Internal and External Forces and Change Essay

Within the business world, there are different theories of effective change implementation. The corporation this research focuses on is Duke University Children’s Hospital, which is highlighted in the textbook. The topic of the research paper will focus on the process of implementing change within the hospital. Implementing change within organizations is very relevant to this course. Not only is the course called Leading Organization Change, but the topics we have been focusing on revolve around methods of implementing change. With changes, organizations need to take steps to fully plan the change in order to ensure a smooth transition and acceptance (Spector, 2013). Research will show how Duke University Children’s Hospital assessed the internal and external forces that impacted the change and how they assessed if the organization was ready for change. Also, research will show what model and strategies were used during the organizational change along with an analysis o f whether resistance to the change occurred and if so, how it was dealt with. Finally, I will strategize how to handle leading group changes within a similar context. Often times, financial crises spurs change in organizations. This was the case for Duke University Children’s Hospital. An assessment was made by the key administrators that showed how dire their financial situation truly was due to various reasons. This resulted in the pending elimination of programs and reduced services. Additionally, sales productivity had dramatically fallen as well as patient and staff satisfaction reaching its lowest point. These negative factors caused the hospital to make an assessment that they were ready for change. Change was the only thing that would keep their doors open to the public and Meliones knew that once people understood the situation more fully, change would be a goal on all of the staff’s minds. The first step Meliones took was to diagnose what the root causes of the financial crisis was with the staff (Spector, 2013). By creating a sense of urgency around the need for change to a wide variety of staff members, the change impleme ntation process started out on the right path (Russell, 2013). One problem they immediately noticed was that each group of employees (accountants, administrators, clinicians, etc.) was working towards individual goals instead of understanding what the goals of the organization were. This assessment of internal forces that could impact  the change led the staff to understand that it was essential to create a sense of shared responsibility for the organization’s performance as well as changing the previous patterns of behavior. The hospital’s chief medical director, Jon Meliones, realized that these problems could not be addressed by the chief executive officer and chief operation officer alone. These problems needed the combined efforts of all administrators and clinicians in order to successfully come out of the negative place they found themselves in. Meliones, the chief nurse executive, and the nurse managers decided on a tactic that brought together the connection between financial performance and excellence of the health care provided to patients. Under their planned strategic renewal, both financial performance and excellent patient care would be dual focuses. During the shared diagnosis stage, the wide spectrum of employees was educated in the external forces their hospital was up against financially. They realized that because the external forces would most likely not change, changes needed to be made primarily internally (Spector, 2013). Next, implementation moved to the pediatric intensive care unit. It was crucial that new behaviors became operationalized by the redesign of roles, relationships, and responsibilities. The team was able to redesign how every member (doctors, nurses, medical staff, accountants, etc.) would perform their tasks. This redesign was done alongside the members in order to get input. There was a decision to use the balanced scorecard measurement tool once they got to the stage where measurements could be utilized. This measurement tool utilized measurements of many things such as customer satisfaction, financial outcomes, processes of the business internally, and the learning/growing abilities of the organization. These measurements were done in hopes to aide in the reinforcement of all new behaviors that were expected. Because of these new tactics, within three years, the hospital began making a profit again (Spector, 2013). What was crucial to the success of Meliones and his team was the sequence they chose to take during the intervention. First, Meliones kept the staff involved by facilitating a shared diagnosis process which helped find the root of the hospital’s financial issues. The process of unfreezing is  important because this is when group members become dissatisfied with current performance or situations. Because Meliones used this approach instead of lecturing the employees on how to change, the employees were given the opportunity to learn and they felt more involved. This allowed the process of formulating an appropriate response to the issues be a group effort as opposed to Meliones coming up with a plan on his own that may have been resisted. The way to overcome defensiveness, when employees resist change, is to get broad-based participation. The shared diagnosis approach surfaced the connection between their financial performance versus behavior patterns and brought agreement am ong employees about what needs to change. Of course, Meliones could have chosen the approach of presenting to the employees all that was wrong and what the new plan would be, including the balanced scorecard. This would have made the unfreezing stage nearly impossible to accomplish if this approach had been taken. Second, he formulated a cross-functional team made of many different positions. This team had a goal to decide the best way to provide excellent customer service for their patients as well as perform well financially. By using the approach of task alignment, Meliones spurred the organization to focus not only on how the staff could work better together, but a dual focus on excellent patient care and financial performance. It was crucial at this stage to get employees to understand how their roles must interact and rely on other roles within the hospital to be successful. This involved educating all employees about the organization as a whole to give everyone a broad perspective and understanding. Third, Meliones began implementing the changes needed specifically in the pediatric intensive care unit. Fourth, every unit member had a redesign of roles, relationships, and responsibi lities. The last step involved using the balanced scorecard system to reinforce the new behaviors within the organization. This sequence was done for each unit within the organization and as a result, the hospital completely changed their downward trajectory within three years (Spector, 2013). After seeing the success that Duke Children’s Hospital experienced in their strategies, I would take the same approach if I were expected to lead group change in a similar situation. Within the process of shared diagnosis, a  shared commitment to the ideas and action plans is incredibly valuable. When people come together, they stimulate, motivate, and inspire each other to bring forward the best ideas (Fullan, 2001). By involving many employees in the process, the positive effect is that they naturally will have a clear understanding of how the necessary changes will actually benefit the organization (Nguyen, 2010). References Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a culture of change (1st ed.). San Francisco, California: Jossey-Bass. Nguyen, S. (2010). Implementing change and overcoming resistance. Workplace Psychology. Retrieved from http://workplacepsychology.net/2010/02/05/implementing-change-and-overcoming-resistance/ Russell, J. (2013). How to create change in the workplace. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/capitalbusiness/how-to-create-change-in-the-workplace/2013/11/27/9d62f8de-5548-11e3-835d-e7173847c7cc_story.html Spector, B. (2013). Implementing organizational change (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Blackwater: The Rise of the World’s Most Powerful Mercenary Army by Jeremy Scahill

The book under consideration, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, has been written by Jeremy Scahill. The author of this book has presented a very hard-left perception on Blackwater USA, which has proclaimed itself, to be a contractor of private military as well as a security firm.Blackwater USA, according to the author owes its subsistence, reduction of the U.S. armed forced after the Cold War and it owes it’s well-being to the addition in the number of these forces after the tragedy of 9/11 and it further owes it’s disrepute to the fact that it has gained a reputation of being a mercenary setup which has the tendency to finish off the limitations on the army systems that are accountable to state power. Main Theme of the BookIn his well-known book, Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army, the author Jeremy Scahill puts forward information about the Bush Administration as well as its rising reliance on private secur ity forces such as Blackwater USA in particular and the efforts in Congress so as to bring them in. Through his book, the author has exposed the truth behind Blackwater the mercenary firm and the dangers that it brings about because of the outsourcing the government’s domination that it has on the use of force over people.The author of the book has described the growth of Blackwater, since the very beginning with respect to its organizational and instructional functions to what has now turned into a battle position serving as an interior security force in Iraq. In the words of the author, â€Å"Meet Blackwater USA, the powerful private army that the U. S. government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. This is the unauthorized story of the epic rise of one of the most powerful and secretive forces to emerge from the U. S. military-industrial complex† (Scahill, front cover).The book puts forward citations from representatives of the company according to whom Blackwater has the capacity to become so large that it can readily supply brigade-sized forces for civilized reasons, such as matters of maintaining peace as well as low-level disagreements. At the same time as placing emphasis on the likelihood of an a very daring President, who had the courage to take up the services of the mercenaries of Blackwater clandestinely, the author underrates the consequence of exposure on the deniability that he considers as crucial for happenings like these.Debatably, he also negates and that too in a very light manner the image of Blackwater which has now come down to a sort of reputable successor to a long and praiseworthy custom of indenture soldiering. Eventually, Blackwater as well as its other less famous equivalents flourish not just because of a neoconservative plot in opposition to the democratic system, as the author pronounces, but for the reason that they present comparatively low-priced substitutes and options in surroundings that have higher budgets as well as litheness at a time when war is progressively more erratic.The book presents to us the truth about Blackwater as well as its actions along with information about its rise as well as an account of the streets of Fallujah, to the bloodshed taking place in Najaf as well as the US gulf wrecked with storms and Washington DC, where higher authorities of Blackwater continue to be considered heroes fighting the war on terror. The book says that the resistance of the Iraqi people is perhaps the fault of the American soldiers themselves. According to the book, â€Å"the ensuing slaughter by U. S. troops would fuel the fierce Iraqi resistance that haunts occupation forces to this day† (Scahill, front page).Conclusion In the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that the book under consideration namely Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army was written by Jeremy Scahill. In this book, the autho r puts forward the truth about Blackwater as the rising most powerful mercenary army as well as the way by which the Bush administration hired it secretly and the problems that it poses. Works Cited Scahill, J. Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army. United States of America. Nation Books. ISBN-10: 1560259795. Pg 1, front cover

Answer All Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Answer All Questions - Essay Example 150). In a scatter plot diagram, the more two variables are highly correlated; the data points would cluster closer around an imaginary line. For perfect correlation, the data points fall on the straight line. b. A very strong correlation: The degree of relationship between two variables is measured by the correlation coefficient. The stronger the relationship between the variables, the closer the coefficient would move to either +1.00 or -1.00. When the measure of correlation moves closer to either of these two values, it is said that a very strong correlation exists between the two variables. c. Null correlation: Two variables are aid to have null correlation is there is no correlation between them. This happens in case of comparing two variables that are not at all related to one another. The correlation coefficient is 0.90 approximately. The variables under consideration are sales and advertisement. The value of correlation is 0.90 which implies that there exists a strong positive correlation between the variables. The result shows that the advertising made by the company has a positive effect on its sales. The sales are boosted owing to the advertisement. iii) a. The regression model is a multiple regression model and has four independent variables. The dependent variable is the number of copies sold. The only significant value obtained is between the number of pages and the number of copies sold, which is 0.13

WRITING PLAN FOR THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF HURRICANCE KATRINA IN THE GULF Essay

WRITING PLAN FOR THE SOCIAL EFFECTS OF HURRICANCE KATRINA IN THE GULF REGION - Essay Example Hurricane Katrina sped up the rate of wetland destruction in the Gulf region and along the coast of Louisiana. In various areas of the Mississippi River Delta Basin, there were losses of about half of the regional land mass due to the powerful storm surge witnessed in the advent of Hurricane Katrina. Hurricane Katrina affected people in many ways, socially and otherwise. A lot of lives were lost initially, and numerous people also had their lives and daily activities disrupted. Not only did Hurricane Katrina cause damage to the coastline, the hurricane also affected plants and wildlife and in the region, and damaged a lot of buildings, businesses, homes, power lines, schools , roads and bridges. The Hurricane left hundreds of thousands of people without any way to get their homes or go to work, and it separated many from their loved ones and relatives, as well as inflicting mental and physical distress on the people who witnessed this storm and the after-effects of the hurricane. One major cause of death as a result of Hurricane Katrina was drowning. Elderly people of 75 years of age and above were the ones mostly affected by the disaster. It is notable that disaster preparedness efforts for the future should place emphasis on the evacuation and care provision for the more vulnerable populations, including people who may be in hospitals or in long-term care facilities. â€Å"Improving mortality reporting timeliness will enable response teams to provide appropriate interventions to these populations and to prepare and implement preventive measures before subsequent disasters.† (Reed, J. & Theiss, M. 2005) During the days and weeks following Hurricane Katrina, there was rapid deterioration in conditions in the gulf region. For example, New Orleans hospitals and extreme difficulties in the evacuation of their existing patients, hospitals in the downtown New Orleans area were also reportedly not admitting new patients in the days following Hurricane Katrina. † (Nossiter, Adam. 2005) In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, disaster response may have limited precision of documenting all the victims, although this is not likely to be a large difference. â€Å"It is possible that some people who died during the storm were never found or documented. Second, classifying people who were evacuated and later died from Katrina-related causes is inherently difficult, especially as regards older people who had serious preexisting medical conditions.† (Brinkley, D. 2007). After hurricane Katrina, numerous evacuees from the gulf region, were faced with staying for extended periods of time with no income, and destroyed or severely damaged homes. This group also had little or no hope of recovering their possessions, and some started to express the desires to be resettled elsewhere permanently. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, â€Å"approximately 8,000 animals were rescued and brought to temporary shelters set up at the Lamar-Dixon Ex position Center in Gonzales, Louisiana, or the Parker Coliseum at Louisiana State University. (Press Release. "Reviewing Louisiana Animal Evacuation And Rescue." Federal Emergency Management Agency. 2005.) Hurricane Katrina also significantly affected the popularity of Katrina as a name for babies. According to the Social Security Administration, â€Å"Katrina, which had ranked as the 281st female baby name in 2004, dropped down to 382nd most popular name in 2006, 600th most popular name in 2007, and 815th most popular name in 2009.† (Social Security Administration) This was a surprising turn of events, because in the past, major hurricanes like Hurricane Camille which happened in 1969, usually made the names of such

Development and Diversity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Development and Diversity - Essay Example According to Watson’s Behaviorism, behaviors can be measured, trained and changed. John B. Watson claims, â€Å"Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed and my own specified world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take anyone at random and train him to become any specialist I might select†¦doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and, yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations, and race of his ancestors.† This idea of behaviorism was advanced further through the publication of Watson’s classic paper Psychology as the Behaviorist Views It (1913). Miller (1983) adds that behaviorism, or behavioral psychology is based on the argument that all behavior is acquired through conditioning which takes place through contact and interaction with the environment, and therefore, it is the responses to our environmental conditions that shape our behavior. Behavior is considered in a systematic and observable manner with no weight on internal mental states such as mood and emotions which are argued to be purely subjective. It takes only conditioning for any person to be trained to perform any function completely independent of things such as genetic background, personality or thoughts. There are two main types of conditioning in behaviorism. The first type is the classical conditioning which is a method of conditioning in which a naturally occurring stimulus is paired with a response then a previously neutral stimulus paired with a naturally occurring stimulus. It is seen that, in the end, the previously neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) elicits the response (conditioned response) in the absence of naturally occurring stimulus. The second type of conditioning called the operant conditioning or the instrumental conditioning takes place via rewards and punishments for behavior and therefore a relationship is drawn between a behavior and a consequence for that particular behavior. As

Psychology ; BEHAVIOR EXPLANATIONS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psychology ; BEHAVIOR EXPLANATIONS - Essay Example imed at the other spouse, however the interjection of myself or anyone else into the conversation (or even trying to speak with one parent immediately after the conversation) means that anger will refocus itself on whomever is speaking. The anger in the second case is non-specific and merely generalized so that nothing can be said or done without a negative comment on the part of the angry parent. There are five different basic research methods in psychology which are used to identify different behaviors and understand them better: case studies, naturalistic observation, correlational research, survey research and experimental methods. Case studies focus on specific cases, for example one person or one family; naturalistic observation relies on the direct observation of subjects in their natural surroundings and dealing with their normal stimuli; survey research is gathered through the completion of carefully crafted questionnaires that are distributed according to the research questions; and experimental methods will vary according to the research questions and possible subject candidates (Davis and Palladino -). Observing the natural way this behavior is cultivated is most helpful in understanding where it originates and how it might be changed. Naturalistic observation can help dissect parental anger over money because unlike any of the other basic research methods it offers a view directly into the repeating situation. It is, in fact, the natural situation itself that results in anger; Naturalistic observation is key to understanding this particular instance of anger because it is only with specific stimuli that this behavior is displayed. As the habit of opening the mail and sorting the bills is replayed over and over, the original anger and regret over not having the money to pay every bill resurfaces. Another factor is the behavior of overspending before it is time to pay bills; only by watching this situation can it be fully understood since no

Climate Change Cause and Effect Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Climate Change Cause and Effect - Essay Example â€Å"We have a false belief that we have to choose between a healthy economy and a healthy environment† (Schroeder, 2007). The earth’s natural abilities to filter out damaging elements such as CO2 and the less prevalent harmful gasses such as methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are being overwhelmed. The collective rainforests of the world act as a climatic sponge to store a great deal of the world’s rainwater. Trees in the rainforest recycle water drawn from the forest ground. This filtered water, combined with the moisture that evaporates from the leaves, is released back into the atmosphere to fall as rain elsewhere. If not for this enormous system, rivers, lakes and land masses would dry-up, thus loss of rainforest equals increasing droughts of increasing proportions. Disease, starvation and famine on a worldwide scale will be deforestation’s direct result. If immediate action is not taken to reverse the present trend of defore station, the immense Amazon rainforest will soon become a desert region not unlike the Sahara in Africa. Once this process is underway, the effects are irreversible. Studies have determined that the Amazon rainforest, even in its current state, could not withstand three years of drought conditions without beginning the irrevocable path to becoming the Amazon desert. This result, in and of itself, is tragic enough but the repercussions to the rest of the world would be as catastrophic. â€Å"Scientists say that this would spread drought into the northern hemisphere, including Britain, and could massively accelerate global warming with incalculable consequences, spinning out of control, a process that might end in the... This essay outlines the importance of coordinated global effort of the world countries towards solving the problem of climate change through adopting appropriate legislation. The economic consequence of doing nothing is far greater than solving the problem through legislation. New industries that supply solar, nuclear, wind and battery power will replace any jobs lost by the old pollution producing industries and likely produce more. The economy will be enhanced by pursuing alternate energy sources rather than destroyed. The earth’s natural abilities to filter out damaging elements such as CO2 and the less prevalent harmful gasses such as methane, chlorofluorocarbons and nitrous oxide are being overwhelmed. The collective rainforests of the world act as a climatic sponge to store a great deal of the world’s rainwater. Trees in the rainforest recycle water drawn from the forest ground. This filtered water, combined with the moisture that evaporates from the leaves, is released back into the atmosphere to fall as rain elsewhere. If not for this enormous system, rivers, lakes and land masses would dry-up, thus loss of rainforest equals increasing droughts of increasing proportions. Studies in the UK have found that warming could increase rainfall by more than 20 percent during winter by the 2080’s and decrease it by the same amount during summer months in the southern half of that country. This would cause severe droughts in some regions but areas such as East Anglia could very well be under water altogether.

Change context Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Change context - Essay Example For example, one may question whether a halt in the organizations operations would result in the same changes observed and the consequent associated benefits, or, while in operation, what changes are the organization seeing in its context, that need to be taken into the account. A credible answer to these questions will allow the organization identify what is important and effective this will allow the organization to develop necessary activities that seek to drive the organization to an affirmative position, and communicate its impact in a better manner. Change doesn’t usually occur in an unprecedented manner, and arriving at a reasonably acceptable form of change requires assessment and implementation of strategies meant to accomplish the organizations set goals. In most cases, organizational change results from major external driving forces that the organization has little control over, such as need for increase in productivity, significant cuts in funding and need to address new market targets, among others. Normally, in a bid to keep up with these changes that affect the organization, unprecedented changes must occur, devolving the organizations structure to newer improved standards that can keep up with the changing environment. Such evolving changes may include formulation of new policies such as changing from a highly hasty decision making entrepreneurial tendency to one which observes calm and critical planning preceding decision. Such a move, which alters in the organizations operations results to organization-wide c hange. In comparison of three advertisements seeking to find viable individuals for employment in a managerial post, all the advertisements required highly trained individuals, with an adequate educational background. Also, the duties to be tasked to the manager were quite similar, including development of new organizational ideas, planning of the organizations expenditure, identification of issues affecting the

War Against Terror Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

War Against Terror - Essay Example Whether the terror war is based on a series of structured brainstorming sessions that began shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, supplemented by selective research and updates (Ronczkowski, 2004, p. 2) or based on London bombings we are still struggling with defining, dealing with, and addressing terrorism and the roles of officials and agencies in combating terrorism. What have we gained so far Terrorism is there; War on terrorism is going on; we have not gained security against terrorism but a social and moral fear because of politics and legal concerns. Such concerns have emerged a new fear and panic within us. On the other hand the field of terrorism in the context of research or military arenas has revealed that there is a lack of awareness, especially by law enforcement personnel, as to how to best deal with and analyse terrorism and terrorist-related activity. Therefore, how are we expecting law enforcement personnel to identify something about which they do not have a conceptual understanding Law enforcement academies have always focused on training and developing an individual so he understands every aspect of what he can do and what is expected of him in criminal-based situations locally, according to state guidelines. So how can law enforcement personnel be expected to effectively address the international reaches of terrorism without proper training and awareness of what they are attempting to identify and analyse Even it is found out that the information obtained from terrorism analysis is used in strategic planning for areas such as crime prevention and conflicts. However, is cr ime prevention the same as terrorism prevention Such a war on terror is producing nothing but causing in the society intense fear, anxiety, apprehension, panic, dread, and horror. (Garaeu, 2004, p. 14) The main targets of terrorist compulsion are the civilian population, distinguishing these techniques from conventional acts of war directed primarily against military targets. Often members are selected and randomly attacked and escorted towards the preplanned violence that is directed against targets specified. Terrorism often targets business corporations in the private sector. However the war on terror suggests measures to identify all the predictable and unpredictable impacts of terrorist influence upon its instant victims. The war against terror develops its intentions to fight and inspire anxiety, even among its' own members of the public which are far removed from its immediate surrounding area, as well as generating widespread moral disgust about the use of these techniques. The war on terror is often considered as a war which is aimed primarily at terrorists but accidentally military targets also suffer thereby inviting 'collateral damage' to occur, where many civilians are accidentally hurt, but this differs from violent acts that are intentionally directed against the general public. One cannot say how much such a war is beneficial for eradicating terrorists but this is for sure that such wars cause moral turmoil among the citizens. (Just et al, 2003, p. 7) The number of US institutes and research centres and 'think thanks' which have now added this subject to their research agendas against 'war on terror' or, have been newly established to specialise in this field

Uns Preventative Measures Against Child Labour Essay Example for Free

Uns Preventative Measures Against Child Labour Essay UNICEF summarized the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child as spelling out the â€Å"basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life†. This convention is almost universally ratified. Despite this, child labour (something that in many cases violates at least three of the non-negotiable terms laid out in the Convention of the Rights of the Child) remains rampant in most of the world. Despite this being such a widely known (and publicized) issue, the most recent estimate states that â€Å"127 million boys and 88 million girls are involved in child labour with 74 million boys and 41 million girls involved in the worst forms†. Child labour is an extremely complex, multi-faceted issue with roots including corruption of power, racism, sexism, cultural traditions and an uneven distribution of global wealth. In light of this, it is my contention that the international community is making strides to a future without child labour through targeting multiple angles and causes behind child labour. This paper will try to analyze individual instruments the international community (ILO, UN) is using in its attempt to eradicate child labour. First, we will analyze the issues that come with the wide margin of understanding and opposing definitions of the term â€Å"child labour†. We will be reviewing the Minimum Age Convention of 1973 and establishing how this could help clear up misunderstanding, establishing the understandable dialogue between nations necessary for progress. Next, we will be examining the efforts made to follow up and enforce these conventions laid out by the international community. In this section we will be looking at the Time Bound Programs initiative put forth by the ILO, assessing how effective and complete these initiatives are. Subsequently we will be zooming out somewhat, looking at how the uneven distribution of global wealth can create a vicious cycle of economic repression for the developing world and how this can be a catalyst for child labour. We will probe deeper into what is being done to prevent wealthy nations from taking advantage of poorer economies in trade agreements, reviewing guidelines and instruments put in place by the WTO. One of the issues inhibiting the instatement of a global child labour discontinuation standard is the culturally varied understanding and interpretation of â€Å"child labour†. Both words in the phrase can vary in meaning from culture to culture, sometimes forming a wide margin of understanding. Some cultures see childhood as a purely biological state (a child remains a child until puberty, consequently becoming an adult). Others see childhood as much more fluid, often lasting further than puberty and encompassing several different junctures (teenagehood, etc). The definitions of â€Å"labour† are similarly vague (hard labour, chores, familial duties etc). In an effort to combat the confusion and variability of the definition of child labour, the ILO instituted the Minimum Age Convention of 1973. In Article 2 of the Minimum Age Convention (No. 38) the ILO specified â€Å"The minimum age specified in pursuance of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. † However, in light of the fragile state of some economies, the following paragraph (paragraph four) states â€Å"Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, a Member whose economy and ed ucational facilities are insufficiently developed may, after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned, where such exist, initially specify a minimum age of 14 years†. The ILO adjusts this further in later articles of the Convention, stating â€Å"National laws or regulations may permit the employment or work of persons 13 to 15 years of age on light work which is (a) not likely to be harmful to their health or development; and (b) not such as to prejudice their attendance at school, their participation in vocational orientation or training programs approved by the competent authority or their capacity to benefit from the instruction received. (Note that Members can apply the ratifications of paragraph four article one to this section, thereby making the ages twelve to fourteen). In formally addressing the wide berth of what can be defined as child labour and narrowing the definition to a universally accepted medium (age in numerical years) the ILO laid groundwork for Member states to ratify Conventions and projects regarding child labour with a full understanding of what is being discussed. It is no secret that the UN and its subgroups (ILO inclu ded) are notoriously bad at establishing culpability for what its Members agree to. The issue of monitoring the eradication of child labour is unfortunately no different. This is due to a number of factors including (but not limited to) the secrecy that often shrouds child labour, cultural clashes, the need to uphold a nation’s sovereignty, and the unwillingness for nations to get involved in business not directly affecting them. In an attempt to instill culpability to conventions such as the Minimum Age Convention and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (no. 182), the ILO has issued Time Bound Programs. These programs work to establish each individual ratifying countries’ issues, focusing on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour (as established in the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention no. 182). The Time Bound Programs work with ratifying countries to first attempt removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, as well as attempting to eradicate the cause behind child labour in the first place. This includes working to establish alternative work options, familial reunion and establishing protection for child workers against mistreatment and abuse. For example, Ecuador’s Time Bound Program focuses on providing meaningful education options for all children. They aim to support â€Å"sustainable education programs to break the cycle of child labor and broaden and improve the education system, especially in areas targeted by the Time-Bound Program (TBP). † In placing set time periods on clear objectives, the ILO and IPEC make the daunting issue of child labour into smaller, attainable goals. The focus on set time periods makes progress far less likely to get pushed aside or forgotten. In working with each ratifying nation individually to target multiple issues, the ILO is recognizing that child labour is not an issue that can be generalized or simplified. This awareness as to the depth and variability of root causes behind child labour is an extremely important step toward a better future. One of the most widely acknowledged causes behind child labour is widespread poverty due to a weak economy. Although there are many reasons for this, one of the most reprehensible and problematic is how the uneven distribution of global wealth can cause a vicious cycle that hurts developing nations. Many developed nations enter trade agreements with the developing world that greatly inhibit growth and economic advancement. These types of agreements can include unfair taxes in favour of the developed country, rules regarding with whom the economically weaker country can and cannot trade with. Even merely opening up trade can flood developing markets with mass-produced goods far cheaper than what local workers can provide. This stunts economies to the point of desperation, causing rampant poverty leading to child labour, trafficking, etc. The World Trade Organization was established to prevent this, running seminars educating developing worlds on how to break into the international market and monitoring international trade agreements. In educating nations about trade and monitoring how countries respond to being introduced to the global market, the UN/WTO attempts to even the playing field for countries otherwise disadvantaged. The establishment of the WTO also helps developed nations know that their actions and agreements will not go unnoticed, deterring rich countries from taking advantage of poorer nations. This is essential for global development, raising economies and therefor raising wages and quality of work. Similar to most international issues, child labour is plagued with facets of complication. The fact is that child labour merely the symptom of a plethora of greater problems. Apathy, misunderstanding, corruption and poor circumstance all have a hand in making child labour the hot button issue rallied by hippies and suburban mothers alike. In contrast to the views of first year Political Science students everywhere, there is no simple fix. Furthermore, the delicacy of the situation means actions put in place by outside sources have the possibility of setting off unforeseeable consequences. In light of this, the fight against child labour must be slow and handled with the utmost care. The international community is employing measures that both focus on the symptom (removing children from unsafe work) and the root cause (working to establish educational options and economic help).

The Relationship Between Force Velocity And Power Physical Education Essay

The Relationship Between Force Velocity And Power Physical Education Essay In many sporting activities it is particularly important for success and when it happens the body is considered to have the ability to quickly accelerate from a resting position. As most daily and sport activities involve the generation of force through ranges of joint movements it is important to understand the relationship between the force, velocity and power of the movement. The concept of a force- velocity relationship was based on the research performed by A.V Hill on the muscle mechanical model (Hill, 1938). Based on his research the force velocity relationship is described as the amount of force generated by a muscle as a function of the speed at which a muscle length is shortening by stimulating the muscle under isotonic conditions. At a fastest speed of shortening the muscle generates the lowest force but when the speed of shortening decreases the force output of the muscle in concentric contractions increases that maximum force occurs. However as the load on the muscle continues to increase the speed of shortening will decrease due to the load becoming greater than the ability of the muscle to generate enough force to overcome the imposed load. Small loads enable the muscle to react with high shortening velocities and heavy loads require most of the cross-bridges for lifting the load rather than accelerating it. 2 The other relationship to consider is the power velocity relationship. Power is the rate at which a muscle can produce force and is defined as a product of force multiplied by velocity. The peak power that a muscle can generate increases rapidly as velocity increases until it reaches speeds up to 200 300 degrees-s-1, when velocity increases beyond these values the power output of the muscle declines due to the reduced overlap between actin and myosin filaments. Peak power is also related to the fiber type composition of the muscle. Muscles that have a greater percentage of fast-twitch fibers generate a greater peak power than muscles that are mostly composed of slow-twitch fibers because fast-twitch fibers contain higher ATPase activity than slow-twitch therefore ATP is broken down more rapidly. For athletes who engage in sports involving brief spurts of high power the explanation of the force, velocity and power relationship shows that these athletes generally contain a higher per centage of fast-twitch muscle fibers than slow-twitch. Basketball is among the most popular sports internationally. It is a dynamic game with intermittent high intensity exercise that incorporates frequent sprinting, rapid and repeated sudden changes in direction and jumping. These actions require adequate leg muscle strength and anaerobic power that are frequently required during critical episodes of the game. Jumping is the most dominant act performed by a basketball player as it plays a part of various defensive (blocking, rebounding and stealing)and playing offensive ( passing, shooting, lay ups and rebounding) manoeuvres during practices and games. When under real game situations are not only required to perform numerous high jumps but they have to perform them in a competitive and demanding environment against the opposing team. Not only are they required jump higher they also have to jump higher than their opponents in a given defensive or offensive situation. As a result it is one of the desired goals of basketball players, rega rdless of their playing position whether it is a guard, forward, or centres, to improve their jumping ability in addition to them achieving a high level of competence in the other defensive and offensive plays they have to perform during the game. A number of studies have assessed vertical jump heights in basketball players and come across mean values of jump heights ranging from 24.8cm3 in one study up to 48.2cm4 in another. However most studies have found values that were above 40cm. For female players they can have values of 22 48cm and male players 40-75cm1. Also from one of the studies they found that vertical jump heights improved after part taking in plyometric training and when just taking part in resistance training alone the results showed that there was a lack of improvement in jump height but was a significant improvement in strength. The purpose of this investigation is to look at the relationship between force, velocity and power by taking part in commonly used resistance exercises the flat bench press and dumbbell squat jumps. Also to design a training session for a basketball player to improve their fitness in the aspect of power. Method The participant that volunteered in this study was a 21 year old male student studying level 2 sport at Sunderland University and plays for the universitys basketball team. The student is 5ft 10 inches and a weight of 71kg. The subject was informed about the procedures and demands of the study and signed a written consent form which was approved by the ethics committee at the university. As the subject is a basketball player they are regularly involved in team practices and matches and have had some experience in weight training as trains for strength 3 times a week. Flat bench press The protocol for the flat bench press is that the subject was well warmed up and stretched the relevant muscles before beginning the exercise. When ready to perform the exercise the subject would assume a supine position by lying with their back on the bench, once comfortable on the bench theyd then grasp the bar slightly wider than shoulder length with a closed grip. The spotter waits for the subject to give a signal for them to help assist in moving the bar off the supports. All repetitions started from the position of the bar resting lightly while touching the chest with the subjects elbows flexed. From the start position the subject pushes the bar upwards until the elbows are fully extended and then lowers the bar to touch the chest and not bouncing off it while keeping the wrists rigid and directly above the elbows. The subject will first perform 5 repetitions with the bar unloaded and then increase the load to 10kg each time until they can no longer lift the current load. For t his exercise it was important that two spotters were positioned at either end of the barbell (but not too close to distract the subject) and that they kept their hands in a position close to the ends of the barbell. The spotters also paid close attention to the subjects forearms and the barbell especially when the subject was experiencing difficulties in completing the repetitions. When following the bar they kept their back flat, knees, hips and torso slightly extended when spotting the movements. Velocity, force and power was measured using the Globus machine by having a line attached onto the end of the barbell ensuring that it didnt interfere with the movement. Dumbbell Squat jumps The subject performed a warm up for 5 minutes by cycling at 60 W on a cycle ergometer and then practiced performing squat jumps in a controlled manner with no mass. The athlete squats down until the knees are bent at 90 degrees with weight distributed evenly over both feet which they maintained for couple of seconds and have both arms by their sides with some light bars. The athlete then jumps up vertically as high as possible by applying force as fast as possible and then land back on the floor with both feet landing at the same time. On every squat jump the mass should be increased by 5 or 10kg increments until the subject is unable to perform a controlled squat jump. Every time the squat jump was performed the force, velocity and power was measured using the Globus system by attaching the line onto the end of the dumbbell. The subject also had 2 spotters supervising them while performing the squat jumps making sure there was minimum risk of injury. The data from both exercises were then presented on the computer and then plotted into force, velocity and power curves. Fig 1Results Presented above in figure 1 is a graph of the force, power curve. The power curve is shaped like an inverted u and can see where the maximal amount of power of the muscle has peaked. From the graph power has peaked at 535 and decreased after this point. The subject lifted up to 90kg during the exercise but his maximal power was obtained at 40kg so 45% of the subjects 1RM is at 40kg. Dumbbell mass (kg) Total mass (kg) Velocity Force Power 0 75.1 2.64 1819 3270 10 85.1 2.1 1010 1720 28 93.1 1.76 971 1397 34 109.1 1.2 957 970 44 119.1 1.11 940 850 54 129.1 0.8 731 517 Fig 2 Above in figure 2 is a table of the results from the squat jump test. From looking at the first score we can see that there was a significantly high force being generated for the jump and resulted in the high amount of power but when the load was increased the amounts of power within the jumps seemed to decrease. Discussion From the results collected in the study the maximal power was found to occur at 40% of the subjects 1RM and compared to other studies it confirmed these results. The reason why the squat jump power scores are low could be down to jump not using any stored elastic energy in the musculotendinous unit due to it being too slow to allow potentiation from the stretch reflex because of there being no eccentric phase. To help improve jumping ability it may be beneficial to see whether plyometric training would be better instead of regular strength training as Plyometrics training involves lower loads and fast explosive movements using a prestretch or counter movement that involves the stretch shortening cycle and are related to skills relevant in the game of basketball. The purpose of plyometric exercises is to increase the power of subsequent movements by using both the natural elastic components of muscle and tendon and the stretch reflex. Plyometric training can increase muscle power by the explanation of two proposed models mechanical and neurophysiological. In the mechanical model elastic energy is stored in the musculotendionous unit by the result of a stretch during the eccentric phase of a movement and when followed by a concentric muscle contraction the stored elastic energy is released and increases the total force production. The neurophysiological model involves the stimulation of mus cle spindles at the eccentric phase caused by a rapid stretch and making a reflexive movement action meaning when the concentric phase happens after there is increased muscle recruitment. Also the stretch shortening cycle employs both the storage capabilities of elastic energy and the stimulation of muscle spindles from the stimulation of stretch reflex. I think the basketball player would benefit greatly from a Plyometric training session as they are required to jump repeatedly throughout the game for rebounds, defending, shooting. By taking part in a mixed upper and lower body session the player would have the ability to produce more force in a shorter time when jumping giving them the chance to jump higher. Training Session Plyometrics training Warm up

If We Are What We Eat, What Does This Count As? Essay -- Food Health S

References can possibly be made between the modern world of high school and the brutal wilderness of Africa. Walk into any high school, and even a college or two, cafeteria and the similarities are blatantly obvious. Here is where the watering hole can be seen: the very place where members of the tribe or pack congregate everyday to talk, eat, and determine the food chain. There are the lions, the seniors of the school, lounging lazily in the sun and reveling in their greatest accomplishment yet: gaining acceptance into college. Next the elephants make themselves known, juniors loud and looking to prove their worth to the rest of the jungle, showing they are capable of operating the complex system known as high school once the seniors are gone. Sophomores present themselves in the form of the chimpanzees, hanging out in the trees, watching another year and all the commotion around them floating leisurely by. Finally, we see the gazelles, frightened freshmen quivering in anticipat ion and excitement of the next four years of their lives, looking for a safe place to graze the savannas. While these four components of the jungle happen smoothly and seem to take little effort, little thought is given to the primary purpose of the animal’s gathering: the food itself. Food, as a vital and necessary part of any being’s existence, is served to the masses within cafeterias across the nation. For many of these schools and some colleges, the food served is neither of the highest quality, nor the most satisfying available. Across the country, millions of schools every year are serving below average meals which do not meet health standards necessary for growing students, meals which are also dissatisfying to the student in both taste and qua... ... distribution of frozen entrees. Better lunches begin with fresh produce, whole grains, and fruits. By way of these five recommended solutions, surely there can be one valid enough to make precedence for the future and allow a better, healthier America. Works Cited http://www.healthyschoollunches.org/reports/report2008_intro.cfm http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/cat-school-food.html http://news.health.com/2009/03/04/school-lunches-fatty-sugary-critics-say/ http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/pyramid-full-story/index.html http://www.rwjf.org/childhoodobesity/product.jsp?id=32491 http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/07/01/health.lunch.reut/index.html http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36023553/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6430258/ http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_1952.cfm

Free Euthanasia Essays: The Church and Assisted Suicide :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Church groups wrote to all members of Congress urging support for the Lethal Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 1998. Excerpts follow: Swift enactment of this legislation is necessary due to a seriously flawed ruling by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno... The ruling asserts that Oregon, by rescinding its own civil and criminal penalties for assisting the suicides of certain patients, has established assisted suicide as a "legitimate medical practice" within Oregon's borders -- and that the federal government lacks any basis for disagreeing with this judgment. Under this ruling, however, federal intervention by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Oregon "may well be warranted" in cases where a physician "fails to comply with state procedures" regarding how and when to assist suicides. Federal law will protect the lives only of those deemed by the state to be "ineligible" for assisted suicide. The Oregon assisted suicide law, in and of itself, poses an enormous threat to human dignity and to equal protection of all citizens under law. While continuing to forbid assistance in the suicide of a young and healthy person, this law rescinds criminal, civil and professional penalties for a doctor who assists the suicide of someone he or she believes "in good faith" to have six months to live. Ironically, once this "good faith" judgment is made it will never be proved wrong, because the patient will be dead from a drug overdose in a few days. Oregon's discriminatory policy stigmatizes an entire class of vulnerable patients as having lives not worth protecting. For this reason it has been found unconstitutional by the only federal court to review Oregon's law on the merits. See Lee v. Oregon, 891 F.Supp. 1429 (D. Or. 1995), vacated on other grounds, 107 F.3d 1382 (9th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 328 (1997). Current federal policy demands an increased penalty when the victim of a crime is seriously ill or otherwise "unusually vulnerable" (United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, p. 227, Â § 3A1.1). How, then, can the federal government now adjust its penalties under the Controlled Substances Act to confirm and enforce Oregon's discriminatory policy on assisted suicide -- where the vulnerable condition of the victim turns a crime into a "legitimate medical practice"? Any "states' rights" argument on this issue is contradicted by the plain language and intent of the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Reasons for the Defeat of Napoleon in Russia in the Campaign of 1812

This essay will examine the factors that led to Napoleon and his enormous army retreating from Russia and eventually losing a great majority of soldiers as well as their notoriety of being â€Å"invincible† after invading Russia in 1812. It will also consider the effects that that particular war had on the downfall of Napoleon’s empire in the subsequent years. The Campaign of 1812 was to be Napoleon’s crowning achievement. His Grand Armee of over 600,000 men from all corners of his empire was the largest he had ever assembled. The Emperor of France was notorious to his enemies. His armies were said to be invincible and his tactics in battle were second to none. This was at least how he was perceived at the time. On the 23rd of June, 1812 he invaded Russia with the hopes of ultimately dominating Europe. Napoleon did not anticipate, however, the harsh Russian weather that they had to face coupled with the scorched-earth policy that the Russians employed. He also overlooked the resolve of Tsar Alexander in that the Russian Tsar would not surrender to Napoleon under any circumstances. Napoleon was also fighting a losing battle within himself. His age was beginning to get the better of him and his unwavering confidence in himself blinded him from making correct decisions. The campaign of 1812 was a disaster for Napoleon. Worse than the loss of over 500,000 men in Russia was the realization of France’s enemies that Napoleon was no longer the ‘Invincible’ conqueror that he was. Napoleon’s Russian campaign failed due to the culmination of these various factors, but above all, it was Napoleons faulty judgment and unwavering confidence in himself that led to his demise. Furthermore, this great defeat exposed Napoleon’s weakness to his enemies and as a result his reign as emperor came to an end. The weather was a worthy opponent to Napoleon and his Grand Armee during his campaign in Russia. However, casualties could have been prevented if Napoleon prepared properly for this grand campaign. Russia experiences extremely cold winters that arrive rapidly. It also gets very hot in the summer months. At the start of Napoleon’s campaign his army experienced very hot weather. As the campaign entered July the heat became unbearable. Napoleon and many of his men were struck with diseases. [1] Napoleon was losing soldiers to exhaustion, sickness and desertion at a rate of 5,000 per day. It is reported that after two months, without even fighting a battle Napoleon had lost 150,000 soldiers. [2] General Clausewitz wrote, â€Å"The bad water and the air-borne insects caused dysentery, typhus, and diarrhea. â€Å"[3] However, if Napoleon had planned to bring more doctors and medicine with him then many thousands of lives would have been saved. I believe this is Napoleon’s first in a series of mistakes that stems from faulty planning. Napoleon’s army suffered even worse during their retreat from Moscow. The soldiers were shattered by the bitter cold of the harsh Russian winter. Again, Napoleon had not planned properly for this. In fact, he had not even planned that he would be in Russia during the winter, another fatal mistake. Napoleon proclaimed before the campaign began that he expected it to last 20 days. [4] And according to another source he prepared 40 days worth of food for his army. [5] Either way this gross miscalculation by Napoleon in the preparation stages of his campaign. It is evident that Napoleon did not thoroughly plan for the Russian campaign, nor did he make the correct calculations that would ensure a decisive victory. I think that this is due to his slowly deteriorating heath as well as Napoleon’s overconfidence and irrational belief that he could not be defeated. It seemed as though Napoleon failed to display his true genius in 1812 that had won him countless battles in the past. He displayed much caution, which was uncharacteristic of his once vigorous and dominating demeanour. It is still unclear whether this was due to his illness at the start of the campaign or a more deeply-seated issue in Napoleon’s age and irrational beliefs. This is what Napoleon said on the subject of his own health: â€Å"Health is indispensable in war†; and, a few years later :†There is but one season for war; I shall be fit for it six years longer, and then I shall myself be obliged to stop. † He had passed the limit set by himself when the highest efficiency could be expected. [6] â€Å"Napoleon was 42 years of age in 1812 and clearly his best years as a youthful and energetic leader were behind him. As he entered into this midlife crisis he became more restless and he wanted to fully control Europe before he grew too old to do so. Napoleon also maintained this sense of destiny, he found it incredible that others even tried to oppose his strength. â€Å"Russia is now being led to her fate, let her destiny be fulfilled! â€Å"[7] This quote is evidence to the claim that Napoleon allowed his ego to get the better of his judgement. In Napoleon’s mind, it was god’s will for him to crush Russia and seize control of Europe. It was impossible for him to lose this campaign against Russia, especially with the greatest army the world had ever seen at his disposal. With such a tremendous force Napoleon overlooked the finer details of the campaign that were essential to assuring its success. Another factor that greatly contributed to the failure of Napoleon’s 1812 campaign was the tactics that the Russians employed to deter his Grand Armee. The Russians would retreat deeper inland as soon as they saw the Grand Armee approaching, which worked to exhaust their enemy. The Russians had no choice but to retreat when they saw Napoleon’s massive approaching army. As a result of this, the Grand Armee suffered. [8] It is unclear whether the Russians retreated as they were aware that facing the enormous invading force was suicidal or they did it on purpose in order to intentionally tire out the enemy. Either way, the retreat worked wonders against Napoleon’s Army. A French General said this: â€Å"We (the French cavalry) deploy, and boldly advance to the attack, and already reach their line; but they disappear like a dream and we see only the bare pines and birch trees. An hour later, when we have begun to feed our horses, the dark line of Cossacks again appears on the horizon, and we are again threatened with an onslaught. We repeat the same manoeuvre, and, as before, our operations are not attended with success. Thus one of the best and bravest cavalry forces the world has ever seen was tired out and disorganised by those whom it considered unworthy foes, but who were the real saviours of their country. â€Å"[9] As the Russians retreated, they gained in strength, and exhausted the resources of country on the path that was to be trailed by the invaders. This has come to be known as the ‘scorched earth policy. ’ This strategy was designed to deplete the enemy’s resources so that they may only survive on the provisions that they brought along with them. The Russians burned their own countryside as they fell back. Napoleon did not anticipate the use of this tactic. It was greatly effective in depleting the numbers of the Grand Armee by starving the enemy. The Russians were determined to defend their country from almost certain defeat. They fought knowing that their entire country was relying on them to keep it from falling into Napoleon’s hands. This incentive and confidence in battle that the Russians had was also not anticipated by the French Emperor. He expected the Russians to roll over and be crushed as he had done in previous campaigns. Also to his horror he found that the discipline in his own ranks was slowly fading†¦ As previously stated, Napoleon had amassed his army from all corners of his empire. Among the French there were Germans, Italians, Poles, Spaniards, Portuguese, Swiss and Croatians. Even though the numbers of this army were staggering, their cohesion as a unit was compromised due to the simple fact that they were all from different countries. This mixture of languages and cultures, although very large and well organized, made efficiency and discipline an issue for Napoleon. Also, only the French troops were the ones who were well equipped and well trained, they were inspired to fight under their beloved Emperor. The same cannot be said of the rest of the troops. [10] The foreigners were fighting because they had no choice, they were allies to Napoleon but they shared no special bond with him, nor were they particularly motivated to be fighting in his name and in the name of France. This was another key factor that played a large role in the dismantling of the army during Napoleon’s retreat form Moscow. Napoleon also failed to realize that the Tsar Alexander would not surrender as easily as he thought. Napoleon thought that after a handful of decisive victories the Tsar would agree peace terms and Napoleon would have his way. He also mistakenly thought that if he were to occupy the Russian capital of Moscow then the country would be at his mercy. â€Å"A Single blow delivered at the heart of the Russian Empire, at Moscow the holy, will instantly put this whole blind, apathetic mass at my mercy. [11] Napoleon, despite having extensive relations with Tsar Alexander had underestimated his character. The Tsar’s resolve was strong and unwavering in his decision to not accept terms of peace with Napoleon. He did not even respond to Napoleon, even though the French Emperor now occupied the capital city. [12] It is important to note that as the Grand Arme e entered into Moscow it was in flames, set ablaze by the Russians themselves in accordance with their scorched earth policy. This denied Napoleon’s men the provisions and plunder that they so desired and had been promised. The occupants had fled to the countryside and the city was left deserted and up in flames. Napoleon had again been bested by the Russians. His army was now 1/5th of what it was. Two of my sources hold very different views when it comes to the morale of Napoleon’s men at this time. One maintains that the officers maintained their confidence in Napoleon while the troops, although not happy with the fact that they had no provisions â€Å"retained their thoughtlessness† and were still content under the Emperor’s guidance. [13] The other source depicts more of a sense of disillusionment within the ranks. The fires by which the place was devastated reacted on the discipline of the troops. The men abandoned themselves to disorder, and marauding did not cease until the Emperor took stringent measures to restore discipline. †[14] Napoleon was left with a dilemma to ponder. He could either continue the campaign and make a final push to defeat the weakened enemy with the disgruntled and famished troops that he had left or he could quickly retreat and leave Russia knowing that he had been outmanoeuvred by his enemy. Napoleon took a third option. He waited for word from Tsar Alexander. He was optimistic that the Tsar would sign a peace agreement. Napoleon was unaware of the fact that Alexander could not possibly surrender, it was his duty as Tsar to never accept terms. This led to Napoleon hesitating in Moscow for five weeks. With no word from Alexander and winter fast approaching. A decision needed to be made quickly. Napoleon gave the order to retreat and they marched out of Moscow on the 19th of October. [15] This hesitation from Napoleon would soon come back to bite them. Napoleon lingered in Moscow for far too long. His stay should not have exceeded two weeks and he should have retreated in September. By hesitating so long he brought about the horrors that would face him and what was left of his army in the following weeks. Three weeks after Napoleon and his army exited Moscow the winter emerged. As they marched westward the cold gradually increased until it became almost unbearable. As the temperature dropped to -20 degrees the retreating soldiers began dropping like flies from starvation, disease and the bitter cold. Discipline declined. The famished soldiers no longer did what they were told. They had no honour left to do battle, instead the main goal of every soldier was to stay alive. Men fought over food supplies and clothes. Some abandoned the unit in search of provisions elsewhere. The army was no longer a fighting force. [16] This, however was not the retreating army’s only problem. The Cossacks attacked the army from all flanks, they were vicious and relentless to Napoleon’s army, and they showed no mercy to anyone who fell behind the main unit. 17] Napoleon’s army was slowly fading away, little by little each day. Napoleon even wore a vial of poison around his neck in the event of him being captured. Less than 90,000 soldiers escaped Russia even after Napoleon had abandoned what was left of his army when he heard of a coup developing in Paris. The campaign in Russian was colossal failure. With what looked like a sure victory for Napoleon at the start of the campaign ended in shambles. Napoleon was outwitted and undone by the tactics of the Russians. Something Napoleon did not consider possible. Napoleon’s failure to understand that the Russians would fight with such desperation to defend their motherland was a costly mistake. Napoleon greatly underestimated his enemy, as well as the amount of necessary provisions to feed such a massive force as the Grand Armee. Everything seemed to conspire against Napoleon in the Russian campaign and in some respects he was hopelessly unlucky. His belief in himself and his army was so great, his ‘star’ so bright that he became blinded. He failed to think through the battle plan thoroughly enough and the result was a great failure. This failure did not go unnoticed by the rest of Europe. After it became obvious that Napoleon had lost with such a large army at his disposal Britain, Russia, Prussia and Sweden decided to strike Napoleon when he appeared weakest. His reputation as an invincible conqueror took a massive hit. The rest of Europe realized that it was possible to defeat Napoleon. Napoloen was able to rally another army to defend his empire from the forces that were now conspiring against him but it was too late, the initial damage had been done through the Russian campaign and Napoleon’s empire would never again ascend to what it once was prior to the campaign of 1812.

Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches Essay

Qualitative Research Design Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualitative research design is an approach used in research by researchers and scientists to study the behaviour and habits of human beings in the society. According to Flick, (2009 p. 17) the research design is used in various fields such as health, social sciences, business and other social sciences to study different behaviours. In health, qualitative research may be used to study issues on health awareness, availability of health facility, and access to primary, secondary, and tertiary healthcare services. The data obtained is then used as the basis for health improvement recommendations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consequently, the qualitative research design can be applied in business to study the problems affecting business and how solutions can be modelled to improve performance of the industry. According to Saunders et al., (2012 p. 6) business research is a systematic research aimed at studying problems and solutions to business.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the fact that business is a wide field, the design is also adapted in specific disciplines of business such as product design, marketing, advertisement, human resource, and studying new business opportunities. For example, in product design, the designers may want to obtain data about the existing products based on consumers’ feedback and use the information to improve or design new product using interviews, focus groups or ethnographic studies. Similarly, the same approach can be used in market research to establish the demand of certain products and the product penetration in the market. The researcher prepares questions to be used in either interviews or focus group. The information obtained from the interviews is then analysed to understand the demand of a given product in the market.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Example of qualitative research for product designer may include: product designers may want to study the gap in the market for a certain product for them to introduce new product that meet consumers’ tastes and preference. The designer may opt to interview several people in the targeted area and ask questions that may give information about the gap in the existing products. For example, they may obtain information about a detergent that does not work effectively to remove stains and thus design a new product that would meet consumers taste and preferences. Hence, qualitative research design forms the most efficient tool to obtain the data required to make the decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The design is also used as a lead for quantitative design. The viability of hypothesis is tested through the qualitative design and then proved using the quantitative design through mathematical analysis. Hence, the design is very important for preliminary studies where the researcher may want to gather information about the topic before embarking on detailed quantitative research.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Siegel & Olshansky, (2012 p. 53) there are several approaches used to obtain the data in qualitative design, which include: Interviews Focus groups Ethnographic research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interviews and the focus groups will be studied in details in the rest of the paper through critical evaluation and analysis to understand the application and how their cons can be improved in order to improve qualitative research design. Interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews involve questions and answer session between the researcher and the participants (DiCicco†Bloom, & Crabtree, 2006 p. 317). The researcher or the interviewer asks the questions while the participant responds to them based on his experience or the knowledge about the questions. The interviewer guides the respond throughout the interview until all the questions are answered comprehensively. The interview may involve individuals or groups. According to Seidman, (2013 p. 113) interviews can be carried out through various methods such as; face-to-face interactions, telephone or electronic devices such as internet-enabled computer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are different types of interviews depending on how they are carried or how the interview questions are structured. The paper will elaborate, evaluate and analysed four forms of interviews namely: Structured interview Semi-structured interviews Unstructured interviews and Iinformal interviews Types of interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The types of interviews are discussed based on Creswell, (2014 p. 189) explanations. Structured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are the main tool of research when the researcher has well understanding of the research topic. This is because the researcher is able to formulate all the possible research questions and get as much information from the participants as possible. The researcher may be interested in proving a theory or previous studies. Hence, interview is based on the literature reviewed or observations related to the topic during less structured interviews. The interview is developed using topic specific and close-ended questions. This is from the fact that the researcher has well understanding of the topic and scope and thus limits the information that he or she should obtain from the participants. Although the researcher is able to obtain information that is specific to his or her study, it may be hard for the respondent to answer all the questions well since he may be limited to answers. In addition, lack of knowledge about a certain question may result in incomplete interviews. Semi-Structured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview is used when the researcher has limited time, respondent availability is not guaranteed, and thus different people conduct the interview in the field at the same time. The interview has well explained instructions to guide the interviewers in order to provide accurate and qualitative data in addition to trainings meant for understanding the topic. The interviews are preceded by informal interviews and observations in order to help the researcher to understand the topic in order to develop the semi-structured interview. The interview questions are mainly open ended and thus the respondent has the freedom to answer the questions in his own understanding and experience. The interview becomes interesting when the respondent understands the topic and thus he or she may give as much information as possible. The additional information can be noted in a notebook to support the data during presentation. Unstructured interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   They are carried out when the researchers lack enough understanding on the topic and hence have allowance for additional information from the respondent. The researcher tries to gets as much information from the respondent as possible in order for him or her to build on the existing information. The questions are open ended and the researcher has no influence on the respondents’ answers. However, the researcher has a clear understanding of the research setting. Informal interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The method is commonly used for social research and or during the early set up of the study. In this type of interview, the researcher aim is to obtain as much information from participants as possible. This is because the topic is poorly understood and there is little literature on the topic and thus information can only be obtained from primary sources to build on the existing information. Most informative interview approach are carried out for studies that are based on experience, interests, or a given culture that is not researched and so the researcher uses observations to develop more understand of the inquiry and develop a rapport. Like the structured, the interview questions are open ended as the respondent’s information is crucial towards development of the study. Pros of the interviews Accurate data   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to Seidman, (2013 p. 1oo) interviews give more accurate data than other data collection methods. The researcher explains to the respondents some questions that might be difficult of him or her and thus end up getting the required information. In addition, the researcher explore the topic or questions using probe that enables him or her to get more information and details, which results in more accurate data. That is, the researcher has a chance to clarify and explain some questions that the interviewee my lack the knowledge and understanding thus getting the intended information.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview provides a rich data with details and insights about the topic. The respondent describes his or her own understanding on the topic with the help of the researcher. In addition, the researcher can create a favourable environment for the interview thus resulting in general and sensitive information that is important to the study compared to other methods of data collection such as questionnaires and focus group. For example, in focus group, the interactions of a number of respondents at the same time may hinder discussion of sensitive information due to lack of confidentiality. However, interview between the researcher and respondent only creates a favourable environment to give all types of information. Feedback   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is direct response from the interviewee and the feedback. This ensures that the information sought is obtained and in case of disparity. In addition, the researcher ensures that the information is obtained from the intended person. In other types of methods such as questionnaires, information may be obtained from unintended person. Observations   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews can be carried out at the same time with observations to gain more understanding and information on the topic. Unlike other methods used in research, interviews allow researcher to make observations that may be important source of information. In addition, the research may compare the information from the respondents and what he or she observes and inquire for clarity when disparity is noticed. Building Rapport   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Close interactions between the researcher and interviewee creates a more relaxed environment, which results to the respondent answering questions based on his or her experience rather than giving direct answers to the topic. The researcher then use the information obtained from the researcher to build a rapport with topic. The researcher may explore additional information from the respondent that may help to develop more understanding on the topic Flexibility   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Interviews are conducted at any time, locations, or based on the circumstances of the individual,. Thus, they are the most convenient method of data collection. For example, the researcher can conduct interviews in residential areas, trading areas, farming locations and any other place that may be convenient to the respondent. Cons of interviews   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Time-consuming: the process of scheduling, conducting, and analysing the interviews consumes a lot of time (Zikmund, 2013 p. 150). The process of visiting the respondents and carrying the interview face-to-face can be tedious and time consuming. Since huge data is obtained from interview, it becomes tedious to enter the data and a lot of time is consumed. Therefore, it is important to have a data entry and analysis plan before data collection. Costly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interviews are costly because they require the interviewers to be trained, the schedules to visit respondents to be prepared and the actual interview process. They require physical participation of respondent and the researcher. Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The physical appearance of the interviewee may affect the attitude of the respondent and thus giving biased information that may affect the accuracy of the data. Other factors that may results in biased information include the respondents’: voice tone and opinion, gender and race, inadequate note taking. Biasness affects the main purpose of the study, which may produce contradicting data from the existing one. This can mislead future studies that may rely on the data. Inconsistencies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The flexibility of the interviews may result in inconsistence data during interactions due to variation in interview setting such as changing environment. For example- interruption of interviews by passersby or other factors such as rain can make the respondent to lose track and give inconsistence information Focus groups   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focus group involves collection of data through semi-structured interview from a group of respondents who are identified based on diverse but related characteristics to form a diverse group that represent the actual population. The interview is moderated by a group leader and involves discussion of a specific topic. Fiske and Merton introduced the method during their studies that were based on audience participants (Sprenkle & Piercy, 2005 p. 87) Pros of focus group Developing research topic   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focus group give information to the researcher about a given subject, which help him or her to develop the topic and build rapport. The aim of the focus group is to obtain as much information as possible that is necessary for the study and thus it is a common method for preliminary study. Time saving   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Large amount of data from a big population can be obtained within the shortest time possible (Hesse-Biber, & Leavy, 2011 p. 164). Data is collected from groups of respondents at the same time. This is in contrary to interviews where the questions are asked to a single respondent for a given time and it may take a lot of time to cover a given number of respondents as opposed to focus groups. Accurate data:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The discussion involves the consensus among the group members. In case of diverse information, members agree on given information that giving accurate and homogeneous data The data is also specific on the researchers’ topic. Economical:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huge data can be summarized using group consensus and thus data entry and analysis is cheap and time saving as opposed to interviews where huge amount is obtained from very large number of respondents Observations:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just like interviews, the researcher can get additional data from the participants’ behaviour, feelings and thought about the topic. In addition, focus group helps to generate information for a study that could have unobservable features. Cons of focus group Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The moderator of the group or the researcher makes the final judgment and interpretation of the discussion. Subjective judgment and poor interpretation has high risk of introducing personal businesses in the discussion and thus biased data. The participants may tend to follow the initial opinions thus resulting in biased results Risk of incomplete and inaccurate data   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The planning, scheduling and contacting participants may be costly and involving and thus poor management may result to incomplete study that may affect the quality of data collected. Sensitive information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is not a good method for addressing sensitive issues. This is because people may feel uneasy sharing sensitive information among their friends or enemies that might be in the group, which may have a negative contributory factor to the quality of data obtained. Addressing the interview cons Time consuming   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The use of alternative means of communication such as telephone and computer can decrease the time spent in scheduling and visiting the respondents. Therefore, avoiding face-to-face interviews can help to save time and making the method more economical. Time that could be spent to travel to respondent and carry physical interview is minimised. Planning should also be done prior to the study in order to avoid time wasting during the actual study. Costly   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Activities such as data entry and analysis can be carried along with the interviews to ensure that no additional cost that is incurred during independent data entry. Minimised travelling through phone interviews would cut down on cost. Biasness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Presentable physical appearance should be encouraged. The physical appearance of the interviewer that would not have influence on respondents should be emphasized during training. Interviewers should be discouraged from making subjective judgments that would affect the interactions. Inconsistencies:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The interview should be conducted in a neutral environment that has no effect on information delivery. The researcher should spend a considerable good amount of time in looking for a natural setting for the interview conducive for the respondents (Merriam, & Merriam, 2009 p. 17). For example, interviews in closed rooms may have minimal interference, thus maintain consistence information delivery, and thus maintain high quality data. Addressing focus group cons Biasness:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In order to avoid biasness, the moderator of the focus group should be well trained about making subjective judgment and interpretations. Good relationship between respondents and the researcher promotes mutual understanding that contributes to accurate interpretations of the information (Marshall, & Rossman, 2011 p. 101). The moderator should not be an active part of the study and should be limited to the information on the expected result of the study. Risk of incomplete and inaccurate data:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proper management should be done prior to the study so that all the scheduling and contacting of the participants is made in time. This will ensure that the participants are aware of the scope of the study and their roles and thus the study will be complete successfully. When participants are well-prepared psychologically, they become patient and go through the whole process thus giving complete data. Sensitive information   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The moderator should inform the participants about the confidentiality of the information shared in the focus group and create a friendly environment. This will give the participants confidence and freedom to share all the information that they may have including the sensitive one and thus the quality of the data will not be compromised. Participants may feel that some issues belong to the community and that it should not be addressed to a stranger. The researcher may also involve people from the communities to help them moderate the discussion and thus creating favourable environment for discussing sensitive information that is vital to the final data. References Creswell, J. W. (2014).  Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications. DiCicco†Bloom, B., & Crabtree, B. F. 2006. The qualitative research interview.Medical education,  40(4), 314-321. Flick, U. 2009. An introduction to qualitative research. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. Hesse-Biber, S. N., & Leavy, P. (2011).  The practice of qualitative research. Los Angeles: SAGE. Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (2011). Designing qualitative research. Los Angeles: Sage. Merriam, S. B., & Merriam, S. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. 2012. Research methods for business students. Pearson Seidman, I. 2013.  Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences. New York: Teachers College Press Siegel, J. S., & Olshansky, S. J. 2012.  The demography and epidemiology of human health and aging. Dordrecht: Springer. Sprenkle, D. H., & Piercy, F. P. 2005.  Research methods in family therapy. New York: Guilford Press. Zikmund, W. G. 2013.  Business research methods. Mason, OH: South-Western. Source document

Hills Like White Elephants Essay Essay

1. I believe â€Å"the American and the girl with him† were talking about having an abortion, and how it would change their relationship if they were to have a baby. He was saying that it is the only thing â€Å"bothering† them and making them â€Å"unhappy.† The girl appears undecided, and scared of losing the man. 2. Nothing really happens, except a rehashing of their relationship, which seems to consist of looking â€Å"at things and try[ing] new drinks.† 3. Their relationship is not about communication, but about the girl following everything the man says   because she doesn’t care about herself. She just wants him to love her. He tries to manipulate the girl to agree to the abortion, saying that things between them will not have to change, and that â€Å"things will be like they were,† when she felt he loved her.   He keeps speaking about â€Å"letting the air in,† which makes me think that he wants there to be â€Å"air† in the relationship, and that the non-operation would make him—not them happy again. He feels stifled, and this pressure is reflected in the hot day. The relationship is â€Å"airy† and superficial, without direct communication, because the man does not truly care about her and is concerned only with his interests, and the girl doesn’t care about herself, so she decides to want to do what he thinks is best. 4. The conflict of the story is resolved when the girl decides to have the abortion. The climax is when Hemmingway uses the adjective â€Å"reasonably,† when describing the people waiting for the train. It is a commentary that the man was thinking â€Å"reasonably,† but not from love, even though he says he is. He made his decision out of reason, and she out of emotion. 5. The hills are described as very fertile and the opposite landscape as very barren, and it seems to represent the barrenness of their relationship, as well as the discussion about abortion. 6. I would like to know why the girl said, â€Å"’I’ll scream.’†

Finding Forrester

Finding Forrester The film, â€Å"finding Forrester†, was a good quality film, with a great theme and moral lesson. The film has two main characters, Jamal Wallace and William Forrester. Jamal Wallace is a talented 16-years old African American basketball player in Bronx, New York, whose secret passion is writing and reading. William Forrester is a reclusive Pulitzer Prize winning novelist who never gave the world a second novel. He suffers from agoraphobia which prevents him from dealing with life. After an accidental meeting, Forrester becomes Jamal's teacher and helps him to improve his writing skill. Jamal's passion of reading and writing, and Forrester's desire to be a part of the world again builds a friendship that changes both of their life. In his old public school, Jamal Wallace just another teenage boy who resembled all of his friends, except for his secret love to read and write. Once he attends the new private school, he is given a complete different experience. Jamal's passion for writing is kept secret; he hides in his room reading and writing. During the class, the English teacher asks Jamal about thee significance of â€Å"the raven†, he responds that he had never read this prom before. He was afraid to be different and though his friends would leave him if he told them about his writing. That’? s also the reason that he didn’? t tell his friends about his high test scores. Instead, he showed off his genius in basketball, since it made him fit in school. However, the school discovered Jamal's test scores, and thinks public school might not be the right place for him. The Easton's best private school offers Jamal a scholarship. As his friend, William, encourages him to find an answer, which Jamal believes will be found at the private school. When Jamal attends the new school, his experience was changed. He works hard to fit in his new school because the majority of people are white and more educated. Jamal had a big conflict with Mr. Crawford–his new English teacher. There were lots of problems that Mr. Crawford had against Jamal, most of which were based on as well as Jamal's race and as well as his writing talent. Even though Jamal's life changes dramatically after he transfers to a new school, he never gives up when he is treated unfairly. William Forrester is the other main character in the film, who is a famous Pulitzer Prize winning author. However, after the death of his brother, he develops agoraphobia and becomes reclusive, isolating himself from the outside world. A series of event and the development of a friendship with Jamal Wallace changes William. In the film, Jamal teaches William the values of life that he is missing; he shows his integrity to Forrester by not telling anyone about his life of solitude. The friendship with Jamal helps William to overcome his agoraphobia. William realizes he could trust Jamal because Jamal deeply cares about him. He takes Forrester to the Yankee Stadium, where he listens to his life story. This makes William realize the importance of friendship, seeing life in a new perspective. Before watching this film, I had no idea what to write about it, but now I have discovered and learned a lot from those characters. Jamal helps William to overcome his agoraphobia and go outside again to be a part of the world. In exchange, Forrester helps Jamal with his passion and goal of uniting. The friendship between Jamal and Forrester turns into a whirlwind that sweeps both characters up and changes their lives forever. This film tells me the virtues of life. Finding Forrester The movie Finding Forrester is based in the Bronx. Jamal Wallace meets William Forrester and at first is unaware that he is a famous author. William helps Jamal with his passion for writing which he covers up with basketball to get accepted. He gets the opportunity to go to a different school for basketball until he figures out that he would rather be there for academics. William and Jamal have an agreement that William will help with writing and Jamal will keep him a secret.Jamal turns in a paper that William wanted to remain in the apartment, and Jamal gets punished for it when he finds out the first part of his paper that William started for him had published in the New Yorker. Jamal rather take the blame for plagiarism instead of telling them that he knew Forrester. He still covers up with basketball, yet purposely misses his two free throws at the championship game, so the school would want him for his academics and not his athletics.In the end Forrester comes to the school to r ead for the class and the professor is shocked that he is there, and loves the work that Forrester reads until he says that it is not by him it is by Jamal Wallace. Then the professor knows that they are friends and Jamal never plagiarized from Forrester. William Forrester dies at the end form cancer that he never told anyone about. The end result is that he left his apartment to Jamal and he also gave him a break in his writing. William left Jamal an unfinished book with papers giving him permission to finish and publish it as his book.This is a huge break for him, people never took him seriously he was just a kid from the Bronx and that’s all he would have been if Forrester never helped him. My reaction to this film is that no matter where you’re from you can make it big. Also a friendship can start from any type of situation. I think you can see how they each helped each other through the film. Forrester helped Jamal with his writing and got him a better future then he was headed for. Jamal helped Forrester live his life not cooped up in an apartment. You can see how hard it is to be accepted when you’re young.Jamal had to hide his academics like his teacher said â€Å"being smart doesn’t get you accepted. † Basketball is what got Jamal accepted. Even basketball didn’t do it for everyone. In a different school it can take more. When Jamal was trying to teach Clair how to play basketball you could see in her father’s face that he was unsure about Jamal. Overall I really liked the movie, it doesn’t seem like something I would pick up off a shelve at the video store and watch. I am happy I got the chance to watch it; there are many lessons to be learned in the movie Finding Forrester. Finding Forrester Brenda Maravilla Professor Steele English 1001-006 March 11, 2013 Finding Forrester Reaction Paper When a two people meet for the first time in their lives they do not know what the road lies ahead for them. This is the case with Jamal Wallace and William Forrester; they came together as complete strangers and ended with a friendship that would last a lifetime. Jamal helped Forrester to live life again, to come out of his comfort zone and explore the world. Forrester inspired Jamal to write his â€Å"first draft with his heart† and too learned to never let life pass by, because they could potentially miss out on something worthwhile.Forrester, one of the greatest writers in the twentieth century in the movie Finding Forrester, lived his life in loneliness and comfort, but one unexpected day Jamal Wallace came into his life and changed it all. Their friendship began to help Forrester leave his comfort zone, he allowed Jamal to enter his world and share his work with him. Throug hout the movie Jamal learns he may only ask soup questions, a question that helps to obtain information that matters only to us, but as their friendship unfolds the more Jamal learns about Forrester.He learns how Forrester lost his brother, his mother, father and why he has never written his second book. Jamal becomes his family; he becomes the inspiration to live again, the inspiration to write again. One of the key moments in the movie begins with Forrester making Jamal promise to tell no one about them which becomes difficult when Jamal turns in one of his works that was published in the New York Times. In desperation Forrester tells him to write the letter of apology and to keep him out it. Jamal looks at Forrester hurt more than ever, yells and walks away.He needed his friend, but Forrester is too afraid. The lesson William learns is to live and he does when he gets out of his apartment to save Jamal from being on probation. He has learned to come out of his comfort zone and le aves to see Scotland. Jamal saw the world in black and white. He only knew of his friends and basketball, but his secret was he loved to read and write. But once he met William Forrester his world changed, he no longer had to hide his passion. With the help of William Forrester, Jamal further develop his writing skills and accepts his guidance to better his life.He is offered a full scholarship to a private school, which he accepts; he leaves his world of comfort and walks into a world of challenges. Although his writing is impeccable, one of the lessons he learns from Forrester is to â€Å"write his first draft with his heart and rewrite with his head. † This is a challenge for him in the beginning; he cannot press the keys because he wants to think instead of writing what he feels. As his writing grows and allows himself to write what he feels Jamal’s work begins to change that even his professor recognizes him for it.In the end Forrester leaves to see the world, Jam al continues to write, play basketball and go to school. He receives letters from Forrester, checking up on him and the colleges recruiting him. If it were not for the one-day he was dared to go into the home of what his friends made him believe was a killer Jamal would have never met Forrester and would have missed out on something worthwhile. Moments before the movie ends Jamal finds out Forrester has passed away of cancer, and in that moment he truly realizes why he never went out.He was afraid to live his life because he would not know when it would just end. Forrester leaves him with a letter, keys to his home and a box. In the letter Forrester mentions â€Å"Seasons change young man, and while I may have waited until the winter of my life, to see the things I've seen this past year, there is no doubt I would have waited too long, had it not been for you. † Forrester would have lived a life that was broken and would have never moved past his mistakes were it not for Jama l.In the box Forrester left him was the friendship that will never die, in that box was his second book. And Jamal was to write the Foreword and no one else. There is more to life than making mistakes, it is about molding them into a positive and living to the fullest. Forrester learned to move on from his mistake just like Jamal did. He learned to live life because in a short moment life could be taken away, without Jamal he would have never learned to leave his home and experience the world, as it is not how he remembered it with the bad memories.Jamal learned to see the world on color and took advantage to develop his writing skills with one of the world’s greatest writers. He continued to do what he loved, playing basketball, reading and writing, but also learned a great deal about life from Forrester. Life is like the seasons changing, we all have spring, the time in which we blossom. Summer, the time in which we develop and find who we think we are. Autumn where we may lose ourselves, but find out way and winter when in the last moment we try to live before death catches us.