Grand Theory Written Assignment Essay

A grand theory is a systematic construction for the nature of nursing that has a clear mission and goals for nursing care. There are four categories of schools of thought within the realm of grand theories to include needs theories, interaction theories, outcome theories, and lastly caring/becoming theories. In the following tables I have highlighted a theorist from each school of thought and briefly discussed their educational background, my perception of their definition and philosophy of nursing, and the goal/purpose of their theory. Needs theorist Faye Abdellah Educational Background Faye Abdellah received her nursing education at Fitkin Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Nepture, N.J. and graduated in 1942. She then went on to study chemistry at Rutgers University prior to receiving her Bachelor of Science, Master of Arts, and Doctor of Education degrees from the Teacher’s College of Columbia University, N.Y. Retrieved from http://fayeabdellah.blogspot.com/p/backgroud-publications.html Philosophy of nursing According to Meleis, her philosophy of nursing includes the use of problem solving approach to deal with 21 distinct problems related to needs of patients. She described a problem as a condition faced by the patient for which a nurse can assist, overtly and covertly. This is done by preventative care (to include hygiene, safety, exercise, rest, sleep, and body mechanics), sustenal care (psychological), remedial care (oxygen, fluid, nutrition, and elimination), and finally restorative care (coping with the illness and life adjustment). Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 162-164. Definition of nursing â€Å"Nursing is based on an art and science that moulds the attitudes, intellectual competencies, and technical skills of the individual nurse into the desire and ability to help people, sick or well, cope with their health  needs† as stated by Faye Abdellah in her Twenty-one Nursing Problems theory (1960). Goal/purpose of theory To help the individual or patient meet health needs and adjust to their health problems. Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 164. Interaction theorist Hildegard Peplau Educational Background Hildegard Peplau graduated from the diploma nursing program Pottstown, PA in 1931 and went on to be a staff nurse. Peplau then was recommended to work as a school nurse at Bennington College located in Vermont. While working there she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Interpersonal Psychology in 1943. From there she went on to earn her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from Teacher’s College of Columbia University. In addition she became certified in psychoanalysis thru the William Alanson White Institution of New York City. Retrieved from http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Hildegard-Peplau.php Philosophy of nursing Peplau’s philosophy of nursing focused on harnessing energy psychological disturbances such as anxiety and tension to define understanding with patients and deal with the problem at hand. She felt the goals of nursing included developing patients personalities to make illness an eventful experience. She felt nurses need to develop problem-solving skills via the interpersonal process (educational, therapeutic, and collaborative). Definition of nursing Peplau’s concept and view of nursing is that it is a therapeutic, interpersonal, goal oriented process that is a healing art. It involves recognizing and assisting the patient (individual who is ill or in need of health care) in achieving a common goal. This requires the nurse and patient to build a trusting relationship by way of orientation, identification, exploitation, and resolution (the phases of growing an interpersonal relationship). Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 165-166. She identified the many roles that nurses must take in order to have a meaningful relationship with  patients and that nurses must understand the relationship to provide good care. Goal/purpose of theory The ultimate goal of Peplau’s theory was to understand the principles of interpersonal relationships between the nurse and patient in order to facilitate problem solving skills. This is to be done by using education and positive interactions. She went on to explain the seven nursing roles (stranger, resource, teacher, counselor, surrogate, and technical expert). These roles can be applied in different situations to provide the best care possible and goal attainment. Retrieved from http://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/peplau-theory-of-interpersonal-relations.php Outcomes theorist Callista Roy Educational Background Sister Callista Roy graduated with her first degree; Bachelor of Arts in Nursing from Mount St. Mary’s College in California in 1963. Then in 1966, she went on to obtain her Master’s Degree in Pediatric Nursing from the University of California. In addition she earned a Master’s Degree in Sociology in 1973 and Doctoratal degree in Sociology in 1977. Retrieved from http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Sister-Callista-Roy.php Philosophy of nursing From what I can see from Roy’s writing’s she believes that the focus of nursing to her is a focus on clients’ stimuli and the effect it has on them for adaptation. Adaption modes include physiologic, self-concept, role function, and interdependence. Goals of nursing include promoting these changes/adaption in the above mentioned areas by way of manipulating the stimuli (focal, residual, and contextual) by way of positive coping. ). Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 169-172. Definition of nursing Callista Roy is known to believe that nursing is a system of knowledge based on theory that views the client (sick or potentially sick) as a biopsychosocial being. Clients adapt to changes within their environment and as nurses we provide care through the nursing process to help promote  adaption to state of well-being. In order to do this we must ensure that the client have effective coping mechanisms and responses to avoid disruption in the integrity of the client. Goal/purpose of theory The goal and purpose of Roy’s theory is to promote client adaptation by nursing interventions such as facilitation of adaptive tasks via counseling, effective nurse-client communication, health education, active manipulation, support, and by identifying resources for the client. Roy states that by adapting that the patient is then freed for â€Å"him to respond to other stimuli which may be present† The Roy adaptation model: Comment (as sited by Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 494. Caring/Human Becoming theorist Rosemarie Parse Educational Background Rosemarie Parse initially was educated at Duquesne University of Pittsburgh. She then went on to get her MSN and Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh. Philosophy of nursing The goal of nursing to Parse appears to be co-creating meaning and finding way of being. This is done by not focusing on the illness or problem in itself, but by transforming in new ways deliberately through the human universe process. Nurses are to illuminate meaning, synchronize rhythms and mobilize transcendence by connecting and truly understanding and being present with patients. Decision making is done together with the patient and nurse. Meleis, A.I. (2012), p. 172-174. Definition of nursing Parse’s definition of nursing is that it is a human science and art that uses knowledge to help people. Nurses should not focus on fixing problems, but rather view the patient as a whole living experiences through their environment which help them evolve. She believes that nurses must help guide patients co-create their own health and deal with illness. Goal/purpose of theory The goal or purpose of Parse’s Human Becoming Theory of Nursing is to focus of the quality of life from each separate person’s perspective. It does not focus on bio-medical or bio-psycho-social-spiritual approaches as with most  theories, but instead views the patient as a person and combination of all aspects. Retrieved from http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Rosemarie-Rizzo-Parse.php I agree with all of the above listed schools of thought and have incorporated each in my own personal nursing care practice. Abdellah thoughts that nursing is centered on problem solving on the needs of patients in order to assist them in restoring health are near and dear to my heart. Depending on the field you work in this can include a multitude of cares. I personally work mainly in obstetrics and medical aesthetics. In the obstetric realm I provide care to help patients have a happy and healthy delivery of a child whereas in my medical spa my goal is help clients improve their aesthetic appearance, thus helping them feel more attractive and confident. Both have a goal, although widely different. This school of thought mostly is incorporated in my obstetric care as I assist patients to understand and incorporate preventative care, sustenal care, remedial care, and obviously restorative care as becoming a parent is a huge adjustment in life. Peplau brought out the importance of building a therapeutic interpersonal relationship with patients in order to facilitate their skills in coping with the problem at hand. Peplau’s interaction school of thought is also very congruent with my nursing philosophy as I feel it is of upmost importance to build a solid trusting interpersonal relationship with patients/clients no matter what area of nursing one is working in. Without doing so, the patient/client will not believe and trust what we are trying to accomplish with them. The event of birthing a child and learning how to care for them is a very personal process where the nurse-client relationship is of upmost importance. Also in aesthetics the client must feel comfortable with me as a nurse in order to trust me in helping them attain their goals. Roy’s theory is seeding in the outcomes school of thought which is also easy to incorporate into nursing care as adaption is required with all processes of life. As nurses we truly do help our clients adapt to their health  status and can assist them to become able to care for themselves independently. In obstetrics parents must adapt to having and caring for a newborn infant. The mother has been thru months of adaption to being pregnant, and now must instantly step into a new role that is often times scary and confusing! As a nurse I am responsible to ensure that they are prepared and adapting to this change prior to discharge. Lastly the caring/human becoming school of thought is probably the most utilized type of grand theory that I personally use. Parse points out that we should not focus on â€Å"fixing† the problem, but concentrate on the whole of the patient including experiences lived and how this has helped them evolve. Basically we must think of the patients’ quality of life, especially from the patients’ point of view. This can be applied in all fields of nursing as we strive to help patients have the quality of life that they want and deserve. In conclusion I’d like to think that as a nurse I practice from a variety of theories to incorporate the best, quality care possible for patients no matter what the purpose of treatment may be. I try to tailor my approaches taking into account their medical history, environment, and family. Nursing is ever changing and so is the patient population. We must as nurses continue to educate ourselves and evolve with time, never becoming stagnant. References Abdellah, F. G., Beland, I. I., Martin, A., & Matheney, R. V. (1960). Patient-centered approaches in nursing. New York: Macmillan. Meleis, A.I. (2012). Theoretical Nursing Development & Progress, Fifth Edition. Philadelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. http://fayeabdellah.blogspot.com/p/backgroud-publications.html http://nursing-theory.org/theories-and-models/peplau-theory-of-interpersonal-relations.php http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Hildegard-Peplau.php http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Rosemarie-Rizzo-Parse.php http://nursing-theory.org/nursing-theorists/Sister-Callista-Roy.php

John Quincy Adams: Domestic and Foreign Policy Essay

Adams believed strongly that it was constitutional and appropriate for the federal government to sponsor broad programs to improve American society and prosperity. He backed Henry Clay’s proposed â€Å"American System,† envisioning a national marketplace in which North and South, town and country, were tied together by trade and exchange. To realize this vision, Adams proposed to Congress an ambitious program involving the construction of roads, canals, educational institutions, and other initiatives. Lacking congressional allies, however, Adams was unable to maneuver most of these programs into law. Congress also blocked many of his foreign initiatives. His support of the so-called Tariff of Abominations of 1828, which protected American interests but caused higher prices, cost him popularity among the voters. John Quincy Adams’s administration achieved a mixed record in foreign affairs during his presidency. On the one hand, it substantially opened up trade through commercial treaties with a variety of nations, including Austria, Brazil, the Central American federation, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, which granted the United States reciprocal trading rights. Adams arranged to extend indefinitely a commercial convention with Britain and resolved outstanding questions regarding British seizure of property during the War of 1812. On the other hand, President Adams was prevented from resolving the ongoing issue of trade with the British West Indies, and rivals in Congress were determined to deny him any mark of success and thwarted his other efforts. For example, when the new Latin American republics, which had formerly been Spanish colonies, convened a congress in Panama to promote cooperation in the Western Hemisphere, they logically asked for delegates to attend from the American President who had authored the Monroe Doctrine. When Adams requested funding to send two delegates, southern congressmen strongly objected. The new Latin American nations had outlawed slavery, and southerners feared that the conference might call for a united stand in favor of emancipation everywhere in the hemisphere. Others did not like the idea of American ministers’ meeting with black and mixed-race foreigners on equal terms. Jacksonian supporters in Congress eagerly joined with southerners to withhold funding for the delegation until the convention had ended. Also, Adams had resolved many foreign affairs issues that might have engaged him as President when he served as Monroe’s secretary of state. He had already secured the disarmament of the Great Lakes, fishing rights off of Canada, a U.S.-Canadian boundary, the accession of Florida, and a U.S.-Spanish border west of the Mississippi River giving America strong claim to the Pacific Coast in the Northwest. These were all issues that previously had brought the nation into open conflict with Britain. The resolution of these concerns, which had dominated American foreign policy for so many years, meant fewer projects for the State Department to tackle during the Adams administration.

Culinary History of the Republic of Moldova Essay

Culinary History of the Republic of Moldova - Essay Example Each influences the other; each tries to outsmart the competing system by indigenous and imaginative methods of preparing dishes. The dishes are constantly improved and their contents updated on the basis of inputs provided by the clients. Once upon a time, The Republic of Moldova (Republica Moldova) was part of the ex-Romanian provinces. At present they have independent territorial status. It is difficult to single out the exclusive Moldovan cooking method. The cuisine incorporates elements from different cooking traditions adopted from the neighboring countries. Lot of importance is given to the details in the cuisine. For example, emphasis is on the right amount of spices as for taste and also for coloring the dish. The visual presentation of the dish is important. Some of their traditional dishes have the special cooking method. â€Å"The diversity of the vegetables and cereals found in Moldova is also noticed in the delicious dishes belonging to their cuisine. †¦ Meat is one of the main elements of most of the Moldavian dishes and cure and smoked hams are often parts of delicious dishes.†(Moldavian Cuisine†¦.) Geography of a country has a direct bearing on the cuisine. Human beings eat mainly in response to the hunger due to the demands of geographical conditions. Moldova is a landlocked country between Romania to the West and Ukraine in other directions (North, East and South) This small country is situated in the Eastern Europe on 47 N, 29 E. Its area is 33,700 sq km. It is close to Black sea and this makes the summers warm and winters mild. Just like in a desert area one finds sand, sand and sand again, in Moldova one sees hills, hills and hills again and nothing else around. The hilly plain includes three physical geographic zones: forest, forest-steppe and steppe. By no means a rich country, 25% of the people earn less than $2 per day. The biggest part of the country lies between two rivers, the Dniester and the Prut. This is one of the

Individual project criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Individual project criminal Justice - Essay Example Contact is established when an individual comes in contact with a member of law enforcement, generally the police. The individual is, by virtue of the legal construct embedded in the Constitution, presumed innocent of wrongdoing until evidence is given that removes all reasonable doubt as to guilt. Hence, certain conduct is forbidden, including searches of person or property without cause. Although exceptions apply, in general law enforcement must have probable cause to believe that a crime has been (or is being) committed, that the individual has evidence of that crime upon his or her person or property, and that such evidence will show the individual guilty of that crime. Oftentimes, this requires a warrant, sworn to by a member of law enforcement before a member of the judiciary. The next two steps, investigation and arrest, are noted as occasionally reversing places (i.e. an arrest is made and then the investigation occurs). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (6th edition, 2003) defines the arrest as the "seizure and detention of a person, either to bring him before a court body or official, or to otherwise secure the administration of the law." Reasonable and justifiable force and restraint are permitted during the arrest; anyone taking such actions in a criminal matter may, however, be forced to defend said actions before the court. Investigation, on the other hand, is the determination and procurement of evidence, including formal identification of the suspect, the cautioning of the suspect prior to questioning as to the rights he or she maintains under law, and the documentation of all evidence and cause. Once complete, the results are released for trial of the accused. The trial phase, or bringing of evidence against one accused of a crime, can be further subdivided into multiple stages. In totality, however, it is the phase in which the accused is permitted to know the evidence collected against him or her, is allowed to cross-examine witnesses that testify against him or her, and is allowed to mount a personal defense against the crime. Depending upon locale, jurisdiction and inclination of the attorneys involved in the case, this presentation may or may not be made before a jury, although the right to trial by jury is available to the accused should he or she desire. Following the trial, the accused is either acquitted or convicted of the crime(s); if convicted, a judge pronounces sentence upon him or her. The accused has the right, in certain cases, to mount an appeal for judicial review, either of the sentence given or of the trial. Although most such appeals derive from procedural errors, some few come from the nature of the sentence imposed (i.e. capital punishment sentences are almost invariably remanded for appellate review). Evidence Evidence is the sum of the matters of fact that a party to a lawsuit offers to prove or disprove an issue in the case; in general, it may be either direct or circumstantial. If direct, it directly indicates the presence of the accused or the action committed; if circumstantial, it relates a portion of the circumstances in which the crime took place and indicates by its totality that the accused committed the crime. However, evidence can also be divided into seven types under the common law: 1) testimony, 2) documentary, 3) physical, 4) exculpatory, 5) scientific,

The character of Othello Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The character of Othello - Essay Example He is proud, and a good husband, but he is vulnerable to the vicious slanders of others who resent his presence among them. Othello himself is obviously deeply loved by Desdemona, and he claims that â€Å"She loved me for the dangers I had passed† (Act I, Scene 3), which Desdemona agrees with. He is highly thought of as a soldier, and apart from Iago, most people respect him for his achievements. Part of the crisis that occurs in this play has to do with the social context of a non-Christian outsider coming in to Western society and taking on high position in court and the hand in marriage of a desirable white woman. Diyanni puts the blame for Othello’s downfall squarely on the influence of Iago: â€Å"Othello’s language later in the play reveals his decline from a courageous and confident leader to a jealous lover distracted to madness by Iago’s insinuations about his wife’s infidelity† (DiYanni, 2004, p. 927). It is true that Othello is dri ven to distraction by the second-hand tales of assignations between Desdemona and her alleged lover Cassio. One criticism that could be made of Othello is that he is not a very good judge of character. He is duped by Iago, and he accepts the account of events that he is given, and the piece of evidence in the form of the missing napkin is enough to convince him that something untoward has happened. The way he goes about finding out the truth is deceitful, since he makes up an excuse to ask Desdemona about the napkin, and this shows that he is gullible, and easily led when it comes to matters of romance. Desdemona is a feisty woman, but she shows admirable deference to her husband’s authority. It is a pity that he did not trust her word and give her the same loyalty and respect that she gave to him. The real tragedy of Othello’s character is that he jumps to a wrong conclusion and kills his wife in haste, not because he hates her, but because he loves her, and he has bu ilt his whole life, and his military career, on being a good and upright husband to her. Seeing her run off with someone else would make other people laugh at him, and he is extremely angry, even to the point of cursing her with the words â€Å"Damn her, lewd minx! Oh damn her, damn her!† (Act III, Scene 4). He is deeply hurt, because he thinks she has deceived him, despite all their vows and his absolute loyalty and commitment to her. There is a violent side to Othello, and he imagines all kinds of ways of killing her, with an emphasis on destroying her beauty and emphasizing his power over her. Although this reaction is very extreme, it is also understandable, and even in modern times the newspapers are full of stories of masculine rage being taken out on former partners when relationships break up. It is very human to feel this way, and the audience can identify at least with how he feels, even if they do not agree with what he does about that feeling. There is evidence in the last scene that Othello comes to realize his error, not just in distrusting his wife, but also in thinking ill of other people involved in the story. Even though he is not a Christian, he displays all the features of a Christian penance, asking forgiveness of Cassio, and admitting that he has done something terribly wrong. He mentions the fact that he

Organizational Design Research Worksheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Design Research Worksheet - Essay Example National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was the first company to implement a formal matrix structure. They implemented the matrix system in their space program because it needed to simultaneously implement different projects at the same time. A matrix structure was the best option for NASA because unlike other structures, the matrix structure was less bureaucratic, slow-moving or hierarchical. It also enabled them to make every department independent of each other by equipping them with their own staffing and financing resources (Teitel, 2002). This defied the old models that had a single department to cater for the entire organization making it mandatory for one to consult and await approval before embarking on any project. Despite the matrix structure benefits, there existed some downsides for the organization. Some employees found themselves reporting to more than one superior at the same time making it real confusing for them to execute decisions which overlapped. This brought about a lot of problems for both the superiors and the subordinates. There was also duplication of work within the organization because all projects seemed to be self-sufficient in running all their affairs including the preparation of paperwork. This meant that the organization had many departments performing a similar function for example all projects had their own finance department. Despite the cons of this structure the pros outweighed them and the model has been seen to be adopted by many more organizations since its formal implementation by NASA. NASA was therefore successful in the implementation of this design (John, 2008). The most traditional of all the models of organization structures was the functional structure. It is sometimes referred to as the bureaucratic structure because of the existence of a rigid chain of command. Of all the structures it is the least complicated and easiest to understand. It is characterized by the existence

Speech and vebal communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Speech and vebal communication - Essay Example It is because of this dynamic ability of people to communicate sans words that a speaker must know and understand how interpersonal dynamics work in relation to the message that he wishes to deliver to them. By using non-verbal communication tools, he should be able to create a rapport with his listener and ensure that he has caught their attention and will be able to hold on to it for the full duration of his speech. Although it may be difficult to do at first, this class has taught me that it is not impossible to accomplish. Provided that the speaker is willing to take the time to make sure that he successfully implements the various facets of interpersonal dynamics within his speech delivery. The interpersonal dynamic is highly dependent upon the type of speech being delivered though. That means that a person who is supposed to deliver a eulogy should not be referring to business dealings within his speech. Having learned such, I now understand that the choice of speech must first be done in order to successfully create the type of interpersonal dynamic that one wishes to have once he begins interacting with his audience as he delivers his speech. But not all speeches are created equal. That means that the speaker must be able to clearly deliver his speech based upon his belief and personal conviction on the topic or central theme of the speech he is delivering. If his arguments are not engaging and thought provoking, then the speech will end up falling upon deaf ears. It will turn into wasted time for both the speaker and the listeners. That is but one of the many pitfalls that plague the speakers of today. If he is unable to connect with his audience, maintain that connection, and convince them of his sentiments then that speaker has failed in his attempt to deliver a highly effective speech. There are many reasons that a person must deliver a speech. There are also a hundred and one reasons as to

Law & Morality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law & Morality - Essay Example Stephen argues that such exceptions make Mill’s principle empty (Koons, 2003) but Higton (n.d.) clarifies that Mill refers to societies so backward that they are incapable of understanding the harm principle, let alone be responsible enough to apply them. Such classes lack the level of education and understanding which would enable them to benefit from the Harm principle. The principle implies that if I do not wear crash helmet it does not cause harm to anyone so the state .. The definition of the word ‘harm’ has been considered vague and lacking in preciseness. Koons says that Mill allows the state to compel members of the society to aid others but it includes only direct harm and not the harm that I do others in harming myself. Trying to draw a line of distinction between offensive act and harmful one can lead to a dilemma. A person running naked on the street can be interpreted as an offensive act by some but a harmful act towards children by others. Homosexual act behind doors is more offensive behind doors than heterosexual act in public. Thus if an offensive act is done in privacy with full consciousness of the outcome, then it complies with the norms of the harm principle but this has again been a cause of controversy as people contend that there should be no distinction between public and private actions. An act in private can equally and adversely affect the society but Feinberg states that causing offense is less serious than harmin g someone so the penalty imposed for an offensive act should not be as heavy as that of harm (Mill, 2002).

Katherine Mansfield Essay Example for Free

Katherine Mansfield Essay She was born in 1888 in Wellington, a town labeled â€Å"the empire city† by its white inhabitants, who modeled themselves on British life and relished their city’s bourgeois respectability. [1] At an early age, Mansfield witnessed the disjuncture between the colonial and the native, or Maori, ways of life, prompting her to criticize the treatment of the Maoris in several diary entries and short stories. [2] Mansfield’s biographer, Angela Smith, writes: â€Å"It was her childhood experience of living in a society where one way of life was imposed on another, and did not quite fit in† that sharpened her modernist impulse to focus on moments of â€Å"disruption† or encounters with â€Å"strange or disturbing† aspects of life. [3] Her feelings of disjuncture were accentuated when she arrived in Britain in 1903 to attend Queen’s College. In many respects, Mansfield remained a lifelong outsider, a traveler between two seemingly similar yet profoundly different worlds. After briefly returning to New Zealand in 1906, she moved back to Europe in 1908, living and writing in England and parts of continental Europe. Until her premature death from tuberculosis at the age of 34, Mansfield remained in Europe, leading a Bohemian, unconventional way of life. The Domestic Picturesque Mansfield’s short story â€Å"Prelude† is set in New Zealand and dramatizes the disjunctures of colonial life through an account of the Burnell family’s move from Wellington to a country village. The story takes its title from Wordsworth’s seminal poem, â€Å"The Prelude,† the first version of which was completed in 1805, which casts the poet as a traveler and chronicles the â€Å"growth of a poet’s mind. †[4] Although the Burnell family moves a mere â€Å"six miles† from town, the move is not inconsequential; it enacts a break with their previous way of life and alerts the family members to the various discontinuities in their lives. Beneath the veneer of the Burnells’ harmonious domestic life are faint undercurrents of aggression and unhappiness. The haunting specter of a mysterious aloe plant and a slaughtered duck in their well-manicured yard suggests that the family’s awfully nice new home conceals moments of brutality and ignorance toward another way of life that was suppressed and denied. [5] As I will propose, these two incidents echo the aesthetic concept of the sublime, as they encapsulate a mysterious power that awes its beholders and cannot be fully contained within their picturesque home. Through her subtle, dream-like prose, Mansfield deploys traditional aesthetic conventions like the picturesque while simultaneously transfiguring, subverting, and reinventing them in a modernist context. The concept of the picturesque was first defined by its originator, William Gilpin, an 18th century artist and clergyman, as â€Å"that kind of beauty which is agreeable in a picture. †[6] Thus, a scene or representation is beautiful when it echoes an already-established, artistic conception of beauty, revealing the self-reinforcing way in which art creates the standard of beauty for both art and life. Mansfield presents these picturesque moments in order to demystify them and reveal the suppression and violence they contain. In addition to â€Å"Prelude,† her stories â€Å"Garden Party† and â€Å"Bliss† dramatize the transformation and inversion of picturesque moments of bourgeois life and domestic harmony. While she seems to exhibit a certain attachment to these standard aesthetic forms, Mansfield subtly interrogates many of these conventions in a strikingly modernist way. Through her childhood in a colony, Mansfield also became attuned to the violence and inequalities of colonialism. As Angela Smith suggests, her early writings demonstrate a keen sensitivity towards a repressed history of brutality and duplicity. [7] In her 1912 short story â€Å"How Pearl Button Was Kidnapped,† she questions and overturns the perspective of the colonialist, whose vantage point historically trumps that of the native. The deliberate ambivalence of the word â€Å"kidnapping† dramatizes the conflict between the colonist’s perspective and Pearl’s joyful, eye-opening experiences during her abduction. In a similar way, empire dramatized for Mansfield the way that a picturesque, bourgeois household could suppress alternative perspectives. The Sublime In â€Å"Prelude,† the mysterious, sublime aloe plant disrupts the pleasant domesticity of the Burnell household. Their well-manicured yard with its tennis lawn, garden, and orchard also contains a wild, unseemly side—â€Å"this was the frightening side, and no garden at all. †[8] This â€Å"side† contains the aloe plant, which exerts a mysterious, enthralling power over its awed beholders. In its resemblance to the ocean, the aloe assumes the characteristics of the sublime: â€Å"the high grassy bank on which the aloe rested rose up like a wave, and the aloe seemed to ride upon it like a shop with the oars lifted. Bright moonlight hung upon the lifted oars like water, and on the green wave glittered the dew. †[9] For many writers and poets, the ocean was a manifestation of the sublime because of its unfathomable power and scale that awed and humbled its observers. The aloe’s strikingly physiological effect on its viewers recalls Edmund Burke’s sublime, which overpowers its observer and reinforces the limitations of human reason and control. In his famous treatise on the sublime, Burke writes: â€Å"greatness of dimension, vastness of extent or quantity† is a powerful cause of the sublime, as it embodies the violent and overpowering forces of nature. [10] In a similar vein, the child, Kezia Burnell’s first impression upon seeing the â€Å"fat swelling plant with its cruel leaves and fleshy stem† is one of awe and wonder. [11] In this case, the sublimity of the aloe plant disrupts and challenges the domestic picturesque as it defies mastery, categorization, and traditional notions of beauty. In its resistance to categorization and control, the sublime embodies the part of the ungovernable landscape that the Burnell family cannot domesticate and the picturesque cannot frame. As a result, in â€Å"Prelude,† the magnitude of the sublime interrupts and fractures the tranquil surface of the picturesque by exposing the unfathomable depths beneath it. The colonial backdrop of the Burnells’ yard also contributes to the mysterious, occult power of the aloe. This unruly part of their property hints toward a landscape that eludes domestication and serves as a constant reminder that the Burnell family is living in a land that is not quite theirs and cannot be fully tamed. [12] At the age of 19, Mansfield wrote that the New Zealand bush outside of the cities is â€Å"all so gigantic and tragic—and even in the bright sunlight it is so passionately secret. †[13] For Mansfield, the bush embodies the history of a people whose lives have been interrupted and displaced by European settlers. [14] After wars, brutal colonial practices, and European diseases had devastated the local Maori population, the bush became a haunting monument to their presence. As the Burnell family settles down to sleep on the first night in their new home, â€Å"far away in the bush there sounded a harsh rapid chatter: â€Å"Ha-ha-ha†¦ Ha-ha-ha. †[15] In her subtle way, Mansfield unveils the voices of those whose perspectives are excluded from this portrait of nocturnal domestic harmony. In a similar way, the aloe plant exudes an unfathomable history that is beyond the time and place of the Burnells. Even its age—implied by the fact that it flowers â€Å"once every hundred years†Ã¢â‚¬â€suggests that the aloe exists on a different scale than its human beholders. [16] In its ancient, superhuman scale, the aloe gestures towards the â€Å"gigantic,† indicating a subtle, but implicitly threatening power within, or in proximity of the home. The aloe is a kind of lacuna in the imperial landscape of New Zealand, whose power threatens the colonial household and its control over the landscape. [17] By disrupting and encroaching upon the ostensibly safe domestic sphere, the aloe also echoes the â€Å"unheimlich,† or uncanny, an aesthetic concept explored by Sigmund Freud in his 1919 essay, â€Å"The Uncanny. † The uncanny becomes, in part, an invasive force violating the sacred, domestic sphere and hearkens back to a previously repressed or hidden impulse: â€Å"The uncanny is something which ought to have remained hidden but has come to light. †[18] In â€Å"Prelude,† the aloe is initially depicted as a threatening force that â€Å"might have had claws instead of roots. The curving leaves seemed to be hiding something. †[19] Positioned within the safe space of their property, the aloe is a menacing, ungovernable force that seems to encroach upon it. The plant becomes part of the repressed history of the landscape—a history that is only apparent to Kezia, her mother Linda Burnell, and her grandmother Mrs. Fairfield, who are attuned to the forces below the surface of the picturesque exterior. Violent Underpinnings Beneath many of Mansfield’s picturesque domestic scenes are moments of violence and rupture. In â€Å"Garden Party,† for instance, a poor man falls to his death during the preparations for a much-anticipated social gathering of the wealthy Sheridan family, undermining the convivial spirit of the occasion. In â€Å"Prelude,† Pat, the handyman, slaughters a duck while the children watch with grotesque enthrallment as it waddles for a few steps after being decapitated. â€Å"The crowning wonder† of the dead duck walking hearkens back to Burke’s sublime, which is experienced in â€Å"Prelude† within the confines of the private residence. [20] The sublimity of this apparent defiance of the properties of death acts as a dramatic external force imposing on the observers’ intellect and reason in a profoundly Burkian way. But later that night, when the duck is placed in front of the patriarch, Stanley Burnell, â€Å"it did not look as if it had ever had a head. †[21] The duck’s picturesque dressing—â€Å"its legs tied together with a piece of string and a wreath of little balls of stuffing round it†Ã¢â‚¬â€conceals its violent death. [22] In a similar way, the â€Å"awfully nice† picturesque house is imposed upon the landscape, as if it had never been any other way. [23] Through reconfiguration and transformation, a new imperial order conceals the fact that an older order once lay beneath it. In both cases, the picturesque functions as a way of naturalizing the violent order of domination. As Pat’s golden earrings distract Kezia from her grief over the duck’s death, the duck’s pretty garnish conceals its â€Å"basted resignation. †[24] There is no such thing as a pure aesthetics, Mansfield seems to suggest, as each serene moment is implicated in some act of violence, brutality, or suppression. In â€Å"Prelude,† the good-natured Pat disrupts a pre-existing picturesque scene in which ducks â€Å"preen their dazzling breasts† amidst the pools and â€Å"bushes of yellow flowers and blackberries. †[25] Tellingly, the duck pond contains a bridge, a typical feature of the picturesque that reconciles or bridges the gap between different aspects of the scenery. In this way, the Burnell family’s cultivation of the land by planting and slaughtering ducks disrupts another underlying order. Their unquestioning appropriation of this pre-existing order mirrors the way colonial life disrupted and undermined the indigenous Maori life. Juxtaposing two picturesque scenes that interrupt and conflict with one another, Mansfield questions and unravels the conventional image of the picturesque. This interplay of various conflicting aesthetic orders constitutes part of Mansfield’s modernist style, in which aesthetic forms are ruptured, fragmented, and overturned. As the yard’s landscape bears traces of the Maori past, so the quiet harmony of the Burnells’ domesticity is underscored by deep, unspoken tensions and an animosity that hints at the uncanny. In fact, the only character who expresses any contentment is Stanley, who reflects, â€Å"By God, he was a perfect fool to feel as happy as this! †[26] Yet even he shudders upon entering his new driveway, as â€Å"a sort of panic overtook Burnell whenever he approached near home. †[27] Beneath this veneer of marital bliss and familial harmony, his wife Linda occasionally ignores her children and expresses hatred towards her husband and his aggressive sexuality: â€Å"there were times when he was frightening—really frightening. When she screamed at the top of her voice, ‘You are killing me. ’†[28] Meanwhile Stanley and Beryl, Linda’s sister, seem to have a flirtatious, indecent relationship: â€Å"Only last night when he was reading the paper her false self had stood beside him and leaned against his shoulder on purpose. Hadn’t she put her hand over his†¦ so that he should see how white her hand was beside his brown one. †[29] Dramatizing these dynamics, Mansfield suggests that a â€Å"happy† household outside of town is not as â€Å"dirt cheap† as Stanley boasts; it comes at the cost of servitude, sexual aggression, and a ravaged Maori landscape. [30] Through these layers, which Mansfield subtly strips off one at a time, she artfully exposes the way that an existing political and aesthetic order is not what it seems to be or how it has always been. Her short stories are fraught with their own tensions; while exposing the picturesque as false and absurd, she nevertheless draws on its conventional associations. Similarly, her subtle attempts to question colonial power are embedded in a seemingly idealized portrait of colonial life. Mansfield creates a seemingly beautiful or normal image, such as the happy family in â€Å"Prelude,† â€Å"Bliss,† or â€Å"Garden Party,† and then slowly challenges it through a subtle counter-narrative. In this way, her deployment of modernist techniques is less pronounced than that of James Joyce and her other modernist contemporaries. Just as she challenges aesthetic conventions, Mansfield unravels the reader’s ideas about her own stories by presenting a seemingly beautiful, transparent narrative that is haunted by tensions, lacunae, and opacity. Like the headless walking duck, these fictions of transparency and harmony quickly collapse upon closer inspection.

Bullying and School Essay Example for Free

Bullying and School Essay Bullying has become one of the most serious issues facing our schools today. We’ve all heard the sad tales of children, some as young as 11, committing suicide because they could no longer deal with the bullying they experienced in school. In July 2008, the U.S. Congress began work on legislation for H.R. 2262, the Safe School Improvement Act, which would require schools to collect data, establish disciplinary guidelines and develop a system for registering complaints to combat bullying in our schools. However, as school counselors we can’t wait for laws to be passed to take action. We need to make a difference now. I started my quest to stop bullying at Midway Elementary School in Midway, Utah, six years ago. I attended conferences, read books and studied various programs. I learned a lot about the statistics and issues but little about specifically what to do. So I began taking steps to develop a program that would help my school and others combat school bullying. In my search for knowledge I discovered a fascinating study by Dr. Kenneth Merrell from the University of Oregon on the effectiveness of school bullying intervention programs. The study results showed that bully intervention programs, especially those aimed specifically at bullies, were effective in raising the level of awareness among students and staff but did little to reduce bullying behaviors. Merrell, along with others, recommend a schoolwide comprehensive approach to bully prevention. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, programs cracking down on individual bullies rarely work, but when there is a sch oolwide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50 percent. Program Framework As my program evolved over the years I identified four hallmarks of a successful schoolwide bully prevention program. Lead to systemic change: Successful programs bring about systemic change. The factors contributing to bullying in any school environment are complex and nebulous. The only way to have an impact on these critical factors is to cast a wide net. There must be change at all levels in the school environment and in the community. You are literally changing the culture of the entire school. You need to utilize all existing programs and resources such as comprehensive school counseling programs, positive behavior interventions and supports, character education, the parent-teacher organization, schoolwide discipline programs, grade-level teams or professional learning communities and more. Garner commitment from all: Schoolwide bully prevention programs require commitment from all stakeholders. Although your school may have a small team to oversee the bully prevention program, collaboration among administrators, school counselors, teachers, students, parents, secretaries, custodians, lunch workers, librarians, bus drivers, etc. is essential for success. Teach comprehensive strategies and skills: Effective programs are comprehensive. Teaching students about specific issues related to bullying is only one aspect of an effective schoolwide program. There are many supporting concepts and social skills you also need to address, such as conflict resolution, tattling vs. reporting, respect, accepting differences, teasing, cliques, relational aggression, cooperation and more. Effective data analysis will help you identify many of these specific needs. Continue year after year: Many times schools will bring in a pre-packaged bully prevention program, have a big anti-bullying campaign, raise a lot of awareness and then call it good. Effective bully prevention programs are not a one-shot deal. Effective prevention programs are nonstop. They require intervention, data to assess the program’s effectiveness and components, and ongoing specific targeted interventions for bullies, their victims and the bystander population. Key Components Eight key components, best implemented sequentially, have led to the success of Midway Elementary’s bully prevention program. Administrative support: An extremely important aspect of starting a bully prevention program is soliciting the support of your school administrators. Without strong and effective leadership, systemic change is difficult. As leaders in the school, administrators should become experts on bullying issues. They should form a bully prevention team and identify a go-getter staff member to lead this team. The administrators need to develop an anti-bullying code of conduct and communicate it to all stakeholders, especially students. Most importantly, administrators should establish the tone and expectations for students and staff and outline clear and consistent consequences for students who violate the anti-bullying code of conduct. Consequences should be based on a level system for first and subsequent offenses. It is important to follow district guidelines when establishing the level system. School administrators should utilize a behavior referral system to provide valuable data. The behavior referral system should include specific information that will help provide meaningful data to identify areas of concern and needs. Administrators should involve parents of both victims and bullies, especially for repeat offenders, to discuss concerns, outline consequences and form a strategic plan to stop the bullying behaviors. Schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports program: If your school doesn’t have a PBIS program, I would highly recommend implementing one. Use the PBIS program to establish clear schoolwide rules. The rules should be specific to location, taught to all students and posted throughout the school. Introduce desired behaviors, clearly teach them and then model them. Once you’ve taught the behaviors, reinforce student compliance using a variety of incentive programs. Use data to measure the effectiveness of your program and to identify ongoing areas of concern. Data: I use two types of data, behavioral referral data and surveys given to students, parents and staff. Data can provide baseline information, measure the effectiveness of your program, discover areas of concern and identify chronic bullies and their victims. Online surveys will help gather subjective data to assess stakeholders’ level of concern, to measure student awareness and knowledge, to solicit input from staff members and to assess parent perspectives and concerns. Office behavior referral data provide objective data for analysis. Behavior referral forms or systems should include information directly related to bullying. By regularly reviewing these data, you can identify types of bullying, locations, repeat offenders and victims. Upon identifying specific problems, bully prevention team members should develop a plan of action to deal with the issues. Staff training: All staff members should receive training to include definitions of bullying, types of bullying, effects of bullying on victims, school code of conduct and expectations, legal liability based on state law and, most importantly, how to intervene when they witness bullying incidents or a student reports it to them. Make sure your staff training includes teachers, administrators, specialists, secretaries, lunch staff, custodians, aides and bus drivers. Student awareness and education: Give all students a basic introductory lesson including definitions for bullying, types of bullying with examples, school code of conduct and expectations, what to do when they are bullied or how to help others as bystanders. Students need to learn about the importance of speaking up and supporting each other with the skills they learn. Establish a common language for discussing bullying issues, and post it in every classroom and in key locations throughout the school. Critical social skills training: Once you’ve taught them the basics, students need additional information and skills to increase their level of awareness and to deal with bullying issues. At Midway Elementary, we’ve spent time on topics such as tattling vs. reporting, conflict resolution, teasing, relational aggression/cliques, cooperation, caring, respect and any other topics that come out of the stakeholder surveys or behavior referral data. Develop classroom guidance lessons to specifically address these needs, and teach students the skills and knowledge necessary to reduce the problem. Targeted interventions for bullies and victims: Data analysis will help you identify chronic bullies and their victims. These students most likely will need highly targeted interventions and supports. When it comes to intervention for bullies there is no silver bullet. The factors contributing to the reasons why children bully others are complex and often almost impossible to identify. Research also suggests that interventions such as out-of-school suspension, peer mediation and group counseling for bullies aren’t effective. Effective interventions include individual counseling/education on issues such as developing empathy; perspective taking; social skills training; anger management; conflict resolution; and identification of psychological disorders such as ADHD, depression and anxiety. Teaching bullies pro-social leadership roles and opportunities for self-competence and success may also be useful. Behavioral strategies such as behavior contracts, check-in/check-out programs, parent meetings, etc. may also be required to facilitate change. It is also important to provide intervention for repeat victims, especially chronic victims. Interventions may include providing an adult advocate, individual or group counseling, social skills training, peer support, structured recess, etc. You may need to refer some students to outside help for more therapeutic interventions to address self-esteem issues, depression and anxiety. Program generalization: Once you’ve taught pro-social behaviors in the classroom, you need to generalize these newly acquired behaviors to various conditions and situations. An effective PBIS program is a great way to teach, model and reinforce desired behaviors. Give appropriate incentives to students who demonstrate the desired behaviors along with verbal praise providing specific examples of why the student is being rewarded. Other program generalization ideas may include: * Posters placed in key locations throughout the school to remind students and staff about the bullying code of conduct and a schoolwide common language. * Buttons worn by both students and staff as a symbol of the school’s commitment to stop bullying. * Student â€Å"spotlight† programs to celebrate students who are positive role models. * Assemblies and student pledges to kick off the school year and to promote school commitment or unity. * Parent and community education via parent/teacher conferences, parent newsletters, school Web sites, community newspaper articles, PTA and community council meetings. School bullying and hazing issues are complex and multifaceted. They require a comprehensive approach to increase the probability of addressing many of the contributing factors. School counselors are in a unique position to promote a comprehensive approach because of their training and expertise in the social and emotional wellness of children and adolescents. School counselors who are trained in the ASCA National Model are familiar with the use of data to drive programs and the delivery of interventions. School counselors understand the importance of early intervention and prevention to promote positive outcomes in behavior and academics. Systemic change requires leadership and, as John Quincy Adams said, â€Å"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.† Parents can play a central role to preventing bullying and stopping it when it happens. Here are a few things you can do. * Teach kids to solve problems without using violence and praise them when they do. * Give children positive feedback when they behave well to help their build self-esteem. Help give them the self-confidence to stand up for what they believe in. * Ask your children about their day and listen to them talk about school, social events, their classmates, and any problems they have. * Take bullying seriously. Many kids are embarrassed to say they have been bullied. You may only have one chance to step in and help. * If you see any bullying, stop it right away, even if your child is the one doing the bullying. * Encourage your child to help others who need it. * Dont bully your children or bully others in front of them. Many times kids who are bullied at home reactby bullying other kids. If your children see you hit, ridicule, or gossip about someone else, they are also more likely to do so themselves. * Support bully prevention programs in your childs school. If your school doesnt have one, consider starting one with other parents, teachers, and concerned adults. When Your Child Is Bullied Many kids are embarrassed to be bullied and may not tell their parents or another adult right away. If your child comes to you and asks for help with a bully, take it seriously. Many times, if kids arent taken seriously the first time they ask for help, they dont ask again. Even if your child doesnt turn to you for help, you can watch for these warning signs that he or she is being bullied. Kids who are bullied often experience * Withdrawal * A loss of friends * A drop in grades * A loss of interest in activities he or she previously enjoyed * Torn clothing * Bruises * A need for extra money or supplies If you think your child is being bullied or if your child has told you that he or she is being bullied, you can help. Parents are often the best resource to build a childs self-confidence and teach him or her how to best solve problems. Here are a few ways you can help * Talk to your childs teacher about it instead of confronting the bullys parents. If the teacher doesnt act to stop the bullying, talk to the principal. * Teach your child nonviolent ways to deal with bullies, like walking away, playing with friends, or talking it out. * Help your child act with self-confidence. With him or her, practice walking upright, looking people inthe eye, and speaking clearly. * Dont encourage your child to fight. This could lead to him or her getting hurt, getting in trouble, and beginning more serious problems with the bully. * Involve your child in activities outside of school. This way he or she can make friends in a different social circle. Some children seem to be bullied all the time, while others rarely get picked on. Why do some kids seem to attract all of the bullies? Kids who are bullied often * Are different from other kids, whether by size, race, sexually, or have different interests * Seem weak, either physically or emotionally * Are insecure * Want approval * Wont tell on their bullies When Your Child Is a Bully Its hard for any parent to believe that their child is a bully, but sometimes it happens. But just because your child bullies doesnt mean that he or she will bully forever. Parents are one of the best resources to help their child stop bullying and start interacting positively with their classmates. Your child may bully if, he or she * Lacks empathy and doesnt sympathize with others * Values aggression * Likes to be in charge * Is an arrogant winner and a sore loser * Often fights often with brothers and sisters * Is impulsive What you can do to stop your child from bullying * Take it seriously. Dont treat bullying as a passing phase. Even if youre not worried about long-lasting effects on your child, another child is being hurt. * Talk to your child to find out why he or she is bullying. Often, children bully when they feel sad, angry, lonely, or insecure and many times major changes at home or school may bring on these feelings. * Help build empathy for others and talk to your child about how it feels to be bullied. * Ask a teacher or a school counselor if your child is facing any problems at school, such as if your child is struggling with a particular subject or has difficulty making friends. Ask them for advice on how you and your child can work through the problem. * Ask yourself if someone at home is bullying your child. Often, kids who bully are bullied themselvesby a parent, family member, or another adult. http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/what-parents-can-do How can parents help to prevent bullying at their childs school? * Talk with and listen to your kids every day. Research shows that approximately half the children who have been bullied never tell their parents about it. Children are often too ashamed of themselves to tell anyone; sometimes they feel that no one can help, not even their parents.1 * Spend time at school and recess. Research shows that 67% of bullying happens when adults are not present. Whether you can volunteer once a week or once a month, you can make a real difference just by showing up. * Be a good example of kindness and leadership. Your kids learn a lot about power relationships from watching you. Any time you speak to another person in a hurtful or abusive way, you’re teaching your child that bullying is ok. * Learn the signs. If you suspect that your child might be bullied, talk with your child’s teacher or find ways to observe his or her peer interactions to determine whether or not your suspicions might be correct. * Create healthy anti-bullying habits early. Help develop anti-bullying and anti-victimization habits early in your children, as early as kindergarten. Coach your children what not to do hitting, pushing, teasing, being mean to others. Equally if not more importantly, teach your children what to do kindness, empathy, fair play, and turn-taking are critical skills for good peer relations. * Help your child’s school address bullying effectively. Whether your children have been bullied or not, you should know what their school is doing to address bullying. Research shows that â€Å"zero-tolerance† policies aren’t effective. What works better are ongoing educational programs that help create a healthy social climate in the school. * Establish household rules about bullying. Your children need to hear from you explicitly that it’s not normal, okay, or tolerable for them to bully, to be bullied, or to stand by and watch other kids be bullied. If your child is bullying, you can help him or her find other ways to exert their personal power, status, and leadership at school. Work with your child, his or her teachers, and the principal to implement a kindness plan at school. * Teach your child how to be a good witness. Children can often effectively diffuse a bullying situation by yelling â€Å"Stop! You’re bullying!† Must bullies stop within 10 seconds when someone tells him or her to stop. * Spread the word that bullying should not be a normal part of childhood. Some adults hesitate to act when they observe or hear about bullying because they think of bullying as a typical phase of childhood that must be endured. It is important for everyone to understand that all forms of bullying physical, verbal, social (gossip, rumors, exclusion from the group), and cyberbullying are NOT a normal part of childhood. * Adults (teachers and parent volunteers) in the classroom should be aware of class social structures. Which children typically affiliate together? Which children are leaders and socially influential? Which children are socially marginalized? Purposefully pairing and grouping children so that children who bully and those who are victims can work together helps to prevent bullying outside the classroom.

Impact of Ebusiness on an Organisation

Impact of Ebusiness on an Organisation 1.1 Introduction: The purpose of this project is to provide research findings of the impact of e-business on a particular organisation. The research carried out in this project was based on the performance of Ocado an online grocery company and being online business how this company differentiate itself from other companies in the same industry and get advantages of e-business in this modern era of technology. 1.2 Why e-business: Businesses that are run on the internet or uses information and communication technology to improve efficiency and profitability are known as e-businesses. The impact of e-business on an organisation is seems to me different and logical topic. It is different because it changes the living styles of people and effects the social lives of people. Going through research on this topic I can learn a lot of new things on the infrastructure of e-business and way of doing e-business. Due to technological boom e-business is the future of businesses. It would let me figure out the competitive advantage of e-business on traditional one and potential of change in social behaviour of people. The choice of this topic helps me to apply my academic knowledge and improve my communication and analytical skills and helps me to improve professional career. This topic not only provide me impact on one organisation but will also tell me how global businesses change due to technological revolutions. 1.3 Company Profile: Ocado is a British online retailer specialising groceries. Ocado is partly owned by John Lewis partnership pension fund. Ocado is a limited company was founded in 2002 by Jonathan Faiman, Jason Gissing and Tim Steiner, former Goldman Sachs merchant bankers. Ocado has a number of own brand products from Waitrose supermarket chain and also name brand groceries and items like toys, flowers and magazines. Since 2002 Ocado has been making losses even though it has won customer service awards in the UK. Ocado was listed on London Stock Exchange on July 2010 and is member of FTSE 250 Index. The company is operating on a warehouse model deprived of physical stores and operating as an online business. Ocado operates in Englands South East, South Coast, Midlands, North West and most of the Yorkshire. (http://www.ocadogroup.com/about-us/history.aspx) To revolutionise the way people shop forever, by giving them a uniquely innovative and greener alternative to traditional grocery shopping. (http://www.ocadogroup.com/en/about-us/mission-statement.aspx) Ocado is an online business; it has also launched iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android device applications which are most convenient way to shop for groceries. People do not require desktop PCs or laptops to shop online; they can use their phones to shop for groceries. Ocado allows its customers to price match with other main grocery stores in the UK. Ocado has launched online price match with its competitor store Tesco. Ocado is one of the rapidly growing online businesses in the UK with delivery area expanded to cover over 10m households. 1.4 Industry Profile: Online grocery retailing remains in its infancy with both demand and the proposition often limited in many countries. In the UK, online represents just 2.6% of the total UK grocery market. Nevertheless, with increasing broadband penetration and shopper lifestyles continuing to change, the internet looks set to become more important as a grocery retail channel in 2010. (http://www.igd.com/index.asp?id=1fid=1sid=8tid=30cid=1499) The value of the UK online grocery market to have grown by 85% from  £2bn in 2006 to  £3.7bn in 2009. Online is set to play a greater role in future grocery shopping patterns. We predict that the value of the online grocery market will nearly double in size to  £7.2bn by 2014, with a forecast annual growth rate more than three times faster than that of the wider grocery sector. Many online shoppers pick from a shortlist of favourites although more than nine in ten can be swayed to try something new. More than six in ten (62%) online shoppers mentioned that they would try something new if they could select a free sample. Other preferred tactics include better or more offers listed at the top of the page, offers on linked products and more prominent displays and descriptions of new products. However, although shopping online for groceries has become increasingly popular over the last few years, this section of shoppers represents less than one in four of those who buy goods and services online. This means there is a significant opportunity for grocery retailers to expand their online sales. (http://www.igd.com/index.asp?id=1fid=6sid=25tid=90cid=1409) 1.5 Aims and Objectives of the Report: To analyse the impact of e-business on Ocado and how the online business approach change the behaviour and motivation of people. One of the main aims of this report is to evaluate and compare the growth and financial performance of Ocado with other traditional grocery shopping organisations. Following are objectives of this report: To understand how Ocados online business approach progresses in order to achieve the revenue and market share. To analyse the financial performance of the Ocado and compare it with other supermarket retail industry. What are the potentials and limitations to the future growth of the online shopping businesses? Part 2: Information gathering and accounting/business techniques Sources Used: Primary data is original data that has been collected by a researcher by whatever means appropriate in the answer of a specific research question. i.e. it has been collected specifically for the Research Report.  Examples of primary data include questionnaires, interviews, e-mail contacts and surveys. (http://www.accaglobal.com/students/bsc/rap/gathering) Due to immediate surge in information technology industry, there is sufficient amount of secondary data available which has been used in this report. This data suffices all aspects of this report. Therefore most of my research is based on secondary data. Secondary data is data which has been collected by other people or organisations for their own purposes and researcher has used this data for different purposes. My secondary data consists of two main sources of collection: Library research: I went to local and college library and searched for several types of books and extract my project related material and used it in my report. BPPs Success in your research and analysis project provided the platform to sketch out broad counters of this research. The study text materials of ACCA (published by both BPP and Kaplan) has helped me to apply analytical techniques and also taught me how to evaluate my research findings. I also used articles published in ACCA student accountant relating my project which also helped me in meeting the goals of the project. Online research: Major parts of my research are based on material available online. This also shows impact of online on our research and daily use of communication. I find it quite credible to find online research material for a web based company. Following are the websites and search engines used to collect the information; Ocado limited website; this site provide the useful and more reliable information necessary for my project. This site provide me the audited annual reports of the company, company profile, history, investor information and other important information required. Competitors websites used for same purposes as mentioned above. ACCA website provide the help to find out the relative articles which I used to analyse the information. The food and grocery experts igd.com provides the statistical data about industry, surveys about trends in industry and its future. London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ websites provide the news about the industry, historic share performance competitors and surveys. Google, Yahoo and Bing are search engines used to find information about Ocado, retail industry and e-business techniques. Other websites used to find the news about Ocado , online grocery businesses, surveys and competitors are: Financial Times The Guardian BBC news 2.2 Methods of Analysis: To emphasize the impact of e-business on Ocado and to make comparison of its results in all business and financial aspects, results of Waitrose plc will be used. The objectives of the project are based on Ocados business approach and what make in it differentiate from other businesses, thus the report is based on the following aspects: Porters Generic Strategies. Consisting of three types of strategies to maintained and achieved competitive advantage by the businesses. Two strategies lie in the strategic strength, is a supply side dimension and focus on product differentiation and product cost. Third strategy lies in the strategic scope in the demand side dimension concentrate on the particular size and composition of the market. SWOT Analysis. It is strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats involved in an organisation. It analyse the external and internal factors of the organization that are favourable or unfavourable to achieve that organizations objectives. PEST Analysis. It is tool of environmental analysis, especially concentrates on macro environment which includes Political, Economic, Social culture and Technological factors. Trend Analysis. Using the past data to predict the future outcomes in the industry. B2C and B2B. Business 2 Customer includes customer service and interface design while Business 2 Business includes channel partner and system integration. Sales Growth. This will analysis the trend of sale over the past years and comparison with competitors. Profitability. The comparison of the profitability to past years and competitors and ability to generate profits. ROCE (Return on Capital Employed). Use to analysis the organization return on long term investment. Gross/Net Profit Margin. These ratios analyse the organizations operational efficiency, its costing policy and ability to control cost. Capital Gearing Ratios. Analyse the capital structure of the organization and reveal how much an organization relies on debt financing. Investor outlook. The return to shareholders compare with other organizations. Earnings per Share. This ratio shows the profit attributable to each individual share. 2.3 Limitations of Analysis: In order to analyse impact of e-business on an organisation, it is critical to make sure the sustainability of information technology remains constant in the industry. In todays environment as every organisation and governments are dependent on information technology, it is inevitable to some human error. From internet perspective selling online is quite new business as it only has 2.6% share in the whole retail industry. This information could change as new competitors introduce new business techniques which could impact this particular organisation. Some of the information taken from surveys has limitations as buying online grocery is quite newly introduced phenomena for British people and the information is not quite mature. Financial information use in this analysis has inherent limitations which include estimates and figures that are highly influenced by personal decisions. Financial statements are prejudiced by the choice of accounting policy e.g. a company seeking to improve its ROCE may choose not to revalue its assets. Financial statements have past data; it is not feasible to predict future on the basis of this data. In SWOT analysis there is problem for companies to identify the elements of their own organization e.g. strengths appears to one person can have different meaning for other. Ratios we used in our analysis also have inherent limitations. Firstly ratios are derived from financial statements that also have several limitations. Ratios are only useful when compared with the past results of the business and judge the performance of the business but the future forecast may not correct because several other factors also involved like market condition, etc. also the ratios have to be interpreted and different people may interpret differently. 2.4 Methodology used: Data collection is an important part of the project that should be planned and carried out and is completed in a well way for consideration. We have access to a lot of reliable and relevant information both online with easy access to internet and offline. Planning is completed and appropriate extraction of data provides help to develop good content of the reports. The method of search used is the Google search engine. By writing some key words in the search bar and clicking the entre it provides me the so many links of the websites that match with the key words. Most of the links are relevant to my search and contains a lot of information but some links are irrelevant to my research. However I am able to extract the relevant information suitable in the preparation of my project. Offline search include reading the books and journals and see if some information suitable for my report, make a note of it and use it later in my report. I done research thoroughly in advanced and bookmarks the relevant articles and websites using the web browsers because it could be needed to me for the citation of information if chosen to be quoted in my report. Using the study text materials (both Kaplan and BPP) to calculate the financial ratios and in their interpretation. Financial Statements of Ocado and Waitrose are downloaded from their respective websites. MS Excel was used for the graphical explanation of the ratio and trend analysis. Part 3: Analysis and Presentation 3.1 SWOT Analysis: Strengths: Broad range of products Contract with Waitrose Customer proposition Weaknesses: Dependence on UK market Loss making Opportunities: UK online retail industry Non food Threats: Future acquisitions Competitors Fraud STRENGHTS Broad range of products: In addition to its current area of strategic focus, the company intends to investigate growth opportunities by improving the customer offering continually through maintaining and improving the customer experience; increasing its core product range; and continuing to offer value to customers (Annual Report 2009, Ocado limited). Ocado sells more than 20,000 different products, the vast majority of which are sourced through Waitrose, a leading high quality UK supermarket. Approximately 4,300 of the products sold by Ocado are Waitrose-branded products. Ocados product range includes a small but expanding range of Ocado branded products (Ocadogroup.com, Strategic Overview). Choices of the different range of products enable the customers to buy the products that match their lifestyles and are within their budget. Also the availability of every type of product on one channel increases the chances of sale because customer did not want to go elsewhere if he find everything on one place. It helped consumers to spend less without compromising on choice or quality. Contract with Waitrose: The Companys reputation is based at least in part on its relationship with Waitrose and its ability to supply Waitrose branded products. If Waitrose ceased to supply the Company with products or if Waitrose were to suffer reputational damage which impacted on the Waitrose brand there could be an adverse effect on the Companys financial position and future prospects. The Company has a successful symbiotic relationship evolved over 10 years and has recently agreed a new branding and sourcing agreement until 2020. The Company is not dependant on the Waitrose supply chain as 85% of items sold are now sourced directly from suppliers. In May 2010, a new 10 years deal was signed with Waitrose (Annual Report 2009, Ocado Ltd). There were some rumours about Ocado and its 10 years contract with Waitrose. Previous contract signed for 10 years were with Waitrose was about to end and if this contract will not renewed it can cause big problems for Ocado because in 2010 Ocado is going to listed on London Stock Exchange. But in May 2010 deal with Waitrose was signed for 10 years in which there is a non-competition agreement with Waitrose and with Waitrose likely to extend its delivery services to highly lucrative M25 region. Customer proposition: Ocado offers delivery of grocery products to customers centrally picked from a single, state-of-the-art, highly automated warehouse (the customer fulfilment centre or CFC) (Ocadogroup.com, Strategic Overview). Customer satisfaction is part of every business, Ocado uses its unique strategy the customer fulfilment centre (CFC) in which Ocado make sure the availability of products, freshness of products and wide range of products. Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference Europe 2010 Presentation, Ocado Ltd, shows; 99.4% fulfilment accuracy and product availability given structural advantages. 97.6% of orders delivered on time or early. Structural advantages allow Ocado to guarantee freshness and use-by dates. WEAKNESSES Dependence on UK market: Although Ocado is still expanding its business to the other parts of the country and it is probable that Ocado will make profit in near future. But the company is fully reliant on the UK retail industry, any changes in the UK retail industry or changes in UK economic conditions like recessions can affect the Ocados growth. Increased competition also affects the sale growth of the company. Loss making: Ocado is making losses since it was corporate. However, the last three year results shows that it is improving towards profits like in 2007 Ocado incurred the loss of  £40m, in 2008  £33m and in 2009 Ocado incurred the loss of  £23m, the reason for this losses is the expansion of Ocados operations around the UK. Due to large investment in expansion of operations, Ocado loses the confidence of investors and its share price decreases dramatically. The company and its advisers have been promoting the impression that the company will be valued at around  £1 billion after raising some  £200 million in the planned float, but many analysts, of course not those closely involved with the offer, are highly critical of this valuation (http://www.moneyobserver.com/news/10-07-01/ocado-and-fairfield-energy-ipos-under-spotlight). OPPORTUNITIES UK Online retail industry: UK grocery retail industry is largest industry with the sales revenue of  £146bn, while the online grocery business has only 2% of the total sales revenue. UK Online grocery sales (2007-14),  £bn (Sanford C. Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference Europe 2010 Presentation, Ocado Ltd) These figures show the opportunities for Ocado in online retail industry to grab the sales because online retail industry looks highly opportunistic. Non-food: Extended the business in non-grocery products are part of the Ocados future developments. The potential of growth in non-grocery products is much more than grocery items, so there is an opportunity for Ocado to increase its sales revenue by extending the business in non-grocery items. As Ocado is online grocery business, only 2% of total retail shopping comprises of grocery, while 98% consist of other non-grocery items. THREATS Future acquisition: Ocado plans to expand its business all over the UK. It has many opportunities for the business but along this it also has the threats to business. Ocado is making losses since it is incorporate this is because of its acquisition strategy but if it still applied same strategy, Ocado will be in great trouble. It loses investors confidence due to high level of borrowings. If Ocado uses same strategy, it will be run out of cash for their operations. Competitors: The retail grocery industry is highly competitive and the online market place is no different. Ocado has an established business model and superior customer proposition. The proprietary IP and experience gives Ocado a competitive advantage. A clear strategy is in place to widen the customer base by improving online experience, customer service, product range and pricing, and reducing environmental impact (Annual Report 2009, Ocado Ltd). Ocado operates in a highly competitive retail market. With other supermarkets struggling for position in the UK retail market, Ocado invested in price cuts and discount promotions in order to stay competitive. This will affect the Ocados sales revenue and profits. Especially in recession, when customers are looking for low price products, price cuts could result in the decline of industry profitability. Price cuts also have an adverse effect on the perception of customers for the quality of products; this can damage the brand image of Ocado. Fraud: The risk of fraud from staff is less due to the nature of the business; IT procedures are in place to reduce this risk to further. Whatever the precautions are put in place to avoid the fraud but the we cannot reduce it to zero. There are potential threats of security breakdowns on their websites for online businesses. For Ocado major threat is the loss of sales due to credit card frauds. 3.2 PEST Analysis: Political: Ocado operate in United Kingdom, it provide it the stable political environment. Ocado can make long term decisions and this also guarantees Ocado a large range of economic actions. Political stability and strong economy provides the Ocado to get customer confidence and improve its operations. Economic: Economy plays a vital part in the operations of the Ocado. Economic conditions of the country influence the supply, demand, costs, prices and profits of the company. Due to recession in the world, UK along with other countries face the unemployment, this affects the demand and profit levels of the company. Sales growth decreases due to global recession, especially the sales of non food items are highly affected by this recession as people avoid the purchase of non essential items. Social: The social influence on the business of Ocado has been more important over the past few years. This is because the behaviour of people is changing towards grocery shopping. Due to lack of time and busy life, customers prefer to purchases in bulks and on one shop. Trend of online shopping has also been increased and this is beneficial for the Ocado. Ocado has different timing slots for deliveries suitable for customers according to their routine. Technological: Due to the nature of the business, technological factors have significantly influenced the Ocado. Recent technological advancements has revolutionised the organisations and changes the way of doing businesses. Online shopping saves the time of the busy people. Through introduction of technology it eliminates the need for paperwork and reduces the cost of administration work. 3.3 Porters Generic Strategies: Ocado aims to have a market leading customer proposition. Ocado introduced branded product to lower the prices of own label products sold (customer proposition, Ocado Ltd). Porter identified three generic strategies to take the advantage of competitive forces like cost leadership, differentiation and focus strategies. According to porters generic strategies Ocado comes under the cost leadership, where it is trying to compete with the market by lowering the cost. It launches Tesco price match for customers to compare prices with Tesco before purchase. However Ocado is not wholly dependent on one strategy because customer often seeks more than price satisfaction. They look for product quality, style and timely deliveries. Ocado competed his competitors by providing the customers high quality of products, availability of products and delivering the products to customers on time. We use smart thinking and cutting-edge technology to keep honing our uniquely efficient delivery model. This helps us to drive down prices and guarantee exceptional value for money. We have a passion for delivering quality groceries in perfect condition and on time, while treating our customers with care and honesty. This helps us to share our vision of a different way of shopping: a better, greener and more convenient one (Mission Statement, Ocado Ltd). PIMS (Profit impact of marketing strategy) data and other surveys show, that the intermediary positions are indeed profitable and therefore successfully exploited by many firms. (Michael Cronshaw, Evan Davis and John Kay (1994), pp. 19-33) 3.4 B2B and B2C: Both terms are used with reference to the internet technology and commonly applied in e-businesses. Business 2 Business largely concern itself with supply chain management and allows the business to directly contact with the suppliers and distributors. While business 2 consumer concern the relationship between the customer and the supplier. It primarily concern to sell goods to end consumers. All such businesses are online businesses and Ocado is the best example for such type of relationships. In business 2 business Ocado use the internet for searching products catalogues, ordering from suppliers, making invoices and making online payments. In business 2 consumer Ocado uses its website to offer customers a wide range of products, providing information about prices of the products, delivery timing and everything they want to know about the products, offers and Ocado. 3.5 Trend Analysis: [The entire figures used below are taken from the annual reports of Ocado Ltd, Tesco and Waitrose (johnlewis partnership) 2007-2009 unless otherwise stated.] Purchase frequency: The online market is dominated by those buying on a relatively infrequent basis. On average online grocery shoppers use the channel twice per month Three in ten (30%) only shopped online on a very occasional basis e.g. in an emergency or for special occasions such as Christmas Only one in six (15%) online grocery shoppers had a heavy reliance on online and shopped once a week or more frequently Most online shoppers fall into the regular/top-up group A third (34%) buy food and groceries online every 3-4 weeks One in five (21%) purchased slightly more frequently, once every 1-2 weeks (Online grocery shopping, igd.com) Key Financial Performance Indicators: Average order size ( £): The average size of the order was increased in 2008 from  £112.17 to  £116.3 which indicated the attraction of consumers toward the online shopping. In 2009 the average order size is slightly low than the previous years but this did not mean the reduction of people trends towards online shopping because if order size decreases in this year on one hand on the other side the sales growth increases by 25% in this year. Average number of orders/week: The increase in number of orders in 2008 is 12% higher than the previous one while in 2009 the increase is 25% per week. This shows the sales of the Ocado increases and Ocado has the potential the to expand his business in the growing market of online shopping business. Average % product wastage: The average percentage of product wastage of Ocado decreases continuously from 2007 to 2009. This is because of the increased efficiency of the operations of the Ocado and handling its products more effectively. Another reason for low wastage is the usage of the new technologies and less involvement of manual handlings. CO2 Emission: Ocado has taken actions to lower its carbon footprint and reduce its environmental impact include: closed-loop grocery bag recycling, whereby when making a delivery, drivers offer to collect used bags from customers which are recycled within the UK to make new Ocado grocery bags; wasting significantly less food as a percentage of gross sales than any of its competitors; and signing up to the Climate Change Agreement (with the Carbon Trust), which places certain obligations on management to monitor and lower carbon usage. Ocado has co-developed two prototype electric powered vans, which are currently completing testing before being introduced into Ocados delivery fleet. (Environmental awareness, Ocado Ltd) CFC Efficiency: The customers fulfilment centre (CFC) efficiency increases over the period of time. This efficiency has been achieved by the introduction of highly automated warehouses and less involvement of manual work. The company is willing to expand the CFC capacity by building the second CFC and the spoke network in the near future. Green business: Being green is part of Ocados business model. This has been recognised in various awards.Ocado was voted Green Retailer of the Year 2009 in The Grocer Gold Awards, Large Retailer of the Year 2008 in the Online Green Awards and won Ethical/Green Practice 2009 at the IMRG E-Commerce Awards for Excellence. A traditional supermarket requires deliveries first to be made to a regional distribution centre and then to the supermarket itself. Customers then often drive to the supermarket in order to shop, and the supermarkets themselves require energy to be lit and heated and tend to have open fridges and freezers in an otherwise ambient environment.   Ocado delivers straight from the CFC to a customers kitchen, which eliminates much of the carbon emissions generated by traditional supermarkets and their stores, and also reduces the number of cars on the road. Each Ocado delivery van replaces a significant number of car journeys every day. (Environmental awareness, Ocado Ltd) 3.6 Ratio Analysis: Sales Growth: The sales revenue of the Ocado has been increasing since 2007. The sales revenue in 2007 was  £273m while in 2008 it was  £321m an increase of 15% was being recorded. Not only this also in 2009 the sales revenue of Ocado was  £402m with an increase of 25% than the previous one. When we compare the sales growth of Ocado with its competitor Waitrose, the sales growth is 7% and 5% in 2008 and 2009 respectively. Waitrose sales growth percentage is not even half of the Ocados percentage and we can analyse that people purchase the same products online rather than going to stores for it. The increase in the sales revenue of Ocado has been seen since it was incorporate this is because the behaviour of people towards the online shopping is being changed with the passage of time and as the grocery industry hides in itself a lot of potential to make profit. Ocado achieved this by using its long term strategies and by introducing customer fulfilment centre in which Ocado emphases on the ne eds of the customers. (Annual reports 2007-2009,Ocado Ltd) Gross profit margin: The gross profits of Ocado seem to be remaining same over the past few years although the sales revenue of the company increases over the period. This is because the company keep its prices same to keep its customers to pay less in the period of recession. In 2009 the gross profit margin of the Ocado decreases from 32% to the 30.6%, the reason for this is further decrease in the selling price without any decrease in costs of the products. It happened because Ocado launches its price match campaign with Tesco and Sainsbury. It is also due to the reason

Clash Of Civilizations Essay -- essays research papers

The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order by Samuel P. Huntington is an extremely well written and insightful book. Samuel P. Huntington is the Albert J. Weatherhead III University Professor at Harvard University, director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, the chairman of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies, and the president of the American Political Science Association. During the Carter administration, Huntington was the director of security planning for the National Security Council. He is also the founder and coeditor of the highly regarded international affairs publication, Foreign Policy. In 1993 Samuel P. Huntington wrote an article for the respected journal Foreign Affairs titled â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations?†. This article was very controversial and stirred up much debate among scholars, politicians, and anyone interested in the future of international affairs. His book, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, is a more detailed exploration of the ideas and predictions put forth in his article. Huntington believes that with the end of the Cold War, the world is divided along the borders of civilizations and religion rather than the boundaries of countries. He identifies eight clearly distinct civilizations: Western (the United States and western Europe), Islamic, Sinic (primarily China), Orthodox (primarily Russia), Japanese, Hindu, Latin American, and African. A pervasive presumption in the Western world is that with the fall of communism, the West has â€Å"won† and that the rest of the world will now embrace democracy and Western culture. Huntington disagrees with this presumption. In his book, Huntington shows us how civilizations and cultural identities are shaping the post-Cold War world. In the first part of the book, Huntington describes how the world has gone from being bipolar during the Cold War, to being multipolar in the post-Cold War era. During the Cold War the world was basically divided along the lines of the â€Å"democracy vs. communism† conflict. Now that the Cold War is over, lines are being drawn along various ethnic and religious lines. Huntington uses many diverse examples such as the fighting between tribes and clans in Rwanda and Somalia, the clash of ethnic groups in Bosnia, and the conflicts in Sri Lanka, India, and Sudan. Throughout his book, for each ... ... also build on the cultural commonality between European countries and the United States. Huntington also suggests that Western countries must develop economic and political ties to match their collaborated dedication to security issues. He states that an increased political and economic unity among Western nations will offset the relative decline in their share of the world’s population and economic influence. In summary, Huntington believes that the future of the world depends on understanding and cooperation between the leaders of the world’s civilizations. He is a realist and believes that clashes between civilizations will be the greatest threat to world peace and stability. Throughout â€Å"The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order† Huntington gives numerous persuasive arguments to convince his audience that he is correct. Huntington has a writing style that is precise and direct. His mastery of the subject is obvious and his use of facts and examples to prove his point is very convincing. This book is a very important text and is recommended to anyone who is involved in the study of international relations or is interested in the current state of world politics.

I Will Be a Writer :: Personal Narrative, Autobiographical Essay

I have always seen myself as an inward person who best expressed his thoughts on paper for all to see. That is why I see writing as my natural career choice; not only is it what I do best, but both my parents' first career were journalism. Reading is my first love, and while reading a book I often find myself lost in a totally different world, one that exists only in the imagination of the author and in my own mind. I know I want to be a writer, and my performance in school contests as well as in the National Council of Teachers of English competition has made me believe I have the talent to be successful. I don't think I want to write novels; short stories and journalistic articles are more my forte. My years of writing for the school newspaper have not only strengthened my talent in this field, they have also introduced me to the thrill of seeing my work read and enjoyed by my peers. Â   Although my primary career goal has always been writing, that is by no means my only interest. I work in a baseball card and comic book shop, and have been collecting baseball cards since I was five years old. I think I could perhaps write for one of the major trade magazines, a job that wouldn't reach as large an audience as a newspaper but would allow me to combine two of my loves. I also have considered a career in sports writing, owing mostly to my love of the Chicago Cubs and baseball in general. Â   I fear that writing solely so other people can enjoy reading a work and can share the author's thoughts is a dying art. Nowadays, every book and story has to be turned into a movie, presumably so that the masses do not have to invest any time or intellectual energy in actually reading something enjoyable. While I attribute this partially to a decrease in the attention span of successive generations of Americans, it is also due to an increase in the desire for immediate rewards by writers. It is not enough to write a good book; it must be a bestseller, with a movie deal, an audio book, a book tour, and a round on the talk show circuit. I would be perfectly happy writing what I consider high-quality works without having to make millions to prove to the world that I have talent.