Of Morality and Spirituality Essay

The moral sacred Philippines started from a dream, and now that it continues to progress it can be one good evidence that as long as someone believes in an idea, it can be possible. As long as its aim is for the goodness of the citizens, it can be a reality. This concept does not want to create a world of perfection but rather a world of morality and spirituality. That world is where we can clearly distinguish the right ones from the bad. It is where we can not only think about ourselves but also the community, the government, and the nation. This dream can all be possible if we just go and believe that the land where we stand can be a better habitat of mankind. From Genesis 1:27, God created mankind in His own image. This verse proves that each of us is spiritual at heart. We just have to go and find the path through our hearts. We are created in His likeness which gives us the realization that all living things have something good in the inside. If we believe, make something to make this work, the moral sacred Philippines will make sense. A. WRITING AS A SOCIAL ACT The event connects with how writing can be a social act. In the said event, one does not only think about himself but also for the people around him. As for writing, a writer does not only write for him or for him to understand but also for his readers and audience. You write alone, but you always write for others. Readers matter. Once a writer sets his or her thoughts to any medium, whether paper, blog, status update, there is the potential for audience interaction. Ideas and creativity are created outside ourselves. Writers can never be more creative without the experiences and thoughts the people have. They continue to interact with people. Writing is a social act. Writers choose to see the beauty and brilliance of the world around them. Writing is nothing without the world and mind that surrounds them. B. WRITING AS A MORAL ACT Morality and spirituality is what the event focuses on. As for writing, writers do not only write everything that flows from their thinking, he must be careful. Something that anyone who writes words of any kind would do well to remember. Words have their moral consequences. The responsibility is particularly great for writers who deal with spiritual issues. Every word they write leaves its mark upon their soul and upon the souls of those who read their work. Their words may become sacraments, visible signs of an invisible grace, or they may turn to poison and ashes. It may signify the abyss or nothing at all. Writers must strive against mediocrity in one’s work, aiming always higher for lucidity of thought and beauty of expression with still being careful with the words they use. Every piece they make has an effect in this world. They are part of our moral conversation as a society. They weigh in. The creation of literature worthy not only its high artistic calling but of his stature as a creature created in the image and likeness of God.

Film as Mirror in Hitchcock’s Vertigo Essay

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a master’s class in subtle and effective filmmaking – its noirish tale of obsession and loss is considered one of his best works. This is due in no small part to the directors’ use of the various elements of film as a mirror. Hitchcock intends to create a sense of repetition and a cyclical nature to the life of the characters in the film; following Scottie (James Stewart) through his descent and ascent into madness deals significantly with themes of duality and obsession. Furthermore, the use of film as a mirror onto ourselves is made very clear in the audience’s relation to Scottie throughout Vertigo. In this paper, three instances of the film as mirror will be detailed in Vertigo, as well as how they inform the concept of film as mirror through their existence and varying properties. Metz describes film as a mirror in that â€Å"the cinema involves us in the imaginary: it drums up all perception, but to switch it immediately over into its own absence, which is nonetheless the only signifier present† (p. 250). The audience, like a child, sees themselves as an other; by identifying itself with its ‘other’ other, it can separate itself from that subject and look at the mirror objectively. In the case of Vertigo, the ‘other’ is Scottie, and look at his visage on the screen as a mirror unto itself. Thus, we can project our own feelings and insecurities onto Scottie, which helps us relate to his desperation and madness. The first scene in Vertigo that demonstrates film’s ability to hold a mirror to the individual watching it, and elicit the emotions of the character in the audience, is the first scene of the film itself. The very first shot of the film is a pair of hands desperately grasping a ladder rung in extreme close up. This connects the audience from the beginning with the desperation and fear that comes from hanging from a great height. This pulls back to reveal a shot of a cityscape, focused on the top rungs of a ladder leading to the roof of a building, as we follow the resolute climb and pursuit of a criminal by Scottie and his partner. This shot establishes the faces of the characters and establishes the stakes; the criminal is panicked, and Scottie and his partner are determined and aggressive. The next shot in this scene s a wide shot of the rooftop where the chase is occurring; the blurry, obscured background indicates great distance, and the dull blue lighting indicates dusk. Combine that with the heights at which this chase is happening, and the scene carries the same unease that is placed in the audience during this scene. The real moment of ‘film as mirror’ occurs when Scottie misses a jump and grips onto a storm drain for dear life. The point of view shot used to demonstrate Scottie’s acrophobia is the key to creating the effect of the mirror in the scene, and is one of the most famous recurring shots in the film. As a point of view shot, Scottie’s eyes become our eyes, and what he sees is reflected back at us. In this case, it is the dangerous and intimidating view of the hard, concrete ground dozens of feet below him. In order to punctuate the terror of this moment, and the fear that Scottie (and the audience) feels, Hitchcock accompanies this static shot with a simultaneous zoom in and track out. This is a camera trick used to disorient the viewer and create unease; with the threat of death from falling fully established, the film becomes our mirror to our own fear of heights. While it is exaggerated in Scottie, the film touches on our own sense of fear at this moment. The second scene in Vertigo that elicits the film as mirror conceit the most is the first scene at Ernie’s Restaurant, the one which kicks off the plot thread of Scottie following Madeleine. At first, the camera moves towards a door consisting of bright red glass; the door is a barrier, containing something forbidden. Despite this, the camera (like us) is dying to know what is inside, as Scottie wants to find and pursue Madeleine. We next fade directly to a shot of Scottie, who is clearly scanning the restaurant for her. His eyes search, and so the camera follows his search, panning around the restaurant. This movement is slow and elegant, allowing us a full view of everyone. Soon, like Scottie’s eyes presumably do, the camera fixates on a woman dressed in green, slowly moving toward her. Cutting back to Scottie, we see his eye is fixed on her as well. All of this work Hitchcock places in the scene serves to show us our own sense of voyeurism, as reflected by Scottie’s own snooping and obsession over Madeleine. Through our connection to Scottie, the camera becomes an extension of him; his search becomes our search, and we see our own search for the woman at the heart of this investigation reflected in Scottie. The smoothness of the camera movement indicates the confidence that Scottie feels in his professionalism; this mirror reflects Scottie’s subconscious desire to demonstrate his certainty and calm in the face of pressure, which matches our own. The third scene in Vertigo to elicit the film as mirror conceit is the scene that depicts Scottie’s guilt-induced nightmare after Madeleine’s apparent suicide. After an establishing shot of the city, which reminds the audience of the opening scene of the film, we settle on a close-up shot of Scottie’s face. Tossing and turning in bed, the shot is long and unflinching, remaining on his face for a long time. This gives the audience time to get accustomed to the series of flashing colors that wash over him, and to put ourselves in his place. This brings us deeper into identifying with Scottie’s guilt and curiosity-induced fever dream, which continues the varying flashes of multicolored light, as well as images of animated falling papers and leaves. After nebulous, confused walking toward a freshly dug grave, the audience is treated to a bizarre sequence where Scottie’s disembodied head falls down a tunnel, wind blowing in his hair while the colors continue to flash. Cutting in and out, Scottie’s head falls closer and closer to the audience, closing the gap between audience and character with the screen as the meeting point. By holding this deep connection with Scottie’s face the whole time, his confusion reflects ours; the surreal nature of the whole scene is just as perplexing to Scottie as it is to us. With this in mind, Scottie joins us in wondering about what is going to happen next in the events of the film, becoming the audience incarnate, reflected on the screen. Film as a mirror is showcased deeply through the character of Scottie; just as he watches Madeleine, we are watching him. Just as Scottie believes that Judy looks like Madeleine, we believe they look the same as well. Furthermore, Scottie wants Judy to become Madeleine, the woman he loved; this desire is mirrored in us. The use of mise-en-scene and a strong performance by James Stewart helps us put ourselves in Scottie’s place, and allows us to experience his paranoia, guilt, and fear of heights, among other things. Hitchcock uses all the tools in his film cabinet to help the audience identify and relate to the characters and the events within it, and allows us to identify with Scottie on a psychological level. Hitchcock’s use of surreal imagery and presentational camera tricks bring us into Scottie’s mind and see our own guilt, fear and confusion reflected within. Hitchcock’s Vertigo uses elements of mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and acting, amongst other film techniques, to reflect the protagonist’s personality and inherent flaws onto the audience. He makes the audience viscerally feel the disorientation and fear of heights, and thus makes Scottie a reflection of the audience’s anxieties throughout the film. This makes the film succeed all the more in creating suspense and anticipation; we become the investigators and acrophobes because Scottie is the ‘other’ reflected back at us.

Dictatorship and the Neoliberal Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dictatorship and the Neoliberal Markets - Essay Example More to this, social programs in the country have been abandoned, and most of the industries run by government previously have been privatized. The ejido lands in Mexico, which refer to land given to the community, or a group of people, under the agrarian reform have also been taken over. Neoliberalism in Mexico can be traced back to the Mexican crisis of 1982. The country, under the leadership of President Jose Luis Portillo (1976-1982) borrowed heavily from external sources, with an intention of investing in railways, nuclear power, oil pipelines, freeways, and the steel industry. The borrowings were done against the oil revenues of the country, given that previous years had shown a constant increase in the oil prices. However, the prices of oil began to deteriorate in 1982, due to overproduction, and OPEC price cuts. More to these, world interest rates increased, followed by devaluation in the Mexican peso, leading to a financial crisis in Mexico. Following these events, a debt moratorium was declared in 1982. These compelled the country to accept worldwide support from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, the US Federal reserve, and the US department of the treasury. However, they offered conditional support, which required Mexico to adopt neoliberal poli cies (Thomas, James, William, & Browning-Akien, 4). Adoption of neoliberal policies required the Mexican government to cut on its spending. This led to a reduction in the subsidies given to members of the country to promote production. Consequently, the farmers faced difficulties in production, which worsened their economic ability. More to this, reduced government spending decreased the resources allocated to important sectors of the economy. These include the health sector, education, and welfare sectors. Consequently, the rates of unemployment increased, thus making Mexicans poorer. Accessing health and education services became problematic, hence

Midterm 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Midterm 2 - Essay Example There are certainly more preferences that he can keep track of. Develop a problem definition for Steve, as discussed in the Session Five lecture notes and readings. The problem definition for Steve would consist of a list of the problems which he wants to address. In this case it the behavior of the customers and their preferences. He needs to keep track of the customer’s behavior, what they order, what they like, type of customers that walk in and the timings at which they prefer to be served. The objective for Steve in this case is to get as much information as possible about the customers so he can match his service to their requirements. The objective in this case is the enhancement of services based on customer needs. The issue is important for Steve since he is spending on his business to make it better. At present the most critical objectives are to gather relevant and accurate information regarding customer behavior and interpreting it so that the quality of service can be improved based on customer needs. B. You are going to interview the local manager of LDI, a national tire retailer, who has asked you to work as a system analyst on a management information system to provide inventory information. Here are five questions you wrote to prepare for the meeting: C. You are a project manager at L & D Inc., specialized in information technology and network engineering. One of your junior systems analyst came to you for an advice of a technology to capture user information requirements. He described to you that he had talked with his client several times in the past week to define user information requirements. Each time he thought he had captured user information requirements, they’ve already changed. Finally, he thinks his clients do not even know what they want for their system. Give your junior systems analyst an advice of a technology that he could use to capture user information requirements and

Strategic alliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic alliance - Essay Example Therefore, they are very pertinent issues for organizations and for the viability of the same. Moreover, author rightly claims that if managers fail to accurately assess risk, they can lose a big opportunity which could have been exploited for greater gains. In the current environment of highly competitive business and escalating cost of healthcare, strategic alliances can provide the firms with competitive advantage and significantly promote business interests at lower cost. Though, failure rate of alliances is relatively high, but correct risk analysis and comprehensive study of pros and con of the strategic alliance can hugely benefit organizations to expand and compete against their rivals. Richardson (2011) says that strategic alliances in healthcare industry have become critical inputs that not only help to meet the challenges of recessive environment but also facilitate easier access to healthcare delivery by larger demographic segment, especially the vulnerable segment of the society. Most importantly, I believe that in the current times, strategic alliances must be encouraged as they tend to divide the risks and double the profit. Richardson, V. (2011) Crossing Strategic Alliance Borders to 2025: Healthcare in an Era of Globalization. Retrieved from

Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Psychology - Essay Example Lastly, a minor motivator is the want to understand more the cultural and societal factors in the area, which is more of an interest to the Peace Corps volunteer and expert. Role requirements are necessary in an organization because it gives structure and authority in the leadership capacity to make decisions. However, in the topic of leadership, conflict arises in these contexts and sometimes occurs as a result of the role requirements. The first main conflict topic is regarding that this is primarily a business venture being backed by bank money. The main leader, Bjorn, represents the Banks interest, which means his role is to oversee all the others to make sure that profit is made from this venture. Many of the subordinates see that he has taken more of an interest in the humanitarian aspect and is challenging this on the basis that they are unbiased by the matter and have better experience in business. In addition, John Anderson, who is the resident humanitarian expert, is there to serve as an observer as far as to help explain the cultural and social phenomenon should complications arise. ... The fact that the cultures of France, America, and Colombia are represented alone would pose a significant cultural convergence, which would influence their decisions regarding how the mission should be run. The differing motivational factors created a huge conflict in the work environment. The first being that this was a business venture and that the funding for the project was based on the success of the mission, for which everyone was responsible. This clashed with the social and cultural implications, which other team members put above that. The stress of the mission also was causing Bjorn to be a micromanager, which made others seem like they were wasting time with all the obsessive and meaningless meetings. All of this ends up leading to arguing where they cannot work together because of clashing viewpoints. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is based on a pyramid in which a person must overcome certain needs in order to reach a point of being which Maslow termed self-actualiza tion. Bjorn would be in the safety point due to the fact that the success of this mission is on him as the team leader and that if he fails, he will no longer have job security with the Bank. Eduardo and Aziz would be in the love/belonging phase in that even while on the mission, they seeks social engagement from people and seems to enjoy the social contact rather than the work aspect. Dupre and Mathuri are in the esteem phase in that they have already had success in the Bank being higher up representatives. They are clearly in the mission for the spoils in that by the mission succeeding, they will receive the overdue recognition and hopefully be given the leadership opportunities they want. Lastly, John is at the point of self-actualization. Since he is merely a consultant, he is not

Law And Contract Resit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Law And Contract Resit - Case Study Example In this case four issues arise and these are noise and vibrations disturbing Pub's customer, Bloggs & Co Builders used the student car park to the jib of a crane, construction vehicles are constantly blocking the entrance of Public house owner and they work continues on site Saturday and Sunday mornings as a result the pub manager was disturbed.Winfield and Jolowicz defence private nuisance as an unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land, or some right over, or in connection, with it. This principle is neatly encapsulated in the words of Lord Wright in Sedleigh-Denfield v Callaghan1, where he said that a balance has to be maintained between the right of the occupier to do what he likes with his own and the right of his neighbour not to be interfered with. From it is implicit that as between neighbours, some measure of interference with the use and enjoyment of each other's land is permissible.The test is one of 'reasonable user' balancing the interest of defendan ts to use their land as legally permitted against the conflicting interest of claimants to have quite enjoyment of their land. It is a not a test of reasonable care. In Rapier v London Tramways Co2 held that it is no defence to prove that the defendant had taken all reasonable care to prevent the nuisance occurring. The Court will look at the result of defendant's conduct. In Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather3, it was held that if the user is reasonable the defendant is not be liable for consequent to his neighbour's enjoyment of his land. In order to be able to sue for a Private nuisance, the claimant must have a proprietary interest in the land affected. In Malone v Laskey4 and Hunter v Canary Wharf Ltd5 it was held that landowners and tenants have right to bring an action but excludes mere licensee. So from the fact of the question it can be said pub owner and owners of public house and Birmingham City University may bring an action under private nuisance. But in question it is not clear whether pub manager was owner, tenant or license of the premises. However the location is an important factor. The locality in which the claimant's premises are situated is a second factor which assists the Courts in determining whether the interference complained of is sufficiently substantial to amount to a nuisance. The expectations of a claimant, in terms of comfort, peace and quiet, will naturally vary according to the location of his house or business. The point was succinctly made in Sturges v Bridgeman6, in which case a physician complained about the noise generated by a neighbouring confectioner who was operating a pestle and motor. Thesinger LJ stated that what would be a nuisance in Belgrave Square would not necessarily be so according to the area in which it occurs. The emission of smoke from a factory would not be considered a nuisance in an industrial estate, but would be likely to be found to be a nuisance in a largely residential area. In Gillingham BC v Medway (Chatham) Dock Co. Ltd7 held that a good example is the transformation of the London docklands from an industrial area to a now exclusive residential development. In this case it was held that planning permission which had been granted to change the use of an old naval dockward into commercial port should be taken into have effective a change in the character of the neighbourhood. The Court held that planning permission is not enough by itself to change the nature of the locality, although this may occur as a matter of fact due to investment in the area. The CA took the view in Wheeler v JJ Saunder Ltd8

Critical Thinking - Model 3 - SLP - Deductive and Inductive Argumens Coursework

Critical Thinking - Model 3 - SLP - Deductive and Inductive Argumens - Coursework Example 172). As such, a premise must be able to support it conclusion for it to be ascertained to be deductive. Additionally, the truth and acceptability of the conclusion depends on the premise for any deductive argument to be valid. On the other hand, inductive argument is an inferential claim of probability that detaches conclusion to the premise. In essence, the truth or logical flow of the conclusion is totally independent of the premise (Lavery & Hughes, 2008, p. 172). Therefore, a premise can be true or acceptable but do not play any role in defining the truth and acceptability of the conclusion. In my view, deductive arguments have a direct and dependent conclusion on the premise. The truth and acceptability of the latter, therefore, depend of the premise. subsequently, the logical flow in inductive argument has no connection or certainty of conclusion with regards to premise. In conclusion, the difference between inductive and deductive arguments lies on the ability of the premise to succinctly explain its conclusion. Furthermore, the difference also prevails through acceptability and

Meaning of life - Religion Essay Example for Free

Meaning of life Religion Essay In my opinion, there is no specific meaning of life. There also is a part of me that thinks that life really doesn’t have a meaning at all. But, since I have to try to define life, I would have to say it’s a combination of things in your life that you are living for, or the purpose of you being on this earth. Everyone most likely has a different purpose for being alive. Whether it is family, school, or your career; those things have a lot of impact on your life and also decisions that you make throughout life. In our society, many families instill faith and morals early into their children’s lives by continuing traditions or practices of religious faith. The idea of faith and moral beliefs are instilled in a person by attending or participating in church activities and reading the Bible or other religious texts. When there is a sound moral foundation in a person’s life it may give them the motivation through faith to build a sound structure for their life or to achieve personal goals. Simply put, a person may believe through faith that it is possible to achieve an education, start a family, or to have a successful business or career because of their foundation in faith. The reason why I somewhat think that life really doesn’t have a meaning, is because no matter what anyone does or how well or righteous someone lives their life, in the end they still die. What happens after that? Nothing, you never come back nor will you have any recollection of what went on during your lifetime here on earth. A person can bust their behind in working doing good for the community and everything else and in the end you still end up in the same place as everyone else, good people or bad people, you die. Another reason why I believe life doesn’t have a meaning is because all of the people in this world have to suffer, they still go through pain, they have to watch loved ones die, they still have to go through heartache, and rough times. Being poor, homeless, and not having food for as single meal in the day. Where is the meaning in life when people have to wake up hungry or worry about where they will lay their head that night? I’d say there is none when you look at it from that perspective. In my opinion, the meaning of life is too complex for the human brain to comprehend. People tend to say that they know what the meaning of life is, but who really knows the answer. There are various opinions and schools of thought, however, most people can never and will never reach a clear understanding of what the meaning of life is. If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. †? Viktor E. Frankl. Frankl could not have said this quote any better, most people can say that they have found meaning in their life but at the same time, there are some people wondering if the only reason they are on this earth is to suffer on a daily basis throughout their entire lives.

Communication Challenges in Global Virtual Teams Essay Example for Free

Communication Challenges in Global Virtual Teams Essay Communication Challenges in Building Successful Global Virtual Teams Due to Diversity and Cultural Differences Abstract This paper introduces an approach to effectively communicate within a global virtual team by discussing the challenges faced by them, understanding cultural differences in communicating, diversity within a team, building trust in virtual communication, and communicating across different regions and time zones. This approach appears in many discussions surrounding the difficulties managers and team members have in communicating effectively in global virtual teams. Specifically, this paper evaluates how the diversity of a global virtual team makes it challenging to communicate when members are not present face to face and adhering to the different regions and time zones these members are located. It will also examine the challenges in understanding the different cultures amongst a team and how to effectively build trust by researching, acknowledging, and understanding these cultural differences and communicating them to the team in a virtual environment. Communicating Challenges in Building Successful Global Virtual Teams Due to Diversity and Cultural Differences In today’s economy, many organizations must expand their operations globally in order to remain competitive and to stay afloat. With this business model companies have to develop teams across all functions of the organization and in all regions of the globe in which the company operates. For these companies, many have set up global virtual teams to manage processes and implement any projects or company initiatives with other employees of the organization. However with these teams come many obstacles and challenges definitely in communicating across cultural differences, understanding the diversity of the team and communication management within the different regions and time zones. Various authors (Danielle, 2006; Kayworth, 2000; Lee-Kelley, 2008 to name a few) have noted that these groups consisting of dispersed members across the globe and accumulated from various cultural backgrounds have an impact on how effective global virtual teams can be. Kayworth determines that there are four main challenges that global virtual teams face; which are communication, culture, technology, and project management. This paper observes the difficulties that virtual teams face within their communication efforts, analyzing the diversity of team members and the obstacles of communicating across different regions and times zones. As well as it takes an extensive look at the cultural differences that consists of these virtual teams and the challenge of building trust amongst a dispersed group. And in order for a global virtual team to operate effectively, managers and the members must research the different cultural backgrounds of its members, understand the communication challenges they face, and utilize them accordingly in order to build trust amongst the team to fulfill their goals that they place ahead of them. Defining Global Virtual Teams There are many authors that have provided definitions of global virtual teams, Lee-Kelley (2008) mentions that Towsend along with Lipnack and Stamps define a virtual team as a group that is geographically dispersed and utilize telecommunication and information technology as forms to communicate and perform. Lee-Kelley also refers to Alge, Balosky, Christensen, and Davis’ definition that virtual teams are typically a group that are dispersed who use various sources of information technology to communicate. In the case of these definitions, there is a lack of emphasis on the concept of team, but further definitions tie in this concept and place more value on the aspect of team. Cascio’s and Shurygailo’s mentioning of multiple-relationships in global virtual teams, by referring to the number of manager’s involved, number of team members, and number of locations. Many researchers in this field do not reference a specified distance in which team members must be apart to classify as virtual team, but as Lee-Kelley stated it is a psychological reality versus sociological that team members conceptually define themselves in a virtual team. In sum, there are many definitions that agree on the structure, form and characteristics of a virtual team and the members it consist of, but there is a lack of consensus amongst them. This lack of consensus on the definition of a global virtual team has also brought up the discussions of the challenges in communication that these virtual teams face, thus prompting this research. Time Zones and Work Schedules One of the initial challenges of global virtual teams is the complicated work schedules of its team members in their respective regions. Settle-Murphy (2006) notes when working in a synchronous mode (Instant Message, telephone, video conference), some remote team members are forced to work at awkward times. This alone is one the most consistent challenges that managers and teams have to overcome. When is the optimal time for virtual teams that span across various time zones to meet? A manager and its team have to take in consideration the different work weeks as well as the time difference. Consistently in many western civilizations, the standard work week is predominately Monday through Friday, utilizing Saturday and Sunday as business days off in order to tend to personal matters and observance of the religious day that is most affluent in that region and culture. Where in many eastern civilizations the work week is Sunday through Thursday, and they utilize Friday and Saturday as their days off. This difference is not only restricted to western/eastern civilization, but ultimately applies to the different cultures that make up the team, the different religions, and time of year. Being cognitive of this challenge and addressing it in an applicable manner is crucial to the effectiveness of a global virtual team. It is an evident obstacle in scheduling team meetings via information technology applications (i. e. teleconferencing, video-conferencing, etc). This is one challenge that can easily be addressed by the manager’s and team’s awareness of these work week schedule differences along with the cultural and religious difference of its team members. Another issue that global virtual teams encounter is conducting meetings across the various time zones of its members. There is no exact corporate standard or guidelines on how and when meetings should be conducted in order to accommodate all members of the virtual team. Settle-Murphy states that in order to reduce this challenge as an obstacle to building trust and team success, a team should agree when same time meetings are necessary, and consider rotating the times to share the burden of working during normal sleep time. The managers and team members should also consider which work can be done asynchronously (e. g. via email or a shared workplace) to allow all team members to work at the most convenient times. This approach can be highly effective because it is apparent that the manager and other team members have taken into consideration each other’s differences of location, culture, and business practices, and simultaneously addressing the challenge of building trust. By researching, understanding, and being respectful of the team members and their time, the cohesiveness of the group is established quickly and strengthened, which is also a challenge to overcome in global virtual teams. Communication and Behavioral Differences In the article â€Å"Working Together Apart,† Zakaria, Almelinckx, and Wilemon (2004) state that, â€Å"managers have often under-valued the profound influence of culture on knowledge conceptualization and transfer. Suggesting that knowledge sharing is often facilitated by communication that involves the exchange of meaning and that the process of communicating is dynamic, multifaceted and complex† (p. 17). Zakaria et al. , also suggest that cultural conditioning has a major affect on the evaluation of experience as well as how information and knowledge in global virtual teams is conveyed and learned. In short, cultural influences play a major role in communication and behavioral differences. This concept is another major challenge that global virtual teams face when striving to reach their end goal. Conveying a clear message is only one challenge, the difficult part is conveying that message so that it reaches each individual affectively according to their unique cultural and behavioral background and how to convey organizational messages across global virtual teams has consensually been done through technology. Global virtual teams that use information and communication technologies and exclude social or physical presence and rely on depersonalized forms of communications between its team members (Zakaria et al. ,2007). One can argue that this hinders the creation of a knowledge-sharing culture, yet over time, the exclusion of social and physical presence can possibly strengthen working relationships that normally would not form in a more traditional work setting. Utilizing technology as the form of communication takes out a lot of subtle communication aspects that are experienced when working within a team in a more traditional framework. An example of this is the use of non-verbal communication or cues. The absence of non-verbal communication may cause difficulties for those global virtual team members’ cultures that rely on body language, gestures and facial expressions for vital communication. For example, in high-context cultures, people value these subtle and indirect communications. Visual communication like a nod, smile, posture, voice and eye contact provide important indications and meanings to establish understanding of what is trying to be communicated. The usage of verbal and non-verbal communication is important when working together in a team. Global virtual teams usually lack the ability to rely on these communication manners because of their reliability on technology in order to communicate and therefore it is difficult to build cohesiveness and trust within the team. Zakaria et al. , states that: â€Å"Technology is simply a tool that needs human operations, no matter how sophisticated the technology can be, the implementation of technology has the potential to fail if insufficient considerations are given from the user perspectives† (p. 19). This brings up the topic of what is appropriate and what is not when communicating to and within global virtual teams. In the majority of information and communicated technology-mediated environments where team members are dispersed geographically and are culturally diverse, the usual form of communication is electronically, and the preferred language of use is English. Studies have shown that native and non-native English speakers exhibit culture-based differences in meanings of terminology, structure and format. A key example of this is the usage of terms and slang. When members use terms and slang words, the intended meaning can be obscured due to cultural differences and can hinder knowledge management and effectiveness. Another area for potential conflict in information communication is the actual language itself. For those teams that use English, individuals need to be aware of the English language variation in intra-team electronic communication. This particularly pertains to the tone, style, formality, salutations and closings and that they need to be aware that there are substantial sociolinguistic and grammatical variations within the global English-speaking community and will have a significant impact on intra-team communications. In order to successfully facilitate the cross-cultural collaboration and communication, the team members must be aware of these subtle differences and acknowledge them when relaying organizational messages. Since the use of electronic communication technology has the capacity to reduce or overcome certain cultural challenges within a global virtual team, these forms of technologies can facilitate intra-team interaction. It also introduces a shared-framework, a virtual work setting that can build intra-team respect, trust, reciprocity and positive individual and group relationships. Therefore, understanding the communication and behavioral differences when communicating electronically to the team members can put the team in the position to work through the challenges that lie within a global virtual team. The Importance of Developing Trust For global virtual teams, building trust is one of the essential factors in developing a successful team. Since global virtual teams consist of many cultures that make up the entity as well as a geographically dispersed entity, there is a high risk of potential misunderstandings and mistrust. So the question that many virtual teams face is how to develop trust. Many researchers contend that in order to develop trust, a group must facilitate face to face interactions in order to build trust. These face to face interactions allow people to relate to each other or â€Å"click† as many of the new generation say. However, this may not have enough grounds to develop strong trust within a team if the members do not understand each other and/or the nature of the team itself. As Roberts observed, â€Å"the development of trust, whether on a local or international basis, requires more than face to face contact or its technological and spatially indifferent substitute video-conferencing ellipses, trust depends on the sharing of a set of socially embedded values, cultural institutions and expectations† (Roberts, 2000, p. 6). In order for global virtual teams to be effective, there must be intra-group trust as well as trust between management and team members and vice versa. Jarvenpaa, S. L. , and Leidner, D. E. 1999) infer that virtual teams have no time to gradually develop trust and therefore require a high degree of â€Å"swift trust† to be demonstrated by enthusiastic and proactive team members’ behaviors. So how do cross-cultural members form swift trust? Jarvenpaa and Leidner suggest that the virtual team members would import the expectations of trust from other settings that they are familiar with. It is also important to note tha t if an individual team member’s cultural stereotypes are flawed, biased or incomplete, this technique may be problematic. Once communication is developed between members, trust could be maintained by actions that are highly dynamic, proactive and enthusiastic. Such active communication must be premised on accurate cultural knowledge to be effective. Therefore swift trust is made possible because when cross-cultural teams work in a virtual environment, they bring their knowledge, competence and expertise not only to meet the goals that are set but also about the other team members’ and their cultures in order to ensure the success of the team. Not only is this necessary for the members of the team but it also necessary for the leaders of the team to establish this swift trust. As noted from Zakaria and Leidner, there are two behavioral categories that form cross-cultural trust. First, credibility where one individual believes that the other individual has the capabilities, competence, expertise and resources to make a successful exchange that meets expectations. Note that when working in cross-cultural teams, the work expectation of a person in culture A is different from the expectations of a person in culture B. This can be challenging in implementing swift trust in global virtual teams, but it can be overcome if the expectations are set by the managers or leaders and are clearly communicated to all team members. The second factor that Zakaria and Leidner discuss is benevolence, the beliefs about the emotional aspects of the referent’s behavior like positive intention to exchange. These beliefs include a referent’s good will so that they would participate in the better good of the team rather than jeopardize the exchange outcome. This may result in some challenges to the team because swift trust does not focus a lot on interpersonal relationships. Rather it places more emphasis on the initial broad social structures. Therefore in order for swift trust to be implemented successfully, team members must maintain a high level of actions, regardless of their cultural preferences and differences. But team members should also appreciate, understand and respect the cultural differences that make up the team in order to truly succeed in a global virtual team. Conclusion Through research of many articles and publishing’s regarding the topic of communication in global virtual, building trust has been the one subject that has been consistently addressed. Mockaitis, A. I. , Rose, E. L. nd Zetting, P. (2009) suggest that the development of trust in the context of multicultural global virtual teams is related to aspects of culture, conflict, task interdependence and communication. A team whose members are more collective in nature rather than distant tend to report more positive results of developing trust within the group, this impli es that culture matters. It is important for all team members to understand and respect the cultures of the other individuals. Although team members’ personal cultural values have consistent predictive power it is suggested that it displays very little value in developing trust within the group. Initially since communication amongst the team is done virtually and not face to face, it is important to establish trust among the group. But as the team develops the factors for cultural differences and diversity tend to become less important to the success of the group. The findings of Mockaitis et al. , show that cultural diversity does not appear to serve as a barrier to trust, even as differences become apparent through communication, but it can play a crucial role in developing that trust. Therefore along with cultural differences, communication is extremely important for the development of trust within a global virtual team.

Production Management Of Movies

Production Management Of Movies Producers have overall control on every aspect of a films production, bringing together the Screenwriters, Director, cast, finances and production team. Their primary responsibility is to foster an environment in which the creative talents of the cast and crew can flourish Producers are therefore ultimately accountable for the success of the finished film. Producers many responsibilities span all four phases of production: Â · Development Producers are often responsible for coming up with the underlying premise of a production, or for selecting the screenplay. Producers secure the necessary rights, select the screenwriter and story editing team, raise the development financing, and supervise the development process. Â · Pre-production Producers typically bring together the key members of the creative team, including the Director, Cinematographer and principal cast. They assist the Executive Producers to raise finance for the production. Once this is in place, they select other key personnel, such as the Line Producer, Associate Producer and Production Manager, as well as the remaining Heads of Departments, such as Production Designer, Editor and Composer. Producers also participate in location scouting, and approve the final shooting script, production schedule and budget. Â · Production Producers are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the producing team, though many practical functions are delegated to the Line Producer and any Associate Producers. Producers are also in constant communication and consultation with the Director, and with other key creative personnel, on and off set. Producers approve all script changes and cost reports, and continue to serve as the primary point of contact for all production partners, investors and Distributors. Â · Post-production and marketing Producers are expected to liaise personally with post-production personnel, including the Editor, Composer, and Visual Effects staff. They then consult with all creative and financial personnel on the production of the answer (or final) print, and they are usually involved with the financial and distribution entities in planning the marketing and distribution of the finished film. It is rare to find one Producer who has the expertise and vision to exercise personal decision-making authority across all four phases of production. Producers normally delegate some of these functions to Executive Producers, Co-producers, Line Producers and Associate Producers. However, the Producer is responsible for the majority of the producing functions throughout all the processes of the film. Executive Producer The traditional role of the Executive Producer is to supervise the work of the Producer on behalf of the studio, the financiers or the distributors, and to ensure that the film is completed on time, and within budget, to agreed artistic and technical standards. The term often applies to a producer who has raised a significant proportion of a films finance, or who has secured the underlying rights to the project. Typically, Executive Producers are not involved in the technical aspects of the filmmaking process, but have played a crucial financial or creative role in ensuring that the project goes into production. Responsibilities As there may be several Executive Producers on a film, it is difficult to define their exact responsibilities. However, they usually fall into one or more of the following categories: Â · Development the Executive Producer secures the rights to a story and develops the screenplay, but then hands over to the lead Producer, and has no direct involvement in the physical production of the film. Â · Packaging the Executive Producer authorises and supervises the packaging of the film. Â · Financing the Executive Producer raises a significant proportion of funding for the film, assists with presales, or helps to secure distribution agreements. On smaller independent films, a well-known Producer, Director or star may also be accorded this title because their association with the project helps to facilitate contacts with financiers and Distributors. Â · Production the Executive Producer acts as a mentor to the Producer and supervises production for the financiers. This type of Executive Producer is almost always involved in short film production schemes, where they typically co-ordinate the films production from initial financing through to final distribution. Associate Producer or Assistant Producer Associate Producers carry out significant functions in the production or post-production process, which would otherwise be performed by the Producer, Executive Producer or Co-Producer. These responsibilities may range from helping to raise production finance at the beginning of the production process, to supervising the final stages of post-production. Associate Producers in Film are usually individuals within production companies who have played a particularly significant role in the development of the script or screenplay, or in the packaging process, or who have contributed important creative ideas to the production. They may be another producer; or a senior Script Editor who helps to shape the direction of the final drafts of the screenplay, and without whom the film may not be financed; or the Producers Assistant who supervises development or post production for the Producer in their absence. The term Associate Producer is also sometimes used to describe a Producer from a smalle r production company which is co-producing the film, who has typically raised a small amount of funding for the project, but not enough to warrant an Executive Producer or Co-Producer credit. Responsibilities Associate Producers contribute significantly to the production process, as they are responsible for specific elements delegated to them by the Producer. This diverse role may encompass development, packaging, raising production finance, supervising the production design team (sets, costumes, etc.), supervising post-production, or co-ordinating the work of the various visual effects companies. In fact, they may carry out any production work that the Producer is too busy to supervise personally, and which is not covered by one of the other production roles (e.g. Executive Producer, Co-producer, Line Producer). Whatever their exact role, Associate Producers must be able to troubleshoot any production difficulties or problems that come within their area of responsibility. Line Producer The Line Producer is one of the first people to be employed on a films production by the Producer and Executive Producers. Line Producers are rarely involved in the development of the project, but often play a crucial role in costing the production in order to provide investors with the confidence to invest in the project. As soon as the finance has been raised, the Line Producer supervises the preparation of the films budget, and the day-to-day planning and running of the production. Line Producers are usually employed on a freelance basis. They must expect to work long hours, though the role can be financially very rewarding. Career advancement is based on their experience and reputation. Where a Line Producer has a creative input to the production, he or she is often credited as a Co-producer. Responsibilities Line Producers are in charge of all the business aspects of the physical production of films. They are called Line Producers because they cannot start work until they know what the line is between the above-the-line costs, which relate to writers, producers, directors and cast, and the below-the-line costs which include everything else, e.g., crew salaries, equipment rentals, development costs, locations, set design and construction, insurance, etc. Line Producers are usually recruited onto the production team during the later stages of development. They are given the script and asked to assess the likely below the line cost of the production which involves breaking down the screenplay into a schedule a timetable for the film shoot that shows how long it will take to shoot each scene. From this schedule the Line Producer can accurately estimate the cost of each days shooting, and produce a provisional budget estimating the total amount of funding required. Once the Producer and Exec utive Producers have raised the required finance, the film can go into pre-production. During pre-production, Line Producers work closely with the Director, Production Manager, First Assistant Director, Art Director and other Heads of Department to prepare the production schedule and budget, and to set the shoot date. Line Producers oversee all other pre-production activities, including hiring the production team, setting up the production office, location scouting, ensuring compliance with regulations and codes of practice, sourcing equipment and suppliers, selecting crew, engaging supporting artistes and contributors, and monitoring the progress of the art department and other production departments. During production, Line Producers hand over control of the final budget to the Production Accountant, and delegate the day-to-day operation of the production office to the Production Manager and Production Co-ordinator. However, Line Producers are ultimately responsible for overseeing all activities, and for ensuring that the production is completed on time and within budget. This requires setting up and implementing financial monitoring systems, controlling production expenditure, controlling production materials, and monitoring and controlling the progress of productions. Line Producers usually allow a 10% contingency in the budget to cater for unforeseen circumstances, and spend much of their time juggling figures and resources. Line Producers are responsible for certain Health and Safety procedures, and for sorting out any insurance claims. At the end of the shoot, the Line Producer oversees the wrap, or winding down, of the production. Assistant Production Co-ordinator The Assistant Production Co-ordinator acts as a general assistant to the Production Co-ordinator, performing duties relating to the preparation, distribution and filing of paperwork, both within the production office and on set. Assistant Production Co-ordinators are almost always self-employed, and must be prepared to work long hours, particularly during the final week of pre-production. Most UK films employ one Assistant Production Co-ordinator; however, larger productions may employ two or more. Responsibilities Assistant Production Co-ordinators work under the direct supervision of a Production Co-ordinator. Their duties vary according to the production phase, and the daily requirements of the production office. Responsibilities may be spread across a number of related areas, including: Â · Production Office setting up, maintaining and closing down the Production Office, for example, ordering furniture, equipment and supplies. Â · Travel Accommodation helping to co-ordinate travel, accommodation, work permits, visas, medical examinations and any immunisations for principal crew and cast to conform with insurance and foreign travel requirements. Â · General production duties including typing, filing, answering the telephone, and other related office duties. Â · Transportation helping to organise the pick-up and delivery of equipment and personnel by the Unit Drivers. Â · Production paperwork assisting the Production Co-ordinator to prepare and distribute shooting schedules, crew and cast lists, call sheets, production reports, movement orders, scripts and script revisions. Production Runner or Production Assistant Production Runners are the foot soldiers of the production team, performing small but important tasks in the office, around the set and on location. Their duties may involve anything from office administration to crowd control, and from public relations to cleaning up locations. Production Runners are usually employed on a freelance basis, are not very well paid, and their hours are long and irregular. However, the work is usually extremely varied and provides a good entry-level role into the film industry. What is the job? Production Runners are deployed by the Producer and by other production staff, such as the Production Co-ordinator, to assist wherever they are needed on productions. Their responsibilities vary considerably depending on where Production Runners are assigned. In the Production Office duties typically include: assisting with answering telephones, filing paperwork and data entry, arranging lunches, dinners, and transportation reservations, photocopying, general office administration, and distributing production paperwork. On-set duties typically include: acting as a courier, helping to keep the set clean and tidy and distributing call sheets, Health and Safety notices, and other paperwork. On location shoots, Production Runners may also be required to help to co-ordinate the extras, and to perform crowd control duties, except where this work is dangerous, or performed by police officers or other official personnel. Co-producer A Co-producer is typically a Line Producer who has also performed a substantial portion of the creative producing function. Alternatively, they may be the lead Producer from another production company that is co-producing the film, or a partner or corporate officer from the production entity producing the film. In rare cases, a Co-producer may also be the person who optioned, developed or packaged the project. In all instances, Co-producers are subordinate to the Producer. Occasionally, the title Co-producer is accorded to a producer who finds, options, develops, or packages the project, but does not own the rights, and who plays a less significant role in the physical production of the film. For example, Co-producers may be relatively new Producers who need to work with a more senior Producer in order to package, finance and deliver the finished film. It should be noted that if a project has more than one Producer, it does not mean that these individuals are Co-producers in the tech nical sense of the term. Responsibilities Co-producers responsibilities vary enormously depending on which type of Co-producer they are. However, they always have less responsibility than the Producer for the completion of the film. Â · Where the Co-producer is also the Line Producer, he or she is responsible for all the business and logistical aspects during the main phase of film production. The key difference between this type of Co-producer and the Line Producer is that he or she also performs a significant part of the creative producing function, whether it be helping with casting, recruiting the Director, or hiring other key Heads of Department. Â · Where the Co-producer is a partner or corporate officer of the production entity producing the film, he or she plays a key role in the development of the film project, assists with the physical production, or supervises post-production to enable the Producer to move on to another production. Â · Where the Co-producer is the lead Producer from another production entity that is producing the film as part of an international co-production, he or she will usually raise a significant portion of the budget for the film, but have less creative input than the lead Producer. In some cases Co-producers choose to be credited as Co-producer rather than as Executive Producer, in order to indicate that they played an important part in the physical production of the film.

Genetic Engineering: There is No Genetic Definition of Humanity Essay

With advances in genetics and the decryption of the human genome, many people are taking the time to sit back and ponder the questions of what humanity is and where it comes from.1 Will techniques such as gene therapy eventually create people who aren't quite human? If humanity is a flexible and ever-changing concept, then how do people know if they are human? Does some standard measure of humanity seem likely in our future, and is it even ethically proper to impose such a standard? Philosophy offers the most satisfying definition of humanity: a human person is a conscious individual who interacts with an outside world. The details of the various philosophical debates on the exact nature of personhood would be enough to fill a library, but the main ideas can be summarized as follows: a person is self-aware, having the ability to think about thinking. Nothing in this definition of humanity involves matters of genetics or quantitative analyses of specific traits, which makes this definition applicable to people who may not be human in the way science tries to define the term. Defining humanity in a scientific sense, however, is a nettled endeavor. Many "strictly human" traits can be found in animals. Wolves have a complex social structure. Bonobos, a subspecies of chimpanzee, can learn an abstract symbol-language and show the ability to understand grammar and syntax.2 In other experiments dolphins-who are genetically more distant from humans than bonobos-learned a type of sign language showing that they, too, are able to grasp complex rules of language.3 One only has to yell at the family dog to see that animals can express emotion and empathy. What, then, is left to humans? Many point to our advanced technology as proof... ... 1. This paper was originally written for the course, "Human Genetics, Society, and Ethics," held at Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland. 2. Robert A. Baron, Psychology 5th ed. (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000). 3. Baron. 4. N. A. Campbell, J. B. Reece, and L. G. Mitchell, Biology 5th ed., (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1999). 5. Matt Ridley, Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999) 24. 6. Ibid. 7. Baron. 8. Ridley, 24. 9. Ibid. 10. Campbell et al., 446. Bibliography Baron, Robert. A. Psychology. 5th ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2000. Campbell, N. A., J. B. Reece, and L. G. Mitchell. Biology. 5th ed. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 1999. Ridley, Matt. Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999.

Roller Coaster Physics Essays -- physics roller coasters amusement the

The very first â€Å"roller coasters† were created in Russia in the 1600’s, and were nothing like the typical roller coaster that comes to mind today. People rode down steep ice slides on large sleds made from either wood or ice that were slowed with sand at the end of the ride. These sleds required skill to navigate down the slides, and accidents were frequent. A Frenchman tried to cash in on the popularity of the Russian ice slides by building one in France, but the warm climate quickly ended his attempts with ice. A waxed wooden slide proved to be much more feasible, along with wooden wheeled sleds. Just as with the ice slides, the necessity of navigation skills caused many accidents, so tracks were produced to keep the sleds in line. In the 1850’s, the first shot at a vertical loop was made in France. This â€Å"Centrifuge Railway† offered a rail car that would travel through the loop with nothing keeping it there aside from its own centripetal acceleration. Government officials quickly shut the operation down after one accident. The beginning of American roller coasters was near the end of the 19th century when railway companies set up amusement parks at the end of their lines to increase business on the weekends. In 1884 the first real roller coaster in America was introduced: a gravity driven switchback train. Passengers would climb a set of stairs to board the car, which was then pushed from the station to travel down a hill and over a few bumps. At the bottom, the passengers got out and climbed another set of stairs while workers hoisted the car to the top of the second station. The passengers got back into the car and rode to the first station on a second track. Another attempt at a vertical lo... ...changing their direction of movement from down to up. G-forces that are felt when changing direction horizontally are called lateral G’s. Lateral G’s can be converted into normal G-forces by banking turns. Roller coasters today employ clothoid loops rather than the circular loops of earlier roller coasters. This is because circular loops require greater entry speeds to complete the loop. The greater entry speeds subject passengers to greater centripetal acceleration through the lower half of the loop, therefore greater G’s. If the radius is reduced at the top of the loop, the centripetal acceleration is increased sufficiently to keep the passengers and the train from slowing too much as they move through the loop. A large radius is kept through the bottom half of the loop, thereby reducing the centripetal acceleration and the G’s acting on the passengers.

Learning Team Role Identificatiion Paper

Running head: LEARNING TEAM ROLE IDENTIFICATION PAPER Learning team role identification paper Tiffany Burrage, Tami Bereki, John Kuespert, Tim Poninski University of Phoenix Interdisciplinary Capstone course GEN/480 Inga Parker Jul 04, 2010 Learning team role identification paper One of the factors that make Justice Inc such a unique organization is the various skills each member has. Each member has a particular job title based off of his or her educations, experience, as well as his or her skills. Tim Poninski is the consultant of the organization.Tim’s job is to provide recommendations, facilitation, and training on the development, management, and technological aspects of organization quality improvement efforts at all levels. This is done for Justice Inc as well as out organizations that Justice Inc is consulting with. Tim has expertise and specialties in all aspects of the criminal justice field; therefore Tim is responsible for keeping organizations abreast of any and a ll changes in the criminal justice field. John Kuespert is the president of the company.John’s responsibilities are to establish the direction for the development and administration of the organizations quality improvement efforts. John consults with peers throughout the organization on a number of different issues. Maintains and develop an environment of continual improvement in all aspects of the organization. John makes sure that organizations that Justice Inc consults for is satisfied with the services rendered. John also oversees the organizations operations to make sure production efficiency, quality, service, and cost effective management of resources.John is responsible for day to day operation in the organization. Tiffany Burrage is the vice president of the organization. Tiffany’s responsibilities are to oversee all aspects of the organization. This includes but is not limited to improvement efforts, which deals with developing and administrating programs. Ti ffany’s also is responsible for assuring all employees receive training and coaching. Establishing strategic plans, policies and procedures at all levels for Justice Inc, as well as outside organizations. Tiffany makes sure that the improvements meet or exceed the needs of internal and external customers.Tami Bereki is the auditor of the organization. Tami responsibilities are to primarily evaluate financial information and put in order financial reports for internal and external organizations. Tami also maintains record of resources, liabilities; profit and loss, tax liabilities, as well as other financial activities with thin an organization. Analyze organizations operations, improvement, cost, revenues, financial commitments and obligations. Tami also is responsible for projecting future revenues and expenses and provides advice for organizations.

American Rice Inc. in Vietnam

American Rice’s strategy is to expand internationally by using one of the three main rice manufacturers in Vietnam. The horizontal integration with Vianafood allowed ARI to expand internationally and enter new markets. This expansion within the same industry was necessary for ARI in order to achieve an economy of scale. This venture brings ARI a larger customer base, bigger facilities, the first American rice maker in Vietnam, a larger work force, lower cost production, new relationships with suppliers and customers, and tax benefits as a result of the joint venture. ARI’s main input for the joint venture is to set up a management team that will run the operation and to consult the plant operation, plant design, improvements, and marketing. Also, ARI will provide machinery, equipment, technology and some working capital. In contrast, Vianafood’s main input was to provide a sufficient quantity and decent quality rice at a competitive cost, obtain government license, and tax benefits from the government. In addition, Vianafood will provide their Can Tho property, rice milling, equipment, labor, and other infrastructure at Can Tho. Another aspect that ARI was able to benefit from is that Vietnam offered consistent exportable rice volumes. The Vietnamese rice industry did not overlap with the same markets as ARI. This can potentially increase the market share and sales for both companies. U. S. share of world rice trading was in decline and U. S. rice imports were rising. Vietnamese offered low cost rise production, room for expansion, increasingly business friendly. I believe that ARI is taking the right steps in order to become a bigger international competitor in the rice market. However, I don’t think it will be enough to reach their goals. Also, I think that their plan for this joint venture is not coordinated tightly enough from a managerial aspect. ARI is not paying enough attention to the culture of this business in Vietnam and to the uncertainty and dependency of Vianafood on the government regulations that can dramatically affect the success of this venture. On the other hand, ARI research on the rice market in Vietnam proves that there is a potential of success and growth in this market. Exhibit B shows that both sides mostly work in the same line of business, and both companies can benefit from the relationship. For example, ARI can benefit Vianafood with their higher quality rice, while Vianafood can benefit ARI with lower production costs. I believe that what will determine the success of the venture is whether ARI will be able to culturally develop their business strategy in a collaboration with Vianafood and whether the government regulation will change, and as a result force changes on the terms of the arrangement. The expansion mode that ARI uses to expand into Vietnam is an Alliance, but more specifically, it is a joint venture mode. Both sides come into an agreement of investing funds and resources, and agreeing on a management team that will lead the venture. Yes, I believe that this mode is a good mode of expansion for both of the companies. Both exhibit A and exhibit C show the benefits of an alliance for both sides. This analysis shows that the risk to benefit ratio of ARI acquiring Vianafood is too great and therefore it will be much smarter to go with an alliance. ARI has other alternatives for expanding into Vietnam. Those alternatives are; buying out an exciting company in Vietnam, merging with a company in Vietnam for a certain amount of equity, or a non equity merging. I think that their decision of expansion mode was the best choice out of these options and their potential of success in the Vietnamese market will be higher relative to the risk that is invested. Yes, I think that this investment will be necessary for the success of this venture. In exhibit D, you can see the potential gains relative to the investment, which clearly shows that according to the net present value calculation the investment should be made. Adding to the finances the value from this investment is very substantial for the ability of both companies to be successful in the global rice market. If we play with the numbers a little and add depreciation to the equation we can see that the useful life of the equipment is 17 years, which can be depreciated in a value of $472,753 per year. System savings plus market premium totals at $1,990,000, giving a total income from the investment after depreciation (before tax) of $1,517,246 per year. Also, the added value of this machinery (taking the financials out of the equation) is very substantial for this ventures success because it can make a higher quality rice with more nutrients and still be saleable at a competitive price. The parboil facility will increase the total yield of rough rice, prevent the loss of nutrients, salvage wet or damaged rough rice and rice germination. Other than the health and quality benefits, the parboil facility has major economic benefits as well. The cost savings were the process of drying the rice, which made the whole process more efficient, the decrease in loss of rice, which was 30%, and the improvement of the whole grain rice yield of about 10%-20%, which increased the quality of rice as well. I believe after looking at the whole picture of financials and the added value that the parboiling facility will add it is an important investment for the success of this joint venture.

Any work

I donot know how the blackboard-cleaning is related to â€Å"Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran YoJana†? If automatic cleaner needs electricity,then it will be more proolematic to implement throughout India. My data related to blackboards includes all schools(private and govt. )in rural and urban India. ‘ can substantiate my conclusion with different surveys and datas prepared by govt. and non-govt. agencies that still in rural area more than half of the schools have negligible basic infrastructure.As far s Mid-day meal scheme is concerned I have worked on this in 23 blocks. ‘ know what type of food-grain comes for the food and how officials and department of education works on this? My NGO has also done survey regarding basic infrastructural facilities in government primary schools in seven districts. MOre than 40% of the schools showing different infrastructural facilities on the goverment-paper is false. Few government schools are even running on the paper only. I am not sayiing that Blackboard cleaner would not improve the situation.But,it can be used only if there will be a blackboard. If you will allow me,then I will present the datas of Planning Commission,Department of HRD(Govt. of India) and different state governments. You are lucky that you found Blackboard in the village during field- work. And,also please keep onething in mind that we were sent to those villages,where we can reach by easy transportation mode. But,there are thousands of villages in India,where even district administration and police cannot access in any extraordinary situations. hools,blackboards and other infrastuctural facilities are remote things for those villages. I appreciate your imagination for planning to adopt one BPL family by one tax-payer and Blackboard cleaner†¦ but,these poetic imagination has extreme limitations†¦.. There are other basic needs of the infrastructure which should be addressed before thinking of automatic blackboard. May be there cou ld be alternates like running the school in shifts if the class strength is large in number. People of village can be encouraged to get together and ask thePanchayat to talk at higher level to run the school in shifts in their village. As mentioned before, electricity and maintenance problem of automatic blackboard will be an issue in villages where electricity is not there. we may need automatic blackboards in schools in rural areas but before that dont you think that their are more critical and important issues like teacher students ratio,poor quality of education and reducing high dropout rates to be addressed†¦.. Anshul sood p30003 any work By dhageas

Memo Letter Example

MEMO DATE: November 11, 2012 TO: Dr. Cheryl Powers, Instructor Business Communications, Minnesota School of Business FROM: Rhonda DeRosa Melissa Gelder Sherry Stevens Kayla Huberty Scott Miller Virtual Team, Business Communications SUBJECT: Unit 5 Assignment—Virtual Team Project Proposal Memo Our team met via conference call, this week, to discuss how we will successfully complete our project and resolve any conflicts that might arise. We also discussed which organizations we would each interview and agreed on a list of questions to ask our contacts at these organizations.The success of our project will depend on the contributions of every member. We will meet, via conference call, at 7:30 p. m. every Wednesday until our project is done. In between conference calls, we will communicate mostly via email. We decided that email was the best method, since we all have access to our email on our cell phones, so would get the information very quickly. We will also post to our group d iscussion board after our Wednesday night calls, to re-cap what was discussed and to have something to refer back to. In an effort to eliminate and resolve conflict we will all need to be responsible for â€Å"pulling our weight†. Related article: Team Building Memo ExamplesWe will do this by participating in the conference calls, regularly checking our email, and responding to any questions from the other team members. If a last-minute scheduling conflict occurs, we have each other’s phone numbers and we will call the other team members to inform them of the conflict. We will address and attempt to resolve conflicts within our team, before escalating to our instructor. Here is a list of the organizations that we have chosen, along with the contact person at the organization: Rhonda DeRosa: OGI Eyewear—Contact: Dan Liberman, Owner/President, Shelley Jacobs, Director of Corporate AffairsMelissa Gelder: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Sherry Stevens: Alexandra House—Contact: Liz Meyer, Project Manager Kayla Huberty: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Scott Miller: Insert Company Name—Insert Contact Name and Title Here is the list of quest ions that we are going to ask each of our organizations: 1. What types of teams/groups does your organization use? (Cross-functional, self-managed, virtual, project, etc. ) 2. What roles do team-members play? (Leader, note-taker, subject matter expert, etc. ) 3. Who decides how the roles are assigned (or do members volunteer)? . How do teams/groups contribute to the overall success of your organization? 5. What criteria do you use to determine whether a group/team is needed? 6. What are the characteristics of successful team players at your organization? 7. Do members of your organization participate on teams with members of other organizations? If so, what sort of roles do they play on those teams? 8. What are some of the obstacles your teams face and how do you overcome them? 9. How is team conflict handled and resolved? 10. What tools/methods do your teams use to communicate? (email, phone, face-to-face, virtual technologies, etc. 11. Which of these methods is most effective? Lea st effective? 12. How do you determine if a team/group is successful? 13. What is the role of volunteers on teams in your organization? 14. What training or team-building is provided for team members (and is this different for employees vs. volunteers)? 15. Can you share a success story involving a group or team in your organization? —possibly of a time where a team was able to achieve something above and beyond what was expected or a team achieved something that couldn’t have been achieved without the team.

Behaviourists Explain Maladaptive Bbevaviour in Terms

Behaviourism was first developed in the early 20th century by an American psychologist John B Watson, who at the time was working in the field of animal psychology. He believed that all behaviour was observable and therefore scientific, and worked on the principle and study of the association between a stimulus and response. Watson did not deny the existence of inner experiences, but insisted that they could not be studied because they were not observable ) Watson’s stimulus and response theory of psychology claimed that all complex forms of behaviour – emotions, habits etc – are seen as composed of simple muscular and glandular elements that can be observed and measured, and that emotional reactions are learned in much the same way. Watson aimed to prove his beliefs with laboratory experiments, and one of these experiments was known as â€Å" The Little Albert Experiment†. Little Albert was a small young boy of about 18 months of age , Young Albert would sit happily on the floor and play with a white rat. Young Albert did not like loud noises, and on the presentation of the rat, scientists would clang two metal rods together behind Young Albert’s head, which resulted in screaming from young Albert. The result of this â€Å" conditioning† experiment was that Albert came to associate the rat with fear, and on following presentations of the rat, young Albert displayed considerable fear. Around the turn of the 20th century, another American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike, investigated how animals learn, in one experiment he placed a cat in a â€Å"puzzle box† and measured the time it took to escape. Over a number of trials, the time taken to escape decreased, and from this observation he developed the â€Å"law of (positive) effect†, which states that any behaviour leading to a positive outcome will tend to be repeated in similar circumstances. If we like the consequences of our actions then the actions are likely to be repeated, this ype of learning was known as operant conditioning . Thorndike’s work was developed by such behaviourist’s such as B. F. Skinner. Skinner approach to psychology was scientific, his views came from Darwin’s theories of evolution. Skinner focused on the environment as a cause for human behaviour, he did not think that people acted for moral reasons, believing they reacted in response to their environme nt. For example: a person might do a good thing not for moral reasons, but for the rewards received for the act. Skinner believed that the mental process was irrelevant. To prove his theories skinner invented what is now referred to as the â€Å" skinner box†. This was a small box with a lever mechanism inside that dispensed a food pellet when pressed. Many experiments were done using this box system, and in one of these experiments a rat was rewarded with a food pellet on every press of a lever ( condition A). In another condition ( condition B ) the rat was only rewarded with a food pellet only sometimes when pressing the lever. They found that rat B pressed the lever much more! Why was this? Because the lever pressing was only occasionally rewarded, it took longer to figure out that in no longer worked. Skinner believed that reinforcement is a key concept in behaviourism, that it increases the likelihood that an action will be repeated in the future, however, punishment on the other hand, will reduce the likelihood that an action will be repeated. For example: shouting at a child who is behaving in an irritating way, might in fact lead to the behaviour appearing more frequently. The shouting therefore, is seen as reinforcing( providing attention) rather that punishing. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who studied the digestion of dogs, he found that laboratory dogs would salivate at the sight of a food dish, from this he reasoned that the dogs learned an association between the dog bowl and the food it usually contained. In behavioural terms the food ( the unconditioned stimulus or UCS) had been associated with the bowl ( the conditioned stimulus or CS) giving rise to the conditioned response or CR of the dog salivating at the sight of the bowl. In these terms the unconditioned response or UCR would be the dog salivating at the sight of food. In further experiments a bell was continually rung immediately before feeding, Pavlov was able to condition a dog to salivate whenever a bell was rung. After a period of conditioning, Pavlov discovered the dog would salivate at the sound of a bell even if no food was forthcoming, and by pairing the conditioned stimulus of the bell with a light, he could get the dog to salivate at the presentation of the light only, even though the light and the food had never been presented together. This type of conditioning demonstrates how readily behaviour will form predictive associations. This learnt behaviour was called classical conditioning. In terms of human behaviour classical conditioning involves involuntary behaviour such as a fear response, they can be elicited, meaning you can do something that produces an involuntary response. Operant conditioning involves voluntary behaviours. Voluntary behaviours are those that cannot be made to happen, meaning that you cannot get those behaviours until someone carries them out. Behavioural approaches assume that what is learned may be unlearned, and explains why phobias tend to get worse as time goes on. When you meet you fear, your fear level rises (fight)and so does your level of adrenaline. If you avoid the fear ( flight) you will reduce the fear and your level of adrenaline. This is the connection between your fear and your response to it. The result from this is a maladaptive behaviour, often with an avoidance and a rise in anxiety levels, leading to stress and other ways of behaviour and coping strategies. Social learning theory is another approach to behaviourism of Albert Brandura , it emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others, Brandura pointed out that much of what we learn is in the consequence of observation, indirect rewards/punishments and modelling. (www. psychology. org) What are the behavioural approaches to therapy? Behavioural therapy concentrates on taking away the old responses or conditioning new ones, there are a number of techniques that can be used: * Systematic desensitisation ( experiences in imagination) * In vivo exposure ( experiences in reality) The way in which these techniques work is that it is difficult to feel two opposing states at the same time ie, relaxation and fear. The client will be coached in relaxation techniques and then encouraged to remain relaxed whilst imagining themselves in a mildly frightening situation, once able to do this, they will be encouraged to imagine themselves in a more slightly distressing situation and so on. * Flooding Flooding is a behavioural technique that relies on the idea that it is not possible to maintain a state of fear indefinitely. Flood therapy will expose the client to the fear / situation until their fear drops to normal, the idea that when released from that fear their fear level will drop to a normal and acceptable tolerance. * Selective reinforcement This is based on operant conditioning, and for example: in schools and at home any good behaviour is reinforced by means of reward. * Modelling This makes use of observational learning, the client will watch the therapist/teacher and copy what they do. This gives the opportunity to view adaptive behaviour on which to base a new response. * Cognitive behaviour This is another approach to psychology, the origin of the word â€Å" cognitive† comes from Latin, which means to â€Å"know and understand†. This perspective is directly linked with the internal mental processes of thought, such as memory, problem-solving, thinking and language. The cognitive psychological perspective is seen as a response to behaviourism because cognitive psychologists see humans as rational beings and not as programmed animals with no ability to think. The study of the mental processes is not observable, which does contrast with â€Å" traditional behaviourists ideas†, which is to study only observable ways. The focus of cognitive psychologists is the way the brain processes information ( stimuli) received ( input ) which leads to a certain behaviour ( output ). This process is often compared with the computer function, however this comparison is not too coherent because the human mind/brain, is far more advanced than a computer. Humanistic psychologists see this approach as cold because the cognitive psychologists ignore any emotions any individual may have, and may well prove everything in a way that is too clinical. All mental processes are investigated scientifically, which is good to cognitive behaviour. (I apologize that i slightly went off track with the reference to the humanistic approach, but i felt it very relevant to compare a behavioural approach with the humanistic approaches such as Maslow and Rogers) There is a belief in behavioural therapy that human behaviour does not just happen, but is caused by environmental events that cannot be controlled, and this has been criticised by other approaches for ignoring learning due to evolution. This can also be said about human behaviour and the relevance to food, diet and nutrition. It is a known fact certain foods have chemicals that do alter one’s behaviour, and in the day’s of food being tampered with and injected with growth hormones, one has to be aware of this. It is now at this point in the essay that i will turn to the view of the psychoanalytic one and their view to the behavioural approach in therapy. Psychoanalytic approach to behaviourism One thing that is certain, and that few textbooks of psychology ignore Freud and many are built around his theories† â€Å"Freud’s approach was as logical and his findings as carefully tested as Pavlovs† â€Å"The foundation of Freud’s method-psychic determination and the relentless logic of free association are scientific† â€Å"Freud’s method was to take everything anybody said at any time or place regardless of truth or falsity in terms of external reality to be used a s basic data in revealing the dynamics of the personality† â€Å"Freud devised a means of diagnosing man’s troubles, not of suppressing them, and the emotions we suppress are the mental equivalents that all is not well within the body† (Freud and the Post Freudians. J. A. C. Brown) Freud, first published his psychoanalytic theory of personality in which the unconscious mind played a crucial role. Freud combined the then current notions of consciousness, perception and memory with the ideas of biologically based instincts, to make a new theory of psychodynamics. Freud’s theory, which forms the basis of the psychodynamic approach, represented a major challenge to behaviourism. Freud’s theory of personality was based on the assumption that all behaviour stems from the unconscious mind. He divided the personality into three different parts, that of the id, the ego and the super-ego, which Freud believed were often in conflict with each other. * The id operates on the pleasure principle seeking immediate gratification. * The ego obeys the reality principle and plans for the future * The super-ego is conscious and makes us aware of our moral standards Freud believed that we all have a stream of psychic energy, he called this constant psychic energy the libido, reflecting that the sex drive was a primary life instinct. If this energy was suppressed, the energy would seek out another outlet, such as in dreams and/or neurotic behaviour. Freud believed we go through several personality developmental stages in the early years of life. He called these stages the psychosexual stages. During each of these stages the pleasure seeking impulses of the id focus on a particular part of the body. The first year of life Freud called the oral stage, whereby babies derived pleasure from sucking and/or nursing. The second stage was termed the anal stage, and Freud believed infants derived pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces. The next stage was the phallic stage where the child derived pleasure from his or her genitals. During the phallic stage the child reached a conflict called the oedipal conflict , whereby Freud believed the anxiety caused was the basis of all later anxieties. The oedipal conflict resolved at the latency period, which lasted from the age of seven to twelve, and during this time children became less concerned with their bodies and turned their attention to life skills, and finally adolescence and puberty brought about the genital stage, which is the mature stage of adult sexuality. Freud placed much emphasis on child development believing that if the child at any given time was denied the gratification needed in each stage, then a maladaptive behaviour was to take place, for example: a man might be hostile towards his boss, an older co-worker, and all other â€Å"parent figures† in his life because he is unconsciously re-enacting childhood conflicts with an overprotective parent. The psychoanalyst would help the client recognise his hidden, pent up anger toward the parent, experience it, and trace how this unconscious source of continuing anger and the defences around it have been creating problems. (Psychology Bernstein) Freud believed that many clues to the unconscious lie in the constant stream of thoughts, feelings, memories and images experienced by all people. These clues can be uncovered and understood if the client relaxes defences that block or distort the stream of consciousness. Thus, one of the most basic techniques of psychoanalysis is free association, in which the client relaxes, often lying on a couch, reporting everything that comes to mind as soon as it occurs, no matter how trivial, bizarre, or embarrassing it may seem. Clues to the unconscious may appear in the way thoughts are linked, rather than in the thoughts themselves. For example: if the client stops talking or claim that their minds are blank, the psychoanalyst may suspect that unconscious defence mechanisms are keeping threatening material out of the consciousness. The interpretation of dreams is another one of Freud’s ideas, and psychoanalysts believe that dreams express wishes, impulses and fantasies that the dreamer’s defences keep unconscious during waking hours. The psychoanalyst will look at the client’s thoughts and behaviours, and will help the client to become aware of all the aspects of their personality, including the defences and the unconscious material behind them. The basic strategy is to construct accurate accounts of what has happened to the client ( but has been â€Å" forgotten†) and what is happening to the client ( but is not understood), and in this way help the client to see their maladaptive behaviour towards their life. â€Å"The psychodynamic approach emphasizes internal conflicts, mostly unconscious, which usually pit sexual or aggressive instincts against environmental obstacles to their expression†( Psychology Bernstein) â€Å"The psychodynamic approach holds, that all behaviour and mental processes, reflect constant and mostly unconscious struggles within each person. Usually these struggles involve conflict between the impulse to satisfy instincts or wishes( for food, sex or aggression for example ) and the restrictions imposed by society. From this perspective, a display of violence ( or hostility, or even anxiety)reflects the breakdown of civilizing defences against the expression of primitive urges â€Å"(Psychology Bernstein) â€Å" the psychodynamic approach assumes that if clients gain insight into underlying problems, the symptoms created by those problems will disappear† ( Psychology Bernstein) Conclusion Although there are clear divisions in these two approaches, there is a case that the perspectives and the research, have contributed a great deal to understanding human behaviour. Therefore it is worth remembering that psychology is a dynamic science and new theories and experiments are conducted every day. As technology advances so does the field of psychology, and the study of human behaviour needs to be with the use of all the approaches that are available, whether it be behaviourism, psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, Jungian, humanistic, integrated or whatever the approach that is being used. After all, we are all unique, and one cap certainly does not fit all! However, because the classical psychoanalytic treatment may require as many as three to five sessions per week, usually over several years the cost is of consideration both in private practice and within the national health system, and this may well reflect the reason why the behavioural approach of CBT/REBT is widely used within such quarters. ( Psychology Bernstein) REFERENCES First steps in counselling Sanders 2010 Freud and the Post Freudians J. A. C. Brown 1985 www. psychology. org Psychology Third Edition Bernstein, Stewart, Roy, Srull, Wickers 1994 Behaviourists Explain Maladaptive Bbevaviour in Terms Behaviourism was first developed in the early 20th century by an American psychologist John B Watson, who at the time was working in the field of animal psychology. He believed that all behaviour was observable and therefore scientific, and worked on the principle and study of the association between a stimulus and response. Watson did not deny the existence of inner experiences, but insisted that they could not be studied because they were not observable ) Watson’s stimulus and response theory of psychology claimed that all complex forms of behaviour – emotions, habits etc – are seen as composed of simple muscular and glandular elements that can be observed and measured, and that emotional reactions are learned in much the same way. Watson aimed to prove his beliefs with laboratory experiments, and one of these experiments was known as â€Å" The Little Albert Experiment†. Little Albert was a small young boy of about 18 months of age , Young Albert would sit happily on the floor and play with a white rat. Young Albert did not like loud noises, and on the presentation of the rat, scientists would clang two metal rods together behind Young Albert’s head, which resulted in screaming from young Albert. The result of this â€Å" conditioning† experiment was that Albert came to associate the rat with fear, and on following presentations of the rat, young Albert displayed considerable fear. Around the turn of the 20th century, another American psychologist Edward Lee Thorndike, investigated how animals learn, in one experiment he placed a cat in a â€Å"puzzle box† and measured the time it took to escape. Over a number of trials, the time taken to escape decreased, and from this observation he developed the â€Å"law of (positive) effect†, which states that any behaviour leading to a positive outcome will tend to be repeated in similar circumstances. If we like the consequences of our actions then the actions are likely to be repeated, this ype of learning was known as operant conditioning . Thorndike’s work was developed by such behaviourist’s such as B. F. Skinner. Skinner approach to psychology was scientific, his views came from Darwin’s theories of evolution. Skinner focused on the environment as a cause for human behaviour, he did not think that people acted for moral reasons, believing they reacted in response to their environme nt. For example: a person might do a good thing not for moral reasons, but for the rewards received for the act. Skinner believed that the mental process was irrelevant. To prove his theories skinner invented what is now referred to as the â€Å" skinner box†. This was a small box with a lever mechanism inside that dispensed a food pellet when pressed. Many experiments were done using this box system, and in one of these experiments a rat was rewarded with a food pellet on every press of a lever ( condition A). In another condition ( condition B ) the rat was only rewarded with a food pellet only sometimes when pressing the lever. They found that rat B pressed the lever much more! Why was this? Because the lever pressing was only occasionally rewarded, it took longer to figure out that in no longer worked. Skinner believed that reinforcement is a key concept in behaviourism, that it increases the likelihood that an action will be repeated in the future, however, punishment on the other hand, will reduce the likelihood that an action will be repeated. For example: shouting at a child who is behaving in an irritating way, might in fact lead to the behaviour appearing more frequently. The shouting therefore, is seen as reinforcing( providing attention) rather that punishing. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist who studied the digestion of dogs, he found that laboratory dogs would salivate at the sight of a food dish, from this he reasoned that the dogs learned an association between the dog bowl and the food it usually contained. In behavioural terms the food ( the unconditioned stimulus or UCS) had been associated with the bowl ( the conditioned stimulus or CS) giving rise to the conditioned response or CR of the dog salivating at the sight of the bowl. In these terms the unconditioned response or UCR would be the dog salivating at the sight of food. In further experiments a bell was continually rung immediately before feeding, Pavlov was able to condition a dog to salivate whenever a bell was rung. After a period of conditioning, Pavlov discovered the dog would salivate at the sound of a bell even if no food was forthcoming, and by pairing the conditioned stimulus of the bell with a light, he could get the dog to salivate at the presentation of the light only, even though the light and the food had never been presented together. This type of conditioning demonstrates how readily behaviour will form predictive associations. This learnt behaviour was called classical conditioning. In terms of human behaviour classical conditioning involves involuntary behaviour such as a fear response, they can be elicited, meaning you can do something that produces an involuntary response. Operant conditioning involves voluntary behaviours. Voluntary behaviours are those that cannot be made to happen, meaning that you cannot get those behaviours until someone carries them out. Behavioural approaches assume that what is learned may be unlearned, and explains why phobias tend to get worse as time goes on. When you meet you fear, your fear level rises (fight)and so does your level of adrenaline. If you avoid the fear ( flight) you will reduce the fear and your level of adrenaline. This is the connection between your fear and your response to it. The result from this is a maladaptive behaviour, often with an avoidance and a rise in anxiety levels, leading to stress and other ways of behaviour and coping strategies. Social learning theory is another approach to behaviourism of Albert Brandura , it emphasizes the importance of observing and modelling behaviours, attitudes, and emotional reactions of others, Brandura pointed out that much of what we learn is in the consequence of observation, indirect rewards/punishments and modelling. (www. psychology. org) What are the behavioural approaches to therapy? Behavioural therapy concentrates on taking away the old responses or conditioning new ones, there are a number of techniques that can be used: * Systematic desensitisation ( experiences in imagination) * In vivo exposure ( experiences in reality) The way in which these techniques work is that it is difficult to feel two opposing states at the same time ie, relaxation and fear. The client will be coached in relaxation techniques and then encouraged to remain relaxed whilst imagining themselves in a mildly frightening situation, once able to do this, they will be encouraged to imagine themselves in a more slightly distressing situation and so on. * Flooding Flooding is a behavioural technique that relies on the idea that it is not possible to maintain a state of fear indefinitely. Flood therapy will expose the client to the fear / situation until their fear drops to normal, the idea that when released from that fear their fear level will drop to a normal and acceptable tolerance. * Selective reinforcement This is based on operant conditioning, and for example: in schools and at home any good behaviour is reinforced by means of reward. * Modelling This makes use of observational learning, the client will watch the therapist/teacher and copy what they do. This gives the opportunity to view adaptive behaviour on which to base a new response. * Cognitive behaviour This is another approach to psychology, the origin of the word â€Å" cognitive† comes from Latin, which means to â€Å"know and understand†. This perspective is directly linked with the internal mental processes of thought, such as memory, problem-solving, thinking and language. The cognitive psychological perspective is seen as a response to behaviourism because cognitive psychologists see humans as rational beings and not as programmed animals with no ability to think. The study of the mental processes is not observable, which does contrast with â€Å" traditional behaviourists ideas†, which is to study only observable ways. The focus of cognitive psychologists is the way the brain processes information ( stimuli) received ( input ) which leads to a certain behaviour ( output ). This process is often compared with the computer function, however this comparison is not too coherent because the human mind/brain, is far more advanced than a computer. Humanistic psychologists see this approach as cold because the cognitive psychologists ignore any emotions any individual may have, and may well prove everything in a way that is too clinical. All mental processes are investigated scientifically, which is good to cognitive behaviour. (I apologize that i slightly went off track with the reference to the humanistic approach, but i felt it very relevant to compare a behavioural approach with the humanistic approaches such as Maslow and Rogers) There is a belief in behavioural therapy that human behaviour does not just happen, but is caused by environmental events that cannot be controlled, and this has been criticised by other approaches for ignoring learning due to evolution. This can also be said about human behaviour and the relevance to food, diet and nutrition. It is a known fact certain foods have chemicals that do alter one’s behaviour, and in the day’s of food being tampered with and injected with growth hormones, one has to be aware of this. It is now at this point in the essay that i will turn to the view of the psychoanalytic one and their view to the behavioural approach in therapy. Psychoanalytic approach to behaviourism One thing that is certain, and that few textbooks of psychology ignore Freud and many are built around his theories† â€Å"Freud’s approach was as logical and his findings as carefully tested as Pavlovs† â€Å"The foundation of Freud’s method-psychic determination and the relentless logic of free association are scientific† â€Å"Freud’s method was to take everything anybody said at any time or place regardless of truth or falsity in terms of external reality to be used a s basic data in revealing the dynamics of the personality† â€Å"Freud devised a means of diagnosing man’s troubles, not of suppressing them, and the emotions we suppress are the mental equivalents that all is not well within the body† (Freud and the Post Freudians. J. A. C. Brown) Freud, first published his psychoanalytic theory of personality in which the unconscious mind played a crucial role. Freud combined the then current notions of consciousness, perception and memory with the ideas of biologically based instincts, to make a new theory of psychodynamics. Freud’s theory, which forms the basis of the psychodynamic approach, represented a major challenge to behaviourism. Freud’s theory of personality was based on the assumption that all behaviour stems from the unconscious mind. He divided the personality into three different parts, that of the id, the ego and the super-ego, which Freud believed were often in conflict with each other. * The id operates on the pleasure principle seeking immediate gratification. * The ego obeys the reality principle and plans for the future * The super-ego is conscious and makes us aware of our moral standards Freud believed that we all have a stream of psychic energy, he called this constant psychic energy the libido, reflecting that the sex drive was a primary life instinct. If this energy was suppressed, the energy would seek out another outlet, such as in dreams and/or neurotic behaviour. Freud believed we go through several personality developmental stages in the early years of life. He called these stages the psychosexual stages. During each of these stages the pleasure seeking impulses of the id focus on a particular part of the body. The first year of life Freud called the oral stage, whereby babies derived pleasure from sucking and/or nursing. The second stage was termed the anal stage, and Freud believed infants derived pleasure from withholding and expelling faeces. The next stage was the phallic stage where the child derived pleasure from his or her genitals. During the phallic stage the child reached a conflict called the oedipal conflict , whereby Freud believed the anxiety caused was the basis of all later anxieties. The oedipal conflict resolved at the latency period, which lasted from the age of seven to twelve, and during this time children became less concerned with their bodies and turned their attention to life skills, and finally adolescence and puberty brought about the genital stage, which is the mature stage of adult sexuality. Freud placed much emphasis on child development believing that if the child at any given time was denied the gratification needed in each stage, then a maladaptive behaviour was to take place, for example: a man might be hostile towards his boss, an older co-worker, and all other â€Å"parent figures† in his life because he is unconsciously re-enacting childhood conflicts with an overprotective parent. The psychoanalyst would help the client recognise his hidden, pent up anger toward the parent, experience it, and trace how this unconscious source of continuing anger and the defences around it have been creating problems. (Psychology Bernstein) Freud believed that many clues to the unconscious lie in the constant stream of thoughts, feelings, memories and images experienced by all people. These clues can be uncovered and understood if the client relaxes defences that block or distort the stream of consciousness. Thus, one of the most basic techniques of psychoanalysis is free association, in which the client relaxes, often lying on a couch, reporting everything that comes to mind as soon as it occurs, no matter how trivial, bizarre, or embarrassing it may seem. Clues to the unconscious may appear in the way thoughts are linked, rather than in the thoughts themselves. For example: if the client stops talking or claim that their minds are blank, the psychoanalyst may suspect that unconscious defence mechanisms are keeping threatening material out of the consciousness. The interpretation of dreams is another one of Freud’s ideas, and psychoanalysts believe that dreams express wishes, impulses and fantasies that the dreamer’s defences keep unconscious during waking hours. The psychoanalyst will look at the client’s thoughts and behaviours, and will help the client to become aware of all the aspects of their personality, including the defences and the unconscious material behind them. The basic strategy is to construct accurate accounts of what has happened to the client ( but has been â€Å" forgotten†) and what is happening to the client ( but is not understood), and in this way help the client to see their maladaptive behaviour towards their life. â€Å"The psychodynamic approach emphasizes internal conflicts, mostly unconscious, which usually pit sexual or aggressive instincts against environmental obstacles to their expression†( Psychology Bernstein) â€Å"The psychodynamic approach holds, that all behaviour and mental processes, reflect constant and mostly unconscious struggles within each person. Usually these struggles involve conflict between the impulse to satisfy instincts or wishes( for food, sex or aggression for example ) and the restrictions imposed by society. From this perspective, a display of violence ( or hostility, or even anxiety)reflects the breakdown of civilizing defences against the expression of primitive urges â€Å"(Psychology Bernstein) â€Å" the psychodynamic approach assumes that if clients gain insight into underlying problems, the symptoms created by those problems will disappear† ( Psychology Bernstein) Conclusion Although there are clear divisions in these two approaches, there is a case that the perspectives and the research, have contributed a great deal to understanding human behaviour. Therefore it is worth remembering that psychology is a dynamic science and new theories and experiments are conducted every day. As technology advances so does the field of psychology, and the study of human behaviour needs to be with the use of all the approaches that are available, whether it be behaviourism, psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, Jungian, humanistic, integrated or whatever the approach that is being used. After all, we are all unique, and one cap certainly does not fit all! However, because the classical psychoanalytic treatment may require as many as three to five sessions per week, usually over several years the cost is of consideration both in private practice and within the national health system, and this may well reflect the reason why the behavioural approach of CBT/REBT is widely used within such quarters. ( Psychology Bernstein) REFERENCES First steps in counselling Sanders 2010 Freud and the Post Freudians J. A. C. Brown 1985 www. psychology. org Psychology Third Edition Bernstein, Stewart, Roy, Srull, Wickers 1994