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Should the Police Be Allowed to Impose Brain Scans on...

Should the police be allowed to impose brain scans on suspects, assuming that brain scans can help proving mens rea? The English criminal justice system is based upon a â€Å"range of decisions and procedures from the investigations and questioning of people† which develop the common sense ideas of free will and responsibility for conduct. Imposing Brain scans on suspects by the police excludes the system from procedures of investigation and questioning, which is known to be justice. Brain scans can be used for the element of the criminal law of mens rea, which is required under the criminal justice system to convict one of crime. However the presumption of innocence and a fair trial would be under threat as one would have been proven guilty†¦show more content†¦This is due to the fact that police officers will have evidence taken from the defendant’s brain scans, which produces â€Å"70 to 90 per cent of accuracy†. Thus, the defendant would have been proven guilty, before commencing trials. As well as, it is believed here that the use of brain scans by police and ev idence would misdirect the Jury, as Dr Farahany states that jurors often tend to believe that science is the objective truth, therefore showing that if police officer are given the right to use brain scans on suspects, evidence taken from the scans in court would be regarded more sufficient than â€Å"witness interviews, testimony by the accused under cross examination, and even the persons body language†. United States v. John W. Hinckley Jr. present the above argument due to Jury not finding Hinckley not guilty by the reason brain scan image was central to jury’s decision. Also, due to the Brain scans being â€Å"70 to 90 per cent† accurate, this producing a defence for a defendant to argue that the scan in inaccurate, causing the process of scans to be a waste of time. As previously seen In R v Bà ©land the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the results of a polygraph examination are not admissible as evidence. As the test had relied upon ones sweat an d heart palpitations which delivered inaccurate results. This has also been seen to be the reason why polygraph examinations were excluded as evidence in the English Criminal justice system. ThereforeShow MoreRelatedStrategy Safari by Mintzberg71628 Words   |  287 Pagestogether? Henry replied. They both thought that Joe would make an excellent member of the team. So the safari was launched. We did not, however, write this as a textbook or some sort of academic treatise. From the outset, we believed that the book should have as much relevance for managers and consultants in practice as students and professors in the clasroom. So we set out to write an easily accessible explanation of the fascinating field of strategic management. Sure, some parts may appeal moreRead MoreAccounting Information System Chapter 1137115 Words   |  549 Pagesmany right answers and student answers will vary. Instead, it is in thinking through the issues presented in Table 1-2 (business processes, key decisions, and information needs) and Figure 1-1 (interactions with external parties). Student answers should contain many of the things in Table 1-2 and Figure 1-1 as well as others not shown, as a retail operation differs from an application development enterprise. The author concludes the exercise by having the students turn to Table 1-2 and Figure 1-1Read MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pageswritten permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. 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Barnes and Noble Case Study free essay sample

Barnes and Noble (BN) bookstore was started as a student book-exchange store. It later evolved into book retail superstores, and also incorporated online retailing, college bookstores and an ebook store. With more than 600 stores today, BN is the largest bookstore in the nation. As large as they are, they have faced a lot of challenges as well. BN started as a very innovative business. In fact, they were the first bookstore to air television ads. They were very memorable and still remain in the heads of truly loyal customers even 40 years later. They were also the first bookstore to sell best-selling books at a huge discount in order to sell more and get their name out there. They expanded throughout the country and it was almost as though they became an instant favorite overnight. They made their stores friendly with cafes and comfortable seats to sit in, so one could enjoy a book without the hassle of everyday life to get in the way. They tended towards the slower lifestyle and wanted their customers to be able to have a place they could escape to with their story and enjoy. As can be seen, BN was incredibly versatile and able to change with customer demands. They were a superstore giant and received great respect, even from those working against them. Decades ago, BN’s main competitors were Borders, Waldenbooks, local bookstores and libraries. Borders, their biggest competitor, went out of business in 2011 due to their inability to maintain their brick and mortar stores based on their declining sales. That left Barnes and Nobles in the lead, and their other competitors have also had to downsize or were wiped out of the competition. In an attempt to investigate BN further and provide more background information, a SWOT analysis was performed. Strengths One of the main strengths of Barnes Noble is the wide variety of selection of books and book-related products they offer. For seven consecutive years, they were awarded the title of â€Å"Pinnacle of all bookseller brands. † They also foresaw the rise of mobile devices and concentrated on technological changes. They opened an ebook store to sell online items such as electronic books, newspapers and magazines. Their website and applications were made available not only on desktops and laptops, but also on iPads, iPhones and several other digital platforms. Investing early in the digital market initially gave them a competitive edge . Also, as a result of being able to hold a dominant market position, the company can negotiate lower prices and thus provide customers with savings. Weaknesses One of their biggest weaknesses is having to spend so much money on legal proceedings that affect profitability. Lawsuits such as reduction in salaries and shareholders’ complaints against board of directors have massively incurred expenses on the company. Also, when compared to their competitors Amazon and Walmart, BN has a much higher fixed cost, which leaves them prone to price wars, dropping revenues and economic declines. Furthermore, BN depends on limited inventory suppliers. This puts them in a risky situation since they do not have a long standing agreement made with any of their suppliers. There is no guarantee that BN will not face a blackout in the delivery of merchandise by their suppliers. Opportunities The hold BN has on the college market, with revenues increasing year by year already, has a big potential for growth since the college textbook market is stable. Many individual bookstores are operating at a loss and that provides opportunities for BN to acquire them. BN’s image also can be put into one of those â€Å"Go-Green† groups since one of the publishers they purchased in 2003, Sterling, publishes eco-friendly planners, articles and journals. BN is also one of the top players in magazine and newspaper retail. With the customer trust they have gained, and the dominant market presence they have acquired, BN has much potential to be USA’s largest retailer in the magazine and newspaper industry. Threats The recent economic decline caused government to cut budgets to educational institutions. Consequently, colleges have to reduce the number of accepted students and cut courses, which affects the sales of the college bookstore segment of BN. The increasing popularity of e-books and cheap e-book rentals also puts retail brick-and-mortar bookstores at a disadvantage. The immense competition pressure imposed by iPad and Android tablets on the Nook also proves as an undeniable threat. Assessment Barnes Noble has a lot on their plate, and they are in a lot of trouble if they don’t change how they are operating and try to be attractive to old customers that left and new customers that could potentially bring them profit. They have emerged into a new technological field that they did not plan on entering when they opened up their first book store. Only time will tell how they react to the situation they are in and if they can succeed and change in today’s market. BN has outlived its long time competitor, which means that BN has been doing something right, but at the cost of losing millions each year as well as their previously great stock prices. BN spread itself thin in multiple markets, and the reaction of the general public is changing from paperback to tablet reading. Over the past few years of this trend, they have lost about 94% of their pre-tax earnings, and things aren’t looking up. An assessment of their challenges will prove if the company will sink or float in the future. The company has been around for a long time and has become a family name. Their problem is going to be if they can change with the times and with what the future generations will want after they work with the current generations. Change is essential to every company. BN so far has done a good job of that up until the paperless tablet era. They introduced the Nook to try to keep up, but the facts are showing that they cannot keep up the way they are operating. E-readers have been a hot category for the past few years. They seemed to have so much potential when they came in around 2007 with the ability to store hundreds of books and lightweight. However, with the emergence of full-featured tablet pcs and their shrinking size and price, the future of e-readers such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and BN’s original Nook is fading. People would more likely read e-books on versatile tablets that are also capable of web-browsing and gaming, than be limited to only reading. Market researcher IDC estimated 2012 global e-reader shipments at 19. 9 million units, down 28% from 27. 7 million units in 2011. This attributes to the drastic drop in revenues for NOOK section as shown in Figure 1. The underlying shares sold short (SSS) for retail segment of BKS are waning approximately 7 percent annually. They are closing 20-30 stores per year. Fig 1. Comparison of revenues and EBITDA for Q1 2013 and Q1 2014 As seen in the comparison, BKS retail segment had 1 billion revenues for Q1 2014, which is a 9. 9% decrease from the previous year. The EBITDA of the company also declined 12 million compared to last year. The switch to a paperless environment is not the only reason why BN’s retail book sales have been plummeting. Amazon, the most formidable competitor to BN, offers more variety, lower prices and free shipping. Also Amazon has a detailed review system that is much preferable than BN’s anonymous reviewing system that is neither dependable nor helpful. Amazon was estimated to have sold around 22. 6% of all the books in the U. S while BN has captured just 17. 3% of the market. People in this generation have started to go paperless and want less and less to do with buying hard copies of books. Why carry multiple books when you can go paperless? That’s the thought of today’s population, so that is why hard copies of books are losing their place in the market. Books are no longer needed in today’s world. They are heavy, bulky and take up a lot of space. Electronic versions of books, however, are convenient, easy and ultimately weigh nothing. They keep your place when you leave, and aren’t damaged by misuse or harsh conditions. Electronic books contain all the information of a normal printed book except they cost less and are a more sustainable alternative to the paper books. E-books usually have extra features such as instant content that is not possible to include in a printed textbook. They can also be updated instantly without the need to be reprinted. Consequently, customers with convenient gadgets such as the iPad or the Galaxy Note, are more inclined for the ebook option these days and this makes retail bookstores a dying business. The next issue stems from the previous problem the tablet world. E-readers have hit a dead end on what was once a promising road. They originally were the latest and greatest craze. Everyone wanted a Nook when they first emerged into the market. Books were plentiful, and buying electronic books from the internet store was cheaper than paying for the supplies, gas and time to go to the store to buy a hardcopy. E-readers like the Nook had the screen resemblance of a book and had built in lights in order to read at night. This was very useful to users, as their biggest problem was that their eyes would hurt from looking at a screen for too long. The screen was made in a way that there wasn’t a screen like that on a typical tablet, but that like a page of a book. Eventually, tablets started to make their way into the world and became very popular and gained market share against many different electronic devices. The Apple and Android devices dominated the industry, because they were able to do so much more and people were willing to pay the more expensive bill to have the best technology on the market. A user could do so many more things with advanced and fast hardware and software. They could install apps in order to read books, check email, browse the web, and even play games. The Nook struggled to compete and was left in the dust by these competitors. The last issue BN needs to address is their new Nook, and how it isn’t living up to expectations or able to compete in today’s market. Apple’s iPad, Google’s Nexus 7, and Amazon’s Kindle are the serious completion for BN’s Nook. The rivalry between the companies is growing, and they each want to be better than the others. Last year, BN saw their revenue grow from people who owned their Nook and bought books through the pre-installed application on it. Unfortunately, they saw their Nook sales decrease because they decided to sell the Nook for less than they previously did in hopes of selling more and gaining more market share. Not only did the old Nook e-reader fail but the new Nook HD , which was supposed to resurrect the sales in Nook as a new tablet, also proved unsuccessful. The tablet had a nice design and competitive specs compared to other tablets. However, the extremely limited and expensive app selection puts the new Nook at a complete disadvantage to the Android tablets and IOS tablets that have millions of both free and paid apps in their app stores. The new Nook also lacks the productivity to provide customers with seamless easy use. The fact that Amazon is selling their Kindle at $59. 99 even makes the situation worse for Nook. The threat of more store closings is a real possibility if they don’t react to the problems they are facing. They can see that their profits are not great from book sales, yet they keep open hundreds of brick and mortar stores across the country. They have very large operating costs because of this, and are not making up for the amount of people that are visiting the store and buying items on a daily basis. How BN is Adapting As the bookselling industry continues to undergo transformation, Barnes Noble has adopted several strategies to stay afloat. The progression movement toward an electronic world inspired BN to enter it themselves. In addition to publishing electronic versions of products, one of the prominent strategies adopted by BN was to introduce their own e-reader. Originally successful, the Nook was meant to give BN a greater stake in the e-book market to produce revenues outside of traditional print. As the brand grew, a new line, Nook HD, was produced in an attempt to infiltrate the tablet market. In addition to expanding into the electronic world, BN turned its attention to a niche in the market, college bookstores, which it infiltrated nationwide. The failure to adapt successfully has inspired BN to launch a restructuring process, attack competitors and even consider going public. Nook In 2010, the largest marketing campaign in company history was launched to promote the Nook brand. The retailer spent over $13. 7M on the campaign, which included domestic print, broadcast, online display and outdoor advertising. This marked the company’s first television appearance in over a decade. For the first time, BN reached out to other outlets for product sales, distributing the Nook brand to American electronics retailers such as Best Buy. 7 Senior analysts predicted that most people of the time had never even read an e-book. In an attempt to reach out to these people, BN decreased its music merchandise to accommodate Nook display space in over 720 stores nationwide. To compete with rivals like Apple’s iPad and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, the Nook is constantly being updated with better quality and new features, but so far the Nook is failing to compete with the iPad and Kindle. In response, BN has also decided to form partnerships with third parties to develop different versions of the Nook. Reports have leaked information implying Microsoft, currently a 17. 6 percent stakeholder in the Nook business, is being eyed as a potential buyer of the business. If true, BN faces the tough choice of taking a chance on the Nook brand, which lost $177M last year, or selling the brand and removing themselves from the e-reader market. Based on recent activities, one would believe BN has picked the former. BN has begun offering the Nook HD+ this year at a reduced price – starting at $149. For perspective, Apple’s cheapest iPad is $399 and Amazon’s cheapest comparable Kindle is $229. Additionally, BN recently announced that they will be releasing several updated versions this year that are cheaper and offer more features than the Nook HD+. The competitive pricing might be coming too late though. BN has dug themselves into a pretty deep hole and will need a lot of help pulling themselves out. Though originally a good idea, the Nook lost purpose when it switched from a simple, paperless reader to a full-blown tablet. Trying to compete with the iPad and Kindle Fire was a poor decision. In order for the Nook brand to survive, there needs to be a return back to the basics, which BN is doing with its launching of the new Nook GlowLight this November. If BN ventures too far into the electronics industry, it will be outperformed by industry giants like Apple and Samsung. BN would be better off selling out to Microsoft than investing further in Nook HD products. Restructuring The losing battle against Apple and Amazon has led to the resignation of William Lynch Jr. , the chief executive of BN. It has also promoted the restructuring of BN upper management. 4 The failure of many past companies started with poor management. Realizing the need for change, BN began their transition at the top and worked down. In an appropriate move, BN did a full analysis of its management structure. During this process, BN found the attempts of its managerial staff to recognize the need and their ability to switch over to the online retail world to be inefficient and failing. By the time BN decided to release barnesandnoble. com in 1997, the company was two years behind Amazon, which had quickly implemented an online book store in 1995. College Marketing To further combat the decline of the industry, BN has expanded into college campuses across the country. As of 2012, BN has on-campus marketing capabilities in more than 640 campus bookstores, a 53% increase from 2009. The campus presence has allowed BN to thrive in a tough industry. Despite an increasing shift toward e-textbooks, 64. 2% of students still purchase their textbooks through on-campus bookstores. BN should focus heavily on this market moving forward, as it has a lot of potential to be significant and is expanding. In 2010, 21 million students enrolled in higher-degree US education, an increase of 37% since 2000. Of those, the average student spends roughly $900 per semester on textbooks and related course materials. BN’s hold on the market is keeping the competition from entering the college scene. For example, Amazon began offering its own textbook services, but the lack of physical space makes Amazon a weaker dealer of college textbooks. BN must find a way to stay ahead of their college competition, because if they grow complacent, BN will lose market share quickly. Creating an Environment In an attempt to pull consumers in the doors, BN has created a welcoming, leisure environment in their stores over the past decade. Couches and tables have been installed to establish areas similar to a setting found at Starbucks. This process has been seen as a successful and financially acceptable venture, possibly because BN has partnered with Starbucks to bring their high-end coffee to stores, along with the Cheesecake Factory to offer brand-name food items. In the store, visitors can take advantage of free wi-fi to utilize their e-readers. Every electronic material in BN’s chain can instantly be read for free when in stores, or customers can grab their favorite magazine, newspaper or book for leisure reading. With e-readers, customers have their pages bookmarked until their next visit. The stores are decorated to create an at-home atmosphere and contain brightly colored children’s sections, often accompanied by a stage for story hours and performances. BN has promised to keep a busy calendar of events in their stores, such as book signings or Mystery Night, where local authors can gather to talk about their mystery pieces and developing plots. Lowering Competitors Other than focusing only on internal affairs, BN has taken an additional approach. BN has made several moves with the hopes of hindering their competition. For example, to counter Amazon’s increasing presence in the electronic publishing market, BN recently stated that it would no longer carry titles published by Amazon in store showrooms. The effects of this are much greater than one might appreciate. A book predicting to sell thousands to millions of copies needs to be available outside of the electronic world, mostly for exposure but for other reasons as well. This has led best-selling authors and agents to drift away from signing up with Amazon as a publisher. Conclusions In order for Barnes and Nobles to stay in the market of competition, they are going to have to come up with a very new and innovative technological idea that the entire world wants. They need to think of things before the competition, and then continuously be better than them. They need to finalize their management and downsize to have just the necessary people that can run the company and come up with new ideas. If someone isn’t pulling their weight, they shouldn’t be kept within the company. Barnes and Nobles is essentially two companies, with the bookstores and the e-book store. The two need to mesh in order to be successful. Also, they need to use their space wisely. They have thousands of square feet of stores, but they need to find out what their customer wants in order to use the space effectively and ultimately putting the customer first and giving them what they want. They are the dominant book seller, so chances are that if they were to go out of business, it will be a huge problem, especially for college campus’. Despite the declining print industry, along with the poor choices BN has made along the way, there is still a light at the end of the tunnel. BN is still the largest bookseller in the United States. Additionally, traditional book competitors have become quite limited after the loss of Borders and Waldenbooks, along with the decline of public libraries across the country. That may have just given them their chance to succeed because there are very few physical stores left that can compete with the empire Barnes and Nobles has created.

Music Sensorship Essays - Grammy Award For Best Rap Album

Music Sensorship If hes to be taken literally, then so is Britney Spears invitation to hit me baby one more time, says one article in Advocate Magazine. They are speaking in reference to the rapper Eminem one they heavily talked-about topic of music censorship. What is music censorship? There is a great deal of confusion (one everybodys part) as to what freedom of expression is in the US, and how it applies to music. Everybody knows that there are radio stations, religious and community groups, retailers, and record labels that censor musical artists in some way today. Obviously not everyone wants to hear what certain artists want to say, but how far should censors go? How far can they go before taking away right of free speech, freedom of expression, or any other first amendment rights? Lets figure out. The first amendment states: Congress shall make no law representing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and petition the government for a redress of grievances. Notice that the law applies only to the government, its laws, or its agencies. Not to any religious groups, retailers, or record companies. Hard to believe, but only in rare cases is what we call music censorship actually a violation of civil rights. For any group besides the government to censor music is entirely legal. In other words THEY determine what is best for YOU based on what THEY think. Pretty scary to think about especially here in America. Isnt it supposed to be the land of the free? What do you think about this? Not sure what to think? I took a survey of your peers ages 15-18, male and female, asking them this question: Do you think rap and/or alternative music negatively affects teens? One out of twenty-five people said yes. Now I can guess what parents would say to this survey. They would say that we are too young to know better, but there are adults out there that agree with us. An organization called R.O.C. (Rock Out Censorship) has been aggressively opposing censors of popular music since 1989. It was founded to act as a voice of music fans against censors. Guess where they are based in? Ohio and Western Pennsylvania. Right here in our very area there are people fighting against music censorship. The overall attitude of R.O.C. is summed up in these words that Ben Franklin said in 1759, They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. Do you agree? They do and so do I. To hear about music censorship today, all you have to do is turn on MTV or your local news. You will hear stories of people such as Eminem everyday. Basketball star Allen Iverson has faced suspensions from the NBA for his recently released album. Members of Supreme NTM, one of the most popular rap groups in France, are facing jail time for their lyrics. One of their tracks Police was charged with the crime of an outrage against public authorities. Their case is yet to be determined. Thankfully here in America nothing like that can happen, but for how long will it stay that way? Do you think what is happening to NTM is right? Do you a musical artist should be able to go to jail for their music? Like I mentioned before nothing like that can happen here in America, but Ill tell you what can happen: Lets say youre a rapper looking to make it big. You have some talent, and you record a few tracks. You submit your tape to several record companies, but many turn you down because of content. They say you have talent, but you are too vulgar for their style. You finally get a record deal and record an album. When you look to release that album you turn to the biggest retailer of popular music in the US, Wal-Mart. Unfortunately they tell you that they wont stoke your album because it holds a parental advisory sticker. So then some other retailers pick up your album and you get lucky, people

Change in Strategies of Large Indian Organizations; Environment,workplace,customer and worker

Change in Strategies of Large Indian Organizations; Environment,workplace,customer and worker Free Online Research Papers The changes in the four areas (i.e., environment, workplace, customer, and worker) have altered the work so dramatically that old ‘dinosaur-like’ organizations are no longer able to respond to these changes, to handle these new challenges. Today, there are an increasing number of organizational people who are becoming increasingly aware that the strategies, knowledge, structures, and leadership of yesteryear are no longer effective in solving today’s problems. The more important thing today, is not only solving immediate problems related to knowledge, structures, or people, but a long-term insight of doing things for the mere survival of the organizations. It is the question of adaptation and evolution in the living organization, which determines the life span and effectiveness of the organizations in the human society. The organization, which is able to capture all of these forces and systematically synergize them, will be the one able to make quantum leaps up the evolutionary ladder to the next stage of organizational life – the Learning Organization. Definition of Learning Organization A Learning organization is an organization that continuously adapts itself to changes. It sees changes as opportunity as it can envisage future trends and equip itself to face them. To manage changes this organization learns as a whole (Senge, 1990). A Learning organization has to have five skills. Those are Systems Thinking, Personal Mastery, Team Learning, Mental Models, and Shared Vision. Definition of Mental Models The present study has attempted to explore the Mental Models of the Indian executives, particularly in large organizations. Mental Models can be defined as image or perspective of an event, situation, activity, or concept. It is a deeply ingrained assumption that influences how one understands the world and how one takes action. Mental models of what can or cannot be done in different situations vary tremendously from person to person, and are often deeply entrenched and difficult to change. Senge stresses that the discipline of working with Mental models starts with the individual and organization turning the mirror inward, of learning how to unearth internal pictures or images of the world and then to bring them to surface and hold them rigorously to scrutiny (Senge, 1990). Objective of the Study The objective of the study is to explore the Mental Models of Indian executives in changing environment. Concept and Operationalization It is assumed that the Mental Models of Indian executives depends on Control, Power Conflict, Bureaucratic Structure and Events Thought in Isolation. o Control: Control is considered as one of the items of Mental Models as a Learning Organization requires a least control system (Arvedson 1993). o Power Conflict: it is seen that power, as the key motivator for the successful executives, plays a major role in the mindset of the executives (Burke, 2002). o Bureaucratic Structure: the presence of this item often hinders the growth of a Learning Organization. So it is taken as a component to see the degree of its presence in the executive Mental Models (Askensas, Ulrich, Jick, Kerr, 2002). o Events Thought in Isolation: a Learning Organization demands its executives to have the understanding of connectivity within the systems. So it is seen as the fourth item of Mental Models to see whether they have this understanding or not (Rolls, 1995). Subjects and selection techniques The population for the study: The population for the study has been taken as the top 500 companies in India. (Source: Dalal Street Investment Journal, June, 2005). A sample of 10% is drawn by using the Random Number Tables from such population. Thus the sample constitutes 50 organizations from the above list. Final data received from 10 organizations. Result of the Study The items were examined through a questionnaire and the items in the questionnaire with their significance level is given in the following table Table 1: t-value of the items Item no t-value * Item content 1 29.682 Working as a team is not always important. (Power Conflict) 2 18.336 Too much autonomy for implementing change leads to chaos and internal power conflict. (Power Conflict) 3 22.388 The nature of top management in case of application of employees’ knowledge while doing a non-routine/complex job. (Bureaucratic Structure) 4 2.968 People are not definite about their future in the organization. (Bureaucratic Structure) 5 12.719 People do not adequately understand why there is change and exactly what is changing. (Events Thought in Isolation) 6 12.389 There is a need for change of roles on a regular basis at all levels. (Control) 7 18.0952 Giving too much importance to the human factor is not possible and necessary. (Control) 8 27.073 You really think that the interests of certain groups usually affect the process of change. (Power Conflict) *Significance level at 60 degrees of freedom at 0.01 is ?2.660 Table 2: Mental Models in Organizations Mental Models and its items Mean S D 1 2.00 0.96 2 2.00 0.96 3 2.50 0.74 4 2.69 1.20 5 2.96 1.02 6 2.53 1.15 7 1.53 0.69 8 2.69 0.53 *p < 0.01; low score indicates favorable response. Maximum possible low score is 8 and maximum possible high score is 32. Table 3: Mental Models’ percentage frequency Distribution Total score Frequency Valid Percent Cumulative Percent Valid 13.00 8 2.0 2.0 15.00 8 2.0 4.0 16.00 64 16.0 20.0 17.00 56 14.0 34.0 18.00 48 12.0 46.0 19.00 48 12.0 58.0 20.00 40 10.0 68.0 21.00 16 4.0 72.0 22.00 32 8.0 80.0 24.00 40 10.0 90.0 25.00 24 6.0 96.0 26.00 16 4.0 100.0 400 100.0 Following are the pie charts of item-wise executive responses Item 1: Working as a team is not always important. (Power Conflict) Item 2: Too much autonomy for implementing change leads to chaos and internal power conflict. (Power Conflict) Item 3: The nature of top management in case of application of employees’ knowledge while doing a non-routine/complex job (Bureaucratic Structure) Item 4: People are not definite about their future in the organization. (Bureaucratic Structure) Item 5: People do not adequately understand why there is change and exactly what is changing. (Events Thought in Isolation) Item 6: There is a need for change of roles on a regular basis at all levels. (Control) Item 7: Giving too much importance to the human factor is not possible and necessary. (Control) Item 8: You really think that the interests of certain groups usually affect the process of change. (Power Conflict) Figure 1: Graphical Representation of Percentage Frequency Distribution of scores regarding Mental Models in Sample Organizations A percentage frequency distribution chart is given to show the pattern of responses of the executives in two broad categories of organization, service and manufacturing. Findings Power Conflict Item 1 and item 2 reveal executives’ mental models regarding power conflict. Though item 1 shows team work is preferred, item 2 shows executives have a block in power sharing. Item 8 shows only 30% of the executives believe that interest of certain groups are not affected during a process of change, clearly revealing a conflict of power. Bureaucratic Structure Item 3 shows almost 77% of the sample executives believe in moderately to strictly high bureaucratic structure. Item 4 reveals only 20% believes in having a shared platform for every level of employees. Events Thought in Isolation Almost 65% of the sample executives believe that people should not interfere in a change process if it is not related with his/her job. Only 12% believes that everyone should know why there is a change irrespective of any criterion. 10% follows some definite mechanism to inform everybody about change. Control Item 6 show that executives feel an urge to share their roles irrespective of levels of the employees. Item 7 reveals that executives believe in human factor rather than strict control. The overall study shows that executives are having a mindset of loosening control but relies on bureaucratic structure, and power conflict is very much there. Events thought in isolation shows that executives are far behind holistic thinking. Research Papers on Change in Strategies of Large Indian Organizations; Environment,workplace,customer and workerIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMoral and Ethical Issues in Hiring New EmployeesOpen Architechture a white paperPETSTEL analysis of IndiaThe Project Managment Office SystemBionic Assembly System: A New Concept of SelfThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesTrailblazing by Eric AndersonMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever Product

Aaron Douglas, Harlem Renaissance Painter

Aaron Douglas, Harlem Renaissance Painter Aaron Douglas (1899-1979) was one of the pioneers of the development of African American art. He was a significant member of the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s and 1930s. Later in his life, he promoted the development of arts education in African American communities from his position as the first head of the art department at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Fast Facts: Aaron Douglas Occupation: Painter, illustrator, educatorStyle: ModernistBorn: May 26, 1899 in Topeka, KansasDied: February 2, 1979 in Nashville, TennesseeEducation: University of NebraskaSpouse: Alta SawyerSelected Works: Cover images for The Crisis (1926), Illustrations for James Weldon Johnsons Gods Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (1939), Mural series Aspects of Negro Life (1934)Notable Quote: We can go to African life and get a certain amount of form and color, understanding and using this knowledge in development of an expression that interprets our life. Early Life and Education Born in Topeka, Kansas, Aaron Douglas grew up in a politically active African American community. His father was a baker and highly valued education despite his low income. Douglas mother was an amateur artist, and her interest in drawing inspired her son, Aaron. Following high school graduation, Aaron Douglas wanted to attend college, but he couldnt afford the tuition. He traveled to Detroit, Michigan, with a friend and worked in a Cadillac plant while attending art classes in the evening at the Detroit Museum of Art. Douglas later reported being a victim of racial discrimination at the Cadillac plant. In 1918, Douglas was finally able to enroll at the University of Nebraska. While World War I raged in Europe, he attempted to join the Student Army Training Corps (SATC), but they dismissed him. Historians speculate it was due to racial segregation in the military. He transferred to the University of Minnesota where he rose to the rank of corporal in the SATC before the end of the war in 1919. Returning to Nebraska, Aaron Douglas earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1922. Invincible Music: The Spirit of Africa for The Crisis (1926). New York Public Library / Public Domain Aaron Douglas fulfilled a dream of moving to New York City in 1925. There he studied with artist Winold Reiss, who encouraged him to use his African heritage for artistic inspiration. Reiss drew on the legacy of German folk paper-cuts for his work, and that influence is seen in Douglas illustration work. Soon, Aaron Douglas found his reputation as an illustrator rising quickly. He earned commissions for the National Urban Leagues magazine The Crisis and the NAACPs magazine Opportunity. That work also led to work for nationally popular magazines Harpers and Vanity Fair. Harlem Renaissance Modernist Painter By the final years of the 1920s, writers such as Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and James Weldon Johnson considered Aaron Douglas part of the movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. Early in the following decade, Douglas began painting mural commissions that brought him national fame. Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting (1934). New York Public Library / Public Domain In 1934, with funding from the Public Works Administration, Aaron Douglas painted his best-known set of murals, Aspects of Negro Life, for the Countee Cullen branch of the New York Public Library. For subject matter, Douglas drew on the history of the African American experience from slavery through the Reconstruction to twentieth-century lynching and segregation. The panel The Negro in an African Setting shows Douglas at the peak of his powers. It depicts life in Africa before slavery as joyous, proud, and firmly rooted in the community. Aaron Douglas became the first president of the Harlem Artists Guild in 1935. The organization promoted young African American artists and lobbied the Works Progress Administration to provide more opportunities for them. Arts Educator In 1938, Aaron Douglas earned a fellowship from the Rosenwald Foundation, a generous provider of stipends to hundreds of African American artists and writers. The funds allowed him to travel to Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the Virgin Islands and create watercolor paintings of life there. Aspects of Negro Life: Song of the Towers (1934). New York Public Library / Public Domain Upon returning to the U.S., Charles S. Johnson, the first African American president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, invited Douglas to create the universitys new art department. Aaron Douglas served as head of the art department until his retirement in 1966. President John F. Kennedy invited Aaron Douglas to the White House to participate in ceremonies honoring the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1963. Douglas continued to appear as a guest lecturer after retirement until his death in 1979. Legacy Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery to Reconstruction (1934). New York Public Library / Public Domain Some consider Aaron Douglas to be the father of black American art. His modernist style laid a framework for the development of art in African American communities. The bold, graphical style of his work is echoed in the work of many artists. Contemporary artist Kara Walker exhibits the influence of Douglass use of silhouettes and paper cut-outs. Source Ater, Renee. Aaron Douglas: African-American Modernist. Yale University Press, 2007.

Human Resources Project 1&2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Human Resources Project 1 - Assignment Example This information can be used to understand the career opportunities in the company. A deeper analysis reveals that the HR policies are guided by the main HR policy statement of Nestec Ltd (2002). This is the Nestle Human Resources Policy, implemental to all subsidiaries of the company including those in USA. 2. The company is Nestle Waters North America, and its HR policies appear to be based on the Nestle Human Resources Policy document. I think some updating is needed for this set of HR policies. 3. In order to update the set of HR policies of Nestle Waters North America to optimize its North American operations flexibly with respect to the main policy framework of Nestec Ltd, it is mandatory to embark on a qualitative research followed by a number of activities for drafting and proposing some viable HR policy updates. The activities are described below: I. Interview of the current employees II. Interview of and discussion with the HR managers III. Analysis of current policies with regard to existing academic and business literature IV. Preparation and presentation of the new and/or updated policies in a proposal format V. Briefing the top HR managers 4. In this section, a proposal that describes the types of policies that are to be prepared and/or changed will be discussed. A close examination of Nestle Waters NA’s (2006) HR policies reveals that they are highly dependent on the HR policy manual of Nestec Ltd. First of all, one of the biggest drawbacks of these policies is that they put certain restrictions on the role of the HR managers. According to Nestec Ltd (2002, p. 4), â€Å"HR managers and their staff are there to provide professional support in handling people matters but should not substitute themselves to the responsible manager.† This sort of approach is rather traditionalistic. The second point is that Nestle Waters NA (2006) maintains strict control over its all hiring and training operations. However, relatively recent experience of certain companies shows that outsourcing the HR responsibilities can bring about more concentration on the vertical specialties of the company (Tornbohm and Da Rold 2005). So these two HR approaches need to be changed. A tentative timeline of the proposed HR policy updating and implementation task is provided in Table – 1. Table – 1 A Tentative Timeline of HR Policy Update and Implementation Program Task Time Task – 1: Interview of current employees (at least 20 to 30 employees randomly selected) 7 days Task – 2: Interview of and discussion with the company’s current HR managers. This will involve one to one interaction 7 days Task – 3: Existing policies are to be analyzed. This will involve correlating the existing practices with external case studies as available in different business journals, magazines, etc. 4 days Task – 4: Preparation and presentation of new policies (final draft) 3 days Task – 5: Briefing the HR mana gers before the plan is rolled out. 2 days Total time taken +2 reserve days to compensate loss of time (if any) in the course of the project Total 3 weeks and 4 days (approx) Project Part 2 Updating the existing HR policies First, HR managers must not be constrained in their HR specific roles only with such a strict regulatory approach. At the first place this makes the hierarchic system of the corporation too strong. The HR managers must be given some of the company’s specialties based training. For example, HR managers can be given some basic training on mineral water processing and manufacturing at

Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States Essay

Agrument against lowering the drinking age to 18 in the United States - Essay Example A behavioral argument in favor of lowering the drinking age cited the Prohibition experience and Engs (1998), for instance, has this to say: As a nation we have tried prohibition legislation twice in the past for controlling irresponsible drinking problems†¦ These laws were finally repealed because they were unenforceable and because the backlash towards them caused other social problems. Today we are repeating history and making the same mistakes. Intentions behind the above arguments vary and some maybe legitimate as well but the issues raised by those in favor of restricting the age limit for alcohol access to 21 has so far succeeded in presenting a stronger case. The reason for this is simple: the empirical evidences and the statistics point to the fact that lowering the drinking age would have adverse effects on individuals and the society in general. In the United States, the current legal use for alcohol consumption is 21. The statutes covering this prohibition can be considered as those intended to influence individuals in regards to health-related behavior. A short review of its history will reveal that the minimum drinking age was implemented immediately after the Prohibition when all of the US states adopted a stringent policy against youth alcohol consumption. When the Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution was introduced, lowering the voting age to 18, a number of states have also lowered the drinking age. But by 1984, the federal government implemented a drive to standardize the minimum drinking age to 21 through a congressional initiative. This has been supported by numerous governmental agencies, organizations and individuals such as the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Council on Alcoholism, the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving and the American Medical Association. Specifically, according to Wallander and Siegel

Vintage International Essay Example for Free

Vintage International Essay I gazed at my reflection one more time. It was still serious-and what was surprising about that, since at that moment I was too? But at the same time, and for the first time in months, I distinctly heard the sound of my own voice. I recognized it as the same one that had been ringing in my ears for many long days, and I realized that all that time I had been talking to myself. 6 Before then, Meursault took everything as fate had predestinated for him. However, the moment he began talking to himself, he changed. He became active of his own life. In the isolated prison cell, he became aware of the power of his own mind, which was demonstrated by his rejection of the priest. For Gregor, he ate less and less, and began to drive more and more attention to his family. It was somehow giving him a pleasant feeling, despite of his starvation. For instance, when he listened to his sisters violin performance, it said, He felt as if the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved. 7 This scenario, which described Gregor getting nourishment from a feeling for his family rather than food, marked that he no longer sought happiness by satisfying physical needs. Being isolated from the society, he began to realize his feelings for his family. Summing up the three protagonists process of realization, their isolation had somehow granted them an opportunity to realize the power of their minds. It was only then that they began to see an alternative way in obtaining happiness. On their isolated islands, the protagonists gave up to achieve their happiness through physical body, but freed themselves from it instead. All three of them came to a realization that they could achieve true happiness through mind. As Ivan reviewed his day before he went to sleep, he accounted the satisfaction he had gained from the action decided by his own mind. Despite of the lack of food and physical discomfort in the morning, these feelings of physical discontent as the mental satisfaction became greater and greater as he gained essence of himself through living it. As he fell into sleep, he was very happy8. Ivans happiness was not from his physical state, but his mental state. It was his own decisions that brought him the satisfaction. His physical isolation had indeed deprived him many luxuries, yet it was the absence of these luxuries that led him to discover a happiness that could be achieved simply through mind. In the case of Meursault, he realized why he did not cry on his mother funeral. Isolated in his prison cell, he meditated and came to a conclusion that life was never predestined. The world was just there as it was. If he could put down the mind forgd manacles, forget the rules of the society; he was indeed a free person. Summing up his thoughts, he claimed, I felt that I had been happy and that I was happy again. 9 Like Ivan, although the physical isolation prevented Meursault from many pleasure possible by body, he found happiness by freeing himself from the values of the society. Such isolation had indeed provided him an opportunity to reflect his thoughts about life, leading to a mental happiness. As Gregor died, he discovered his love for his family, as hinted in the following passage. He thought of his family with tenderness and love. The decision that he must disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister, if that were possible. In this state of vacant and peaceful meditation he remained until the tower clock struck three in the morning. 10 Despite of his familys hatred towards him, he still loved them and wished his death would bring them happiness. In isolation, he dwelled in a meditation with peace. Peace implied a freedom from violence. For Gregor it would be the violence in life to satisfy his physical needs. It was at the last moment when he freed himself from his body and achieved happiness through mind. All the protagonists in the end realized that they were all free individuals on their islands. They freed themselves from the rules of the world. Those were the very moments when they achieved happiness. Concluding the three protagonists expeditions to true happiness, in isolation, they all discovered a satisfaction in the mind instead of body. While sensual stimuli were reduced to the least, they saw something beyond. One may argue that they were resigning to life in their inevitable isolation, but they had indeed grasped an alternative happiness in such isolation. Like a walk with many people holding one long stick, no man is an island. The stick connects us all. As we proceed to the front, no matter what speed we are at, we move as a whole. Yet, we take the steps by ourselves. Happiness may be realized when we see our strength in taking that step, like the Ivan, Meursault and Gregor in the three novels. Word Count: A phrase from Meditation 17 by John Donne in 1624 2 Alexander Solzhenitsyn, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Bantam Books, 1990. (Hereafter ODITLOID) 3 Albert Camus, The Stranger, Vintage International, March 1989. (Hereafter TS) 4 Franz Kafka, Metamorphosis, W W Norton and Sons. (Hereafter M)

The Two Towns of Jasper :: essays research papers

Race in America: Is it really such a problem now as it was so many years ago? I think my generation of young adults is reaping the 1st benefits of a â€Å"racist free† society, and I put racist free society in quotations because our society may never truly be without some form of racism because I believe that hate for another race or culture is seeded in our youth at a very early age, and that our kids our taught, in a sense, to hate by their parents words, actions, sayings, jokes, beliefs, etc and are made to think that that kind of offensiveness is ok, and thus grow up with that racism growing into racial hatred.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The clan markings and tattoos these men had tells me that they belong to a â€Å"gang† or group dedicated to racial hatred. I guarantee you that these men as children had no idea what racism was until someone taught it to them, from there it branched off into their individual view of who is superior and who is not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I personally have a lot of friends of different races, but I don’t see them like that. I see them for who they are and what their personality is like, not by color. And I think that society is gradually leaning in that direction as well. Maybe it was because I wasn’t raised to see color like other people do, maybe it has to do with the fact that my family moved around a lot and I made friends with whoever I could, racial issues not being a factor. These are just my view points and others may have a completely different perspective on color and race. But it is very difficult for me to write about some thing such as racism, when to me the term has no meaning except what has been taught to me about what other people say and do.

The Views On Womens Roles History Essay

An mean adult female in the fifth and 6th centuries of the Byzantine Empire did non hold a large function in public society.[ 1 ]In fact, it was common for her to non be seen in public at all. It was standard for Byzantine adult females to acquire married around 12 to thirteen old ages old due to an ordered matrimony chosen by her parents. Once married she spent most of her clip at place. Occasionally a adult female was allowed to go forth her place to go to to church, festivals, matrimonies, births, visit dealingss, or travel to public baths. These were the lone activities in society acceptable where a adult female could to go forth her house.[ 2 ]However, if a adult female must venture outside, she must hold her face covered by a head covering at all times and be accompanied by a adult male. Though head coverings were seldom shown in Byzantine graphics, this was a societal criterion for adult females. The erosion of head coverings frequently represented the difference between an ho norable adult females and a cocotte.[ 3 ] Even in her ain place, a Byzantine adult female had to digest gender inequalities. During repasts she was non allowed to dine with work forces foreign of her dealingss. More frequently than non, she would be eating entirely separate from work forces.[ 4 ]For her instruction, she was taught accomplishments merely utile for a house married woman. If a adult female was in in-between to upper category, she was normally taught to read, compose, and sing.[ 5 ]Womans of royalty nevertheless, were given the chance to analyze medical specialty and natural scientific disciplines with bookmans in their tribunals.[ 6 ]However instruction was normally 2nd quality compared to the instruction given to work forces. Womans could easy be described as â€Å" cloistered as captives, † though her prison walls were merely the unseeable judgements and regulations cast by society.[ 7 ] Most adult females could non take part in political relations. A adult female could non even attest in tribunal for fright that her testimony would be easy influenced by her hubby or brother. It is merely in rare instances where a adult male was non involved that a adult female could attest.[ 8 ]Despite what small influence and regard adult females had in public society, through place life a adult female could still easy act upon her ain hubby, boies, brothers, and other male dealingss in her place life.[ 9 ]This influence could be subtle in a little Byzantine household or highly considerable if she was the married woman of the emperor. Unlike work forces who could lift up to a political place through military, or the church, for a adult females to derive political power she had either be born or marry into nobility. Born in 399 A.D, Empress Pulcheria was the eldest girl of Emperor Arcadius.[ 10 ]She was a devoted Christian that paved her manner into power through her influence over her younger brother Theodosios II. She finally received the rubric of Augusta ( Empress ) which was the highest place a adult female of relation to the Emperor could draw a bead on to.[ 11 ]Pulcheria was merely two old ages older than Theodosios II but had a great influence over him all his life. Though Pulcheria was the eldest Born into royalty, she did non hold much power as she would if she had been born male. Even with this gender disadvantage, she was highly intelligent. At the age of 16, she swore a vow of celibacy and besides influenced her younger sisters to make the same.[ 12 ]This was a manner to prolong power that would be lost if she was forced into matrimony every bit good as halt the competition to her brother ‘s throne.[ 13 ]The concluding she gave for her actions was due to her Christian destiny, comparing the Virgin Mary as her celestial opposite number.[ 14 ]Figure 1 depicts an ivory alleviation known as The Translation of Relics Ivory dating around the twelvemonth 420 A.D.[ 15 ]and was acquired by the Trier Cathedral in 1844.[ 16 ]The carving step 13.1 ten 26.1 ten 2.3 centimeter and has been cut to a deepness of 2 centimeter[ 17 ]. The Byzantines loved tusk and normally imported it from India and Africa. The tusk of this specific piece has been speculated to hold been imported from Africa do to its larger size.[ 18 ]The Translation of Relics Ivory depicts a emanation of people in the streets followed by two priests siting a chariot pulled by mules. Leading this emanation is an Emperor keeping a taper and ready to have the relics is an Empress keeping a cross in forepart of church doors. In the background are looker-ons heartening beckoning incense and a church which is still under building, still being complete for the relics to be topographic point into. For many old a ges, the supporters in this alleviation have been unidentifiable. Historians have compared the lives of Justin II, Maurice, and Phocas and their married womans but found no historical grounds which relates them to this scene.[ 19 ]In the late seventies, The Translation of Relics Ivory has been identified by historiographers, Kenneth G. Holum and Gary Vikan that the characters in this alleviation are likely Empress Pulcheria, her brother Emperor Theodosios II and the relics given are the castanetss of Saint Stephen. The historiographers deducted this from written grounds of a chronicler of the 9th century named Theophanes Confessor. In his narration he wrote: Under the influence of the blest Pulcheria, the pious Theodosius sent a rich contribution to the archbishop of Jerusalem for distribution to the needy, and besides a aureate cross studded with cherished rocks to be erected on Golgotha. In exchange for these gifts, the archbishop dispatched relics of the right arm of Stephen Protomaryr, in the attention of St. Passarion†¦ [ Pulcheria ] arose taking her brother with her and went to recognize the sanctum relics. Receiving them into the castle, she founded a glorious chapel for the sanctum Protomartr, and in it she deposited the sanctum relics.[ 20 ] The narrative matched absolutely with the description of The Translation of Relics Ivory every bit good as another found narration which proved that the castanetss of Saint Stephen had in fact appeared outside Jerusalem that clip in December 416 and subsequently went under control of the bishop.[ 21 ]The church under building is believed to be a church of St. Stephen.[ 22 ]An interesting item to The Translation of Relics Ivory is the composing of the piece. The full focal point of the image is on Pulcheria instead than the Emperor Theodosios II, her brother. Even Theodosios ‘ alleviation is still a spot further back than hers, as he is standing right following to her. This is a immense representation of Pulcheria ‘s power as she is the centre of attending opposed to the Emperor himself. In her life-time, Pulcheria had commissioned several new churches, most dedicated to her frequenter saint the Virgin Mary. It was good known that Virgin Mary profoundly impacted her life to remaining openly celibate for God. However during the 5th century the Virgin Mary was non a major figure in Constantinople.[ 23 ]Her pick for the Virgin Mary as her frequenter was non to progress adult females but merely acquire rid of the stigma that adult females were the â€Å" expletive of Eve † , a expletive which claimed that adult females where responsible for original wickedness.[ 24 ]It was besides due to Pulcheria ‘s influence that the Virgin Mary would be once more be known non merely as the â€Å" Mother of Christ † ( christotokos ) but the â€Å" Mother of God † ( theotokos ) when the statement was overturned.[ 25 ]Pulcheria ‘s most well-know church to the Virgin Mary is the Church of Saint Mary of Blacherne, which has besides been depicted in literatu re with names such as the Panagia of Blachernae and the Blachernae Monastery. The church started building in 450 A.D. and was finished by her hubby Marcian after Pulcheria ‘s decease in 453 A.D.[ 26 ]The church was built around a preexistent sacred spring called the Ayazma of Blacherne.[ 27 ]It is besides said that Christians of Jerusalem had contributed a robe that belonged to the Virgin Mary as a relic for the church,[ 28 ]though other beginnings province that the robe was stolen.[ 29 ]Figure 2 shows the church before its 2nd fire, and Figure 3 shows the current modern church after being rebuilt. The church focused around images of the Virgin Mary, which led to much devastation of its icons during the reign of Constantine V.[ 30 ]The church foremost burnt down in 1070 from a fire but was rebuilt once more utilizing its old floor programs.[ 31 ]The church was wholly burned down yet once more in 1434, this clip from a careless fire caused by kids trailing pigeons on its roofs. [ 32 ]By the clip Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae no longer existed and the people of Constantinople had to turn to different mediums for the protection Virgin Mary ‘s icons.[ 33 ] Figure 3 shows Icon of the Virgin Blachernitissa. In 626 A.D. , the Blachernitissa was credited for the protecting the metropolis from an Avar onslaught every bit good as an Arab besieging in 717. Thus this relic ‘s repute grew to be known as a powerful Byzantine amulet of protection and was kept in the Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae.[ 34 ]Though the figure caput of this icon was a adult female, it had immense fear. The term Blachernitissa was a type of representation of the Virgin Mary named after the Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae.[ 35 ]The icon shows Mary within it and was held in the Church of Saint Mary of Blachernae. The piece was besides within the church during its 1434 fire and was thought to be destroyed. It was a amulet that represented the protection of the metropolis ‘s walls.[ 36 ]Its absence was believed to be the ground why the Ottoman Turks succeeded their invasion merely 19 old ages subsequently. The twelvemonth 730 was the start of the first iconoclastic period lasing until 787.[ 37 ]It started with Emperor Leo III, who reigned from 717-740. The Iconoclasts believed that icons where immorality and led to the misunderstanding of the Catholic faith. As the Iconoclasts resorted back into symbols and Bible, they tore down icons, believing them as unorthodoxy to their faith. When Leo III died in 740, his boy Constantine V continued the prohibition of during his reign in 741-775.[ 38 ]It was during Constantine V ‘s reign, that the Church of St. Mary of Blachernae was attacked by image breakers. Constantine V ordered the devastation of the interior mosaics that represented a New Testament rhythm and replaced them with vegetational decorations and images of birds.[ 39 ]It was fortunate nevertheless that the Icon of the Virgin Blachernitissa was hidden from devastation at this clip. This first Iconoclastic period was stopped by Empress Irene. Irene acted in the name of her boy Constatine VI, who was excessively immature to govern at the clip. She created and ordered the Second Council of Nicea, which supported Iconophiles.[ 40 ]As Iconophiles, they believed that images were besides stand foring their faith and they were non incorrect in utilizing them. The Council condemned the resistance to icons as unorthodoxy. It is through Irene ‘s actions of the resurgence of icons that she earned the rubric of Saint in the Grecian Orthodox Church. The 2nd iconoclastic period lasted 814-842. This clip it was Emperor Leo V ( reigning from 813-820 ) who instated this new moving ridge of iconoclasm. It was speculated that it was to bring around the recent military failure. Emperors Michael II and Theophilus who succeeded him were besides image breakers. However after Theophilus died, he was succeeded by his boy Michael III. Michael at the clip was excessively immature to reign so his female parent Theodora acted as a trustee for him. Similar to Irene, Theodora was an iconodule and was able to proclaim the Restoration of icons. Now of all time since the resurgence of icons, the first Sunday of Lent is celebrated as the â€Å" Triumph of Orthodoxy. † Figure 4 shows the Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, a picture that was painted on a wooden panel covered with gesso and linen. Its medium was egg poster paint and gold foliage.[ 41 ]The centre of the picture is a portrayal of the Virgin Mary, said to be painted by St. Luke. Empr ess Theodora and her boy, Emperor Michael III, appear on the left of the portrayal. On the right are three monastics with the Patriarch Methodios. This picture was painted more than 500 old ages after the terminal of iconoclasm during the clip when the Byzantine Empire was under menace of invasion by the Ottoman Turks.[ 42 ]Again as it is non normally common for a adult female to be in the picture, Empress Theodora is shown following to her boy in royal robes. Though she is non following to them, Theodora is shown at the same degree as the bishops. In the centre of the picture is the Blachernitissa, the Virgin Mary and kid. The Virgin Mary was a famed icon of her adult female position. It is non surprising that Irene and Theodora were iconophiles. Since the mean Byzantine adult female was housebound for the bulk of their lives, most had a particular dedication to spiritual patterns affecting icons.[ 43 ]It might be due to their life manner that adult females where the most affected when their cherished icons where taken off. The influence adult females had and their dealingss to art during the Byzantine Empire shown to be really of import. It is through the influence of the empresses Pulcheria, Irene and Theodora that impacted graphics despite a judgmental and men-driven environment that shadowed their lives. It is as intriguing and influential as the plant themselves that these adult females were able to act upon the Byzantine populace and the graphics.

Bank of the Philippine Islands

BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) is that country's second-largest bank, trailing only Metropolitan Bank ; Trust. It is also the Philippines' oldest bank and one of the oldest of all Asian banks. BPI offers a full range of commercial and retail financial services, including corporate finance services, asset management, and brokerage and other financial consulting services.BPI's retail network includes more than 700 branches throughout the Philippines, as well as branches in New York, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. The bank also operates a network of more than 1,200 automated teller machines and more than 8,500 retailer-based point-of-sale machines. In 1999, BPI pioneered online banking in the Philippines with the launch of online bank BPI Direct in 1999.In addition to its banking products and services, BPI has also developed a strong non-life insurance operation, chiefly under subsidiary BPI/MS Insurance Corporation. Listed on the Philippines Stock Exchange, BPI has long been majority controlled by Philippines conglomerate Ayala Corporation. * leader in electronic banking, having introduced most of the firsts in the industry, such as: * automated teller machines (ATMs), * a point-of-sale debit system * kiosk banking * phone banking internet banking * mobile banking * owned by the Ayala Corporation Business Evolution * post World War II era, BPI evolved from a purely commercial bank to a fully diversified universal bank * accomplished mainly through mergers and acquisitions in the eighties when it absorbed an investment house, a stockbrokerage company, a leasing company, a savings bank, and a retail finance company * Since the late 1990s – consummated three bank mergers * 1996 – merged with City Trust Banking Corporation 2000 * consummated the biggest merger then in the banking industry when it merged with the former Far East Bank ; Trust Company (FEBTC) * formalized its acquisition of three major insurance companies in the life, non-life and reinsurance fields * 2005 – acquired and merged with Prudential Bank MERGERS April 2007 – Bank of the Philippine Islands (Europe) Plc * October 2008 – BPI, Ayala Corporation and Globe Telecom signed a Memorandum of Agreement to form the country’s first mobile microfinance bank * 2009 – entered into a strategic bancassurance partnership with The Philippine American Life Insurance Company (Philamlife) to form BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp Principal Subsidiaries * BPI Family Savings Bank, Inc. * BPI Capital Corporation * BPI Leasing Corporation * BPI Direct Savings Bank * BPI International Finance Limited, Hong Kong BPI Express Remittance Corporation * Bank of the Philippine Island (Europe) Plc, * Ayala Plans, Inc. * BPI/MS1 Insurance Corporation Reasons Of merger * Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, BPI’s Chairman, said the purchase would further â€Å"enhance† the operations of BPI with increased or widened network. * N ew incentive package by BSP with respect to mergers and acquisitions * BPI has been on the lookout for some good acquisitions in order to bolster its position as a rising regional financial powerhouse. The merger is seen to offer a good strategic fit to BPI in penetrating the attractive customer segment of Prudential composed mostly of middle market entrepreneurs. * With the merger, BPI will solidify its position as the country’s second largest bank with combined assets totaling P456. 09 billion. * BPI expects to gain at least 200,000 new accounts with the acquisition. BPI and FAR EAST BANK TRUST COMPANY MERGER The majority stockholders of the Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) and Far East Bank and Trust Co. FEBTC) approved the merger of the two banks, making the combined entity the 10th largest financial institution in the region with over $3. 5 billion in capital. The merger catapulted BPI/FEBTC as the country's largest bank, accounting for 14 percent of the entire banking i ndustry's total resources with combined  assets of P372. 4 billion. The merged institution will also have the largest branch network of 680. BPI president Xavier Loinaz, in an interview, said they expect the integration of the two banks to be firmed up by the end of March this year. We think that by end of March this year, they (merger process) would be falling into place,† Loinaz said, when asked about the merger timetable. FEBTC president Octavio Espiritu assured FEBTC employees that they will work out ways to thresh out remaining issues regarding the merger particularly the possible massive displacement of FEBTC personnel. While they are finalizing the integration, both Loinaz and Espiritu said the performance of their respective banks in 1999 was relatively â€Å"flat†. â€Å"We haven't seen any growth for the year, pretty much the same level as last year.Loans are flat for 1999,† Loinaz said, adding that BPI's bottomline was also â€Å"flat†. The sa me thing with FEBTC, Espiritu said the bank's income was down due to loans provisioning amounting to about P2 billion for the year. This year, Loinaz said they are still waiting for the economy to turn around. â€Å"Last year was quite disappointing. We showed a slight drop in (bottomline) the previous year,† he added. Loinaz said they do not expect â€Å"too much† from the first year of merger of BPI and FEBTC.But, he informed the stockholder that for 2000, the pro-forma projected earnings per share for the merged bank would be 5. 37 percent, 6. 31 percent in 2001 and 6. 79 percent in 2001. Based on BPI's closing price on Oct. 20, 1999, the day that the merger agreement was signed and announced, the exchange ratio represented an implied value of P82. 50 per FEBTC share or an implied premium of 18 percent to FEBTC's closing price on that day. According to Loinaz, they look forward to working with DBS Bank which now owns about 20 percent of the merged bank. DBS Bank is the second largest bank in the region.

Free Essays on The War Of 1812

Katie Brammer The War of 1812 The war of 1812 was thought by many to be a war that shouldn’t have happened. It accomplished nothing but unnecessary death. There was many debates on the issue between the Federalist and the Republicans, who’s views were very different. The coming of the war started around 1801 when Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States. All of the new leaders have a more democratic view. They were coming up with new policies, carried out by a man named James Maddison, which is what initially leads up to the war. The Federalists were against these new policies. They believed that in order to preserve peace you must prepare for war, so they wanted to strengthen their defenses by expanding and putting more money into the army and navy. Instead, the Republicans cut back. In the Jay Treaty of 1794 Americans began to prosper as the economy went up. The British started taking over American ship at sea and capturing seamen and making them work on their ships until their citizenship was proven. Between the years of 1807-1812 , England, France, and their allies seized over 1,000 American ships at sea. America started complaining and trying to do something about it, so the British offered a treaty called the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty. It would have benefited America a whole lot but since it didn’t mention impressments President Jefferson refused to even submit it to the Senate for approval. This was a turning point in British relations. The British quit taking American exports which made the American economy drop by about 75%. In November of 1811 President Maddison began to prepare for war by expanding the army and allowing the use of militia. Before America could realize the British wanted to keep the peace, war had already been declared and the campaigning had begun. America was unprepared for war, they had inexperienced soldiers and no funds to pay the soldiers or the feed them. Part of the campaign ... Free Essays on The War Of 1812 Free Essays on The War Of 1812 Katie Brammer The War of 1812 The war of 1812 was thought by many to be a war that shouldn’t have happened. It accomplished nothing but unnecessary death. There was many debates on the issue between the Federalist and the Republicans, who’s views were very different. The coming of the war started around 1801 when Thomas Jefferson was the President of the United States. All of the new leaders have a more democratic view. They were coming up with new policies, carried out by a man named James Maddison, which is what initially leads up to the war. The Federalists were against these new policies. They believed that in order to preserve peace you must prepare for war, so they wanted to strengthen their defenses by expanding and putting more money into the army and navy. Instead, the Republicans cut back. In the Jay Treaty of 1794 Americans began to prosper as the economy went up. The British started taking over American ship at sea and capturing seamen and making them work on their ships until their citizenship was proven. Between the years of 1807-1812 , England, France, and their allies seized over 1,000 American ships at sea. America started complaining and trying to do something about it, so the British offered a treaty called the Monroe-Pinkney Treaty. It would have benefited America a whole lot but since it didn’t mention impressments President Jefferson refused to even submit it to the Senate for approval. This was a turning point in British relations. The British quit taking American exports which made the American economy drop by about 75%. In November of 1811 President Maddison began to prepare for war by expanding the army and allowing the use of militia. Before America could realize the British wanted to keep the peace, war had already been declared and the campaigning had begun. America was unprepared for war, they had inexperienced soldiers and no funds to pay the soldiers or the feed them. Part of the campaign ...

Beelzebufo Devil Frog Facts and Figures

Beelzebufo Devil Frog Facts and Figures Name: Beelzebufo (Greek for devil frog); pronounced bee-ELL-zeh-BOO-foe Habitat: Woodlands of Madagascar Historical Period: Late Cretaceous (70 million years ago) Size and Weight: About a foot and a half long and 10 pounds Diet: Insects and small animals Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; unusually capacious mouth About Beelzebufo (Devil Frog) Slightly outweighing its contemporary descendant, the seven-pound Goliath Frog of Equatorial Guinea, Beelzebufo was the largest frog that ever lived, weighing about 10 pounds and measuring nearly a foot and a half from head to tail. Unlike contemporary frogs, which are mostly content to snack on insects, Beelzebufo (at least by the evidence of its unusually wide and capacious mouth) must have chowed down on the smaller animals of the late Cretaceous period, perhaps including baby dinosaurs and full-grown dino-birds in its diet. Reprising a common theme, this prehistoric amphibian evolved to its giant size on the relatively isolated Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, where it didnt have to deal with the large, predatory, theropod dinosaurs that ruled the earth elsewhere. Recently, researchers investigating a second fossil specimen of Beelzebufo made an amazing discovery: as big as it was, this frog may also have sported sharp spikes and a semi-hard, turtle-like shell along its head and back (presumably, these adaptations evolved to keep the Devil Frog from being swallowed whole by predators, though they may also have been sexually selected characteristics, the more heavily armored males being more attractive to females during Devil Frog mating season). This same team also determined that Beelzebufo was similar in appearance to, and perhaps related to, horned frogs, genus name Ceratophrys, which today live in South America - which may hint at the exact time of the breakup of the Gondwanan supercontinent toward the end of the Mesozoic Era.

Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Diversity and Inclusion in Organizations - Essay Example Junginger ascertains that his company adopts majority of the best D&I practices in the industry, as identified by the U.S Department of Commerce benchmarking study. More than internal practices, however, the challenge to the firm’s D&I efforts are posed by external elements, principally the discriminatory attitudes of customers who stay at the company’s hotels. The firm’s hotels located in other countries are also constrained by the social prejudice (by Western standards) that may have been built into the culture of the place. The company must train its personnel not only to observe D&I practices within the company, but also how to deal with people and situations that are discriminatory against them. An Interview with Phillip Junginger*, D&I strategic officer, Human Resources Department Phillip Junginger* is the strategic officer for a four-star international hotel chain based in the U.S. ... This insight provides him with a greater motivation and sensitivity not only towards those of different cultures, but also of different races, ethnicities, religions, and other personal circumstances. Question 1: How does your firm integrate D&I in your corporate planning? PJ: In our hotel, we deal with people of different backgrounds, both as customers and as internal stakeholders. The hotel industry is all about people, and all about dealing with them in the most intimate way because we provide a home for the customers, so moreso for the employees. Therefore, our D&I is part of our core organizational values. It is not just one separate plan in itself, but it is integrated in all managerial planning, from strategizing at the executive level, to the tactical and the operational levels (especially in dining, housekeeping, and hotel amenities), where we try to meet customers’ preferences and employees circumstances. --------------- * Names have been modified upon the request of the interviewee. Question 2: In your personal role, how do you perceive your goals and responsibilities? PJ: When I look at my role as the main officer in charge of D&I strategy, I am overwhelmed by the tremendous responsibility of that position. Diversity and inclusion is a double-sided blade; the strategies we design should make people of all backgrounds feel accepted the way they are, and usually these pertain to the minority groups, but then it must be done in a way that does not alienate members of the majority group. Doing so would continue to drive a wedge among the groups, which is exactly what we try to eliminate. The difficulty here is that

Change Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Change Management - Essay Example The changing socio-economic environment made it necessary that more consideration be paid to socio-cultural and political environment so that the requirements of the people became the focal point in the development of strategy. McGregor has been emphatic that proactive participation of the workforce in the decision making is imperative for sustainable growth of any organization. He said, ‘The effectiveness of organizations could be at least doubled if managers could discover how to tap into the unrealized potential present in their workforces’ (McGregor, 1960). Thus shared learning needs to become intrinsic part of HR Strategy that involves the employees in decision making processes and promotes collective goals. The advancing technology and the advent of computers have greatly influenced the changing paradigms of the business strategies. Knowledge management has become crucial part of managerial leadership (Garvin, 2003). While the technology has considerably improved the overall performance of the organization, the managers have also realized the vast potential of the emerging new technologies in opening a huge vista of business opportunities that are global in nature but made easily accessible through the new technology like internet and tech gizmos. ‘The Internet with its low-cost entry and ease of use quickly changed how information was exchanged and removed the distance barriers for business partners’ (Gottardi et al. 2004). The globalization has ushered in an era of pluralistic society that comprises people from different culture, race, color and nationality, giving a new perspective to the business compulsions. Levitt, an eminent social scientist, in an article says that ‘A powerful force drives the world toward a converging commonality, and that force is technology’ (Levitt, 1983). Managing diversity has therefore, become a crucial

Sentencing Within the Criminal Justice System Essay

Sentencing Within the Criminal Justice System - Essay Example Aggravating factors pointing to a larger sentence include relevant previous convictions, whether the offence was committed while on bail, whether excessive violence was used, whether the victim was engaged in public service or was old and vulnerable. Mitigating factors pointing to a shorter sentence include, young age at the time of the offence, the past character of the offender, the degree of provocation, and whether the defendant pleaded guilty. Clearly the sentence in any particular case will depend on the individual circumstances and it is therefore difficult to compare cases without being aware of the background of facts. In Northern Ireland and England, sentences are assisted by guideline cases which help to ensure consistency in decision making. 3Sentencing The criminal Justice Act 2003 made a number of changes to the sentencing framework for England and Wales. These stemmed from recommendations of the Halliday report, Making Punishments Work" in July 2001. Northern Ireland Ministers recognized that there were equivalent issues to be addressed in Northern Ireland. The sentencing framework in Northern Ireland differs somewhat from that in England and Wales, but not substantially. The notable difference is in relation to imprisonment and its aftermath; In England and Wales, with the exception of short term sentences, time spent in prison is linked to a period spent in the community under supervision and with conditions... These stemmed from recommendations of the Halliday report, Making Punishments Work† in July 2001. Northern Ireland Ministers recognized that there were equivalent issues to be addressed in Northern Ireland. The sentencing framework in Northern Ireland differs somewhat from that in England and Wales, but not substantially. The notable difference is in relation to imprisonment and its aftermath; In England and Wales, with the exception of short term sentences, time spent in prison is linked to a period spent in the community under supervision and with conditions attached. In addition, sentences of four or more years are subject to discretionary release on the decision of the Parole Board. However, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 in England and Wales changes that position. The Criminal Justice Act 2003 in section 2.1 addresses the issue of custodial sentences of 12 months or more, whereas an adult offender receives a custodial sentence of at least 12 months, but less than 4 years wi ll automatically be released at the half way point and will then be supervised under license until the three-quarter point of the sentence. The problem here is, the last quarter of the sentence has no effect on the offender unless he or she commits another offense. Additionally, there is good news for the authorities and perceived bad news for the public; When the offender leaves custodial confinement, the government will immediately begin to accrue savings on the 86,000 pounds which it cost to house him in the previous year.

Population Geography Essay

Population Geography Essay Understanding Population Geography Crystal Mullen What did you learn this week that you did not know before or that you found interesting? What outside resources did you use this week? I remember growing up in the 70s and 80s the term â€Å"Zero Population†. At the time, I didn’t really know what it meant except a term to encourage teenagers to use birth control and thereby avoid having children while they’re still a child as well. As it turns out I wasn’t that far off from my view of the concept. It actually originated by the prime minister of Singapore in 1972. He was concerned that his island country was facing overpopulation with its current count of 1 million people. So he legalized abortion and sterilization and banned maternity care and benefits for women who have more than two children. However by the mid-1980s, the Singapore’s birthrates plummeted to below the levels that are necessary to replenish the population. The prime minister’s plan to reduce his country’s population backfired because the abortions performed in the country were terminated more than one-third of all the country’s pregnancies. Th is lead the prime minister to reverse his policy in 1990 to encourage multiple births for mothers under 28 by offering long term tax rebates and thereby restore population loss suffered in Singapore (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). This reversal of policy is an example of an unbending population reality: how a country’s infrastructure is controlled today will determine how it is controlled in the future. This means the size, characteristics, migrations and even growth trends are what determines the overall health of those yet to be born. This information is necessary when considering the locations and numbers of people as it relates to the necessary background to all of the aspects of population geography (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). Population geography is an aspect of human geography. This branch of geography focuses scientifically studies people in their spatial distributions and the density (Briney, 2014). Population geography provides geographers and scientists with the theories and concepts need to better comprehend and thereby forecast the composition, size, and the distribution of human population (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). In order for population geographers to study this factors, they review the data that documents the increase and decrease in an area of population, general settlement patterns, peoples movements over time, and even topics like occupation. This is what develops the geographic character of a particular region (Briney, 2014). Population geography is closely related and yet differs from demography. Demography statistically studies human population as well, however, demography is more concerned with spatial analysis – pattern, location, and density. Instead, population g eography studies a region’s resources such as standard of living, economic development, and food supply as they affect a population’s health and well-being. These characteristics are the essential ingredients for human population geography (Getis, Bjelland, Getis, 2014, p. 111). Population geography is a large branch in the geography tree. It contains quite a few different topics that relate to the worlds population issues. The first of these topics is called population distribution. Population distribution is described as the study of where people are choosing (or not choosing) to live. Our world’s population tends to be quite uneven. Some regions are considered to be rural and are thereby sparsely populated. Meanwhile, other locations that are more urban are consequently more densely populated. In order to learn more about population distribution population geographers often study past population distributions of that region’s people so that they can understand how and why certain spatial locations areas have blossomed into major urban centers we have today. Sparsely populated areas are usually harsh places to live such as areas in Alaska, Siberia, and Canadas northern territories. On the other hand, densely populated areas like Hong Kong, or cities such as New York City or Los Angeles, California are far more hospitable. A second topic in population geography is population density. While closely related to population distribution, population density however studies a region to determine the average number of people that live in an area. This is done by dividing the number of people that currently live that area by total area available. These numbers usually are noted as persons per square mile or persons per square kilometer. Population density are often affected by several factors which, coincidentally, are often subjects of population geographers study. These factors tend to relate to the population’s physical environment such as topography and climate. For example, regions with harsh climates such as Californias Death Valley are thereby sparsely populated. Other factors that affect population density can also be related to the region’s political environments as well as the social, economic culture of an area. For example, Singapore and Tokyo have mild climates with healthy political, social, and economic and are thereby densely populated. Another area of study for population geographers consists of overall population growth as well as changes in population. This topic is of great interest to population geographers because the population of the world has grown so dramatically since the 1800s. In order to properly study overall population growth, population geographers study the population’s areas natural increase birth rates as well as death rates. The number of infants born per 1000 people in the area’s population every year is considered the birth rate. Likewise the number of deaths per 1000 individuals every year is considered the death rate. Historically speaking, the increase rate of population used to naturally be near zero. This didn’t mean that no one being born nor that no one was dying. Actually, this meant that the area’s births roughly equaled the area’s deaths. However, many regions now host populations with that are living much longer because of access to better health care as well as higher standards of living. These factors have reduced the overall death rate. Birth rates are now known to either increase or decrease based on the wealth of the nation. For example, birth rates are actually lower in developed nations. However, in developing nations, the birth rate is still high. Therefore, the population of the world has grown tremendously. Along the same lines of natural increase, population geographers study population changes as it relates to a population’s net migration for an area (Briney, 2014). They compare and contrast data found in a population’s in-migration and out-migration patterns. Therefore, a region’s overall rate of growth or population change is the result of a population’s natural increase as well as their net migration. Finally, though certainly not exhaustively, an essential tool in population geography that is essential to the study of growth rates around the world as well as changes in population is called the demographic transition model. This model looks at the four stages of a country’s development and considers how population changes are thereby affected. The first stage of a country’s development takes place when the new country’s birth rates and death rates are both high, resulting in a small amount of natural increase and an equally small population. The second stage of a country’s development reveals an increase in birth rates and a decrease in death rates resulting in a high growth period in the population (surprisingly, this is normally the stage where least developed countries actually fail). The third stage of a country’s development show a change in trends with a decrease in birth rate as well as a decreasing death rate, thereby once again slowing d own the growth of that country’s population growth. The fourth and final stage of a country’s development shows a balance in birth and death rates both being low, resulting in a low natural increase (Briney, 2014). I can see how using a demographic transition model enables population geographers forecast the future health and wellbeing of a nation by studying the four stages of development that nation experienced. Conclusion: After reviewing the concepts of population geography, I have a better understanding of the actions of the Singapore’s prime minister in 1972. While I don’t agree with his extreme measures of limiting care for more than two children per family and legalizing abortions and sterilizations, I can see how charting a country’s birth and death rates and considering how those numbers affect his nation’s resources could lead him to believe his nation would be picked clean by an over-abundance of his own people and for the good of his nation, At the same time, I can see how population geography was at the heart of prime minister’s reversal of policy because he can now see how his policies were leaving his country vulnerable to constant poverty because there simply were not enough citizens avail to care for and protect their land. Therefore, I have a better appreciation of how population geography is used to study health and well-being of a population anywhere in the world. References Briney, A. (2014). Population Geography An Overview of Population Geography. Retrieved February 1, 2014, from Geography.About.com: http://geography.about.com/od/populationgeography/a/populationgeography.htm Getis, A., Bjelland, M., Getis, V. (2014). Chapter 5, Population Geography. In A. Getis, M. Bjelland, V. Getis, Introduction to Geography 14th Edition (p. 111). New York: McGraw Hil.