A Comparison Of Early Civilizations Essays (1134 words) - Enma Eli

A comparison of Early Civilizations A comparison of Early civilizations After reading the articles on early civilization, I've identified several similarities and differences about the people who were from these three cultures. The civilizations in the articles include, the people from Mesopotamia, the Quiche' Indians, a tribe in early Meso-America, and "The book of Genesis" which offers a Christian or biblical explanation of how our own civilization originated. I will tell you about how they believed they came into existence and what they thought they should do to ensure their civilization continued. The three stories offered insight on how the different cultures lived by describing how they believed their civilization was created. Creation of Man All three civilizations believed that the Earth, all the animals, and Man was created by one or several Gods. The Meso- Americans and Mesopotamiams believed in many Gods. On the other hand, the Christians believed that only one God created Man. The Meso-Americans believed that Tepeu, the "Creator' and the Forefathers, a group of great sages and thinkers created their world and everything in it. In the article "Popul Vuh", the Quiche' Indians wrote about how the Creator and the Forefathers planned and created the " growth of the trees and thickets and the birth of life in the darkness, (The Popul Vuh, Chapter 1, Pg. 3). The Mesopotamians believed their world was created after the Gods sent Marduk, the Warrior God to defeat the oldest of the Gods, Tiamet, the patron of Primeval Chaos. Tiamet created terrible dragons, serpents, Hurricanes, tempests and just about anything she could in order to prevent the Gods from creating someone to worship them, (The Creation Epic, Tablet 1, pg. 7). Marduk was summoned to kill Tiamet, which he did and created Man out of his blood and bone, (The Creation Epic, Tablet VI, pg. 11). "The Book of Genesis" tells us how "God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and the cattle after their kind", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, pg. 13). It also tells how "God created Man in his own image", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 1, pg. 13). This explains that one God created the Earth, the animals, and finally, Man. The Christians and the Mesopotamian people believed that Man was created in their Gods' own image, while The Meso-Americans believed that Man was created from their surrounding environment. The Meso-American society must have been more Paleolithic than the other two civilizations since they identified more with the land in which they lived in than the Mesopotamians or the Christians. A Belief in the Need to Worship Their Gods By believing that their God or Gods had given them everything they had, all three civilizations saw that their Gods had their best interest, safety and security in mind. They believed that their Gods had great powers and controlled their World. Their belief that their God or Gods were so powerful gave them a way to explain their hardships and natural disasters. As long as the Gods were revered and worshipped by them, the people would prosper. The "Popul Vuh" article describes the Quiche' Indians' need to worship the Gods when it writes that since the animals could not say the Gods' names and worship them, they were punished by being sacrificed and condemned to be killed and eaten, (The Popul Vuh, pg.5). "The Creation Epic" describes how Marduk kills Tiamet the Goddess of Chaos because she had planned evil against the Gods, Marduk's fathers, (The Creation Epic, pg. 10). She represented evil and the Gods wanted Marduk to kill Tiamet and establish a place of worship, (The Creation Epic, Tablet IV, pg. 9). Finally, the Christians write in "The Book of Genesis" that when the serpent told Eve that if she ate the forbidden fruit she would be "as Gods, knowing good and evil", (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, pg. 15). God then punished Adam and Eve for eating the forbidden fruit by banishing them from the Garden of Eden, (The Book of Genesis, Chapter 3, pg. 15). This meant that the Christians felt the need to recognize and worship God in order for them to have everything that they needed to live safely and comfortably. If they went against God's wishes there would be serious consequences. Their Way of Life and Environment The Quiche' Indians lived in what must have been a beautiful coastal land, full of lush greenery, Cypress and Pine trees. There were also beautiful mountains, valleys, and rivers. Birds and deer abounded throughout this beautiful paradise. This is explained when the "The Popul Vuh" describes the creation of the Earth, (Popul Vuh, Chapter

Internet Search Engines and Search Essay

Internet Search Engines and Search Essay Internet Search Engines and Search Essay Introduction to Business Internet Basics 2 Use this website to complete this assignment: sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson13.shtml Discuss the following: 1. ASK 2. Dogpile Dogpile, one of the most popular metasearch engines on the Web, was launched in 1996. It is currently operated by InfoSpace, which recently streamlined its interface, giving it a new look and features. Using innovative metasearch technology, Dogpile searches the Web via the Internet's top search engines (see list below), claiming to fetch, with one single click, the best results from its combined pool of search engine sources. (Note: Although it now labels "sponsored links" these are interspersed throughout the results listings and are not always easy to spot. See the "sponsored by" note on the URL line.) Dogpile also displays result links on the right-hand side of the results page for clustering and refining searches even further. Thus, the searcher can drill down into narrower subtopics without having to use advanced search tools. For the intrepid researcher, however,Dogpile also offers an Advanced search page. 3. Clusty 4. Gigablast 5. Google 6. MSN Search 7. Yahoo! Use this website to complete this assignment: sc.edu/beaufort/library/pages/bones/lesson6.shtml Discuss search strategies you can use to find what you want on the Internet. STARTING OUT It's always a good idea to THINK about your search before you begin. Create a search strategy in your head by asking yourself this question DEFAULTS, AND OTHER STUFF In your search statement, if you enter more than one keyword without using any accompanying sign, mark or symbol (see Lesson 7 and Lesson 8 for explanations and examples), the search engine will automatically add either the AND or the OR conjunction to link your search terms together. This could radically alter your search in unexpected ways. Be sure you know the defaults (basic settings) of the search engine you are

Analysis of the Walt Disney Company Speech or Presentation

Analysis of the Walt Disney Company - Speech or Presentation Example For instance, the company provides transportation such that everybody who checks in ceases to use his car while undertaking any session of the trip until the duration of the tour is over. For a number of reasons, diversification strategies at Disney Company have helped improve the organizations economies of scale. For instance, for instance, the organization spends extra services such as picking up of clients who have booked for flight reservation at Disney and drops them off by the organizational vans. This has led to a tremendous advantage over the other competitors as customers often value protection and privileges of care (Ireland et al 2008). Additionally, the firm enjoys considerable economies of scope with diverse potentials from customers, who would either want to dine, pay for parking or from those seeking for reservation at the respective hotels. For instance, competitive advantage is achieved when customers would buy an all in one card which, allows for payments of the tra nsactions while touring across different departments at Disney magic parks. This is otherwise considered very convenient on the part of the customer who does not have to keep on paying for bills at every point of transaction. In addition, this type of card enables the organization in getting economies of scale because, the card contains a float of money and in the long run the customer will often be find himself to have paid for more than one or more services thus beneficial to the organization(Ireland et al 2008). Corporate level strategy On the part of vertical integration, Walt Disney Company has succeeded tremendously in through owning of several units of the organization as a way of increasing the economies of scale while achieving the best competitive advantage in the market. Much of this evidence is made visible through the integration of several business opportunities such as media networks, parks and resorts, studios and consumable products. A lot of benefits have been expe rienced in several ways where one output becomes a tangible input of the other. For instance, for the customers who checks in for reservation the imminent intention of viewing amenities at the park will end up taking part in the purchases of the consumable products produced by the same organization. From this perspective, the organization is capable of earning additional income by form of integration (Miller 251). Disney has made several strategic alliances with like-minded companies such the Siemens of USA where a 12 year plan has been stipulated of pooling together the relevant technological strategies which were meant to improve family entertainment. This agreement has seen Disney as an organization uses several Siemens products while the other hand, Siemens organization sponsors Disney’s shows. The main aspect of this collaboration was meant to enhance technological transformation of different kinds so as maximize competitive advantage against the other rival companies. U ltimately, Disney has also had some other collaboration with companies such as UTV of India to help in the facilitation of animations and shows while banks in Chicago and San Francisco have since assisted in the provision of financial

Information Technology assignment unit 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Information Technology assignment unit 4 - Essay Example The speed is not a great concern so I have chosen a medium speed for printing b. In this scenario we have a firm that uses computer only for word processing. The biggest application occupies 24 MB, so we do not require a system with huge capacity drives and processing power. The hardware configuration selected for this firm is given: c. In this type of firm we need systems that have extreme processing power and clock speed power. Here we have to process at high speed because scientific applications require more processing power, so configuration of the system is given below; d. In this scenario we need a better printing power and this can only be achieved through enhanced memory. Because the printing current pages are stored in the RAM so we need better RAM as compared to processing power. Here we need a printer that can print the pages at higher speed. We also need big data travel drive. a. Magnetic tapes: In this scenario we need to store thousands of employee records for several years. This storage is only for backup procedure. Here we do not require processing of records. So we will choose the magnetic tapes those provide large storage capacity at less expenses. b. Magnetic hard disks: Air line reservation requires fast and large record processing. Here in this scenario we require systems that provide high storage and fast processing speed. The selection of magnetic hard disks is the best choice for such areas of working. c. Recordable optical discs (CD-R: write once, read many): the maintenance manual facility is effectively provided through CR-Rom technology. Main reasons of this technology selection are the less cost and appropriate capacity of medium for the maintenance manual storage. d. Flash memory USB drives: when we want to take any digital data from one place to another then the flash memory USB drives are the best choice. These are high speed data travel

First Person Paper about Esther Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

First Person Paper about Esther - Essay Example However, the queen rejected the Kings Command and the king was furious. The king was advised accordingly that the queen’s behavior would make all women in the kingdom to despise their husbands. A royal decree was made and recorded that her royal position be given to another better woman as a lesson to all women and make men masters in their houses. The king was advised that a search be made for young beautiful virgins in the entire kingdom and be given beauty treatment so that the virgin who would please the king most would be made queen instead Vashti. I was living in the kingdom with my uncle Mordecai as exiles from Jerusalem. My uncle had brought me up as his own daughter since I had no father or mother and I was a young woman lovely and beautiful. When the king’s command was heard, I was also taken with many young women to the palace, under the care of Hegai his eunuch who kept his concubines. I pleased Hegai and gained his favor and this made him give me the best b eauty preparations. Meanwhile I kept my identity secret because my Uncle advised me so. My Uncle showed concern for me and he visited the women’s quarter daily to find out about my progress. ... He placed a crown on my head and made me the queen instead of Vashti. The king made a great feast for me for all his officials and servants, and he proclaimed a holiday in all the provinces and gave gifts generously. In the palace, I never disclosed my identity since I obeyed the advice of my uncle. My Uncle later discovered that people were plotting to eliminate the king and he informed me and I told the king about it. The matter was investigated and was found as true. The men were hanged and this was written in the chronicles before the king. After these things, the king promoted Hamah one of his officers and set him above all the princes and all servants who were commanded by the king to bow to Haman. However, Mordecai would not bow to Haman because he was a Jew and this made Harman very angry. He decided to destroy all the Jews in the whole kingdom and he set a date and month for carrying the plan. He sought permission from the king saying that the practices of the Jews were not in the best interest of the king and he promised to enrich the king’s treasury with silver and gold. The king allowed Haman to do with the Jews as he pleased and a decree was made in all the provinces in all languages and it was sealed with the king’s signet ring. The letters were sent to all provinces to destroy, to annihilate all Jews young and old including women and children on the twelfth month. Mordecai leant of this and he tore his clothes, sat in ashes, and cried loud in the city bitterly and he came to the king’s gate but he could not be allowed because of his attire. All Jews cried in all provinces with fasting, wailing and crying. My made and servants told me and I was distressed and I sent him

Travel Motivation: Linking Theory To Practice

Travel Motivation: Linking Theory To Practice Travel means the movement of people between relatively distant geographical locations for any purpose and any duration, with or without any means of transport. Travel also includes relatively short stays between successive movements. Movements between locations requiring only a few minutes are not considered as travel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel). In other meaning, travel can be defined as a journey, a trip or a walk from one place to another place in great distance whether using any transport or without transport. Travel can be for recreational purposes, for tourism, to visit people, for business or for commuting, and may occur for numerous other reasons, such as to obtain health care, migration, fleeing war, etc (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travel). There are many purposes of travel such as to rest and relax, to meet friends and relatives, to visit and experience new places and also to having fun and enjoying the memorable moment. The young tourist can be defined as youth or young generation or population that age between 16 to 30 years old. In advance, young tourists were neglected by researcher because of they were always being assumed same with the rest tourist population in terms of similarities. Pastor (1991,p.7) states that for too long it has been imagined that young tourists are merely more naive versions of the adult tourist, and that their needs are the same as their elders, but on a smaller, simpler less demanding scale to be considered, in a sense, as sub-requirements. But, actually tourist population was separated in form of age, behavior and motivational factor. Instead, it is claimed that young tourists have a distinct identity, special interests and different needs which distinguish them from adult tourists (Ravon, 1991). This research topic was selected because we never known or never took concern about why people want to travel to overseas or in countries, what inspires them to travel and why they willing to spend their money and time merely just want to explore to other places. Furthermore, we do not have taken concern about the significant of travel, types of person that travel in context of age, behavior and inducement. In addition, tourism industry now increasing quickly to develop and had large potential in order to be major contributor to national economy. At the same time, it can introduce the country to international era with distinctive countrys uniqueness whose can attract various type of tourist to tour. However, every interest or inducement to tour that occurs in tourists themselves are varying because there are various walks of age in tourist population. Hence, we want to study about the young tourists group on their difference of inducement and interest to tour with aged tourists group and what motivates them. After I read all these journals, may be said that a little bit I can understand it and all the issues just now like answered. Especially, the significant or the importance of travel where it can be teaching us about the meaning of life satisfaction, open widest our mind to look the different corner of the world, know the cultural difference elsewhere which we might never known before and give us the experience to socialize and communicate with various type of people. SUMMARY Definition of motivation is general. There is various type of definition that can be used. According to Susan Velez (2008), motivation is the characteristic that is required in order to achieve anything in life; without it you will give up at the first sign of adversity. It is means to inspire and encourage a person to do their best towards something in their life. However, it is a slightly different with the definition of motivation in travel. Travel Motivation: Linking Theory to Practice For the first case study, travel motivation is a critical factor and a driving force behind tourist behavior (Crompton, 1979). The purpose of this study is to review the relevant literature on travel motivation and provides a scenario-based discussion on the applications of travel motivation theories in the industry practice (Huang and Hsu, 2009). This study was conducted by a comprehensive literature review on travel motivations that acknowledged the major theories. Two scenarios are presented and discussed by linking two motivation conceptual schemes, Maslows hierarchy of needs theory and Plogs allocentrism/psychocentrism model, to practical issues in travel management (Huang and Hsu, 2009). However, understanding tourists motivation merely imagination because it is very hard to understand different tourists need and wants from various age layer. It is closely related to the theory that applies in travel motivation with practices that theory into the real world. We need to study and understand totally the theory, only then we can fulfill tourist satisfaction according to age layer, their needs in travel, produce experience travel which meant for them and creating the repeat business. Profiling Young Travelers Travel Behavior According to Sung Chae (2009), the purpose of this study is to segment young travelers travel behavior on the basis of travel motivation. It is based on diverse needs and desires on the tourist attributes. Using oblique principal component cluster analysis, this study identified seven factors in travel motivation: Excitement, Tourist Attraction, New Experience, Relaxation, Atmosphere and Remembrance. The results indicate that the Korean young travelers travel behavior was varied between defined factors and different sets of socio-demographic and travel characteristics. The information was gathered by giving the questionnaire to the subject of study. The young tourist more tend to choose vacation that give maximum pleasure, vacation to attracting places so that they would repeat the vacation to that same place, sense new experience that never felt before this, can give satisfaction of resting and relaxing without any interference and pressure, reposed in place that have atmosphere who can cause mood to revel and produce holiday that memorable forever and made as a sweet memory. Travel Motivations and Destination Activities of Young Travelers of Different Ages: An Empirical Study in the United States Several studies have investigated the differences in tourism and destination activities of different age groups of the travelers in the United States. Previous research studies suggest different segments of American travelers exist based upon generational groupings. The findings of the study, based upon 744 respondents, clearly identified two distinct segments of tourists in the age group of 18-23 and 24-30 in terms of travel motivation and destination activities. The results can be used by managers to improve the experience of these two distinct groups of young travelers (Michael, Dana and Dinesh, 2008). In this study, two groups of different age were focused which is generation X (born 1961-1981) and generation Y (born 1982-2000). Through this study, found that both age group that having differences in terms of travel satisfaction, level of travel experience, motivations to travel and travel activities. After that, the result was produces where there are various factors that motivate them to travel and types of travel activities that they want. Some of the factors that motivate them to travel are the desire to travel foreign place, going to coast or island, having romantic holiday with beloved person, returning to place that we have gone before and want to spend time together with family and friends. Some types of travel activities is sightseeing, shopping, partying and celebrating and dining at special restaurant with good atmosphere and food. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Based on all research paper, can be deduced that there is tourist from various age layer, gender and standard of living. Through these research papers, a little bit can understand what motivate them to travel, which age group more like to travel and what types of place they like to take a trip. Especially young tourists, they expecting the vacations that gratify most maximum, like to gain new experience or try new materials, and they feel really fortunate if they can go travel to place that all this while they wish although lack of financial resources will be cultivated also. Unfortunately, mostly of young tourists group not emphasizing security matter when travel. Not many of them want a safety vacation such as old tourists. Especially women, because they was barer to various type of danger and threat at night time. Therefore, as a suggestion, they should take several initiatives to prevent thing that did not want to happen. Tell your family and friends on about vacation, keep map when sightseeing, do not carrying goods worth, wearing right clothes such as locals, sensitive with environment or surrounding (especially woman), avoid from dark place and always bring some small tool to defend yourself.

Corruption of the American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Corruption of the American Dream in The Great Gatsby      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald embodies may themes, however the most salient one relates to the corruption of the American Dream.   The American Dream is that each person no matter who he or she is can become successful in life by his or her own hard work.   The dream also embodies the idea of a self-sufficient man, an entrepreneur making it successful for himself.   The Great Gatsby is about what happened to the American dream in the 1920s, a time period when the dream had been corrupted by the avaricious pursuit of wealth.   The American dream is sublime motivation for accomplishing ones goals and producing achievements, however when tainted with wealth the dream becomes devoid and hollow.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When the American dream was pure, motivation and ambition were some key aspects of the pure American dream.   "He stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way...and distinguished nothing except a single green light"(page.26).   It shows how Gatsby was striving for the his goal and trying to accomplish it. When the dream was pure, motivation and self-discipline were present. This quote talks about Gatsby's daily agenda and how in the earlier days he upheld the pure American Dream "No wasting time at Shafters, No more smoking or chewing, Read one improving book or magazine per week, Save $3.00 per week, Be better to parents" (page 181- 182). Nick says "I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors' eyes-a fresh green breast of the new world"(page 189). This quote shows the pristine goals of where the possibilities were endless and one could accomplish anything through hard work.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The American dream became corrupted, its main aims were wealth and power.   Gatsby became corrupted because his main goal was to have Daisy. The only reason he want Daisy was that she symbolized wealth and took on the characteristics of money. "Her voice is full of money"(page127). Gatsby needed to have an enormous mansion so he could feel confident enough to try to win Daisy. " That huge place over there? Do you like it?   I love it" (page95).  Ã‚   The tainted dream was so empty that having accouterments of wealth could   even incite feelings of love.

Abortion Persuasive Essay Essay

Despite abortion being a highly controversial and divisive public policy issue, medical abortion is a highly feasible and healthy alternative to other, illicit abortion procedures and the availability of medical abortion should, consequently, be maximized rather than restricted. The reality is that for most women who are seeking ways to end their pregnancy a legal and safe medical abortion is just one of several options that such women are willing to go through. Without a viable and safe option for women seeking ways to end their pregnancy, many more women will engage in risky pregnancy ending behaviors, such as self-induced, non-medical, and illegal abortions. Minimizing the access to abortion services has been a policy goal of conservatives for some time, while the left has sought to increase access to medical abortion services. This debate is framed by several Supreme Court rulings, most notably the Casey v. Carhart case which affirmed women’s right to abortion, limiting th e restrictions that states can put on abortion clinics but leaving ambiguous exactly what restrictions are allowed. While states and local municipalities are not allowed to outlaw abortion clinics, they still enact and enforce severe restrictions on abortion clinics and abortion services. This creates a de facto ban on abortion in many states, particularly red states. The problem addressed in this project is the potential for severe costs of severely limiting the availability of and access to abortion services for mother seeking to end their pregnancies. Relying heavily on recent empirical studies on the health outcomes of mothers after abortions, this project begins by examining the safety, both physical and psychological, of abortions for mothers. Next, this project examines the legal issues that frame the public policy abortion debate, with a particular focus on the Casey v. Carhart case. Finally, this project presents recent findings from various organizations on the prevalence of abortions around the world and, in particular, the United States. The most important finding presented here is that abortion rates tend to remain steady regardless of whether there are several restrictions on abortions, which suggests that women who seek abortions are willing to engage in illegal and unsafe abortion procedures when no legal options are available. Because of this fact and other findings presented below, legal abortion services should be made widely available to populations across the United States. While most public policy debates on abortion focus on the  distinction between persons and non-persons, as well as the point in which a fetus is considered a person, there is considerable debate over the health outcomes of women who go through abortions. Much of the research relevant to the abortion issue focuses on the physical health outcomes of women. Creinin and Danielsson investigate recent evidence on the physical health outcomes in women after they go through abortions. This article discusses many studies concerning medically induced abortion that occur very early in pregnancies. The researchers draw conclusions about trends found in the studies and the empirical data produced by such studies. The researchers here find that medical abortions are becoming safer (121). That is, while at one point medical abortions were potential quite dangerous for women, today, evidence suggests that they are quite safe for the physical health of the women. In fact, the rate of incident is lower than most invasive procedures, the research suggests, which supports the notion that legal medical abortions are substantially safer than other ways that women seek to end their pregnancies. Only studies on legal abortions were featured in this review. While there is no empirical evidence on the safety of illegal abortions performed on women, it would seem that they are unlikely to be nearly as safe as legal medical abortions. The physical health of a woman after receiving an abortion is, of course, a very important factor in determining whether medical abortion practices area safe. However, with much more attention being paid to mental health of individuals and the importance of mental health in living a healthy and meaningful life, it is important to examine research findings on the specific mental health effects of abortion on women. In a systematic review of literature on the long-term mental health outcomes of women Charles et al. analyzes, compares, and discovers tends in the data from more than twenty studies on the long-term mental health outcomes of women who have medical and legal abortions (442). This literature review focuses very heavily on the long-term psychological health of such women and assesses the quality of the findings from each study, on a scale that extends from very poor to excellent in quality. Charles et al. effectively scan the relevant literature from 2000 to 2008 on the menta l health outcomes of women after medical abortions to find the most relevant findings. This literature review finds that most higher quality studies found almost no significant differences in the mental health outcomes of  women who have had abortions performed and those who have not. Additionally, while the studies that were much poorer in quality than the aforementioned studies more than half of the time produced findings that suggested that women who have had an abortion in their life times have significantly worse mental health outcomes. Thus, there may be two sorts of data being presented in public policy debate on abortion: data that suggests that women do not suffer negative long-term mental health consequences of abortion and data that suggests otherwise. The objective Charles et al. literature review, however, strongly supports the latter findings, suggesting that, in fact, there is support against the notion that medical abortions lead to long-term negative mental health outcomes in women. While the systematic literature review of the available data on the psychological health of women after abortions is highly useful in any attempts to determine the risks associated with legal abortions, there is a need for the presentation of much more recent research findings on this issue. Munk-Olsen et al. report the results of a study on the risks of mental disorders and threats to psychological health in women who have gone through induced abortions during their first trimesters. The results of this study are very recent and help to shed light on exactly how safe medical abortions have become. Also, the findings presented in this study have been compared to the results of other studies performed at a similar time to this study, making for more meaningful and significant results. The results of this study indicate that there is no significant difference between the prevalence of mental disorders in women who have had at least one abortion and those who have not (336). Additionally, the results of this study showed that the participants who had gone through abortions were not in significantly different mental health conditions than the participants who had not gone through abortions (336). The findings form this study lend strong support for the notion that access to abortion clinics should be maximized. One notable problem in public policy debates it the availability of data on the frequency of abortions, both legal and illegal, performed in the United States. Jones et al. presents findings about the frequency of abortions in the United States, as well as the availability of abortion services across the United States. The researchers found that in general access to legal abortion services was quite low, despite the Supreme Court ruling that women have a constitutional  right to an abortion (11). However, the authors note that all of the available data for the report did not include any data on unreported abortions, which, presumably, mostly includes illegal abortions. There is a problem emerging in regard to the availability of data on legal abortions and illegal abortions. The problem is that there is a wealth of data available on the prevalence and health outcomes of legal abortions, while there is virtually no meaningful data on illegal abortions. This is, of course, due to the fact of the illegality of such abortions. Nevertheless, it can be difficult to measure the potential harms committed in illegal abortions when not enough data is available. Additionally, comparing legal to illegal abortions and their respective maternal health outcomes is quite challenging given the differences in the availability of data. Even so, there are several assumptions that can help draw sound conclusions based on these research findings. One assumption is that legal abortion procedures tend to be safer than illegal abortion procedures. The rationale behind this assumption is that there is a greater likelihood that legal abortion procedures are performed by trained medical professionals who are qualified for such procedures. For illegal abortion procedures, neither the proper training nor the proper credentials are required. Additionally, illegal abortion procedures include self-initiated abort procedures, which are, of course, not performed by medical professionals. Another sound assumption is that as the availability of and access to legal medical abortion procedures decreases, the number of illegal and unsafe abortion procedures increases. This is because many women choose to have abortions whether legal or illegal. Easy access to a safe and legal abortion clinic is likely more preferable for most women seeking abortions. Thus, when such women do not have access to a safe and legal abortion clinic, many will still choose to have an abortion, but under much less safe conditions. Pazol et al. present a report on the prevalence of abortions in the United States. This report features a number of surveillance summaries on abortions performed. The data used to construct such summaries is provided by the Center for Disease Control. The data is compiled and then analyzed, leading to a number of summative statistics concerning the rates of abortion in the United States. The number of reported abortions is among the leading statistic in this report, as is the abortion rate by age groups and several historical data  trends. This report indicates that the number of performed abortions in the United States increased from the mid-1990s to the late 2000s (Pazol et al. 27). However, more recently, the data suggest that reported abortion numbers have fallen, as have abortion rates in the United States. The report finds that access to abortion in many parts of the country has decreased, which may help to explain why the number of reported abortions has decreased (Pazol et al. 29). The findings from this study do not include findings of unreported or ille gal abortions. Nevertheless, the findings from this study are consistent with previous findings and follow the path that the legal framework for abortion and abortion restriction policies appears to have taken with recent Supreme Court rulings. Once of the most important Supreme Court cases concerning state restrictions on abortion is the Casey v. Carhart case. The law professor Reva Siegel wrote a law review article on the Casey v. Carhart case. The ruling by the Supreme Court in this case is that states are not allowed to severely restrict women’s access to abortion services (Siegel 1724). Doing so is a violation of women’s right to an abortion, according to the Court. This ruling affirms prior rulings that have stated that states may not prohibit abortion and may not make it so difficult for a woman to get an abortion that the states have de facto banned abortion (Siegel 1729). Despite this very important ruling from the Supreme Court, states are, in many ways, still allowed to severely restrict access to abortion clinics to the point where most women seeking abortion in a state will be more likely to choose to either not have an abortion or have an illegal abortion. This is because the Supreme Court ruled that states, themselves, must be challenged on a case-by-case basis before the exact laws that restrict abortion can be deemed unconstitutional (Siegel 1736). In other words, though the Supreme Court struck down state legislation that put severe limitations on legal abortion clinics, states still have so many other limitations that have not been explicitly stricken down and, thus, can still be used by the states to effectively ban abortion. Even though the Court has stricken down several specific forms of limitations for legal abortion clinics, states have still continued to come up with new ways to limit abortion clinic practices that the Court has yet to strike down (Siegel 1732). The current state of the law concerning abortion and state policy abortion restrictions is such that states are allowed to  substantially restrict access to safe and legal abortion procedures. Another legal scholar, Mary Anne Warren, agrees that the current legal status of abortion is such that states are largely free to severely limit access to safe and legal abortion procedures, despite Supreme Court rulings that would seem to suggest otherwise (142). Warren argues that not only is the current legal status of abortion in the United States an uncertain one and one that need further clarification from the Supreme Court, but also that the Court has expressed the strong moral obligation to allow women to have abortions, yet has not done nearly enough to make this assertion hold among the states (145). Warren presents findings from several different studies and literature on the various effects of abortion, the established rates of reported abortion, and the availability of abortion clinics. The findings presented by Warren show that there is a strong contradiction in what the Supreme Court claims is the established rights of women to have an abortion and the actual state of affairs. One of the biggest issues, Warren states, with the current state of affairs for abortion is that the access to abortion differs radically by state. In some states, abortion clinics are easy to find, while in others, they are virtually non-existent due to severe limitations and restrictions imposed by the state (141). Although it is typical for states to differ substantially on many public policy issues, for several Supreme Court decisions to come down and expressly prohibit states from imposing such abortion limitations, it is a clear contradiction by the Court. From many perspectives, then, the current legal situation of abortion and abortion restrictions by the states in the United States in one that allows the states far too much leeway in how far they can restrict access to abortion. Research from 2013 suggests that more than twenty million unsafe abortions happen every year worldwide annually. However, less than two percent of these abortions occur in developed countries. Additionally, far fewer occur in the United States (Sedgh et al. 27). This finding would appear to suggest that the number of unsafe abortions is relatively low in the United States compared to the rest of the world. However, the United States has a low tolerance for abortions, compared to many of the other states included in these research findings. Moreover, the United States has a rate of maternal  fatalities for legal abortions that is less than 1 out of 10,000, with almost all of such fatalities occurring past 16 weeks after conception (World Health Organization 16). Recent research findings have confirmed the assumptions that certain clinical practices and mandates for abortion procedures lead to very safe abortions (World Health Organization 30). This finding provides substantial support in favor of keeping the availability of legal and safe abortion options available to women who are determined to get an abortion. Research findings from 2013 also suggest that â€Å"where legislation allows abortion under broad indications, the incidence of and complications from unsafe abortion are typically lower where abortion is legally more restricted† (World Health Organization 17). Furthermore, the World Health Organization reports that â€Å"where abortion is legally more restricted or available on request, a woman’s likelihood of having an unintended pregnancy and seeking induced abortion is about the same† (17). Additionally, research findings from World Health Organization reports indicate that illegal abortion practices tend to be much less safe than legal abortion practices (23). The World Health Organization findings strongly suggest that women who seek abortion services are likely to engage in some form of abortion services even when such services are unsafe or illegal. These findings are not only applicable to the world, in general, but also apply to the United States specifically. The report by the World Health Organization on the rates of abortion in countries that impose strict abortion laws and those that have not shows that when countries tighten their restrictions on abortion the actual rates of abortion tend not to decrease substantially, meaning that women who seek abortions are still having abortions performed, even when such abortions are illegal and unsafe (22). These findings support the notion that the levels of restrictions on abortions in the United States should be decreased and the availability of and access to abortion services for women should be maximized, not minimized. The evidence presented here strongly suggests that women will be better off if abortion services are made widely available. Current restrictions on abortion services, particularly through state legislative actions, are making it much more difficult for women to find abortion clinics. Many abortion clinics have closed in many states, particularly red states. The political divide on this issue is leading to states polarizing,  with many states having a very high level of abortion clinic availability and many other states having a very low level of abortion clinic availability and access. However, the Supreme Court has already ruled on this issue. It is unconstitutional for any state to outright ban abortion or make it so difficult for a woman to receive an abortion that abortion is de facto banned, meaning that for all intends and purposes abortion is banned by the state. The states that are severely limiting women’s access to safe and legal abortion procedures are not only violating the Constitutional as interpreted by the Supreme Court, but are also harming women. The fact that women will continue to seek abortion procedures, even when no safe and legal abortion procedures are available means that women are willing to cause significant bodily risk to themselves to have an abortion. With this in mind, restricting access to abort ion is creating many more risky situations than was ever intended. It should be realized that further restricting safe and legal abortion procedures in any particular state is simply hurting the women who may be seeking abortions at some point in those states. Evidence presented earlier showed that legal abortion procedures are very safe now, which means that women who seek abortions can have access to safe abortion procedures, but only if the abortion procedures in the given state are low. In states with high abortion restrictions, many women will be denied access to safe abortion procedures, despite such procedures being protected by the Constitution. By not acting to bring down the restrictions on abortions that are harming women by putting them in risky situations and continuing to tighten such restrictions, policy makers are acting irresponsibility. The topic of abortion in public policy debates is typically highly controversial and divisive. Even so, the findings presented here show that because medical abortion is a highly feasible and healthy alternative to illegal and unhealthy abortion procedures. Thus, the availability of and access to legal medical abortion procedures should be increased. As shown above, research suggests that most women who seek means end their pregnancies tend to find ways to have abortions, legal otherwise. After all, a legal and safe medical abortion is just one of several options, many of which are unsafe. Without a viable and safe option for women seeking ways to end their pregnancy, many more women will engage in risky pregnancy ending behaviors, such as self-induced, non-medical, and illegal abortions. Minimizing the access to  abortion services has been a policy goal of the right, while the left seeks to increase access to medical abortion services. The ensuing public policy debate is framed by the Casey v. Carhart case which affirmed women’s right to abortion, limiting the restrictions that states can put on abortion clinics but leaving ambiguous exactly what restrictions are allowed. While states and local municipalities are not allowed to outlaw abortion clinics, they still enact and enforce severe restrictions on abortion clinics and abortion services. This creates a de facto ban on abortion in many states, particularly red states. This project has addressed the problem of the possibility of extreme unsafe risks to women seeking abortion services when access has been severely limited by state and local policies. This project presents recent empirical studies on the health outcomes of mothers after abortions, examining the safety, both physical and psychological, of abortions for mothers. It also presented the legal issues that frame the public policy abortion debate, with a particular focus on the Casey v. Carhart case, before turning to recent findings the prevalence of abortions in the United States. Abortion rates tend to remain steady regardless of whether there are several restrictions on abortions, which suggests that women who seek abortions are willing to engage in illegal and unsafe abortion procedures when no legal options are available. This crucial finding is well supported in by research and strongly supports the concl usion of this project: legal abortion services should be made widely available to populations across the United States. Works Cited Charles, Vignetta E., et al. â€Å"Abortion and long-term mental health outcomes: a systematic review of the evidence.† Contraception 78.6 (2008): 436-450. Creinin, Mitchell D., and Kristina Gemzell Danielsson. â€Å"Medical abortion in early pregnancy.† Management of Unintended and Abnormal Pregnancy: Comprehensive Abortion Care (2009): 111-134. Githens, Marianne, and Dorothy McBride Stetson, eds. Abortion politics: public policy in cross-cultural perspective. Routledge, 2013. Jones, Rachel K., et al. â€Å"Abortion in the United States: incidence and access to services, 2005.† Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 40.1 (2008): 6-16. Munk-Olsen, Trine, et al. â€Å"Induced first-trimester abortion and risk of mental disorder.† New England Journal of Medicine 364.4 (2011): 332-339. Pazol, Karen, et al. â€Å"Abortion surveillance–United States, 2009.† MMWR Surveillance Summit 61.8 (2012): 1-44. Rohlinger, Deana A. Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America. Cambridge University Press, 2014. Sedgh, Gilda, et al. â€Å"Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide.† The Lancet 37.5 (2007): 1338-1345. Siegel, Reva. â€Å"Dignity and the politics of protection: abortion restrictions under Casey/Carhart.† Yale Law Journal 117 (2008): 1694-1802. Warren, Mary Anne. â€Å"On the moral and legal status of abortion.† (2009). World Health Organization. â€Å"Unsafe abortion: global and regional estimates of incidence of unsafe abortion and associated mortality in 2008.† (2011).

Japans Genpei War, 1180 - 1185

Japan's Genpei War, 1180 - 1185 Date: 1180-1185 Location: Honshu and Kyushu, Japan Outcome: Minamoto clan prevails and almost wipes out Taira; Heian era ends and Kamakura shogunate begins The Genpei War (also romanized as Gempei War) in Japan was the first conflict between large samurai factions.  Although it happened nearly 1,000 years ago, people today still remember the names and accomplishments of some of the great warriors who fought in this civil war. Sometimes compared with Englands War of the Roses, the Genpei War featured two families fighting for power.  White was the clan color of the Minamoto, like the House of York, while the Taira used red like the Lancasters.  However, the Genpei War predated the Wars of the Roses by three hundred years.  In addition, the Minamoto and Taira were not fighting to take the throne of Japan; instead, each wanted to control the imperial succession. Lead-up to the War The Taira and Minamoto clans were rival powers behind the throne. They sought to control the emperors by having their own favorite candidates take the throne.  In the Hogen Disturbance of 1156 and the Heiji Disturbance of 1160, though, it was the Taira who came out on top.   Both families had daughters who had married into the imperial line.  However, after the Taira victories in the disturbances, Taira no Kiyomori became the Minister of State; as a result, he was able to ensure that his daughters three-year-old son became the next emperor in March of 1180.  It was the enthronement of little Emperor Antoku that led the Minamoto to revolt. War Breaks Out On May 5, 1180, Minamoto Yoritomo and his favored candidate for the throne, Prince Mochihito, sent out a call to war.  They rallied samurai families related to or allied with the Minamoto, as well as warrior monks from various Buddhist monasteries.  By June 15, Minister Kiyomori had issued a warrant for his arrest, so Prince Mochihito was forced to flee Kyoto and seek refuge in the monastery of Mii-dera.  With thousands of Taira troops marching toward the monastery, the prince and 300 Minamoto warriors raced south toward Nara, where additional warrior monks would reinforce them. The exhausted prince had to stop to rest, however, so the Minamoto forces took refuge with the monks at the easily defensible monastery of Byodo-in.  They hoped that monks from Nara would arrive to reinforce them before the Taira army did.  Just in case, however, they tore the planks from the only bridge across the river to Byodo-in. At first light the next day, June 20, the Taira army marched quietly up to Byodo-in, hidden by thick fog.  The Minamoto suddenly heard the Taira war-cry  and replied with their own.  A fierce battle followed, with monks and samurai firing arrows through the mist at one another.  Soldiers from the Tairas allies, the Ashikaga, forded the river and pressed the attack.  Prince Mochihito tried to escape to Nara in the chaos, but the Taira caught up with him and executed him.  The Nara monks marching toward Byodo-in heard that they were too late to help the Minamoto, and turned back.  Minamoto Yorimasa, meanwhile, committed the first classical seppuku in history, writing a death poem on his war-fan, and then cutting open his own abdomen. It seemed that the Minamoto revolt and thus the Genpei War had come to an abrupt end.  In vengeance, the Taira sacked and burned the monasteries that had offered aid to the Minamoto, slaughtering thousands of monks and burning Kofuku-ji and Todai-ji in Nara to the ground. Yoritomo Takes Over The leadership of the Minamoto clan passed to the 33-year-old Minamoto no Yoritomo, who was living as a hostage in the home of a Taira-allied family.  Yoritomo soon learned that there was a bounty on his head.  He organized some local Minamoto allies, and escaped from the Taira, but lost most of his small army in the Battle of Ishibashiyama on September 14.  Yoritomo escaped with his life, fleeing into the woods with Taira pursuers close behind.   Yoritomo made it to the town of Kamakura, which was solidly Minamoto territory.  He called in reinforcements from all of the allied families in the area.  On November 9, 1180, at the so-called Battle of the Fujigawa (Fuji River), the Minamoto and allies faced an over-extended Taira army.  With poor leadership and long supply lines, the Taira decided to withdraw back to Kyoto without offering a fight.   A hilarious and likely exaggerated account of the events at Fujigawa in the Heiki Monogatari claims that a flock of water-fowl on the river marshes was started into flight in the middle of the night.  Hearing the thunder of their wings, the Taira soldiers panicked and fled, grabbing bows without arrows or taking their arrows but leaving their bows.  The record even claims that Taira troops were mounting tethered animals and whipping them up so that they galloped round and round the post to which they were tied. Whatever the true cause of the Taira retreat, there followed a two-year lull in the fighting.  Japan faced a series of droughts and floods that destroyed the rice and barley crops in 1180 and 1181.  Famine and disease ravaged the countryside; an estimated 100,000 died.  Many people blamed the Taira, who had slaughtered monks and burned down temples.  They believed that the Taira had brought down the wrath of the gods with their impious actions, and noted that Minamoto lands did not suffer as badly as those controlled by the Taira. Fighting began again in July of 1182, and the Minamoto had a new champion called Yoshinaka, a rough-hewn cousin of Yoritomos, but an excellent general.  As Minamoto Yoshinaka won skirmishes against the Taira  and considered marching on Kyoto, Yoritomo grew increasingly concerned about his cousins ambitions.  He sent an army against Yoshinaka in the spring of 1183, but the two sides managed to negotiate a settlement rather than fighting one another. Fortunately for them, the Taira were in disarray.  They had conscripted a huge army, marching forth on May 10, 1183, but were so disorganized that their food ran out just nine miles east of Kyoto.  The officers ordered the conscripts to plunder food as they passed from their own provinces, which were just recovering from the famine.  This prompted mass desertions. As they entered Minamoto territory, the Taira divided their army into two forces.  Minamoto Yoshinaka managed to lure the larger section into a narrow valley; at the Battle of Kurikara, according to the epics, Seventy thousand horsemen of the Taira perish[ed], buried in this one deep valley; the mountain streams ran with their blood... This would prove the turning point in the Genpei War. Minamoto In-Fighting Kyoto erupted in panic at the news of the Taira defeat in Kurikara.  On August 14, 1183, the Taira fled the capital.  They took along most of the imperial family, including the child emperor, and the crown jewels.  Three days later, Yoshinakas branch of the Minamoto army marched into Kyoto, accompanied by the former Emperor Go-Shirakawa. Yoritomo was nearly as panicked as the Taira were by his cousins triumphal march.  However, Yoshinaka soon earned the hatred of the citizens of Kyoto, allowing his troops to pillage and rob people regardless of their political affiliation.  In February of 1184, Yoshinaka heard that Yoritomos army was coming to the capital to expel him, led by another cousin, Yoritomos courtly younger brother Minamoto Yoshitsune.  Yoshitsunes men quickly dispatched Yoshinakas army.  Yoshinakas wife, the famous female samurai Tomoe Gozen, is said to have escaped after taking a head as a trophy.  Yoshinaka himself was beheaded while trying to escape on February 21, 1184. End of the War and Aftermath: What remained of the Taira loyalist army retreated into their heartland.  It took the Minamoto some time to mop them up.  Almost a year after Yoshitsune ousted his cousin from Kyoto, in February of 1185, the Minamoto seized the Taira fortress and make-shift capital at Yashima.   On March 24, 1185, the final major battle of the Genpei War took place.  It was a naval battle in the Shimonoseki Strait, a half-day fight called the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Minamoto no Yoshitsune commanded his clans fleet of 800 ships, while Taira no Munemori led the Taira fleet, 500 strong.  The Taira were more familiar with the tides and currents in the area, so initially were able to surround the larger Minamoto fleet and pin them down with long-range archery shots.  The fleets closed in for hand-to-hand combat, with samurai leaping aboard their opponents ships and fighting with long and short swords.  As the battle wore on, the turning tide forced the Taira ships up against the rocky coastline, pursued by the Minamoto fleet. When the tides of battle turned against them, so to speak, many of the Taira samurai jumped into the sea to drown rather than being killed by the Minamoto.  The seven-year-old Emperor Antoku and his grandmother also jumped in and perished.  Local people believe that small crabs that live in the Shimonoseki Strait are possessed by the ghosts of the Taira samurai; the crabs have a pattern on their shells that looks like a samurais face. After the Genpei War, Minamoto Yoritomo formed the first bakufu and ruled as Japans first shogun from his capital at Kamakura.  The Kamakura shogunate was the first of various bakufu that would rule the country until 1868  when the Meiji Restoration returned political power to the emperors. Ironically, within thirty years of the Minamoto victory in the Genpei War, political power would be usurped from them by regents (shikken) from the Hojo clan.  And who were they?  Well, the Hojo were a branch of the Taira family. Sources Arnn, Barbara L.  Local Legends of the Genpei War: Reflections of Medieval Japanese History, Asian Folklore Studies, 38:2 (1979), pp. 1-10. Conlan, Thomas.  The Nature of Warfare in Fourteenth-Century Japan: The Record of Nomoto Tomoyuki, Journal for Japanese Studies, 25:2 (1999), pp. 299-330. Hall, John W.  The Cambridge History of Japan, Vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (1990). Turnbull, Stephen.  The Samurai: A Military History, Oxford: Routledge (2013).

Connote and Denote - Commonly Confused Words

Connote and Denote - Commonly Confused Words The verb connote means to suggest, imply, or signify indirectly. The verb denote means to indicate, serve as a sign of (something), or signify directly. Examples: The word train, which denotes transportation, also connotes old-fashioned travel, perhaps the nineteenth century by association, maybe a sort of romanticism of traveling, even mystery, exoticism, and intrigue, as in the Orient Express; or in another vein, slowness, noise, pollution, crowds, and the like.(Mark Gottdiener, The Theming of America, 1997)[I]n English and other languages, the high-front vowel ee often seems to connote small, as in teeny-weeny.(Jack Rosenthal, From Arf to Zap. The New York Times, June 30, 1985)Contrary to the popular misuse of the term to denote a computer criminal, a hacker is someone who solves a problem in a clever or little-known way.(Adam Pash and Gina Trapani, Lifehacker, 2011)[T]he Lenovo rep used the term rip and flip to denote how the screen can be removed and reconfigured. I’m not sure whether the term will stick, but that’s basically the near future of portable computing: your screen detaches from the keyboard to be used as a tablet for fun or mobility, and then docks back into the keyboard when you need to do some work.(Doug Aamoth, The Phrase ‘Rip and Flip’ Basically Sums Up the Near Future of Portable Computing. Time, January 7, 2013) Usage Notes: A word is said to connote something if it suggests or implies secondary meanings/associations/emotions additional to (or other than) its primary or literal meaning. A word is said to denote something if it indicates, signifies or, simply, means it. . . .To use connote for denote is a common looseness; to use denote for connote is plain wrong.(B.A. Phythian, A Concise Dictionary of Confusables. John Wiley Sons, 1990)Denote is rarely if ever misused. Connote, however, is becoming rarer by the day in its traditional sense, illustrated here: In careful usage, notoriety carries a connotation of wichedness, evil, or gravely bad conduct. James J. Kirkpatrick, A Little Refresher Course, Tulsa World, 25 Nov. 1996, at A8. . . .And connotate. *Connotate is a needless variant of connote.(Bryan A. Garner, Garners Modern American Usage. Oxford University Press, 2009)The confusion lies in these signifying senses, for denote describes the relation between the expression and the thing it conventiona lly names, whereas connote describes the relation between the word and the images or associations it evokes:  ...the term leisure, as here used, does not connote indolence or quiescence. - Thorstein Veblen, The Theory of the Leisure Class, The American Heritage Guide to Contemporary Usage and Style, Houghton Mifflin, 2005. Practice Exercises (a) Odd–even pricing (or psychological pricing) means pricing at odd-numbered prices to _____ a bargain and pricing at even-numbered prices to imply quality.(C.W. Lamb et al., Marketing, 2009)(b) Ladies and gentlemen, a big hand for the letter X. Its the most versatile letter in the alphabet. A singular X can _____ a kiss, the location of buried treasure, or a mistake in a schoolboy essay.(Charlie Brooker, Opportunity Knocked. The Guardian, September 10, 2004)(c) I don’t doubt that the name [Redskins] was intended to be complimentary rather than mockingit was surely supposed to _____ skill, bravery and a warrior spirit. But intentions are irrelevant if a large proportion of the group that it’s honoring consider the name a racial slur.(Pat Meyers, Style Conversational Week 1037. The Washington Post, September 5, 2013) Answers (a) Odd–even pricing (or psychological pricing) means pricing at odd-numbered prices to  connote  a bargain and pricing at even-numbered prices to imply quality.(C.W. Lamb et al.,  Marketing, 2009)(b) Ladies and gentlemen, a big hand for the letter X. Its the most versatile letter in the alphabet. A singular X can  denote  a kiss, the location of buried treasure, or a mistake in a schoolboy essay.(Charlie Brooker, Opportunity Knocked.  The Guardian, September 10, 2004)(c) I don’t doubt that the name [Redskins]  was  intended to be complimentary rather than mockingit was surely supposed to  connote  skill, bravery and a warrior spirit. But intentions are irrelevant if a large proportion of the group that it’s honoring consider the name a racial slur.(Pat Meyers, Style Conversational Week 1037.  The Washington Post, September 5, 2013)

Do Corporate Incentive Programs Pay Thesis Proposal

Do Corporate Incentive Programs Pay - Thesis Proposal Example According to a survey conducted by Incentive Federation in 2005, organizations implement incentive programs with aim to: boost morale; show concern for workers; generate leads; improve customer service; improve quality and productivity; foster teamwork (Incentive Performance Center, 2008). Of these, increase in workers’ productivity and efficiency is an important corollary of the corporate incentive programs. A Russell Index study on publicly held stocks of Fortune magazine’s list of â€Å"100 Best Companies to Work For† observed that since 1998, these companies have returned to the investors five times that they could have earned by a broader market index, such as the S&P 500 (Incentive Performance Center, 2008). This undoubtedly exemplifies the relationship between â€Å"best places to work for† and return on investment (ROI) viewed from the stand point of investors. But does the same relationship hold good for productivity and efficiency; more important ly in organisations that are outside the gambit of Fortune magazine’s list of 100 best companies to work for; though, the researcher personally believes it to be. Further, does â€Å"best-place-to-work-for† include corporate incentive? Therefore, it becomes necessary to empirically verify that corporate incentive programs invariably do have a strong positive correlation with workers’ productivity and overall organisational efficiency.... This undoubtedly exemplifies the relationship between â€Å"best places to work for† and return on investment (ROI) viewed from the stand point of investors. But does the same relationship hold good for productivity and efficiency; more importantly in organisations that are outside the gambit of Fortune magazine’s list of 100 best companies to work for; though, the researcher personally believes it to be. Further, does â€Å"best-place-to-work-for† include corporate incentive? Therefore, it becomes necessary to empirically verify that corporate incentive programs invariably do have a strong positive correlation with workers’ productivity and overall organisational efficiency. In other words, do corporate incentive programs work well in enhancing workers’ productivity and organizational efficiency? It also becomes necessary to understand about the elements that are contained in the recipe of â€Å"best-place-to-work-for† and their interrelatio nships; and how they are correlated? Literature Review In pursuit of this research question, it is intended that a thorough understanding of the current conditions in the field of study is made so that besides being familiar with the studies undertaken so far and current thinking on relevant issues, the researcher is also aware of the general problems and opportunities existing in this field of research. Nonetheless, the necessity of identifying the key gears of this study and developing sufficient insight on how they work cannot be overestimated. The researcher identified a three-component assembly for this research: (1) corporate incentives, (2) workers’ productivity, and (3) organisational

Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 17

Reflection - Essay Example According to Fairman (2012), well trained nurses are the need of an hour for the industry to play its due role in the betterment of the society, because world population is increasing. On the other side, death rate is decreasing; so, when we take this into account, the net impact is growing number of patients in the medical facilities. The humanity requires well equipped medical staff to meet the future healthcare needs; I am looking forward to become an asset to my field, by training in the best way for the future. I need to become a highly competent medical professional, who could help people in healing. In the process of patient recovery, medication alone is not sufficient; I should also be able to demonstrate compassion towards those who are suffering. In this way, patients will realize that they are important and their will to live will increase significantly, however, this compassion will have to be kept within the limits of professionalism. In the future of nursing, my ability to lead, will be the most crucial attribute in my career (Fights, 2012), because at that time, technology will eliminate unnecessary jobs. As a result, every individual will be placed strategically in various departments of the hospital; so, everyone will enjoy certain degree of job autonomy, but in parallel responsibility will also mount significantly. English nursing association launched a training program for their nurses, to foster skills that are needed in the future. This particular program includes training of leadership in a practical scenario, multitasking and modern life saving techniques and medication (Brearley, 2012). This program also focuses on giving medical staff higher degree of job autonomy, which cannot be done, without decentralization of the authority within healthcare organizations. However, the role of nursing staff is going to be extremely significant in the coming days, because doctors will