Is Your Generation Wiser Than Your Grandparents Essay Example

Is Your Generation Wiser Than Your Grandparents Paper This question has been asked about numerous times in the past and yet with so many people pondering and contemplating about it, theres no definite answer to this question. It all comes down to how you look at it. From my point of view, I think that the current generation Is becoming more and more of a book smart. There Is a clear divide between a book smart and a street smart. Being book smarts means being smarter while street smarts means being wiser. The current generation may well be smarter than the previous generation as they are spoon-fed with all the knowledge and information accumulated through the ages starting from the first day they step into a school. These massive amounts of knowledge and Information which is the work of countless scholars, philosophers, researchers and other Intellectuals in the past are taught to our generation In schools and we, the current generation, are expected to digest all of it without complaint. This phenomenon certainly causes the current generation to be more of a book smart than a street smart. It Is an obvious fact that the current generation has unparalleled technological advancements and inventions which make life In the 21 SST century all the more convenient and comfortable. Something that our grandparents generation Is devoid of. But more importantly the technological luxury that we have today causes us to be more and more dependent on technology. Nowadays, no matter which age group you come from, you would most probably use search engines like Google, Yahoo, Billing or any other well known search engines to look for information you need on the internet. We will write a custom essay sample on Is Your Generation Wiser Than Your Grandparents specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Is Your Generation Wiser Than Your Grandparents specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Is Your Generation Wiser Than Your Grandparents specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This Is clearly not the case back in the old days. Whenever our grandparents generation Is In need of Information, they would have to look for It themselves In other places, for example, the library. In this new millennium, we certainly have taken technology for granted. With all the information in the world at our fingertips, why would anyone in their right mind want to waste their time foraging through shelves of tomes Just to obtain the same information? And in taking technology for granted, we lack something which our grandparents have In abundance experience through exposure. Wisdom defined in the English Collins Dictionary is the ability to use your experience and knowledge in order to make sensible decisions or Judgments. Wisdom comes with experience and exposure. If we take all our technology for granted, we lose out a lot of exposure In life. For example, we Intuitively search the Internet Tort our International needs Instead AT actually slung ten Diary, tens we lose out on the experience of catching a bus and traveling to the library. Apart from that, we play online computer games for entertainment rather than actually going outside o play. Our grandparents have no such technology related forms of entertainment, so they have to resort to using their imagination to come up with fun games which has become traditional games such as board, dice, word, and agility games. There is also another piece of technology which is notorious for being time stealer which almost everyone invites into their houses with open arms and that piece of technology is the television. Personally Eve realized that mind-numbing television programmed can without you realizing it, take away hours upon hours of your recipes time. According to A. C. Nielsen Co. , in a 65-year life, a person will have spent 9 years glued to the tube. Thats nine years of your life wasted away! Though some may argue that education-oriented TV programmed do educate you, but that surely doesnt beat the experience you get from real life exposure. As a Chinese proverb goes, It is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. I think that the current generation arent in anyway wiser that our grandparents generation. With all the conveniences in our lives through the advancements in science and technology, we need not to work as hard as our grandparents in the old days to get what we want. We are less independent that our grandparents. The lacking of this real-life exposure makes us imbalanced as we get smarter in school but not wiser in life. The way I see it, the modern civilization is shifting from being street smarts to being book smarts, from being wiser to being smarter. A very clear and apparent transformation which cant be avoided since entering into the information technology age of the 21st century.

A Guide to Chinese Citizenship

A Guide to Chinese Citizenship The ins and outs of Chinese citizenship are outlined in China’s Nationality Law, which was adopted by the National People’s Congress on September 10, 1980. The law includes 18 articles that broadly explain China’s citizenship policies. Here is a quick breakdown of these articles. General Facts According to Article 2, China is a unitary multinational state. This means that all nationalities, or ethnic minorities, that exist within China have Chinese citizenship.   China does not allow dual citizenship, as stated in Article 3. Who Qualifies For Chinese Citizenship? Article 4 states that a person born in China to at least one parent who is a Chinese national is a Chinese citizen.   On a similar note, Article 5 says that a person born outside of China to at least one parent who is a Chinese national is a Chinese citizen- unless one parent has settled outside of China and has acquired foreign nationality status.   According to Article 6, a person born in China to stateless parents or parents of uncertain nationality who have settled in China will have Chinese citizenship. (Article 6) Renouncing Chinese Citizenship A Chinese national who voluntarily becomes a foreign national in another country will lose Chinese citizenship, as mentioned in Article 9. Additionally, Article 10 states that Chinese nationals can renounce their Chinese citizenship through an application process provided they have settled abroad, have close relatives that are foreign nationals, or have other legitimate reasons.   However, state officials and active military personnel cannot renounce their Chinese nationality according to Article 12. Restoring Chinese Citizenship Article 13 states that those who once held Chinese nationality but are currently foreign nationals can apply to restore Chinese citizenship and renounce their foreign citizenship if there are legitimate reasons.   Can Foreigners Become Chinese Citizens? Article 7 of the Nationality Law states that foreigners who will abide by the Chinese Constitution and laws can apply to be naturalized as Chinese citizens if they meet one of the following conditions: they have close relatives who are Chinese nationals, they have settled in China, or if they have other legitimate reasons. In China, local Public Security Bureaus will accept applications for citizenship. If applicants are abroad, citizenship applications are handled at Chinese embassies and consular offices. After they are submitted, the Ministry of Public Security will examine and approve or dismiss applications. If approved, it will issue a certificate of citizenship. There are other more specific rules for the Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

Hitler book Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hitler book - Term Paper Example According to Hitler, the Russian movement had direct links to anarchy. Hitler refers to the Russian movement as one that does not warrant references as a high society. The Aryans are industrious while Russians do not embrace handwork. The Russians cannot return to nature since they view it as a return to primitive form of life. Addressing the concern on coal and petroleum, Hitler maintains that petroleum is available in many parts while people tend to deplete the reserves on coal. He highlights that petroleum is renewable but exploitation of coal is a destruction of the soil. According to Hitler, man is the most dangerous being. Man is the cause of every single problem in the world. The imagination of Hitler about the new Europe is that of a frontier society. He views St. Petersburg as one of the beautiful cities. Hitler talks of the natural devoutness of man citing that the piety man is one who thinks extensively about the world. Hitler refers to the progress of technology as reason that betrayed liberalism. On the nature of God, Hitler maintains that religion is a source of refuge for humankind. He notes that there is no God in Russia and still the people face death. He also maintains that National Socialism is incompatible when it occurs together with belief in religion. The coming of Christianity was the greatest blow to humanity. There should be no Islam without Christianity. Hitler maintained beliefs that the end of the war would be a beginning of good relations between Germany and England. He believed in the competence of the German army. On the relationship with Rumania, Hitler maintained that it would supply Germany with food while Germany supplies it with weapons and technology. He condemned monarchy and opted for the existence of a republic. On unemployment, Hitler says that Germany is the only country with full employment (Cameron and Stevens 42). Hitler expressed worries only a small portion, nearly a quarter, of the surface of the earth is availab le for humanity while the wealth in the world is inexhaustible (Cameron and Stevens 53). Hitler worries on how to solve the challenge of unemployment. Hitler maintains that optimism is among the greatest characters that humanity should nature. A pessimist’s mind can cause a soldier to lose a battle. Hitler maintains that Britain must drive for peace of the world. He condemns Winston Churchill for betraying the curiosity of his empire. According to Hitler, Churchill took advantage of the Great Britain’s interest by allegedly channeling for diversion. Churchill misused the patriotism that the English people granted upon him. He also misused the trust that the people placed upon him. Hitler declares that he does not subscribe to idealism. In his view, subjects should not bear responsibility for the mistakes of their rulers. In Hitler’s opinion, Churchill failed to convince the people that they could win the war. This was being pessimistic about the state of the war . The English should blame Churchill for their failure to win the war. Hitler expressed his opinion on the government in Europe and that in the U.S. The U.S had its origin as a republic and that forms its foundation. European countries, however, had their origin from monarchial powers. The apparent republic, therefore, took from monarchial regimes. Germany, according to Hitler, was the only European country that resembled the U.S because of its good governance as a republic. Hitler praises himself for saving Germany from adopting a

Personal reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Personal reflection - Essay Example of group socialization are products of group rules and norms, where norms are more dynamic, hidden, and forceful than rules in influencing groupthink and conflict management. The paper proceeds to definitions of concepts. Group socialization refers to the social process and influences by which new members and old members become used to one another (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.153). The phases of group socialization are antecedent, anticipatory, encounter, assimilation, and exit phases. Groupthink refers to the quick way of group thinking mode, as members engage in concurrence or conformity which becomes dominant because of in-group cohesiveness that overrides the evaluation of alternative courses of action (Janis, 1972, p.158). Group rules are statements that guide members on how they may, or, should behave, which may be expressed in writing or informally, such as what happens for group norms (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.154). Group norms are unspoken formal rules that peer pressure implements and which affect the actions of group members (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.154). Norms also reflect cultural beliefs that are connected to what is considered as acceptab le or unacceptable behaviors (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.154). Conflict is defined as the manifested struggles among interdependent members that happen due to differences in perceptions of and implementation of goals and other sources of disagreements (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.305). From these definitions, group members, because of their interdependence and because they are human beings with individual and social differences, are bound by group goals, but can be divided by groupthink and conflict. The theory regarding the process of group socialization is criticized next. Group socialization starts with the antecedent phase, where members’ characteristics, listening styles, cultural differences, and feelings about group responsibilities shape throughput and output variables (Galanes, & Adams, 2006, p.154).

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures Essay

Compare the worldview of two societies with contrasting cultures - Essay Example (Hollander, P. 1988 p 130) In addition, it will help visitors on Africa to recognize conflicts, which may arise, to accept, and work through difficulties in a positive manner, to identify positive areas of conflict, to accept difficulties they face as natural occurrences, to change to adapt to the African situation and work within the terms and conditions that exist. Finally, is to develop positive appreciation on the reasons of African culture as per the differences. On the other hand, this comparison will help Africans to understand how they can cope with the European cultures. It will also help Africans who want to understand European background. The Africans will also understand why it is hard for the Europeans to fit in to the society in a foreign country and why they act in strange ways. It will also smoothen the tensions which a rise between the Christians of Europeans and African background working together in African setting. In many occasions both sides are not aware why th e difficulties are arising. Differences between African and European Cultures Telephone: Two people communicate by a process. They can be communicating through English, Kiswahili or any other language. For example in USA, children are given basic telephone skills when they are young. Children learn the correct way of answering and calling when they are young before even going to school. Therefore, the Europeans who are in Kenya or the Kenyans who are in European countries should not assume such a background. Cultural assumptions concerning greeting and encounter are complicated by lack of training and experience. Every European must introduce them on the phone even if they are close. This is because of the formal procedure required in their background. However, as per Africans they call or answer and go direct to the point without introduction, which will make communication between Africans and Europeans hard. Permission to leave This is whereby one asks for permission before leavin g to another place or destination from where he/she was before. According to African culture and background, the owner of the house, office, or even compound as whole can leave in his own pleasure without even informing the workers as he/she is the head or is over everyone (Gannon, 2004 p.230). However, in the side of the Europeans one must seek for permission to leave even the father must seek permission from his children before leaving. Therefore, when the Europeans and African are working together they might not understand each other the Europeans will be asking for permission to leave even he /she is the employer. This will leave the Africans wondering. This will be opposite in the side of Africans as they can leave whenever they wish. Missionaries and Modesty In Europe, it was in fashion for women to wear floor length dresses, which had high collars. While in Africa, it was a fashion for women to wear nothing above the waist. This was quite inappropriate as according to the Afr icans they were adhering to their culture while the Europeans were also doing the same. This brought a lot of troubles and misunderstanding as according to Africans especially Zaire they knew that any woman who was covering his body above the waist was prostitute. It was ironical as missionaries were trying to turn good, morally upright, and modest women of the community into prostitutes. Contrasting African and European Cultures

Positive thinking

Positive thinking â€Å"Centuries past and still the same. War in our blood, somethings never changes. Fighting for land and personal gain, better your life justify your pain. The end is knocking†. That part of â€Å"Lost† lyric from Avenged Sevenfold maybe can help us to flashback and remind us about our behavior as human being. So much degeneration that we have done and we dont realize the effect of it. There are many aspects that can pull the trigger like violence, destruction culture, consumerism, and pessimism. World is getting old and worst when filled with that kind of people. We need a â€Å"big change†, â€Å"big change† for better future, to reduce or maybe make all of degeneration disappear. Start from myself, and then our self to make this world better. We need to do many things and step by step, such as:  · Positive Thinking Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds. Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who accept it, not many know how to use it effectively to get results. Yet, it seems that many are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity. It is quite common to hear people say: Think positive, to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means? So the first thing that we have to do is thinking positively. Positive thinking is the first and the main point that we have to do. Without positive thinking, all we are going to do is useless and worthless. When we start something, we must think that all we are going to do is success and worthy. And when we meet hindrance, still think positively (think about our goal, that we must reach it). Then see the result is better than usual. Imagine if we work something without positive thinking, we will feel the †pain† of process, and the result is worse than we think before. Our mind affect our behavior and mood, so never think about bad things in bad mood or bad things will come suddenly and unexpected. Bad mood plus bad situation can also made someones intend to suicide. Suicide is the common event in this life nowadays. People got stress and depressed plus negative thinking, no problem solving and suicide. We must stop it, because suicide is a big sin, and God will never forgive everyone who do the suicide. So if we want to change our bad behavior for better life and to change the world, trust to our self that we can do it, and start from small things for big change by our self. The following story illustrates how this power works: Tom applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude, due to his negative past experiences with job interviews. His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles. During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job. Bagus applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job. In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time. He got the job because he made a good impression. He had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Tom. What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our minds eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside. Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference, and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts, and vice versa. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive people and avoid negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive, and they dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity. Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment. * Change our bad habits (consumerism, destroying culture, materialism, pessimism) Pessimism is the easiest problem to solve, by positive thinking pessimism will disappear from life. Remember the quote â€Å"Nothing impossible in this world†, and it can help more effective. Consumerism and materialism are similar disease in social life. Both of them suffer young generation and made young generation becomes lazy and spoiled. The only way to clean up this mess is feeling the hardest parts in this life. For parents, dont give your children much money. Try to teach your children become normal children, not extravagant children. Also teach them to fasting so that they can feel how real world is it. Start from early age so that make good result at mature age. It really works and brilliant. And the last, destroying culture is the big deal. We need cooperation between society and law apparatus to stop this problem. Destroying culture and bullying appears when rules and norm in social life are not obeyed. * Reduce the damage of Earth Global warming is the process of increasing the average temperature of the atmosphere, ocean, and earth. Factors causing: Carbon Dioxide Emissions. Exploitation of Nature. Greenhouse Effect. Other Climate Change Earth a very important role for mankind. Together we began to think about Earth Day and for our next generation. Starting from yourself, family, environment, until finally all can participate in this action green. * Change our personality and behavior become better Personality influenced by the character of a person who carried since birth, and the everyday environment. Personality is formed and performed with the special features in the form of thinking and patterns, good or bad. According to a psychologist, bad personality can be changed by way of notice and change what we say. Less good personality usually will shine through the words of the negative, dropped or not pleasant. Our words is very important not only for other people who hear, but for ourselves. The habit of saying negative or dirty will influence our actions. The Book of Romans says that faith comes from hearing. What we say will be heard by our ears. When we heard it many times, then it will be our faith or belief. We will do what we believe. When we act poorly, then people would not like to hang out with us. A good way to control our words is to keep our hearts. The words that came out of the mouth come from the heart. Heart full of anger and bitterness will get the words out spicy and bitter. Instead, a quiet heart and peace will get the words peace, too. The Book of Proverbs says, Guard your heart with all vigilance, for the wellspring of life. There is the notion that an individuals personality may not be changed. There is also a saying that to change ones personal character, it would take the persons lifetime. In China there is even a proverb is quite funny, stated that changing ones personal character, is like iron sharpening a stick until it becomes as small as a sewing needle. Making a small needle with a way to hone an iron rod, of course, take a long time, besides that it also takes determination, perseverance, spirit, personal commitment really tough; so that one day a steel rod would really be a small needle. Well thats a true fact about the changing of a character or personality traits, which is not as easy as turning the palm of the hand. I personally strongly disagree if there is the notion that a persons personal character can not be changed. If it turns out someone does not change the character himself for the better, although he has attended various training seminar or self-development training; it is no fault of seminars or training, but these people do not want change, do not want to spend a little time and energy to make change for the better. I am sure, that a mental attitude or personality traits a person must still be changed, although it certainly takes time and effort should really exceptional prime. One thing the essential truth that you need to understand, namely: personal character or the mental attitude must be changed. People are never too old or too young to be able to change his personality is more positive, better, and start a new life with a more productive, creative, innovative and courageous to take risks in achieving the desires and aspirations. A baby in the womb since would have received a lot of influences, both from the nutrients consumed by the mother; and the mental attitude of the mother during conceived him. After the baby is born into this world, influences that will attack increased in numbers in terms of quantitative and qualitative. During our childhood, until they become adults like this; often still vividly imagined how the journey of our lives, our personal growth, which is never free from the influence of our surroundings, especially the influence of the attitudes of our own parents and the people a very close relationship with us. Still fresh in reminding us, how our parents told us that unfortunately; so without them knowing it, his attitude is too fond of us that actually handcuff our freedom to express our own identity. The attitude of parents who over protective that in turn will imprison our true identity; so that we can not be ourselves. You yourself must still remember, your parents often forbid you to do the activity or activities you enjoy. If the activity or your activity is dangerous, it can be understood. But in fact, often parents forbid their children to do something only as a custom forbids only. Parents often perceive a wrong in the form of restrictions, by not realizing the negative impact of the restrictions on the future of the child. Examples of restrictions, for example: when the child wants to bathe himself, is prohibited on the grounds cant clean up his body; when the child is going to buy a pencil at the shop next door, also not to be alone, afraid to fall and lose money; when the child wants to switch on the radio own parents did not allow the reasons for the wave frequency will not be fit, or worry about his son got a shock. These restrictions, in essence is actually not believe the ability of the child, in turn, will make the child in later adulthood is also becoming a not believe in itself. Pain is not confident it will continue to rub off on the child until he grew up. Apart form of prohibitions, many parents like to express excessive resignation to the conditions existing in themselves to their children. Examples of excessive resignation can you see this as follows: one point passed in front of his house a luxury car and of course expensive, and the boy said in amazement to her parents, Pa-Ma, it is a nice car yes. I wish we had . His parents answered, Thats not our right, son. The car we just have a listen, do not need fancy, its not our livelihood, sustenance that others. As a walk through a luxury housing complex, again the boy said, Luxury and beautiful house, yes, if we also have, the parents immediately responded, Weve given a provision by God, it must be accepted and grateful. Do not be tempted by other people. Life is already a set . Thats about to be examples of parents who too submissive, nrimo ing pandum with what he already had. Unconsciously excessive resignation of these parents will actually seep into the childs mind and become a pattern of thinking in the future, later on when she was an adult. Grateful for the gift of God you must, but too resigned for what he received was an excessive manner, because it will develop character and inferior attitude within us, an attitude of contempt for himself, not trusting himself, and it will hinder success. Theres more the attitude of parents who also have not been proportionate actually, but it also has become common practice. That attitude is an attitude that tends to frighten the child. An example, for instance: Do not go to the field, then there is the snake. Watch out, the river is haunted. Be careful when dark, lots of fine spirits. Do not do that, would be wrong. And many more forms of expression of parents, which is basically also do not believe in the child, because over protective of her son. Statements of parents who tend to frighten the program will have a negative impact on mental and emotional development of the child to an adult one day. In the end it was up to her adult children to be always easy to be afraid to do something, might even be a paranoid; a form of fear of excessive and unreasonable illogical. In turn, the child becomes a private person who always not confident, an easy person shaky foundation; person who always giddy in determining the attitude, which it clearly would be prohibitive and the biggest obstacle in reaching their goals in the future. How to approach the wrong parents like these, really going to seep into the subconscious mind of the child, which eventually form part of personal character and mental attitude. Examples of attitudes of parents to children, as I mentioned above that, a very important role in shaping the mental attitude, the soul of someones personality; and formations that can be very powerful in a person due to take place in a long time, tens of years. Thus, it is to change an attitude, character or personality is not easy; takes time and effort to make change for the better. But the important thing here is: the character or personality that can be changed. Here are some steps to help us to change our personality become better: Reflect to something that have been made That does not mean you have to remember all the bad things that have been done and repeat it again, but just try to recall errors and start to plan how to change the attitudes that have hurt other people. Then promise to yourself to transform themselves into better. Begin to keep saying Indonesian quote says, â€Å" Mulutmu harimaumu†. Therefore, be careful of his own mouth. Never again hurt the feelings of other people with piercing words spoken, private practice being a pleasant and courteous manner. Listen to the advice of older people One of the things that make you like a lot of people are now able to be a good listener. Because of that, try to look at how you interact with others. Are you always dominate the conversation or not? If the answer is yes, then try to learn to listen. Do not be too busy praising themselves. Give a positive response to conversations with your people. Do not let someone else feel uncomfortable with your presence. If you have a temper, sensitive, often complain, and rarely smiled, now its time you change all the properties and change your bad personality who always expected his arrival wherever located. In conclusion, if we want to change the world and human being become better than now, we must start from ourselves, change our attitude and believe that we are going to success to change the world.

The American Family Association :: Exploratory Essays

The American Family Association A simple observation of television commercials between segments of a sitcom can find many aspects of life that our founding fathers worked to eliminate. Those who laid the building blocks for this country built it with trust in God. They wanted to build a country based on the Bible. In today’s society, that goal is no longer a priority, and violence and sex are seen each and every day. However, there is one group that is working to re-establish these morals in today’s society. The American Family Association, or AFA as it is referred to, believes that the entertainment industry has played a significant role in the deterioration of the values on which our country was founded and which keep our families and society as a whole strong. As stated on the homepage, the American Family Association, founded in 1977 by Don Wildmon, is a non-profit organization that represents and stands for traditional family values, focusing primarily on the influence of television and other media on our society. The mission statement of the AFA gives a summation of their purpose: â€Å"The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip citizens in the culture to reflect Biblical truth (AFA Online).† The AFA believes that God has communicated the absolute truth to man through the Bible and that each person is subject to God’s authority at all times. The AFA trusts that a society based on Biblical truth best aids the well-being of a culture, and reflects the vision of our country’s founding fathers. The group believes in holding companies accountable for attacks on traditional family values, as well as approving companies who are responsible for the programs which they support. The American Family Association was organized in an indirect manner. As stated in the AFA homepage, President Don Wildmon tells about the group’s formation in his own words: One evening in 1977 I sat down with my family to watch TV. On one channel was adultery, on another cursing, on another a man beating another over the head with a hammer.

Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Essay

Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles is one of the main characters in Homer’s Iliad. Iliad is a legendary epic covering the formative years of Roman and Greek mythology. Iliad pursue glory, heroism, and love within the authority and influence of supernatural powers. Achilles possessed heroic strength and also had close contact with the gods. Achilles had all the qualities of a grand warrior and he proved to be the most dominant man among the Achaean army. However his deeply rooted character barred his capacity to act with integrity and nobility. The rationale of this paper is to analyze the character of Achilles and examine how he was similar of differed from other heroic warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles could not manage his pride or the fury that came about when his pride was injured. These attributes greatly affected Achilles life since he abandoned his fellow warriors because he had been insulted before Agamemnon, his commander. Achilles even wished his fellow warriors to be killed by Trojan warriors. He was driven by thirst for glory and was willing to sacrifice anything for his reputation. Achilles had extreme temper; for example, though the demise of Patroclus provoked him to reconcile with Agamemnon, this did not alleviate his fury but he directed his anger to Hector (Homer, 1990, p. 32). Achilles forfeited twelve Trojan men at the funeral of Patroclus, he also killed his opponents mercilessly and shamefully vandalized the corpse of Hector. These events reveal Achilles great anger because he was mourning the death of Patroclus. Achilles pride, bloodlust and wrath affected him adversely (Virgil, 2006, p. 42).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles is recognized as the greatest warrior in Achaian army and no other warrior could match him as a fighter. Achilles has a great sense of social order because he decided to act during the plague that was consuming the soldiers at Achaian camp. Agamemnon, Achille’s kind did not act so Achilles decided to find out the cause of the plague by calling for a congregation of the entire army. Achilles is argumentative and petulant because he argues that though Agamemnon gets the best prizes from war, he never worked for them. In the course of argument, Achilles almost killed Agamemnon, though he was saved from carrying out the heinous act by goddess Athena. Achilles believed that the quarrel between him and the king was righteous and same as the war against Trojan army. Achilles major characteristic was excessive pride because he remained angry even after Agamemnon promise to return Briseis alongside other gifts (Vigil, 2006, p. 47).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gilgamesh is a warrior who fears death throughout George XIII epic. Achilles on the other hand is also very keen with his metaphoric wickedness that can only take place after the death of his earthly life. Gilgamesh and Achilles have a lot of similarities, which include dynamic attitude on death and life centered. They have similar attitudes especially when their heroic comrades died. The death of Patroclus touched Achilles very much whereas the death of Enkidu also caused much distress to Gilgamesh. Achilles and Gilgamesh are two semi-divine heroes who have various matching characteristics and life-events, and they focused a lot with their mortal lives, but not relatively in the same approach. Achilles and Gilgamesh share fundamental similarities in their mortal lives. Each of them is a child of a goddess and a mortal man who happens to be a king. Achilles is a son of Thetis and has an exceptional rapport which enables him to speak with t he gods with the help of Thetis (Homer, 1990, p 27). Gilgamesh on the other hand is regarded as one third human and two third god, which makes him to stand out as an exceptional character that exists in relationships with both the mortal world and divine world. Iliad relates the preeminence of Achilles and Gilgamesh in battle where they reveal themselves as headstrong warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Neither Achilles nor Gilgamesh is concerned with romantic and family relationships. The major relationship these epic heroes have is with their mothers, where they seek protection and guidance. Through this rapport, they are able to gain development and wisdom. Achilles can also be compared to other heroes such as Aenes since their lives is determined by supernatural powers. In the book Iliad and Aeneid, Achilles and Aenes are characters who reveal their chivalry and bravely. In the books, Aenes and Achilles are chosen by gods and favored in various periods of their lives (Homer, 1990, p.26). These characters have predestined death and fate, they are sons of gods and they have specific accomplishment and mission in their lives. The major difference between Achilles and Gilgamesh is on anger management. Even after the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh remains cool and does not translate his fury to anyone, but Achilles anger could not b e controlled after the death of Patroclus. Gilgamesh mourns the death of his friend by ritually pulling his clothes and hair, but Achilles mourns the death of Patroclaus by killing several Trojan warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An in depth analysis of the epics of the era reveal contrasting features of the heroes. The circumstance, the physical features and situation might be similar, but the discrepancy is mainly due to mental and intellect framework of the heroes. Aenes fought major battles just like Achilles, but their fate was different. Achilles was predestined to die in the battle, while Aenes was predestined to be an architect of a huge town in the planet. Achilles was more of a cruel enemy and fierce warrior and his task was to wrestle and triumph over bloody wars. On the other hand, Aenes was more civilized and constructive in comparison to arrogant Achilles. Achilles is violent, stubborn, ruthless and hostile and had a capacity to kill Trojan warriors ruthlessly in the battlefield. Achilles battle and attack intended huge massacre. On contrary, Aenes is more placid and sober. Aenes as a warrior had adorable features of restraint, chastity, discipline an d love. He was a true leader who never left his comrades. Aenes led the warriors to pursue new home and new culture. He was a fighter, but not even once did he display emotions and power in arbitrary and cruel manner (Vigil, 2006, p. 74).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, Achilles was a great warrior, but he was a merciless fighter who killed many Trojan warriors. Achilles shared similar features with other heroes in the epics. These heroes fate was usually predestined and they were mostly sons of gods. They sought advice from their mothers which helped them to develop and gain wisdom. However, an in depth analysis on the character of these heroes depict that there are some differences. Achilles was a violent warrior as compared to most heroes who were able to manage their fury. In addition, Achilles, Aenes and Gilgamesh were heroes of their times. References Homer, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York: Viking,  1990. Print. Hope Nash Wolff. â€Å"Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life.† Journal of the American Oriental Society 89.2  (1969): 392-398. Web. Virgil, R. Fagles, B. Knox, and S. Callow. The Aeneid. New York: Penguin Audio,  2006. Print. Source document

Land Reform Essay

I. Land reform and Agrarian Reform Land reform or mainly called â€Å"Land redistribution†. It mainly refers to the right of owning a land. Meanwhile, Agrarian Reform is much broader than land reform. It refers to changes that are made in the land tenure system. It covers issues such as, â€Å"who owns or does not own land†, how land is used or who shares to the products of the land†. It also pertains to land productivity and rate of agricultural development 2. Land redistribution There is a so-called land-ownership and landlord class (upperclass/owners of land) receives rent from tenants such as farmers. Large landed estates are expropriated by the state authority. These lands are then broken into small farms and distribute it to farmers. As distribution to farmers occur, gov’t will come in between to pay the landlords for the farmers. The NEW landowners has to find a means of paying the installment to the gov’t who took place in paying the landlords. 3. Philippine Land reform CAR – Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Republic Act 6657 in 1988 and ended last 2008. An act instituting a comprehensive agrarian reform program to promote social justice and industrialization, providing the mechanism for its implementation, and for other purposes Definitions 1. Agrarian Reform – Distribution of land, regardless of crops and fruits produced, to farmers and farmworkers who are landless to help lift the economic status of the beneficiaries. 2. Agricultural Land – Land devoted to agricultural activities. Minerals, forest, residential, commercial or industrial lands are not included. 3. Farmer – Primary livelihood is cultivation of land or production of agricultural crops. 4. Farmworker – Render service as a laborer or employee in an agricultural enterprise or farm POLICIES * Every state should pursue a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Landless farmers and farmworkers will receive the highest consideration to promote social justice and to move the nation towards development and industrialization. * Distribution and ownership of lands shall take place to provide farmers and farmworkers with the opportunity to enhance and improve their quality of life. * CARP is founded on the rights of landless farmers and farmworkers to own directly or collectively the lands they till or, to receive a just share of fruits thereof. * The state shall encourage and undertake the districution of all agricultural lands, subject to the priorities set by this act. Nevertheless, the state shall respect the rights of small landowners and shall provide incentives for land-sharing. CARPER – Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reforms Bill Republic Act 9700 An act strengthening the comprehensive agrarian reform program (CARP,), extending the acquisition and distribution of all agricultural lands, instituting necessary reforms, amending for the purpose certain provision of republic act no. 6657, and appropriating funds therefor. Some of the amendments are; 1. CARPER primarily extends the redistribution of lands for 5 years.   2. It also redefines the scope and some definitions in CAR 3. In Sec. 18, the CARPER also mandates that all land reform cases must be under the jurisdiction of the DAR except for cases falling under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture and the DENR. Only the Supreme Court has jurisdiction to issue any restraining order or writ of preliminary injuction against the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC), the DAR, and other related agencies on agrarian reform cases. 4. A new Congressional Oversight Committee on Agrarian Reform (COCAR) is also created by virtue of the CARPER, composed of the Chairpersons of the Agrarian Reform Committees of both Houses and three members each from the Upper and Lower House, to be designated respectively by the Senate President and the House Speaker. 5. It also incorporates a new section into the existing CARL, Section 37-A, specifically mandating the inclusion of equal support services for rural women and the establishment of a women’s desk under the DAR. According to GMA news, Aquino stated that one of the ways in which CARPER will quickly be implemented is with a multi-stakeholders mechanism. They will be tasked to mnitor the implementation of the CARP specifically focusing on; 1. Coverage and distribution of agricultural land 2. Movement and performance of Department of Agrarian Reform personnel 3. Delivery support services to the beneficiaries, and 4. Budget allocation and utilization RA 9700 has allocated ate least P150 billion for the program which will be utilized to successfully complete the implementation of agrarian reform. Aquino and the land reform advocates adopted the commitment made by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo during a meeting with the farmers last June 12, 2012. Robredo committed the government to: – work on a list of areas where there are CARPER enforcement issues, – review the PNP’s tasking and refer to the DOJ the proposed changes in 2009 guidelines, as it applies to DAR orders, – establish PNP outpost in critical areas where installed farmers are being harassed, and – establish a direct line of communication with the DILG. Sources: Sicat, G. (1983). Economics. NationalBook Store Publishers. Metro Manila Philippines. www.gmanetwork.com/news http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno9700.php http://www.chanrobles.com/republicacts/republicactno6657.html#.US8wcDAaNps

Business Writing on Persuasion for Charity

Business Writing on Persuasion for Charity Business Writing on Persuasion for Charity Persuasion for Charity Philanthropy as social corporate responsibly needs to be uplifted and supported by every person and organization. This is because corporate giving demonstrates that organizations feel and support the welfare of the society and local communities. It is therefore, a way of giving back to the society, in recognition of the many benefits that they in turn avail to organizations. Keep a Child Alive is a program aimed at providing treatment, love, and support to families affected by HIV/AIDS across the globe. It also provides lifesaving antiretroviral treatments, care, and other support services to vulnerable children and people in society. The charity has got offices spread throughout the world where they provide their services to this category of people in society. The charity does not rely on government for funding but rather draws its revenue from, their own programs, direct and indirect public support. They report no membership fees, non-government funding, and revenue from earned inc ome. Therefore, it receives its huge chunk (approximately 95% of its total revenue) from private contribution hence makings it one of charity with an impressive fundraising operations. According to charitynavigator.com, all information about charity organization can be accessed on the website. The website provides in a simplified manner data about various categories of charity organization in terms of their sources of income, location, the nature of their services, their current financial status, areas of operations among other information concerning them. It is therefore, easy and simple to access and determines the kind of charity to offer donation and support their course. Keep a Child Alive charity in 2009 financial years managed to collect a total income of $4, 088,674, and its expenses amounted to $3,556,335. In the year 2010, 87% of Keep a Child Alive charity revenues came from programs, 7% from fundraising, and 6% from management. Even though, the charity has not provided tangible information on the exact number of people that were assisted and the number of organization that participated in their initiative by sending their donations, of the total amount contributed, approximately 7% came from fundraising. This implies therefore that only 7% of the total revenue was accrued from donors; both individuals and corporations as large percentage of their revenue is generated from their own programs. According to Keep a Child Alive website, approximately 33.4milion people are infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide and therefore require the intervention of the charity every year. This statistics is a clear indication of how costly it is for the organization to meet its objectives in ensuring that such children and people are taken good care of. In light of the foregoing, I strongly support the involvement of the company in supporting the charity through social corporate responsibility initiative, by assisting it to reach a wider population to offer their donations and assistance. Apart from leading its philanthropy in supporting the charity, the company will join a larger network of companies involving in philanthropic works and be able to expand its operations, as it will meet new prospective clients. Furthermore, the initiative will enable the company to earn positive reputation from the public as well as increase its coverage to the public hence benefiting. In addition, this interaction will enable the company gain a competitive edge over its competitors, as its customers will feel a sense of care and concern to the needs of the vulnerable in the society. The business is a partnership type. It is an advertising company dealing in billboards, print and electronic advertising. The company has over 220 employees stationed at different locations. However, its headquarters is located in California. It therefore, serves the local market and foreign market depending on the needs of the client. The company is guided by a mission statement† Information is Power.† This shows how the company values and sees the potential information can have. The power of information is important in triggering course of action. The company currently has recorded an increase in its returns triggering it to join the entire society in contributing back to less fortunate through social corporate responsibility programs. The organization has horizontal leadership structure giving the employees and the management an opportunity to relate and interact freely hence fostering their relationships. If you need professional Business writing help feel free to contact professional business paper writing service.

Testing Usaability of Web Page Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Testing Usaability of Web Page - Essay Example There is interaction between the user of a computer and computer as a machine that transmits information across when it is used by the user. It's a kind of communion that takes place between the user and the computer with varying results. For instance the user uses the input devices to get message through in the form of what he has typed -email, chat or other stratagems at his disposal. Machine works to get the message across through variety of forms chosen by the user. Usability then refers to a system of teeming reality in which human and machine inter connect and communicate through in put and out put devices of the system which has been used . User interface is a way through which machine and human communicate a system. The appropriate criterion of assessing usability is in the significance of the system that is used by all. For users usability is meaning full because it enables them to find out about how they performed tasks fruitfully or had problems in completing them. For a developer usability is the success or failure of the system... For management productivity of work force holds eminence because failure of a system means no profit. Interface Designers learn designer guidelines and designer principles to get feedback about the system they have constructed from the people who use it. Users Designers, developers and management have standards by which usability can be assessed, and they have the right to pass verdict about what is proper and usable for them. . They have to make sure what are the standards by which a design has to satisfy public appeal and familiarity... For constructing a web page goals have to be set that will determine specific strategies to assess usability in terms of success of a web page by its users. Length of site's design construction, evaluation periods Specific quantitative and qualitative measures of success are the foundations on which usability can germinate public appeal. Another way to assess it is to know what the audience wants to read on the site that will be successful by giving them the information they want. A well defined system can be constructed keeping in view needs and ideas of the users. Data base of existing, needed content will take into consideration content resources for making an out line for one's needs for a web page design. Information can be organized for assessment. Horton, Lynch (2002) (Web style guide 2nd edition) The content of the web page should meet the needs of the users to be assessed. Communication with the users of the webpage will be useful for fulfilling their demands of giving them proper service and things they want. Effective web page design contains both graphic images and text which makes the site enjoyable for the users. Web site organization, graphic design, and typography are useful for the users because they feel they are getting accurate information from the site. Logs for the web site can be analyzed for development of quantitative data for the site's

Adaptive Portfolio Management using Evolutionary Algorithm Essay

Adaptive Portfolio Management using Evolutionary Algorithm - Essay Example Introduction: Portfolio management is the process of managing assets i.e. stocks, bonds, etc., such that a large return with a low risk is obtained. Forecasting price movements in financial markets is an important part of constructing portfolios. Most traders believe that the financial markets are not fully efficient and that there exist temporary predictability, which could be exploited for collecting excess returns above the market average [1]. Consequently, many financial institutions have developed decision support systems to help traders and analysts make decisions about portfolio management more quickly and more effectively. Technical indicators use statistics to determine trends in security prices and are often used by financial markets and private traders to assist with portfolio management. A survey of foreign exchange traders in London [2] estimates that up to 90% of traders use some form of technical indicators and trading rules in their daily trading. Technical indicators assume that securities move according to trends and patterns that are continued over a short periods of time until another trend is triggered by the change in the market condition. The success of technical indicators depends on how one interprets the signals. Expert human traders are capable of combining several technical indicators and trading rules to arrive at composite strategies which are used in portfolio selection, execution and risk management. The process of arriving at such strategies requires high experience, expertise and often long and tidies hours of observation of historical and current market data to test and fine-tune different combinations of technical indicators and trading rules. Although there are agreements that financial markets do sometimes show periods where certain trading rules work [3], it is very hard to find evidence that a single trading strategy can function over an extended period of time. This can be due to the fact that financial markets are const antly evolving, and that when a trading rule is found to work it would not take long before it is exploited until it no longer harvests a significant profit. This forces the traders and technical analyst to constantly create new strategies or retune the existing strategies so that they would work under the new market conditions. The goal of my research would be to create a system that emulates human behaviour in combining a set of simple rules and technical indicators to create sophisticated trading strategies. The system then would constantly evolve those strategies or creating new strategies that would adapt to changing market conditions. 2. Motivation: In the past several years, there has been a notable increase in the use of financial modeling and optimization tools such as algorithmic trading and automated portfolio management in financial industries. In addition to the pressure on asset management firms to reduce costs and maintain a more stable and predictable performance in the aftermath of the downturn in the world’s markets in recent years, three other general trends have contributed to this increase. First, there has been an increase of interest in predictive models for asset returns. Predictive models assume that it is possible to make conditional forecasts of future returns—an objective that was previously considered not achievable by classical financial theory. Second, the wide availability of sophisticated and specialized software packages has enabled generating and exploiting