and types of information which are essential in building the BW architecture and in executing data warehousing solutions which will be helpful in the companys business performance. SAPs data warehousing solution can also be helpful in other aspects such as quotation processing, order processing, delivery, analysis and comparison and administrative and management functions (Fu Fu, 2003). The Business Information Warehouse, being SAPs data warehousing solution, has been developed specifically for business to be able to potentially analyze and gather various types and kinds of relevant information which will provide statistical information about related transaction in the best ways possible. The BW is helping the knowledge workers to quickly mine and gathers the data of the business; it is also equipped with pre-configured information on reports and models. COMPANIES USING DATA WAREHOUSING AND ITS IMPLICATIONS An example of a known company which uses data warehousing is WalMart. Being the worlds largest retailer, many say that the company should be also the organization with the largest data warehouse which is going to serve as the database of its inventory and all transactions related to their business performance. The data warehousing also has a big implication on the business of WalMart. According to the management of the worlds largest retailer, more than any other purpose, their data warehouse is helping them to be able to make decision support systems between the company and its various suppliers. Aside from that, another implication of data warehousing on WalMart is that it enables the suppliers to be able to access a large amount of online information and data which will be helpful with their suppliers in terms of improving their operations. One example of companies using and reaping the benefits of adapt warehousing will be various pharmaceutical companies, or in a larger scale, the general healthcare industry. For most of the pharmaceutical businesses which are under operation, they were able to acknowledge the fact that they lack a sustainable focus on their promotional practices, resulting to diffused sales efforts. With that, they regard that data warehousing technique has a big implication in their business because they regard such as the best medicine and remedy for the aforementioned problem. They are even using data warehousing to be able to attain a sustainable competitive edge against other businesses in the industry. In the case of pharmaceutical companies, it has an implication also in the marketing department. Data warehousing helps the marketing department, through various information contained, to come up with promotional and marketing activities which can yield them maximum results. Moreover, data wareho using also has an implication on the human resources department of the organizations because they can also help in the effective allocation of people and resources (Desai, 1999). REFERENCES: Desai, Amit; For Pharmaceutical Companies, A Data Warehouse Can be Just What the Doctor Ordered Fu, Henry, Fu, Biao; SAP BW: A Steb by Step Guide; 2003 Heise, David; What is Data Warehousing; n.d. Inmon, W. H.; What is a Data Warehouse?; Prism; 1995 Khan, Arshad; SAP and BW Data Warehousing: How to Plan and Implement; 2005 LGI Systems Incorporated; The Data Warehousing Information Center; Accessed on April 9, 2010 from http://www.dwinfocenter.org/strategy.html Manning, Ian; Data Warehousing; Adopting an Architectural View and Maximizing Cost Benefits; 1999

Economy and political factors in Mexico

Economy and political factors in Mexico Mexico located in the southern portion o f North America, covers a period of more than two millennia. It covers area of 1,972,550 sq. km. (761,600 sq. mi.). Its estimated population is 112,468,855. Its language is Spanish and ethnic languages.   According to some estimates, the population of the area around Mexico City is nearly 22 million, which would make it the largest concentration of population in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Mexico City(Distrito Federal). Mexico is known for its fashion, socializing, sports and recreation, eating and recipies. PESTLE ANALYSIS FOR MEXICO: The PESTLE Analysis report provides a holistic view of the country from historical, current and future perspectives. Insightful analysis on critical current and future issues are presented through detailed SCPT (strengths, challenges, prospects and threats/risks) analysis for each of the PESTLE segments. In addition, the PESTLE segments are supplemented with relevant quantitative data to support trend analysis.   POLITICAL FACTORS: Political section provides understanding about the political system and key figures relevant to business in the country and governance indicators. Here The government as referring to the federal government. It is the federal government that passes and enforces legislation concerning the entire country. Actions by the federal government affect a large number of firms and are consistent across state boundaries. Environmental analysis, however, should not overlook actions by both state and local governments. Regulations concerning many business practices differ between states. Tax rates vary widely. Laws regarding unionization (e.g., right-to-work states) and treatment of homosexual workers differ between states. Local governments have the potential to affect business practices significantly. Some local governments may be willing to provide incentives to attract business to the area. Some may build industrial parks, service roads, and provide low-interest bonds to encourage a desirable business to move into the community. President Calderons National Action Party currently is the largest party in the Senate but lost its majority in the Chamber of Deputies in the July 2009 elections. The next national elections-for the president, all 128 seats in the Senate, and all 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies-will take place in July 2012. In 2010, elections were held in 14 of Mexicos 31 states.   Poverty in Mexico is caused by individual, geographic and political factors. Main cause of poverty is due to political economy of the country. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank-prescribed structural adjustment policies have been applied in Mexico because the government doesnt carry out enough policies to encourage successful development. They cannot, for these international institutions lend money to Mexico on the condition that the nation open up its economy and cut social expenditures to repay the loans. The IMF and World Bank programs are supposed to reduce poverty, but actually they are increasing it. Therefore, Mexico needs a new political economy designed by Mexican economists and politicians, people who are committed to Mexico and to the future of its society.WTO Membership of trading partners increases the political costs of supplying administered protection. ECONOMIC FACTORS: GDP (official exchange rate): $1 trillion (2010 est.); $876 billion (2009); $1.088 trillion (2008). Per capita GDP (PPP method): $13,542 (2009 est.); $14,534 (2008). Annual real GDP growth: 4.5% (2010 est.); -6.5% (2009); 1.3% (2008); 3.3% (2007); 5.1% (2006); 3.2% (2005). Inflation rate: 4.6% (2010 est.); 3.57% (2009); 6.5% (2008); 3.8% (2007); 3.4% (2006); 3.3% (2005). Natural resources: Petroleum, silver, copper, gold, lead, zinc, natural gas, timber. Agriculture (4% of GDP):  Productscorn, wheat, soybeans, rice, beans, cotton, coffee, fruit, tomatoes, beef, poultry, dairy products, wood products. Industry (31% of GDP):  Typesfood and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables. Services (64% of GDP):  Typescommerce and tourism, financial services, transportation and communications. Trade (goods):  Exports  (2009)$230 billion f.o.b.  Imports  (2009)$234 billion f.o.b.  Exports to U.S.  (2009)$185 billion (80% of total).  Imports from U.S.  (2009)$112 billion (48% of total).  Major marketsU.S., EU (5% of total), Canada (3.6% of total). Economic section deals with the economic story of a country that provides a balanced assessment of significant macro-economic issues. Economic factors refer to the character and direction of the economic system within which the firm operates. Economic factors include the balance of payments, the state of the business cycle, the distribution of income within the population, and governmental monetary and fiscal policies. The impact of economic factors may also differ between industries. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Mexico for 2009 was $14.4 billion, down 51% from the previous year.  The Mexican Government estimate of FDI for 2010 is $15 billion to $20 billion. Mexico is classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income country. Poverty is widespread around 44% of the population lives below the poverty line and high rates of economic growth are needed to create legitimate economic opportunities for new entrants to the work force. The Mexican economy in 2009 experienced its deepest recession since the 1930s. Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 6.5%, driven by weaker exports to the United States; lower remittances and investment from abroad; a decline in oil revenues; and the impact of H1N1 influenza on tourism. Mexico is a major recipient of remittances, sent mostly from Mexicans in the United States. Remittances average around U.S. $21 billion per year, and are the countrys second-largest source of foreign currency, after oil. Most remittances are used for immediate consumptionfood, housing, health care, educationbut some collective remittances, sent from a U.S. community of migrants to their community of origin, are used for shared projects and infrastructure improvements. Mexico has grown with an annual average rate of 4%, even with the changes from an inward-looking developing economic strategy towards a more open economy with a far-reaching trade liberalization program. Mexico is the United States second-largest export market and third-largest trading partner. Top U.S. exports to Mexico include electronic equipment, motor vehicle parts, and chemicals. Trade matters are generally settled through direct negotiations between the two countries or addressed via World Trade Organization (WTO) or North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) formal dispute settlement procedures. The most significant areas of friction involve agricultural products as well as cross-border trucking. Mexico is an active and constructive member of the World Trade Organization, the G-20, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Mexican Government and many businesses support a Free Trade Area of the Americas. SOCIAL FACTORS: Social section enables understanding of customer demographics through income distribution, rural-urban segmentation and centres of affluence, healthcare and educational scenario. Mexico is the most populous Spanish-speaking country in the world and the second most-populous country in Latin America after Portuguese-speaking Brazil. About 76% of the people live in urban areas. Many Mexicans emigrate from rural areas that lack job opportunitiessuch as the underdeveloped southern states and the crowded central plateauto the industrialized urban centers and the developing areas along the U.S.-Mexico border. According to some estimates, the population of the area around Mexico City is nearly 22 million, which would make it the largest concentration of population in the Western Hemisphere. Cities bordering on the United Statessuch as Tijuana and Ciudad Juarezand cities in the interiorsuch as Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Pueblahave undergone sharp rises in population in recent years. The sociocultural dimensions of the environment consist of customs, lifestyles, and values that characterize the society in which the firm operates. Socio-cultural components of the environment influence the ability of the firm to obtain resources, make its goods and services, and function within the society. Sociocultural factors include anything within the context of society that has the potential to affect an organization. Population demographics, rising educational levels, norms and values, and attitudes toward social responsibility are examples of sociocultural variables. Mexico has made great strides in improving access to education and literacy rates over the past few decades. According to a 2006 World Bank report, enrollment at the primary level is nearly universal, and more children are completing primary education. The average number of years of schooling for the population 15 years old and over was around 8 years during the 2004-2005 school year, a marked improvement on a decade earlierwhen it was 6.8 yearsbut low compared with other Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS: Technological section provides strategic information on technology and telecom, technological laws and policies, technological gaps, patents and opportunity sectors in the country. Cooperation between the United States and Mexico along the 2,000-mile common border includes state and local problem-solving mechanisms; transportation planning; and institutions to address resource, environment, and health issues. Technology can change the lifestyle and buying patterns of consumers. Recent developments in the field of microcomputers have dramatically expanded the potential customer base and created innumerable opportunities for businesses to engage in business via Internet. Whereas computers were traditionally used only by large organizations to handle data processing needs, personal computers are commonly used by smaller firms and individuals for uses not even imagined fifteen years ago. Similarly, new developments in technology led to a reduction in prices for computers and expanded the potential market. Lower prices allow computers to be marketed to the general public rather than to business, scientific, and professional users-the initial market. Technology also changes production processes. The introduction of products based on new technology often requires new production techniques. New production technology may alter production processes. There is little doubt that technology represents both potential threats and potential opportunities for established products. Products with relatively complex or new technology are often introduced while the technology is being refined, making it hard for firms to assess their market potential. When ballpoint pens were first introduced, they leaked, skipped, and left large blotches of ink on the writing surface. Fountain pen manufacturers believed that the new technology was not a threat to existing products and did not attempt to produce ball-point pens until substantial market share had been lost. Another technology, the electric razor, has yet to totally replace the blade for shaving purposes. Perhaps the difference is that the manufacturers of blades have innovated by adding new features to retain customers. Manufacturers of fountain pens did not attempt to innovate until the ballpoint pen was well established. It is quite difficult to predict the impact of a new technology on an existing product. Still, the need to monitor the environment for new technological developments is obvious. Attention must also be given to developments in industries that are not direct competitors, since new technology developed in one industry may impact companies and organizations in others. LEGAL FACTORS: Legal section provides information about the legal structure, corporate laws, laws to start a new business and the tax regime. Legal dimension of the general environment also affects business activity. The philosophy of the political parties in power influences business practices. The legal environment serves to define what organizations can and cannot do at a particular point in time. The legal environment facing organizations is becoming more complex and affecting businesses more directly. It has become increasingly difficult for businesses to take action without encountering a law, regulation, or legal problem. A very brief listing of significant laws that affect business would include legislation in the areas of consumerism, employee relations, the environment, and competitive practices. Many of the laws also have an associated regulatory agency. Powerful U.S. regulatory agencies include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The 1917 constitution provides for a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president is elected by universal adult suffrage for a 6-year term and may not hold office a second time. There is no vice president; in the event of the removal or death of the president, a provisional president is elected by the Congress. The Congress is comprised of a Senate and a Chamber of Deputies. Consecutive re-election are prohibited in this economy. Senators are elected to 6-year terms, and deputies serve 3-year terms. The Senates 128 seats are filled by a mixture of direct-election and proportional representation. Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president and approved by the Senate. Estimates of the cost of compliance vary widely, but could well exceed $100 billion annually. Many of these costs are passed to consumers. However, costs of legal expenses and settlements may not be incurred for years and are not likely to be paid by consumers of the product or owners of the company when the violation occurred. Still, potential legal action often results in higher prices for consumers and a more conservative attitude by business executives. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS: Environmental section provides information on the countrys performance on environmental indicators and policies.  Mexico have a history of cooperation on environmental and natural resource issues, particularly in the border area, where there are serious environmental problems caused by rapid population growth, urbanization, and industrialization. There have been several studies of the relationships between environmental factors, particularly air pollution, and attacks of asthma. Most of these studies have ignored the potential confounding effects of aeroallergens such as pollens and fungal spores. We report a statistical analysis of the relationships between emergency admissions for asthma to a hospital in Mexico City and daily average airborne concentrations of pollen, fungal spores, air pollutants (O3, NO2, SO2, and particulates) and weather factors. Asthma admissions had a seasonal pattern with more during the wet season (May-October) than the dry season (November-April). There were few statistical associations between asthma admissions and air pollutants for the three age groups studied (children under 15 years, adults, and seniors [adults over 59 years]) in either season. Grass pollen was associated with child and adult admissions for both the wet and dry seasons, and fungal spores were associated with child admissions d uring both the wet and dry seasons. The analysis was done with environmental data averaged over the day of admission and the 2 previous days. Our results suggest that aeroallergens may be statistically associated more strongly with asthma hospital admissions than air pollutants and may act as confounding factors in epidemiologic studies. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE FOR MEXICO USING PORTAR DIAMOND: Factor conditions  are human resources, physical resources, knowledge resources, capital resources and infrastructure. Specialized resources are often specific for an industry and important for its competitiveness. Mexico generates significant revenue from the production of beef, poultry, pork, and dairy products. Although private investment in natural gas transportation, distribution, and storage is permitted, Pemex remains in sole control of natural gas exploration and production. Despite substantial reserves, Mexico is a net natural gas importer. Demand conditions  in the home market can help companies create a competitive advantage, when sophisticated home market buyers pressure firms to innovate faster and to create more advanced products that those of competitors. Technology can change the lifestyle and buying patterns of consumers. Many new developments in technology led to a reduction in prices for computers and expanded the potential market. Lower prices allow computers to be marketed to the general public rather than to business, scientific, and professional users-the initial market. Related and supporting industries  can produce inputs which are important for innovation and internationalization. One of the most recent joint efforts by governments to influence business practices was NAFTA. The agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico was intended to facilitate free trade between the three countries. Firm strategy, structure and rivalry  constitute the fourth determinant of competitiveness. The way in which companies are created, set goals and are managed is important for success. U.S.A. Vs Mexico greatest rivalry in sports. The numerous joint ventures between U.S. and Japanese automobile manufacturers could have been termed anticompetitive by a less pro-business administration. Changing relationships between the United States and other countries may alter the ability of firms to enter foreign markets. The United States establishment of trade relations with China in the 1970s created opportunities for many firms to begin marketing their products in China. The rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to power in Iran altered the lives of many Iranian citizens. Wine, vodka, music, and other forms of entertainment were prohibited. Black markets provided certain restricted items. Other products, such as wine, began to be produced at home. Anti-American sentiments throughout the country showed the hostility of many citizens. Non-American firms thus had an opportunity to capitalize on the anti-American sentiments and to provide goods and services formerly provided by U.S. firms. Government  can influence each of the above four determinants of competitiveness. Regulations concerning many business practices differ between states. Tax rates vary widely. Laws regarding unionization (e.g., right-to-work states) and treatment of homosexual workers differ between states. Local governments have the potential to affect business practices significantly. Some local governments may be willing to provide incentives to attract business to the area. Some may build industrial parks, service roads, and provide low-interest bonds to encourage a desirable business to move into the community.

Media Violence is Not the Problem - The Problem is in Our Homes, our Sc

There are many examples that Americans commonly associate with growing up and coming of age; getting a driver’s license, seeing an R-rated movie, registering for the draft or to vote, buying guns, killing classmates†¦ Indeed, the dramatic increase in school shootings during the 1990s, in conjunction with the technology boom, drew much attention to mass media violence. Does media violence perpetuate aggressive behavior in its viewers? If so, to what extent? Do viewers retain models of behavior from their exposure to media violence? Do these models resurface later on during their coming of age? These are hard questions that may not have definite answers; however, a clear analysis on many studies reveals that we’ve only begun to scratch the surface. On Wednesday, October 22, 2003, America revisited a national tragedy that occurred in Littleton, Colorado four years ago. When authorities released the video Rampant Range, the public for the first time got to see Columbine High School shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold at a practice shooting range six weeks before they carried out the real thing. The future-shooters â€Å"can be heard laughing, joking and making cavalier comments about what it would be like if the bowling pins [they were shooting] were human heads or bodies† (Fox News). These disturbing images are only precipitated with a huge question, why did they do it? What possessed these two young men, who were eighteen-year-old seniors with their whole lives in front of them, to murder twelve classmates, a teacher, and themselves? Is there anything we can learn from them that would explain pervasive aggression in American youth during their coming of age? In the wake of the 1999 shooting and other shootings, America experience... ... we ignore the real problem and turn our backs on them. The real problem exists in our homes, our schools, our communities, and a segment of society who internalize pain until, like balloons, they burst. Sources Cited. Brown, Brooks and Rob Merritt. No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine. New York: Lantern, 2002. â€Å"Columbine Killers Documented Training on Tape.† Fox News 22 Oct. 2003. 13 Nov. 2003. Felson, Richard B. â€Å"Mass Media Effects on Violent Behavior.† Annual Review of Sociology 22 (Aug 1996): 103-128. Gutmann, Matthew C. â€Å"Trafficking Men: The Anthropology of Masculinity.† Annual Review of Anthropology 26 (Oct 1997): 385-409. Manson, Marilyn. â€Å"Columbine: Whose Fault is it?† Rolling Stone May. 1999. 15 Nov. 2003. Schooler, C. and J. A. Flora. â€Å"Pervasive Media Violence.† Annual Review of Public Health 17 (May 1996): 275-298.

Creation, Flood and the Hero in Epic of Gilgamesh and Book of Genesis o

Creation, Flood and the Hero in Gilgamesh and the Bible    The Epic of Gilgamesh compares to the Bible in many different ways. The epic has a different perspective than the Bible does. This paper is a contrast and comparison between the two books. The three main points of this paper will be the Creation, Flood and the Hero.    The way these two books start out is creation. This is the first similarity that we can state. God created man out of the earth, â€Å"In the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth†. In the epic, Auru, the goddess o... ...s that are hard to decipher, but most was understandable. The Epic of Gilgamesh was hard to get started on, but was easily finished. Bibliography Bibliography The Holy Bible. KJV. Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville. 1984. The Epic of Gilgamesh. Penguin Books, London. 1972.

Cultural Sensitive Care Essay -- Sociology, Transcultural Care

Cultural sensitive care Culture The classic definition for culture was proposed by Tylor (1871/1958) and still commonly cited: Culture is â€Å"that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, law, custom, and many other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society† (p. 1). This definition focuses on attributes that are acquired through growing up or living in a particular society, rather than through biological inheritance (Kottak, 2002). In Giger and Davidhizar’s (1991) Model for transcultural care, culture was defined as a patterned behavioral response that develops over time as a result of imprinting the mind through social and religious structures and intellectual and artistic manifestations. Culture is also the result of acquired mechanisms that may have innate influences but are primarily affected by internal and external stimuli. This definition gives more illustration on the social and religious dimensions and identified that culture is shaped by values, be liefs, norms, and practices that are learned and transmitted by members of the same cultural group (Leininger, 1991). Leininger (1991) explained In her model of transcultural care that culture is focused on the total or holistic life ways of human beings, religion (spiritual), kinship, politico-legal, education, technology, language, environmental context, and worldview are all considered. The importance of understanding patients’ culture was clearly articulated in Giger and Davidhizar’s (1991) work. They have indicated that culture guides our thinking, doing, and being and becomes patterned expressions of who we are and that cultural values guide actions and decision-making and facilitate self-worth and self-esteem. Transcul... ...ials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (1998) and The Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing (1995). Other disciplines have adopted similar steps to ensure appropriate level of knowledge and skills on cultural diversity. Elementary school and college educators were urged to respect the cultural richness of students and incorporate culturally sensitive curricula (Percival & Black, 2000). The importance of adequate physician knowledge in relation to cultural sensitivity has led to the imposition of legal mandates (Institute for International Research, 2005). In the military field, it has been recommended that cultural sensitivity training be added to the basic training curriculum (Holt, 2002). Additionally, in the market of business, cultural training is linked as the key to success (Local Relationships, 2003).

Body of the Paper Essay

People see marriage as a bond between two people that involves responsibility and legalities, as well as commitment and challenge irregardless of how the ceremony took place. This concept of marriage hasn’t changed over the years. The notion of marriage as a sacrament and not just a contract can be traced from the writings of St. Paul who compared the relationship of a husband and wife to that of Christ and his church (Eph. v, 23-32). Different cultures are rich with wedding rituals and traditions. The said practices have some sort of historical and spiritual explanation amongst people with varying traditions drawn from their ancestors. A certain belief was incorporated in their culture which makes every ritual unique from one another. Nonetheless, all of them acknowledge the union of two individuals. One universally known tradition is that of the engagement ring. It is a ring that is given prior to the wedding ceremony which means that two people are engaged and are scheduled to be married soon. This custom can be dated back to the ancient Romans. It is believed that the roundness of the ring represents eternity. Therefore, wedding rings symbolizes a union that is to last forever. It was once thought that a vein or nerve ran directly from the â€Å"ring† finger of the left hand to the heart (Wedding Traditions 2008). The objective of this paper is to review wedding rituals and traditions being practiced by people across cultures. More specifically, we will look into the rich and unique wedding practices observed by the Filipinos, Chinese and Hindus. Moreover, we will study the significance of each wedding ritual for every culture and why it is part of their tradition. Body of the Paper A wedding ceremony is celebrated in recognition of the union or so-called â€Å"marriage† of two people. It may be performed by either a highly-respected religious elder or a government-sanctioned officiator. Marriage generally creates commitment between the individuals involved and also with their extended families in most cases. Throughout history, and even today, families arrange marriages for couples. The people involved didn’t and don’t have much to say about the decision. Most couples didn’t marry because they were in love but for economic contact. People marry for various reasons—it may be one of the following: public declaration of love, wants to gain legal, social and economic stability, formation of a family unit or legitimizing sexual relations. Some marriages involved a bride price wherein the groom or his family will give money or a present to the brides family; some required dowry where the bride’s family will be the one to offer money and gifts to the groom’s family, few had underwent some sort of dating or courtship for some time, but most of us are generally accustomed to our own traditions (Wedding Traditions 2008). In this paper, seven wedding rituals across different cultures will be discussed. Egyptian, Korean, Lebanese and Libyan wedding traditions will be reviewed. Specifically, the Filipino, Chinese and Hindu wedding rituals will be studied in details and will be compared. Weddings in Egypt are huge family events irregardless of their social status. Even in this generation, some of them still hold the significance of customs and symbols to the celebration. Al-zaffah is a slow procession performed by the couple’s family and friends. It is accompanies by music until they reach the reception hall. Also, the henna party called laylat al-hinna is still an important tradition to them. Egyptian weddings are celebrated with a strength that comes from the respect of family bonds. Like other couples, they also wish for a happy married life. In Korean wedding ceremonies, wild geese is used as a symbol of faithfulness. The groom’s father will throw red dates at the bride for fertility and good luck. In addition to that, cotton seeds, red beans and salt are thrown by their neighbors to drive evil spirits away. Three days after the wedding, the bride will be sent to the groom’s house. There, the bride then crosses a sack of grain and burnt straw to wish for a good harvest. In Lebanese weddings, roses are generally used. The bride then wears bangles and tiara on the wedding day. The new couple will serve ghoraibi to their guests as a symbol of the bride’s purity. Their weddings are inspired by rose petal shaped chocolates and white butter cookies. Libyan weddings ceremonies are Islamic in nature and is generally presided by an imam. At the bride’s house days before the actual wedding ceremony and reception, the marriage contract is already being signed. At the reception, the couple doesn’t eat with their guest. Rice and candy are showered on the bride. a. Filipino Marriage Gone are the days of arranged marriage (kasunduan) and shotgun marriage (pikot) where individuals, the bride and the groom, had no choice but to obey and comply with their parent’s wishes of them getting married. However, the Filipino style of courtship (ligawan) and suitor’s serenade (harana) have been lost over the years, too. These so-called traditional courtship styles have been reduced to dating. SMS messages and emails are means of communication of single men and women in today’s generation, and Filipinos have their way of adapting to these changes. Though these rituals have vanished as time passes by, engagements and wedding practices are still pretty much the same. Despite these revolutionizations, the essence of marriage remains in Filipinos—that is having the purest and sincerest intentions, respect for the elders and spiritual devotion. a. 1 Filipino Wedding Customs In early times, Filipino groom-to-be threw his spear at the front steps of his future home, which is said to be a sign that the bride has been spoken for. Nowadays, a ring is used as a symbol of engagement. a. 2 The Engagement Pamanhikan is an activity done by Filipino families where the groom and his parents visit the bride’s family to ask for her in marriage. In this event, wedding plans are included in the said activity participated by both families. The plan includes the discussion of guest list and wedding budget. Usually, the groom-to-be is seen to run some errands around the bride’s house. Paninilbihan is the tradition where the groom-to-be renders service to his future wife’s family to gain their approval (Celeste, T. 1997). a. 3 The Ceremony The wedding ceremony lasted for three days during the pre-colonial days. On the first day the couple was brought to the house of babaylan (priest) and will join hands over a plate of raw rice and give blessings to the couple. The priest will then prick the chest of both the bride and groom and draw a little blood on the third day. They then will join hands and proclaim their love for each other three times. The couple will be fed with cooked rice by the priest on the same plate and will give them a drink with some of their blood mixed with water. Binding the couple’s necks and hands with a cord, the priest will then declare them married. Today, most Filipino weddings are performed as Catholic weddings though some native ritual still remains. Sponsors are special people chosen by the couple to act as their witnesses. Thy can be godparent, counselors or relatives. Secondary sponsors will take charge to some special parts of the wedding ceremony such as the candle, cord and veil ceremonies. Lighting the candle symbolizes the joining of two families and representing Jesus Christ as the light of their married life. Placing the veil over the bride’s head and groom’s shoulder symbolizes that the two individuals are joined or unified. The cord, which is made of a decorative silk cord called yugal, in a form of figure eight, is placed in the couple’s shoulders symbolizes everlasting fidelity among the bride and groom. Arrhae or 13 coins which are blessed by the priest is given by the groom to his bride as a sign of his commitment, dedication to his wife and future children’s welfare (Filipinafiancevisa. com 2001). b. Chinese Marriage Chinese wedding is a ceremonial rite within Chinese folks wherein marriage is established by pre-arrangement between families. In short, the spouse-to-be of sons and daughters in Chinese families are determined by their parents. Within the Chinese culture, romantic love is prohibited and a monogamous relationship is common among citizens. Between 402-221 B. B. , Chinese marriage started to become a custom. Though the country China has many geographical as and is filled with extended history, generally there are six rituals to be followed, known as the three letters (request letter, gift letter and wedding letter) and six etiquette (proposal, birthdates, bride price, wedding gifts, arranging the wedding and wedding ceremony). Before modern age, women and not allowed to choose the person they will spend the rest of their lives with. Marriages were chosen based upon the needs of reproduction and honor as well as the needs of the husband and father-to-be (The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project 2001). b. 1 Chinese Wedding Customs Ancient Chinese believes in destiny. In prehistoric times, the gods tie a red string around the ankles of a man and a woman who will be a couple in the future. The Chinese tradition of determining their destiny is through their parents. The parents of the groom will write the bride’s eight characters which her year month, day and hour of birth and will then be placed in their family altar. After three days and nothing unfortunate happened in the family, it is a sign that the match is approved. The same ritual is performed by the bride’s family. If the match is granted, the celebration begins (About. Com 2008). b. 2 The Engagement Twelve gifts were exchanged by both parties to seal the couple’s marriage agreement. Chopsticks are famous engagement gift symbolizing the wish for sons. Usually, the family of the groom sends a whole roast pig to the bride’s house. In olden times, the bride’s family will send back the pig’s head and hind portion showing that everything has a beginning and an end. The wedding announcement in China is done by the groom providing special cakes to the bride’s family for it to be sent to family and friends. b. 3 The Ceremony Firecrackers are used to drive away evil spirits and are fired upon the arrival of the bride to the wedding ceremony. In a traditional Chinese wedding vow, the couple will kneel before an altar with offerings such as roast pig, ducks and chickens decorated with red candles. With cups tied with red strings, the bride and the groom will then sip wine as a sign of their vow. They will then cross their arms, exchange cups and drink again. The sharing of wine symbolizes the harmony of their married life together. After the event, the bride will serve a cup of sweet tea to each member of the groom’s family (The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project 2001). c. Hindu Wedding Sanskit is the language used for most holy Hindu ceremonies. One of which is the Hindu wedding. Traditionally, Hindu weddings are conducted in this language, thought not always. They have many wedding rituals that have evolved over the years and are different in many ways from the modern western wedding ceremony. The Hindu marriage ceremonies vary in different regions and according to family traditions. The Hindus give a lot of emphasis and significance to marriages and the ceremonies are very colorful and extend for several days. However, modern Hindu weddings are much shorter and do not involve the traditional ceremony that lasted for days. Also, some of their rituals are being altered. Instead, ceremonies are chosen by the couple’s family depending in their family tradition and class. Therefore, ceremonies differ among various ethnic groups that practice Hinduism. Generally, the wedding is conducted under a canopy with four pillars and a sacred fire in the middle of the altar which serves as the witness of the ceremony (National Association of Wedding Ministers 2008). c. 1 Hindu Wedding Customs In Old Hindu wedding ceremonies, the whole family participates in the ceremony, from nephews and nieces to the couple’s siblings. Moreover, the mothers of the groom and the bride play a special part of the entire celebration. c. 2 The Engagement The priest visits the bride’s home to recite reading and prayers so as to bless the wedding a few days before the formal wedding ceremony. On the evening before the wedding the groom will come over to the bride’s house and the bride’s family will welcome them with a small ceremony. Sometimes, the bride’s mother will be offering a gift to the groom’s mother. During this activity, the couple is not allowed to meet. If they see each other, it is believed that it will bring bad luck to their marriage (National Association of Wedding Ministers 2008). c. 3 The Ceremony The bride is escorted to the canopy by her maternal uncle. On the other hand, the groom is accompanied by the best man and a young girl whose role is to keep him alert by shaking a metal pot filled with coins. The entire ceremony is divided into three parts. The Kanyadaan is the first part where the bride’s parents will wash the couple’s feet with milk and water to cleanse and purify them for a new life together. The Hastamelap or known as the joining of the hands, the couple’s hand are joined together. The priest will then chant some verses in their holy scripture then a loop pf white raw cotton will be placed around the couple’s shoulders to symbolize their bond. A small open fire is lit in the center of the place. The bride’s male relatives will be called to lead the couple to walk around the fire. The number of times that they will walk around the fire will depend on the village they came from. In the southern state of Kerala, couples walk around coconut blossoms instead of a fire. In the couple’s hands are grains of rice, oats and leaves which symbolizes the blessings of good health, prosperity, happiness and wealth. At the end of the ceremony, rose petals are sprinkled to the couple to ward off evil spirits by the groom’s brothers. When the entire ceremony is over, the bride will feed her groom with mouthful of Indian sweets to show her responsibility to cook and take care of him and their children. In turn, the groom does the same act to show that he will provide her needs as well as for their future family. After the rituals, the relatives are invited under the canopy to place red dots in the couple’s foreheads and sprinkle them with rice grains to wish for a long, happy and prosperous knowledge together (Triveni Wedding Cards 2007). Discussion Marriage has been a very significant event among men and women. It symbolizes the union of two souls as well as recognition of the bonding of individuals in the presence of a minister or a government-sanctioned officer. In addition to this, wedding rituals have made cultures across nations rich and unique. These rituals exemplify their beliefs and lifestyles which explains some psychological theories. This paper primarily focuses on wedding rituals of Filipinos, Chinese and Hindus. The Egyptian, Lebanese, Libyan and Korean wedding styles and traditions were also reviewed. They differ in a way that is shows or portrays their traditions, however everyone has a common goal and that is to present how two individuals are joined and unified. That is, the need to express and acknowledge the joining of two souls, in the eyes of God or a government officiator for the recognition to be legalized. Filipino rituals only show how Filipinos value and respect their family’s approval for their soon-to-be spouse and that spiritual cleansing is important as a commitment and devotion to one’s lifetime partner. Valuing family ties can be observed to all Filipinos. Moreover, this concept can be seen in Filipino’s way of living—that they are still attached to their own families though they already have a family of their own. Chinese, on the other hand, believes in destiny and marriage is pre-determined. Their practices and beliefs show the Chinese way of living. Chinese nowadays are known to bloom in the business field, and from what was discussed in this paper, their marriage also depends on one’s economic stability. In addition to that, their rituals show the wealth of every Chinese family showing their capability to build and sustain a family. Lastly, the rituals of the Hindus show more of their spirituality. Driving evil spirits and wishing for happiness, wealth, prosperity and good health are some of the elements significant in the ceremony. Their ceremonies are usually colorful which indicates their lifestyle. Also, since family members and relatives play an important role in the festivity, it shows how significant family togetherness is to them. Having seen and discovered various rituals from different cultures, it clearly illustrates the diversity of people’s beliefs and traditions. It appears that every ritual and practices observed in different nations shows a historical, spiritual and psychological background that explains their lifestyles. Historical in the sense that these practices are drawn from their ancestors and are still practiced nowadays. Spiritual, because they honor and ask blessings from the gods that were introduced in their culture. Moreover, these rituals have specific meaning that will result to spiritual empowerment for the married couple. And lastly psychological, because there are certain reasons why people get married depending on their background and culture, how they choose the person to marry and the effect of their marriage in their future together. In my own point of view, further studies should be recommended for more explicit explanations of reviewed traditions and practices. In addition to that, results or outcomes should be recorded to analyze the accuracy of certain rituals that are observed. This may be helpful for further developing traditions as to giving more fruitful effects to couples who are soon to be married. In this case, comparison will be avoided to whether what culture is more rich and meaningful; rather respect for every culture’s belief will be promoted. Though such recommendations may seem tedious as to disrespectfully changing one’s belief and modifying a certain culture, acquiring these ideas may also help elevate people’s lifestyle as well as establishing a more logical and significant culture. References About. Com 2008. Chinese Marriage since 1950s Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://chineseculture. about. com/library/weekly/aa112200a. htm Celeste, T. 1997. Filipino Wedding Rites. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. snoopydude. com/wedding/filipinowedding. htm Down, J. 2002. Chinese Wedding. Retrieved on March 17, 2008 from Newsfinder 2002, Culture Section. Ehow. com 2008. Wedding Customs and Traditions. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. ehow. com/information_1329-wedding-traditions-customs. html? ref=fuel Filipinafiancevisa. com 2001. Filipino Wedding Traditions. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. filipinafianceevisa. com/FilipinoWedding. htm Finch, P. 2007A Filipino Wedding – What To Expect Retrieved March 17, 2008, from http://ezinearticles. com/? A-Filipino-Wedding—What-To-Expect&id=821770 Huanxing Q. and Zhongmin L. 1999 Unique Chinese Customs in Hui’an, Fujian Province Retrieved on March 17, 2008 from Xindeco Business Information Company Kasal. com 2006. Despedida De Soltera. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. kasal. com/html/rr/fili/fili5. html Morgan, P. J. Weddings in Egypt. Retrieved on March 17, 2008 from Saudi Aramco World, pages 34-39 National Association of Wedding Ministers 2008. Hindu Wedding Ceremony. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. aweddingministers. com/ceremonial_mat/hindu_wedding. htm Persian cultures 2007. Wedding in different culture. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. coxformat. co. uk/images/_backup/wedding-in-different-culture. html The Chinese Historical and Cultural Project 2001. Chinese Wedding Traditions. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. chcp. org/wedding. html Triveni Wedding Cards 2007. Hindu Wedding Ceremony. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. weddingcardshoppe. com/Hindu_Wedding_Ceremony. htm Wedding Traditions 2008. Wedding Traditions and Folklore. Retrieved on March 14, 2008 from http://www. vfwpost1503. org/wedding_traditions. htm Xing Q. H and Zhongmin 1998 Lu Wedding Customs Northern Shanxii Retrieved on March 17, 2008 from Folk Customs of China