The National Government Of The United States - 1445 Words

Abstract The National Government of the United States of America consists of three branches. These branches of government, which include the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch, separate the government s power into a form of checks and balances. The system of checks and balances has been set in place to allow the three branches to limit the power of the other branches, this way, no branch is more powerful than the others. Each of these three branches of government will be further explained and the duties and responsibilities of each branch will be defined. The branches will also be compared and contrasted to one anther. A personal opinion will be given, as well as, supporting facts to this opinion. This†¦show more content†¦1; Legislature, n.d., para. 1). The House of Representatives is composed up of four hundred thirty-five elected members, which are divided up among the states according to their populations. The appointed leader of the House is the Sp eaker of the House, who is elected by Representatives(The Legislative Branch, n.d., para. 2). The House elects new members every two years, but to be elected you must be of the age of twenty- five. You must also be a United States citizen for at least seven years and you must live in the state in which you are representing(The Legislative Branch, n.d., para. 3). There is no limit to the amount of terms a Representative may serve(U.S. Federal Government, n.d., para. 7). Those who are elected members of the House have exclusive power assigned to them within the legislative branch: They have the power to impeach federal officials, commence revenue bills, and elect the President of the United States in the rare event of an electoral college tie(The Legislative Branch, n.d., para. 4). The Senate consists of two elected members from each state, resulting in one-hundred senators. Before 1913 the state legislatures would elect the senators, but after the 17th Amendment was ratified, senator s were elected by the people. In order to run for election and/or be elected, senators must be thirty years old, a United States citizen for nine years, and a resident of the state

Nike in Brazil a Host Country View Free Essays

Negative effects of Nike from Brazil’s point of view Brazil is rapidly privatizing many industries and its attitude toward a free market economy has changed significantly in the past 10 years. However, it seems the country still has a perception that often times associates capitalism with â€Å"greedy† developed countries. If the opinion of Brazil’s president is a reflection of how some of its people feel this is certainly the case. We will write a custom essay sample on Nike in Brazil: a Host Country View or any similar topic only for you Order Now In 2008, Brazil’s president lambasted US corporations and the US government for â€Å"infecting his nation with problems that were not of its making (The New York Times, 2008). This attitude seems to have created some problems for Brazilians in terms of their view of Nike. The kind of leverage and control that such a large company can exert on football in the country is huge. This issue was thrown into the light when in 1998 the Brazilian national team lost in the World Cup finals to France. Earlier on in the year, Nike had invested a record amount ($200 million US) for the right to sponsor the Brazilian national team in the World Cup. As a requisite for sponsorship, Nike demanded that the team play an inordinate amount of exhibition games leading up to the event. Many Brazilians, including Brazilian football legend Pele (who filed a lawsuit against Nike), still blame Nike for Brazil’s loss. They claim that the unusual number of exhibition games tired the players out. Similarly, another interesting problem is Nike’s effect on competition in Brazil. Nike’s recent acquisition of UK sporting wear company Umbro allowed it to eclipse Adidas as the biggest brand in the world of football (The Financial Times, 2007). This is particularly troubling for Brazilian retailers, who worry about the concentration of brands between two large Multi-Nationals and the effect this might have on their business. Lastly, as with many interactions between MNC’s and developing countries environmental issues have been a problem. Brazil is a massive supplier of leather used for products like Nike shoes. However, much of the cattle that the leather comes from graze on what was once Amazon rain forest. A host of Brazilian ranchers have clear-cut entire swaths of rainforest in an attempt to make room for more cattle. This goes against Brazil’s need to preserve what is arguably its most precious natural resource (The Ends Report, 2009). In future business interactions, Nike needs to be weary of using tactics that could be perceived by the Brazilian people as greedy, dominating, or imperialistic. Such tactics may erode trust within the Brazilian population and could turn out to be a bigger PR headache than they are worth. Advantages of having Nike in Brazil from Brazil’s point of view On the other hand, the fact that Nike is such a large and powerful company can have its benefits for the Brazilian people. With its enormous buying capability Nike can actually shift the way products are produced in some countries by pressuring suppliers. As was discussed earlier, Nike has been using leather procured from suppliers who have clear-cut forests in order to make room for their cattle. However, in August of last year, Nike along with help from Greenpeace enacted a set of regulations that all its suppliers must follow. The policies included a rule against clear-cutting, as well as other important environmental conventions. It seems that where there are problems between Brazil and Nike, there are also opportunities (The Ends Report, 2009). Programs like this are exactly what Nike needs. Not only do they foster trust and goodwill, they also facilitate much needed changes in Brazil. Without Nike the changes in the Brazilian leather industry might be difficult to encourage. The cattle lobby in Brazil is well funded and has many political ties making initiatives that may affect productivity hard to pass. However, it seems that environmentally conscious Brazilians have found a solution and a partner in Nike. In addition, Nike also decided to make its entire 2010 World Cup kit (a collection of football clothing) out of recycled bottles. This initiative took 13 million plastic bottles out of landfills. Furthermore, the Nike project created an association between Brazil and sustainability that will be seen all over the world (Al-Bawaba Reporters, 2010). Lastly, in recent years Nike has invested enormous amounts of money in the Brazilian football infrastructure. Nike is one of the chief supporters of the Brazilian Football Confederation and has extended its contract with this association until 2018. In addition, Nike also sponsors all three of the largest football teams in the country (Sports Marketing Quarterly, 2006). This reflects a direct commitment to improving and fostering football in the Brazil. The support of such a large sporting powerhouse seems to have had some positive effects on Brazil in terms of their attractiveness as a host for future events. In the past year, Brazil secured the 2014 world cup. This event is extremely lucrative for local vendors (among other parties) and will allow Brazil to display its incredible culture on a worldwide scale. Bibliography How to cite Nike in Brazil: a Host Country View, Papers

Human Resource Management and Strategic Alliances

Question: Discuss about the Human Resource Management and Strategic Alliances. Answer: Introduction: During the period of pre-amalgamation, the Autumn Council and Spring Council were two different identities. The workforce strength of Autumn council was lower than Spring Council. In both the companies, female employees were less compared to male. In case of Autumn council, the lower division staffs were of higher number, public work services, recreation and community services included 29 and 26 staffs respectively. Compared to Autumn council, spring council consist of 38 and 36 staffs respectively in the same departments. In both organizations, 5 human resource staffs are present. One difference between these two organizations is experienced staffs. In Autumn council, upper level staffs are 3 years experienced and full time permanent staffs, compared to less experienced and contractual staffs of Autumn council. Analyzing both organizational charts, workplace supply is justified. From the case study of autumn council, it has been seen that staff turnover rate is highly abnormal. In case of male, it is 26 % and in case of female it is 41 %. Though the male staff turnover rate is stable, female turnover rate is increasing. Two key reasons found from the case study are the gender biasness in the workplace and dissatisfaction with being overlooked for advancement to the senior designations (Bratton Gold, 2012). These two reasons are significant because, from the case study it has been revealed that 32 % female staffs, coming from mixed ethnic background are working in lower level administrative role. In spite of Spring Councils effort to enhance female workforce, turnover is 37 %. The third reason of turnover rate is cultural discrimination. The pre-amalgamation turnover rate was high in both Autumn and Spring council, especially in case of female employees. Thus, in post-amalgamation period, the organization should undertake the following strategies to address the increased rate of staff turnover. Establishment of a open and transparent communication network within lower and higher division staffs (Cartwright Cooper, 2012) Performance appraisal program and based on the performance, internal selection for higher designation Recruiting employees from diverse cultural background and prioritizing female employees during recruitment would reduce gender biasness issues Summer Council workforce is established after amalgamation, with the employee strength of Autumn and Spring Council. In Summer council, the staff recruitment process would involve merit based approach. The HR policies and procedures should include anti-gender and anti-cultural discrimination policies. It would be motivate staffs to follow HR policies. For retaining staffs, motivational strategies like performance based and experience based reward system should be incorporated into the HR policies (Vaiman, Scullion Collings, 2012). The contract and part time workers should also be involved in organizational procedures and rewards, to make them familiar with the organizational environment, which were absent in the pre-amalgamation environment. It will enhance the chance of their retention. During the organizational change and amalgamation, retaining skilled and experienced performers is crucial for organizational success. In case Summer council, the following three strategies will be useful to retain existing skilled employees. Talent assessment- Talent assessment is required for identifying the most skilled people, who are needed to be retained for organizational success. The talent assessment would include identification of core skills of employees, which would be nourished for retaining them in the organization, during the change. Talent retention program- It can be considered as the next step of talent assessment. Talent retention program include training and development, flexible work schedule, above market salaries, exploration of employee value proposition elements, focused cultural alignment, and monitory and non-monitory rewards. These would help employees to feel valued (Cartwright Cooper, 2012). Providing growth opportunities- Employees tend to stay in an organization, where they see opportunities to grow. Thus, providing growth and future development opportunities will attempt to retain employees. During pre-amalgamation phase, two organizations were experiencing high percentage of employee turnover. It has been revealed that a significant cultural and gender discrimination issue was one of the key reasons behind the high rate of turnover (Buller McEvoy, 2012). The following three objectives would ensure workforce diversity and cross-cultural management in the organization. To recruit diverse cultural employees from foreign origin To implement anti-gender and anti-cultural discrimination policies To fill 90 % of the workforce from diverse culture One key strategy to source skilled employees to the Summer Council is to include digital recruitment process. Digital recruitment process allows the recruiter to find the most skilled and experienced employees, by analyzing their resumes provided in the websites. The second strategy is to contact with reliable consultancies (Vaiman, Scullion Collings, 2012). These organizations make a contract with the company to provide skilled employees. It also helps to reduce HR professionals difficulties to find suitable employees. The third strategy is to create organizations own website and using mobile recruitment for promoting the organizational vacancies. Communication strategies are important for engaging the employees in the organizational environment and change management. The following three communication strategies would be implemented for engaging employees in the organizational change. Transparent and open communication- Transparency is very important in communication. It ensures that the conversation is two-sided and employees tend to feel that they are being valued (Cartwright Cooper, 2012). Using effective ICT tools- ICT tools are showing high potential to be implemented in the business communication as it successfully reducing organizational conflicts and engaging employees. Frequent interaction with employees- Creating an open and friendly environment is very important for engagement. The leaders and managers should praise and motivate employees in their regular performance to enhance their engagement (Cartwright Cooper, 2012). The HR managers should collect written consent from employee to secure their agreement. The HR manager would attempt meet the all the staff members through a conference, group discussion or meeting. In this meeting the manager would clarify the objectives and goals of the current change management along with the discussion regarding the need for employees support in the change management. Direct communication will motivate employees to be more engaged with the organization (Buller McEvoy, 2012). Once they begin to feel valued, they would be assured about their retention in the organization and stop spreading rumours. Reference List Bratton, J., Gold, J. (2012). Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Buller, P. F., McEvoy, G. M. (2012). Strategy, human resource management and performance: Sharpening line of sight. Human resource management review, 22(1), 43-56. Cartwright, S., Cooper, C. L. (2012). Managing Mergers Acquisitions and Strategic Alliances. Routledge. Vaiman, V., Scullion, H., Collings, D. (2012). Talent management decision making. Management Decision, 50(5), 925-941.

Applied Psychology Research Paper Example

Applied Psychology Research Paper Example Applied Psychology Paper Applied Psychology Paper Whether it is the click wheel of your pod, your laptops touch-screen, or computer systems applications for disabled users, many types of applied psychological methods were used to design and develop them. Applied Psychology refers to the use of psychological principles and research methods to solve practical problems we humans encounter everyday. Designing computer Interfaces Like a mouse that glides without wires or the new WI game console, is only one way to apply psychology in todays world. The largest applied areas are in clinical and counseling psychology, but there many others, such as community or social psychology, educational psychology, litany psychology, health psychology and space psychology (Con, Mutterer, 2010). In this research paper I will briefly discuss six diverse fields that impact business, the environment, education, law, sports and human factors. Applied Psychology In business- Industrial/Organizational 1/0 Psychology study the behavior of people at work and in organizations (Mammoth, 2006). Though the goal of 1/0 Psychology Is to increase the productivity and well being of employees, there are two approaches on how this can be accomplished. The Industrial approach (the l In 1/0 psychology) focuses on determining the competencies needed to perform a Job, staffing the organization with employees who have those competencies, and increasing those competencies through training. The organizational approach (the o sinology) creates an organizational structure Ana culture Tanat wall motivate employees to perform well, give them the necessary information to do their job, and provide working conditions that are safe and result in an enjoyable and satisfying work environment. When these approaches are applied, the workers tasks or duties are enhanced thus improving their quality of work life through the training f leaders, better matching of people with the right Job, and improving organizational structure. There are three major areas that are vital for the success of the 1/0 psychologist: leadership, Job satisfaction and personnel psychology. We all know that the key to a successful organization is its leaders. Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future (Friedman, 2001). The improvement of working culture conditions need to have some sort of rationale behind it and to better understand the rationale we must insider the two basic theories of leadership: Theory X and Theory Y. One of the earliest attempts to improve worker-task efficiency was made in 1923 by Frederick Taylor. To speed up production, Taylor standardized work routines and stressed careful planning, control and organization. Today, versions of Tailors approach are called scientific management. Leaders that tend to be task-oriented are said to be Theory X leaders. As mentioned before Theory X is grounded primarily in scientific management and is concerned only with work efficiency. Theory X leaders tend to assume that workers must be guided into being productive to provide a maximum output at a lower cost; as a result they alter conditions they believe will affect workers such as time schedules, production quotas, bonuses and so on. In Tailors time, when many large companies were manufacturers with large assembly lines, theory X leaders tend to wish that people would act more like well-oiled machines and could work without rest. How ever most 1/0 psychologist recognize that psychological efficiency is Just as important as work efficiency. The term Theory X was first coined by psychologist Douglas McGregor (1960) as a way to distinguish the dervish style associated with scientific management from Theory Y, a newer approach which stresses human relations at work. Theory Y emphasizes psychological efficiency with methods like shared leadership, management by objectives, self-managed teams, and quality circles. In short, Theory Y assumes that people are industrious, creative, and rewarded by challenging work. In shared leadership or participative management, employees at all levels are directly involved in the decision making process. In management by objectives, workers are given specific goals to meet, so they can tell if they are doing a good Job meeting the goals thou having a supervisor breathing down their necks. In any case, workers are free to choose (within limits) how they will achieve their goals; as a result they feel more independent and take personal responsibility for their work. Feedback is also quite important because workers are especially more productive when they receive favorable criticism about their progress. A self-managed team is a group of employees who work together towards a shared goal. These groups can typically choose their own methods of achieving results, as long as they are effective. These names tend to put good use of their individual strengths and talents plus they contribute new ideas and improved motivations. Most of all they encourage cooperation and teamwork, they most likely feel they are being treated fairly at work Ana develop a positive team atmosphere (Large Bayonne, 2 Hymnal In quality circles or employee discussion groups, voluntary members seek ways to solve business problems and improve efficiency. In contrast to self-managed teams, quality circles usually dont have the power to put their suggestions to work directly, but good ideas speak for themselves and many are adapted by company leaders. Quality circles have many limitations, but studies verify that greater personal involvement can lead to better performance and Job satisfaction (Egger, Burke, Seller, 1995). While Theory X makes perfect sense when you Just seek to improve production without taking into account the workers needs, the methods used by the Theory Y leader ultimately improve Job satisfaction, or the degree to which a person is pleased with his or her work. Job satisfaction influences many factors that affect business efficiency, including productivity, absenteeism, morale, and employee turnover. Job distractions promotes Job enrichment which in turn leads to workers having challenges in their tasks, positive attitude, a balanced work-lifestyle through the forming of social groups and organizational cultures, a sense of purpose and self awareness for the duties they perform. Job enrichment involves making a Job more rewarding, interesting and motivating thru the use of such methods as flextime, short work weeks and telecommuting. The most productive employees are those who are happy at work (Mammoth, 2006). Organizations can also improve their chances of success by hiring the right employee in the first place. Personnel psychology is concerned with the testing, selection, placement, and promotion of employees. It begins with Job analysis, a detailed description of the skills, knowledge, and activities required by a particular Job and include the development and use of selection procedures like interviews, biota (facts about the employee), standardized psychological (aptitude) tests, and assessment programs setup within an organization to conduct in-depth evaluations of Job candidates. In the environment- Environmental Psychology study problems related to the physical environment and design plans to solve them. The specialty of the environmental psychologist concerns the relationship between environments and human behavior. Their interest are in both physical environments, whether its natural or man-made, and social environments which is defined by groups of people and how they interact at work, a business meeting, a dance or a party. This form of psychology also studies stressful environments and problems such as crowding, pollution, and wasted resources. The rate of stress in environments vary from the ones that exist in large cities like New York (NY) with all the traffic, congestion, pollution, and crime as marred to a less dense metropolis like Orlando (FL) which would also have the same type of traffic, congestion, pollution, and crime but to a lesser extent. To this list psychologists also added crowding and noise pollution. Overpopulation ranks as one of the serious problems facing the world today. The worlds population is now more than 6 billion and experts estimate that the maximum sustainable population on Earth is between 5 billion and 20 billion. This means the Earth has already entered the lower range of its capacity (Cohen, 1995), and this is based on the last estimated world census calculated between December 2000 and June 2001. Although the results of animal experiments, dealing with overcrowding, cannot be considered as conclusive for humans, they point to some disturbing effects. In these experiments, a null level AT pathological Demeanor developed In Down males Ana Tamales. Females gave up building nests and caring for the young, pregnancies decreased, and infant mortality ran extremely high. Many of the animals became aimlessly aggressive and went on rampaging attacks against others. Social dilemmas, as well as overpopulation and over-consumption, like wasting resources, contribute to these problems. A social dilemma is any social situation that rewards actions that have undesirable effects in the long run. (Van Bug, De Creme, 2002). In a typical social dilemma, no one individual intentionally acts against the group interest, but if many people act alike, collective harm is done. In such situations, the tragedy of the commons occur, in which individuals, each acting in his or her immediate self interest, over use a scarce group resource. An example would be using an abundance of water to water your lawn during a dry spell. Whenever personal convenience or comfort is involved, it is highly tempting to let others worry about it; et in the long run everyone stands to lose. Research shows that physical strategy, like conservation and recycling to name Just two and psychological strategies can be useful in promoting a better environment. Although many problems still exist, it is encouraging to see that behavioral solutions exist for at least some of them. In education- Educational Psychology seeks to understand how people learn and how teachers instruct to improve the quality of learning and teaching. At one time or another, we all dealt with teaching something to someone which was most likely taught to you. There are six basic steps designed to use in a classroom, but it can be applied to many situations: Step 1: Learner Preparation. Begin by gaining the learners attention, and focus interest on the topic. Step 2: Stimulus presentation. Present instructional stimuli like information, examples, and illustrations in a clear and deliberate manner. Step 3: Learner response. Allow time for the learner to respond to the information presented by repeating correct responses or asking questions. Step 4: Reinforcement. Give positive reinforcements in form of praise and encouragement plus feedback like yes, thats erect, to strengthen correct responses. Step 5: Evaluation. Test and assess the learners progress so that both you and the learner can make adjustments when needed. Step 6: Spaced review. Periodic review is an important in teaching because it helps strengthen responses to key words or stimuli. Direct instruction and discovery learning are two of the most basic teaching styles that yield different student outcomes. In direct instruction, factual information is presented by lecture, demonstrations and rote practice, which basically drills the data into the learner by means of mechanical repetition. The National Institute for Direct Instruction considers direct instruction the most successful style of teaching (INFIX National Institute, 2008). In discovery learning, teachers create conditions that encourage students to discover or construct knowledge for themselves (Dean, Kuhn, 2007). As it turns out, both approaches have certain advantages. Students of direct instruction do slightly better on achievement tests than discovery students, however, discovery learners do somewhat better on abstract thinking, creative thinking, and problem solving plus they tend to be more independent, curious, and positive in their attitudes towards school (Peterson, Janice, 1979). In law- Psychology of Law is the study of the behavioral dimensions of the legal system. Psychological factors greatly affect ten law Ana Jury echelons. When a case goes to trial, Jurors must Olsten to days or weeks of testimony and then decide guilt or innocence. Studies of mock juries indicate that decisions made by Juries are not always objective and show that jurors are rarely able to put aside biases, attitudes and value while making a decision (Perlmans, Cowboy, 1983). Problems like these are troubling in a legal system thats supposed to be fair to all. In scientific Jury selection, social science principles are applied to the process of choosing a Jury. Who serves on a Jury will affect the outcome of a trial and law psychologist are often employed to advise lawyers on which potential Juror should be selected or dismissed based on certain social and psychological characteristics. Jury research is perhaps the most direct link between psychology and law, but there are others. Psychologists evaluate people for sanity hearings; do counseling in prison, profile criminals, advice politicians and lawmakers on public policy, help in the selection and training of police cadets and such more. In sports- Sports Psychology is the study of the behavioral dimensions of sports performance (Cox, 2007). As almost all serious athletes now know that to achieve peak performance, you need more than Just physical training. Mental and emotional conditionings are also important. Sports psychologist assist athletes by teaching them to relax, ignore distractions, and sharpen their emotional intelligence to attain the highest point of performance. Self-regulations strategies help focus attention and maintain optimal levels of arousal. In a task analysis, sports kills are broken into subparts, so that key elements can be identified and taught. The task analysis is then used by coaches and trainers to improve performance of motor skills which is basically a series of actions molded into one fluid movement. For example, it doesnt take much to be off target in the sports of marksmanship. The object is to hit a bulls-eye the size off Canadian dime at the end off 55-yard-long (or 165 feet) shooting range, nevertheless an average of 50 of 60 shots hit the bulls- eye with regularity in international competition according to the International Olympic Committee (OIC). Beyond keen eyes and steady hands, the marksmen are conditioned to squeeze the trigger between heartbeats. Apparently the minute tremor created by the heartbeat is enough to send the bullet off target (Belton, 1983). In Human Factors- The human factors psychologist or Ergonomics goal is to design machines, tools and work environments so they are compatible with our sensory perception and motor skill capacities. Psychologist Donald Norman (1994) refers to successful human factors engineering as natural design; because it is based perpetual signals that people understand naturally, without needing to learn them.

Beauty Behind the Madness Professor Ramos Blog

Beauty Behind the Madness Noah Rougely English 102 July 27, 2018 Imagine being stripped of all your greatest qualities in your life just because someone else was jealous of you. In the story of Medusa, beauty is punished in this way and is brought to the point of horror. In the  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Hesiods  Theogony  (c. 700 BCE) and Ovids  Metamorphoses  (8 CE), Medusa is presented as originally having been a beautiful maiden and priestess of the goddess Athena.† (Kaleta) Medusa was well known for being so beautiful, having lovely healthy hair, and remaining a virgin in honor of Athena. She had two sisters and they are known as the Gorgon sisters. She was the only mortal of the 3. She was greatly sought after but she always chose to remain pure. She was so beautiful that many men and even other gods tried to take her virginity, but she would never allow it. Men would come all the way to the temple just to catch a glance of the beautiful Medusa and some even said her hair was more beautiful than Athena’s. There was a time when Poseidon, the god of the sea, was in conflict with Athena and he also had intense lust for Medusa. He saw her as a pure possession of Athena and tried to take her virginity to get back at Athena. Medusa always rejected him. He was so infatuated with her that he decided he would not take no for an answer. He aggressively pursued Medusa until she fled to the temple of Athena for help, but to no avail because Poseidon caught her and still raped her. Punishing a god was out of the question, so when Athena found out, she then changed Medusa into an ugly serpent-like monster with hideous features and hissing snakes for hair. She was so ugly that one glare could turn any man into a pillar of marble. â€Å"Pseudo-Apollodorus also suggests in the  Bibliotheca  (first century BCE) that Medusa was punished by Athena because her beauty rivaled that of the goddess.† (Kaleta)   She changed everything she envied into something grotesque. Medusa became pregnant aft er being raped by Poseidon and after she was beheaded later in the story by a mortal named Perseus, Chrysaor and Pegasus were born from her open wound when she died. Before this event, many warriors tried to challenge her, but they ended up getting turned into stone with her vicious gaze. Medusa is later killed by the Greek hero Perseus, son of Zeus and the mortal Danaà «. His grandfather, Acrisius, had been warned by an oracle that Perseus would kill him so he put him and his mother in a chest and threw it into the ocean. It drifted to Seriphus, where King Polydectes took them in and helped them. King Polydectes eventually fell in love with Danaà «, but he could not make a move on her with her son always around. In a ceremony he chose Perseus away to slay Medusa as a way to receive high honor, thinking that Perseus would die on the journey. The goddess Athena liked Perseus though, so she directed him to the Hesperides, nymphs who supplied him with divine tools to slay Medusa with. He was given a great sword that was sharp enough to cut the head of the gorgon clean off. He was given a magic helmet that could make him invisible. He was given shoes that made him light on his feet. And he was given a beautiful shield that was so shiny, he could see Medusa in the reflec tion and not turn to marble. He embarked on his adventure and got advice on where to find Medusa. When he found her he was able to defeat her with his mystical tools. â€Å"He found the Gorgons asleep, and by averting his gaze, and looking only at their reflection in Athenas shield of polished bronze, he cut off Medusas head.† (March) He then took her head as his prize to give to King Polydectes. He started his return journey using Pegasus, a winged horse that was born from Medusas open wound.   He came back to Seriphus to kill King Polydectes for his deceit, and when he returned home he still accidently killed his grandfather in a discus competition, like the oracle have said. Perseus then choose to relinquish Medusa’s head over to Athena. (Lagasse) And while her looks could kill, Medusas blood had supernatural healing powers and after she was beheaded by Perseus, her head is then given by Athena to the god of medicine, Asclepius. He could use her blood to heal othe rs and even bring the dead back to life. After her death, Medusa became a guardian in Hades, the land of the dead. Medusa did her best to do the right thing and represent Athena the best she could. She rejected all the lustful men and remained a virgin for Athena. Athena was consumed by her jealousy of Medusa. She saw the event of Poseidon raping her as a reason to take all that Medusa had. I choose this story because it shows how sometimes you can do all the right things in life, and you can still become a monster because other people will envy your blessings. It is important to take into consideration who you keep in your company and who you exhibit your prized accomplishment and possessions to. Jealousy is like a disease that can make people want to take from you, or just slander your name until you are seen as a monster to the haters and their friends. I would usually say not to care about stuff like that but sometimes some people can create situations that will require your attention. You can only control yourself. Similar to the Frankenstein story, Medusa did nothing wrong, but she was victimized until she was pushed to be evil and reckless. I think a hidden meaning in this story is that pureness can be corrupted by others in the surroundings and can cause one to be evil and as deceptive as a snake. It can cause others to become numb or stone to the product of the evil and the only way to overcome the monster is to look in the mirror. Athena created a monster to destroy others out of her own jealousy. Athena’s behavior aligns with thesis seven from Jeffrey Jerome Cohens Monster Culture book. A quote from Jeffrey Cohen that applies for thesis seven was,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"This thing of darkness I acknowledge mine.† (Cohen) This applies to Athena as the creator of the monster she made Medusa into, and in the end she still received Medusas severed head as a prize. She allowed Medusa’s beauty and the opinions of others to destroy her internally to the point where she was pushed to leap at the opportunity to pilfer Medusas upper hand of aesthetic qualities. In this story, Athena never had to pay for what she did. Medusa was the victim, the monster, and she took the fall completely all the way to her demise. It’s almost like Athena was really the monster and she was the one that got away clean. Kaleta, Marcin Konrad. Medusa.  The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Ashgate Publishing, 1st edition, 2014.  Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/ashgtmonster/medusa/0?institutionId=5312. Accessed 17 Jul. 2018. Lagasse, Paul. Perseus, in Greek mythology.  The Columbia Encyclopedia, Columbia University, Columbia University Press, 7th edition, 2017.  Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/columency/perseus_in_greek_mythology/0?institutionId=5312. Accessed 17 Jul. 2018. March, Jennifer R. Gorgons.  Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Oxbow Books, 2nd edition, 2014.  Credo Reference, https://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/oxbocm/gorgons/0?institutionId=5312. Accessed 17 Jul. 2018. Cohen, Jeffrey J. â€Å"Monster Culture (Seven Theses)† Accessed 17 Jul. 2018. 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Follow-Up to Concept Analysis Reports Assignment

Follow-Up to Concept Analysis Reports - Assignment Example The paper identifies three related concepts of Patrimonialism, and they are Neo-Patrimonialism, Corporatism, and Clientelism. In defining Neo-Patrimonialism, the paper takes the stand of Bach and Mammadou (2012). The two authors define it as a concept whereby a ruler mismanages the resources of a state, for purposes of acquiring power, and maintaining it (Bach and Mammadou, 2012). The initial paper defines Clientelism as an art of exchanging non-financial and financial benefits, for purposes of maintaining power. Corporatism refers to a situation where there are groups within a state, and they compete to gain favor from the ruler. In highlighting the Similarities of patrimonialism in Vietnam and Morocco, the paper observed that Patrimonialism in the two countries take place through the systems of governance. The paper stated that the system of governance in Morocco is through a monarch, while in Vietnam, it is through the Presidency. Patrimonialism thrives in these states because they have weak governance institutions, and it is easy to manipulate the holders of these institutional officers to serve the purposes of a ruler. Another similarity emanates from the motives of the Moroccan monarch, and Vietnam Presidents to engage in Patrimonialism. The two do so for purposes of maintaining power, and authority. A difference emanates from the objectives for which the leaders of the two states practice the policy. In Vietnam, the communist party practices the policy to promote socialism, and maintain unity in the country (Clapham, 1985). In Morocco, the Monarch practices the policy to maintain power, and for selfish gains. Another difference emanates at how the two countries implement the policy of Patrimonialism. In Morocco, the Monarch practices the policy by forming tribal groups, therefore creating divisions in the society (Bach and Mammadou, 2012). In Vietnam, the policy is practiced in such a way that it unites

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods Essay

Illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods - Essay Example There have been increases in smuggling activities, which have been aided by advances in technology and the emergence of new economies like China. Forgery of luxury has also been on the increase due to increased demand for these items making it a lucrative venture for many individuals. This paper seeks to discuss illegal trade, smuggling and forgery of luxury goods in the world. Forgery is term used to describe the imitation of and adaptation of items, objects and even identity of persons in an effort to pass them as the originals. The practice of producing forgeries is referred to as forging, and the forging of money or currencies is referred to as counterfeiting. Documents are also forged as when bank checks are forged or important personal documents like birth and death certificates, passports, drivers’ licenses and other important documentation. The forgery of art is another lucrative practice that sees the imitation of master paintings by Picasso, Da Vinci and Van Gogh. Ar t forgery is a thriving industry that involves the creation and sale of art works that are falsely credited to famous artists like Da Vinci and Van Gogh instead of their actual painters or creators (Keats 112). The increased demand for works of art by famous creators like Benini and Da Vinci makes forgery of these works of art a lucrative business. The value of forged art is determined by the name of the purported creator or artist (Keats 73). The forging of the Picasso painting by my second cousin involved a careful process that was characterized by getting the right paints and other materials like the painting medium. He chose the right scene or object in a painting to paint in order to capture all the elements that are identifiable with the original or master’s aspects (Keats 76). Forging masters requires that the imitations resemble the originals, which are usually aged and have the telltale signs of age. These signs include cracks filled up with dirt and faded colors. To age the painting in order to make it resemble the original, my cousin applied bleach to the back of the painting to make it feel old and brittle (Keats 96). The frame and the front of the painting was aged using a concoction of brown paint and thinner to age the wood frame, while the front was aged by a 70/30 blend of brown paint and thinner. Every painting by a master possesses an identifying signature or marker that confirms the identity of the true creator or artist. My cousin who is skilled enough in both of these processes did this or they can be done another individual who is skilled in the art of forging signatures and other identifying marks. I was able to easily forge ownership documentation for the painting, and acquire an authentication certificate showing that my fake Picasso was indeed an original. I was able to achieve this fete by bribing corrupt officials in the department of arts at a renowned local museum. The convention on the international trade in endangered sp ecies (CITES) is an international agreement between nations and states to ban the trade in animal and plant specimens that endangers their survival (Becker & Wehinger 28). Through CITES initiative and related organizations, a number of policies have been formulated and implemented to limit or completely ban the use, sale and trade of various goods associated with negative externalities