The Light of Trust

The Light of Trust In his article â€Å"A Shared Moment of Trust† Warren Christopher emphasizes the importance of being able to depend on and trust one another. He states three different examples, each of them showing how he had used the essential tool of â€Å"Trust† for reaching success both in his work, personal and social relationships. First, he points out the meaning of reliance on one another in a simple situation as driving a car.Driving alone down a dark road, one should have some faith towards other drivers, so that he will not be crushed. Secondly, he expresses his cooperative skills, how he managed to save fifty-two Americans lives, due to his will of believing and trusting even the people that he had never worked with before. Finally, Warren Christopher illustrates the importance of working together as a team, pointing out the fact of trust on each other saving thousands of lives.To my mind, trust, as a bridge, links individuals together to be a society. It improves a better outcome to be achieved in human being life. Although cheating is everywhere, and I was cheated by my close friend so as to doubt whether I should trust other people or not; finally, I persist my belief that I should trust, trust other people to make my world better. Trust is the reason why a baby stops crying when it is in his mothers embrace, because he knows she will tend to his needs.Trust is the reason a husband does not question his wife’s whereabouts, because he believes her faithfulness. Trust is the reason a boss does not check behind the work of his employees, because he knows that they will do it to his standards. There are many reasons that highlight the importance of teamwork in the workplace. With suitable teamwork it is possible to decrease the amount of work that usually becomes one individual’s headache. At my workplace I used to share work between my co-workers.Sharing the workload helped me a lot as there is more focus on less thing s and the possibility of getting an assignment done earlier than expected. Teamwork also helped me with reducing my stress level. It is important that every employee feel that they are a part of the group. Customers and the community put trust in businesses and their methods by buying their products. Businesses trust fiduciaries that act for them by working with them to acquire their expertise. Even within a business there is trust in the form of employee-employer relationships.For example, employees trust that they will receive compensation for their work after certain time intervals or after producing certain units of outputs. If there is a lack of trust, these relationships will disintegrate and business efficiency will be reduced. Therefore, trust is a very important and powerful element of life. In every relationship, whether romantic, friendship, business or family, a degree of trust is needed in order for that relationship to be successful.

Response to “Two Ways of Seeing a River” Essay

In â€Å"Two Ways of Seeing a River,† author Mark Twain uses a blocked structured comparative analysis of the river to describe how he feels about the river, or â€Å"sees† it now that he has â€Å"learned† it and there is less beautiful mystery associated with it. Twain develops each paragraph to using metaphor, â€Å"A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood† (par. 1), simile, â€Å" a long , ruffled trail that shone like silver† (par. 1) , and personification, â€Å"There were graceful curves† (par. 1) to describe vividly how he sees the river before and after his mastering of the water. After Twain masters the river, he follows his previously established pattern in paragraph one to develop in order the contrasts of the river now that it is no longer a mystery. He describes the same river with more somber, less colorful language, â€Å"This sun means we that we are going to have wind tomorrow† (par. 2). What Twain is really comparing is his romantic, uneducated view of the river to his more rational, understood knowledge on how to navigate and survive on the water. Work Cited Twain, Mark. â€Å"Two Ways of Seeing a River†

Goal of My Life Essay

There are many goals in life that I have planned to accomplish. When I was in high school the most important goal was to finish the school with a G. P. A. 3. 0 or higher so that I could get into prestigious colleges. I have accomplished that goal, I graduated high school with a 3. 2 G. P. A. However, when I got into college people start asking me, â€Å"What are you planning to do after you finish college? † This is one of the toughest questions for a college student. Since I have been a student for all my life, I would have a hard time to answer the question. For every typical graduates would do is to find a job that suits with the field that they have learnt or help with their family business. People said that if you don’t have any idea on what you really want to do in your life, start with the things that interests you, things that you enjoy doing. Therefore, my goals in life are to take care of my parents when they are old, marry the best man, help the community, get a good job that makes me happy and gives me enough money to support my family. The first major goal in my life is to take care of my parents because in the Buddhist world, taught me that to take care of your parents is the most virtuous thing in life. Parents are the people that give birth and raise me to be a good person in the society, therefore I have to give back what they have given me for all their lives. The second goal in my life would be every girls’ dream that is to marry the best man (on earth). These days to find the right guy is very difficult thing to do because it is almost impossible. From the research of 100 guys, found that at least 50 guys are gay, 20 guys are married, 10 are in jail, 5 became monks, 5 are unattractive, 5 are disabled, 3 have HIV, 1 is in asylum(27 August 2012). However, I still believe that every person are destine to be with someone, and I will find my best man someday. Another goal in my life is to help others. I believe that every people should learn how to give and take, it’s the only way to make this world a better place. When you make more then you should give back more. By that I mean helping the community. I may not be able to donate tons of money to the people in need but I started off with little things such as littering in proper places and donate essentials to the orphanage. And in the future I would promote education for children that are in need. My last important goal is to get a good job with ood money. In this life I don’t expected to be a millionaire, I just want a job that makes me happy and gives me enough money to support my family. The reason why I don’t want to be a millionaire is because when you make more money, money will consume more of your time and you won’t be able to enjoy your happiness. I have set these goals to remind me that these are the reasons why I am here. And everyday that I live, everything that I do more or less would help me to accomplish these goals.

The Role of Strategic Planning within an Organisation Research Paper

The Role of Strategic Planning within an Organisation - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the development of an organizational strategic plan remains essential in ensuring the stakeholders remains focused toward achievement of common goals. Through the strategic planning aspect, a guideline to fundamental decisions becomes established as organizations seek to enhance the effectiveness of the organizational business process. Effective strategic planning, therefore, presents an articulate course of actions which are necessary for making essential progress within the organization. Strategic planning remains an essential aspect of management which must be effectively addressed in seeking to ensure organizational efficacy. This planning element can be defined as a fundamental determinant of the management process as it presents an evaluative communication of the organizational capabilities with objectives. Strategic planning enables organizations to match their capabilities with the anticipated outcomes, hence enhance the effectiv eness in the utilization of organizational resources. The strategic planning element provides guidance regarding the course of action to be taken under different circumstances which might face the organization. This is commonly established following an extensive analysis of the internal and external factors which might affect the effectiveness of the organization. Organisational planning remains essential in the development of processes aimed at providing a guideline into the actions undertaken towards achieving organizational goals. The fundamental focus of strategic planning remains to ensure the sustainability of business operations in the future. Strategic planning remains a critical element in different management aspects within an organization. Crisis management can be described as the process through which organizations deal with external threats which could potentially harm business operations.

Technology integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Technology integration - Essay Example AT&T is a telecommunication company that offers a wide variety of products and services to Americans. The following factors has made the company’s success in the integration of technology. AT&T Company is well known in contacting immense research at all times. This enables them to capture a broad range of customers which determines their profit at the end of the day. The company has an extremely qualified research team that embarks on constant research work and working close with the product designers, and they can come up with the latest products meeting the customer’s needs (Yee and Oh, 2013). The company is working on the internet of things and bringing new technological gadgets beefed up with 3 & 4G networks which make the users download products from websites in few seconds. These products are as a result of constant R&D, that the company has heavily invested. AT&T Company has the best innovative team that has ever been known in history. They constantly keep innovating so as to meet the rising needs and even goes to the extent of making products which make the life of the user even more comfortable. The company also achieves this through the issuance of patents which makes its team broader. From their official website, the company in the year 2014 issued at least one patent a day, and that has seen them have over 10000 patents issued in various parts of the world. In this case, the company will always have state-of-the-art technology at all times ensuring new and improved products to meet a broad range of customer needs (Iansiti, 1998). It is very true when a company becomes very aggressive in the above-discussed sectors of constant innovation and R&D, it will undoubtedly succeed. AT&T Company not only utilizes the two aspects, but also works out with mergers and acquisition that makes the company widen its

PROJECT Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PROJECT - Assignment Example The management has to determine and evaluate the performance of each employee which is difficult. Decreasing the labor force also demotivates the remaining work force which may result in poor performance and the management has to assure the remaining employees of a long term relationship and motivate them. This article will cover the strategies of reducing the workforce and include other changes that can be adopted to improve the overall performance of the organization (University of Washington n.d) We have to bear in mind the laws governing employment termination, treat the employees fairly, preserve and protect the employee’s dignity, make the reasons for termination confidential and handle the termination process professionally. We can adopt various strategies to measure the performance of the employees in order to know which employees should be terminated. The first measure is to determine the quantity in terms of units produced by the employee in case of a production industry which can be quantified. The other factor to be considered is the quality of the goods produced or the services offered. Quality can be determined by complaints received from customers, the output that has to be redone and the quantity of work rejected. Timeliness should be considered in terms of the speed of completion of activities. We should also evaluate the cases of delays of an employee in completing the tasks assigned and in the case of a manufacturing industry, determine the number of u nits produced per hour (Hakala 2008). We should as well consider the cost-effectiveness of each employee. This will determine the responsibility of each employee in terms of cost control over the organizational spending. This should also include misuse of organizational resources such as using organizational vehicles for personal convenience. We should evaluate absenteeism of

Hollywood's irrational allergy to 'black' films Essay

Hollywood's irrational allergy to 'black' films - Essay Example The author initially described the prevailing racial prejudice that continue to pervade Hollywood by disclosing that even George Lucas, the world renowned producer of blockbuster films, had faced outright rejection when â€Å"Red Tails† was proposed. Using logical structure and presentation, Martin eventually presented an enumeration of facts to dispute the allegation that supposed â€Å"black films† could not be possibly effectively marketed. By intending to use persuasion to emotionally appeal to the audience that more African-Americans have made legendary marks and accomplishments in contemporary American society, Martin used appeal to pathos as a convincing element. Eventual discourse focused on the culture of Hollywood through narrating and disclosing that it is a â€Å"close-minded society where it's hard to find African-Americans in positions of true power†. As such, through analysis, readers would deduce that without sufficient backing, representation and support from any significant leader or senior management with approving power, films with predominantly black actors were deemed a complete debacle. Further, Martin contended that there is an eminent dilemma in Hollywood that typecasts films with predominantly black casts as â€Å"black† films and therefore render them unmarketable with significantly low global audience appeal. By providing vivid examples through citing famous personalities, the author ensured that increased understanding is rendered to the readers, as intended.

Civil Society Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Civil Society - Research Paper Example Therefore a civil society includes: Keeping in view the above scenario, it can be asserted that the role of civil society is extremely important as it plays the role of an umpire that functions to judge the conditions or the society. The different segments of the society which include the market, the state and the households perform their roles in an independent fashion. The civil society is the connecting link between these segments and plays its role to harmonize the interactions that exist between various segments. The reaction of civil society to any undue happening in this interaction is manifested in the form of protest. Kant’s opinion is that there is no universal law that can govern the functioning of all civil societies. Therefore, the development of a law to govern the functioning of a civil society may only regulate the society’s interaction with external factors. According to Kant, if such a universal law and a universal civil society were to exist it would be equal to universal peace. Civil society has also been used typically to develop public reasoning and resistance to forward deliberation and thinking. This process leads to the political process of voting and hence determines individual choices. However, Habermas disagrees; he believes that such open discussion do not always produce optimistic and positive results and can sometimes lead to disruptive influences. He proposes to use control over such debates in public open spaces and freedom of expression should be limited to bringing the society to a good turn. Regulator: the civil society keeps tabs on the State and the marketplace and keeps them in check. It compares their relative performances, their performance worldwide and their performance in accordance with the prevalent laws and brings all the key points of the errors to check and balance. Activist: the element of change

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bullying - Essay Example To begin with, the fresher becomes the ideal â€Å"raw-material† for bullying. The reason being the freshmen are in minority and the senior students are in majority. The latter have gone through the experience of bullying and are waiting for their opportunity to take revenge. Taunts, intimidation, threats and violence are different forms of bullying and it is growing in all the directions like the octopus. The hopeful sign is that there has been increased awareness about the measures to checkmate bullying with those concerned with this issue, parents, teachers and guardians of the society. Making of a bully Vile bullying is tantamount to criminal behavior. In the educational institutions it is practiced by the bullies as if it is part of their curriculum. Some of the reasons for bullying are frustration, absence of role model, abuse and neglect at home, undue influence of peers and conduct disorder etc. The seed for the trait of bullying is sown at home. Children have impressi onable minds, and when parents do not spare enough time for them to meet their genuine needs, they rebel internally and when suppressed over a long period, it results in aggression. A youth fights to establish his own identity failing which he associates with like-minded friends and plans violent acts to give vent to his suppressed desires and goals. The materialistic civilization and the internet revolution have contributed their share to making the youth take to the path of negativities and violence. A youth comes to believe that bullying is the best and immediate solution for all his problems. Acceptable behavior for young adults and solution to bullying, its different perspectives A bully, when called to account, will go to the typical denial mode immediately. This is the common reaction. The bully thinks that offence is the best form of defense. Bullies are excellent manipulators and are experts in passing on the responsibility. In schools and colleges, to tackle bullying has t o be the important part of the school discipline. Students should have a clear understanding at the time of admission that aggression, bullying and violence are not acceptable. A written communication needs to be sent to the guardians and parents mentioning their responsibility on this count and with clear indications about the anti-bullying policy of the institution. The tolerance limit for this negative tendency should be zero and the one who still rebels must find accommodation in reformatory schools, if not outright rustication. The punishment meted out needs to be stern warning to other intending bullies that not only their educational career, but their future is in jeopardy if they violate rules. At the same time all possible counseling methods need to be employed to tame a bully and guidance provided to him as to how to deal with aggression. The bully should be told firmly about the benefits of interaction in a responsible and respectable manner with fellow students, juniors and the teaching faculty. Physical punishment is inappropriate as it will not deliver permanent solution to heal the injured psyche of the affected individual. The final solution to tackle bullying is the collective responsibility of the senior students, teachers, parents and the moral guardians of the society like preachers and spiritual masters. Meekness is not a virtue in all circumstances. Even the most disciplined student need to stand up to the bullies to check them from further adventures. The wise saying goes, â€Å"Meet good with good and evil with justice.† Most of the bullies are internally cowards. David Derbyshire writes about two interesting findings by the researchers, â€Å"Children who returned hostility with hostility appeared to be the most mature, the researchers found. Boys who stood

Financial Crisis Essay Example for Free

Financial Crisis Essay The term ‘financial’ means money or money related resources and the term ‘crisis’ means deterioration or disaster or emergency so the financial crisis means the rapid deterioration of financial indicators such as asset prices and short-term interest rates which becomes the cause of financial disaster. It is also defined as the sudden change in stock rates in the financial markets. An example of financial crisis is stock market crash (Feldstein 1991, p. 1–2). The reason for financial crisis is not the huge investments made by the business leaders in the venture related activities which fail and do not bring any profitable outcome but the reason is the sweeping of numerous market participants in the heavy risk-involved dealings for the same venture for profitable means. This can be in the form of thrifts lending, bank lending or share investments in the stock market. NBER study classifies the financial crisis into three major components: 1. Domestic capital related financial crisis 2. Economic and financial crisis through international origin and transmission 3. Financial crisis transition through economic collapse Thus, the overall reasons for financial crisis arises through the excessive involvements and investments of financial resources (money, assets, properties) in the stock market for increasing the number of shares in the interest of venture. Other reasons are the unintentional means which too arises from the market through the declining rates in short-term interest and assets prices which ruin the financial resources of a developed company and finally become the reason of ‘financial crisis’ (Feldstein 1991, p. 2–3). References Feldstein, M. (1991), The Risk of Economic Crisis, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press.

The European Union: International Relations

The European Union: International Relations The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the European Economic Community. With almost 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) of the nominal gross world product and about 22% of the PPP gross world product. The EU has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Sixteen member states have adopted a common currency, the euro, constituting the Eurozone. The EU has developed a limited role in foreign policy, having representation at the WTO, G8, G20 and at the UN. It enacts legislation in justice and home affairs, including the abolition of passport controls by the Schengen agreement between 22 EU and 3 non-EU states. As an international organisation, the EU operates through a hybrid system of supranationalism and intergovernmentalism. In certain areas, decisions are made through negotiation between member states, while in others, independent supranational institutions are responsible without a requirement for unanimity between member states. Important institutions and bodies of the EU include the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, the European Council, the European Court of Justice, and the European Central Bank. The European Parliament is elected every five years by member states citizens, to whom the citizenship of the European Union is guaranteed. The EU originates from the European Coal and Steel Community formed among six countries in 1951 and the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Since then, the EU has evolved through a process of enlargement, while new policy areas have been added to the remit of its institutions. HISTORY After the end of the Second World War, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent. One such attempt to unite Europeans was the European Coal and Steel Community which, while having the modest aim of centralised control of the previously national coal and steel industries of its member states, was declared to be a first step in the federation of Europe. The originators and supporters of the Community include Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul Henri Spaak and Alcide de Gasperi. The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany. In 1957, these six countries signed the Treaties of Rome which extended the earlier cooperation within the European Coal and Steel Community and created the European Economic Community, (EEC) establishing a customs union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for cooperation in developing nuclear energy. In 1967 the Merger Treaty created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities (EC), although commonly just as the European Community. In 1973 the Communities enlarged to include Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum and so Norway remained outside. In 1979 the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament were held. Greece joined in 1981, and Spain and Portugal in 1986. In 1985 the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. In 1986 the European flag began to be used by the Community and the Single European Act was signed. In 1990, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a newly united Germany. With enlargement toward Eastern and Central Europe on the agenda, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the European Union were agreed. The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993, and in 1995 Austria, Sweden and Finland joined the newly established EU. In 2002, euro notes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass sixteen countries, with Slovakia joining the eurozone on 1 January 2009. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Malta, Cyprus, Slovenia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary joined the Union. On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became the EUs newest members and Slovenia adopted the euro. In June 2009 the 2009 elections which later led to a renewal of Barrosos Commission Presidency and in July of that year Iceland formally applied for EU membership. On 1 December 2009 the Lisbon Treaty came into force after a protracted and controversial birth. This reformed many aspects of the EU but in particular created a permanent President of the European Council, the first of which is Herman van Rompuy, and a strengthened High Representative; Catherine Ashton. MEMBER STATES The European Union is composed of 27 sovereign Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Only six of these France, (then-West) Germany, Italy, and the three already integrated Benelux countries; Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg were members at the start, with membership having grown as countries willingly accede to the treaties and by doing so, pool sovereignty in exchange for representation in the institutions. To join the EU a country must meet the Copenhagen criteria, defined at the 1993 Copenhagen European Council. These require a stable democracy that respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy capable of competition within the EU; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership, including EU law. Evaluation of a countrys fulfilment of the criteria is the responsibility of the European Council. No member state has ever left the Union, although Greenland (an autonomous province of Denmark) withdrew in 1985. The Lisbon Treaty now provides a clause dealing with how a member leaves the EU. There are three official candidate countries, Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Iceland are officially recognised as potential candidates. Kosovo is also listed as a potential candidate but the European Commission does not list it as an independent country because not all member states recognise it as an independent country separate from Serbia. Four Western European countries that have chosen not to join the EU have partly committed to the EUs economy and regulations: Iceland, which has now applied for membership, Liechtenstein and Norway, which are a part of the single market through the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, which has similar ties through bilateral treaties. The relationships of the European microstates, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican include the use of the euro and other areas of co-operation. GEOGRAPHY The territory of the EU consists of the combined territories of its 27 member states with some exceptions, outlined below. The territory of the EU is not the same as that of Europe, as parts of the continent are outside the EU, such as Switzerland, Norway, European Russia, and Iceland. Some parts of member states are not part of the EU, despite forming part of the European continent (for example the Isle of Man and Channel Islands (two Crown Dependencies), and the Faroe Islands, a territory of Denmark). The island country of Cyprus, a member of the EU, is closer to Turkey than to mainland Europe and is often considered part of Asia. Several territories associated with member states that are outside geographic Europe are also not part of the EU (such as Greenland, Aruba, the Netherlands Antilles, and all the non-European British overseas territories). Some overseas territories are part of the EU even though geographically not part of Europe, such as the Azores, the Canary Islands, Madeira, Lampedusa, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and RÃ ©union, Ceuta and Melilla. As well, although being technically part of the EU, EU law is suspended in Northern Cyprus as it is under the de facto control of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, a self-proclaimed state that is recognised only by Turkey. The EUs member states cover an area of 4,422,773 square kilometres (1,707,642 sq mi). The EU is larger in area than all but six countries, and its highest peak is Mont Blanc in the Graian Alps, 4,807 metres (15,771 ft) above sea level. The landscape, climate, and economy of the EU are influenced by its coastline, which is 65,993 kilometres (41,006 mi) long. The EU has the worlds second-longest coastline, after Canada. The combined member states share land borders with 19 non-member states for a total of 12,441 kilometres (7,730 mi), the fifth-longest border in the world. Including the overseas territories of member states, the EU experiences most types of climate from Arctic to tropical, rendering meteorological averages for the EU as a whole meaningless. The majority of the population lives in areas with a Mediterranean climate (Southern Europe), a temperate maritime climate (Western Europe), or a warm summer continental or hemiboreal climate (Eastern Europe). GOVERNANCE The EUs work is divided into three areas of responsibility, called pillars. The original European Community policies form the first pillar, while the second consists of Common Foreign and Security Policy. The third pillar originally consisted of Justice and Home Affairs, however owing to changes introduced by the Amsterdam and Nice treaties, it has been reduced to Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters (other matters were transferred to the Community). Broadly speaking, the second and third pillars can be described as the intergovernmental pillars because the supranational institutions of the Commission, Parliament and the Court of Justice play less of a role or none at all, while the lead is taken by the intergovernmental Council of Ministers and the European Council (which operate more by consensus than majority in these pillars). Most activities of the EU come under the first, Community pillar. This is mostly an economically oriented pillar and is where the supranati onal institutions have the most influence. The activities of the EU are regulated by a number of institutions and bodies that carry out the tasks and policies set out in the Treaties. These procedures are all subject to the principle of subsidiarity which requires that action only be taken at EU level where an objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the member states alone. The EU receives its political leadership from the European Council, which usually meet four times a year. It comprises one representative per member state-either its head of state or head of government-plus its President as well as the President of the Commission. The member states representatives are assisted by their Foreign Ministers. The European Council uses its leadership role to sort out disputes between member states and the institutions, and to resolve political crises and disagreements over controversial issues and policies. On 19 November 2009, Herman Van Rompuy was chosen to become the first permanent President of the European Council. He took office on 1 December 2009. The European Council should not be mistaken for the Council of Europe, an international organisation independent from the EU. By virtue of a rotating presidency, every member state takes the helm of the EU for a period of six months during which that countrys representatives chair the meetings of the Council of Ministers. The member state holding the presidency typically uses it to drive a particular policy agenda such as economic reform, reform of the EU itself, enlargement, or furthering European integration. INSTITUTIONS The European Commission acts as the EUs executive arm and is responsible for initiating legislation and the day-to-day running of the EU. It is intended to act solely in the interest of the EU as a whole, as opposed to the Council which consists of leaders of member states who reflect national interests. The commission is also seen as the motor of European integration. It is currently composed of 27 commissioners for different areas of policy, one from each member state. The President of the Commission and all the other commissioners are nominated by the Council. Appointment of the Commission President, and also the Commission in its entirety, have to be confirmed by Parliament. The European Parliament forms one half of the EUs legislature. The 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by EU citizens every five years. Although MEPs are elected on a national basis, they sit according to political groups rather than their nationality. Each country has a set number of seats. The Parliament and the Council of Ministers form and pass legislation jointly, using co-decision, in certain areas of policy. This procedure has extend to many new areas under the Treaty of Lisbon, and hence increase the power and relevance of the Parliament. The Parliament also has the power to reject or censure the Commission and the EU budget. The President of the European Parliament carries out the role of speaker in parliament and represents it externally. The president and vice presidents are elected by MEPs every two and a half years. The Council of the European Union (sometimes referred to as the Council of Ministers) forms the other half of the EUs legislature. It consists of a government minister from each member states and meets in different compositions depending on the policy area being addressed. Notwithstanding its different compositions, it is considered to be one single body. In addition to its legislative functions, the Council also exercises executive functions in relations to the Common Foreign and Security Policy. The judicial branch of the EU consists of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the Court of First Instance. Together they interpret and apply the treaties and the law of the EU. The Court of First Instance mainly deals with cases taken by individuals and companies directly before the EUs courts, and the ECJ primarily deals with cases taken by member states, the institutions and cases referred to it by the courts of member states. Decisions from the Court of First Instance can be appealed to the Court of Justice but only on a point of law.

Impact of Emotions on Child Cognitive Processing

Impact of Emotions on Child Cognitive Processing Using research findings, critically discuss the impact emotions can have on children’s cognitive processing, social behaviour, and physical health. There are different impact emotions have on children’s cognitive processing, their social behaviour and how it affects children’s physical health. The critical discussion of this topic essay, will be centred on the events relating to children in grief for the passing of a parent, maltreated children, and also how parenting style can affect the emotional characteristics that are displayed by the children and from this angle relating it with two great influence on children cognitive psychologist. It is essential to recognise the factual significance of emotions before getting into the other impacts, emotions are part of everyday distinction, it is a complex feelings that range between happiness and sadness, which are also the feelings that follows most aspects of other emotional feelings (Barnes, 1995). But why must children’s emotion have any impact on their life’s and others? Why must it affect individual cognitive processing? Does it always have to affect positively or negatively on the self and others and are the emotions expressed acceptable? Piaget coined the stages of cognitive development on how children’s knowledge of the world grows and improves with age. According to Piaget, schema are in different categories of both sensory and physical activities, as children mature in age the developmental schema enables them to categorize and compare different items, this process improves over time, the outline has its strengths and limitations, it serves to devise how we remember. Through this process children can therefore change their thoughts into emotional feelings to their primary care provider. The scheme also enables sorting of items in the memory and through this process, we are then able to make decisions and hold natural processes on different environmental characteristics, although the schemata have its advantages but it is also determined by the quantity of information it can hold. It is obvious that Piaget considered environmental factors that sometimes changes how we recollect, in sight of this he came up with the adaptation-organization, which is the method that schema changes through when something happened in a child’s life. The stage of adaptation organisation is sensitive to ambiguity because he further complicated this stage by saying that children are not influenced by any external factors, but cognitive development is totally innate. Although Piaget’s theory had a great influence on modern developmental psychology, but to some extent it underestimated the full potential of children and what they are capable of doing. (Bee Boyd, 2010). Some emotions that are expressed strongly can be satisfactory depending on the circumstances for example, when a child loses a parent, the notions of loss naturally will cause an impingement on the child mental state, it sometimes have an impingement on their physical health and possibly affect how they socialize with other youngsters, but if this emotion are repressed it could manifest in different shapes, granting to the child bereavement case study conducted out by Worden (1996). There was a 6 years old girl who began to experience nightmares and high level of anxiety when her mother was diagnosed with cancer and even after the death of her mother the symptoms persisted, but her 3 years old brother and 13 years old sister did not experience such anxiety both before and after the death of their mother. In that respect are different views on when children gain the cognitive functions of grieve, according to Wolfenstein children develop the content to mourn or grieve from adolescence , while Bowlby suggested that children as young as 6months acquire the feelings as an adult. (Barnes, 1995). The case study shows individual differences in how the cognition reacts to different emotional issues and also support Bowlby’s suggestion that children as young as 6months acquire the feelings to grieve the same manner as an adult. (Parrott, 2001). Vygotsky’s theory is different from Piaget’s, Vygotsky refers to the cognitive process from social interaction aspect, according to him children learn from adult and other people that has a direct contact with them and through the relationship formed with other people they learn to experience how to socialize with other people. Through the guidance that children received from their parents they develop different skills and their zone of proximal development increases from the support and care received from their parents in order to acquire emotional stability, this is one major role out of many others, therefore the loss of that particular figure in a child’s developmental stage due to the sudden change of death will have its consequences on the child’s response in their cognitive development. Some strength of this theory is formed in the cognitive behavioural processes of a childs emotions and they are displayed through attention, retention, reproduction and motivation, he sees children talking to themselves has a way of learning to regulate both their emotions and behaviour and also it is a way of children developing problem solving skills. It is somehow hard to criticize this theory because it was not completed before Vygotsky died. (Bee Boyd, 2010). Male and female emotions operate with a different internal model, children mostly find it difficult to hide their emotions, for instance, when they are angry, they look miserable and through their facial expressions parent or the child’s caregiver can easily know that something is wrong and it is feasibly possible to describe what form of emotions that are displayed. But why can’t we always mask our emotions without other peoples awareness? Research findings has shown that the construction of emotions is universally and culturally similar, it is hard to separate emotions and cognition because the two processing influence each other, making it hard to isolate events of pure emotion and pure knowledge. Emotions alert individuals to be mindful of some very significant characteristics of the environment and provide directions for cognitive processing with the display of behaviour in certain ways that is conformed to the nature. (Lemerise Arsenio, 2000) On that point are some emotions related to shame and guilty conscience due to maltreatment from the health care provider, this feeling comes up due to distress to personal transgression. Guilty feelings in children could be affiliated with some specific behaviour this mostly is a shape of negative evaluation of emotional experience that are acquired from guilt, the individual will not realize that the problem is from themselves instead attention is primarily centred on what has taken place or what did not take place, it is severely important to look at the state of mind of a caregiver because it will deliver a substantial impact on the psychological evolution of the small fry. (Bee Boyd, 2010) The cognitive function of a child’s brain that deals with grieve is the Ego, it is the unconscious part that focus on the realness of the effect of a loss of a child’s parent. Kids as young as five years are vulnerable because they cannot fully understand the permanency of death, this is ascribable to the fact that their knowledge is not fully evolve in order to link up with the notions of loss (this statement contradicted what Bowlby suggested that children as young as six months can have the same impressions of heartache as an adult). (Worden, 1996) There are individual differences with the ability to understand other people’s emotion, the social development children and their social competence also have an impingement on their emotional knowledge of others. Children empathize with other people in different ways, it involves the consideration of their emotions and relating their feelings with other people’s emotional state, some children have very poor understanding of other people’s emotion, and perhaps the parental style of the caregiver might be accounted for the children’s lack of ability to understand other people’s emotion. (Bee Boyd, 2010). It is important for parents to create a positive impact in their children’s life, according to Samuelson (2012). The positive parental behaviours that are exhibited by the parents would be linked to the children’s attention and working memory and their inhibitory control this therefore means that the parental regulation of emotion would predict children’s executive functioning and there would be a better relationship and sympathy of other people’s emotion after controlling their own emotions. This construct is similar to Bandura’s theory with the Bobo doll experiment the main idea was to show how an aggressive behaviour can be modelled well by children, thus emotional behaviours that are exhibited by the parent of a child will be moulded by the small fry because of such children that is the normal style of behaviour, due to the children’s exposure to that type of emotions. So also some negative expressions of emotion that are exhibited by the parent can be disconcerting to the children, it frequently happens when children have been exposed to both positive and negative emotions in the same shape, this can thus prevent the child’s competency and developing problem solving skills. (Samuelson, Krueger, Wilson, 2012). It has been generally accepted that what determines social and emotional troubles in children are from some sort of temperament disturbance, according to Rutter and Caesar (1991). There are other underlying issues that contribute to behavioural difficulties, some of this behaviour are from language disorder, while others develop from different parenting style. It is important to point out that there is a general assumption that the beginning of problems in children are from their social and emotional development. Although parental attitudes and the distinctive preference for boys and girls emotions that are socially acceptable are deemed through the way children are responded to by their parents, which also would have a strong influence on their emotional behaviour, for example, if boys are taught to be tough and strong and encouraged that aggressive behaviours are masculine type of behaviour they will surely display more of such character and hide their emotions due to learned behav iour, while girls are taught to be gentle and calm so therefore girls are more flexible with how often they get emotional. Children learn through modelling they therefore will imitate the same learned behaviour displayed at home. (Ding Littleton, 2005) The research carried out by Berg-Nielsen et.al (2003). Revealed that there was a low parental involvement for boys in comparison to girls due to this lack of contact given to boys and lack of positive emotions displayed by their fathers when they are angry, by encouraging them to show their emotions and improve their self-awareness in order to enable them to be able to self-regulate their emotions. The reaction from the parent is otherwise due to the expectations from boys are different from girls thus there are riskier for boys to develop emotional behavioural disturbances. However, there are limitations to this research because it does not cut across different cultures. Nevertheless the environment that a child grows up will also have an impact on their emotional behaviour through the way they socially interact with others, for example parent that have a medical history of stress are always angry and depressed. This surely will affect the child’s growth in the appropriate wa y, there is a tendency for the child to develop an emotional imbalance, irritable temperament or mental health problems and possibly unable to regulate own behaviour, due to the type of attachment given to the child by the parents. (Ding Littleton, 2005). In conclusion, there are different theoretical approaches to emotion from the cognitive aspect of the social and behavioural aspect, there are some emotional display of behaviour that can be seen as acceptable, and for example when a child is grieving the loss of a parent. Across different cultures, children display similar emotions that suggests that a child’s cognitive processing have an impact on their emotions which are then exhibited in their behaviour, research findings have also shown that the environmental influences also have an effect on children, developmental stages, but the strongest influences are the type of parenting style, the type of attachment children received during childhood will determine how they deal with and regulate their emotions. And lastly children’s emotions also cause an impact on their health, for instance, if a child is constantly afraid it can lead to acute anxiety problems which mostly therefore becomes a mental health illness. References Barnes, P. (1995). Personal, Social and Emotional Development of children. Oxford: Blackwell. Bee, H., Boyd, D. (2010). The Developing Child (12th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. Berg-Nielsen, T. S., Vika, A., Dahl, A. A. (2003). When adolescents disagree with their mothers: CBCL-YSR discrepancies related to marternal depression and adolescent self-esteem. Journal of Child Care, Health and Development, (29), 207-13. Ding, S., Littleton, K. (2005). Childrens Personal and Social Development. Oxford: Blackwell. Lemerise, E. A., Arsenio, W. F. (2000). An Integrated Model of Emotion Processes and Cognition in Social Information Processing. Journal of Child Development, (71), 107-118. Parrott, W. G. (2001). Emotions in Social Psychology. Philadelphia: Psychology Press. Rutter, M., Casaer, T., (eds). (1991). Biological Risk Factors for Psycho-social Disorders. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. Samuelson, K. W., Krueger, C. E., Wilson, C. (2012). Relationship Between Marternal Emotion Regulation, Parenting and Childrens Executive Functioning in Families Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, (17), 3532. doi:DOI: 10.1177/0886260512445385 Worden, J. W. (1996). Children in Grieve: When a Parent Dies. New York: Guilford.

War of 1812 Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction With the ongoing battles between England and France in the early 19th century, the newly formed United States found itself thrust in the middle of this struggle. In the early part of the century Napoleon was on a mission to once again establish a mighty French empire of early years. But with the build up of the royal British Navy the English were trying fiercely to hold Napoleon in check. The United States was determined to stay neutral and continue its trading with both nations. However several mandates passed by both France and England made this very difficult. With England’s naval blockade and the repeated search and seizure of American trade vessels, the United States, led by an aggressive group of leaders in congress known as the Young War Hawks, took a very aggressive approach to Britain and its royal navy. However, the War Hawks and President Madison also had plans of expansion in mind, to extend its boarders to the North Pole, home to royal colonies of the now hated Great Britain. With this plan and the negative feeling toward Britain, the war was just around the corner. And in June of 1812, a full-fledged war was upon them. The war, which lasted approximately two years, was a very bloody and costly battle to both the United States and Britain. Systematic Analysis To begin to look at this war we must take a look at the system the world was in at the time. The world was dominated by a bi-polar system, with France and England being the two poles. However you also had another player in the system, Russia. Although not quite as powerful as either of the top two, but if thrown in the mix could tip the scales toward one side or the other. The United States at this time preferred to practice a policy of isolationism, and stay out of the turbulent affairs of Europe. The constant struggle between the French and the British dominated the world scene. The French who were led by Napoleon were trying to establish an empire and dominate all of Eur ope. This struggle had been raging since the turn of the century. The British as in any bi-polar system were dead set on preventing this from happening. With the United States only a minor player in the international system at the time there was nothing the United States could do in this affair except continue its policy of neutrality, and isolationism. With a bi-polar international system, you are always i... ...ithout the other. When looking at the system as a whole you provide ample proof that the bi-polar system is very unstable and susceptible to conflict at anytime, especially when the two powers are countries that have been at each other since their creation. Each country is trying to gain dominance over the other. Napoleon would not stop his process until he accomplished his goal or was defeated. The state level also ties into the system, as the states goal was dominance or defeat. The United States tried to invade modern day Canada to increase it national territory and fought many bloody, deadly battles in order to accomplish this goal. Which they eventually failed and did not gain any territory but did not lose any either, the British also attempted to capture key cities and failed as well. Individual level you see how countrymen will rally in support of their country and this is plain and simply human nature. That is why when you look at the three levels they all are interlocke d and must have one, in this war, to have the other. So in a war that was a defeat for France and a draw for the United States and Britain, each level was very prominent and a necessity in The War of 1812.

The Fear of Fat Criterion Within the DSM IV Essay example -- anorexia n

As our society is bombarded with the images of manufactured beauty and â€Å"thinness†, conversations increasingly center on dieting and body dissatisfaction. The media advertises weight loss products in the form of pills, drinks, surgery, fitness equipment and support groups to mold individuals into the proposed ideal form. This evidence alone suggests a strong case for the possibility of a pathological fear of fat. Is this fear, however, the driving force behind all cases of anorexia nervosa and bulimia? According to the DSM IV, the fear of gaining weight is essential for these diagnoses to be made. Strong arguments have been made both in favor and against modifying the existing criteria to allow for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals, regardless of whether or not a ‘fat phobia’ is present. Is it culturally insensitive to retain this particular criterion, a fear of gaining weight, if a patient has not been exposed to the same cultural p ressures and orientation towards being thin? Although western culture is thought to be the dominant culture, because of power and economics, non-western cultures make up eighty percent of the world’s population (Lee, 1995). Many of these ‘sub-dominant’ cultures are present in the melting pot of the modern United States. Are these non-Westernized individuals being denied the necessary treatments and interventions merely because a fear of gaining weight is not expressed? Such a strong focus on body dissatisfaction may cause one to overlook or disregard the pressures of societal systems, such as immigration or poverty, on the mental and physical well being of an individual. If ‘fat phobia’ is indeed a culturally constructed definition of anorexia nervosa, it la... ...ternational Journal of Eating Disorders, 17, 175-183. King, M.B., & Bhugra, D. (1989). Eating disorders: Lessons from a cross-cultural study. Psychological Medicine, 19, 955-958. Lake, A.J. Staiger, P.K., & Glowinski, H. (2000). Effect of Western Culture on Women’s Attitudes to Eating and Perceptions of Body Shape. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 27, 83-89. Lee, S. (1993). How abnormal is the desire for slimness? A survey of eating attitudes and behaviour among Chinese undergraduates in Hong Kong. Psychological Medicine, 23, 437-451. Lee, S. (1995). Self-starvation in context: Towards a culturally sensitive understanding of anorexia nervosa. Social Science and Medicine, 41, 25-36. Thompson, J.K. & Altabe, M.N (1991). Psychometric qualities of the figure rating scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 10, 615-619.