Country: White People Essay

Since African American literature started back in the 18th century, the majority of these writings mainly focused on racism, ethnicity, and the struggle of African-American people. Nadine Gordimer and Patricia Smith are but two contributors to this area of literature. In my paper I will compare and contrast the short story by Nadine Gordimer, â€Å"Country Lovers†, and the poem, â€Å"What It’s Like Being a Black Girl†, written by Patricia Smith. In both pieces of literature, the focus is put on the racial background and ethnicities, considering that the main characters or protagonists are black women, dealing with some degree of discrimination because of the color of their skin. It is common knowledge that racism has been a major issue which has tainted society, and the African-American people, particularly females have been dealing with the effects of racism, and have experienced the effects of discrimination and racism. (Clugston, 2010). In the short story â€Å"Country Lovers†, a forbidden love between a black girl named Thebedi and a white male named Paulus, is depicted. In the story, two main characters are brought together since early childhood, spending much of the childhood days with each other. As they grow up, they became even closer, eventually falling in love. They soon realize that the racial politics of the time would not allow them to maintain their relationship simply because, Paulus, being the son of a white farm owner and Thebedi, the daughter of a black farm workers, would be unable to show or share their love publicly. I found that there were many dramatic effect throughout this entire story. For example, when we read about the part were Paulus is going way to school, â€Å"This usefully coincides with the age of twelve or thirteen; so that by the time early adolescence is reached, the black children are making along with the bodily changes common to all, an easy transition to adult forms of address, beginning to call the old playmates missus and baasie little master. † (Clugston 2010). When Paulus watches Thebedi wading in the water, is the part of the story where I interpreted the loss of innocence and the description of a forbidden love. â€Å"The schoolgirls he went swimming with at dams and pools I may bring farms were bikinis but the site of their dazzling bellies and thighs in the sunlight had never made him feel what he felt now when the girl came up to the bank and sat beside him, two drops of water beading offer dark legs the only points of light in the earth -smelling deep shade. They were not afraid of one another, they had known one another always; he did with her what he had done that time in the store room at the wedding, and this time it was so lovely, so lovely, he was surprised†¦ And she was surprised by it too – he could see her dark face that was part of the shade, with her big dark eyes, shiny and soft water, watching him attentively: as she had when they used a huddle over their teams of mud oxen, as she had when he told her about attention weekends at school. â€Å"(Clugston, 2010). It is towards the end of the short story where you realize the racism. It begins when Paulus arrived back home from college over the holidays, and finds out that Thebedi had given birth to a child. When he decides to go and see Thebedi and the child, he said, â€Å"You haven’t been near the house with it? † (Clugston, 2010). His reaction alone reiterated the fact that such a thing would not be tolerated in his community. As the story continues, Paulus returned to the head later on: it states, â€Å"She thought she heard small grunts from the hut, the kind of insufficient grunt that indicates a full stomach, a deep sleep. After a time, long or short she did not know, he came out and walked away with plodding stride (his father’s gait) out of sight, towards his father’s house† (Clugston 2010). For me as a reader, it became apparent that Paulus actually killed the child. After analyzing that particular part of the story it became evident that Paulus was afraid the relationship between him and Thebedi would become common knowledge, so in murdering the child, it would serve as a cover-up as if nothing happened between two of them. In the ending of the story, the police assumed the baby’s body and charged Paulus with murder. During the trial, the story states that Thebedi took the stand. â€Å"She cried hysterically in the witness box, saying yes, yes (the gilt hoop earrings swung in her years), she saw the accused pouring liquid into the baby’s mouth. She said he had threatened to shoot her if she told anyone† (Clugston 2010). A year later, when she returned to the courthouse, she tells the court that, â€Å"she said that she had not seen what the white man did in the house† (Clugston, 2010). Because she altered her testimony, â€Å"The verdict on the accused was â€Å"not guilty† (Clugston, 2010). In the poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl† seems to depict a very similar theme. In the poem, Patricia Smith tends to use rigid and strong words in order to show the seriousness of the topic she is writing about. From the very beginning of her poem, â€Å"First of all,† I sense of how the story is going to be told and is laid out for the reader. It presents the audience with a picture of a young black girl transitioning into black womanhood, a place where being a black girl as well as being a black woman is often not a welcome thing. To help the reader understand the thoughts that run through the mind of this puberty stricken young girl, she writes,† Its being 9 years old and feeling like you’re not finished, like your edges are wild, like there’s something, everything, wrong† (Smith, 4) This particular poem, in my opinion, is how racism and discrimination, both of race and gender, affects this young girl as she is transitioning from a young black girl, into a young black woman, while trying to accept all the changes that are happening to her. In the line, â€Å"It’s popping a bleached white mop head over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of mirrors that deny your reflection. † describes how this young girl wishes to look like other girls in order to be accepted in society. I found several tones in this poem that included not only pain and suffering, but courage is well. The poem discusses this young lady’s loss of innocence as a direct result of being raped. In the line, â€Å"It’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them turn blue and suffering the burn in silence,† in my opinion is the showing of this young girl’s pain of being raped by a white person. Since the color blue plays a significant role in this line, it shows not only this suffering, but the despondency this young black girl is experiencing. In both the poem and a short story, the main characters have been negatively affected by the discrimination of a society in which the color of their skin is not accepted. Both of the female characters lost their innocence, the only difference being, that Thebedi lost her virginity under the mask of the forbidden love, and the young girl in the poem lost her virginity is a direct cause of her rape. The sufferings of both characters is basically the same because the color of their skin and nothing else. The gender plays a very important role, but only after the race they belong to, as well as the alarming situation of the issue is accurately brought into the light and both of these literature works. It clearly indicates the suffering in the pain both these women experience. (Fluehr-Lobban, 2010). The mindset of a common young black girl is accurately presented in the poem â€Å"What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl†, and shows the effects that the society leaves on the mind of young black girls who wish to have the appearance like white girls simply because white girls are accepted in the society and the black are usually misused, refused, and disrespected. (Clugston, 2010) Both the story as well as the poem distinguish ethnicity and radical backgrounds, as well as explaining how women experienced cruelty for white racists. I found limited separation between race and gender issues within both authors work simply because they elaborated the fact that they could not, and would not be on the same side with sexists or races. While reading Patricia Smith poem, it gave me the impression she was demonstrating her anger to the fact that white patriarchy confines and limits black women. Black females have been tormented by discrimination racism, and ethical and racial discrimination, as characterized in both the poem and short story can be affirmed as a depiction a reflection of racism and its effects on society. (Dovidio, & Gaertner, 1996). In conclusion, I truly feel that both authors share the same sentiments. First and foremost, both of their main focus was on the role of the black female. Not only did the Explorer the victimization of the black woman, but also brought to light their emotional struggles as well as her experiences. I also feel that both authors were the obstacles of racism and feminists’ society that same time expressed that defeat does not mean giving up, but offers the opportunity to conquer negativity in life. References Clugston, R. W. (2010), â€Å"Country Lovers, Nadine Gordimer. In Journey into Literature (ch. 3): retrieved from http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/section/h3. 2 Clugston, R. W. (2010), Poems for Reflection. In Journey into Literature (ch. 12. 2): retrieved from http://content. ashford. edu/books/AUENG125. 10. 2/section/12. 2 Fluehr-Lobban, C. (2010). Race and Racism: An Introduction, Rowman Altamira: pp. 111-116 Dovidio, J. F. , & Gaertner, S. L. (1996). Affirmative action, unintentional racial Biases and inter group relations. Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 52, pp 51-75Ã'Ž

The Validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve

The proper use of the environment has become a controversial topic in economics. In both of James Beseecher's lectures during the module, he outlined a critique of mainstream economics currently governing all our policies, and presented several key thinkers In environmental economics. The huge potential for economic growth through the exploitation of the environment has been undeniable. Vital resources have forever been and continue to be a necessary component of economic growth.But the environment also performs the essential function of supporting life. Needless to say, if humans impair the earth's ability to sustain life the consequences would be dire. And unfortunately, the very same exploitation that provides us with crucial economic Inputs can also be the Instrument by which we impair the earth's ability to support life. Beechen Insisted the world would have to shift Its focus too more sustainable branch of economics. One policy proposed by economists is to allow countries to ec onomically grow out of environmentally damaging activity.Looking at countries with already large economies, we see signs of environmental regulation such as emissions standards, extensive recycling programs, and limited timber harvesting. The economists supporting a policy that Initially allows for environmental degradation assert that If a country can achieve sufficient economic growth In a short period of time then perhaps environmental damage should be tolerated. A well-known hypothesis providing support for a policy that emphasizes economic growth at the expense of environmental protection is the environmental Sunset curve (EKE) hypothesis.It posits that countries in the development process will see their levels of environmental degradation increase until some Income threshold Is met and then afterwards decrease. If true, economic polices should allow extensive, although not necessarily absolute, use of the environment for growth purposes. But carrying out such policies involves inherent dangers. If developing countries decide to overlook environmental protection by counting on rising incomes to abate environmental damage the consequences could be devastating.The most pressing danger is that additional environmental degradation could cause some irreversible and significant harm. This could occur before the predicted Income threshold Is met. The other concern with counting on Incomes to reduce environmental damage Is that the EKE hypothesis could easily be incorrect and relying on its predictions would lead to consistently insufficient protection. This paper evaluates the validity of the EKE hypothesis and argues that it is not a sound basis for policy formation and Justification with so much at stake.The plan of the paper is as follows. Section II examines the basis for the EKE hypothesis and conditions under which It may accurately predict a country's future environmental at the findings of these studies. Section IV identifies the inherent dangers in dete rmining environmental policy based upon the EKE hypothesis. Some concerns are relevant if the hypothesis does not hold and others are present even if it does prove a correct forecaster of environmental quality. Section V provides a conclusion.Section II: The Concept of the Environmental Sunset Curve The EKE hypothesis asserts that countries will naturally move from relatively low environmentally degrading activity to highly degrading activity and then, once a certain income threshold is achieved, will proceed to less degrading activity once again. This assertion allows one to predict the relative level of environmental damage Ewing caused by a country by looking at GAP per capita. However, this prediction is relative to individual countries. In other words, each country has its own EKE, based upon resource endowment, social customs, etc. From which it progresses along relative to its GAP. A graphical model of the hypothesis helps illustrate the inverted â€Å"U† shape of the relationship: It is important to note that the theoretical EKE graph does not explicitly express time as a dimension and for this reason the use of the EKE hypothesis to Justify policy decision – an action that by definition incorporates time – would appear inadequate. Only by comparing two different countries can the inverted â€Å"U† shaped curve be derived as seen above. However each country possesses its own unique EKE and therefore each country's policies should be organized accordingly.In order for the graph to show an EKE, and thereby be valid as policy Justification, we must incorporate a time dimension. We find a time dimension along the x-axis. The EKE hypothesis assumes that changes in income per capita only occur over time. By including this supposition of changes in income inherently signifying time, the graph can now show an EKE for a specific country. The identification of a country's particular EKE provides a basis for using it to influence polic y. Possessing the theoretical model by which the EKE hypothesis is used for economic policy we turn our focus to explaining why the inverted â€Å"U† shape exists.There are two primary explanations for the proposed shape of the EKE. The first examines the history of developed countries and the paths they took to achieve development. The second reflects the changing preference for environmental quality as incomes rise. Historically, all developed countries' economies were originally based upon agriculture, a state that produced little environmental damage. Their economies later switched to a much more environmentally damaging state that focused on industry and manufacturing. Two main factors lead to environmental damage that occurs during industrialization.First, the harmful by-products of production damage the environment. High levels of pollution and water contamination accompany the expansion of industry. The second factor is the increased consumption of natural resources. The extensive over-use of land, deforestation and mining of mountains is a form of environmental damage in and of itself. A common conclusion of this placement pattern is that Olds must pass through the same phases in order to regulations, Olds will be at an economic disadvantage compared to the already developed countries.Many Olds point to this competitive disadvantage when rejecting global environmental standards. The next stage of development saw industrial nations switching to service-based economies, a trend that all global GAP leaders tend towards. During this phase the income threshold of the Ekes for certain polluting substances appear to have been reached. According to the hypothesis, service-based economies are said to be able to avoid many of the most environmentally damaging economic activities. In theory, environmental impacts also fall as a result of improved technology discovered in developed countries.In some cases technology leads to a more efficient use of inputs. Other technological advancements make it possible to restrict the harmful effects that economic activity have on the environment. The second reason that a high-income level can reduce environmental damage is by altering the demand for environmental quality. Known as the â€Å"income effect†, sufficiently high GAP per capita often leads individuals to place environmental quality above additional economic growth. The aggregation of these individual preferences plays an integral role in determining the income threshold.The EKE income threshold aggregates all environmentally damaging agents into a single numerical value. However, taken individually economists can place dollar values on the turning points of damaging agents. For example, in a 1997 paper by Cole, Earner and Bates, the authors found the turning point of CO and NON emissions to be around $9,900 and $14,700, respectively. Using environmental quality preference as an explanation, the income threshold represents the in come level per pita at which the preference for environmental quality outweighs the preference for additional income.This change in preference occurs on a public level, rather than a private one. Microeconomic decisions to support more environmentally friendly goods and services cannot account for the income effect. The issue is instead a matter of public policy. The changes in environmental standards reflect political pressure on governments. According to the EKE hypothesis, changes to evolving economies and the individual preference for environmental quality combine to determine the income threshold. However, whether or not an inverted â€Å"U† shaped curve exists at all is still up for debate.Section Ill: Evidence For and Against the EKE Hypothesis Evidence regarding the EKE hypothesis is circumstantial and inconclusive. Most early studies that supported the hypothesis focused on a single damaging agent, such as a pollutant. Identifying key characteristics associated with agents that have been studied we find that only certain types of agents exhibit an EKE. Evidence supporting the EKE first began in 1994 when Selene and Song derived an EKE for SIS. A later test in 1995 by economists Grossman also found SIS emissions to follow n EKE. They found a turning point between $4,000 and $6,000.Another early documentation of EKE support came from Theodore Pantaloon who found the turning point of deforestation to be $823. After the initial studies, other economists began to investigate the validity of the EKE hypothesis and found refuting evidence. In the 1997 paper by Cole, Earner and Bates, they found no EKE for traffic, nitrates or EKE; rather, energy use per capita rose steadily with increased income. Evidence appears to support the EKE hypothesis only for a limited type of damaging agents. The emission of SIS is found in urban waste areas and is thereby hardhearted by its locality.Deforestation also reflects a situation involving a specific location. Dama ging agents that affect only a particular site tend to show Ekes. However, a damaging agent such as traffic is plain to see and also affects certain areas heavily. In this case the agent is dominated by a scale effect – increased activity leads to increased environmental impact. While traffic-related pollution is generally iterated by population size, damaging agents such as energy production by-products increase with GAP per capita. Section lb. Dangers of the EKE Hypothesis in international developmentThere exist many dangers in allowing an economy to simply grow out of environmentally damaging activity. Some of these dangers arise because the EKE hypothesis does not hold true in all cases. Others exist even if we assume the hypothesis as an accurate predictor of environmental conditions. The following is a list of concerns regarding the EKE hypothesis: l. It remains inconclusive if most damaging agents follow the EKE. II. The threshold income may be irrelevantly high or the temporary period of increasing environmental damage too long. Ill.Any decrease in environmental damage seen in developed countries may reflect the exportation of production abroad and subsequent importation. IV. The â€Å"absorptive capacity' of our earth is unknown. V. Ekes may only exist in certain political atmospheres. A detailed examination of the above concerns illustrates the inherent dangers in accepting the EKE hypothesis and afterwards using it to Justify policy making. As discussed above, only local and regional damaging agents show signs of Ekes. Other â€Å"difficult to detect† agents seem to increase with GAP per capita.This discovery leaves open to question whether more agents than not respond to income increases. If there exist more agents that do not respond then attempting to grow past these impacts would be impossible. Many damaging agents may respond to income levels, but not until GAP per capita approaches out-of-reach levels. If in a developed country, the turning point for a damaging agent is above, say, $50,000 then neglecting to react will create damage for a considerable amount of time. Over the time it takes to achieve the turning point, the environmental damage may become irreversible .Obviously, in a OLD the turning point value needs only to be considerably lower and still have the same adverse effects. Using solely the EKE hypothesis to Justify unsustainable growth is unwise, as the outcome still remains unknown. Another consideration that challenges the EKE evidence is that wealthy countries are massively importing products manufactured in Olds, thereby contributing to environmental degradation; the only difference is that the degradation is not domestic. The first hypothesis to bring up this possibility was the Pollution Haven hypothesis.It states that developed countries export their high polluting industries to Olds whose governments have more lax environmental standards. Many economists follow environmental regulatio ns. However, this does not exclude the possibility of heavy industries existing in Olds and coincidently exporting their products to wealthy countries. In this case, wealthy countries only started along the downward slope on the EKE by domestically reducing environmental damage. When taken globally their increased consumption due to income may without doubt still be increasingly damaging.Another danger is that leaving the quality of our environment subject to economic activity, even for only a short period, may well prove to be disastrous. The ability of the earth to absorb the damaging agents produced by economic activity, called â€Å"absorptive capacity,† is not yet known. A final concern is that even if countries can achieve high levels of income per capita they may not possess a political atmosphere conducive to environmental protection. Assuming that the aggregate turning point in a country is reached, that country is not necessarily going to enact environmental protect ion.The most successful avenues for obtaining environmental quality, it seems, are lobbyists. Without a government that responds to political pressure by these public groups here is no reason to believe that its policies will reflect the demand for a cleaner environment, if such demand exists at all. Indeed, it also remains to be seen if all cultures place similar values on environmental quality. Section V: Conclusion The questions and concerns about the EKE hypothesis examined in this paper raise significant doubt as to the wisdom of adopting environmental policy based upon the EKE hypothesis.Even assuming its validity, the EKE hypothesis generates considerable doubt as to its effectiveness at balancing economic growth with environmental protection. In order to effectively produce a critique of the EKE, the present paper assumes growth is still regarded as the sole goal of economic development. The hypothesis indeed uses rising incomes as a factor of time. Calls however have been g rowing stronger for a shift of focus from economic growth towards well-being, equality and sustainability.

John Quincy Adams: Domestic and Foreign Policy Essay

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

Art History Rembrandt's Lucretia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art History Rembrandt's Lucretia - Essay Example She made the decision only because of unfortunate circumstances, and she would have lived a happy life but for them. Being the young and virtuous wife of Collantinus she was happy till she was raped by Prince Tarquinius after which she condemns herself to death with enormous historical repercussions where the kingdom ceases to exist. Rembrandt has caught Lucretia in her last highly anguished moments of death invading her body. He has used impasto, palette knife and scoring for further affect. The composition is frontal with triangular balance. Art historians agree that an element of privacy is maintained with the averted gaze and the painting bears a further interpretation that she was pulling the bed curtains around her as she was dying. Rembrandt has chosen the most dramatic event with psychological dimensions and the diagonal lines he has used have enhanced the effect. This work shows the victim on the verge of death, almost at her last moments. With the agony of termination, another point that hits hard is the sense of complete isolation. â€Å"Rembrandt’s Lucretias embody not only suffering and injustice, but what it is to experience these things, to be an individual subject – a point reinforced by their utter isolation in a three quarters view from which every extraneous detail is systematically eliminated† Braider (2004, p. 60). The limpness of her body, deathly pallor of her face with the lights going out of her eyes, the total stillness of the form combined with the powerful all-consuming black background, could not have portrayed the story better. Her high-born and decorative clothes, reflecting her status in life, the nobility of expression despite the overwhelming death, grips the viewer. While the browns in the dress almost merge with the background, the gold stands out creating a breathtaking composition. Lucretia is known for artistic continuity, with her hair merging, colours subdued, and the agony writ large on her pale face.

Aristotle and Human Nature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aristotle and Human Nature - Essay Example Plato (427-347 BCE) and Aristotle (384-322 BCE) both, defined society in holistic terms and regarded it as an organism in which the constituent parts were necessarily related to the whole. Plato, in particular, laid special emphasis on the unity of the social organism, each individual part clearly defined in terms of its subordination to the whole. Society to Aristotle on the other hand, was a differentiated structure formed of separate elements which, while contributing to the whole, retained their separate entities. To Plato, society was a unified system structured around the division of labour and social inequality. "Social health or social order was the product of 'wise legislation' in which the interests of the whole exerted priority over those of the individual parts." (Smith, Page: 15) On the other hand Aristotle's idea of society was anti-atomistic. The complex and differentiated structure of the social whole was made up of groups and not individuals. The foundations of it lay in human nature; that man was by nature social and political and therefore desired to live with others in communities. Therefore, according to Aristotle, the lives of individuals were invariably linked with each other in a social context. He agrees with Plato that a life of virtue is not only rewarding for the person who is virtuous but also good for the community in which he belongs. He also agrees that the highest form of human existence is that in which man is able to exercise his rational faculties to its fullest. He expounded his theories on moral conduct and human nature in several efforts like Eudemian Ethics and Magna Moralia, but the most complete work which survives to our days is the Nicomachean Ethics. In Nicomachean Ethics, he discusses in length about man's natural desire to a chieve happiness. He then discusses what this happiness means and described human volition and moral deliberation. He described the three different kinds of friendship and the value of each. He then defended his conception of an ideal life which consisted of intellectual pursuit. In his views he agrees with Plato that a life of virtue is not only rewarding for the virtuous but is also beneficial for the society in which the individual belongs. He is also in agreement with Plato when he says that the highest form of human existence is one in which man exercises his rational and mental faculties to their fullest. Both Plato's and Aristotle's philosophies are anti-Sophist. They both attempt to draw a theory of what is the essence of a good life and their theories are based on the foundations of their knowledge about the stable nature of reality. But there the similarities end. "Whereas Plato is a rationalist viewing our knowledge of reality as derived from intuitive reason, and an idea list locating ultimate reality in an eternal, immutable world of Ideas, Aristotle is an empiricist, anchoring all knowledge of reality in perpetual experience, and a realist, identifying reality with the concrete spatio-temporal objects of this world." (Pomerleau, 1997) The central discussion of Nicomachean Ethics, revolves around moral responsibilities of individuals, virtues and vices, and how to achieve happiness in life. The central issue is what it takes for a person to be a good individual. It

Management case Study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Management case Study - Research Paper Example This paper will highlight some of these strategies and the possible outcome in its recommendation (Griffin) Zynga is a social gaming provider headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company develops social games that operate on mobile phone platform such as Apple iOS and android. In 2009 the company reached 10 million daily active users within six weeks (Abbey, 2009).The management of zynga need to put in place certain measure in order to double its customers and revenue. This case study will highlight the achievement of the company, and future planning to help the company compete favourably with others and stay afloat (Abbey, 2009). The company has a record of hitting 10million active daily users in the first six months, this is a great achievement but to maintain this number and even double them the management of the company need to put in place certain measures. This paper highlights some of the considerations that need to be put in place in order to achieve more. The company strength will rely mainly on formation of synergies with other companies where the synergy is the urge to form partnership relationship with other companies of similar goal and interest. There is positive and negative consequence of synergies and group cohesion needs to be considered. As a group become more cohesive, communication between members increases. In addition satisfaction increases as the group provides friendship and support against outside threat (Hitt & Jamie, 2007). There are negative aspects of group cohesion that affect the decision made by individual parties hence affecting group effectiveness. Issues may arise such as risk shift phenomenon, where there is a tendency of a group to make risky decision that an individual party would have handled. There may also be polarization, individual in a group can have moderate stance on an issue, and having discussed in a

Life in Vietnam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Life in Vietnam - Research Paper Example Nevertheless, U.S gradually began to pull out its forces in 1969 when the war seemed continuous (Oraclethinkquest, n.d). Further, it states that Vietnamese fought France for control over Vietnam during the first stages of war. At this time, French were the colony of Vietnam. Vietnamese won and that is why there was north and South Vietnam. Harry S Truman had a strategy that the united state must aid any state susceptible by communists. The next three president of the US adopted Truman’s policy and they thought that if one of the southeast states surrendered to the communist, they would all fall one after another. In April 1967, Martin Luther King condemned American for taking part in the Vietnam War, the liberals’ war. Vietnam War had already and would go on to intersect with the forceful political and social era movements. However, the New York king sermon which was more striking and clearly developed the customs in which civil rights, issues in Vietnam, class at home, race, and the inadequacy and guarantee of liberalism were structured than other episodes in the 1960s (Buzzanco, 1999). The king was very sure that there was a connection between the US war in Vietnam and the fight against poverty at home and struggle for civil right. Vietnam’s government was displaying insincerity in racial matters, as African-Americans and other minorities in the early years of war were dying in extremely high percentage though only small proportion of the population was accounted for. This was the time when the United states begun sending solders and resources into Southeast Asia. The king wa tched the military commit equality and domestic justice. Vietnam generated the biggest mass remonstration movement in the US history. The war forestalled civil right growth and anti-poverty and radicalized movements related with those issues; uncovered the restrictions of liberal reform; helped bring other movements into existence, like liberation of women or the

Strategic audit of Asics Corporation Research Paper

Strategic audit of Asics Corporation - Research Paper Example It entails evaluating a corporations’ performance measured against its overall corporate (and business) strategy. Companies initiate strategic audits in situations where there is a disparity between its corporate performance and its strategic corporate goals. The corporate and business performance of a corporation is affected by both internal and external factors as well as the activities of competitors within the same industry. A strategic audit is an important tool for company managers and boards to pinpoint problems and hurdles preventing the achievement of their corporate strategic plans. This paper will evaluate the corporate performance of Asics Corporation by appraising the external factors, internal factors, the industry it operates in and its competitors. It will also draw conclusion and strategic recommendations based on the analysis done. Literature review Institutions are unable to discharge their corporate governance duties effectively until the boards concerned fully take ownership of the organizations’ strategy by conducting thorough audits much in the same way that financial audits are done (Rabate, 2007). Strategic audits are therefore indispensable tools for helping management and boards make competent and sound decisions about the firm in order to achieve its strategic plans. The performance of an organization in achieving its corporate plans are affected by both internal dynamics such as management, business strategies and key decisions for instance on production methods. External factors that include economic, political, and environmental as well as demographics affect the company’s performance. In evaluating internal factors, the age of the firm, its production processes and competencies, strategy, competencies and strategies in marketing and its management will be the centre of focus. This will be done using b usiness tools of SWOT analysis and PESTEL analysis. SWOT means Strengths, Weaknesses, opportunities and Threats and evaluates both the internal and external environment in which a firm operates. SWOT utilizes an integrated approach in auditing a firm and is one of the most useful and widely used tools to evaluate an organization logically, and if properly used is an important strategic planning tool (Ferrell & Hartline, 2008). External PESTEL on the other hand stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal factors as they affect an organization and this mainly evaluates a firms’ external operating environment (Lorat, 2005). Political factors affecting Asics Operating globally in different political environments requires Asics to adapt and abide by business and corporate regulations in countries it has presence in like North America and Europe. These are in terms of taxes to be paid and business regulations. Economic factors affecting Asics For eign exchange fluctuations greatly affect Asics financial performance, for instance in 2008, its third quarter performance was lower than expected due to large swings in foreign exchange rates. This for instance saw its shares falling by 15 percent (Hall, 2008). The global financial crisis saw its 2010 earnings and revenue fall compared to 2009, after a three-year period of steady rise in revenues (â€Å"Financial Times†, 2012). Social factors The world’s populations are beginning to put greater effort into their health and fitness,

MPH522 - Public Health Law and Policy, Mod 1 SLP Essay

MPH522 - Public Health Law and Policy, Mod 1 SLP - Essay Example Edward Jenner talked about inoculation in 1796 and diseases like yellow fever, scurvy and other health threats were noted by Public Health in 1798. Edwin Chadwick in 1842 began to talk about the needs of a solid public health system. John Snow handled the cholera epidemic and learned about the Bradstreet pump. Florence Nightingale brought forward the need for hygiene and district nursing. Lillian Wald is known as the mother of public health nursing as she and her teams began to work with the populations. Then there of course was Robert Koch, Louis Pasteur, and many others. The American Public Health Association was founded in 1872 (sphtc.org) This paper will discuss how this historic and honorable organization works with other agencies, in this case the Center for Disease Control and Prevention with Public Health Nursing and the Food and Drug Administration with Pharmacists. The above history gives a picture of how closely Public Health organization really work with other health practitioners as there would be very little of any of the above processes if public health had not gotten involved along the way. Public health nursing provides such services as health promotion, disease prevention, and intervention as well as support services to women, children, and youth. As noted one of the interventions and responsibilities is communicable disease control. In this venue, they work very closely with the Center for Disease Control to assure that what the public needs to know as well as new information is made available. The mission of the CDC is to prevent and control communicable disease using tools that are available for preparedness. CDC works closely with community health nursing in healthcare associated infections such as MRSA and community acquired pneumonia as well as aids and TB, antibiotic resistance studies which keep the nurse updated on what is working and what is not so when they do education with the local nurses and hospitals, it is clear what

Launching a Womens Magazine Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Launching a Womens Magazine - Assignment Example The marketing environment being essentially dynamic, it is essential for the organisation to keep up with the changes (Marketing Environment 2004, p.34). The marketing environment comprises of forces that are internal and external to its marketing functions. Internal forces are those that are inherent to the organisation and hence, can be controlled by the organisation. External forces affect the industry as a whole and cannot be controlled by individual organisations. It is imperative for an organisation to predict, recognise, analyse and understand these forces, and strategically plan its marketing activities. Macro-environmental factors include political, economical, social and technological factors along with demographic, cultural and legal factors that affect a marketing environment. Government policies, political stability, legislations, and prevailing domestic politics and international politics are factors that can affect the publishing industry. Economic factors of a region greatly influence the purchasing power parity (PPP) of that region. The higher the purchasing power parity in a region, the higher its buying potential (Marketing Environment 2004, p.41). The socio-cultural forces refer to the attitudes, beliefs, norms, values and lifestyles of individuals in a society. These forces can present opportunities and pose threats to the magazine sector of the industry. Increasing health challenges can lead to increasing sales of healthcare-related literature. Technology shapes needs as well as helps bring down prices. Technology also helps easy distribution of products. Technology ha s revolutionized advertising, and launching such a superior product as a women's magazine essentially needs promotion with high quality, creative advertisements. Some macro-environmental factors that affect the introduction of a new women's magazine into the market can be cited here. The possible threat of an EU-wide imposition of VAT on books and magazines can greatly affect the market of a new women's magazine. The Office of Fair Trading has recommended that the distribution of magazines should be opened up to greater competition (PEST analysis n.d., p.17). Under the initiative of The Reading Agency, funded by the Government, the year 2008 was announced as a National Year of Reading to encourage reading among the younger people (PEST analysis n.d., p.18). This is likely to have a significant impact on the market of a new women's magazine, and the possibility has to be thoroughly explored. Publisher's rights regarding territories where they are allowed to sell their publications are also factors that have to be looked into while launching a new women's magazine. 3. Micro-environmental factors Micro-environmental factors are those external factors that are close to the company "that affect its ability to serve its customers" (Marshall n.d.). The micro-environmental factors include mainly suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competition and customers. Suppliers provide the resources that are needed to produce the products. They form an important link in the value delivery system (Marshall n.d.). Increase in raw material prices will affect the cost of production, which will inevitably lead to an increase in price. This can affect the marketing environment negatively. Maintaining close relationships

Analysis of Strategic management and the position of Dialog Axiata PLC Research Paper

Analysis of Strategic management and the position of Dialog Axiata PLC - Sri Lanka - Research Paper Example Moreover the recruiting team of the company is always in the hunt for a pool of talented human resources that would help the company in setting new benchmarks (Dialog, 2011). The company reflects a huge financial growth during the first quarter of the 2011 period compared to that of the 2010 period which showed a huge growth by around 64 percent. Further in regards to the market for mobile phones and other telecommunication services the company reflects a growth by around 10 percent in a comparison drawn between the first quarter of the 2011 and 2010 period. However in close connection to the above facts the operating costs of the company along with other domestic and international installation charges grew in the first quarter of the 2011 period in sharp contrast to the 2010 period. (Dialog-a, 2011). Thus the paper in this connection focuses to understand the strategic moves taken by the company in restoring its competitive position while tending to reduce the current operational co st. Critical Analysis of the Strategic Position of Dialog Axiata PLC In the process of critically analyzing the strategic position of the business organization firstly the parameters upon which the company becomes able to sustain its leadership in the market is analyzed. The company must have a definite mission based on which it sets the strategies to successfully satisfy the same. Further the company must set some definite goals and objectives which must be adequately based on the mission statement of the company. Strategic business units of the company must be identified that would help in meeting the stated objectives. Moreover the hierarchal or the organizational structure of the concern must be evaluated in terms of the division of the total responsibility among employees thereby enhancing on the accountability parameters. Finally the company management is also required to set adequate monitoring systems to rightly monitor the activities taken to pursue the stated goals and the reby to set effective remedies to help reduce such gaps (Schein, 2010, p.74). In regards to the above discussion the vision, mission and value structure of the company would be analyzed. The company shares the organizational vision of being the leader in the Sri Lankan communication market through the innovation rendered in the field of communication technology. This strategy focused by the company would help in enriching the social image of the concern. Working on the above vision the company thereby focuses to set the organizational mission of helping to render potential activities in the sphere of sustaining better relationships with the customers. Further the company also desires its business processes to be highly flexible in meeting the changing demands of the market. This sets the organizational culture of the company which increases the parameters of accountability both in the internal and external sphere and also encourages the growth of team activities in the concern (Dial og-b, 2011). The above strategic analysis of the company

The Character & Flick Webb Essay Example for Free

The Character Flick Webb Essay The poem is built around the character of Flick Webb. He is the one referred to as the ex-basketball player. Flick was once a basketball superstar in his county and a record setter. â€Å"In ’46, He bucketed three hundred ninety points, A county record still. †¦ I saw him rack up thirty eight or forty† (lines 14,15) . The narrator describes how well Flick played basketball that his record of 390 points for a season has not been surpassed. He was like Kobe Bryant who was averaging 31 points per game and at a time scored 52 against the Houston Rockets. (Kobe Bryant Bio 2007) Almost a decade after the glorious high school days, Flick was not able to continue his career as a basketball player. Instead he became a gasman at Berth’s Garage. â€Å"He never learned a trade, he just sells gas, Checks oil, and changes flats. † (lines 19,20) Although Updike did not make any judgment of Flick’s career as a gasman, whether his situation is good or bad, there were suggestions in the last three stanzas that Flick and the people in the community are not happy with what he has become. â€Å"Off work, he hangs around Mae’s Luncheonette. Grease-gray and kind of coiled, he plays pinball, Smokes those thin cigars, nurses lemon phosphates. † (lines 25-27) These lines suggest that Flick is still a bachelor and nowhere to go but a luncheonette; whiles away the time, not at all socializing. â€Å"Flick seldom says a word to Mae, just nods Beyond her face†. (lines 28,29) He must be attracted to Mae who is the owner of the luncheonette but is apprehensive probably because he has nothing to offer the lady. The Style Ex-Basketball Player is a narrative poem; it tells a story. The narrator is presumed to be the author who could have been a witness to the life of a once popular high school basketball player. The poem is set in free verse so that there is no pattern of measure in the lines and the stanzas. The first stanza has one line, the next has two, followed by five lines for the third and the rest of the stanzas have no pattern. Updike also has a style of leaving the line unfinished and is continued in the next stanza. Like the line â€Å"At Colonel McComsky Plaza. Berth’s Garage† (line 4) is in a separate stanza followed by â€Å"Is on the corner facing west, and there† (line 5). Updike’s style seems to pre-empt the idea before it comes in the next stanza allowing smoother flow of ideas. The style is effective because separating the line did not distort the message intended. Imagery â€Å"Poetry communicates experience and experience comes to us largely through the senses (seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling, and touching)†. (Reuben, p. 4) These are expressed through imagery. Updike used a lot of imagery in this poem. Irony was evident in the line, â€Å"Flick stands tall against the idiot pumps†. (line 7) Flick standing tall is contrasted to the idiot pumps. It is like saying Flick is proud because he rises above the idiots or he is better off than the other idiots. Updike wants to express how sad it is that the basketball career is over through the description of the location of Berth’s Garage, â€Å"Bends with the trolley tracks, and stops, cut off Before it has a chance to go two blocks. † (lines 2,3) He uses the line â€Å"cut off before it has a chance†. (line 2) This means the future of the basketball star was cut off before the man had the chance. Updike even makes a part appear as a puzzle when he described the â€Å"nostrils with two S’s and the eyes with an E and O† (lines 10,11) , and he simply means that it is an ESSO gas station. This also reveals the era of the poem because ESSO was most popular in this decade. â€Å"His hands were like wild birds† (line 18), refers to Flick’s quick hands when it comes to handling the basketball, but this is contrasted by the line â€Å"His hands are fine and nervous on the lug wrench† (line 23), which this time criticizes his unskilled hands when it comes to changing flat tires. The two contrasting lines talk about the same hands. This shows that Flick was just good at basketball and nothing else. Figurative Language Aside from the symbolisms and imagery, the use of personification is very effective. Personification is a figure of speech that â€Å"gives the attributes of a human being to an animal, on object or a concept†. (Reuben, p. 5) Personification is evident in the description of the gas pumps in Berth’s garage. Updike refers to the pumps as â€Å"idiot pumps† (line 7) as if the pumps have brains. It actually means that the pumps have to be guided by the gasman all the time. The pumps also have â€Å"their rubber elbows hanging loose and low. One’s nostrils are two S’s, and his eyes An E and O† (lines 10,11). The pumps have rubber elbows and have nostrils and eyes too. It can mean that the pumps are among Flick’s very few friends left. These are the only ones that can look up on him now that he has become a nobody. On the other hand, another phrase personifies the ball as loving, â€Å"the ball loved Flick† (line 16), referring to Flick’s expertise in shooting and dribbling the basketball. At Mae’s luncheonette, Flick looks beyond Mae’s face through the â€Å"applauding tiers of Necco Wafers, Nibs and Juju Beads†(lines 29,30) . The line up of wafers, nibs and beads were applauding means that Flick cannot even look directly towards the girl he likes. He does not have the confidence to talk to a girl; too shy and awkward to even look at her so that his attention drifts to the wafers and nibs at the background. The use of personification has been very effective in portraying Flick’s character as well as in contrasting the happy mood of the past and setting the melancholy mood of the present. Personifying the pumps, the ball, the tiers of wafers, nibs and beads added to the loneliness in Flick’s life, as if there is nobody else to give comfort to him but his pumps, his basketball and the wafers at the background of the luncheonette.

Mental Health Social Work

Mental Health Social Work This research paper is going to look at the social work profession and specifically deal with mental health social work. In researching on the subject, I will use books and articles to get secondary information and at the same time carry out an interview with two social workers that are involved with mental health patients and clients. One of the social workers has a bachelors degree in social work while the other one holds a masters degree in social work. Carrying out the interview will require posing a few questions which are listed below. What is the social work profession in general all about? What other or extra duties are social workers expected to perform? How many categories of social workers are there in the profession? What does a mental health worker specialize in? What is the connection between a mental health social worker and a substance abuse social worker? What are the services that one would expect to get when visiting a mental health social worker? Give me a short briefing of the nature of your work as a social worker? How is your work related to the outside and regular work environment? What are the challenges that most mental health workers face in their jobs? What requirements does one need to get into this profession? Are there any exceptions for entry-level jobs in small agencies or community work? Is there a specific amount of field experience required beforehand seeing as one gets to handle clients directly? What other qualifications does one need apart from the educational and professional ones? Are there any personal skills advantageous to this profession? Is there any advancement opportunities in the mental health social work profession and what are they? Essay Social work is a profession which is most suitable for individuals who have a strong urge and desire to help improve the lives of other people. Therefore, social workers are the professionals who help people in coping with their day to day lives and solving their personal, family and relationship problems. In additions, there is another group of social workers that helps the clients in dealing with disabilities and life threatening or fatal diseases as well as social problems such as drug abuse and unemployment. As a result, they also end up being involved in the conducting of research, advocating for improved services and involvement in the planning and/or policy development. Basically, most of the social workers concentrate in supplying their services to a particular population or in operating in a specific background. Social workers are generally involved in different areas of practice according to ones preference. These categories are mental health, elderly, education, political, medical or slums dwellers. If they have the right State mandated license, these workers are referred to as licensed clinical social workers in spite of whichever setting they are in. Mental health social workers, who are often paired up with the substance abuse social workers, are the ones who treat people affected with mental illness or substance abuse problems. The reason why mental and substance abuse social workers are paired up is because more often than not, substance abuse leads to addiction and most experts concur that addiction is a brain disease. The services offered by these social workers include individual and group therapy, crisis intervention, outreach, social rehabilitation and outreach programs. In addition, they help in planning for supportive services so as to make it easier for the clients when they leave the in-patient facilities to rejoin the community and also provide services to help the family members of their clients cope with the situation. Although most mental health workers are flexible to work in whichever setting that they are comfortable with, they usually spend most of their time in an office or a residential facility. Some of them work in outpatient facilities whereby the patients come for the treatment and medicine then leave while others work in inpatient facilities whereby the clients reside within the facility until they are well enough to go back home. In regard to the normal work environment, there are a few mental health workers who work in employee-assistance programs in which case they help people cope with job-related pressures or with personal problems that may affect the quality of their work production. Several other workers are involved in private practice where they get employed directly by a particular client. Workers may also travel locally to visit their clients, meet with service providers and attend meetings. Even though most of the mental social workers are greatly satisfied after offering their services, the job can sometimes be very challenging. Social work, and especially in the mental health specialty, does not have a lot of professionals. Due to this, there is a regular understaffing and build up of large case load in some of the agencies thus leading to too much pressure on the available workers. Full time social work requires one to work a standard 40-hour week but due to the nature of the job, one is at times obligated to work during the evenings and weekends meeting with clients, attending community meetings and handling emergencies. Moreover, in the working with some patients especially in the mental health institutions can prove to be challenging and at times impossible. This is especially when dealing with a chronically ill patient who is unwilling to co-operate and is difficult to handle and manage. In such a case, external help might be required to calm down such a patient and acts such as man-handling and injecting them with sedatives have to be executed so as to return things back to normality. (Golightley, 159) Just like any other profession, social workers also have minimum requirements so as to be permitted full entry into the occupation. Although some positions necessitate one to have an advanced degree, the most common minimum requirement is on average a bachelors degree in social work (BSW) which is sufficient for entry into the field. However there are a few exceptions whereby a major in psychology, sociology or related fields can qualify one for some entry-level jobs in small community agencies. On the other hand, a masters degree in social work (MSW) is characteristically vital for one to get positions in both the health and teaching fields as well as in clinical work. Furthermore, for teaching position in colleges or universities, one would need a doctorate in social work (DSW or PhD). A certified bachelors degree program requires a minimum of 400 hours of supervised field experience while a masters degree program includes a minimum of 900 hours of supervised field instruction. Thi s prepares the graduates for employment in their chosen field of specialty and helps them continue developing the skills required to execute clinical assessments, handle and supervise large case loads as well as explore new ways of using social services that are helpful to the clients. In addition to the educational qualifications, all states have licensing, certification or registration requirements regarding the use of professional titles. Most of the states call for 2 years of supervised clinical experience for any social worker to be given a license. However, one does not only need professional and educational qualifications to successfully practice a socially and emotionally challenging career of mental health social work. One also needs to have certain personal skills and traits. First and foremost, a mental health social worker should be objective and at the same time sensitive to other people and the problems they are dealing with. It is also helpful to both the social worker and the client to possess calm temperament, quiet disposition and be very patient. A social worker should also be emotionally mature, be able to manage responsibilities and to maintain good working relations with both clients and coworkers. In terms of advancement, a mental health work er can progress to become a supervisor of other workers, a program manager or an executive director of a mental health institution. In the case where one has reached a retiring age or is unable to work in a health institution, there are other career options such as teaching, consulting, researching or going into private practice. In conclusion, despite the social work profession and most especially the area of mental health not being as popular as other careers such as medicine or law, it is just as important in the community as the others. Mental health social workers contribute greatly to the community in undertaking a task that most people do not have the heart, disposition or courage to do. If more people were to delve into the profession, the community and the families dealing with mental illnesses would benefit significantly. NAME : Kerril Sommerville. LOCATION : Monmouth Medical Center, Long Branch, New Jersey. PHONE : +1 800 732-922-7300 EMAIL : [emailprotected]

Issues and Challenges of Micro Finance in India

Issues and Challenges of Micro Finance in India Micro-finance refers to small savings, credit and insurance services extended to socially and economically disadvantaged segments of society. Indian context terms like Small and Marginal Farmers, Economically weaker sections have been used to broadly define micro-finance customer. Large part of micro finance activities is confined to credit. Large size and population of around 1000 million, Indias GDP ranks among top 15 economies of world.Around300 million people or about 60 million households are living below the poverty line. Group of micro finance practitioners estimated the annualize credit usages of all poor families about Rs45000crores of which some 80 percent is met by informal sources. Credit on reasonable terms to poor can bring a significant reduction in poverty. About 60 million households below or just above the austerely defined poverty line and with more than 80 percent unable to access credit at reasonable rate. There are certain issues and problems which have prevented reach of microfinance to needy. MICRO FINANCE AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION: Micro finance institution have expanded frontiers of institutional finance and have brought the poor, especially poor women into formal finance system and enabled them to access credit and fight poverty. Some significant strides have made in upscalling the large quantities of microfinance, observed that microfinance had an asymmetric growth across country with diverse rate of interest being charge to member which are area of concern. The lack of access to credit for the poor is attributable to practical difficulties arising from the discrepancy between the mode of operation followed by financial institution and the economic characteristics and financing needs of low-income household. The income of many self-employed households is not stable, regardless of it size. Large numbers of small loans are needed to serve the poor, but lenders prefer dealing with large loans in small numbers to minimize administration costs. They also look collateral with a clear title which many low-income households do not have. To the extent that Microfinance Institution becomes financially viable, self sustaining and integral to the communities in which they operate, they have the potential to attract more resources and expand services to clients. Despite the success of microfinance institutions only about 2% of worlds roughly 500 million small entrepreneurs is estimated to have access to financial services. Microfinance institution can broaden their resource base by mobilizing savings, accessing capital markets, loan funds and effective institutional development support. Saving facilities to tap small saving in a flexible manner. Microfinance institution are engaged in deposit taking in order to mobilize household saving, they became financial intermediaries. Consequently financial regulations become necessary to ensure the solvency and financial soundness of institution and to protect the depositors. Excessive regulations that do not consider the nature of microfinance institution and their operation can hamper their viability. In view of small loan size, microfinance institution should be subjected to minimum capital requirement which is lower than the applicable to commercial banks. More stringent capital adequacy rate should be maintained because microfinance institution provide uncollateralized loan. Microfinance institution could also serve as intermediaries between borrowers and formal financial sector and on lend funds backed by public sector guarantee. Business like NGOs can offer commercial banks ways of funding micro entrepreneur at low cost and risk. There are many on-going researches on this line but context specific research is needed to identify the meet appropriate model. FORMAL AND INFORMAL SECTOR IN INDIA FORMAL SECTOR INSTITUTIONS: The formal sector banking institution in India have been serving only the needs of commercial sector and providing loans for middle and upper income groups. For housing the HFIs primarily because of the perceived risk of lending to this sector . Risks generally perceived by formal sector Financial Institution are credit risk, High transaction and services cost, Irregular flow of income due to seasonality, Lack of tangible proof of assessment of income, Absence of land tenure of financing housing. Formal Financial Institution are concerned are Commercial Banks, Housing Finance Institution(HFI),NABARD, Rural Development Banks(RDB),Land Development Banks and Cooperative Banks(CBs). The government has taken several initiatives to strengthen the institution rural credit system. The rural branch network of commercial banks have been expanded and certain policy prescriptions imposed, in order to ensure great flow of credit to agriculture and other preferred sectors. The commercial banks are required to ensure that 40% of total credit is provided to priority sectors out of which 18% in the form of direct finance to agriculture and 25% to priority sector in favor of weaker sections besides maintaining a credit deposit ratio of 60% in rural and semi urban branches. Further IRDP introduction in 1979 ensure supply of credit and subsidies to weaker section beneficiaries. INFORMAL FINANCIAL SOURCES: Informal financial sources generally include funds available from family sources or local money lender. Local money lenders charge exorbitant rates, generally ranging from 36% to 60% interest due to their monopoly in the absences of any other source of credit for non-conventional needs. NGOs engaged in activities related to community mobilization for their socio-economic development have initiated saving and credit program for their target groups. Community based financial system (CBFS) can be categorized into two models. Group base financial intermediary and NGO linked financial intermediary. NGOs like SHARAN in Delhi, FEDERATION of THRIFT AND CREDIT ASSOCIATION (FICA) or SPARC have adopted first model where they initiate groups and provide necessary management support.SEWA pertain to second model. Experience of these informal intermediaries shows that although saving of group members, small in nature do not attract high returns, it is skill practiced due to security reasons. Most of loans are unsecured. Personal or group guarantees or other collaterals like jewellery is offered as security. There are some agencies which provide bulk funds to system through NGO. Organization engaged in micro finance activities in India may be categorized as wholesaler, NGOs supporting SHG and NGOs directly retailing credit borrowers or group of borrower. Wholesalers will includes agencies like NABARD, Rashtriya Mahila Kosh, New Delhi and Womens world Banking,ASA in Trichy, RDO Layalam Bank in Manipur. TARGETING PROGRAMMES FOR LOW INCOME GROUPS: GRAMEEN BANK IN BANGLADESH: Grameen Bank lending system is simple but effective. To obtain loans, potential borrowers must form a group of five; gather once a week for loan repayment meetings and to start with learn the bond rules and 16 Decision, which they chant at start of their weekly session. There decision incorporate code of conduct that members are encourage to follow in their daily life, e.g.: production of fruits and vegetables in kitchen gardens, investment of improvement of housing and education for children, safe drinking water for health,etc.For this physical training are held at meeting. Key-unit in credit program is first necessary step to receive credit. Initially loans are providing to individuals in group, there were under pressure from other members to repay the loan. Credibility of group members and benefits in term of new loan will be stopped if any one default to repay and the group members are fined or expelled a member if they fail to attend the meeting. FINANCIAL MODELING SELF-HELP GROUPS: SHG-MGI System: Typical SHG consist of 12 or 30 member. It is not only saving and loan association but serves as affinity group that provides platform for issues. SHG is system raises funds from individual and also from MCI. MCI arise fund from three sources: Capital, SHG saving and borrowing from outside and MCI have regulatory restriction on assets, liabilities and interest rates. Some of the principles underlying that were issued to implementing: SHG use almost 60% for lending to their members and rest for depositing. Joint liability of members is to serves as substitute for physical collateral and saving are to come first. Interest rates on saving and credit for members are market rates to determine locally by participating institutions. All NGOs and SHGs will charge an interest margin to cover their costs. SHGs may levy an extra charge to interest rate of internal fund generation which will force saving. MECHANISMS FOR CREDIT FUNDING LOW INCOME GROUP BENEFICIARIES BY HDFC . HDFC making sub-stained efforts to reach the lower income groups of society, especially the weaker section, thus enabling them to realize their dreams of possessing own house. HDFCs response to need for housing and living environment for poor both in rural and urban sectors materialized in collaboration with German Development Bank. It also ensures newly constructed houses are within the affordability of beneficiaries and promotes the usage of innovative low cost technologies and locally available material for constructing house. Purpose of implementation of low cost having projects, HDFC collaborate with Government and Non-Government. Security for loan is mortgage of property being financed. Construction work is regularly monitored by coordinating agencies and HDFC. The loan is disbursed depending upon the stages of construction. Microfinance operation experience poor repay their loans, saving and loan facilities. It also contribution to solving problem of inadequate housing. It has hot to contribute to this by building financial discipline and educating borrower about repayment requirements. CHALLENGES OF MICROFINANCE: The importance of microfinance in the process of poverty eradication is realized, it faces multiple problems. Offering financial services to poor individual and in itself leads to various challenges. Challenges are divided into challenges faced by Micro Entrepreneurs and challenges faced by Microfinance Providers. Challenges Faced by Micro Entrepreneurs: Inability to offer marketable collateral for loans: They are either small businesses or poor individual who have few assets and low income. These clients have cannot offer any collateral for loans. Due to this microfinance providers may raise their interest rate or turn down hundreds of application. Poor institutional viability of micro enterprises. Business ideas with a lack of consideration of demand and cost render the micro venture unsustainable and microfinance may incorrectly get blame for it. For instance, In the case of micro crop farming farmer often fail to account for their personal consumption between the sowing and harvesting periods and realize they face shortage of more. Due to this they often end up using the micro loan for personal matter and problem arises when its time to pay back the loan, farmer are forced to take another loan. Knowledge regarding sources of microfinance is lack. Many micro entrepreneurs live in remote villages, so they have no access to microfinance service offered by MFIs. Misallocation or shortage of finance. Lack of fund, which can solve if MFIs build up their capital base by accessing various sources of funds without fund micro ventures, cannot grow. Inability to exploit growth opportunities. Shortage of finance is a contributor to this problem, because lack of access to funds means micro entrepreneurs cannot inject money into their business to grow. They may have little information pertaining to their market such as customer needs and competitor strengths and weakness, this may result May critics. Lack of organizational resources and governance. They may have limited skill, qualification and exposure to handling business. They need to be trained through capacity building initiative by MFIs; many micro entrepreneurs may not grow because of this problem. Low bargaining power. Micro entrepreneurs operates in competitive markets, their individual bargaining power is diminished. There still isnt any respite because micro entrepreneurs deal with MFIs on individual basis, which also erode their bargaining power. Most problems faced by micro entrepreneurs are caused by small size, improper skill, and location. When venture secures loan and begins to grow these problems will eventually. Challenges faced by microfinance providers. The importance of microfinance in the process of process of poverty eradication is realized, it faces multiple problems. The challenges faced by microfinance providers are High risk of micro entrepreneurship and small business. Micro entrepreneur usually no collateral to offer microfinance providers, no alternate source of income. Micro entrepreneurs are considered high risk ventures and micro finance providers are forced to compensate for this by changing interest rate. High costs for Micro Lending. Small micro enterprises increase the transaction cost for MFIs, because they cannot process micro loan in bulk. In study conducted by Asian Development Bank, Microfinance providers change interest rate ranging from 30 to 70% per year. Fund shortage. There are plenty of financial options available for MFIs there is an emerging shortage of money. This is due to lack of awareness of funding source by MFI managers. Difficulty in measuring the social performance of MFIs. Micro finance is delivering the economic returns its proponents promised but there are only a handful of tools available that measure the social return of microfinance. Mixing of charity with business. If microfinance providers fail to protect themselves against loan delinquency, they will in effect, prioritize social at expenses of financial sustainability. Improper delinquency management is result of inadequate implementation of corporate governance principle. As result loses control over microfinance deals will lead to higher default rates. Lack of solution for poor. Targeting of poor households by microfinance programs is common problem because MFIs fail to understand the various needs of micro entrepreneurs. MFI must spend time to develop microfinance tools for each micro entrepreneur. Lack of microfinance training for MFIs. Micro finance sector is different when compare to traditional financial sector, microfinance providers need special training to ensure they avoid problem such as under-serving clients. Poor distribution system of MFIs and lack of information about microfinance investment opportunities. CONCLUSION: All these problems can broadly fall into either financial or operational in nature, they should not be impossible to solve as microfinance sector move towards its optimal performance level in next several years. Microfinance can contribute to solving the problem of inadequate housing and urban service as an integral part of poverty alleviation programs. Microfinance institutions have a lot of contribution to this by building financial discipline and educating borrowers about repayment requirements. Micro Finance have more opportunity if the state Reduced direct involvement, increased outlays, Structuring of outlays and finding right outlets, Creating incentives and regulatory environment for implementation.

What is Truth - Comparison of Plato and Peirces Philosophy :: essays research papers

What is Truth?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For thousands of years, mankind has persistently pursued truth, knowledge, and understanding. For most, this pursuit is a driving force which usually doesn’t end until one finds a â€Å"truth† that is satisfying to him or her. Even then, however, one may choose to look for an alternate truth that may be even more satisfying to them. This pursuit does not always follow the same path for everyone as there are different ideas as to how truth is actually obtained and which is the best way to obtain it. Two individuals and great philosophers of their time, Plato and Charles Peirce, each had their own ideas on how truth and knowledge could be obtained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the main differences between Plato’s and Peirce’s philosophies regarding truth is that Plato believed truth is founded in knowledge while Peirce believed knowledge could never be obtained. Plato believed that everyone possesses knowledge and the realization of this knowledge could be achieved through recollection. This was demonstrated in Plato’s Meno when Socrates presented the â€Å"square of double size† question to the slave boy. Socrates did not teach the slave boy how to get the answer, he merely asked the boy a series of questions and the boy came to the right answer through recollection. In this way, the boy already possessed the knowledge to answer the question correctly. With this philosophy, truth is past-oriented. Past experiences and universal knowledge is the key to truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plato also had the philosophy of dyadic intuitionism. Intuition, Plato believed, is the basis of knowledge. Logical progressions need not be made to determine relationships and discover truth. Plato was closer to the side of the â€Å"Realm of Being† as opposed to the â€Å"Realm of Becoming†. The ‘Realm of Being† is eternal, involves recollection and acquisition of knowledge, and consists of a more optimistic view of truth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Peirce, on the other hand, believed that true knowledge could never be obtained. He believed that truth was future oriented. Peirce’s preferred method of pursuing truth was the scientific method. This method consists of forming a hypothesis and trying to disprove the hypothesis through practical evidence. Although Peirce thought the scientific method was the best approach to search for truth, he believed that it could only be used to disprove a hypothesis, and that nothing could be proven for certain. It is through this idea that his belief that knowledge can never be obtained is founded.

European Animals The Major Part They Took In Forever Altering the Ecology of the Americas :: essays papers

European Animals The Major Part They Took In Forever Altering the Ecology of the Americas Although the Europeans presence in the Americas from 1492 to many years later caused drastic change in the environment, their part in forever altering the entire American ecosystem was minor when compared to the part of the true criminals: the European animals. The introduction of these European animals into the New World had the most destructive effects on the new environment and everlastingly altered the ecology of the Americas. During the time that pre-dated the arrival of the Europeans, the Americas remained basically untouched and prevailed as virgin land. The land was populated with not just American Indians, but also populated by vast numbers of plants and animals. These inhabitants "lived, died, and bred alone for generation after generation, developing unique cultures and working out tolerances," that is up until 1492, when Columbus and the European conquerors invaded the harmonious land and instantaneously initiated the many long years of corruption. The arrival of the Europeans immediately brought drastic changes to the way things were previously done in the Americas; they "immediately set about to transform as much of the new world as possible into the old world." Because they were people who practiced mixed farming with a heavy emphasis on herding and because they saw only very few domesticated animals in the new land, the Europeans began the action of importing Old World domesticated animals, such as the pig, cow, and horse. This action could most definitely be described as "the greatest biological revolution in the Americas since the end of the Pleistocene era." The Europeans had no idea as to what they unleashed upon the New World when they introduced their domesticated animals. Many of these animals flourished in the new environment beyond the wildest hopes of their European masters. The animals and their diseases "moved through the virgin lands of America faster than did the people who had brought them to the New World." By surpassing their masters, the animals became unstoppable, and their destruction was unfortunately boundless. Pigs, for example, existed as one among the many animal groups that played such a significant role in the changes that wrought the ecology of the New World. Out of all of the imported animals, the pigs adapted quickest to the new environment.

Nike Creative Brief

Nike Creative Brief Key Fact:Nike is brand name that is well respected and has a long-standing history. The brand name Nike is almost synonymous with the word â€Å"sport† or the term â€Å"athlete. † Problem Communications Must Overcome:Nike is the leader in Textile – Footwear and Apparel, despite this Nike is still seen by some as unethical because of their labor practices overseas. Communications Objective:Nike hopes to change this perception without having to change its business model.By continuing to be the leader and setting the standard in the Textile – Footwear and Apparel category, Nike hopes to eventually disconnect itself from that negative perception. Principal Competition:Reebok: Smaller, but still lots of life, they own the rights to many professional sports uniforms such as the NFL and the NBA. Adidas: The most like Nike. They mostly make their living off of Soccer apparel and footwear. Under Armor: The up and coming brand, they have the edg e athletic wear that athletes wear under their uniforms.Target Audience:Demographics: People who are active, they like to go on a walk, run, or jog. Or people who are athletes. Psychographics: â€Å"I like to have the newest and freshest looking athletic wear. I’m not very price-sensitive as long as the product looks and feels good. † Dominant Leverage Point:Only Nike offers such a vast selection of athletic wear and footwear. The best of the best athletes such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan endorse Nike and have their own lines of apparel and shoes.Support (Reasons Why):Nike provides apparel and footwear to countries all over the world. Nike has the worlds greatest athletes endorsing their products. Nike has the largest line of products available to its customers. Tonality (Brand Soul):Fresh, flashy, fun, the best. The world’s best athletes wear Nike. Anticipated Consumer Response:â€Å"Dude I got these fresh new Nikes, let’s play some sports! † Mandatory and Policy Limitations:Nike Logo Nike Tagline: â€Å"Just do it† Web address: www. nike. com

Important Factors in Employee Motivation Essay

Important Factors in Employee Motivation The motivation of employees is one of the most vital requirements in the contemporary business development. People from all works of life may hold distinct views towards the topic that what are the radical motivating factors. Actually, it was salary that used to be considered as the most important motivators, as financial reward was comparatively proposed to be traded on impelling hirelings’ motivation, according to some early theories(Wiley,1997). However, some different factors of motivation, which now are universally favored by companies and conglomerates, may be more essential than personal emolument. This essay attempts to demonstrate these major factors in motivating employees, including empowerment, esteem demands and compensation in both physical and psychological aspects. Delegating more responsibility to workers is an efficacious way to increase job satisfaction, as well as employees motivation (Herzberg,1987 cited in Madura,2008). It means employees may be motivated by being involved in general affairs or being offered the power to participate in decision making, which can be equivalently called empowerment (Madura,2008) and this has been executed at numerous companies or by some notable people such as Warren Buffet. Once he left the investment in his manager and employees’ charge even without any periodical supervision, only in the case that the manager demanded to have a deliberation for exigent matters. Therefore,the personnels were empowered and they would devote all themselves to work, in order to accomplish a better consequence, since so colossal responsibility were on their shoulders (Luke,2011). Strikingly, it not only promoted the production but also increased employees’ enthusiasm and required capacity for later work. In addition, Tesco, a world famous conglomerate for commodity and service offering, also attaches importance to responsibility delegation. It stages informal discussion annually, deliberating salary raise with the workers and constantly adopt proper recommendations for food going onto the cartes in its restaurants from the staff. Employees thence be motivated to provide their enterprise with creative and proper ideas(The Times 100, 2010), cumbering with considerable duties. Equally important, esteem demands such as self-respect and respect from others,especially recognition for the works the employees have done can impel motivation to a certain extent. Full appreciation for hard work could helps erect self-esteem by concentrating on employees’ value for the firm and then the company may capacitate employees to reach their needs (Madura,2008). Nonetheless, although employees do need appreciation for work done, investigation illustrates that employers merely acknowledge recognition for employees’ work . Also, principles for presenting appreciation, consisting of description of required actions, explanation for appreciating and expressing gratitudes (Cherrington, 1992, pp. 2-3,cited in Wiley, 1997) should be followed, otherwise, it might be invalid. Take Tesco for example, it usually makes its employees feel satisfied in work by communicating with them regularly to help employees set individual goals and sum up the work they have done. What’s more,Tesco invites its workers to participate in a survey named Viewpoint every year, affording them the chances to present any opinions on nearly all fields of their work. T hus, employee motivation becomes higher as the value they have in various aspects are recognized and get the respect from their firms. Sufficient compensations related to employee outstanding achievement, can have positive effects on reinforcing employees because people will usually be motivated by being rewarded for their work. Financial rewards, together with non-financial factors, contributes to people’s getting into the swing of their job. For example, some firms like Enterprise Rent-A-Car Company offers bonuses to workers based on its profit and the average money that Nucor pays to its employees as premiums can even be more than the medial base salary(Madura,2008). Both of the two companies compensate employees with financial rewards. Apart from that,some non-financial factors may do a more adequate job of motivating workers, such as personal skill promoting and developing opportunities (The Times 100,2010). According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory, self-actualization is the final category to reach but beneficial to people if fulfilled. Best Buy organized a program to gather some employees to work and live together, getting trainings and texts. Meanwhile they were required to discuss to think of ideas for their goods sale. During this program, people who performed well in the groups can even had an opportunity to get extra management training and they then would be more likely to get promotion. Consequently, Best Buy motivated employees by promoting them with additional trainings as compensations besides pay raises and could enhance the enterprise’s creativity at the same time (Reena,2009 cited in Luke, 2011). Still some people, however, may insist on advocating salary as the most important factor in motivating. Although it is true that payment, as a kind of physiological need among five categories of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, is the foundation that people depend on for existence, itwill not absolutely result in increasing of staffs activeness. Instead, inadequacy of hygiene needs will lead to employees’ dissatisfaction for work. Dissatisfaction dose not mean no satisfaction because â€Å"dissatisfaction† may produce negative influence while â€Å"no satisfaction† will just keep unchangeable(Herzberg, 1987). As a result, adequate salary will only prevent employees from becoming dissatisfied rather than motivating them. Furthermore, as market conditions have transformed speedily and innovation continues, most people do not just work for money to survive, but for experiencing the life and actualizing personal worth. In this case, salary may have almost little effect in motivating, compared with other motivators mentioned above. From what have been discussed above, motivation now is extremely a significant problem in management of business and companies all over the world and it is widely acknowledged that fundamental factors to motivate employees need to be correctly understand. Management practices in companies and theories published by experts both contribute to the fact that important factors in motivation are complex and more than just salary. Delegating responsibility to employees can empowers them to be more active in work and appreciating the work they have done will meet individual esteem needs, preventing them from feeling undervalued. While compensation includes salary raises and non-financial rewards both can affect employees job satisfaction related to motivation.

Analyse and compare the ways in which Blake presents the contrasting ideas of ‘innocence’ and ‘experience’ in his poetry

William Blake was born on the 28th November 1757 and is considered one of the first ‘Romantic poets'. The Romantic era was a movement that began in the eighteenth century. Romantic poets who included Wordsworth, Keats and Coleridge believed in rebelling against society's values and the strict rules of poetry and art; these were the people who changed English poetry. At the end of the 1700's Blake published a book titled ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience: The two contrary states of the human soul' which contained poems on similar subjects but explored in the two states of innocence and experience. I shall compare four of Blake's poems in this essay: ‘The Lamb', ‘The Tyger' and ‘The Chimney Sweep' (which appears in both collections). ‘The Lamb' asks us to relate the lamb's image as the most innocent of God's creation, to that of its maker, the ‘lamb of God'. It begins with a question made by a child, who asks the lamb how it came to be and who made ‘thee'. ‘Thee' is the archaic form of the word ‘you' and Blake used it throughout the poem, which gives it a religious tone as this was a word used in the Old Testament. These first two lines are a rhyming couplet in tetrameter. When reading ‘The Lamb' magnificent images spring to mind, especially half way through the first stanza: â€Å"†¦ by the stream and o'er the mead† (meadow). This imagery is similar to descriptions made in the Old Testament book of Psalms. (Especially Psalm 23, â€Å"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want†) The second stanza starts in much the same way as the first, with two lines of tetrameter. This time, instead of a question, a statement is made, leading on to answer the query made in the first verse. Again, Blake uses the archaic form of ‘you': ‘Little Lamb I'll tell thee', to re-enforce the religious side of the poem. This stanza goes on to say that the lamb was created by the one ‘who calls himself lamb', in other words, Jesus. Jesus is seen as the figure of innocence in the Bible. Like most of Blake's work, God has been discussed about in this poem. Each stanza in ‘The Lamb' contains five rhyming couplets and the repetition at the start and end of each verse makes the poem sound slightly like a nursery rhyme consequently reflecting the child-like innocent qualities of the poem. It appears almost devotional and the rhythm helps to give it ballad-like qualities. The poem generally has a repetitive structure and rhyme scheme. Blake uses vocabulary similar to that of a pastoral poem. The answer to the question asked in the first stanza reveals the child's innocence and faith. It indicates that he accepts anything he is told without question. The child associates himself and the lamb with Jesus, and in the Bible Jesus shows kindness towards children. Imagery in the first stanza is descriptive and rural, for example ‘By the stream and o'er the mead'. This forces the reader to think of the happiness and innocence connected with the countryside. This contrasts with the second, which is more spiritual and straightforward. Although the question asked by the child in verse one is naive, it is also very significant. It is a simple question but one that can be thought about a little deeper. This quality is present in almost all of Blake's work – his poems can be read on a number of levels. ‘The Lamb' is a reminder of innocence in a time of war, revolution and industrial labour that was all taking place while Blake was writing. ‘The Tyger' is the experience counterpart to ‘The Lamb'; it too begins with a question. The narrator is asking who created the tyger: ‘What immortal hand or eye/Could frame thy fearful symmetry'. From then on each stanza contains more questions, which branch out from this first; the narrator suggests the creator of the tyger is like a blacksmith, using words such as ‘anvil' and ‘furnace' in his descriptions. He seems surprised that the creator of the lamb could also be able to create such an opposite character such as the tyger. Blake could be comparing the two sides of man; good and bad as well as innocence and experience. The poem is made up of six quatrains in rhyming couplets. It is in a regular, rhythmic tetrameter. The beat is very prominent and if read in a certain way could start to sound like a chant or a spell, this makes the reader feel entranced and in touch with the poem. Blake builds on the idea of comparing nature and art, suggesting that although the tiger is beautiful it is also very violent and this could perhaps reflect it's creator. An underlying question arises whilst reading ‘The Tyger': ‘what type of God could create such a scary beast but also a sweet lamb'. By evolving this question further the poem could be seen to be asking why God lets bad things happen, when he can also let such good things occur. It ends with a repetition of the first verse, but uses the word ‘dare' instead of ‘could'. Blake is suggesting that because the tiger is such a terrifying beast, it would take great daring from God to create it. The central question in both poems is similar, but unlike ‘The Lamb', ‘The Tyger' finishes without an answer. This could suggest that because ‘The Lamb' is in the innocence collection that the question more easily answered when thought about in a naive way. When thought about as it is in ‘The Tyger', at a more in-depth level, the question becomes more complicated. When ‘The Tyger' and ‘The Lamb' are directly contrasted they give a clear comparison of human nature, this shows that nothing is without its bad side, for example, there cannot be heaven without hell. In both poems Blake emphasises his main point in the first and last lines. ‘The Tyger' contains harsh verbs such as ‘grasp' and ‘seize' and also uses harsh sounding alliteration with the letters B, D and T: ‘Burning Bright,' however, in ‘The Lamb' Blake uses softer letters such as L and M: ‘Little Lamb' to show the gentle nature of the poem and creature being described. In both poems metaphors are used and reflect Blake's view on religion and God. In ‘The Lamb' Blake, through the eyes of a child, compares the creator, God, to the lamb itself: ‘For he calls himself a lamb. ‘ Here, Blake is describing Jesus, the ‘Lamb of God'. Blake often wrote about the same subjects in both collections, he sometimes named the poems identically, such as in ‘The Chimney Sweeper in ‘Songs of Innocence'. This poem deals with chimney sweepers and the effect being one takes on a young child's life. It tells of two little boys and their suffering. One of the boys, the eldest, narrates. On first glance, the poem seems full of joy and gives the illusion of ending happily. Looking deeper, it conveys a message of exploitation and child suffering. The poem in ‘Songs of Experience' tells of a boy grieving and how he has to go to work, to almost certainly meet his death, while his mother and father think they are doing the right thing. In the first stanza of the innocence poem, the narrator tells of how his mother died and how young he was. The juxtaposition of the words ‘died' and ‘young' cause tension in the first lines because death and youth are not often associated. The boy cries ‘weep, weep, weep' which has two meanings. At first it seems to be the boy crying, but to be a chimneysweeper you must advertise by shouting ‘sweep, sweep, sweep'. So by including this in the poem; Blake has indicated that the boy is so young he can barely pronounce words properly, yet he must go to work. In the next line, a second person pronoun is used which directly implies that the reader is directly responsible for the underage dangerous work being done; making the reader feel responsible and guilty. The second stanza tells the beginning of a dream had by a younger boy, Tom. He dreams that thousands of chimney sweepers are locked in coffins. The word ‘locked' links directly with the word ‘key' in the next stanza and causes tension between the two verses. Blake was said to have had many visions of various creatures and people. He claimed to experience them from early on. When he was nine years old he told his mother that he had seen â€Å"a tree filled with angels,† and not long after, in a field of workers gathering hay, a vision of â€Å"angelic figures walking†. He has incorporated his visions into this poem by using the idea of a dream. The third stanza contrasts with the second immensely. While the second is full of misery and contains words such as ‘black', ‘lock'd' and ‘coffins'; the third tells of freedom and hope. The phrase ‘their bags left behind' in line three is a metaphor for their troubles left behind on earth. Blake uses metaphors to conjure up imagery in the reader's head. The fourth stanza contains the main message of the poem. Tom awakes to an angel telling him that if he works hard on earth he will be rewarded in heaven. This is Blake ironically criticising the hypocritical society of his time. The experience poem is narrated in third person and the first stanza contains the same phrase as the innocence poem. The boy is crying ‘weep, weep' which again indicates his young age. The first line of the poem, ‘A little black thing among the snow', is a very significant one and brings to mind clear images of black against white. Again, Blake has used tension in the beginning of the poem to create strong imagery in the readers head at an early stage. In the second verse the child is speaking. He tells of how he was dressed in clothes of death and sent out to work as a chimneysweeper. Again, there is tension between the mention of ‘happiness' in the first line and the word ‘death' in the third. Ironically, the parents are being ‘good' by clothing the child, but on the other hand, they are clothing him in clothes of death to be a chimney sweep. The last verse is the boy telling of how he fools his parents. He dances and sings to make them think they are doing no wrong, when in fact they are sending their own child to his death. The last phrase, ‘heaven out of misery' is a very significant one. The concept of heaven only works if there is suffering as well. There would not be a heaven if there were not a hell. Blake tells how children are being exploited by the promise of eternal happiness for work on earth. Adult manipulation is very clear in this poem and Blake is being ironic by suggesting that suffering is the only path to happiness. Both poems contain clear messages. ‘The Chimney Sweeper' in ‘Songs of Innocence' shows that the children have a positive and naive outlook on life. They make the best of it and do not fear death; this is because they do not know the truth and are therefore innocent. An opposite message is conveyed in the poem of ‘Songs of Experience' in which the child blames his parents for putting him in such a dangerous position. He is less naive and blames ‘God & his Priest & King'. This is different from the innocence poem because the little boy has been influenced by society and has an ‘experienced' view. The theme of God runs throughout both poems. In the first, an angel appears and talks about heaven. The word ‘lamb' in the second verse links with the ‘lamb of God', representing Jesus and suffering. In the second poem, heaven is talked about and a church is mentioned in the beginning. Both poems play on the idea of how to get into heaven and the naivety of young children. The poems that I have analysed in this essay have all included the theme of God, as did nearly all of Blake's work. Blake hated organised religion, but on the other hand was a very spiritual and religious man. The times in which he lived forced church upon people, rather than leaving them to make up their own minds. Blake also had a hatred for formal education, which we can see in his poem from ‘Songs of Experience' titled ‘The School Boy'. He felt school was unnecessary and not having attended school himself thought that it ‘oppressed the soul's creative spirit'. Blake wanted his current society's attitude to change; he knew that sending innocent children out to work at such a young age was wrong. In some of his other poetry Blake concentrates on areas of society he would like to be changed, such as in ‘The Little Black Boy'. Blake thinks that the attitude white people have learnt to associate with black people is wrong and should be changed. Much of his inspiration came from the French and Industrial revolutions. In fact, he was so interested in the changes taking place in France, he wrote a poem ‘The French Revolution' in 1791. Blake was living in an ever-changing society, where traditional ideas and values were being questioned and new ones created – he wanted to be a part of it but in his own imaginative, visionary way. The ‘Innocence' collection could represent the way that the society of Blake's time thought and believed, and the experience collection, representing the way it really was. The people of Blake's time would just ignore problems such as child employment and education, hoping it would go away, but Blake knew something had to be done, and he talked about this in his poetry. Songs of Innocence' and ‘Songs of Experience' give comparative images of children, babies, religion and the general society. It shows how different everything seems when we are innocent. Although the two collections show ‘†¦ the two contrary states of the human soul', they seem to join together and weave the same themes throughout. Some of these ideas are included both collections of poems, but are talked about in contrasting ways, such as religion, children, education and death.