Socratic Seminar Questions (Medea)

Socratic Seminar Questions 1. Do you think Medea should’ve let the children live? If so, who do you think she would’ve chosen and why? If not, why do you think Medea killed the children? I think it was right for Medea to kill the children. The children are a â€Å"product† during Medea and Jason’s relationship. Since Medea feels like Jason betrayed and tainted their relationship, she feels like letting the children not live is like destroying every last remnant of their relationship.She also feels that killing the children would punish Jason and as a mother, she doesn’t want anyone else to harm her own children, so she kills them as a sacrifice. Personally, it was a dour scene of killing the children, but it had a hidden reason into killing the children. 2. What are some major complaints Medea pleas about the treatment of women? Do you think women around the world are still facing these problems? Some of the major complaints Medea pleas about are th at women cannot reject marriage because of the over dominance of men that women don’t have the power to reject or deny marriage.I believe not only Greece, but other countries around the whole world face the over dominance of men over women. Another complaint Medea states is how women are â€Å"bought and sold† by men. Women weren’t slaves back in Greece but Medea emphasizes the point that women are treated like property, being bought and sold. In the present world, there are very few or not even any countries that sell women but are treated like slaves, having limited rights than men. Lastly, she points out women are the â€Å"most unfortunate creatures†. I think the hidden message Euripides is explaining is the deplorable state of females in Greece.I think that there are still countries worldwide, facing the same situations Medea points out to the readers. In addition, I think Euripides wants readers to sympathize the state of women and how they’r e treated. 3. What do you think is the difference between justice and revenge? Did Medea achieve justice or revenge? Why? There is a key difference between the definition of justice and revenge. Justice I think brings termination, an end to something, while revenge results in personal satisfaction and pleasure. Another key difference between both is that justice is what should be done while revenge is what you believe should be done.To sum everything up, justice is selfless and revenge is selfish. I think Medea achieved more of revenge because it was her personal satisfaction and plotting out, punishing Jason for his wrongdoings. In addition, her crave for revenge adulterates her life and her desire for revenge makes her a merciless character. 4. What ways does Medea bring her banishment on herself? There are many signs of how Medea creates banishment for herself. She made herself an exile out of love, leaving her land and killing her father and brother to help Jason in his quest fo r the Golden Fleece. Ironically thought, his betrayal leads her into banishment once more.During many scenes in the play, Medea expresses deep anguish as making herself an exile. She seems especially remorseful about leaving home and killing her father. This distance from Medea to her father is probably the worst feeling of exile she has to withstand. 5. If all people are created equal, then why do you think men have more authority than women according to Medea? One reason I think men would want more authority than women is men want to feel powerful themselves and they want a feel of playing a crucial role to society or a matriarch in a family by obtaining power.Another reason men have more authority than women is how much pressure they can take. Yes, women are smart and have intelligence, but the main problem is that women can’t take as much criticism or types of pressure as men can. That could be why men are mostly leaders of countries, they can take more pressure from soci ety or media than women can. Lastly, I think men have more authority than women is because men are more recognized in creativity. Microsoft, Apple, Google and YouTube are examples of technological inventions by men. Men feel more recognized into their creativity.

Constitutionality of the new health care reforms Essay

This paper seeks to discuss the constitutionality of the new health care law in the United States of America, the Affordable Healthcare Act. The paper will discuss on the diverse understanding and conception of the new law among the common citizenry in America, business class as well as the health care service providers. Health care to any person is a sensitive topic attracts attention of any government that is willing to have its citizens remain healthy and productive. It is a constitutional requirement for the government provides affordable health care to its citizens. This is what the United States government has moved to enable through The Affordable Health Care Act. This Act’s principle focus is to ensure more Americans are able to access affordable health care. The bill provided for improved quality of health care, affordable attention to all Americans, especially those of low economy in the country. Improved and affordable health care extending to all guarantees access to health care to the young and the seniors as well as those with pre-existing conditions (Siegel, N.S. 2012). Though the numbers of the citizens who have enrolled in the health care programs after the enactment of The Affordable Health care is not as high as expected, the percentages of the individuals enrolled in the health care services. This may be attributed to the convenience attached the programs that does not discriminate against age or conditions at the time of enrollment. However the rising numbers of the individuals enrolling in the program have come with the various challenges, some of which are detrimental to people’s welfare. Due to the poorly planned change of medical care, a great number of Americans have been forced to abandon their previous health insurance services from the companies were not abiding to all the provisions of the new standards set by the new rules. The period between changes of health care insurance cover to the new program was not provided for by the government, including the value forgone, which is not compensable by the government. The new rules have created panic among upcoming health insurance providers who were not attaining the standards provided in the new law due to loss of clientele. As a result, unemployment has been experienced to many and to the unmanageable employee retention capabilities of the affected companies (Siegel, N.S. 2012). The Act provides for access to the service by young adults who may not be able to afford to pay the premiums themselves by accessing the cover through their parents or guardians’ plan. Young adults below the age of 26 are eligible to the affordable health care even if they cannot be able to raise their own premiums. This has guaranteed affordable and quality health care to millions of unemployed young adults. The policy was created to reach more people and enable them access health care. The move was right and targeted the greater portion of America’s population through the service to the young adults. However the statistics show that older people get sick and need the insurance cover much more than younger people and therefore the policy only theoretically reaches more people through the youth, but more so fail to identify the bigger population that is vulnerable to ailments (Bateman C. 2013). Through this plan, more people who appreciate the new law will end up dropping their current health service providers who are not cost friendly for the new affordable and quality plan. This will cause a confusion to the health service providers who may be facing abrupt changes which will affect scores of people who seek their services, thus ailing their businesses. The law leaves the State and the federal government to raise funds to be able to finance the plan. This translates to increased revenue collected by the state and the federal government, which means taxes will be and continue to be increased in order to maintain the health plan (Parks D. 2012). The law has as well provided for the Children health insurance plan, which has seen the number of the children reached go up to nine million children. The Act has given assurance to the mothers of quality and affordable health insurance services for their children. Reaching up to over nine million children means more funding requirements for the program to run smoothly. This has called for increased taxation on Americans to sustain the program. This is because financing has to be done by the federal government and the state (Siegel, N.S. 2012). The services come with lowered costs as compared to the pre-existing form of health insurance service provision. At the low cost of accessing health care insurance, more Americans find themselves in a situation where they have irrelevant or no reason for lack of health care insurance cover. One of the core elements of the Affordable health care act is that the people have more say in the access and quality of service. This is contrary to the former system where a few health insurance companies controlled the business making the citizens vulnerable to the efficiency of the company administrations which affected the quality and cost of service. The cost to service seekers is properly considered for the fact that insurance companies will not be able to arbitrarily increase the cost of premiums. This puts the contributors of the premiums, be it the employers, employees or the unemployed in a state where they are able to plan for their money over longer periods of time. The welfare of the contributors is also protected by the law in that the insurers are supposed to ensure that the expenses are primarily and sorely on providing health care and not other non-related costs or even administrative costs. Low cost associated with access to proper, affordable and quality healthcare has come by courtesy of un-intentional sacrifice of Americans to fund and maintain the program. Funding by the government only means more funds demanded from the public, which is only possible through raised taxation. Low cost is also arguably determined as unrealistic as the initial costs for the program to come to life and run is not clearly portrayed. The program faced great challenges in the internet communication platform that is supposed to be easy and user-friendly for all. Setting up of the platform is another high costing endeavor that the government had to go through, with the taxpayers’ money to see it work. Initial costs may be high and seem unrealistic to run the program, but the analysts show that the government will not only be able to see it budgets deficit covered, but also a lot of savings on insurance health care of the state and the federal governments with time. The Act has put to an end lifetime and annual limits. This comes much cost effectively extending full benefits to the enjoyment of the insurance policy. This is much better as related to the earlier plans in which there were annual dollar limits allowed for the insured. The plan demanded the excess of limits paid in cash, which limited the insured from the accessing the insurance services. The plans entail the patient’s right to maintain the health provider at more lowered costs. The idea of covering patients with pre-existing conditions and normal costs is a new thing that has seen many Americans embrace the laws (In Hall, M. A, & In Allhoff, F. 2014).Old people can now comfortably enroll for the programs and enjoy the health insurance services without being exorbitantly charged or even being denied the services due to their age. This has clearly portrayed the intended purpose of the law, which is to reach out the all, and especially the low to middle income Americans as well as the old. Due to the affordability of the premiums, it has translated to increased number of would be marginalized group being able to enjoy the services of the program. The plan has managed to reduce the biased quality of service among different health providers based on their ability to pay for the most qualified consultants, leading to the high cost of acquiring highly qualified health consultants, which often leads to a deficiency of consultants in other facilities due to their low cost and inability to pay the best consultants. The affordable health care plan has many positives, but has failed to protect the plight of businesses behind healthcare services. The health service providers are forced to deliver health services within the limits of the available resources, thus limiting their competitive advantage which often leads to improved quality of services with competitive costs. This has as well come with the challenge of increased need for more funding, by the federal government and the state. Sources of revenue such as taxes have to be enhanced to manage the services and also to maintain them (In Hall, M. A, & In Allhoff, F. 2014).The law has provided that for businesses with up to 50 employees on a full time engagement must be provided for the cover by the business. This has made the access to the insurance cover to many more employees. Employer are now able to afford quality and affordable health insurance services for their employees. The law has seen the insurance premiums paid by employers go down significantly with no compromise on quality of health service or even reducing the number of employees. This is the bigger picture of the plan, however, other employers see the new law being inefficient, costly and failing with lack of clarity on the very fundamental issues when it comes to health care services and therefore seeking more satisfying alternatives. This state of the situation is making many employers to maintain their existing health insurance schemes, even if costly to them and their employees, basing on the fact that they understand the schemes they have been used and are not ready to shift to a new model that is not well known to the would be beneficiary, or even the service providers to whom the plan has been imposed through the law. The obvious uncertainties have led to unplanned costly programs by many employers who are opting to provide their employees with education on how to lower health risks or exposure to activities or situations that would warrant them seeking health services. (In Hall, M. A, & In Allhoff, F. 2014).Conclusions The health care is a new beginning for Americans in the health laws and sector. The law will be able to guarantee the intended subject with coverage that provides them with unbiased provision of services, whether they have pre-existing condition or not, with no health plans to limit or even plans that limit children’s benefits. The law has provided the young generation with an assurance of health care plan that was never thought of to cover in such a manner that even poor young people could afford. This will see parents who have young adults under their care access affordable and quality health care. The plan will see an end to insurance coverage withdraws by insurance companies on the basis of honest mistakes. This will assure continued enjoyment of services. The plan has as well come with the right to reconsideration for rejection of payments which was not there before. The Law will see to great favorable cost effects the states, federal governments, employers, employees and the unemployed. This will be due to the removal of lifetime limits. The law prohibits increasing of insurance premiums through controlled review process, which will be done in public and must show reason. The new plans are also designed and guided to ensure that the insured get value for money by making sure that money paid up premiums for health insurance is utilized on health insurance. This will limit insurance companies from using money contributed as health premiums for their own non-health related activities. The new law will see to it that care is provided to the best level possible. This is provided by the fact that the cover caters for preventive care without costs under recommendations. The law also gives the insured the prerogative to choose a doctor who will provide basic care needed. This not only gives the insured the right to the choice of the doctor as a fundamental thing necessarily, but also the confidence of the insured that as the insured is in control of health paid for. The plan has created a high level of freedom as to emergency services sought by doing away with barriers usually planted by insurance companies. This plan provides the insured with the feeling and enjoyment of fundamental freedom and right to immediate and quality emergency attention at any health facility, whether within or outside his network in a health plan. The basic provisions of this law are well within the fundamental rights and freedoms of the American populations as provided in the constitution and other laws. The Affordable Healthcare Act does not violate any constitutional provision in its endeavor to ensure quality and affordable health care. References Bateman, C. (December 01, 2013). Pretenders to the throne of affordable healthcare? : izindaba.  South African Medical Journal,  103,  12, 885-886. Health Law Institute, & Pennsylvania Bar Institute. (2012).  18th annual Health Law Institute. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Pennsylvania Bar Institute. In Hall, M. A., & In Allhoff, F. (2014).  The Affordable Care Act decision: Philosophical and legal implications. Parks, D. (2012).  Health Care Reform Simplified: What Professionals in Medicine, Government, Insurance, and Business Need to Know. Dordrecht: Springer. Sachs, Stephen E. (2012).  The Uneasy Case for the Affordable Care Act. (Faculty Scholarship.) Duke University School of Law. Siegel, N. S. (2012).  The constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act: Ideas from the academy. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University School of Law Source document

“In A Time Of War” Poem Essay

The title of Rothenberg’s poem â€Å"In a Time of War† seems to encapsulate the poem’s subject-matter, written with uncomplicated words of the English vocabulary makes the poem stand out in a stark manner. This method is used by Rothenberg to illustrate to readers exactly how he sees war, as it is. One outstanding feature of this poem is its structure. Rothenberg appears to want to isolate the first stanza from the rest of the poem. At a closer reading, the first stanza is concerned with the poet’s thoughts of war, while it is taking place, whereas the remaining stanzas talk about his feelings on the notion of war, irregardless of whether it is occurring or not. This distinction is further enhanced by the language and degree of imagery of the stanzas. Note that in stanza one, there is more emphasis on description, with the constant use of pastoral imagery, â€Å"daisies wilt† and â€Å"the war sucks up the dew.† The mood generated from it, is â€Å"dark†, gloomy and miserable. However, reading on, the mood apparently lightens up, especially from stanza three. The word â€Å"love† begins to appear. The pastoral imagery transforms to a more hopeful state, â€Å"a love that floats like butterflies† and â€Å"flowers in the endless night.† Rothenberg is probably telling the reader that all is not lost, â€Å"even a year of war won’t hide or tame [moon acacia water lily star].† There is hence, no predominant gloomy mood or atmosphere to this poem as there is a shift from a state of hopelessness to one with some optimism present. Even so, we cannot overlook the fact that Rothenberg is saying that since we can move on from the aftermath of war, we can then take war lightly. The poet, apart from telling readers not to lose faith when war comes, is also signaling to us that â€Å"war [is] waiting in the gateway to the hive.† The lesson Rothenberg is conveying to the readers that war may strike us anytime, and so we should prevent it at all costs if not things might return to how he describes it in stanza one. The structure of stanza one consists of many short lines, even a word alone  constitutes a line as seen in the tenth line â€Å"nightingales.† Rothenberg ‘compels’ the reader to pay attention to each and every line. He wants us to feel, as closely as possible of the horrific experiences that war can bring out. Wars sometimes take decades before it ends and the literal length of the stanza symbolizes this. And yet, as we move on the next stanzas, lengthwise, they grow shorter and the lack of commas causes the reader to move from one stanza to the next rather swiftly until we approach stanza seven where Rothenberg cautions us of the unpredictability of war. And if we fail to take his advice in hand, we return to the state that stanza one illustrates. The poem may have ended with stanza seven, but Rothenberg has cleverly twisted it. A vicious cycle is formed, if humans refuse to prevent war, â€Å"another war† will always emerge. The poem is overall an excellent portrayal of the world â€Å"in a time of war.†

International Price Escalation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Price Escalation - Essay Example The rise in the prices of all these commodities started in the year 2006, when the international markets faced a steep hike in the prices of all the eatables around the globe. This essay shall discuss the concept of price escalation along with its causes and the course to be taken to improve it. Price Escalation According to the definitions given by the economists, the concept of price escalation refers, more or less, to the concept of inflation in the economy. It is defined as the tendency and ability of prices to reach the supernormal heights when the products are being marketed. Taking this concept further, international price escalation occurs when the goods are particularly being marketed internationally. The companies, due to the affects of escalation, the companies normally engage their activities and resources in re positioning and establishing their brand overseas (ECLAC, 2006, Online). The major causes that contribute to such price hikes include import duties, trade barrier s, added transport, warehousing and freight costs, insurance, international lawyer’ charges, and other necessary charges. Causes There are various causes for the price escalation of the commodities on international level. There may be many imbalances between the demand and supply side of the products and services which causes prices to rise globally without any assurance of coming down \again. More clearly, these causes include: Structural Factors The structural causes of the global price hike include: Rise in the cost of production The implication of the price rise is possible due to the fact that the oil resources are decreasing and getting scarcer with the passage of time. The consumption patterns have been shifting and though, the newer technology is deployed to increase the efficiency but the economic crunch and recession has brought further obstacles. This, in turn, has impacted the prices of food and other bi-products of oil to increase thus, giving shocks to the price s of the related products (Dessus & Hoyos, 2008, Pp. 201). Change in consumption patterns in various countries and sustained rapid growth One of the major reasons for the international price escalation is the change in consumption patterns and trends of the population in various countries. The growing economies such as India and china account for the changing consumption trends of various products. One of the contributing factors to this structural spiral is the continuous expansion and thus, growing demands for the foods and services in various countries (Dawe, 2008, Online). Moreover, the translation of growing economies has increased the per capita income of the consumers, and so they are capable enough to improve their standards of living. This has helped push up the demand of the consumption baskets with higher rates (Dasgupta & Serageldin, 2000, Pp. 111). Temporary Factors The temporary factors accounting for such price escalation include the following: Natural disasters and p oor weather The world has experienced bad weather, natural disasters and other avalanches which results into the inevitable damage of the natural products. These adverse events have resulted into an extreme rise in the prices of natural products such as wheat, rice, cotton and other crops (Temple & Johnson, 1998,

Global Warming a Hotly Debated Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Warming a Hotly Debated Topic - Essay Example His greatest criticism focuses on the Stern report, upon which many other global warming proponents have based their claims. He begins by pointing out Stern’s lack of acknowledgement regarding the various scientific studies that refute that global warming is happening, as a responsible scientific research study should do, and then moves on to attack other aspects of Stern’s scientific method. â€Å"He is guilty of misreading the data, of distorting the evidence to suit his political masters’ dogma, of throwing numbers about with reckless abandon, of promoting alarmism in place of rational discussion, and of reinventing climate history.† Refuting Stern’s climatic claims, Lindzen offers verifiable dates regarding scientific inventions that facilitated accurate record keeping, but offers no sources to back up his other statements regarding evidence of a warmer Middle Ages or a colder 17th century, an expanding Greenland or the reasons behind increases in polar bear numbers. In his criticism, he accuses Stern and others of having a hidden agenda, centered on providing more power and money to those in positions of leadership, making the Stern report little more than political rhetoric. Although his stated purpose is to open up the global debate to explore other possible causes of global warming, he offers merely an attack on the Stern report, backed by a hypocritical lack of outside sources or acknowledgement of dissension in the ranks of supporters. The newspaper article was initiated in support of an upcoming network television special in which the Global Warming issue was to be examined in terms of its invalidity or at least lack of full investigation and hard evidence.

Roles of a Global Manager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Roles of a Global Manager - Essay Example According to the Soviet-Belgian joint venture agreement, Wane Machines was supposed to send three experienced executives for the key managerial positions -– to serve as Rus Wayne’s deputy general manager, manufacturing manager, and financial manager for the first two or three years. After that, the Russians would take over the positions. The major objectives of this policy were to provide "assistance in technology and management skills transfer, management systems and processes development, and local personnel coaching." While the obstacles and the issues that came up in staffing were basically due to cultural differences, not all the issues arising out of culture difference would be handled here. This report focuses on the inefficiencies in cross-cultural communication that impacted the smooth functioning of this joint venture. The Soviet law insists that local managers should be in charge as they are most knowledgeable and capable of handling local situations although they do not insist that Soviet citizens should hold the senior-most position. Local nationals were taken in the positions of sales and service managers and human resources manager from the beginning as the knowledge of local and employment practices helps in overcoming these obstacles. These decisions were not implemented. The general manager could not send the three expatriates to Russia as per agreement nor was an HR manager appointed on schedule. The general manager wanted to play the role of HR manager as well. The deputy general manager, an American, sent to Russia had no experience of working in Russia but accepted the job because of career move. The manufacturing manager was from France and his interest in Russia was purely career development. The financial manager, an Englishman sent to Russia had merely 2 years of experience at Wane and hence they provided him training for 6 months before sending him to Russia.  

Bestmovies released in the past three years Essay - 1

Bestmovies released in the past three years - Essay Example Kleber Mendonca Filho directed the movie. This film documents a magnificent residential suburb that is located towards the south of the city and borders the Atlantic. There is a significant warning on the beach that warns visitors to be aware of sharks. The community in the Neighboring Sounds suffers from stress caused by the environment that is constantly changing. Apparently, the build environment has complicated the lives of residents in this city (Filho, 2012). The white and black photographs in the movie, the setting portrays a rural community that is coherent and builds around a master house. The presence of a sugar mill and school that is socially mixed further points to the historical times of the community. The film then assumes an urban area that is brightly lit with high apartments and some other ancient buildings. A Rollerblades girl follows a boy through a car park built under the ground until they disappear into an area that is enclosed. When the film opens in part one, Beatrice is shown seated at the kitchen due to lack of sleep. Apparently, some dogs are noisily yelping across the yard of the next door. To overcome this irritating noise, she decides to drug the dogs, an action that surprises her daughter. The director then shows an old, white bearded and widowed patriarch who once owned the entire area. Apparently, this former sugar baron Francisco is now selling the area in bits for purposes of redevelopment. His family lives and run the area. Among them, include the old man’s grandsons, Dinho and Joà £o who are cousins. Apparently, Joà £o took his studies in Europe and acts as the estate agent, albeit with much laxity. On his part, Dinho is a student without good reputation due to his numerous cases of petty theft. Both Dinho and Joà £o share the belief of closeness to the female servants and the boys who mostly do odd jobs. However, a new class has

Website for Marketing Firm Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Website for Marketing Firm - Research Proposal Example Another advantage that online advertising has is its capability to reach a global audience at a fast rate. This enables extensive exposure of the products, brands or services being advertised, resulting to a high success rate (Online Advertising - Advantages and disadvantages 2005). With these facts, the creation of a website would definitely be a great help to promote a business at a very reasonable cost. Websites now reach a greater audience than the traditional advertising vehicles. Moreover, websites represent a kind of dynamism that makes the product or brand being advertised looking very competitive and updated. The purpose of this website is mainly to promote the Marketing Firm, its company profile and most importantly, its products and services to the market. It would be a user-friendly site, in which interested clients could browse through to search on needed information regarding their required service. It basically aims to capture its target market and eventually lead to sales.

Riodan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Riodan - Essay Example The purpose of outsourcing this project is to reduce the costs, which may be associated with hiring IT managers within the organization. This project can be termed of immense importance to the company since having a team dealing with IT management can be expensive. Moreover, hiring outsiders is beneficial since they will bring in their outstanding expertise to the organization. As such, the company will tap the knowledge of experts and develop sound IT management systems. The other technology project that the company can outsource includes data storage. This project will relieve the company of the burden of purchasing data storage devices, which should be used to store data in the organization. This project is of significant importance since it gives the organization an opportunity to have its data maintained properly. As a result, the company’s data cannot be damaged or lost since experts know how to store data better than the insiders of the company (Poulin, 2006). c. It leads to the synchronizing of variables and problems like stretched delivery times, inappropriate categorization of responsibilities and sub-standard quality delivery may occur (Obaidat & ICETE,

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay Example for Free

Reseach on Performance Work Systems in Local Councils the Case of Harare City Council in Zimbabwe Essay 1.0 Introduction This chapter forms the basis of the study on the assessment on the role of high performance work systems have on Harare city council workers for effective and efficiency service delivery. This paper is going to provide a background of the study stating the problem, purpose and importance of the study. To add to the above, the objective, anticipated constraints and research questions, including literature review and research methodology are going to be highlighted. 1.1 Background of the study Performance has been a widely researched subject by most social scientist and industrial psychologist in an attempt to establish what motivates people to do what they do, and why they do it. An organisational performance has always been an issue for managers, as it is believed that satisfied workers tend to be more productive, creative and committed to their jobs. There is therefore need to establish whether high performance work systems are what bring satisfactory performance or there are other factors. High performance work systems is a complex and multifaceted concept, which can mean different things to different people. However, the researcher in this study attempted to establish the role of high performance systems, whether it brings positive or negative results with particular attention at Harare City Council. 1.2 Statement of the problem The dilemma at hand is that the Harare city council workers are said to be hindering the performance circles of which are of particular appeal to affect the residents. The council provide services to the residents which are not helpful but only distract them from developing their communities in the proper manner they desire. This is happening due to the failure by the council to carry out good research on its performance since today employees are expected to work in teams rather than solely on their own. They are expected to keep learning new skills and to assume broader roles through the employment security, selective hiring of new personnel, self-managed teams and decentralization of decision making as the basic principles of organizational design, comparatively high compensation contingent on organizational performance, extensive training, reduced status distinctions and barriers including dress, language office arrangements, and wage differences across levels, extensive sharing o f financial and performance information throughout the organisation. 1.3 Objectives of the study 1 To investigate and establish the role of high performance work systems in relation to organisational performance as this affects the service delivery. 2 To establish what causes poor performance and service delivery in the organisation. 3 To find out ways of maintaining and improving staff loyalty, motivation and performance. 4 To recommend on changes to improve council performance and staff welfare policy. 1.4 Significance of the study As a researcher it is of paramount importance to conduct a study on the role of high performance work systems by the local authority. One can easily notice that it is important to carry out this research as it: The research findings of this research were also intended to assist management in addressing concerns and expectations of staff in order to harness their full contribution and effort to the benefit of the organization. The organization would then use the research findings to redesign its human resources policies towards the workers welfare and provide the answers to the questions presented on the sub problems of the research problem. Employees could use the research as a platform to express their concerns and desires to management, which they would not probably get, and also use it as a reference point to those who would intend to do their own researches. 1.5 Literature review Review of related literature is the most important part of research. It refers to the systematic exploration of issues related to the one’s research which has been treated to date by various authors and authorities. According to the high performance work systems Assessment, â€Å"by social impacts we mean the consequences to human populations of any public or private actions that alter the ways in which people live, work, play, relate to one another, organise to meet their needs and generally cope as members of society.† The concept of high performance work systems and organisational performance High performance work systems have been defined as a distinctive managerial approach that enables high performance through people. (1987). High performance work systems are somewhat not quite the same as motivation, but the two are closely linked. Many thoughts and views have been developed to define performance at work but much of it explains one’s reaction, feelings and emotions towards the accomplishment of organisational goals. Many research studies were however founded to explain how people react in the manner they do in their jobs. Various factors have been associated with one’s performance. These factors include: * The level of pay and benefits, * The perceived fairness of the promotion system within a company, * The quality of the working conditions, * Leadership and social relationships * The job itself. Different models were developed to account for the attitudes that people develop at various situations. The following models of job satisfaction shall be discussed to aid the understanding of high performance work systems at work. Classical theories of Maslow (1943), Herzberg (1968) and Vroom in relation to high performance work systems have been the basis of the modern day studies. Abram Maslow proposed a hierarchical theory of five needs, which gained popularity over the years and formed a basis for management studies to human motivation at work. Having been simplified by Clayton Alderfer made a fine-tuning to the hierarchical explanations of human needs to that of three levels. Abbreviated to ERG, (Existence, Relatedness and Growth), Existence needs constituted Maslow’s physiological and safety needs, and Relatedness included internal esteem and social needs and lastly, the Growth stage was made up of self actualisation and external esteem needs. The Wikipedia encyclopaedia cited various models of which can help to explain high performance work systems that were written to by different authors as follows: * The two-factor theory * The job characteristics model * The fulfilment theory * The equity theory These models shall be discussed below to aid the research to find the basis of high performance work systems in the workplace. Theories of Employee Motivation for performance The two-factor theory This theory also known as the motivator-hygiene theory is the work of Fredrick Herzberg (1968). The theory is on the premise that employee satisfaction has two dimensions namely â€Å"hygiene† and â€Å"motivation†. (Agarwal.1983). According to Herzberg, Hygiene factors include those aspects such as company policies, supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Motivators include those aspects that satisfy people such as achievement, recognition, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The model was criticised by researchers who failed to empirically measure of satisfaction as being a methodological artefact. (Wikipedia encyclopaedia). High performance work systems characteristics Model The model was proposed by Hackman and Oldham (1976), which states that there are five core job characteristics, which impact three critical psychological states. The five core job characteristics include: * Skill variety: employees use a variety of skills to complete their jobs, skills that have been acquired by long years of study and/ or experience and are the primary reason for their employment and work allocation in a business organisation * Task identity: involvement of the employee in all steps of the job, thus providing identification with the task. * Task significance: The significance of the job being properly executed to the well being of the organisation. * Autonomy: The freedom to do the job with responsibility and by oneself. * Feedback: The provision of feedback providing information about the excellence of performance of the job. The three psychological states include: * Experienced meaningfulness, * Experienced responsibility for outcomes, and * Knowledge of the actual results. The Fulfilment theory According to Agarwal (1983), fulfilment theory regard satisfaction as resulting from outcomes (rewards) a person receives or the extents to which a person’s needs are satisfied. The difficulty with the fulfilment approach is that satisfaction is a function of not only what a person receives but also what he feels he should receive and/or wants to receive. People have different expectations and what satisfies one may dissatisfy another. Equity Theory According to literature by Agarwal (1983), a person’s satisfaction is determined by his perceived equity. Received equity is, in turn, determined by his input-output balance as compared to his comparison others’ input-output balance. Input-output balance is a perceived ratio of what a person receives from his job relative to what he put in the job. According to the equity theory, either under reward or over reward can lead to dissatisfaction although the feeling associated with them are different. As illustrated by the following diagram the comparison may result in one feeling unfairly treated when outcome received appears lower than others or feels guilty when received more than others. The equity theory A Perceived outcomes actually received A = B Satisfaction A B Dissatisfaction A B Guilty and discomfort Perceived personal input B Perceived personal outcome that should be received Perceived outcome of comparison others Perceived input of comparison others Fig 1.Equity Theory (Agarwal 1983) Determinants of high performance work systems Agarwal (1983) says that there are various factors that determine performance. These are discussed below. Employee Supervision As with Herzberg hygiene factors, supervision is critical to provide leadership to employees’ performance. A good leader is one who establishes trust from his followers and promotes feedback. He knows how to treat employees at different situations. Research has shown that low performance and low productivity occurs when a supervisor is a laissez faire type of leader. Agarwal (1983). Research has also discovered that those people’s reason to seek employment is to get paid (money) though not a motivator but they desire to be paid fairly. Management must always ensure consult for salaries and benefits to see whether their employees match the market. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) The work group in relation to employee performance Employees need to socialise with others to create an environment of belongingness, develop a sense of camaraderie and teamwork. Social interaction creates organisational performance though depending on their affiliation. Inappropriate behaviour should not be encouraged though because of influences, but strong reprimands should be exercised. (Putting Theory Into Practice, October 1999 publication) Job content in relation to high performance work systems Employees need to feel that the work or task they are doing is of great importance to the company. Their contributions result in positive outcomes. It is therefore essential for management to recognise as an important a task to the overall achievement of the organizational goals. Agarwal cited Herzberg, Mauner and Suyderman as holding a view that job content factors such as achievement, recognition, advancement, responsibility and the work itself tend to provide satisfaction but their absence such as supervision, working condition, company policies and salary tend to produce dissatisfaction but their presence does not produce satisfaction. Age in relation to performance According to Agarwal (1983), some research works have reported a positive correlation between age and performance. Older workers tend to be more satisfied with their jobs than their younger counterparts because older workers are said to have adjusted to their jobs while young workers still have ambitions and need for advancement. Job Satisfaction and performance The analysis of results from the work of Herzberg et al, on twenty-six studies focusing on the relationship between job satisfaction and performance, fourteen of these showed that workers with positive job attitudes had higher performance than those with negative attitudes. Nine studies have shown that job attitudes and performance were not related, and in three studies, workers with positive attitudes had poorer performance records than those with negative attitudes. Lawler, 1977 and Porter, 1961, hold the view that it is productivity that leads to satisfaction and not the vice versa. Performance leads to rewards and if these rewards are considered to be equitable in relation to the perception of the worker of the rewards of his referent others and his perceptions of what he should receive, he will experience satisfaction. The following is the illustrative diagram. Model of performance leading to satisfaction Perceived equity of rewards in relation to referent others Performance Reward intrinsic extrinsic Satisfaction Perception of how much he should receive Fig 2.Source: Agarwal 1983: Model of performance leading to satisfaction Adapted from Lawler III Porter â€Å"The effect of Performance on job satisfaction†, Human relations, October, 1967 P23 1.5 Justification of the study The area of discussion is worth studying because it aims at alerting the management of the Harare City Council how their service provision are being hindered by the employee performance, thus organisational performance is affected as well. As such the research is vital as it will help in gathering or adding information on the importance of high performance work systems being as well as its importance to the Ministry of local government urban and rural development. The Minister will be able to see if there are any amendments which need to be done and if there are any gaps left which need to be filled. Furthermore the research will see the researcher attain the ultimate goal for a Bachelor of science Honours degree in Local Governance Studies 1.6 Research Methodology Various techniques will be exploited to achieve the proposed objectives of the study. Haralambos (1995:36) asserts that: Any academic subject requires methodology to reach its Conclusions, it must have ways of producing and analysing Data so that theories can be tested, accepted or rejected without a systematic way of producing knowledge the findings can be dismissed. The researcher is going to use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to come up with conclusions as both techniques can be used to complement each other as well as questionnaires. According to wordiq.com (2011), quantitative research is the numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is bent on developing and employing mathematical models. On the other hand, Qualitative research is a method of inquiry appropriated in any different disciplines. It means a non numerical data collection or explanation based on the attributes of the source of data. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into peoples behaviour, attitudes, value systems, motivations concerns, aspirations, culture or lifestyles. Christensen (1994) expressed that a sample makes a better study. Leedy (1993) agreed with the same idea saying that, â€Å"the larger the sample the better.† I will select the people that are going to give relevant information to this study for example the most affected people and the possible problem solvers. 1.7 Research Tools (a) Interviews (Group The researcher intends to use interviews as a research technique. Gray et al (2007) allude that the best data gathering technique for survey research is the interview. These interviews will be done in groups so as to save time. (b) Observation The researcher will use observation in tackling the research problem. The rationale for using this technique is that the researcher intends to learn about the sensitive issues that participants might be unwilling to disclose or talk about with regards to the research. (c) Analysis of secondary sources The researcher will make use of other researchers that have been studied in relation to the field under study. This will be done in order to weigh the impacts that the previous researchers have had. Target Population The study will be focussing on the Harare City Council employees. Anticipated constrains Wikipedia (2011:4) notes that any limit or restriction given for the design process is called a constraint. The study is likely to encounter a number of challenges which may compromise the quality of research results and these include: (a)Access to information The information is mostly confidential in the Harare City Council thus releasing information might be problematic. Some may be reluctant to disclose such information as such the respondents will be guaranteed that their information will be treated with utmost privacy and confidentiality. (b)Resources Resources such as time and finance may compromise the quality of the research as the researcher is a student with other university commitments RESEARCH REFERENCE LIST Argawal R.D.(1983) Organisation and Management, Mcgraw-Hill, Tata Boxall P., Macky K. Rasmussen E., (2003)‘Labour turnover and retention in New Zealand; the causes and consequences of leaving and staying with employers’ Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. Vol 41 (2)., Cascio, W.F. (2003) Managing Human Resources: Productivity, quality of work Life profits (6th ed.). McGraw-Hill Irwin. French, W.L. (1998) Human Resources Management. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company Ivancevich et al (1989):Foundations of Personnel ,Human Resources Management Kreitner, R., Kinicki, A. (2001) Organisational behaviour (5th ed.). Irwin McGraw-Hill. Milkovich, G.T., Boudreau, J.W. (1994) Human Resource Management (7th ed.). IRWIN Publishers, USA. Morrell W. H., Loan-Clarke J. Wilkinson J (2004), ‘Organisational change and employee turnover’, Personnel Review, vol 33 (2) Morris W.T. (1972). Management for Action: Psycho Technical Decision making. Reston. Mowday, R., Porter, L., Steers, R. (1982) Employee-organizations linkages – The Psychology of commitment, absenteeism and turnover: Academic Press, .London Rhodes, S.R., Steers, R.M. (1990)., Managing employee absenteeism Addison: Wesley Publishing Company, USA Spector, P.E. (1997)., Job satisfaction: Application, assessment, causes and Consequences: SAGE Publications, USA Van der Merwe, R., Miller, S.(1988),. Measuring absence and labour turnover: A Practical guide to recording and control. Lexicon Publishers., J

History of the American Constitution

History of the American Constitution Confederation and Constitution As depression struck the new nation in the mid-1780s, new questions arose about the nature of American democracy. Many conservatives believed that the answer lay in a stronger national government.Most radicals believed it was up to the states to relieve the financial burden of the people. These sentiments fostered a movement for a new constitution. Political differences soon stimulated the creation of political parties. Compare and contrast the Articles of Confederation with the new Constitution of 1787. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Articles vis-à  -vis the Constitution? Give specific instances that demonstrate the weakness of the Articles (such asthe Western problem). Then analyze the drafting of the Constitution, using specific details to show how the various states (slave vs. free, east vs. west) compromised in order to effectively draft a constitution.Pay particular attention to Roger Sherman’s plan,the Great Compromise, which broke a stalemate that could have been fatal to the development of the new Constitution. Finally, compare and contrast the debate over ratification between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. Make sure you cite specific examples from the Federalist Papers to support the Federalist position and contrast it with leading proponents of the opposition (such asJohn Hancock). Analyze how the debate over a bill of rights illustrates the differences between the two parties. Evaluate the relative success of the Bill of Rights in achieving an effective balance between national and states’ interests. Revolution: From Rebellion to Jeffersonian Democracy A Different Kind of Revolution | From Confederation to Constitution | Federalist Timeline The end of the American Revolution was the beginning of the formation of a new republic. But the transition was not easy, as the Articles of Confederation that first bound the thirteen colonies proved too weak to confront the problems that faced the new nation. The transition from the Articles of Confederation to the Constitution to Jeffersonian Democracy is the focus of this week’s work. A Different Kind of Revolution Back to Top The American Revolution has spawned a vast amount of literature, as it created the first new nation-state of the modern era. Yet, compared with the French and Russian Revolutions that followed, it was a â€Å"conservative† revolution. It did not radically change the colonial society that existed before. From 1763 to 1776, the colonists argued that they were fighting for the rights of â€Å"Englishmen.† But some historians maintain that the revolution was truly radical, and point to the disestablishment of state religions immediately after the war. But the truth is that several states had already disestablished their state religions before the outbreak of war. Other historians point to the democratic state legislatures created after the war. But again, only Pennsylvania and Rhode Island established truly radical state governments with a unicameral legislature. The truth is that the basic elements of capitalism, money, and slavery remained after the revolution. Yet the founding fathers did believe that they were creating something new. The great seal proclaims, a â€Å"novus ordo seculorum† (a new world order). And world opinion abroad concurred with this opinion. One French observer complained of America’s experiment with â€Å"liberty and justice for all.† But the new nation lacked the prerequisites of nationhood: mythical origins, ancient folklore, one church, and common ethnic roots. In 1782, J. Hector St. John de Crà ¨vecÅ“ur published Letters from an American Farmer. He described Americans as a new people, dedicated to the principles of equal opportunity and self-determination. His work provided an understanding of the New World that helped create an American identity in the minds of Europeans. Crà ¨vecÅ“ur wrote, â€Å"What then is the American, this new man?He is an American, who, leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced†¦Here individuals of all races are melted into a new race of man, whose labors and posterity will one day cause great changes in the world.† Men like Crà ¨vecÅ“ur and later Alexis de Tocqueville believed that Americans were truly different because they were tied together by the ideals of the Enlightenment—liberty, individuality, and democracy. The American identity took on the character of a civic religion. George Washington metamorphosed into something more than human. His birthday was made a national holiday in 1799 and Mason Adams carried this sanctification to an extreme with his story of the cherry tree. July 4th became â€Å"the† national holiday and the Declaration of Independence became a sacred text. It was only after the Civil War that due emphasis was placed on the Constitution. The national motto, e pluribus unum—from many one—expressed the new American ideal. The founding fathers did see something new in America, but, it was more prescriptive than descriptive. Freedom for many was still an illusion. From Confederation to Constitution Back to Top After the Revolutionary War, the patriots feared giving the new American government too much power. Early state governments argued over how much power to give the people. Some, like Thomas Paine, sought changes that would promote democracy; others like Alexander Hamilton feared giving too much power to the common man. Most states like Massachusetts and New York chose to create a conservative state constitution, with a bicameral legislature. But patriots continued to argue over who should be given the right to vote, with men like John Adams warning that allowing the poor to vote would â€Å"confound and destroy all distinctions, and prostrate all ranks to the common level.† Over time, the House of Representatives—the most democratic of all institutions—gained power at the expense of the Senate, the more conservative branch of government. In 1777, the Continental Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation. Drafted under the leadership of John Dickenson of Pennsylvania, the Articles were a loose confederation of thirteen states with very little power given to the federal government. The new federal government consisted of a congress of delegates chosen by state legislatures rather than by voters. It had no President or executive branch. The Articles granted only limited powers to Congress—to declare and conduct war and to regulate foreign affairs. Amending articles was almost impossible, as all thirteen states had to agree. One of the most important accomplishments of the Congress was the creation of the Northwest Territory, a vast area of land west of Pennsylvania and north of the Ohio River. The Land Ordinance of 1785 designed a system for distributing the land to settlers and the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 provided a government for the western territories. Eventually, the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinoi s, Michigan, and Wisconsin would be carved out of this region. But the new Congress was too weak to deal with threats from Spain and Britain. Great Britain, who at first tried to cultivate good will with the new nation, returned to a policy of mercantilism, or trade in its own best interest. They prohibited American ships—in particular those from Massachusetts—to trade with the British West Indies. It soon became clear that the Articles themselves were part of the problem. Under the Articles, the federal Congress had no power to deal with the growing national debt. When the Congress tried to seek an amendment to levy a tax on imported goods, the amendment failed for lack of one vote. Meanwhile, with a slowdown in trade, more and more farmers went into debt. In 1787, Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, led about 1,000 farmers in rebellion against the Massachusetts courts. While the rebellion quickly died out, it pointed to the weakness of the federal government in dealing with the growing national debt. The stage was s et for the Constitutional Convention of that same year. Constitutional Convention Now join in the discussions as a reporter at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. You are encouraged to take notes for your newspaper article at the end of this role-play. Constitutional Convention Federalist Timeline Back to Top The following timeline traces the evolution of the federal government from the Articles of Confederation to Jeffersonian Democracy. The Articles of Confederation proved too weak for the fledgling republic and so a new Constitution emerged in 1787. This gave rise to the two-party system, with men like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison leading the Democratic Republicans and George Washington and Alexander Hamilton remaining Federalists. With the election of Thomas Jefferson as President in 1799, American democracy took on a new, more populist flavor. This paper must be four to five double-spaced pages in length (not including the References page) and utilize no less thanfour academic quality sources.Margins should be no more thanone inch (right and left) and the essay should be composed in an appropriate font and size. Sources must be documented and cited using APA format. History of the American Constitution History of the American Constitution Michael Dean Jalal Nejad, Ph.D. When the United States won freedom from Great Britain after the American Revolution they adopted the Articles of Confederation. Twenty-one years the United States was ruled by the Articles until they adopted the U.S. Constitution in 1787. This made it so that the nation was rules by a sovereign national government, but also the states were sovereign as well. Some advantages that this system has over a strong national government in a highly centralized system is that it encourages competition between the states, as well as it gives sovereignty to the states to run themselves how they best see fit. Some disadvantages of the current system in the United States are that due to federal funding of state budgets if the role of national government was more limited it would have a drastic economic effect on the state. Also due to the aggressive nature of many federal programs the states cannot effectively run these programs themselves and depend on federal support. During the Articles of Confederation the national government was incredibly weak in power, this lack of national power left the nation not running as a whole unit but rather the states as separate organisms. After twenty-one years the United States rewrote their laws, and called it the U.S. Constitution. Under this set of laws the national government was sovereign but still getting its power from the people, and the states were sovereign as well and got their power from the people. Under the U.S. Constitution many different forms of federalism came and went, evolving to where the country is today, which is a marble-cake system of federalism. Marble-cake federalism is the cooperation between different levels of government, whether national, state, or local (Champagne Harpham 43). An advantage this system of government has over a strong national government in a highly centralized system is that it inspires competition amongst the states. Every state has policy issues but most states try to fix that problem their own way. If a state is successful in correcting the issue, then the policy would adjusted nationally to replicate what the state did in order to fix the problem. Another advantage of this system is that it gives states freedom to govern how they best see fit. This goes from gun control laws, traffic violations, and even the death penalty. Disadvantages to the current system in place would be that due to funding from the national government to states budgets if it were to be cut off or diminished, it would have a very profound effect on the economy of the state. This means that too much reliance on national government when it comes to money is a bad thing because some states rely very heavily on the federal government to help them balance their budget. Another disadvantage would be the reliance on federal support for different programs throughout the states, without their support many of these programs would suffer heavily or even fail completely. Due to this crutch that the states have they cannot fully be sovereign. To conclude, this country has gone through many different types of federalism from complete separation of power between the different levels of government to where the country is now which is call marble-cake federalism. There are both advantages and disadvantages that this system has over a strong national government in a highly centralized system. Some advantages would be that it invokes creativity and competition throughout the states (Champagne Harpham 44), as well as giving the states freedom to govern how they see fit. Some disadvantages would be that the states rely too heavily on federal government for funding, as well as leaning too much on the national government when it comes to implementing and maintaining different programs. Works Cited Champagne, Anthony, and Edward J. Harpham. Governing Texas:. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2013. Print.

Big Data Applications and Overview

Big Data Applications and Overview In the past two decades, extensive progress and generation of data in information technology has led to rise in massive volume of data from different sources such as social networking, online business services, web based applications and mobile devices. The data here is in structured, semi-structured and unstructured format. Since our traditional database systems cannot handle complex unstructured data and the size which it is coming in, Big Data comes into picture. To put in simple words, the volume, velocity, veracity and variety of data is enormous. The reason behind why we are looking at these types of data to process is that it can be used to improve, analyse, develop and relate business solutions through analysis. Big data storage and processing can be achieved through variety of models available in NoSQL databases based on suitable type of data for respective models. Although there are a lot of feasible solutions obtained through data mining in Big Data, issues such as allocat ion of resources and requirement of storage device arise. Recently, data management systems are dominated by Hadoop based architecture. https://www.vormetric.com/data-security-solutions/use-cases/big-data-security Online and Offline Big data Fig. Big Data Model (Goldberg, n.d.) The data generation possibilities are spread over wide spectrum in Information technology field, it can be classified into two types such as online and offline. Online data is a type of data where it is generated continuously through real time systems. For a reference, it could be live video, a banking transaction or stock exchange data. It can be referred as a data which is created, absorbed, processed and transformed in real-time in order to support ongoing applications and online users. As it is flowing in real time data abeyance must be very low and availability of data must be prompt in order to cope up with the expectations of user. (MongoDB, 2016) Fig. Online Big Data (MongoDB, 2016) Fig. Offline Big Data (MongoDB, 2016) Offline data is a type of data where the data is in static form and it can be used in offline environment to analyse but the big data technologies with suitable available tool or technology. Over here the data is not newly created but over the period of time with the help of batch jobs. In this case, latency of data can be high compared with those of online systems and hence these systems can go offline without impacting any of the users or end product. Availability of system can be of low priority, big data technologies can perform complex analysis. Existing examples of offline big data technologies are data warehouse or a storage technology which is used to accommodate bulk data as a static. (MongoDB, 2016) Scalability Although it cannot be purely categorised as failure of the RDBMS systems, it can be addressed as a trait which can be an eventual roadblock for a traditional database trying to scale out in order to handle increasing data and performance gains though hardware, storage upgrade. Even if database up gradation is planned it has to go through a time consuming process while keeping the system offline. A point where upgrading limit of a system reaches to its maximum which is imminent as per the current rate of rising data over the period of time, more flexible systems are needed to store big data in efficient way. (Allen, 2016) Recommendation Sharding is the method which can be effectively used in RDBMS by dividing data into different table and treating the tables as lookup. Scaling is not an issue in big data technologies as the databases are created in such a way that they can be expanded with cheap commodity servers. Cassandra, MongoDB, Redis are the common databases used on high scale. Economics High management As traditional database systems use proprietary servers in contrast to systems which are divided in form of clusters in big data technologies using low cost commodity server, the cost of expansion is much higher than the big data technology which can be replaced with another commodity computer system in case of failure of any one. This allows big data technologies to process and store more data for much lower price point. (Allen, 2016) In traditional database systems, management of database system is highly required and it is carried out by database administrators. Whereas, in big data technologies things for reference, adding column to table structure, permissions to particular schema are not required. (Allen, 2016) Recommendation Since at this stage of technology and data if we go by the RDBMS systems, we would need to arrange huge data capacity servers and storage in order to cope up with the data. If not, the NoSQL databases can perform complex internal data distribution, auto-correction and very less management is required to maintain the database. Hadoop is dominantly used across big web applications such as Google, Amazon. Flexible data model RDBMS systems are made in such a way where you can have predefined structure for a table and schema. Only data with the respective structure can be dealt while incoming. Whereas in big data technologies it is not mandatory to have data in a particular format as introduced above. (Allen, 2016) Recommendation Since the big data storage bases are categorised by column (Hadoop), document (MongoDB), key-value (Redis), graph (Neo4J) and so on, hence the various data types are accepted across respective open source databases (Allen, 2016) T-mobile USA As the current situation stands in telecommunication industry, data created through each device and region is very dynamic and huge. T-mobile USA has 33 million active users and that is the reason why they chose to put all this big data to its use. The rate at which users were dropping the T-mobile service was brought to half through the big data analysis. Below are few data sources used by them to achieve business objectives. Customer Data Zone: Every users likes and dislikes are used to understand and provide services based on the available data created by user. Product and Service Zone : Inspection of services availed and products used by each user is taken into consideration in order to maintain the user base satisfaction. Business Operation Zone : All the accounting and billing information stored is used to maintain (Rijmenam, 2015) (Rijmenam, 2015) Based on big data analysis done on all the above points such as Sentiment, choices and billing data for each user, churn percentage is reduced. McLaren Racing Limited McLaren is a leading formula one racing constructor. Big data scope is recently widened in this sector due to high competition. The sports utilization of such data is sophisticated to the point that a few groups are trading their insight to different enterprises where investigating gigantic measures of data in a split second can mean the distinction amongst life and death. Hundreds of sensors fit into the car body while racing export gigabytes of data during race. The data is live streamed to the team which is monitoring the various aspects of the car at same time such as heat exhaustion, engine diagnosis and track activity. The same data is then used to carry out diagnostics, analysis and strategy. Currently system used to compare and reference is SAP HANA. Due to strict Formula 1 rules there are very few team members allowed to be on the track during race time. Though that doesnt affect the analysis as the big data through sensors is made available with the delay of milliseconds across international locations for respective team from place to place (Muhammadirvan, 2016) Tesco One of the largest retailers in the world right now thriving on the offerings provided by big data. In 1995 they introduced their shopping card called as Clubcard for customers. The shopping done through the card is now used to run analysis on customers shopping behaviour, likeness for product and management of store sections. For example, data from the shopping carts offers intuitions where merchandise can be best placed near one another or which merchandise should be placed nearer to the checkouts or doorways. Due to this elaborated client insights with the Clubcard, Tescos understanding with the customers choices and liking has become more exclusive. This factors ensures them to provide personal suggestions on the beverages or food items based on data gathered from individual shopping cards. Big data is used on other few aspects such as food wastage, when we talk about the foods and supplies. Tesco receives local weather forecast data and it is linked with the upcoming food items ought to be supplied to the stores. Through the simulations and analysis, right amount of stock is moved to the stores with adequate optimization. When you are in food industry, food storage comes into consideration. Expenditure on storage facility is also a big factor that we need consider. This is compromised through the data generated by the each refrigerator across storage facility. Tesco analyses refrigerator data to cut short their bills by $ 25 million per year. As an example, refrigerator sensors in Ireland measured temperature from every 3 seconds and created 70 million data points over the period of one year. (Rijmenam, tesco-big-data-analytics-recipe-success/665, n.d.) References Allen, M. (2016). Relational Databases Are Not Designed For Scale. Retrieved from Marklogic: http://www.marklogic.com/blog/relational-databases-scale/ Goldberg, C. (n.d.). Big Data Security. Retrieved from Vormetric: https://www.vormetric.com/data-security-solutions/use-cases/big-data-security MongoDB. (2016). Online vs offline big data. Retrieved from Mongodb: https://www.mongodb.com/scale/online-vs-offline-big-data Muhammadirvan. (2016, September 9). 2016/09/12/mhmdirfans/. Retrieved from https://muhammadirvan91.wordpress.com: https://muhammadirvan91.wordpress.com/2016/09/12/mhmdirfans/ Rijmenam, M. v. (2015, February 15). t-mobile-usa-cuts-downs-churn-rate-with-big-data/512. Retrieved from https://datafloq.com: https://datafloq.com/read/t-mobile-usa-cuts-downs-churn-rate-with-big-data/512 Rijmenam, M. v. (n.d.). tesco-big-data-analytics-recipe-success/665. Retrieved from https://datafloq.com: https://datafloq.com/read/tesco-big-data-analytics-recipe-success/665 Vormetric. (n.d.). Retrieved from Thales : https://www.vormetric.com/data-security-solutions/use-cases/big-data-security

The Importance of Localism and Non-Profit College Radio :: Radio University College Broadcasting Essays

The Importance of Localism and Non-Profit College Radio â€Å"Radio is the salvation of the world†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Non-profit college radio is, by its nature, a medium dedicated to the local community and the public interest. The media landscape in the new millennium has brought about a homogenized world of radio. Large conglomerates like Clear Channel and Infinity Broadcasting own thousands of radio stations. Clear Channel designates one programming director for a particular format in an area, giving sometimes a hundred radio stations the same play list. These stations then have local DJ’s insert voiceovers into the programs, forming, basically, a nationally syndicated radio show. This national play list has caused most listeners to feel that radio has become a cold and stale medium. No longer can listeners pick up the dial and call a DJ to request a track. Instead, they would probably find only a board operator inserting commercials in between an already chosen play list. The role of college radio lies in the bleak future of diversity and innovation that is lacking in the industry t oday. College radio is non-profit by nature, relying on community and university funding to stay on the air. Most college radio offers music that is not heard on any other radio station in the market, and it also offers a place for communications majors to gain broadcasting and music industry experience. In its boundaries, it harbors the most pure form of radio, a place where DJ’s can be reached live on the air and one might hear a heavy metal show played right after a jazz hour. It is college radio’s eclectic and constantly changing format that gives it its thrift store appeal. College students usually serve as the DJ’s, and a different set comes and goes each semester. College radio is still a throwback to the days where people listened to radio for the pure thrill of the music. Very little has been written on college radio in particular, although a lot of literature exists on non-profit radio as a whole. Only since the mid 1980’s has college radio sprung into the spotlight as an important medium. Pour through any campus library and you will find many books on how to start your own radio station but little on the culture that has arisen from it. The most definitive source on college radio’s cultural influence is Samuel Saul’s The Culture of American College Radio.

William Gibsons Neuromancer :: Essays Papers

William Gibson's Neuromancer When Neuromancer by William Gibson was first published it created a sensation. Or perhaps it would be more precise to say that it was used to create a sensation, for Bruce Sterling and other Gibson associates declared that a new kind of science fiction had appeared which rendered merely ordinary SF obsolete. Informed by the amoral urban rage of the punk subculture and depicting the developing human-machine interface created by the widespread use of computers and computer networks, set in the near future in decayed city landscapes like those portrayed in the film Blade Runner it claimed to be the voice of a new generation. (Interestingly, Gibson himself has said he had finished much of what was to be his body of early cyberpunk fiction before ever seeing Blade Runner.) Eventually it was seized on by hip "postmodern" academics looking to ride the wave of the latest trend. Dubbed "cyberpunk," the stuff was being talked about everywhere in SF. Of course by the time symposia were being he ld on the subject, writers declared cyberpunk dead, yet the stuff kept being published and it continues to be published today by writers like K. W. Jeter and Rudy Rucker. Perhaps the best and most representative anthology of cyberpunk writers is Mirrorshades., edited by Sterling, the genre's most outspoken advocate. But cyberpunk's status as the revolutionary vanguard was almost immediately challenged. Its narrative techniques, many critics pointed out, were positively reactionary compared to the experimentalism of mid-60s "new wave" SF. One of the main sources of its vision was William S. Burroughs' quasi-SF novels like Nova Express, (1964), and the voice of Gibson's narrator sounded oddly like a slightly updated version of old Raymond Chandler novels like The Big Sleep, (1939). Others pointed out that almost all of cyberpunk's characteristics could be found in the works of older writers such as J. G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, or Samuel R. Delany. Most damning of all, it didn't seem to have been claimed by the generation it claimed to represent. Real punks did little reading, and the vast majority of young SF readers preferred to stick with traditional storytellers such as Larry Niven, Anne McCaffrey and even Robert Heinlein. Gibson's prose was too dense and tangled for casual re aders, so it is not surprising that he gained more of a following among academics than among the sort of people it depicted.

The Development Of Credit Unions

A credit union is a member owned member controlled not-for-profit cooperative financial institution. Credit unions were formed to provide loans to its members at lower rates of interest than would be other wise available. The first credit union was formed by a group of farmers in Belgium, 1848, during a period of severe economic depression. Townspeople pulled their money together to provide loans to each other. This cooperative approach helped farmers avoid paying the high rates being charged by â€Å"loan sharks†. These loans enabled a farmer to buy the necessities to plant a crop or to help members buy coal in bulk at lower prices. At the time of their origins the only financial assistance available was the local moneylenders. At the time of the depression people who took out loans were forced to pay expensive interest rates. Credit Unions serve low-income people. A person†s ability (income) to repay is considered more important than the desire to sustain the assets of the credit union. Members are borrowing their own money and that of their peers. By 1900 the first financial cooperative idea had spread from Germany to Canada. Canadas successful efforts influenced two Americans. Pierre Jay the Massachusetts bank commissioner and Edward A. Filene a Boston merchant. These two men helped organized public hearings on the credit union legislative in Massachusetts. This led the establishment of the first Credit Union Act in the United States in 1909. The growth of credit unions across the U.S. was slow. Fewer than 10 states passed credit union laws. 1934 Congress passed the Federal Credit Union Act. This act set the basic structure, which governs credit unions today, examples: Member control is democratically exercised regardless of the number of shares held. Loans, which are primary investment for credit union, are made exclusively to members. A board of directors supervises management By 1935 38 states and the District of Columbia had laws permitting the establishment of credit union and over 3,000 were in existence. In 1970†³s credit unions were battling with the government for federal share insurance and the campaign for national fund to support the community developed credit unions (CDCU). In 1970 congress established the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) an independent agency responsible for regulating and chartering federal credit unions and NCUA and Congress also established the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. This enabled the NCUA to insure the shares of all the federal and state credit unions. In 1978 the Federal Credit Union Act was amended to establish a three-member board, appointed by the president, to head NCUA. Nationally, there are almost 11,000 credit unions with over 73 million members. The Credit Union National Association (CUNA) is the national trade for credit unions. In addition, there are 50 state credit union leagues and leagues for the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The credit union movement is growing throughout the world, including third-world countries and Europe where people need assistance with setting up consumer finance systems. There are over 37,000 credit unions worldwide in 87 nations with over 88 million members.

When the Levees Broke

The hurricane Katrina is considered one among the greatest disaster that crossed America after the new millennium but the world was not much in awe upon hearing that significant news where thousands are left homeless and needed to be rescued. The media even snoots why the president didn’t passed by the disaster area when he was bound for India. By glancing at New Orleans pre and post hurricane images, one can easily decipher how great the physical damage incurred by the disaster. For instance the New Orleans playground of which the lines and images are almost erased, the lines that delineates its physical make-up is no longer vivid which shows that the state physical structures were badly damaged (Military). The cities were 80% submerged in water when the levees broke and making it the deadliest hurricane since 1928. After the levees broke, the press commented that Hurricane Katrina has put an end to the annual celebration of the Southern Decadence which brought thousands of revelers for the homosexual celebration which was even acknowledge by its past city officials (Releases). Repent America director even concluded that it is the â€Å"act of God which destroyed the wicked city (Marcavage). † Post Katrina victims have to endure depressions which are worsening from 2006 to the present year and psychiatrist often reminds their patients that it is normal to feel that way just like saying men it is alright to feel bad because you loose a job, a wife, a house etc. and it mean that you are not crazy. Sometimes people talked that they will meet in the next Mardis Gras but just to find out that it can not happen that or this year. Social behavior such as depression is increasing as years go by. Social problems create another problem and life is becoming more problematic not to mention the rising criminalities which are brought by poverty in spirit and in material things. Being the costliest among US calamity, there would be no easy way to solve the crisis. However, years have passed and it seems that there is social and physical distance that makes it difficult to arrest the problem. Space is defined by Nicolas Nova as distance between people, a marker which explains the kind of interaction or which reveals social relationships (Nova). The prolonged crisis after the hurricane in the New Orleans does not only envelope the lack in material resources but more so in the lack of concerns for the simple reason that man is repealed by holocaust or in other words, man has the natural tendency to run away from destruction than to rebuild. It is for this reason that the prolonged rehabilitation of the city is not due to the social issue of race discrimination but the inability of those concerns to make a collaborative efforts in rebuilding their state. Since, if it is race related, where are the least of its brethren, the Diasporas, the Africans and African-Americans and the rest with other backgrounds of ethnicity. To rebuild New Orleans after the hurricane is a big job, it must be understood that physically the work is tremendous and socially the barrier is within. These spaces should be re allocated or distributed within ones environment to his most proximate neighbor and to its leaders. There is a dire need to augment the distance of the physical and social spaces that is ruining or leading the city into decay! There is a need for state leaders who are not just politically inclined but with minds and hands that can work consistently together. Re-building a nation after a great disaster is indeed a very great undertaking and that calls for a man and a woman who can perform an ordinary task extraordinarily well. Works Cited Military. â€Å"Satellite Imagery of New Orleans.† (2005). 4 March 2008 . Nova, Nicolas. â€Å"Socio-Cognitive Functions of Space in Collaborative Settings : A Literature Review About Space, Cognition and Collaboration.† (2003). 03 March 2008 . Releases, Press. † Hurricane Katrina Destroys New Orleans Days Before â€Å"Southern Decadence† 8/31/05.† 4 March 2008 . When the Levees Broke The hurricane Katrina is considered one among the greatest disaster that crossed America after the new millennium but the world was not much in awe upon hearing that significant news where thousands are left homeless and needed to be rescued. The media even snoots why the president didn’t passed by the disaster area when he was bound for India. By glancing at New Orleans pre and post hurricane images, one can easily decipher how great the physical damage incurred by the disaster. For instance the New Orleans playground of which the lines and images are almost erased, the lines that delineates its physical make-up is no longer vivid which shows that the state physical structures were badly damaged (Military). The cities were 80% submerged in water when the levees broke and making it the deadliest hurricane since 1928. After the levees broke, the press commented that Hurricane Katrina has put an end to the annual celebration of the Southern Decadence which brought thousands of revelers for the homosexual celebration which was even acknowledge by its past city officials (Releases). Repent America director even concluded that it is the â€Å"act of God which destroyed the wicked city (Marcavage). † Post Katrina victims have to endure depressions which are worsening from 2006 to the present year and psychiatrist often reminds their patients that it is normal to feel that way just like saying men it is alright to feel bad because you loose a job, a wife, a house etc. and it mean that you are not crazy. Sometimes people talked that they will meet in the next Mardis Gras but just to find out that it can not happen that or this year. Social behavior such as depression is increasing as years go by. Social problems create another problem and life is becoming more problematic not to mention the rising criminalities which are brought by poverty in spirit and in material things. Being the costliest among US calamity, there would be no easy way to solve the crisis. However, years have passed and it seems that there is social and physical distance that makes it difficult to arrest the problem. Space is defined by Nicolas Nova as distance between people, a marker which explains the kind of interaction or which reveals social relationships (Nova). The prolonged crisis after the hurricane in the New Orleans does not only envelope the lack in material resources but more so in the lack of concerns for the simple reason that man is repealed by holocaust or in other words, man has the natural tendency to run away from destruction than to rebuild. It is for this reason that the prolonged rehabilitation of the city is not due to the social issue of race discrimination but the inability of those concerns to make a collaborative efforts in rebuilding their state. Since, if it is race related, where are the least of its brethren, the Diasporas, the Africans and African-Americans and the rest with other backgrounds of ethnicity. To rebuild New Orleans after the hurricane is a big job, it must be understood that physically the work is tremendous and socially the barrier is within. These spaces should be re allocated or distributed within ones environment to his most proximate neighbor and to its leaders. There is a dire need to augment the distance of the physical and social spaces that is ruining or leading the city into decay! There is a need for state leaders who are not just politically inclined but with minds and hands that can work consistently together. Re-building a nation after a great disaster is indeed a very great undertaking and that calls for a man and a woman who can perform an ordinary task extraordinarily well. Works Cited Military. â€Å"Satellite Imagery of New Orleans.† (2005). 4 March 2008 . Nova, Nicolas. â€Å"Socio-Cognitive Functions of Space in Collaborative Settings : A Literature Review About Space, Cognition and Collaboration.† (2003). 03 March 2008 . Releases, Press. † Hurricane Katrina Destroys New Orleans Days Before â€Å"Southern Decadence† 8/31/05.† 4 March 2008 .

Image of God

Christianity has been interpreted in many ways by different theologians and lay people. As much as this subject is studied there continues to be an ongoing differing of opinions relating to what it means to be created in the image of God. However, even with the differing of opinions, Christian faith is based on the central belief that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and that his life on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven are proof of God's love for humanity. infoplease. com, 2010). Although Christian beliefs are based on the New Testament, Christianity still views the Old Testament as a very important part of its faith and uses it often in reference and teaching. This paper will first discuss what it means to be created in the image of God as it pertains to my opinion and second how my beliefs on this subject are incorporated into my nursing practice.Man in God’s Image  "The most distinctive feature of the biblical understanding of man is the teaching that man has been created in the image of God†. Hoekema, 1986). The bible refers to man being made in God’s image in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the book of Genesis references man being made in God’s image in the Creation Story, in explanation of the generations of Adam to Noah and also again in the Covenant With Noah. Genesis: 1:26-28; 5:1-3 and 9:6. The New Testament references in many different books that man was made in the likeness of God and also speaks frequently of Jesus as being the perfect man who is made in the image of God.Hoekema states â€Å"Since Christ was totally without sin (Heb 4:15), in Christ we see the image of God in its perfection†. Christian belief follows that man was made in the image of God; however, differing theologians have developed differing theories over the years in regards to what it means to be made in the image of God. Theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo believed that humanity, which was created in the image of God, also had an image of the Trinity within it. He believed that there was evidence of the trinity within the human mind such as love, being, knowing, willing and understanding. (newworldencyclopedia. rg, 2010). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) â€Å"Of all visible creatures only man is ‘able to know and love his creator’. He is ‘the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake’, Man occupies a unique place in creation, he is ‘in the image of God†. God, creator of all life, made man unique apart from other living things by giving him gifts such as dignity, self-knowledge, self-possession, the ability to commune with others, free will, faith and love. Creation began with Adam and has been passed down to all of humanity which, in turn, results in a unity within humanity.Acts 17:26 states  "He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions†. Because creation began with Adam, who was created in God’s image, and we are all from Adam, we too are created in God’s image. The question is what does this mean? For some it means, contrary to my personal beliefs, that with the Fall of Adam and the development of sin the image of God in humanity has been destroyed or corrupted. So what does it mean to be created in God’s image? Man was created with definitive differences from other animals.I believe animals are capable of love and all living things possess and innate ability for survival. I also believe that some animals are capable of a higher cognitive reasoning to an extent. For example, both sharks and chimpanzees have been taught to use a higher thought function in turn producing higher cognition. There is life, even within plants, that manifests and grows. However, God gave man a soul that with his body creates a unity. A soul that possesses unique gifts that other living things do not have. God gave man the ability to develop relationships with others and with God himself.I believe that God initially created man for companionship and love. Because of this our Creator has made a never-ending covenant with us and loves us unconditionally. I believe that God created man and woman equally and that the first union is the first representation of communion among humans. I believe that our humanity, made in God’s image, is created good. I believe that although there is sin in all of us, this sin does not corrupt our souls but because of Adam’s original sin, it is now within all of us, not as a personal fault but a flaw of humanity.A â€Å"wounded nature† (CCC). I believe that man is capable of personal sin and does so on a daily basis because of this wounded nature, however, God gave us free will and man has t he choice of right and wrong. Unfortunately, since the Fall, man is no longer perfect with a divine likeness and sin is actually a proper state within humanity. Meaning that â€Å"As a result of its original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death; and inclined to sin†. (CCC).God’s image remains present in us because we are created by God. Good remains present in us because we are created by God. This can be evidenced by seeing humanity helping each other in times of need, seeing love shared in so many forms and present in so many deeds, seeing the overall beauty of humanity that is present even though we live in a world of sin and imperfection. Man remains hopeful in many ways and the Grace of God shines through in many situations. With all of this happening on a continual basis how could one question that man has lost his image of God?Yes, there is evil present in the world, as stated earlier mankind i s weakened, only weakened, not distorted and corrupt. Personal Beliefs for Serving those in Need of Healthcare Now that ground has been established for how man is created in God’s image I would like to discuss how I personally not only see this within my nursing practice but also how I use it to provide care to patients. Shelly and Miller state that â€Å"The role of the nurse grew out a Christian understanding of the human person as created in the image of God and viewed the body as a living unity and the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 3:16)†.As a nurse I find that this statement has very a great deal of truth in it. Nurses view the body as a Temple in many ways and assist those in who are not able to care for themselves. I feel that because we are created in God’s image, we should work to take care of ourselves and try to maintain a disease free state. Unfortunately, there are people who do not always share this view; this is where keeping God with us while giving care becomes very important. As nurses, whether it is an advanced practice nurse or a floor staff nurse, we have a desire to care for others.We want to help them return to a functioning state of health, whatever that may be because it differs depending on disease process. However, often times because a person has a chronic disease, he or she does not want to participate in their care or is short tempered with the staff that cares for this person. When this happens it is easy for a nurse to also become defensive and give less of herself to this person. Unfortunately, this happens frequently on busy units and emergency departments. If the nurse is not careful, he or she can become jaded and judgmental developing preconceived notions of patients based olely on the diagnosis or actions from the patient. However, if the nurse keeps God in her mind and close to her heart he or she is able to see the patient in a different light and can care for this patient in their diseased state knowing that we are all children of God and made in his image. In order to take optimal, holistic care of our patients we need to always keep with us that humanity is created in God’s image and that life is a sacred gift that we should respect on all levels no matter who the person is or how he or she may differ from yourself.When I am caring for my patients I try to always be not only sympathetic but empathetic. Being sick is a scary thing and often times the outcomes are unknown at the time of the present illness. Fear of the unknown is one of the most common stressors a person can have. So, if you take the stress of â€Å"not knowing† and combine it with the physical stress of being sick and emotional stress that accompanies not feeling well you can easily see that nurses often take care of patients when they are not only at a suboptimal level physically but also emotionally and often times spiritually.With this in mind one can understand the struggle on both sides of the spectrum; a person is at a place where he or she is requiring care from someone other than themselves. This person is a consumer and knows that he or she is paying for the care that is being received, with this in mind one can see how this can easily be looked at from a business-like perspective meaning basically an exchange of transactions and nothing more. However, in healthcare there is the human aspect that is very unique among business.We are in the business of caring. As nurses we not only know this, we feel this. We see a person in need and provide care for that person, this alone has aspects of the image of God within it. The desire to provide care and love for another being even when this being is not always acting kind or â€Å"doing the right thing† is a grace given to us by God. Jesus, the son of God, the second person of Trinity was a great healer and a caring, loving man. In all four of the Gospels, there are acts of healing documented that Jesus performed.Understanding that Jesus wanted to heal afflictions and help those who could not help themselves and knowing that he did this with kindness and love in his heart keeps me true to my profession and spirituality. Not everyone is blessed with good health and even those who are experience tragic events. Because humanity is a union, created by God and in the image of God, we are called to help one another not only in times of need but on a daily basis. I think that in doing this we strengthen our relationship between each other and with God.As a nurse I keep this in perspective so that I am not only helping my patients but also my patient’s family members, my fellow co-workers, and visitors with anything that I can. It is easy to look at a portion of the picture, but we should always take a few steps back and look at the whole picture. In doing this it helps facilitate not only one area but all areas. Jesus was always able to explain to his apostles the whole of a situation when they asked him questions, looking at a problem as a whole, rather than a portion makes it easier to treat everyone involved, not just one person.God has given humanity many gifts, such as the ones mentioned above. God also gives individuals gifts and graces them with the ability to perform and strengthen the gifts given to them. Although we are made in the image of God, people can differ a great deal. They differ in actions, opinions, thought and feelings this is a gift in itself. As nurses God has granted us with gifts of empathy, compassion, intuition and understanding. As much as nursing is a science it also holds a strong component of intuition and feeling.A patient connects with the nurse at the bedside because of the feelings that they share and experience together. When a nurse and a patient are able to connect on this level relationships are formed and care is given, received and collaborated. This bond that is created is another example of how we are created in God’s image and how we share this with others. Conclusion â€Å"To be created in the image of God means that we must look to God for our meaning, purpose, and direction. It also makes us thinking, willing, feeling, relational creatures who reflect these attributes of our Creator†. Shelly ; Miller, 2006). With this in mind we can all realize that to be created in the image of God is a gift, from a loving, relational God. I feel that if we can keep this thought in perspective, that our life, created in His image, is a gift and remain thankful for this gift we will be able to serve others with God in our hearts and minds. God did not create us to be solitary beings. He created us to commune together, to love one another and to help one another. Although our divine likeness has been weakened, it still remains and it is our responsibility to nurture our faith and help it o grow. When we do this we become closer to God and strengthen our bond not only with our love for h umanity and the union we share with it but also our bond with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we feel that closeness and strength it helps us to remember that we were created in His image and likeness which in turn helps us to live our faith. References Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000. Christianity: Central Beliefs. (2010). Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/society/A0857333. tml#ixzz0zQKnLsSt Created in god's image. (1986). Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans. New American Bible, (1991). St. Joseph ed. Catholic book Publishing Corporation. New World Encyclopedia Online. (2010). Augustine of Hippo. Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Augustine_of_Hippo Shelly, J. A. , & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing. 2nd ed. InterVarsity Press: Downersgrove, IL. What it Means for Hum ans to be Created in the Image of God THEO/532 September 14, 2010 Brandy Perkins Malone University Image of God Christianity has been interpreted in many ways by different theologians and lay people. As much as this subject is studied there continues to be an ongoing differing of opinions relating to what it means to be created in the image of God. However, even with the differing of opinions, Christian faith is based on the central belief that Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and that his life on earth, his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension into heaven are proof of God's love for humanity. infoplease. com, 2010). Although Christian beliefs are based on the New Testament, Christianity still views the Old Testament as a very important part of its faith and uses it often in reference and teaching. This paper will first discuss what it means to be created in the image of God as it pertains to my opinion and second how my beliefs on this subject are incorporated into my nursing practice.Man in God’s Image  "The most distinctive feature of the biblical understanding of man is the teaching that man has been created in the image of God†. Hoekema, 1986). The bible refers to man being made in God’s image in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, the book of Genesis references man being made in God’s image in the Creation Story, in explanation of the generations of Adam to Noah and also again in the Covenant With Noah. Genesis: 1:26-28; 5:1-3 and 9:6. The New Testament references in many different books that man was made in the likeness of God and also speaks frequently of Jesus as being the perfect man who is made in the image of God.Hoekema states â€Å"Since Christ was totally without sin (Heb 4:15), in Christ we see the image of God in its perfection†. Christian belief follows that man was made in the image of God; however, differing theologians have developed differing theories over the years in regards to what it means to be made in the image of God. Theologian Saint Augustine of Hippo believed that humanity, which was created in the image of God, also had an image of the Trinity within it. He believed that there was evidence of the trinity within the human mind such as love, being, knowing, willing and understanding. (newworldencyclopedia. rg, 2010). According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) â€Å"Of all visible creatures only man is ‘able to know and love his creator’. He is ‘the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake’, Man occupies a unique place in creation, he is ‘in the image of God†. God, creator of all life, made man unique apart from other living things by giving him gifts such as dignity, self-knowledge, self-possession, the ability to commune with others, free will, faith and love. Creation began with Adam and has been passed down to all of humanity which, in turn, results in a unity within humanity.Acts 17:26 states  "He made from one the whole human race to dwell on the entire surface of the earth, and he fixed the ordered seasons and the boundaries of their regions†. Because creation began with Adam, who was created in God’s image, and we are all from Adam, we too are created in God’s image. The question is what does this mean? For some it means, contrary to my personal beliefs, that with the Fall of Adam and the development of sin the image of God in humanity has been destroyed or corrupted. So what does it mean to be created in God’s image? Man was created with definitive differences from other animals.I believe animals are capable of love and all living things possess and innate ability for survival. I also believe that some animals are capable of a higher cognitive reasoning to an extent. For example, both sharks and chimpanzees have been taught to use a higher thought function in turn producing higher cognition. There is life, even within plants, that manifests and grows. However, God gave man a soul that with his body creates a unity. A soul that possesses unique gifts that other living things do not have. God gave man the ability to develop relationships with others and with God himself.I believe that God initially created man for companionship and love. Because of this our Creator has made a never-ending covenant with us and loves us unconditionally. I believe that God created man and woman equally and that the first union is the first representation of communion among humans. I believe that our humanity, made in God’s image, is created good. I believe that although there is sin in all of us, this sin does not corrupt our souls but because of Adam’s original sin, it is now within all of us, not as a personal fault but a flaw of humanity.A â€Å"wounded nature† (CCC). I believe that man is capable of personal sin and does so on a daily basis because of this wounded nature, however, God gave us free will and man has t he choice of right and wrong. Unfortunately, since the Fall, man is no longer perfect with a divine likeness and sin is actually a proper state within humanity. Meaning that â€Å"As a result of its original sin, human nature is weakened in its powers; subject to ignorance, suffering, and the domination of death; and inclined to sin†. (CCC).God’s image remains present in us because we are created by God. Good remains present in us because we are created by God. This can be evidenced by seeing humanity helping each other in times of need, seeing love shared in so many forms and present in so many deeds, seeing the overall beauty of humanity that is present even though we live in a world of sin and imperfection. Man remains hopeful in many ways and the Grace of God shines through in many situations. With all of this happening on a continual basis how could one question that man has lost his image of God?Yes, there is evil present in the world, as stated earlier mankind i s weakened, only weakened, not distorted and corrupt. Personal Beliefs for Serving those in Need of Healthcare Now that ground has been established for how man is created in God’s image I would like to discuss how I personally not only see this within my nursing practice but also how I use it to provide care to patients. Shelly and Miller state that â€Å"The role of the nurse grew out a Christian understanding of the human person as created in the image of God and viewed the body as a living unity and the ‘temple of the Holy Spirit’ (1 Cor 3:16)†.As a nurse I find that this statement has very a great deal of truth in it. Nurses view the body as a Temple in many ways and assist those in who are not able to care for themselves. I feel that because we are created in God’s image, we should work to take care of ourselves and try to maintain a disease free state. Unfortunately, there are people who do not always share this view; this is where keeping God with us while giving care becomes very important. As nurses, whether it is an advanced practice nurse or a floor staff nurse, we have a desire to care for others.We want to help them return to a functioning state of health, whatever that may be because it differs depending on disease process. However, often times because a person has a chronic disease, he or she does not want to participate in their care or is short tempered with the staff that cares for this person. When this happens it is easy for a nurse to also become defensive and give less of herself to this person. Unfortunately, this happens frequently on busy units and emergency departments. If the nurse is not careful, he or she can become jaded and judgmental developing preconceived notions of patients based olely on the diagnosis or actions from the patient. However, if the nurse keeps God in her mind and close to her heart he or she is able to see the patient in a different light and can care for this patient in their diseased state knowing that we are all children of God and made in his image. In order to take optimal, holistic care of our patients we need to always keep with us that humanity is created in God’s image and that life is a sacred gift that we should respect on all levels no matter who the person is or how he or she may differ from yourself.When I am caring for my patients I try to always be not only sympathetic but empathetic. Being sick is a scary thing and often times the outcomes are unknown at the time of the present illness. Fear of the unknown is one of the most common stressors a person can have. So, if you take the stress of â€Å"not knowing† and combine it with the physical stress of being sick and emotional stress that accompanies not feeling well you can easily see that nurses often take care of patients when they are not only at a suboptimal level physically but also emotionally and often times spiritually.With this in mind one can understand the struggle on both sides of the spectrum; a person is at a place where he or she is requiring care from someone other than themselves. This person is a consumer and knows that he or she is paying for the care that is being received, with this in mind one can see how this can easily be looked at from a business-like perspective meaning basically an exchange of transactions and nothing more. However, in healthcare there is the human aspect that is very unique among business.We are in the business of caring. As nurses we not only know this, we feel this. We see a person in need and provide care for that person, this alone has aspects of the image of God within it. The desire to provide care and love for another being even when this being is not always acting kind or â€Å"doing the right thing† is a grace given to us by God. Jesus, the son of God, the second person of Trinity was a great healer and a caring, loving man. In all four of the Gospels, there are acts of healing documented that Jesus performed.Understanding that Jesus wanted to heal afflictions and help those who could not help themselves and knowing that he did this with kindness and love in his heart keeps me true to my profession and spirituality. Not everyone is blessed with good health and even those who are experience tragic events. Because humanity is a union, created by God and in the image of God, we are called to help one another not only in times of need but on a daily basis. I think that in doing this we strengthen our relationship between each other and with God.As a nurse I keep this in perspective so that I am not only helping my patients but also my patient’s family members, my fellow co-workers, and visitors with anything that I can. It is easy to look at a portion of the picture, but we should always take a few steps back and look at the whole picture. In doing this it helps facilitate not only one area but all areas. Jesus was always able to explain to his apostles the whole of a situation when they asked him questions, looking at a problem as a whole, rather than a portion makes it easier to treat everyone involved, not just one person.God has given humanity many gifts, such as the ones mentioned above. God also gives individuals gifts and graces them with the ability to perform and strengthen the gifts given to them. Although we are made in the image of God, people can differ a great deal. They differ in actions, opinions, thought and feelings this is a gift in itself. As nurses God has granted us with gifts of empathy, compassion, intuition and understanding. As much as nursing is a science it also holds a strong component of intuition and feeling.A patient connects with the nurse at the bedside because of the feelings that they share and experience together. When a nurse and a patient are able to connect on this level relationships are formed and care is given, received and collaborated. This bond that is created is another example of how we are created in God’s image and how we share this with others. Conclusion â€Å"To be created in the image of God means that we must look to God for our meaning, purpose, and direction. It also makes us thinking, willing, feeling, relational creatures who reflect these attributes of our Creator†. Shelly ; Miller, 2006). With this in mind we can all realize that to be created in the image of God is a gift, from a loving, relational God. I feel that if we can keep this thought in perspective, that our life, created in His image, is a gift and remain thankful for this gift we will be able to serve others with God in our hearts and minds. God did not create us to be solitary beings. He created us to commune together, to love one another and to help one another. Although our divine likeness has been weakened, it still remains and it is our responsibility to nurture our faith and help it o grow. When we do this we become closer to God and strengthen our bond not only with our love for h umanity and the union we share with it but also our bond with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. When we feel that closeness and strength it helps us to remember that we were created in His image and likeness which in turn helps us to live our faith. References Catholic Church. Catechism of the Catholic Church. 2nd ed. Vatican: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2000. Christianity: Central Beliefs. (2010). Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://www. infoplease. com/ce6/society/A0857333. tml#ixzz0zQKnLsSt Created in god's image. (1986). Grand Rapids, MI/Cambridge, UK: William B. Eerdmans. New American Bible, (1991). St. Joseph ed. Catholic book Publishing Corporation. New World Encyclopedia Online. (2010). Augustine of Hippo. Retrieved September 13, 2010, from http://www. newworldencyclopedia. org/entry/Augustine_of_Hippo Shelly, J. A. , & Miller, A. B. (2006). Called to Care: A Christian Worldview for Nursing. 2nd ed. InterVarsity Press: Downersgrove, IL. What it Means for Hum ans to be Created in the Image of God THEO/532 September 14, 2010 Brandy Perkins Malone University