Effective communication unit 1 D2 Essay

(D2) – Whist taking part in both group interactions and one to one interactions there are many factors that influence the effectiveness of each. This essay will therefore evaluate the factors in which I came across which were an influence to my effectiveness in the interactions. Firstly in the one to one interaction I feel the factors that came across which made my interaction effective was my speech as I feel that I used a clear pronunciations to the service user which allowed her to understand me better so that they weren’t confused with the words I spoke. I also took my time when speaking to her so that she didn’t feel I was rushing her, I did this in order to try and make her open up slightly as she would know I am there to help and spend time focusing on her and her needs so that she didn’t feel that I had better things to do with my time and that I didn’t want to be with her. Also this may make her gain a level of trust with me during the duration which will make her feel like she has someone she can rely on is not alone. I also feel that in my interaction making myself aware of her needs/situation before hand made it easier for me to understand why she was in that state as a service user in the first place and so therefore I didn’t have to recap over the bad parts of her life as that may of got her upset and made her not want to talk even more. This also helped me as I was able to think of advice beforehand so it could be better thought out advice which would hopefully be helpful to her and if she felt the advice was good then this may make her feel that I actually can help her and that there is hope in overcoming her situation. Whilst talking to her I showed my full interests into the communication and interpersonal skills that were taking place and I did this by looking interested and being focused on just her and not having any distractions around me. This would hopefully have made her feel like I am not interested in something else as that may have made her feel that I am not there to help. I felt by doing this it was a strength as it made her open up slightly due to acting as though I want to hear what she has to say and giving her the time to say it and that I was defiantly listening to her. Throughout the period of talking to her I showed assertiveness which made me portray that I was positive and confident. This hopefully then made her feel like I am not going to give up on her and that  would make her have hope in herself that there is a positive outcome. This then would hopefully have made her open up and talk due to wanting to give me information which I can then help her with in order to get her back on track and to have the positive outcome she wants. She spoke about her past in the interaction and about how her mother and father were in prison, at this point she showed a sense of embarrassment and disappointment in them and so therefore I portrayed an appropriate attitude by not judging what is being said to me and saying that this is all in confidence. So that she felt that there is nothing to be ashamed of. When speaking to her I used reflective listening as this would make her understand that I have taken into account what she has been telling me due to me repeating it in a different way, this also lets her know that I understand what she is trying to tell me and will get her to speak more in depth so that I understand exactly what she wants to happen and how she feels. When we were talking I was sitting upright in order to show that I was alert and listening as I would need to look alert in order for the service user to feel that I am aware of what they are saying and that I am bothered about the conversation. I feel that weaknesses to my one to one interaction was that I repeated myself slightly in some conversations due to her body language looking as though she wasn’t listening and this made her feel frustrated as her tone changed acting as though I was patronizing her and that she heard it the first time and wasn’t stupid, to improve this I would therefore give her time to answer what was said and not repeat myself even if she looks like she isn’t listening, if she still doesn’t answer after some time I will repeat the question again although word it in a different way so that it is not the same. I also feel I could of improved on a part of the interaction as I entered a sensitive subject quite early on in the interaction about the death of her auntie which seemed to have put her in an upset frame of mind as I feel that she hadn’t got comfortable enough with me at that time of the conversation to talking about a close subject so I feel that this was a weakness to the interaction, although I brought it back to being effective by showing her the support networks available to her which put her mind at rest and made her feel like she wasn’t alone. In the group interaction I feel the factors that came across which made my interaction effective was the way in which I spoke out in the group to make my point clear to the  other professionals, this also broke the barrier of silence between one another and this brought the others to speak out and share what they feel would be best so I felt that I was an influence on the group here. As a group I feel are strength was that we had good eye contact with one another when speaking which made us realise that we were all listening and interacting so therefore it kept the conversation going. We expressed our thought on things that we felt were negative and explained why so that we understood why we shouldn’t do certain things in certain ways. I feel that I had good use of body language in the group as I sat up straight when speaking and used hand gestures to bring the others to understand more about what I was explaining. Also I feel that my use of nodding my head to indicate that I agree with what people were saying was a good effective interaction as then people in the group knew that I was keeping on track with what they were saying and understood. Also the way in which we worked effective as a group was the way in which we were all aware of the needs and preferences of Mrs.Signh so that we understood about her past and therefore could go straight into what we are going to do with her. I also feel that I made the communication and interpersonal skills effective in the group due to asking questions in order to verify things so that I understood them correctly so that no faults in the system occurred when the meeting was over, as if we go the wrong idea about something then Mrs.Signh’s health may be at risk. In this meeting jargon was used due to it being with 3 professionals in the same profession of health care so they therefore understood the jargon used in the conversation as it was medical terminology. This helped us understand certain aspects of her health in more depth. I also feel that an effective way of communication in the meeting was that we respected each other’s opinions on Mrs.Signh and then came to a conclusion as a group with the final decision, also if we did not feel that someone else’s thoughts were very good we did not put them down we just suggested how we could improve them. I also feel in the meeting that I had a good clear voice with a calm tone so that the meeting stayed at a calm level and stopped it from becoming an intense discussion when disagreements on the care plan occurred, as an intense discussion could of lead to an argument and that would not have been professional. This also helped the other people in the group understand me clearly so that there was no miscommunication or  misinterpretations as these could of lead to the wrong inappropriate care plan which may not have benefitted Mrs. Singh. Ways to improve the meeting as a group in order to gain more effective communication and interpersonal skills may be to not rush the meeting as much as we did and to make it go on for longer stating more information in it. Also we could have introduced ourselves and our care profession at the start of the meeting and shook one another’s hand showing courtesy and politeness. Other ways which we could of improved it is by not having our coats on and so that we are more comfortable and can move about easily for use of good body language. Another way which we could have improved it in our group would be by sitting in more of a closed circle so that we can hear one another efficiently and can see each other clearly in order to see body language and facial expressions. This will help make communication effective and avoid misinterpretations so that no mistakes in the meeting are made. I feel that I could of improved the way that I acted with the group as I feel that I took a direct approach which made me out to be the main person/leader of the group who was in charge due to be speaking up and setting up the topic for discussion. By speaking up in the group with my opinions this may have made the others in the group shy and they may not feel as confident in expressing their opinions. Therefore I would improve this by making it all equal between one another so that others feel that they are on the same level and can speak up and say what they would like to discuss. References: – Robinson, L Segal, J . (2012). Effective Communication. Available: http://www.helpguide.org/mental/effective_communication_skills.htm. Last accessed 17th October 2012. – Skills you need . (2011-2012). Interpersonal Communication Skills . Available: http://www.skillsyouneed.co.uk/IPS/Interpersonal_Communication.html. Last accessed 17th October . – Stretch, B Whitehouse, M (2010). Health and Social Care Level 3 Book 1. England and Wales: Pearson Limited Education – Collins Education . (2011). Developing effective communication in health and social care. Available: http://www.collinseducation.com/resources/hscbtecnationalch01.pdf. Last accessed 17th October 2012.

Alan Keith as Effective Leader

Alan Keith is a chief accounting officer and controller for the Turner Distribution Company. He was recruited as a part of the acquisition team, but his inborn professional qualities and skills made him effective leader. When he was asked to take the role of vice president of business operations in Hanna-Barbera studies, he agreed and moved to Los-Angeles to meet his new destiny. His task was challenging as he had to re-invent completely Hanna-Barbera studios. He realized that that was the sphere where leadership worked at it best. And he appeared to be true. Speaking about Keith’s leadership qualities, it is necessary to underline that always knows what is important for him, for his working team, he realizes his strengths and weaknesses, driving forces and pitch falls. Moreover, Alan seems to be aware of when it is necessary to draw a line. He is an effective leader possessing clear values and objectives as well as self-confidence, savvy, persistence and knowledge. It is necessary to admit his personal qualities such as passion, empathy strength of a character, humor, wisdom reliability, sensitivity, creativity at work, common sense, etc. Alan Keith states that one should know himself, because it helps to overcome challenges, ethic dilemmas and problems, to communicate with people having different thoughts and ideas, to make relevant and complex decisions, to define the sources of satisfaction and relaxation if necessary. Alan Keith believes that true leader should to be clear about his own values, priorities, and preferences and not let someone else, or society, define them for him, because by clearly identifying those values, priorities, and preferences he can articulate what he wants. One more quality is willing to commit meaning besides being self-aware and shrewd; Alan needs not to be afraid of responsibilities and duties. For him, being a leader requires sacrificing your free time, to put others before yourself, etc. Alan Keith became successful because he confronted traditional culture with fresh radical ideas. Moreover, focus on creativity contributed significantly his personal and career success. Alan realized that studio was ruled by manufacturing philosophy. Keith said: â€Å"It was about doing it cheaply, getting it out the door and getting it on the air as quickly as possible†. (p.9) Studio’s motivation was driven by volume, not quality and creativity. The factor, as usual, had highly centralized structure meaning that all decisions about creativity were made only by several people. That system damped creativity and Alan Keith managed to change the situation and to make studio one of the leading in the world. He realized that something had to be done quickly; otherwise, all efforts would be in vain. Alan Keith managed to re-shape corporate vision and perception of team work at the studio. He emphasized the role of creativity for team members replacing and replaced manufacturing mentality. Cartoon animation is art and only then manufacturing. Keith stressed: â€Å"It was a huge struggle to get to the place where we could actually admit that all we really care about right now is bringing the right kind of creativity into this organization†. (p.9) As a result, studio produced thirty-nine successful cartoons with different characters. Keith managed to change everything: thinking, organizational structure, vision and ways of operating. Keith staked on deeper connection with people and appeared right. Studio climate changed as well: â€Å"We did everything from completely overhauling and doing a face-lift on the space so that it spoke to the creative spirit to encouraging anybody in the company†. (p11) Alan Keith succeeded because he dedicated himself personally to developing leadership within organization. Alan Keith faced different cultures, thoughts, ways of life, and he did seize the opportunity to lead. Actually, I don’t see any weakness in his leadership style. I understand that there are no perfect people and each person has certain weaknesses. The only thing I can mentions is that he should be less emotional. In certain cases, personal emotions may lead to failure. However, this is not Keith’s case. Speaking about exemplary practices of leadership Keith outlines five of them which seem the most important: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable other to act and encourage the heart. The first practice is modeling the way. It suggests finding choice by clarifying personal values and objectives; setting the example by aligning actions with shared values. Alan Keith realized if he wanted to gain commitment and achieve the highest standards, he should be the model of behavior for others. He was always clear about his guiding practices. Alan Keith argued that he leader from what he believed. He stressed that leaders should have their choice give voice to their values and believes. The second practice is inspiring a shared vision. Alan Keith proclaimed creativity as shared vision of the studio. Creativity helped him to rejuvenate decaying organizational practice. The next practice is challenging the process. Keith always ventured out. His success is confronting traditional culture with creative ideas. He challenged the process by innovative products and cutting-edge services. Alan Keith is true pioneer as he steeped out in the unknown. The fourth practice is enabling other to act. Keith managed to foster collaboration and increased trust among leadership and simple workers. He engaged everybody in teamwork realizing that people should feel committed and strong. Finally, the fifth practice is encouraging the heart. Keith created community spirit and celebrated values and victories as celebration is considered effective motivational tool. Alan showed appreciation for individual excellence. Summing up, Alan Keith has all the makings of effective and successful leader. He is perfect both as leader and a person.

Catholic Social Teaching

Dignity of the human person and common good are two factors that make life enjoyable or worst in our planet earth. Human dignity holds the central position on respect for life and the human person irrespective of race, ethnicity or social status. In sense dignity of human person refers to respect of any life of human person regardless of background. On the other hand, common good summarizes the collective conditions that cause every benefit of all people as community. As professional nurse it is my responsibility to uphold dignity of human person and to work toward the realization of common good in nursing practice through provision of lifestyle education. Lifestyle education refers to teachings, trainings and counseling on personal health care and disease prevention. There are various catholic social teachings principles that work harmonically to achieve human dignity and common rule in nursing practice (Calo, 2015).   Catholic thought principles are important guidelines in nursing practice and help in promoting human dignity. Nursing practice issue of lifestyle education which include disease prevention, counseling and personal health care are perfectly guided by catholic thought principles to promote human dignity. Firstly, in event of counseling or training client on personal health care, human dignity provide the basis of these teaching and counseling (Melà ©, 2005). In this respect, education on personal care and illness prevention is provided with the view that human beings are important and are image of God. Secondly, protection of human rights and responsibilities is fundamental for good nursing practice. Catholic thought principles offers connection between human rights and responsibility and nursing-client relationship during training services to clients. Nursing practice therefore play a critical role in respecting patient’s right to good health and it is my responsibility to pro vide them good counseling on health lifestyle (Thomas, 2012). Thirdly, catholic thought principles require nurse to be steward of creation. Nursing practice especially disease early prevention and personal health require nurses to respect the sanctity of creation and this is vivid in handling of trainees. Therefore, provision of health care to human person and other creation is upholding the dignity of humanity. Fourthly, the principle of solidarity reminds is critical and mark human person as family regardless of ethnicity, race or ideological differences. Nursing profession is a key player through offering teaching to clients and showing love for clients as a dignified person. Finally, nursing practice applies the catholic thought principle of work dignity and right of workers by promoting good cooperation and relation between nurses and other health workers such as clinical officers, physicians, and laboratory technologists (Calo, 2015). Application of various catholic thought principles in nursing lifestyle education is important for promotion of common good in hospitals and health care facilities. Firstly, nursing practice is laid on community and common good principle (Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, 2008). The current realization of social nature of humanity serves to as the basis or guidelines for our involvement in educating community on health and disease prevention. As nurse it is my aim to interact with clients and hence provide the required training and respect for the good all of individuals. Secondly, I seek to minimise division between the poor and vulnerable individuals in the society. To achieve this objective my role as a nurse is to offer equal and best health care to the poor and the rich in the society. Thirdly, according Melà © (2005), to realize common good, participation and subsidiarity is important in nursing practice. This implies that all people are give equal opportunity to receive counseli ng in community affairs. It is my responsibility as community servant to harmonically include everyone in the social health workshop. Fourthly, promotion of peace is a step to realization of common good. According to Verity and Yasmin (2015), mutual respect and confident for others play a critical role in promotion happy life and this is evidence in the uttermost respect and confidentiality nursing offers to patients. In addition, involvement in community lifestyle education, training and counseling is good avenue to promote peaceful leaving in society. In conclusion, nursing practice uphold catholic thought principles in ensuring dignity of human person and promotion of common good. As nurse provision of lifestyle education on disease prevention and personal health care has an aim to respect life of human person. On the other hand, lifestyle education for individuals or community goes beyond individual interest. The core catholic social teaching operates on respect for human life and collective benefit of all people. In nutshell, nursing lifestyle education works within the context of human right responsibility for individual and as community in general. All practice within the nurse profession considers respect for Creator and the sanctity of human life as principles of catholic thought. Calo, Z. R. (2015), Catholic Social Thought and Human Rights. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 74: 93–112. doi: 10.1111/ajes.12088 Bishops of England and Wales (1996), The Common Good and the Catholic Church’s Social Teaching n.70. Melà ©, D. (2005), â€Å"The Principle of Subsidiarity in Organizations: A Case Study.† Journal of Business Ethics 60, no. 3293-305. Verity, W. and Yasmin, P. (2015), "Golden triangle of happiness: Study finds three simple things needed for a happy life".   ABC News 1(1): 20. Posted on Sat 17-10-2015. Thomas, M. (2012), Living Justly: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Plymouth, UK: Rowman & Littlefield. p 85. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2008), "Securing the Common Good in a Time of Global Crises", speech, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA, October 21, 2008.

Old Trafford stadium Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Old Trafford stadium - Essay Example Opened in 1910, Old Trafford was originally intended to hold eighty thousand spectators, making it the second-largest sports ground in the country following Wembley Stadium. All the information regarding events that have occurred in the club’s history, from the club’s founding in 1878 to its activities in present times, is all preserved in the Manchester United Museum whilst the Hall of Fame reveres numerous soccer athletes who have assisted the team, Manchester United, rule the English football league throughout the years. The Trophy Room displays sufficient silver and brass that can try to outshine the Crown Jewels. Introduction: Historical and Cultural setting The Industrial Revolution began in the late 18th century in England but it is a well known fact that from the conclusion of the 18th century, essential economic and social transformation occurred in England. This included: a remarkable increase in countrywide population sizes brought about by a more rapid growt h of existing towns and cities, changing birth and mortality rates predominantly in capital cities Manifestation of new social classes associated to people’s place as workers within the industry or as the owners of industries in the manufacturing process. In addition to the aforementioned reasons for the economic and social developments, progress in transportation and networks of communication also propelled the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution, as noted by historians, was marked by important changes in society, such as, some incorporated advancements in agriculture, such as the implementation of new systems of farming and the creation of new equipment which permitted for an amplified availability of food. Furthermore, there was the expansion of new machinery in industrial manufacture from increases in information that were more often than not the product of informed empiricism and practical experiences. This revolution and its civilization at the time, saw to the spread of the football culture in Britain and consequently to the construction of soccer stadiums. Old Trafford In its initial years, the Manchester United team (Newton Heath) played on various pitches before they moved to North Road Monsall in 1880. This ground was reported to be the worst one in their league; it was enshrouded with the smoke from the nearby industry and the pitch grounds were ranging from gravel to marsh. The original Manchester field opened in 1909, after the Manchester United club relocated from their previous grounds at Bank Lane in Clayton. It had a single covered stand, with room that could allow an individual to stand while watching a game. Despite the inconvenience, the original stadium presented countless luxuries such as attendant, a tea-room with tip-up seats. Following serious financial debt and expenses, Sir John Henry Davies rescued the team from grave bankruptcy and renaming, by giving away a grand total of sixty thousand pounds in 1909 for the acquisition and construction of a site at Trafford Park. The novel ground next to the Bridgewater Canal, which was near the Northern end of Warwick Road. It was complete and ready for utilization on the 22nd of January, 1910 (TheFootyNet). Designed by Scottish architect Archibald Leitch, who planned numerous other stadia, the ground was previously intended to have a carrying capacity of about one thousand people, and featured a covered sitting

Japan Having Some of the Lowest Birthrates in the World Essay

Japan Having Some of the Lowest Birthrates in the World - Essay Example LeBlanc, while making her observations on the political world of the Japanese housewives, addresses the issue of the low birthrate in Japan from a female point of view. While the taxi-bicycle contrast characterizes the male-female involvement in Japan’s political scenario, the author purports that women in Japan have clear cut political perspectives on such issues as the nation’s low birthrates. The author conducted an extensive ethnographic fieldwork study among housewives, volunteer groups, and consumer cooperative movements in suburban Tokyo; the results of the study throw light on the various underlying reasons behind the declining birthrates in Japan. LeBlanc rightly identifies that the â€Å"high cost of living, the declining birth rate, and a possible labor shortage combined with the high standard of education among young Japanese women today† determine women-related issues in the Japanese society (LeBlanc 200). The high cost of living and the difficulty i n child-rearing prompt many Japanese women to remain in their workplaces rather than getting married during their fertile productive period. Consequently, many of them marry late, whereas the number of never-married women is also at an increasing rate. LeBlanc’s interactions with the housewives underline certain environmental and healthcare practices that adversely affect the fertility rates of Japanese women. In the Ono campaign, Ono makes it clear that global environment has affected the health and that the Japanese disposal system itself is defective. She also mentions the growing pollution of water and purports that women can help the environment through proper disposal of cooking grease, use of non-polluting detergents, and proper disposal of water for washing dishes (LeBlanc 173). She also realizes that most of the environmental problems are related to people’s lifestyles and shares how her daughter wastes a lot of water in her morning showers. Ono also expresses her views on the problem of the aged and enumerates on the various reasons that have contributed to low birthrate in Japan. For her, birthrate in Japan is declining to almost one child per couple and she reasons: â€Å"What if this is your daughter? She wants to work so she marries late; she has children late. And the cost of bearing children is high† (LeBlanc 173). LeBlanc, thus, throws light on the three major reasons for the low birthrate among the Japanese women: marrying late, not giving birth to children in their most fertile period and the high cost of child rearing. Ono also refers to the average Japanese family’s difficulty of paying new day-care bill. Similarly, Schoppa in his seminal book argues that Japan as a nation lacks far reaching reforms that would better enable Japanese women to balance both their work and family roles. The author also observes that it is imperative for the policy framers to adequately address such issues as leave for child rearing, child care services, labor standards, child allowances, and tax and benefit rules.

Movers and Shakers in Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Movers and Shakers in Education - Essay Example Socrates believed in pursuit of the facts and truth. He campaigned for a liberal education in order to arrive at this truth. He was a proponent of the academic freedom. This concept is still enshrined in higher learning institutions nowadays in American education. The Socratic Method, which is a dialogue based technique of teaching, forces learners to think critically as well as deeply. It was and still is the best technique to test and teach students (Socrates 2). Socrates symbolized excellence teaching and an ideal tutor. He once stated that there is no worth of living a life that has not been examined. Socrates lived through scientific explosions and intellectual knowledge. He witnessed the development of architectural splendor as well as unrivaled theater. Interpretation of the beliefs of Socrates and his contribution to educational thought was hampered by the abundance of writings whereby he had the leading role, but not a paucity of evidence. Some of these writings included dia logues by Xenophon and the Isocrates. He also had the Evidence from Aristotle and Early Dialogues of Plato (Socrates 2). Plato’s early dialogue was the most intellectual challenging writing and it is due to this fact that it was regarded an educational ideal for so many years. Though he never propounded a theory or doctrine, his impact on education is notable and significant. First, the technique that was his trademark for performing dialectical exchanges with the interlocutors and outdoing them in verbal contest has occupied its place among the learning methods as the Socratic teaching technique in today’s American education. This method is not only a technique of defeating opponents in a verbal contest but also a way of motivating interlocutors to scrutinize their sincerely held moral doctrines and beliefs (Socrates 3). Secondly, rather than placing education as a method of acquiring skills and information, he makes virtue the main aim of education. He indicates that it is not necessarily right to base a virtuous life on such things as habit, the didactic lectures of teachers or the unthinking approval of the societal values. Teachers lecturing and the students passively gaining knowledge would not affect the human soul on its own. To emphasize this rejection of the teacher-centered form of education, he declares that he is not a teacher (Socrates 3). Socrates was reluctant to accept official learners or receive any form of payment from the interlocutors. He advocated for knowledge that would help people attain a good and virtuous life. He ranked success and honor to be the initial requirements, then pleasure and thirdly, knowledge. He states that knowledge is the only thing that guarantees happiness. He asserts that virtue is knowledge (Socrates 4). Desiderius Erasmus on the other hand, was an influential humanist of the Renaissance. He widely influenced the children’s proclivity towards education especially in their tender age. He left human nature’s scientific inquiry and promoted teaching students important matters of life via literature. He also stressed the significance of a good teacher. He stated that the tutors should not be restricted by dogmatic interests ,instead they should have a wide outlook as well as knowledge base (Desiderius 3). This Desiderius’

Exercise and sport Genetics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Exercise and sport Genetics - Essay Example lear families provided the earliest data to on the heritability of variations in fitness-related traits (Bouchard, Leon, Rao, Skinner, Wilmore, & Gagnon, 1995). In these studies, 130 two-generation families were monitored for different responses to an aerobic exercise program implemented for twenty weeks. Oxygen uptake, stroke volume, cardiac output, and exercise heart rate response to training were found to be heritable. Genetics was also found to influence other variables such as skeletal muscle strength and performance, muscle adaptation to endurance exercise, explosive power, muscle strength, and their response to training. Segregation analysis showed that mostly single genes are responsible for phenotypic variation in some traits like oxygen uptake at the ventilator threshold (Feitosa, et al., 2002). These findings have resulted in the identification of polymorphisms and genetic loci that contribute to human physical performance. Genome-wide linkage analyses and genetic associations identified cardiorespiratory and skeletal muscle performance genes. Studies using the HERITAGE family cohort (Bouchard et al. 1995) identified linkage peaks associated with genetic variation in maximal oxygen uptake, power output, exercise stroke volume, blood pressure, body fat distribution, glucose and insulin metabolism (MacArthur & North, 2005). Association studies have further identified three candidate genes involved with cardiorespiratory function. The first was CKMM, which encodes for the cytosolic muscle isoform of creatine kinase, is responsible for the rapid regeneration of ATP during intensive muscle contraction. This gene was associated with exercise performance (Rivera, et al., 1997). Second was the angiotensinogen gene, AGT, M235T missense polymorphism, which has positive association with several measures of cardiorespiratory performance (McCole, et al., 2002). Missense polymorphisms in the ADRB2 gene for the ÃŽ ²2 -adrenergic receptor were also found to be associated

TORT LAW Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

TORT LAW - Essay Example The status of the entrant is quite easily that of a lawful visitor where it is due to an express provision. It has been held by Scrutton LG that ‘when you invite a person into your house to use the stairs, you do not invite him to slide down the banisters’. In respect of Florence the situation is quite clear as she was a lawful visitor and the warning clearly did not restrict access to the place. In respect of the common duty of care section 2 of the OLA 1957 provides that ‘an occupier of premises owes the same duty, the common duty of care to all his visitors except in so far as he is free to and does extend, restrict, modify, or exclude his duty to any visitor or visitor by agreement or otherwise’ and ‘the common duty of care is a duty to take such care in all circumstance of the care is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invite or permitted by the occupier to be thereâ₠¬â„¢. The duty was described by Lord Denning in Wheat as ‘simply a particular instance of the general duty of care which each man owes to his neighbour’. In respect of Florence it is clear that a common duty of care was owed to her by Eric whereby care should have been taken. The defences that are available in accordance with relevance would be that of section 2(3) whereby there is a defence of contributory negligence. A further defence is that of warning which if duly posted would lead discharge of duty of care or contributory negligence would come into play. In London Graving Dock Co. v. Horton2 it was held by the House of Lords where the significance of warning was recognized by the visitor then the liability of occupier would be absolved. However, s.2(4)(a) stated that all circumstances should be taken into consideration and a warning in itself should not be used to automatically exclude liability(Phipps v. Rochester Corporation)3. Where there is existent an excessi ve amount of danger then additional precautions should also be undertaken by the occupier. In respect of the facts at hand clearly there was a possibility of injury being caused and this should have been thought of by Eric when getting the installation done. Furthermore, in respect of Florence since she was a lawful visitor and a duty of care was owed to her, warning in itself would not constitute to be exclusion of liability of Eric and therefore added precaution should have been taken. In lieu of the facts, Florence can claim for the injuries she has suffered and in respect of the broken glasses she can claim under the contract whereby loss to her has been caused. The only element whereby it can be argued is the fact that Coolit were hired as independent contractors by Eric, however, in that respect all necessary steps should have been undertaken by Eric so as to avoid any harm being caused to anyone, In respect of George a discussion on Occupiers Liability Act 1984 needs to be ma de. The Act deals with people who enter a trespasser. A duty would fall on the Occupier if three requirements as laid down under s.1(3) of the Act are satisfied. Firstly there must be awareness of danger by the occupier or reasonable ground to believe of its existence. Second, knowledge or reasonable grounds to believe that entrant is within vicinity of the danger or that he may enter into vicinity, finally, ‘the risk is one against which in all the circumstances

As We Are Now, May Sarton Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

As We Are Now, May Sarton - Essay Example Unlike what is portrayed to the outside world by the staff members of these homes, the situation on the ground as revealed by Sarton in her book As We Are Now is very different. This essay will seek to provide my in-depth personal analysis of the portrayal and aesthetics of aging in the novel As We Are Now by May Sarton. Many reviewers have categorized the story as a classic horror story filled with sad events but in my opinion, there is a point that Sarton tries to bring across through their vivid description. How are older adults described and portrayed? Please include at least physical, mental and personality characteristics? In the novel As We Are Now, senior citizens have been portrayed as a group of helpless individuals who are bound to suffer in the hands of their caretakers due to a myriad of factors such as contempt, neglect or plain sadism on the part of their caretakers. The old people are seen as mentally unstable and a burden to their families and friends due to their he alth problems that requires them to constantly seek assistance from the younger members of the family. A good example is the persona herself who is brought into the retirement home by her elder brother after she suffers a heart attack and the brother is unable to take care of her. She is viewed as a burden by her brothers much younger wife and this is the reason why she is sent to a retirement home. While older people may be unhygienic and unaware of their cleanliness status, it is evident that they are viewed as dirty people. Those who send them to retirement homes such as Caro’s brother do so to pass on the responsibilities to other people at a small fee. While this reason may be sensible to some extent, it is evident that many horrific incidents happen in these homes. What is the role and relationship between the older character and other characters in the book? Caro plays many roles as an older character in the novel As We Are Now. In the novel, it is revealed that Standi sh, a fellow aged and deaf senior citizen is her ally since they share the same dislike for Harriet. There is evidence of generational conflict where the two have the same hatred for Harriet who is relatively younger. Caro relates with other characters quite indifferently since very little is revealed about them apart from how they look or their challenges. She gets angry when Harriet vehemently refuses to call in a doctor after Standish health condition deteriorates and he is in great pain. This serves to reveal her personality that despite her aging, she is still loving and caring. There exists a very poor relationship between Caro and her brother. This is evidenced by the fact that he is quick to send her to a nursing home after she suffers from a heart attack. She experiences hateful and hurting treatment from both Harriet and Rose coupled with dehumanizing living conditions. The negativity and resentment that both have towards her make her suffer in silence because Harriet runs the nursing home. What were the occupations of the elders? Upon analysis of the novel, Caro is revealed as a former teacher who had no previous spouse from the fact that she was unmarried. Standish Flint on the other hand is presented as a farmer who is deaf and angry at the fact that he can no longer work in his farm. It is evident that most of the people in the nursing home were once in some kind of employment in their previous years but had to give up their employment in their sunset years. This means that they left the workforce to probably pave way for new and younger talent. Caro does not seem to have as many regrets and anger as that held by Standish. Nonetheless, the general mood I the nursing home

Compare and contrast the different respects in which Freemen were Essay

Compare and contrast the different respects in which Freemen were treated during Reconstruction by the Cherokee Nation and how t - Essay Example Following an establishment of a working treaty with the United States of America, these individuals gained Cherokee citizenship in 1866. Numerous rights of the freedmen remained limited with some being available only to Cherokees and not freedmen Cherokees. During the reconstruction of the Cherokee nation, freedmen were only granted citizenship into the Cherokee nation. Numerous human rights, however, were not granted to the freedmen Cherokees following citizenship. Controversies continued through the 20th century concerning the rights granted to freedmen Cherokees. These individuals felt they were being accorded second grade citizenship with limited rights. Though the Cherokee citizenship offered freedmen with citizenship based on possession of Cherokee blood, amendments into the constitution later involved acceptance based on historical presence. The Cherokee nation presented controversial regulation regarding citizenship of freedmen Cherokees. This controversy continues to yield c ontinuous court battle as freedmen seek acceptance into the citizenship of Cherokee nation. Various Cherokee constitutional laws declare that qualification to Cherokee citizenship should be based on having Cherokee blood relationships and not merely historical presence within the Cherokee nation. ... Within the context of Cherokee nation, however, separation of these parameters remains difficult. The integration of the Cherokee nation as part of the United States of America brought significant impact and clarification of the pending citizenship issues. Freedmen Cherokees continued to be accorded limited right by the Cherokee nation. These included limitation into intermarriages with native Cherokees; hence freedmen Cherokees could not intermarry with native Cherokees according to the Cherokees’ regulations. This mainly remained so because these freedmen continued to be viewed as slaves of the Cherokees. There exists an unwritten slavery law where masters cannot intermarry with slaves. This theoretical believe continued to be commonly practiced within the Cherokee nation. The freedmen were also accorded second-class citizenship, with limited rights, like those of intermarriages. Adaptation into the constitution of the United States of America included access to various righ ts, previously unavailable. These included the right for freedmen Cherokees to vote and elect leaders. Though the united states governments seeks to empower the freedmen Cherokees through giving them human right accorded to other marginalized communities, controversy continues to cloud the issues of freedmen Cherokees. These individuals were offered citizenship into Cherokee nation before integration into the United States of America. The standing order, therefore, remains that they are still bound by the regulations which gave them Cherokee citizenship. These people, therefore, completely remain bound by the constitution of the Cherokee nation whose authority

The Evolution Of International Environmental Law (IEL) Essay Example for Free

The Evolution Of International Environmental Law (IEL) Essay Trace the evolution of International Environmental Law (IEL). What does the rise of IEL signify in terms of community interests versus the egoistic interests of nation states? The term ‘International Environmental Law’ can be used as a term to encompass the entire corpus of international law, public and private relevant to environmental issues or problems.[1] The modern rules of international environmental law can be traced back to a ‘spat’ between the United States and Britain. The first ever reported environmental dispute dates back to 1742. [2] In the early 1970s environmental issues started to appear on the agenda of various United Nations and non United Nations agencies and this was, in part, due to the amount of publicity that was being devoted to the problems of environmental degradation. In 1972, due to pressure from NGOs especially in the United States, the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was convened. Preparations for this conference necessitated a thorough examination of activities that had any impact on the environment.[3] Under United Nations General Assembly Resolutions in 1968 and 1969 which gave rise to the Conference, the assembly agreed that there was an urgent need for intensified action at national and international levels to limit and if possible, eliminate the impairment of the human environment and that this was necessary for sound economic and social development.[4] The 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) Report and the resultant 1992 Rio Declaration on Environment and Development expressed the already existing concern for sustainable development. Meanwhile, the dynamics of negotiations within these conferences changed with time. With decolonisation and the attainment of independence of more developing countries, more of these countries were joining the United Nations and other international Organisations. During negotiations, developing countries were insisting on radical changes to international economics relations that would bring about a situation that would be more conducive to the realization of their developmental goals.[5] Financial Institutions such as the World Bank now structured and conditioned loans in such a way that development should always be ecologically sound.[6] By the 1990s, environmentalists were opposing strongly, the trade regime under the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). This was inflamed by two decisions of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism. In the Tuna Dolphin case, GATT ruled against the U.S ban on tuna that was caught using mechanisms that killed dolphins as well. In the Shrimp Turtle case, the GATT ruled against an American law that was put in place to protect turtles that were sometimes killed in the process of catching shrimps.[7] Now, the WTO rules are to be applied in such a way as to ensure the promotion of sustainable development so do the rules of many other international organisations. Under the various international environmental laws, companies are bound to respect environmental laws, they are bound for instance to conduct impact assessments on any project they wish to undertake.[8] States are also bound to respect the environmental integrity not only of their state but also that of all other states. In the world of today, it is doubtful that the GATT Dispute Resolution Mechanism would give similar rulings as those that they gave in the Tuna Dolphin and Shrimp Turtle cases. The rise of International Environmental Law has meant that states can no longer pursue their own personal interests without having consideration for the environmental integrity of other states. [1] Birnie and Boyle (2002) International Law and the Environment (2nd Edition) Pg. 2-3 [2] Sands (2005) Lawless World: America and the Making and Breaking of Global Rules Pg 71 [3] Ibid Pg. 38 [4] United Nations General Assembly Resolutions XXIII of 1968 and XXIV of 1969 [5] Dadzie, in Roberts and Kingsbury (1993) United Nations, Divided World: The Un’s Role In International Relations (2ND Edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press Pg. 300 [6] Birnie and Boyle (2002) International Law and the Environment (2nd Edition) Oxford: Oxford University Press Pg. 60 [7] Giplin (2001) Global Political Economy: Understanding The International Economic Order. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Pg. 226 [8] Article 4 Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in Transboundary Context

EU Membership Criteria Evaluation Dissertation

EU Membership Criteria Evaluation Dissertation Abstract The purpose of this thesis is establishing a new membership mechanism for the European Union (EU). As the EU struggles with different kind of issues those showed up lately due to its membership mechanism, the demand for a new membership system arises. The thesis follows five steps to come up with a new solution. First step covers information of the current membership system. Second step refers particular problems closely related with membership system. In third phase the framework of the recommended system is built up considering the problems. Within the fourth step, the new system applied on mentioned problems to see how it effects current situation in theory. Finally, the self-criticism on the recommended system and the comparison between recommended and current membership mechanism is done in the fifth part. To understand the necessity of a new membership system at least the existent structure with its historical background shall be known. As much as knowing well the source of problems, analyzing problems separately is also required to create a solution. In the same way to come up with a solution, the establishment of the system shall be based on arguments those pointed out during the examination of the current membership system. While settling the new system, required elements were inspired from different disciplines of the social science. To check the functionality of the new system, it is applied to related problems. More specific explanations about the system are held during this checking process. Even if it sounds well functioning in theory, there might be some points to criticize in the new system since the perfection of a system is hard to achieve in social topics. The last thing to decide about whether choosing the recommended system or not is comparing the system with the curren t one according to their advantages and disadvantages. All in all, the thesis claims that the European Union is going to have a dynamic membership mechanism which provides more efficiency in membership activities. As a result, the EU can solve its problems and increase its structural solidity. In other words, the unification of member states may process faster than before. INTRODUCTION The Assumption â€Å"The European Union is NOT a religiously formed structure; unlike it is suspected and conspired as a Christianity Union by some political scientists.† 1.2 The EU and necessity of a new membership system Europe has achieved a very stunning progress in unification so far. However the mind bending question â€Å"Does the unification make anything better for all of the EU countries?† still doesn`t have a clear answer. From 1952 Paris Treaty until 2007 the last enlargement, the European Union (EU) enlarged fifth times and each enlargement separately came with some pros and cons. It has been arguing that how come a positive and beneficial action could create drawbacks and be harmful rather than helpful. Even though the ideology behind the establishment of the European Union is basically covers mutual beneficial agreement, somehow enlargements make some members` current social and economic situation worse. Besides, there are also some debates on whether enlargements should continue or not. After considering long-term cost-benefit analysis of enlargement attempts some doubts justifiably aroused about necessity of enlargement. The answer of these kinds of questions and results of thes e arguments will be also provided if the dilemma of enlargement is solved. It is easy to point out the problems and backwards of enlargement observing the social and economic fluctuation in the EU countries. However, marking the first cause and fundamental reason of these problems and to find exact solutions, as much as the source of problems are different and varied and cannot be solved without major regulations, the enlargement structure should be examined per se. Thus, to see the main stream of enlargement problems, essentially focusing on the enlargement progress is necessary. As the question aroused about the enlargement progress, the membership process that the skeleton of enlargement is so important to analyze and observe the basic reason of problems in the EU with cost-benefit perspective. It can be said that the membership process may actually the origin of the problems which can be monitored in the EU. To see how membership process affects the Union badly, a comparison of social and economic indicators between current and previous situations is truly required. In other words, analyzing from â€Å"the big bang† of the EU till current situation by looking at enlargement results gives some clues to understand how problematic the membership process is. Additionally, the current social and economic situation of the EU members and the EU`s relations with other states are also helpful indicators to recognize the problem in membership process. Furthermore, during the analysis it can be observed that in some cases the legal and written rules of the EU come short to cover the legal loophole at the current membership process. After reaching the conclusion of analysis about the membership process, the system can be regulated and may be renewed according to the results those show us whether the system should be changed. Although if the results objectively refer the moderate performance of membership process, a new prospectively designed system will still be suggested to optimize the system and increase efficiency. Because by having a flashback to the establishment of the ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) it can be seen that the main scheme of the EU was created to improve and support efficiency among countries. Thus if there is a more efficient and beneficial system which helps the EU to get rid of its problems particularly, it should be preferred to current membership process due to ideological background of the EU, even though the current system works with difficulties. Besides, the recommended system will compromise with the current system by adapting most of its features. Mostly, membership systems are thought so strictly binding with members and rules of membership are not dynamic to adopt with a new unknown situation. But the recommended membership system which will be designed and tested can bring dynamism into the EU structure. The structure of membership process is bases on the framework of dynamic systems. As the ideology and motto of the new system, it can be said the whole world changes and differs every second to form adaptation with each items in it, systems also should be so dynamic that adopt with every sort of situation. In other words, the life is dynamic by itself. Therefore, a dynamic system for the EU membership mechanism is more realistic than a static membership model. Even in social sciences such as economics a dynamic analysis of economy is more explanatory than a static analysis and it also has more correct results. This thesis follows on five steps those will give us an understanding of change and the difference of new membership system. First of all, the current membership system and enlargement activities will be mentioned to observe the current situation. Secondly, the international, social and economical problems caused by current membership system will be mentioned particularly. The current problems and the lack of solution method against them will be shown in this part. Thirdly, the difference and requirements of new recommended membership system will be introduced. Furthermore, the application of the new membership system will be tried out with problems which would have been mentioned on the second step. Lastly, the conclusion to make an overall analysis and self-criticism of nominated membership system emphasizing advantages and disadvantages of both membership systems will be pointed out. At the beginning of the thesis, the assumption is placed in the middle of the first page without a ny additional script to emphasize it very strongly. Because the whole thesis is bases on the assumption that the European Union is just a union tries to increase common benefits of all countries in Europe without any discrimination. Otherwise, if it was not said so and the European Union was a religiously established union, there would be no need to improve efficiency of the membership process because the only one membership criterion that would have been looked for would be the Christianity of the applicant countries. Hence, the thesis would be meaningless, the current application of non-Christian countries as well. The assumption also helps to set the border of this thesis. During the thesis, the focus will just be on objective materials without referring any speculative comments. The dynamic system will be recommended for the EU can also be used as a conflict resolution method on the other unions` problem. With beliefs of the EU wants to have a more efficient and beneficial system, and also the EU defends that the unification of economic system and the harmonization of social structures shall be carried forward, a dynamic system will solve most of the problems in the union without getting in any other political debates such as religion. As an introduction for drawbacks of the current system, slowdown in economic indicators, rising of nationalist ideology and parties, rejection of the EU constitution, domestic moral problems in member states such as in Italy, Budget deficit problems in member states like Greece and Spain, lack of common foreign and security policy, and loosing beliefs of candidate states on the EU can be referred among dozens of problems. Nowadays, the EU is not in a comparable position with its former strength but the comparison of situations after and before enlargement activities will show that how the current system affects the strength of the union negatively. Thus, it will also explain how a membership system can diminish the power of a union. As simple as in the metaphor about flywheels of a machine, if there is any flywheel that works reversely, it should be gotten out from the mechanism before it blocks the working system. Even if a member state doesn`t work simultaneously with the union, the Union may be able to ban the state or hold its membership for a while. Otherwise the whole legal structure doesn`t help the system to work properly, this illustrates that the membership mechanism needs to be restored with an efficient one. PART I THE CURRENT MEMBERSHIP SYSTEM AND ENLARGEMENT ACTIVITIES 2.1 The current membership System The current membership system bases on three different documents which are The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht (Article 49),The declaration of the June 1993 European Council in Copenhagen, i.e. Copenhagen criteria, and a document is decided after negotiations about adaptation to acquis communautaire between European Union and candidate state. Lately, all of the membership requirements and its legal structure were combined into the Treaty of Lisbon. This means that all of those three documents are included into the treaty of Lisbon with a couple of updates. Especially, the Copenhagen Criteria are the rules that decide whether a country is eligible to join the European Union and they are also known as the main detailed source for the membership prerequisites. Firstly, the idea of preparing a legal content for membership carried out with the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht (Article O). In Article 49 (formerly Article O), the geographical criteria and slightly general policy criteria were settled do wn. Then, with the 1993 Copenhagen Criteria, the general policy criteria of membership were described in more details considering three aspects; Political, Economic and Legislative. After all those criteria, as a homestretch, measures and regulations decided by negotiations between the European Union and candidate states fulfill the scheme of membership requirement for the EU. Most of these criteria have been confirmed over the last decade by legislation of the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as by the case law of the European Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights. The mentioned documents provide all requisites to become a member state of the EU. Thus, criteria can be sorted with sub-categories to understand what the EU demands from candidates particularly regarding to the general policy, geographic, political, economic, and legislative criteria. As a main frame the general policy criteria can be summarized as in the Article O (Maastricht Treaty): â€Å"Any European State may apply to become a Member of the Union. It shall address its application to the Council, which shall act unanimously after consulting the Commission and after receiving the assent of the European Parliament, which shall act by an absolute majority of its component members. The conditions of admission and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the Union is founded which such admission entails shall be the subject of an agreement between the 16 Member States and the applicant state. This agreement shall be submitted for ratification by all the contracting States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.† (European Commission, 1992a) In addition to the article it can be extensively illustrated by an excerpt from the Copenhagen Presidency conclusions: â€Å"Membership requires that candidate country has achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights, respect for and protection of minorities, the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union. Membership presupposes the candidates ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union. †(Copenhagen European Council, 1993: 1) Regarding its acquis and actions, the EU doesn`t have certain steady geographic criteria for candidates. The EU refused Morocco`s applications a couple of decades ago, in 1987 due to territorial and geographical difference. Besides, even though Turkey has small part of its territory on the European continent and Turkey is on â€Å"negotiation† phase of membership process now, the membership of Turkey is still a huge debate. On the other hand, the speculations about the membership of Israel is considerably spread because of close economic and politic relations between Israel and the EU (Europa, 2007) and recently some Prime Ministers of member states individually declared that they would be happy to see Israel as a member state of the EU soon (Rettman, 2010). Hence, in the legal documents, the geographic criteria briefly demands that the candidate country shall have territory on the European continent and economical, cultural, historical and political ties with other European s tates as well. On the other hand, in practice, it can be seen so questionable. There is no clear answer for this dilemma. It can be easily illustrated by the fact that, before the rejection of Morocco, the EU accepted French Guiana to join the union despite the reality that it is in South Africa. Both countries mentioned in this case have similar background within France. The only difference is unlike French Guiana, Morocco is independent right now. However, instead of both countries, only French Guiana is in the EU. As a result, it can be claimed that the geographical criteria are not necessarily applicable within the current membership mechanism. Until 1993 the decision-making process of membership doesn`t have clear references. The clear expression of prerequisites is declared with the Copenhagen Criteria. However, when member states agreed on criteria in 1993, there was no mechanism for ensuring that any member state was in compliance with these criteria. Nevertheless some legal arrangements and sanctions have been imposed to monitor compliance with these criteria. The first victim of this action was the Austrian government of Wolfgang Schà ¼ssel in early 2000. They have been come across with sanctions of the other 14 Member States governments because of not compensating the membership requisites. These legal arrangements came into effect under the provisions of the Treaty of Nice on the first of February 2003. With Copenhagen Criteria three more aspects were added into membership mechanism; Political, Legislative and Economic criteria. These criteria are going to be explained particularly as follows; As a crucial part of political criteria the EU ask for a consolidated democracy from candidate states. According to most political science scholars, the definition of consolidated democracy contains these three steps; Competitive elections, Liberties such as freedom of expression, freedom of press and freedom of association, and Consolidation of democracy in society. Consolidated democratic governance requires that all citizens of the country shall be able to participate equally in the political decision making process at every single governing level. Consolidated democracy also means free and fair elections with a secret ballot, freedom of press, the right to establish political parties without any obstacle from the state rulers, freedom of association, freedom of expression, rule of laws and freedom of standing trial through unbiased free judges. The second political criteria for candidate states is the rule of law which expresses government authority may only be exercised in accor dance with documented and written laws. They should be adopted through an established procedure. In case of arbitrary rulings towards individuals, the principle is supposed to be a safeguard. The third political criterion to join the European Union is respecting the Human rights in every kind of situation. The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is considered the most authoritative formulation of human rights and the EU is also admitted its legitimacy. According to the declaration human rights which every person holds because of their quality as a human being should be protected against all threats. Besides, those rights are inalienable and belonging to all humans. Briefly, if a right is inalienable, that means it cannot be limited, granted, bestowed, bartered away, or sold away. These include the right to life, the right to be prosecuted only according to the rule of laws, the right to be free from slavery, and the right to be free from torture.(Wikipedia, 2010a) T he last but not the least political criteria for EU membership are respect for minorities and protecting their rights. At the beginning there was no clarity in definition of minorities in member states. But in 1995 with the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (COE) the EU declared minorities in member states and defined their rights with consensus. However, minorities in member states are defined by a consensus commission which was formed by member states therefore not all minorities could be regarded and defined within the concept. The consensus commission (the Venice Commission) reached the conclusion of the Convention for the Protection of National Minorities which protects minorities by defining them as â€Å"a group which is smaller in number than the rest of the population of a State, whose members, who are nationals of that State, have ethnical, religious or linguistic features different from those of the rest of the population, and are guided by the will to safeguard their culture, traditions, religion or language† (Venice Commision, 2004: 1). According to the definition of national minorities, unlike others, recent minorities such as immigrant populations have not been listed by signatory countries in the convention. This can be seen by checking the list of national minorities published by Council of Europe (Council of Europe, 2007). Another issue of the EU membership mechanism which can also be considered as a membership requirement is the economic criteria. As it is obviously known that the free market economy is the main characteristic of the EU. Speaking generally about free market economy, candidate countries shall have a functioning free market economy and the system should not be interfered by government as little as it is possible. Besides, their producers shall have the capability to deal with competitive pressure of free market and market forces within the Union. Nowadays, all economic requirements for membership are carried out with The European Exchange Rate Mechanism to take candidates into the Eurozone. While debating economic criteria for EU membership, one of the most popular misbelieves is the acceptance of economic criteria which were defined by the Maastricht Treaty as prerequisites for membership. Because the way it is interpreted in the Maastricht Treaty concerns about member states. They men tion about neither the necessity of abiding by the treaty for candidates nor obligations on candidate states. However, in practice, fulfilling those criteria is also expected from candidate states. The economic criteria defined by the Maastricht Treaty became more concrete with the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure and the Protocol on the Convergence Criteria Referred to in Article 109j annexed to this Treaty. In the Protocols the desired ratios and rate were announced to member states, regarding to the practical aspect of the Treaty, it is binding for candidate states as well. The economic requisites for membership are sorted with articles in the protocol as follows; â€Å"The reference values referred to in Article 104c(2) of this Treaty are: 3% for the ratio of the planned or actual government deficit to gross domestic product at market prices; 60% for the ratio of government debt to gross domestic product at market prices.†(European Commission, 1992c) â€Å"The criterion on price stability referred to in the first indent of Article 109j (l) of this Treaty shall mean that a Member State has a price performance that is sustainable and an average rate of inflation, observed over a period of one year before the examination, that does not exceed by more than 1 ½ percentage points that of, at most, the three best performing Member States in terms of price stability. Inflation shall be measured by 30 means of the consumer price index on a comparable basis, taking into account differences in national definitions.†(European Commission, 1992b) Lastly, all candidates should regulate and enact their constitutions and judicial systems to consolidate them according to European law which built up over the history of the Union and also known as the acquis communautaire. After all criteria, the negotiations phase is the last step towards membership. During the negotiations with each candidate country, progress towards meeting the Copenhagen criteria is regularly monitored. On the basis of this, decisions are made as to whether and when a particular country should join, or what actions need to be taken before its access become possible. However, even though a country successfully fulfilled the whole bunch of criteria, it is declared that the new member cannot take its place in the Union until it is considered that the EU per se shall have enough absorption capacity for this enlargement. This situation were announced with the excepts in Presidency Conclusions (Copenhagen European Council, 1993) as follows; â€Å"The Unions capacity to absorb new members, while maintaining the momentum of European integration, is also an important consideration in the general interest of both the Union and the candidate countries.†(Copenhagen European Council, 1993: 1) To see the officially declared requirements and explanations it can be better to quote some excerpts from official web-sites of the European Union, thus the criteria can be compared and understood with and without interpretation; Accession criteria In 1993, at the Copenhagen European Council, the Union took a decisive step towards the fifth enlargement, agreeing that â€Å"the associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe that so desire shall become members of the European Union.† Thus, enlargement was no longer a question of ‘if, but ‘when. Concerning the timing, the European Council states: â€Å"Accession will take place as soon as an associated country is able to assume the obligations of membership by satisfying the economic and political conditions required.† At the same time, it defined the membership criteria, which are often referred to as the ‘Copenhagen criteria. Copenhagen European Council Membership criteria require that the candidate country must have achieved stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; the existence of a functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with competitive pressure and market forces within the Union; the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic monetary union. Madrid European Council Membership criteria also require that the candidate country must have created the conditions for its integration through the adjustment of its administrative structures, as underlined by the Madrid European Council in December 1995. While it is important that European Community legislation is transposed into national legislation, it is even more important that the legislation is implemented effectively through appropriate administrative and judicial structures. This is a prerequisite of the mutual trust required by EU membership.† (European Commision, 2010) As opposed to the membership criteria and the EU`s Acquis Communautaire, general criticisms are the lack of certainty and elaboration in membership criteria, not mentioning in Acquis Communautaire about cancelling membership in the case of refusing to carry out sanctions and penalties opted by the EU and the slightly existence of flexibility towards extreme case such as a desire of a member state to quit from the Union. In other words, there are sometimes conflicting interpretations in current member states about membership criteria and cancelling membership of an idle member state. On the other hand, the right of quitting form the union is recently added to the EU acquis with the Treaty of Lisbon. â€Å"Before the Treaty of Lisbon entered into force on 1 December 2009 no provision in the treaties or law of the European Union outlined the ability of a state to voluntary withdraw from EU. The European Constitution did propose such a provision and, after the failure to ratify the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, that provision was then included in the Lisbon Treaty. The treaty introduces an exit clause for members who wish to withdraw from the Union. This formalizes the procedure by stating that a member state may notify the European Council that it wishes to withdraw, upon which withdrawal negotiations begin; if no other agreement is reached the treaty ceases to apply to the withdrawing state two years after such notification.†(Wikipedia, 2010b) â€Å"Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.†(European Comission, 2007: Article 50) 2.2 Enlargement Activities The European Union enlarged fifth times so far and enlargements with greater amount of candidates mostly occurred through eastern European countries after the definition of the criteria mentioned above. This enlargement process started in 1952 when the European Union was still called as the European Coal and Steel Community. Since then, the EU has achieved to have twenty-seven member states with the most recent expansion to Bulgaria and Romania in 2007. Table 1. The EU`s enlargements and its approved members Accession Applicant Issued Enlargements 23 July 1952 France N/A Founding Members 23 July 1952 (West) Germany N/A 23 July 1952 Belgium N/A 23 July 1952 Italy N/A 23 July 1952 Netherlands N/A 23 July 1952 Luxembourg N/A 1 January 1973 United Kingdom 10 August 1961 First Enlargement 10 May 1967 1 January 1973 Denmark 10 August 1961 11 May 1967 1 January 1973 Ireland 10 August 1961 11 May 1967 1 January 1981 Greece 12 June 1975 Second Enlargement 1 January 1986 Spain 28 June 1977 Third Enlargement 1 January 1986 Portugal 28 March 1977 1 January 1995 Austria 17 July 1989 Fourth Enlargement 1 January 1995 Sweden 1 July 1991 1 January 1995 Finland 18 March 1992 1 May 2004 Cyprus 3 July 1990 Fifth Enlargement 1 May 2004 Malta 3 July 1990 1 May 2004 Hungary 31 March 1994 1 May 2004 Poland 5 April 1994 1 May 2004 Slovakia 27 June 1995 1 May 2004 Latvia 13 September 1995 1 May 2004 Estonia 24 November 1995 1 May 2004 Lithuania 8 December 1995 1 May 2004 Czech Republic 17 January 1996 1 May 2004 Slovenia 10 June 1996 1 January 2007 Romania 22 June 1995 1 January 2007 Bulgaria 14 December 1995 Within the table above the enlargements and candidate countries are sorted according to historical antecedence. On the other side, there are also countries which could not join the EU because of particular reasons. The United Kingdom is vetoed by the French Government in 1961 and Denmark and Ireland

Defining The Term Human Communication English Language Essay

Defining The Term Human Communication English Language Essay The study of human communication might be very complicated but also be attractive. The process of human communication has been an interesting topic in many areas. Human communication may be difficult at times, because people need to communicate with others of various language skills. As Givens states Our complexity is seen through our use of verbal and nonverbal communication on a daily as well as our ability to interact with fellow human beings on multiple levels, mentally and emotionally(2008,  ¶ 1). Humans are a social animal who has to belong in the community, which is why we cannot help talking with other people. There are several basic and essential pieces of information about human communication that is needed to understand this assignment. Above all, Human communication is: the process of creating and sharing meaning through the use of symbols (Givens, 2008,  ¶ 1). Also, Verbal communication is defined as the ways in which you use the words in a language to generate meani ng. Interestingly, verbal communication involves not only oral words but also literal words. This assignment will firstly consider the main reason why communication between humans does not work, which is because of using idiomatic language, and the reason why communication between humans does work, including gestures. Secondly, the two positive impacts of the electronic age on communication are the convenience of using technology whenever people want, and speed of access. Lastly, my opinion on what it is like to communicate full time in English as my second language, regarding difficulty with understanding idiomatic language. A reason for communication to fail is because of the use of idiomatic language. First of all, second language speakers are not familiar with the idioms, because the actual interpreted meaning is different from the literal meaning. Idiomatic language refers to many words or phrases that are a familiar and everyday feature of our language but to a foreigner, idioms are difficult to understand because their meaning is very different from the literal meaning of the words (Campsall, 2010,  ¶ idiomatic language). Especially, the idiom phrase that the young people often use is no way, Sarah! and Thats real cool. These two sentences are the example of idiomatic expression. Everyone could notice that idioms exist in transformed collocation which cannot make any sense if the order is mixed (Korepela, 2009). The difficulty in understating idiomatic language does not just apply to face to face conversations. The difficult idioms are also applied to reading books and journals, watching movies, and making phone calls; that is, all those cases are related to reading and listening. As mentioned previously, idiomatic language might be very difficult to understand especially in reading, because the reader may consider a different meaning from the actual interpretation. People read to understand meaning, so reading is similar to interpreting. It is sure that it is hard to grasp the meaning of idioms especially for foreigners, as those belongs to only first language speakers who have used that allusive expression for a long time (Bandura, 2001). Then, it cannot be easy to comprehend the meaning of specific idioms in listening; even it is a big problem in reading. If even really simple sentences are spoken quickly, second language speakers might not interpret the meaning; so idioms are difficult. Sometimes, implicative speech and a trial of a euphemism confuse international people. Therefore, it is indispensable to figure out the meaning of idioms in casual conversations, otherw ise the probability of failing communication is high. As Vasiq mentioned Students need to learn more idioms if they want to talk more naturally and to understand the ideas of whom they are talking to because, in everyday conversation native speakers often use them (2008,  ¶ 1). The learning of idioms is not limited, because there are so many, so the allusive and idiomatic language has a potential to be the reason of failing communication. To sum up, idiomatic expressions may cause a conversation to be unsuccessful. A reason for successful dialogue is body language. The gestures used while talking, are also called non-verbal communication. As informed in the introduction, communication includes written words as well as oral words. Then, the meaning of non-verbal communication is opposite to verbal communication, which is the conversation without any kind of written words. According to Devito (2002, p.140), you communicate nonverbally when you gesture, smile or frown, widen your eyes, move your chair close to someone, wear jewelry, touch someone, or raise your vocal volume and when someone receives these signals. Body language, in other words non-verbal communication, is a form of dialogue, which will be accomplished with interaction between more than two people. In speaking, a person asks when there are people who can answer, a person answers when there is a question; the same principle applies equally to gestures. It is an effective way of talking with eye-contact, smiling face, and adequate h and movements in relations to contents of the dialogue. Although people talk with international people, they can recognise what the second language speakers are trying to say in their face expressions and eyes; This situation only happens during face to face conversation in person. There are several kinds of non-verbal communication, but one of the most represented is eye-contact. As Devito (2002, p. 140) states: Research on the messages communicated by the eyes (a study known technically as oculesis) shows that these messages vary depending on the duration, direction, and quality of the eye behavior. For example, in every culture there are strict, though unstated, rules for the proper duration for eye contact. In the U.S. culture the average length of gaze is 2.95 seconds. The average length of mutual gaze (two persons gazing at each other) is 1.18 seconds. Interestingly, there are some functions about eye contact and eye-avoidance. The functions of eye-contact are to read the audiences face, and to let people know the beginning and the end of speech. In contrast, the functions of eye-avoidance are to protect ones privacy, and is also a signal of disinterest. In brief, physical body movements lead to the communication being achieved. The impact of electronics on communication enables people to communicate every minute of the day. As electronic devices have developed, our lives became more convenient, for example, hearing world news on television, holding a conversation via the internet online chatting, sharing documents by e-mail and giving opportunities to impaired people to study. Electronic communication is not only a new tool but also a new way of communication (Hiltz Turoff, 1993). However, the basic reason of all these could be used more efficiently is because there are no time limits. People in the world can contact each other whenever and wherever they want. With electronic communication, the recipient receives the message within a few seconds of the sender sending it (Buzzel, 2009,  ¶ 2) The recipient can read the message anytime, anywhere according to his convenience. Therefore, the easy access makes human communication more active. Electronic communication tools like so many others are incredibly fl exible. Email, discussion board postings, instant messages, and live chat can be conducted at any time during the day or night (Humnet, 2002,  ¶ 2). The Moodle system which is employed in the University of Waikato also assists the communication between students and lecturers. The students in Waikato University do not have to meet the professor in person, because they can use on the Moodle site and ask lecturer about questions or problems of the course. In addition, that system is not only for between students and lecturers, but for between students and students to share ideas whenever they need. If the students post a draft of their essay, their colleagues read it through and give a feedback on how well it is written. All this work is done in the 24 hour-Moodle system, so students do not have to make an appointment to meet in a physical space, which might be wasting their time. Communication is not fulfilled by one person. Communication works when there is more than one person to exchange ideas and information (Adler Rodman, 2008). In other words, the more people gather, the more lively their discussions will be. Actually, in considering communication with people who live in another country, we have to spend significant time and money in most cases. However, it is very economical to use the internet and cell phones which have not been really limited in space and time. In summary, availability of electronic communication whenever people want positively influences human communication. Improved electronic tools, which have an effect on communication, give us fast connections with other people. The meaning of speed is not directly related to efficiency, but the speed helps work to be finished efficiently. Dealing with the work rapidly means saving time, so saving time is economical and efficient. Promptness of connection makes communication to be proficient. Let us assume that we are in case of contacting our neighbors. Making a call on cell phone, sending an e-mail, and online chatting would be faster than visiting their place. We can get in touch with people quickly; meaning we can contact more people in the same amount of time. But for residents of low-income neighborhoods, high-speed Internet access means more than convenience: It could be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ economic opportunity (Varon, 2010,  ¶ 1). It can be seen that if we try to contact friends who are in overseas, we can feel that this fast connection is really economical. Actually, it is difficult to get in touch with international friends without electronic tools. This speedy contact gives us benefits of not only saving time and money, but being very useful in urgent situation. We often get breaking news from television, and internet news about which person passed away, what kind of incidents occurred, and the global economic state. The faster the news is delivered, the quicker the solution is raised. Informing news is also one of the communicational activities (Moore, n.d.). Additionally, there is another positive impact of rapidity, which is sharing documents via the internet. Sharing files that can be useful to other people is another kind of communication like studying (Moore, n.d.). Therefore, rapidity affects the efficient communication in the developed electronic age. My opinion on speaking English, which is not my mother-tongue language, is mainly based on the difficulty of understanding informal idioms. I will talk about the experience in New Zealand with speaking English and this paragraph is related to body paragraph one. With English being the universal language, most countries adopt English and make it into a subject at school. Especially, Korea which is my country emphasises cramming system of education, so the school starts at 8a.m. and finishes at 11p.m. However, all we have learnt in English class in Korea is mostly reading involving vocabulary and grammar. We do not have chances to learn informal idioms at all, because we do not have to speak the language. As for me, the unanticipated opportunity to study broad was given, and it was also a chance to feel that learning idioms is necessary. As said before, the reason idioms are difficult is the meaning of an idiom is different from the actual meaning. One of the idiomatic expressions that I know is I couldnt help it. One day, my Korean friend sent me a text to meet up in a cafe for lunch but I was really busy with preparing for a test and doing an assignment. Then, I replied Sorry, I cannot help it My intention was to tell her that I am not in a good situation to meet her right now. After that, she replied me again help I have many friends to have lunch with me à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Dont think Im alone. She was little unpleasant that she did not want to be treated or helped just for having lunch. Finally, she figured out what I meant but it was a really embarrassing happening. Here is another example similar to mine. As Parkinson (1997, p.217) said: There was a brief item a year of two ago in an English newspaper about a motorist giving a lift to a young Frenchman who was hitchhiking. When the grateful passenger got out at his destination and thanked his benefactor rather profusely, his thanks were acknowledged by a brief Dont mention it. The Frenchman a little nonplussed but willing to co-operate, reply I wont tell anybody. Second language speakers have even more difficult with informal idioms than native speakers because second language speakers encounter idioms far less frequently in their lives (Beate, 2003). In short, in my opinion, informal idioms are difficult to speak in English which is not my native language. In conclusion, this assignment has focused on the reason of why communication fails while people are talking, which is particularly due to second language speakers being not conversant with idioms. Contrastingly, the reason people can talk with international people is because of non-verbal language. Also, this essay has talked about two positive influences of electronic devices on human communication; which are having communication access and the ability to exchange information fast. Finally, I have given my opinion about using English as a second language, examples of the difficulty faces with understanding informal idioms. On the whole, human communication can be interesting if people try to make the conversation succeed. It may be achieved by learning more informal idiomatic expressions, using gestures while talking, and using electronics in a positive way. Then, human communication would be really interesting and helpful for studying in peoples lives.

Vasco da Gamas Exploration of India and Portuguese Voyages of Discover

Vasco da Gama's Exploration of India and Portuguese Voyages of Discovery When asked which nation contributed the most to sea exploration in the fifteenth century, the obvious answer is Spain. What if there were another nation, a nation whose contributions were far more than landing one continent? What if there was a nation that in only 100 years managed to sail in every ocean, every major sea, touched every continent except Antarctica and possibly Australia, and were the first Europeans to land in China, Korea, New Guinea, the Azores, Cape Verde and numerous other places. Well, there was such a nation, and it is Portugal. Portugal was the country that lead the greatest expansion of the known world in the history of the world. In only one hundred years they managed to be the first Europeans in nearly one half the globe, as well as be the first to push south. The accomplishments of the rest of Europe paled in comparison. The Portuguese exploration and expansion at this time is a huge subject. Here will be discussed only one of their voyages, that of Vasco d a Gama's voyage to India, as he was the first European to sail to there. Prince Henry the Navigator was most definitely a driving force in this venture, while the King during the voyage, Manuel, was the one who ordered it. Bartolmeu Dias was the first to round the Cape of Good Hope, in his 1487-88 voyage, proving that it could be done, and breaking ground for da Gama. Born in 1394, the Infante Enriques, known to the world as Prince Henry the Navigator, became the man who was most responsible for the maritime expansion of Portugal and of general marine science, as well, both of which led to the voyage to India. As a boy he was infatuated with accounts of the wild beasts, w... ...bus and Spain tried to reach India by going West, some daring, risk taking Portuguese knew it could be reached by sailing east, and unlike Spain, actually acheived what they meant to do. Works Cited: Hamilton, Genesta. In the Wake of Da Gama. London: Skeffington and Son Limited, 1951. Hart, Henry. Sea Road to the Indies. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1950. Jones, Vincent. Sail the Indian Sea. London: Gordon and Cremonesi Publishers, 1978. Pearson, M. N. The New Cambridge History of India. pt. 1, vol. 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987. 8 vols. Russell-Wood, A. J. R. A World on the Move: The Portuguese in Africa, Asia, and America 1415-1808. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993. Wallis, Helen. "England and Portugal 1386-1986; 'Things Hidden From Other Men'; the Portuguese Voyages of Discovery." History oday June 1986: 27-33.

A Comparison of Fierceness in Beowulf and in The Saga of King Hrolf Kra

Fierceness in Beowulf and in The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is fierceness mentioned only in Beowulf or is it an element common also to this famous Icelandic saga? Is fierceness described the same way as in Beowulf?    The Anglo-Saxons prior to 1000AD were as a race fierce. They possessed great courage. Beowulf reflects their fierceness and courage in a variety of ways. Beowulf complains to Unferth in the Danish court: â€Å"Grendel would never have done such horrors †¦ if you were so fierce as you suppose.† The hero, who had earlier killed nine sea monsters, opted to face Grendel in mortal combat WITHOUT sword or shield or the assistance of others: â€Å"but I shall seize my enemy in my hand grip and fight.† Later when the hero’s sword failed against Grendel’s Mother, he remained â€Å"resolute† and seized her by the shoulder and fought till victory came. Thus â€Å"Beowulf, fierce in war, received the cup from Wealhtheow.† Later, the hero went up against and killed Daghrefin, the Huga champion, without weapons: â€Å"Nor was my sword his death, but my hand grasp broke his bone-house, tore out his surging heart.† After fifty years of kingship, when the fire dragon molested his people, Beowulf, the old man, did not lose his fierceness; he was â€Å"ready to die †¦ life from body parted †¦ I am brave in mind.† In the final battle brave Wiglaf showed his own fierceness and advanced to help his lord who was englulfed in flames: â€Å"With him I will embrace the fire †¦ he doesn’t deserve to suffer alone.†    The Anglo-Saxons were also fierce in the sense that they delighted in slaughter. George Clark in Beowulf states regarding the epic: â€Å"Swords, shields, coats of ring-mail, helmets with sourmounted boar figures . . . all furnish the poem and are ... ... husband King Hjorvard to rebel against King Hrolf. With her magic King Hrolf was killed along with his forces. So the story ends on a sad note due to the fierceness of a diabolical queen.    In conclusion, the type of fierceness mentioned in Beowulf is common also to this famous Icelandic saga, The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki. Additionally, there are other types of fierceness in the latter associated with maiden-warriors and with the use of magic.    BIBLIOGRAPHY    Alexander, Michael, translator. The Earliest English Poems. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.    Chickering, Howell D.. Beowulf A dual-Language Edition. New York: Anchor Books, 1977.    Clark, George. Beowulf. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1990.    The Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, translated by Jesse L. Byock. New York: Penguin Books, 1998.                  

The Americanization of Puerto Rico :: American History

The Americanization of Puerto Rico When island inhabitants first heard that Americans were planning on invading Puerto Rico and driving out Spain's rulers, Puerto Ricans welcomed the North Americans to their home. (To view an in-progress work dealing with the Spanish-American War from a pro-colonial expansion point of view, visit this site/ For an objective historical account view this site). The Puerto Ricans were tired of not having a voice in politics and government and with the knowledge that America was a democracy, there was hope that this status quo would change. Although Puerto Ricans felt sentiments of fear at the arrival of the Americans, this did not curb their welcoming and enabling the American invasion. Unfortunately, the outcome of the invasion was not as positive as was thought it would be. During early U.S. rule, Puerto Ricans still were not included in the majority of governmental relations, and as with Spaniards, Americans who were sent to rule in Puerto Rico had never been there before and were i gnorant about the history, culture, Spanish language, etc. Basically, Puerto Rico continued being ruled by foreigners who sought to complete their own interests, as opposed to looking to what are the interests of the nation they are invading and ruling. A cogent metaphor in Ferrà ©'s novel for the unrequited hopes that Puerto Rico had when United States invaded is Tony Torres, who is supposedly going to dance in Kerenski's adaptation of Swan Lake and Firebird . The people who lived in Machuelo Abajo reacted to the news of Tony with respect and excitement. In my view, the initial reactions of Machuelo Abajo's young people, were on a smaller scale, comparable to the reaction of Puerto Ricans, especially the elite, to the proposed American invasion. Here is a sample of the reaction to Tony's being selected as Prince in the ballet school's production: "The young people in Machuelo Abajo saw him as a hero; it was the first time anyone from the slums had ever danced at La Perla or taken part in any way in any of its elegant cultural events. When posters advertising the performance, with Tony's picture, appeared all over town-affixed to the telephone poles and to the walls of buildings and to fences-the people of Manchuelo Abajo took them down, framed them, and hung them in their living rooms. (Ferrà ©, p. 170)" The Puerto Ricans, especially upper class, regarded the United States as the most powerful democracy in the world.