Disadvantages of the studying abroad Essay

The studying abroad is the problem of youth of Kazakhstan The most difficult for a young person is looking for profitable occupation.  «Do you speak English?  » – a question that can be heard at any companies even they are not foreign ones in our country. And if you confidently answer  «Yes, I do!  », you will be supplied with the high-salaried job. It will be good chance for you to take a place in a prestigious company and develop yourself. English language is the most important language in the world, because it is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a â€Å"world language†. As English is an world language, it is the very first problem to know English to make a good carrier. It is expected to know it. They think if they are taught abroad, they will be chosen without any difficulties for this or that position. This necessity leads them to abroad to study. Is it right? However, do you need to study abroad to make a brilliant carrier? Cannot we gain it studying at home? â€Å"Bolashak† is the president’s program for youth of Kazakhstan. It gives a good chance to study abroad for everyone. Even the president of our country supports the study abroad. During the 20 years, there were studied thousands of students and most of them work at the state influential companies. However, do not forget about disadvantages. For 20 -year history of the program 333 people could not complete training – mainly because of their own poor progress while getting knowledge, and 47 students of Bolashak did not return to Kazakhstan. About 300 graduates could not find work at home. Does the president want this? â€Å"Tens of millions of dollars we spend on overseas training, and thus, of course support the foreign universities. Let’s maintain ours† President of Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev President of the Center of International Program â€Å"Bolashak† Sayasat Nurbek reported about unemployment of youth of our country. According to him, about 300 graduate students â€Å"Bolashak† program could not find work at home, despite the excellent education abroad. One reason is the factor of â€Å"high expectations†. â€Å"Students come to the country and believe to take a leadership position with a big salary and an official car. Alas, the real economy demands tough enough. We need employment experience and  understanding of the industry and the specifics of this particular production in Kazakhstan. For example, college graduate comes to us, and I have not been putting his department director since he took the necessary steps to understand the specifics of the industry well even he has an excellent education.† President of the Center for International Programs † Bolashak † Sayasat Nurbek Recall, at the 9th of February, deputy of Majilis Saginbek Tursunov offered to employ graduates of † Bolashak † at the public authorities. Parliamentarian doubted â€Å"whether it is necessary to continue this program and further† as part of the students cannot find work at home. Nowadays, many people continue their studies outside of their country. They think that educations in other countries is better than in their own country. In the world, many students are continuing their studies overseas. For example; Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, China and USA are the most favorite countries to study. It is believed that the studying abroad is the most significant way to improve your world view. Also the studying abroad gives many students a kind of prestige in their home country. There are some students who want to study abroad because of the pure pleasure and excitement it brings. But living in a foreign country might be difficult at times. As I mentioned before studying abroad has advantages, however it has some disadvantages on students. Some of the disadvantages are being away from your country, spending too much money. The first disadvantage is spending too much money. As Calvin (2007) mentioned â€Å"For students who want the opportunity to study overseas during their time in college, the cost of doing so can seem daunting. According to the Education Abroad Center, studying abroad in China costs $8000. Italy? $10, 000. Paris? Up to $15,000 â€Å". Also as my friend Dosan Nursultan, student of SEGI University in Malaysia, said â€Å"The single ticket for a flight from Malaysia to Almaty costs 90 000 tenge. Return ticket is 180 000 tenge. So, not all can take liberties.† But also many students say that studying abroad is not expensive. They think, it is normal to spend that much money for studying in a foreign country. In my opinion, there is no doubt that it takes money to  study abroad. It all depends on a person, because even if person goes to a foreign country it does not guarantee that this person will have successful future in life. If person has a goal of getting education, he will do whatever it takes to achieve this goal and it does not matter whether he is studying in his homeland or abroad. On the other hand, you can travel in the world with that much money and you could have more world outlook than you would have studying. The second disadvantage of studying in a foreign country is being away from your family. From my perspective, living in a foreign country, even if it is with a host family, means you might be doing things you may not have done in your home country. These include cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, washing clothes, figuring out transportation, making living arrangements, setting up accounts for cell phones and utilities, etc. those are just some of examples of disadvantage of being away from your family. There are many opinions, which shows being away from family is a wonderful experience for everyone and it could be a wonderful opportunity to be independent. Also, there are a lot of sit uations when teenagers where so overwhelmed with living on their own, without parent control, so they started bad habits. It is third disadvantage. For example, skipping classes, constant pub visit. â€Å"We send bachelors, but they do not suit us, because the low level of training due to the fact that English is learned in the pub, that they were not the best specialists. â€Å"Bolashakers† are different, so we basically take smart, but they are not so much, â€Å"- said Talgat Musabaev at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. I think he wanted to say about the â€Å"independent† of our students in other countries. The next disadvantage is culture shock. The trauma you experience when you move into a culture different from your home culture. A communication problem that involves the frustrations that come with the lack of understanding; the verbal and nonverbal communication of the new culture, it’s customs and it’s value systems are only a few of the problems. The differences that people may experience include lack of food, unacceptable standards of cleanliness, different bathroom facilities and fear of p ersonal safety. In addition, you will probably have times when you miss your family, friends, food, and everything familiar. Almost everyone goes through some culture shock. When you realize that it is impossible to be at home any time you want, you will understand how difficult being away from your family is. It is a time for  learning and experimentation, and it’s also a time to build your responsibility and sense of self-direction. Overall, it’s a time of discovery and that’s why it’s easy to follow â€Å"influences†. Keep in mind that they grow up in another culture, and I am afraid they will forget their own nation, own Kazakh culture. Teenagers are easily influenced by others. The influences may adversely affect their view of the world as no parents giving them advice. Ambitious young people without life experience can join extremist communities. It is hard to resist â€Å"influences† of all sorts. Most of them are not related to violence. For example in Germany, they use Neo-Nazis music to attract young people or foreign students to join into extremist groups. That is why the parent should control their children, because you do not know what awaits you on border out of the country. The last is studying in a second language. Many people think that studying your major in another language is wonderful for everyone. There are many students who want to go to other countries to learn another language. That is not true for me because you can learn the language in your country. Also many people think that they just need to live in another country and they will learn the local language, but this is not completely true. You still need to pay attention and study. There are people who live in foreign countries for many years without knowing the language well. You have to learn some information about language when you are in high school. On the other hand, studying university is the most difficult part of education. Many people are not able to study at a university even if they study in their native language. For international student it is really hard to study at a university in a foreign country. Because of the difficulties in learning, they can keep up with the program and can complete their education. If I do not trust my ability to communicate, I would prefer to study in my country. In my opinion, the educational system in our country is improving from year to year. In conclusion, everything has two sides: advantages and disadvantages. Each of us should accept that studying abroad has good sides as well as bad one. For sure many students would get over all those disadvantages but how about others who might not be able to handle all of them. It might not be good choice to study abroad for all students. They have to figure it out before they leave their country. Otherwise, those issues would affect all your life with failure. Studying abroad is a good  opportunity to chose, but the advantages and disadvantages must be weighed very carefully before a student leaves the country.

How does Shakespeare present the role of Feste in Twelfth Night?

In William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night the character of Feste is a solitary wit surrounded by fools. His occupation is that of Olivia's paid fool, which she inherited from her father, ‘Feste the jester†¦ a fool that the Lady Olivia's father took much pleasure in. ‘ This long standing relationship may be the reason he seems to have a status higher than that of a servant within the household, and appears to leave and return at will without fear of punishment, ‘Tell me where thou hast been or my lady will hang thee†¦ Let her hang me. This may also be because of Elizabethan attitudes towards allowed fools, who had gained popularity due to their presence in many royal courts. Feste`s palpable intelligence is an integral part of his role, as he uses it to communicate the subtext of Shakespeare`s complicated plot to both the other characters and the audience. It is therefore ironic that the fool is so frequently said to be dishonest, ‘Y`are a dry fool: I`ll take no more of you. Besides, you grow dishonest,' as throughout the play he does nothing but divulge truths. His cleverness is immediately apparent upon his first appearance for several different reasons. If he were not a fool then he would have no other way of making money, thus his decision to ingratiate himself once more into Olivia's good graces is a wise one, ‘To be turned away, is that not as good as a hanging to you? ‘ It would also be essential for him to be intelligent to play the role of fool, as he is paid for his acute observation disguised as witty remarks. The most obvious testament to Feste`s intelligence however is his ability to manipulate words. This ensures he keeps his job in Olivia's household, as when she asks for the fool to be taken away because he is dry, Feste twists her words around and returns them in the form of a pun, ‘Give the dry fool a drink, then is the fool not dry? ‘ His craftiness amuses Olivia, who allows him to stay. His way with words also allows him to voice his opinions on other characters without fear of retribution. Whilst engaged in idle banter Feste shares his observation of Malvolio and Sir Toby, ‘Sir Toby will be sworn that I am no fox, but he will not pass his word for twopence that you are no fool. This shows that although Toby is foolish as he cannot perceive Feste`s intellect, Malvolio`s idiocy is so apparent that even a fool such as Toby can see it. Feste later reaffirms his belief that Sir Toby is a fool and also shares his view of Sir Andrew. He greets the pair with the line, ‘Did you never see the picture of We Three? ‘ The painting shows only two fools whilst implying that the viewer is the third, and this comparison suggests he perceives Toby and Andrew to be fools as well as himself. It is in this way that he contributes to the underlying theme of deception that runs through the play. He deliberately presents himself to others as a mere fool, and despite the fact he is obviously much more than that, he is so proficient at this ruse that the only character to see through it is Viola, ‘This fellow is wise enough to play the fool, And to do that well, craves a kind of wit. ‘ It may be because he not only accepts his role as a fool but uses it to his advantage, accordingly gaining perspective from this self knowledge, that he can differ from the other characters and deceive others instead of himself. Perhaps it is because Feste`s intellect is so bountiful that he is taken beyond the role of simply a character. Through it he acquires the role of a somewhat omniscient narrator, infesting both the audience and the other characters with a heightened awareness of what is happening around and within them. This is shown during a conversation with Viola, where as thanks for a coin Feste states, ‘Now Jove, in his next commodity of hair, send thee a beard. ‘ This shows his awareness of her disguise, both to the audience and to Viola herself. It also shows he must at least be extremely discerning, to deduce such a thing from simply observing the meetings between Orsino and Viola and Olivia and Viola. The primary way he communicates his cryptic messages however is through song. The clown sings no fewer than seven songs throughout the play, and although the other characters see them as nothing more than a convenient source of entertainment, many have an underlying foresight far beyond the grasp of a mere jester. Feste sings his first song upon Sir Toby and Sir Andrews requests for a love song. The first verse appears to be about Olivia, and demonstrates Feste`s keen perception of the other characters and his uncanny knowledge of future events, ‘O mistress mine, where are you roaming? ‘ This shows Feste`s knowledge of Olivia's roaming heart, searching for its true love. ‘O stay and hear, your true loves coming. ‘ This line perfectly foreshadows future events, as Olivia finds love not whilst searching for it, but by it finding her in the form of Sebastian. Feste then proceeds to encapsulate the plays plot within one line of his song, ‘Journeys end in lovers meeting. This suggests that he may be ubiquitous, as his knowledge is not only of the future, but of the past events as well. It could however just be referring to the metaphorical journeys the characters have been on in their search for love, not the literal journey Viola and Sebastian have undertaken to Illyria. The second verse of his song appears to be addressed to Sir Toby, regarding his thus far secret love for Maria. It shows Feste`s knowledge of their hesitance towards love, ‘What's to come is still unsure. Entwined with the advice Feste appears to have also interwoven a philosophy for life, ‘Present mirth hath present laughter,' can be interpreted as carpe diem, fitting counsel for Sir Toby who needs to act upon his love before it is too late, ‘Youth`s a stuff will not endure. ‘ Another of Feste`s songs that has more to it than what appears at first glance is that which he sings at the Duke`s court for Orsino and Viola. Feste tells the sad tale of a boy that died for love, ‘I am slain be a fair cruel maid. ‘ It is a song that Viola and Orsino, both suffering from the pain of unrequited love, can relate to. The songs ‘fair cruel maid' for Orsino is Olivia, who knows of his love but does not return it. Viola`s ‘cruel maid' is Orsino himself, who cannot return her love as he does not know of it and believes her to be a man. The one event that does not concur with the omniscient portrayal of Feste is the arrival of Sebastian. Feste appears to truly believe that Sebastian is Cesario, to the extent that he becomes frustrated and resorts to sarcasm as a defence,' your name is not Master Cesario; nor this is not my nose either. This scene suggests that Feste is not as all knowing as he can appear, and is perhaps only a highly perceptive individual, a trait born of his considerable intelligence. Feste is presented as one of the more developed characters in the play, and his multifaceted personality shows in his tormenting of Malvolio. Prior to this Feste`s purpose has been to traverse between the main plot and the subplot (the only character to do so) and though he has passively inf luenced the events, he has remained very much an observer rather than an actual participant. The exception to this is his imitating Sir Topas to distress Malvolio, ‘I prithee put on this gown, and this beard; make him believe thou art Sir Topas the curate,' although his reasons for agreeing to Maria`s request are not entirely clear. He may have done it simply because he is clever enough to know nothing bad will happen to him because of it. He would probably also have recognized that Malvolio is not popular currently with Olivia, ‘O, you are sick of self-love, Malvolio, and taste with a distempered appetite,' and hence making him suffer would put Feste in a favourable position within the household. It may also be because he is clearly used to his abilities as a fool endearing him to others, and although the other characters do become annoyed and tired of him at times, Malvolio is the only one that appears to actively dislike him, ‘I marvel your ladyship takes delight in such a barren rascal. ‘ Whatever his reasons are this scene illustrates the more unsavoury aspects of Feste`s personality, but at the same time it also offers a contrast between how Feste and Malvolio are presented. Due to Malvolio`s self concerned and unpleasant behaviour it seems justifiable that he should be a rather one dimensional character, hampered by his own contemptible qualities. It is for this reason Feste`s superior attitude and actions towards him are understandable, and instead of serving to make the reader dislike Feste, it causes them to empathise with him as it shows his more human side that had previously been hidden beneath his sharp wit. In the style of a true narrator the last word (or indeed words) of Twelfth Night belong to Feste, who merges his dual roles, and delivers them in song format. It appears to be a rather dismal song for a clown, as it suggests that every day brings misery, ‘For the rain it raineth every day. ‘ This may be because the other characters have gone, leaving him alone with the audience, to whom he can deliver a last message. Feste`s final lesson appears to suggest that life is plagued with misery, therefore, like the characters in Twelfth Night, you should embrace happiness in whatever form it takes because it may not last. Shakespeare presents the role of Feste as a paradox: the wisest character of the play is the paid fool. Throughout Twelfth Night Feste directs, entertains and criticizes the other characters through his revealing songs and witty wordplay, and at the same time makes them reflect on their current circumstances. This is a similar relationship that Shakespeare, as a playwright, would have had with his audience, and it creates a parallel between the writer and his creation.

Examine broken blossoms significance as an early example of Hollywoods Essay

Examine broken blossoms significance as an early example of Hollywoods portrayal of Asian culture - Essay Example Movies were being made showing both existing and new trends in life. In the light of these, movies such as Broken Blossoms were made with themes or aspects that reflected other cultures. In this 1900s, Hollywood did not offer Asian culture much positivity in their movies. In most cases, they were viewed as outcasts, strange, and mysterious. This does not mean that Hollywood held anything against Asians; rather, it is possible that due to its short-termed experience with the culture, it might have misunderstood or misinterpreted it. All in all, these are examples of the earliest inclusion of Asian Culture in Hollywood. The following study text will evaluate the 1919 American silent film and in it highlight the different examples of Asian culture as applied within it. The film revolves around Cheng Huan, a Chinese, who leaves for the Anglo-Saxon lands to spread Buddha’s message. Upon getting to London, his dream of spreading Buddhism is endangered by the reality that he finds there; that everyone is too preoccupied with their individual lives. As such, his chances of succeeding are low. He however finds a way through when he meets Lucy Burrows. Burrows is the daughter of a fierce boxer, Battling Burrows. She seems unwanted and mistreated by her father. One evening, she is beaten and sent away by her father and when she is out there, meets Cheng Huan. Huan nurses Miss Burrows and as she recovers, they develop a mutual relationship. They are similar in that both seem misplaced in society. Their relationship is interrupted when Battling hears of their relationship and goes to get her. He drags her home, drunk. Once in her room, she fears her father’s temper and contemptuous behavior and locks herself in a closet to escape him. Battling however finds her and beats her lifeless. Cheng pursues the tow and by the time he accesses her room, it is too late. Coincidentally, Battling bursts into Miss Burrows’ room as he wants

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Abortion and Virtue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abortion and Virtue - Essay Example The main argument is based on the moral characteristics of those who engage in it. However, the paper claims that individuals have a certain character just because they have indulged in various actions; character hinges on the reasons provided for the said choice. The paper orients itself from the viewpoint of the experience of the moral agent. Abortion and Virtue According to Stewart (2009), ethics of virtue or ethics of character holistically informs the rightness or wrongness of the acts that a moral agent undertakes. It gives insights on what to do when confronted by various moral situations. This approach holds that the moral characteristics of a person are formed and trained by the actions that the person engages in or practices. Virtues define the moral character of persons and their actions such as abortion have a bearing on the character of the agent. Ethics of virtue guides an individual in determining the morality of various actions that confront the individual. The approa ch proposes living humanly flourishing lives grounded on virtues. As La Follette (2002) notes, individuals’ views on abortion differ sharply owing to a host of varying reasons. For instance, prochoice proponents argue that abortion gives the mother a chance reign on her life hence respecting her rights. Nevertheless, many view it as wrong simply because it contradicts their religious views. As illustrated, the debate on abortion is not clear cut as there are those who think that it is utterly wrong. This is irrespective of those who argue that it is a moral choice inspired by warranting circumstances (Harman, 1999). In this debate, virtue theorists dwell on whether abortion is a virtuous action or not, by basing their arguments on whether it can be carried out virtuously (such as with compassion). Similarly, they probe if it promotes eudemonia (happiness). Regardless of the antagonism within the debate, the justification of abortion must be grounded on suitable reasons that a vail the best options to both the mother and the unborn. The take of virtue ethics on abortion puts into account the mother’s character, emotional attachment to the child, desires, thoughts, and the social relationships of all parties. The approach offers flexibility by avoiding being immersed in extremes (Stephen, 2011). The abortion decision and experience can be viewed as both morally permissible as well as morally repugnant; abortion is both a moral action and an immoral one. This issue is controversial to the extent that disagreement on the same is obvious. This in turn, infiltrates bias based on the perspectives that one takes on abortion. Harris & Mills (1985) asserts that the moral character and reasoning that informs abortion decision differs from one person to another. The motive or intention determines the moral status of the act and hence should be solely in pursuit of a real good for many rather than an individualized good. Abortion conflicts with moral virtues t hat many people admire and live for. To a large extent, the reasons that many women give in defence of abortion are not morally acceptable. The choice of abortion is often not estimable because the subjects are not the only ones who suffer but also others who are party to the decision. In most scenarios, abortion thrives in poor relationships and hence unfavourable for raising a child. Thus, the relationships are not designed to be receptive to all responsibilities arising from the union. This in some part hints at irresponsibility and dishonesty on the part of the agents. In other instances, women who have had abortion impose rather than engage their spouses in the decision making process. In some cases, the women who undergo the procedure

Strategic Analysis of Aston Martin Research Paper

Strategic Analysis of Aston Martin - Research Paper Example Considering this, our report will evaluate the future prospects for Aston Martin in seemingly difficult world economic conditions especially since the company has been facing takeovers a number of times in its history. Apart from these changes in consumers tastes and choices, At a global level, there has been a world wide recession whereby food inflation has increased by 14% in UK and prices generally have increased all over the world. The impact of these on automobile industry has been that US automobile industry has landed in financial trouble and is seeking the financial bail out promised by President Bush. The UK automobile industry is following the same track and the sales of cars started deteriorating in 2006 when UK was hit by a recession in the real estate sector. An article published in the Daily Telegraph describes the current situation as "The luxury car business is a ruinous place to be at present - which is unfortunate, given that these cars are a British specialty. Aston Martin, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Jaguar Land Rover are all on short-time work, extending Christmas breaks and laying off staff. Last week, Aston Martin laid off 600 full- and part-time workers in Warwickshire"i Political: The car manufacturers of UK are currently meeting up ministers and seeking financial help in the down term times of the industry. According to Sunday Times, the Government was evaluating options to boost sales including loan guarantees for car firms, loans on easy terms, however, no firm measures have been taken as yet.iiConsidering this, the future of the automobile industry in UK depends to a large extent on short term financial help from the Government. Economic: The credit crunch has impacted the UK Automotive industry negatively and the automotive sector is facing smallest sales figures in 17 years an article in The Guardian has reported.iii Social: Due to the economic down turn, people in the luxury goods market are more concerned about the corporate social responsibility of the company or brands they like.iv Technological: Being the twelfth largest manufacturer of vehicles around the world, UK is known to be a design, process and technological innovation centre and due to this Ford and Nissan have also shifted their design studios to UK. However, will the R&D budgets remain the same or will they by slashed in view of the given economic downturn Environmental: The current trend is that consumers demand more fuel efficient vehicles both from a savings point of view as well as from a green living point of view. Considering this, the manufacturers have to make the difficult trade off choice between whether to have fuel efficient cars by compromising on horse power or have high house

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Project Management Review - Coursework Example In other words, communication is the most significant element within any project. Project managers mainly use three communications channels namely upward channel, downward channel, and lateral channel in order to ensure effective communication at various levels. Since the project communication significantly affects employee performance, project mangers must ensure effective upward and downward communication in order to maintain a high-performance team working on the project. The process of project management mainly passes thorough eight distinct phases. The project management phases are team assembly, project initiation, project planning, project execution, project leadership, project monitoring and controlling, project presentation, and project conclusion. Communication is a vital component in all these eight project phases. However, the given scenario indicates only the project presentation phase. ... Therefore, resource scheduling may not be effective if the project manger is unskilled or inexperienced. In other words, a project manager’s competence would determine the flow of project development. Likewise, the resource scheduling program may not produce the intended results unless other project participants are really committed to the project. In the words of Kalton and Richards (2008), resource scheduling technology usually indicates procedures and software applications tools for planning and scheduling resources employed in a project. Therefore, improved technology’s deficiency may also reduce the scope of resource scheduling. In total, efficient and integrated operation of the project team is crucial for the successful completion of a project. 3. According to Gray and Larson (2005, p. 183), people, materials, equipment, and working capital are four types of resource constraints. It is obvious that people are an inevitable component in a project as this component determines the success or failure of a project to a large extent. For instance; programmers and mechanical engineers. Many project teams try to overcome labor constraints through internationalization as this process assists project teams to import foreign labor and to set up foreign subsidiaries that employ local staff from the host country. Similarly, material shortage has been attributed to the delay of many projects. It is also identified that equipment sometimes becomes a constraint to the project development. For instance, earth moving tractors. Lack of availability of equipments may result in project delay. Finally, lack of access to finance also adversely affects resource scheduling. If the availability of resources is extremely limited, the project management team would be forced to

Stakeholders Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Stakeholders - Assignment Example The success of the company has been made possible through the active participation of the stakeholders. The academic paper analyzes ten significant stakeholders of the company. The significance of the stakeholders is as explained below. 2. The guests are the main business stakeholders. The company invests a lot of resources for product marketing, so as to attract the attention of the global customer base. High customer numbers translates to high sales revenue. 3. The owner is another significant stakeholder. The owner is the chairman of the board of directors. He provides overall direction to the company, and formulates strategies that will ensure achievement of mission and vision. 6. The resort adheres to conditions set by the regulating officials. The federal and state agencies in the hotel and tourism sector are responsible for setting regulations, which all industry players must adhere to. 7. The hotel industry trade unions are stakeholder. All employees have the rights of joining a trade union of their choice. The trade unions enhance their welfare by jointly improving working conditions with the management. 8. The state department is responsible for providing the infrastructure and regulation necessary for the hotel, tourism and hospitality industry. Security infrastructure is provided by the department, in addition to transport and communication infrastructure. The stakeholder analysis illustrates that the employees are the most important stakeholders for the business. This is illustrated through the relatively high rating of 17%. The employees are significant because they are responsible for providing services to the customers effectively and efficiently. The employees are also responsible for customer retention, through providing services that meets and exceeds the expectations of the customers. Other important stakeholders at 17% are guests and the owner. The casino and the

Inclusive Education of Children with Autism Essay

Inclusive Education of Children with Autism - Essay Example But to what extent is this possible; and what else needs to be done Truthfully, a lot more needs to be done for these methods of inclusive education to be successful. Some areas have excellent access to schooling systems equipped to teach children with autistic spectrum disorders while others have no provisions to handle these disabilities. This paper will look at some of the methods that have been researched worldwide, which of these methods are currently available, and how accessible these methods are to the children today in the United Kingdom. Strategies and ideas of what else needs to be done will also be discussed, as will be the results these methods have had to those children who have been lucky enough to gain access to inclusive education. Autism is used to refer to a group of neurological disorders. These disorders interfere with the development of a child's behavioural and social communications skills (McLelland, 1999); often leaving the child to be seen as withdrawn-as though he or she is living enclosed in a world all alone. Autistic children frequently show impressive abilities, such as playing music with no mistakes after only hearing a piece once; however, these abilities are sometimes shadowed by a difficulty with speaking and perfecting some motor skills. These difficulties are commonly coupled with a seeming inability to effectively relate to others (McLelland, 1999). Autistic spectrum disorders, including Rett's Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome, have had a large effect on the classroom due to the lack of understanding and knowledge about the disorder. Because of some apparent disabilities, many autistic children find that they need some supervision throughout their lives. This constant need for supervision can make teaching in formal institutions difficult as autistic children need much more attention than healthy children without disabilities (McLelland, 1999). The question stands, though, as to what extent the need to become inclusive has been met. Forty-five teachers in the United States were surveyed regarding their students with Asperger's Syndrome and the behaviours of those students in relation to the interaction received by their respective teachers (Hartman, 2001). The study was implemented to compare the behavioural interruptions or problems between autistic children in a special education environment versus those in a general education. Many of the problems found were abrupt interruptions, agitation, victimization, and difficulty following oral instructions. Other problems frequently included distractibility, strong, adverse reactions to change, and difficulty communicating wants and needs on the part of the student (Hartman, 2001). This study brought to both the medical community and the education teams the need for world-wide adjustment within the education systems to better include children with autistic spectrum disorders. Concerns of this need have since spread through the United Kingdom (Irish Times, 2005). While an Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) approach to teaching has been

Organisation and management issues of Alcan Essay

Organisation and management issues of Alcan - Essay Example s mentioned earlier, aluminium is a long term, and also a capital-intensive business, and as far as Lynemouth is concerned, it had begun its operations in the year 1972, and one of the major costs of operation was the power that it had to use for the process of smelting, twenty fours hours a day, all year round. In the year 1990, the plant had about 780 employees, the majority of whom were male, and who had been with the plant since its inception. Work organization was traditional, and the work turnover was low. (Newell; Scarbrough, 2002) There was in addition, a perception that the organization desired to impose changes, by using parts of already existing agreements, instead of involving the Unions. While the employees also reported that the management was not alt all communicative with them, the Union had to take up the cause, and it was requested that the management cooperate with trade unions to establish a better relationship with the employees, because the productivity of the plant was declining as a result of dissatisfaction. Gradually, there was overcapacity with the opening of new plants, and the price of aluminium started to fall, and employment also started to decline from 56,000 to 46,000. In 1991, one of the two pot lines of the plant had to be closed down, and there was a redundancy of fifty percent of the entire workforce. With only one line of operation, Lynemouth was faced with great difficulties, and the management found that they would have to somehow raise efficiency levels immediately, so that pro duction would be improved. Soon team working was brought in, with the cooperation of the trade unions, and in 1994, direct supervision was abolished, and in its place, team leaders were appointed to supervise operations, but the problem was that he could... There are certain specific issues in the Alcan Case that can be analyzed, like change, teamwork, and the managerial structure of the organization. Today, Alcan is entirely different in several aspects, from the Alcan of a mere four years ago. The company has grown operating earnings of 18% annual compound rate and has also managed to invest $8.8 billion for developing and to maintaining the growth of the organization, mainly through acquisitions and taking advantage of internal opportunities, like for example, the expansion of the Alouette Center in Quebec. These were some of the numerous strategic investments that Alcan had embarked on in the recent past, and it is because of this that Alcan has been able to effectively strengthen its global presence, and also maintain its stability and sustainability. Today, it can be stated that the main strengths of the company lie in the unique combination of its strong and committed workforce, and also because of its strong network of operation s. (Innovative aluminium and packaging Solutions Worldwide.In addition, its excellent customer base, in combination with the management’s decision to embark on and to maintain a sustainable and an innovative strategic alliance with its numerous customer and suppliers, making the organization one of the most dynamic and multilingual and multicultural organizations in the global world of today, with more than 70,000 employees in about fifty-five countries all over the world.

The Three Models Of Memory Essay Example for Free

The Three Models Of Memory Essay Memory- Task 1 Evaluate the usefulness of the three models of memory (multi-store model, working memory model and the levels of processing model) and discuss practical implications of memory research. Atkinson and Shiffrins Multi- store Model of Memory (1968) hypothesises that there are three stores for memory; Sensory memory, short term memory (STM) and long term memory (LTM). The theory states that a memory passes through each of the stores and that the importance of the memory determines which store the memory is kept in and thus how long it is retained. This relatively simple model is supported by evidence from free recall experiments and from studies performed on patients with brain damage such as HM. An example of a free recall experiment is Murdock (1962) in which participants were shown lists, of differing lengths, of words for a period of one second, they were then asked to recall as many words as possible. Murdock found that the words at the beginning, primary effect, and end, recency effect, were recalled more accurately than those in the middle. This is known as the serial position effect and proves that there are two separate stores from which the memories were recalled, which supports the multi-store memory models short and long memory stores. Studies on brain damaged patients like HM (Milner et al, 1978), who began to suffer from anterograde amnesia after both of his hippocampi were removed in an operation, also support the working memory models theory that STM and LTM are separate stores. HM was able to recall memories from eleven years before the operation yet wasnt able to remember who was president of the United States and forgot who he was talking to as soon as he turned away (Jenni Ogden, PhD, 2012). It is argued however that the multi-store memory model oversimplifies the roles of the STM and LTM. Atkinson and Shiffren also failed to acknowledge the interaction between stores something which Baddeley and Hitch (1974) dealt with in their Working Memory Model. The idea that simple rehearsal accounts for the transfer of a memory from the STM to the LTM was also criticised as this doesnt take into account important events for example a car accident. Events such as this seem to immediately be stored in LTM again this is dealt with by another memory model, Craik and Lockheart (1972) Levels of Processing. The working memory model also fails to recognise memory improvement techniques, for example the method of loci which uses points on an imaginary journey as a  way of memorising particular items. Despite accurately theorising that the LTM and STM are separate stores the multi-store memory model fails to account for many instances in which the flow of memory doesnt follow the three store route and although accurate at the time, research has, over time, out dated it. In contrast Baddeley and Hitchs (1974) Working Memory Model states that a Central Executive allocates resources and decides how attention is directed, although it doesnt have any capacity it does hold memory long enough to direct attention. An Episodic Buffer then integrates the information and is used as a general storage space for acoustic and visual tips. The Phonological Loop holds and rehearses words and the Audio-Visual Sketchpad allows temporary holding of visual images. The intuitive Working Memory Model is far more complex than either the Multi-Store Model or the Levels of Processing and is high in face validity. The validity of each section of the Working Memory Model is supported through various differen t experiments such as Baddeley and Lewis’s (1981) study into the importance of the articulatory loop. By asking participants whether or not a sentence was meaningful, for example, â€Å"the cow ate the grass† or the â€Å"bone ate the dog†, under both normal conditions and when repeating something meaningless to stop them from using their articulatory loop. Doing this seriously reduced recall in the latter results. This, Baddeley and Lewis claimed, supported their theory of a presence of an articulatory loop. In a study by Baddeley et al (1975) the phonological loop was shown to be capable of holding two seconds of information. Baddeley et al (1975) asked participants to recall five words in correct order. What the experiment demonstrated was that it was the length of the word and not the discreetness that determined recall. However further studies have gone on to suggest that a determining factor is the time it takes to pronounce a word as opposed to its alphab etical length. James W. Stigler (1986) found in a study on digit memory in Chinese and English that children, used because they were less likely to have knowledge of memory improvement techniques, from China were more efficient at remembering numbers than their English speaking counterparts. This, Stigler theorises, is due to Chinese numbers being shorter to pronounce. The visuospatial scratchpad, referred to sometimes as the inner eye is what allows someone to remember shapes such as letters and visualise something that isnt there, for example, whether or  not your car would fit into a particular parking space. It can also allow us to hold static images and manipulate them, thus we are able to appreciate a layout of a particular area and find our way around (Psychology Resources, 2000). Logie (1995) argues that the visuo-spatial scratchpad is in fact far more complex and refers to it as the Visuo-spatial Working memory. This is supported by Baddeley and Lieberman (1980) whose pat tern of results suggest that visuo-spatial working memory did indeed comprise a system that was involved in visuo-spatial retention, in visuo-spatial perception, and in motor control. The Working Memory Model is high in face validity and despite being far more complex than either the Multi- Store Model or Levels of Processing Model is reinforced by various experiments. These experiments clearly present the different sections the Working Memory Model. It also takes into account things the other models do not, for example, the Working Memory Model allows for memory to pass directly into LTM without rehearsal, something Multi-Store and Levels of Processing do not, events that are traumatic or massively significant do not require rehearsal and this is something the Working Model addresses. As well as this Baddeley and Lewiss model is highly applicable to real world situations, for example, Baddeley et al (1975) showed the word length effect, a real world counterpart would be attempting to remember a shopping list. The only criticism of The Working Memory Model is the lack of information in regards to the Central Executive, however further investigation is required to discover what its capacity actually is. It is theorised that many accidents are caused by its limited capacity and that information on its exact capacity may have serious implication for accident control (Psychology Resources, 2000). Craik and Lockharts (1975) Levels of Processing Model focuses on the processes involved in memory instead of the stores/ structures (McLeod, 2007). Craik and Lockhart (1975) took a non-structured approach to the memory model, this was as a result of the criticism garnered by Atkinson and Shiffrens earlier Working Memory Model. The chief idea behind the Levels of Processing Model is that memory is a result of processing information and that length of memory is determined by the importance of the information, something referred to as depth of processing. Craik defined depth as the meaningfulness extracted from the  stimulus rather than in terms of the number of analyses performed upon it.† Orthographic processing is the simplest way in which we process information and thus, according to the model, the one which retains the least memory, it is also referred to as shallow processing. This when we consider the physical features of, for example, a word. Craik and Tulvig (1975) demonstrated this by asking is this word in capital letters? this requires you to only process the word physically. Similarly to the Multi-Store Model maintenance rehearsal is also required in order to retain memories the Levels of Processing Model deems shallow. Medium processing or phonological processing as its sometimes called is the second level of processing. This Craik and Lockhart hypothesise takes into account the acoustic value of a word, this they argue is deeper processing than orthographic because it requires you to process a sound instead of an image. Craik and Tulvig (1975) again demonstrated this by asking does this word rhyme with ? this activates your phonological processing as you have to process the word acoustically (Psychology Resource, 2000). The deepest level of processing is what Craik and Lockhart describe as semantic processing. Semantic processing is described by Robert Gallo as allowing subjects to encode more unique features from each word relative to surface processing . . . additional conceptual or semantic features help to differentiate the studied items from each other, making these memories less susceptible to interference . . . â€Å". Semantic processing requires the use of meaning to process a word, Craig and Tulvig (1975) asked would this word fit into a sentence? Jane bought some for dinner in answering the question you would have to process the meaning. The basis of the model is quite simple, the more you process the memory, the more likely you are to remember it. However the model fails to explain why this is the case, meaning the model is descriptive rather than explanatory. The model was the first to suggest that process used have an effect on memory and has had implications on memory improvement techniques, for example, the Method of Loci is the process of placing things at various  points of a journey in order to make them more memorable, this is semantic processing. What there isnt is a way in which processing can be measured, Baddeley (1978) points out that well remembered events are attributed as deeply processed however because of this the argument that deep processing equals better recall is circular and thus cannot be tested (Psychology Resource, 2000). Memory research is crucial in many areas and none more so than in Eyewitness testimony. This is a legal term that is often used, and respected in a court of law. A jury can find eyewitness testimony a reliable source of information however research into memory has shown that it may not be as reliable as previously thought. Elizabeth Loftus theorises that memory under any circumstances is subject to inaccuracy and that there are many wrongful convictions every year as a result of faulty eyewitness testimony. Loftus et al. (1987) showed subjects of slides of a customer in a restaurant. In one version the customer was holding a gun, in the other the same person held a chequebook. Those who saw the gun version tended to focus on the gun. Thus they were less likely to identify the customer in a line-up as those who had seen the chequebook version. Clifford and Scott (1978) also supports Loftuss theory. They found after showing participants a film of a violent attack that recall was less t han a control group who saw something less stressful and were able to recall 40 items of information. However this gun focus theory has been challenged by Yuille and Cutshall (1986) who found that witnesses to a real shooting in Canada had remarkable accurate memories of the event. This contradicts both Loftus et al (1987) and Clifford and Scott (1978). This leads us to believe that memory recall in stressful situations can be subject to very different levels of interpretation. Where Loftus et al (1987) shows us clearly that people focus on, potentially the most shocking item. Yuille and Cutshall (1986) challenge that by using a real event to show some may be able to recall accurately. However this only goes to highlight the radical differences seen in eyewitness testimony. References: Jenni Ogden, Ph.D. (2012). HM, the Man with No Memory.

History Of Measuring Consumer Ethnocentrism Marketing Essay

History Of Measuring Consumer Ethnocentrism Marketing Essay For marketers it is essential to understand the importance of attitudes, motives, beliefs and attitude change in the study of Marketing and Consumer Behavior. Therefore, Consumer Behavior is about the perceptive of the consumers needs and what affect their purchase intention. Consumer behavior can be distinct as the study of individuals, groups or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use and dispose of products, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society (Hawkins, 2001). It covers the field from psychology, sociology and economics. With the open-door-policy in 1979, China has improved its trade relations with the rest of the world. China benefited from foreign direct investments and its export expansion. Today, China is the second largest economy in the world. The rapid growth in China led to an increase in consumption. Chinese consumers nowadays have comprehensive choices in buying different kind of products. Due to the open-door-policy, many overseas companies have entered China and benefited from the increased consumer spending. Chinese consumers can choose from foreign goods that are imported from overseas or manufactured by foreign companies in China, or domestic goods. Due to the increased foreign investments, domestic companies face fierce competition in several markets. Markets are globalizing in China but Chinese consumers still keep buying local products. The globalization affects consumer behavior but China has a strong traditional culture which remains noticed in the countrys choice of product purch ase. According to Mooij (2011), globalization can also cause a strengthening of local identities. Studies have identified that consumers in developing countries have a different perception than consumers in developed countries towards local made products. The consumers in developing countries believe that foreign sourced goods are better than local made products. Belk (1996) identified that globalization can lead to motives to resist the globalization policies, such as localism, ethnogenesis and the neo-nationalism. Further research about this paradox can be an effective way for investors, entrepreneurs, companies and producers to develop and enhance their marketing strategy in China. There have been several studies about consumer ethnocentrism and its effect on consumer behavior and purchase intention. Most of the studies have their focus on the Western consumers. There has been little emphasis on the research of Chinese consumer purchasing behavior and evaluation towards consumer ethnocentrism, which leads to a scarce knowledge of the Chinese consumers. This study focuses at explaining the degree of consumer ethnocentrism and its assumptions on evaluation of several products. This research will focus on food products by Chinese consumers. To explain the relationship there has to be a literature review to issue the concepts in the research and analyzing existing studies on consumer ethnocentrism to understand the theoretical background. Secondly, a research question and the hypotheses will be described and after the methodology will be explained. To test the hypotheses, data will be collected. At last, after evaluation of the hypotheses, a conclusion can be drawn from the present study. 1.1 Problem statement Chinese consumers are shifting towards other consuming patterns as the economy grows faster than any other country in the World. The behavior of Chinese consumers has shown significant changes in the couple of years. In the 12th five-year plan, the Chinese government wants to boost its domestic consumption. The changes have led to a declining demand for foreign goods. An explanation can be that Chinese consumers are becoming more ethnocentric because of the favoring for domestic products. The central question in this research is therefore: Does Consumer Ethnocentrism (CE) apply for the Chinese consumer towards food products? Which moderators are influencing the relationship between CE and the outcomes of CE for Chinese consumers towards food products? 1.2 Research method A literature review is needed in order to answer the central question. A literature review is needed to gain insight about a suitable method to measure Consumer Ethnocentrism. It is important to set a theoretical background to gain insight about the factors that are influencing CE, the effects of CE and the moderators that are influencing the relationship between CE and the outcomes of CE. A conceptual framework can be developed after a literature review. In this framework, the factors that can be found that are influencing CE and also the outcomes and moderators that are influencing the relationship between CE and the outcomes, will be presented. The final conceptual model will be empirical tested. This research will be a quantitative research. A questionnaire will be developed and a convenience sample will be used to collect data. A total of 210 questionnaires will be delivered randomly to adult participants. 1.3 Thesis structure In Chapter 2, there will be an explanation how Consumer Ethnocentrism can be measured and if this is applicable in this research. In Chapter 3 there will be a brief description of the Chinese consumer market. In Chapter 4, the conceptual framework of Consumers Ethnocentrism will be developed and thereby its hypotheses. This framework will be the basis for the empirical research that will be described in Chapter 5. At last, the conclusions, limitations and recommendations will be discussed in Chapter 6. 2. Theoretical background 2.1 Ethnocentrism The concept ethnocentrism was first introduced by Sumner (1906). According to the author, ethnocentrism is the tendency to perceive that a particular ethnic or cultural group is being more significant than other groups. Individuals who tend to be more ethnocentric find their group better than others, who are seen as inferior. Ethnocentric individuals have developed an own perspective of how they see people or groups and they dont accept individuals who are different from them (Netemeyer et al., 1991; Shimp and Sharma, 1987). In the field of sociology Lewis (1976) argued that individuals tend to give their group members a privileged treatment than non-group members. Thus, ethnocentrism established the development of in-groups, which is the group of the individual as pride and on the other side a disfavor for out-groups (Levin Campbell, 1972). According to Lynn (1976) ethnocentrism is part of the human nature. Thus, the phenomenon can be used for large diversity of societal groups including the local community, regions and nations. In the study of Chryssochoidis et al (2007, p. 1518) he issued: ethnocentrism is based on the formation of we-group feelings, whereby the in-group is the focal point and all out-groups are judged in relation to it. Levinson (1950) also related ethnocentrism to cultural narrowness which explains behavioral tendencies of favoring the individuals with the same culture and excluding other cultures, who are not the same. 2.2 Consumer ethnocentrism Consumer ethnocentrism is derived from the psychological concept of ethnocentrism and particularly points out to ethnocentric perceptions held by consumers in one country, the so called in-group, towards products from a different country, the out-group (Shimp and Sharma, 1987; Shankarmahesh, 2004). Ethnocentrism is adapted in order to suit Consumer behavior, which is suitable for marketers. Ethnocentrism has already been discussed to the study of consumer behavior in the 1970s (Markin, 1974; Berkman et al, 1978). Shimp and Sharma (1987) defined the concept in order to suit the field of marketing. Sharma, Shimp Shin (1995) argue that the ethnocentric tendencies of consumers are influenced by social-psychological and demographic factors. The basic conceptual model of Sharma, Shimp Shin (1995) shows that Consumer Ethnocentric is the focal concept that is related to demographic variables (age, gender, education) and social physiological variables (openness to foreign cultures, patriotism, collectivism/individualism and conservatism). The result of Consumer ethnocentrism is overestimating the domestic products and underestimating the import products. Thus, Consumer Ethnocentrism is a significant factor towards import product attitude. In their model, there is also a moderating factor. The model issues that when products are perceived as not necessary, consumers will have stronger ethnocentric tendencies towards the attitude of import products. Sharma, Shimp Shin (1995) have tested this conceptual model in Korea. Results have shown that there is a negative correlation between openness to foreign cultures and Consumer ethnocentrism. This shows that people who are open to foreign cultures, are less ethnocentric. There is a positive correlation between patriotism and Consumer ethnocentrism. The demographic variable gender is also significant related to CE: women show more ethnocentric tendencies than men. The study also identified that higher education leads to less ethnocentric tendencies. The research did not find a negative correlation between age and CE. Consumer Ethnocentrism tendencies Antecedents Openness to foreign cultures Patriotism Conservatism Collectivism/individualism Attitude towards imports Moderators Perceived necessity Economic threat Demographics Age Gender Education Figure : Basic model Sharma, Shimp Shin (1995) Consumer ethnocentrism is about the perceived appropriateness and morality when buying foreign products and preferring domestic goods over foreign goods which can be seen as consumer loyalty (Shimp and Sharma, 1987). According to Shrimp and Sharma (1987) highly ethnocentric consumers tend to believe that purchasing foreign-produced goods will affect the countrys economy negatively and will cause unemployment. Conversely, non-ethnocentric consumers, who do not consider ethnocentric beliefs, have no bias where a product is produced. These consumers will consider their purchase based on evaluation of the merits of the products. Shimp and Sharma (1987) state: The family unit would be expected to be the primary socialization agent, but adult opinion leaders, peers and mass media would also influence a childs ethnocentric orientation during the prime period of early childhood socialization. This statement explains that an adults perception is created by what he or she has learned and exper ienced as a child. According to Lingquist (2001) the degree of ethnocentrism is influenced by the developed levels of different regions. In some studies there has been concluded that consumers in developing countries tend to perceive foreign sourced products as prestigious and of high quality while on the other side, developed countries tend to perceive domestic products as prestigious and of higher quality (Agbonifoh and Elimimian, 1999; Bow and Ford, 1993; Sklair, 1994; Wang et al., 2000). Sharma et al. (1995) assume that the less significant product categories lead to greater ethnocentric tendencies and behavior by consumers. Orth Firbasova (2003) and Dosen Krupka (2007) have researched the food industry, where it has been identified that ethnocentric consumers have more willingness to purchase domestic food products instead of foreign food products. To measure consumer ethnocentrism, Shimp and Sharma (1987) developed The Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale (CETSCALE). The CETSCALE is a 17-item predictor of consumer ethnocentrism (Lindquist et al. 2001). This measurement distinguishes consumers whether they are highly ethnocentric or not, thus consumers scoring high on this scale will tend to prefer domestic products over foreign ones. There are several researchers that use the CETSCALE with their own modification for aiming on employment impact, patriotism and economic impact in studies (Lindquist et al., 2001; Cleveland et al., 2009). The scale has been applied widely in different countries, such as Turkey, France and the Czech Republic (Klein et al., 2006). Herche (1992) identified that the CETSCALE is able to forecast consumers choices to buy domestic or foreign products. He argues that this measurement is even better than demographic and marketing mix variables. According to Balabanis (2001), the Customer ethnocentric mea sure of buying intentions differs from countries. Good and Huddleston (1995) agreed on this. They identified that Polish consumers find it significant to purchase foreign goods, contrary to Russian consumers. In a research study of Wei (2008) he issues that the Consumer ethnocentrism will decrease when brand sensitivity and product cues are taken in account. These factors will influence the purchase intention of the consumer. The CETSCALE will be further explained in paragraph 2.3. 2.3 CETSCALE The central question in this research is: Does Consumer Ethnocentrism apply for the Chinese consumer towards food products? This question can only be explored if there is a method to measure CE. There are different kinds of methods and tools to measure CE, but the Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale is the most common used. Shimp and Sharma (1987) have developed this scale to measure CE (see 3.1). Previous studies have tested this scale on its reliability and validity (see 3.2 and 3.3). At last there will be a conclusion if this CETSCALE is valid for measuring CE in this research. 2.3.1 Measuring Consumer-ethnocentrism The first study to measure CE was done by Shimp (1984). He came to a conclusion that measuring CE was being hindered by a suitable tool. Before Shimp developed the CETSCALE, there were other tools, such as the famous F- and E-scales of Adorno et al. (1950). These scales were able to measure ethnocentric tendencies but were useless because of the commonality and dated nature of the scales. Shimp (1984) used an open question to test CE empirically. He used the following sentence: Please describe your views of whether it is right and appropriate for American consumers to purchase products that are manufactured in foreign countries. The question is aimed on the perception of the respondent, questioning if buying foreign products is ethical. Shimp (1984) indicated that the choice for an open question is legitimate, given that the concept of CE is very complex and the relevant dimensions were not known at that moment. Shimp Sharma (1987) developed and validated a multi-item scale to measure the CE of individual consumers: the CETSCALE, which stands for Consumer Ethnocentric Tendencies Scale. The CETSCALE consist 17 items, with a 7-point Likert-scale ranged from Totally disagree (1) to Totally agree (7). The 17-item CETSCALE is validated and tested on its reliability in three studies, which are the four area study, Carolinas study and crafted-with-pride study. Shimp Sharma (1987) also developed a shortened version of the CETSCALE for the national consumer good study. This scale consists 10 items of the original 17-item scale. This is because the 17-item scale is often being used for commercial market research. For this subset scale Shimp Sharma (1987) use a five-point Likert-scale. In table 1, the 17-item and the subset 10-item scale is shown. 17-item CETSCALE 10-item CETSCALE 1 American people should always buy American-made products instead of imports. 2 Only those products that are unavailable in the U.S. should be imported. 1 Only those products that are unavailable in the U.S. should be imported. 3 Buy American-made products. Keep America working. 4 American products, first, last, and foremost 2 American products, first, last, and foremost 5 Purchasing foreign-made products is un-American 3 Purchasing foreign-made products is un-American 6 It is not right to purchase foreign products, because it puts Americans out of jobs. 4 It is not right to purchase foreign products, because it puts Americans out of jobs. 7 A real American should always buy American-made products. 5 A real American should always buy American-made products. 8 We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other countries get rich off us. 6 We should purchase products manufactured in America instead of letting other countries get rich off us. 9 It is always best to purchase American products. 10 There should be very little trading or purchasing of goods from other countries unless out of necessity. 11 Americans should not buy foreign products, because this hurts American business and causes unemployment. 7 Americans should not buy foreign products, because this hurts American business and causes unemployment. 12 Curbs should be put on all imports. 13 It may cost me in the long-run but I prefer to support American products. 8 It may cost me in the long-run but I prefer to support American products 14 Foreigners should not be allowed to put their products on our markets. 15 Foreign products should be taxed heavily to reduce their entry into the U.S. 16 We should buy from foreign countries only those products that we cannot obtain within our own country. 9 We should buy from foreign countries only those products that we cannot obtain within our own country. 17 American consumers who purchase products made in other countries are responsible for putting their fellow Americans out of work. 10 American consumers who purchase products made in other countries are responsible for putting their fellow Americans out of work. Table 1: The CETSCALE of Shimp Sharma (1987) 2.3.2 International reliability The basic requirements of a scale, that can be used in several countries, is the reliability of a scale (Craig Douglas 2000). In case a scale is being used in a different country than where the scale is developed, there can be a measurement invariance. This refers to observing the construct in different conditions and studying constructs where the measurement does not always measure the same attribute. Linguistically or conceptual inequality of measuring instruments can cause variations in the reliability. This is a threat to the validity of conclusions. The focus on the study of the reliability is to obtain the same results when using the existing measuring instrument in a different context, different way or different point of time. These tools do not have to be reliable in every context, despite the attempt to develop tools that can be used in every culture (Craig Douglas 2000). Therefore, the CETSCALE does not have to be reliable everywhere. If the scale in the United states giv es a good reflection of the items that are measuring the CE in the United States, however this does not mean that these are the right items for a different country (Douglas Craig 2000, p.277). It is important to determine if the CETSCALE is international reliable and therefore suitable in other countries. The reliability of a scale can be identified in multiple ways. There are two parts of reliability of the CETSCALE that come up for discussion: The internal consistency and the dimensionality of the CETSCALE and the stability of the CETSCALE over time. The internal consistency is being measured with the Cronbachs Alpha. The Cronbachs alpha measures if the items of the CETSCALE truly measure one concept: Consumer Ethnocentrism. The internal consistency has to be large enough (alpha higher than 0.60) to measure CE with the CETSCALE. When this is the case, the items can be considered as reliable indicators of CE (Hair et al. 1998). When a low alpha occurs, the respondents do not have consistent image of the concept and in that case the measurement is not reliable. A requirement by measuring the internal consistency of a set of items, is that the items are one-dimensional (Hair et al. 1998). This means that the items have to be interdependent and combined they have to measure one concept (Hair et al. 1998). Factor analyses are important to measure the dimensionality of a set of items by determine several factors (Hair et al. 1988). For one-dimensionality all items of the CETSCALE have to load high on one single factor (Hair et al. 1998). The stability of the CETSCALE over time is being measured by a test/retest method. The consistency of the answers of a respondent is being measured at different moments. The objective of this method is to be sure that the answers do not vary over time, in order for the CETSCALE to be considered reliable at every moment (Hair et al. 1998). According to Hair et al. (1998) Cronbachs alpha is being defined as: Cronbachs Alpha is most widely used objective measure of reliability. It is used to measure the internal consistency of a test or scale. The measurement is expressed as number of 0 and 1, whereby the nearer Cronbachs Alpha coefficient is to 1, the better the internal consistency of the set of variables. Internal consistency and dimensionality of the CETSCALE Shimp Sharma (1987) were the first researchers that executed four distinctive studies to determine the reliability of the 17-item CETSCALE. These studies have shown that the internal consistency of the CETSCALE is very high; the Cronbachs alpha of the four studies varies from 0.94 to 0.96. The internal consistency and the dimensionality of the CETSCALE is identified in several studies and countries (Appendix 1). The alpha coefficients in the appendix show a consistency. That implies that the alpha in every study lies about 0.90 (with exception of the alpha for Hungary in the study of Lindquist et al. (2000)). In any other cases the internal consistency meets the minimum of 0.60.Orth Fibrasova (2003) have studied the role of CE towards the evaluation of food. They have found a high Cronbachs Alpha value for the CETSCALE and imply that the CETSCALE is internal consistent. There are different opinions about the amount of items of the scale that must be used. Shimp Sharma (1987) have used 10 items in the national consumer good study, because of the limited possibilities in the questionnaire. Lindquist et al. (2001) have studied the dimensionality of the shortened 10-item CETSCALE in Hungary, Czech and Poland. According to this research, the CETSCALE does not have a universal good fit in the central- and east-European countries. They assume that a scale that can be used in every country does not exist. Therefore, they suggest to use a part of the CETSCALE items and add some land specific or population specific items to effectively measure the CE. Another problem the authors have identified is the translation of the CETSCALE. The authors imply that the scale functions better in English then translated to their native languages in their research. The authors emphasize that the back-translation technique must be used to set up an accurate translation of the scale. Stability of the CETSCALE over time Shimp Sharma (1987) have used the test-/retest method by doing the research twice with a interim period of five weeks. These studies have found comparable alpha values. Shimp Sharma (1987) conclude that the CETSCALE is stable over time. Nielsen Spence (2001) have also researched the stability of the CETSCALE over time. They studied the stability in the United States over an eight week period during the summer of 1992. In this period they have found that the CETSCALE-scores are stable over time but by investigating different groups, the scores can vary over time. They conclude that a longer period of data collection, scores can vary more. 2.3.3 International validity The validity of a scale refers whether a scale or set of measurements measures the focal concept accurate (Hair et al. 1998). The three most accepted types of validity are convergent, discriminant and nomological validity. Convergent validity examines the degree to which the operationalization converges with other known measuring instruments of the concept. Discriminant validity assures that the scale differs enough of other similar concepts and nomological validity measures if the scale shows the relationship based on previous studies or theories. These types of validity are empirical tested by defining the correlation between theoretical defined sets of variables (Hair et al. 1998). Convergent validity This type of validity examines the correlation between two measurements that measure the same concept (Hair et al. 1998, p. 118). A researcher can look for this and find an alternative tool to measure CE and correlate this method with the CETSCALE. If the correlations are high, then the CETSCALE truly measures CE. Shimp Sharma (1987) have found a convergent validity in their study. The 17-item CETSCALE correlates with the open question of Shimp (1984). This correlation (r (=correlation coefficient) =0.54, n=388, p Discriminant validity Discriminant validity is the degree where two concepts are different. This type of validity examines the correlation between measurements. In this case, the CETSCALE is being correlated with a different conceptual measurement. The correlation has to be low, as it shows that the CETSCALE differs enough comparing to another measurement (Hair et al. 1998, p. 118). Shimp Sharma (1987) have found evidence for discriminant validity. Three constructs are being used in the studies (patriotism, politics, economic conservatism and dogmatism) that are related to Consumer Ethnocentrism. The researchers have used a test of Fornelll Larcker (1981). They assume that the average variance of the separated constructs is larger than the variance where the constructs are being combined. They have found that this is the case for the CETSCALE and the politic-economic conservatism-scale. The variance distinctive is 71% for the CETSCALE and 61% for the conservatism-scale, as the combined variance of the two constructs is 34%. Thus, Shimp and Sharma (1986) indicate that there is a discriminant validity. The study of Sharma, Shimp Shin (1995) also proves that there is a discriminant validity between CE and the product attitude towards foreign goods. They have found this through a factor analyses on the 17-item CETSCALE and the 10 attitude items. Findings have shown that the CETSCALE items and the attitude-items load on two different factors. A factor analyses have shown that the correlation between the two constructs (r = 0.568) differs significantly . Thus, these two constructs are not similar. Nomological validity Nomological validity examines how far the CETSCALE can give an accurate prediction for other concepts in a model that is based on theories. In this case, a research must identify theoretical supporting relationships from earlier studies, then he has to determine if the scale has comparable correlations (Hair et al. 1998, p.118). For the 17-item scale Shimp and Sharma (1987) have used the CETSCALES-scores of the respondents to determine the nomological validity. Shimp and Sharma (1987) applied different measuring instruments of Warshaw (1980), Fishbein Ajzen (1975) and Ajzen Fishbein (1980). These tools have been used two years before the development of the CETSCALE to investigate the purchase of a domestic or foreign car. The purchase of a foreign car is negative correlated with the CETSCALE score of the ethnocentric respondents of Shimp and Sharma (1987). Furthermore, the ethnocentric consumers have less favorable cognitive structures and attitudes regarding foreign cars than non-ethnocentric consumers. These results imply the nomological validity of the Consumer Ethnocentrism concept and measuring this concept with the CETSCALE. The 10-item scale is also tested on its nomological validity by Shimp and Sharma (1987). They have tested this by looking to the country origin of the manufactures. According to this study, the country of origin of the manufacturer is an important purchase consideration when the scores on the CETSCALE increase. Consumers with a higher score on the CETSCALE are likely to choose for American manufactures and have less preference for European and Asian manufactures. Predictive validity Herche (1992) has some remarkable notes about the predictive validity of the CETSCALE. He assumes that the predictive validity of the CETSCALE is product specific (the predictive validity for cars is higher than computers). Herche (1992) gives several explanations for this phenomena. First, when buying a more expensive product, people tend to have more ethnocentric tendencies because these transactions have a bigger economic impact. Another possibility is that if there are no acceptable domestic goods available, even ethnocentric consumers are being forced to purchase foreign goods. Also, the degree of involvement can be responsible for the difference between product categories. Purchases with a higher involvement can evoke emotional reactions about the country origin. However, this does not have to be true because the involvement of a purchase of a car does not has to be bigger than the purchase of a computer. Witkowski (1998) assumes that the predictive validity of the CETSCALE does not has to be product specific but also country specific. He has found this assumption in his study in Mexico and Hungary. Respondents in this study are asked to give nine durable products in the past three years. There was a significant negative relationship between the CETSCALE-scores and the purchase of a foreign car, television, video recorder and washer in Hungary. No significant relationship was found between CE and the purchases in Mexico. 2.3.4 CETSCALE in this research The internal consistency of the scale is high in most of the studies and meets the minimum requirements of the Cronbachs alpha value of 0.60. Orth Fibrasova (2003) have done studies of the role of CE regarding food products. To measure CE, they make use of the CETSCALE. In this research the shortened 10-item scale of Shimp Sharma (1987) will be used. The main reason the use the 10-item scale is because the length of the questionnaire has to be limited. In paragraph 3.3, sufficient evidence has found for the international validity of the CETSCALE. Thus, the CETSCALE is an useful scale to measure CE in China. 3. Chinas consumer market Due to the globalization of markets, there is an abundance of foreign goods in China. Domestic companies had to face strong competition of foreign companies during the last ten years. According to Cui (1999), the Chinese consumer market has the largest growth opportunity in the world. The market of 1.3 billion people, with an emerging spending power of the middle income class, is an enormous opportunity for producers of consumer goods. Each year 10 million new Chinese consumers enter the market. In 2010, Chinas consumer market was approximately worth $1.7 trillion. According to Forbes (2011) the domestic consumer market in China could grow to about $15 trillion within ten years. A.T. Kearney (2007) assumes that the middle class will increase its consumptions especially on food, the branded food product market supposed to increase from $150 billion to $650 billion by 2017. The statistics show that the mediocre

Permeability of Plasma Membranes

Permeability of Plasma Membranes Introduction Plasma membranes are bi-layered membranes made up of amphiphillic molecules (having charged polar heads tending to be hydrophillic and uncharged fatty acid tails tending to be hydrophobic) that selectively allow entrance of certain large molecules into the cells cytosol and through which water and small non-polar molecules may freely diffuse. This experiment seeks to understand limited aspects of the permeability of the plasma membrane using the Elodea leaf membrane as model organism. Some of the factors upon which permeability of the plasma membranes of biological organisms depend are differences in pH on opposite sides of the membrane, temperature, osmolarity, expression of certain membrane receptors and the concentration gradients of various molecules. This experiment is very limited in scope and seeks to answer only the question of what is the time dependence for permeability of glycerol through the cell membrane. Other experiments have answered many of our questions regarding this and have resulted in mathematical equations describing these results. This experiment will use one of the formula derived from these prior experiments, the Ether:Water partition coefficient for alcoholsiii as a means of hypothesizing what the outcome of this present experiment will be. I have hypothesized that within seconds of exposure to a 0.3M (molar) hyper-tonic solution of glycerol, dissolved in an isotonic deionized water (dH2O)/sucrose solution, the Elodea leaf will plasmolyze irreversibly-an assumption I believe is supported by the fact that glycerols ether:water partition coefficient is only 0.00066iii. Further support for this supposition is the fact that glycerol has a relatively bulky chemical structureviii-owing to its three large, highly polar hydroxyl groups-and a large molecular weight of 92.0938 grams per mole. Alternatively, it may be hypothesized that the glycerol-being an aliphatic alcohol (see diagram in section IV(i) infra) which, itself makes up a part of the plasma membranevi-will be capable of more easily diffusing across the plasma membrane as compared to the sucrose, which cannot diffuse across the membrane, in which case not only will there be no severe plasmolysis but there may, instead, be a build up of turgor pressure inside the cell due to the inward movement of the alcohol and its confinement in the central vacuole. Methods In order to discover what molar concentration of sucrose will be needed in an aqueous solution to create a solution that is isotonic to the leafs cytosol I shall perform a bifurcated experiment in which the first part shall be to determine this concentration. Part two of this experiment will be to determine the period of time it takes for glycerol to diffuse across the plasma membrane. In order to determine which molar solution of sucrose is isotonic to the cytosol of the Elodea cell I labeled 6 micro-centrifuge tubes with the markings: 0.2M, 0.3M, 0.4M, 0.5M, 0.6M and isotonic respectively and using an adjustable pipette placed 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L of premixed sucrose solution of each of the indicated molarities into the respective tubes. In each of these tubes I placed an Elodea leaf and allowed them to sit for approximately five minutes [my observations of plasmolysis along with photographs of leaves in similar states to what I observed are provided in table 2 of the Table of observations of plasmolysis and photographs #2-#6 in the Photograph table which can be found in sections III(A) (B) respectively.] While awaiting the leaves to finish soaking I viewed a dry mounted Elodea leaf under a microsocpe using 20X and 40X objectives with 10X ocular so as to have a better idea of what a normal Elodea leaf looks like for comparison to the viewing of the wet mounts [photo of a leaf in similar state to what I observed is provided as photo #1 in the Photograph table of section III(B).] I then labeled 6 microscope slides using the same concentrations I used when labeling the micro-centrifuge tubes. After five minutes I prepared an individual wet mount of an Elodea leaf by placing a leaf from a micro-centrifuge tube onto a microscope slide, bearing its respective molarity, with the upper surface of the leaf face up. I placed a cover slip over the leaf and gently tapped the cover slip so as to seat it onto the slide and to remove any excess solution. I then viewed the wet mount-searching for indications of plasmolysis-under a microscope using the same 20X and 40X objective lenses and the 10X ocular lens I had viewed the dry mount and recorded my observations then repeated this process for each of the leaves in the remaining tubes. I was unable to obtain photos of my observations but I have included photos downloaded from the internet which were similar to what I had observed and provided them in tables 1-6 of section III(B). Having established which molarity of sucrose solution was isotonic with the cytosol of the cell (see table in section III(A)) I calculated the quantities of sucrose, glycerol (test solution) and 1-Propanol (counter test solution) I would need for the second part of this study. In those calculations I used the data presented in table 1 below. My calculations are presented in the Table of Calculations, table 3 of section III(C) infra. I plugged the results I obtained from table 3 into the formula C1 x V1 = C2 x V2 so that I may calculate the volumetric quantity of each of these chemicals I would need to add to each of my two 1 x 103 ÃŽÂ ¼L test solutions, my calculations for each may be found in Table 4 of section III(C). Using those calculation I then added the quantities of sucrose to each of the other two chemicals and subtracted the sum from the final volume of solution (1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L) I would be creating so that I will know the volume of deionized water (dH2O) I would need. Those calculations are shown in table 5 of section III(C). Using these calculations I then prepared 5 new micro-centrifuge tubes as follows: 3 tubes each containing a 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L isotonic (0.4M) sucrose solution (one of which is to be used as a negative control); the fourth containing an aqueous solution of isotonic (0.4M) sucrose and 0.3M glycerol mixtures; and the fifth containing an aqueous solution of isotonic (0.4M) sucrose and 0.3M 1-Propanol mixtures (counter control). I placed one Elodea leaf into each of the 3 isotonic solutions and allowed them to soak for approximately five minutes. After five minutes I prepared a wet mount of the first of the 3 leaves as previously described. After viewing the first leaf (the negative control) I placed the second leaf on a slide and added 2 drops of the 0.3M glycerol/Sucrose solution to the slide then viewed and recorded my observations. I then prepared the third leaf using 2 drops of the 0.3M glycerol/Sucrose solution and viewed to be certain I obtained the same result as the last slide then after approximately 30 seconds added 2 drops of 1-Propanol/Sucrose solution (the counter test solution) to see if this would have an effect opposing that of the glycerol/Sucrose solution and recorded my observations which I describe next. Results A. Table of observations of Plasmolysis Table 2: Plasmolysis observations within five minutes of Elodeausing different sucrose solutions. Sucrose concentrations Plasmolysis observed (Y/N) Sucrose concentrations Plasmolysis observed (Y/N) B. Photograph tables (Photographs of Elodea leaves in various solutions): 1. Normal leaf (similar observation as prior to placing in solution) 2. Hypo-tonic solution (similar to observation as seen in 3. Isotonic solution (similar observation as in the isotonic solution and the ~0.4M-0.5M sucrose solutions) 4. Hyper-tonic solution (similar observation as seen in the 0.6M sucrose solution) 5. Plasmolysed leaf (similar observation as would have been seen in hyper-tonic solutions) 6. Plasmolysis Recovery (did not observe any recovery events but this is what I would also have been looking for had plasmolysis recovery taken place) C. Tables of Calculations: Table 3: Calculations for concentration of 0.3M glycerol/Sucrose solution. Amount of sucrose needed: [.137g] x V = 0.4M x .001 L V = (.0004g/L) / (0.137g) = 0.002919 L or 2.91 x 103mL Amount of glycerol needed: [0.028g] x V = 0.3M x .001 L V = (.0003g/L) / (0.028g) = 0.01071 L or 10.7 x 103mL Amount of 1-Propanol needed: [0.018g] x V = 0.3M x .001 L V = (.0003g/L) / (0.018g) = .01667 L or 16.7 x 103mL Table 4: Calculations of volumetric quantities of each chemical needed to make 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L of each solution. 2.92 ÃŽÂ ¼L sucrose+ 10.7 ÃŽÂ ¼L glycerol + x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L 13.62 ÃŽÂ ¼L + x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L 13.62 ÃŽÂ ¼L x(dH2O) = 986.38 ÃŽÂ ¼L 2.92 ÃŽÂ ¼Lsucrose + 16.7 ÃŽÂ ¼L 1-Propanol + x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L 19.62 ÃŽÂ ¼L + x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L x(dH2O) = 1000 ÃŽÂ ¼L 19.62 ÃŽÂ ¼L x(dH2O) = 980.38 ÃŽÂ ¼L Table 5: Calculations of amounts to add to each solution. Discussion At first viewing I did not quite understand what was happening as I had not previously seen an Elodea leaf that presented without its large central vacuole let alone one that presented with chlorophyll throughout the entire cytosolic space. Having consulted with my fellow researchers (one of which obtained findings similar to mine in her experiment), none of whom had explanations for this result, I shall instead provide a summary of what I observed and what I had expected to observe. I had expected my first hypothesis to be borne out regarding the outward movement of water across the membrane and toward the hyper-tonic glycerol solution providing a sighting as in photograph 5, however what I discovered was an Elodea leaf showing absolutely no sign of plasmolysis. Instead of the expected I saw what was a leaf that appeared to be in a state of iso-osmolarity with its environment which would have been expected only in an isotonic solution as in photograph 3. There, also, was no turgor pressure as would have been seen in photograph 2 had the alternative hypothesis of inward movement of glycerol across the plasma membrane been borne out. Finally, had there been a plasmolysed cell the addition of the counter test solution of 1-propanol should have caused recovery as seen in photograph 6 but being I was unable to obtain a plasmolysed cell I was also unable to observe recovery of such cell. The results of this experiment has left me unable to either accept or reject either of the two hypotheses provided above.

East Timor :: essays research papers

The tiny south pacific nation of East Timor has had a long and tumultuous history. While it has been touted as the first independent country of the 21st century, the government originally declared its independence in November of 1975. East Timor had spent over 300 years under Portugese rule and the colonial influences did much to shape Timorese culture and society. As a result East Timor developed very differently from its neighbours and had little in common with the former Dutch colony that became Indonesia. Portugese rule over East Timor was, like that in other colonies, oppressive and exploitive. The Portugese assumed a paternal role over the inhabitants of East Timor, regarding their own culture as superior. Rebellions were brutally suppressed and Portugese customs, and values along with the Portugese language were imposed on the Timorese. Despite this oppression independence movements in the colony remained strong. Political parties, once they were legalized, quickly formed and groups advocating independence won wide spread support. Following the trend towards decolonization is South East Asia Portugal allowed political parties as a step towards indpendence and democracy in East Timor. However the Portugese failed to ensure the security of East Timor. The was result was that nine days after it had declared its independence from Portugal, East Timor was invaded by neighbouring Indonesia. What followd was a quarter century of brutal oppression in which saw a quarter of the Timorese population lose their lives at the hands of Indonesian troops. The failure of the Portugese decolonization policies cleared the way for the genocide which occurred in East Timor.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until the 1880s Portugese influnece in East Timor was strong, but not complete and the Timorese had been able to maintain their distinct cultural and religious heritages well into the nineteenth century. At this time Portugal was rapidly falling behind its colonial rivals both economically and militarily and thus sought to more fully exploit the economic potential of East Timor. In 1887, using the assassination of the colonial governor as a pretext, the Portugese government instituted harsh new economic programs designed to undermine the existing Timorese clan system, and bring the entire colony under the control of the colonial government. These plicies led to much resentemtn of the Portugese by the Timorese people and culminated in a massive uprising beginning 1910. The revolt lasted two years and was finally put down by Portugese troops in 1912.

The Fruitless Pursuit of The Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II Essay exa

The Fruitless Pursuit of The Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II I. Introduction: â€Å"Glinting orange through the green creepers, the Kombi family's mud-hut is barely visible now. Alphonse Kombi was murdered by militiamen in February. His wife, Bimosa, watched them eat his heart before they raped her, neighbours say. The trauma drove her insane. Two of the Kombis' four children had already died of malnutrition. Then, a fortnight ago, a distant relative came to collect the two survivors - an emaciated eight-year-old and four-year-old†¦ ‘I have come to try to prevent these ones from dying," said Mr Kiyana, pointing to the two boney forms slumped on the ward's concrete floor. With their skin drawn tight over fragile bones, the children's ages and their sexes were almost impossible to guess.’† 1 One can easily associate suffering with tragedies in third world countries like the story above. However, suffering is not only the physical abuse of victims; suffering is the psychological, emotional, and physical pain experienced by any being. This distress is not only a result of everyday activities, such as conversations that may or may not happen, suffering is a continuous presence despite what one may do to eliminate it. I believe that suffering is endless. Despite the efforts of influential men like the Dalai Lama or Pope John Paul II, suffering will still exist in several forms. If it was even possible to end the genocides that are taking place in countries like Tibet or Cambodia, suffering would still occur in my life, as I am separated from the ones I love or in my neighbor’s lonely and miserable life full of material prosperity. Therefore, although the Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II have done much work towards this ultimat... ...it symposium. (United States of America: Fordham University Press, 1999) 34. 10 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 126. 11 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 114. 12 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 124. 13 Davidson, Richard J. Visions of compassion : Western scientists and Tibetan Buddhists examine human nature. (Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002) 149 14 Piburn, Sidney, The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness (New York: Snow Lion Publications 1990) 49. 15 United Nations. Dept. of Information. Pope John Paul II at the United Nations (New York : Dept. of Public Information, United Nations, 1980) 31 The Fruitless Pursuit of The Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II Essay exa The Fruitless Pursuit of The Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II I. Introduction: â€Å"Glinting orange through the green creepers, the Kombi family's mud-hut is barely visible now. Alphonse Kombi was murdered by militiamen in February. His wife, Bimosa, watched them eat his heart before they raped her, neighbours say. The trauma drove her insane. Two of the Kombis' four children had already died of malnutrition. Then, a fortnight ago, a distant relative came to collect the two survivors - an emaciated eight-year-old and four-year-old†¦ ‘I have come to try to prevent these ones from dying," said Mr Kiyana, pointing to the two boney forms slumped on the ward's concrete floor. With their skin drawn tight over fragile bones, the children's ages and their sexes were almost impossible to guess.’† 1 One can easily associate suffering with tragedies in third world countries like the story above. However, suffering is not only the physical abuse of victims; suffering is the psychological, emotional, and physical pain experienced by any being. This distress is not only a result of everyday activities, such as conversations that may or may not happen, suffering is a continuous presence despite what one may do to eliminate it. I believe that suffering is endless. Despite the efforts of influential men like the Dalai Lama or Pope John Paul II, suffering will still exist in several forms. If it was even possible to end the genocides that are taking place in countries like Tibet or Cambodia, suffering would still occur in my life, as I am separated from the ones I love or in my neighbor’s lonely and miserable life full of material prosperity. Therefore, although the Dalai Lama and Pope John Paul II have done much work towards this ultimat... ...it symposium. (United States of America: Fordham University Press, 1999) 34. 10 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 126. 11 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 114. 12 Cutler, Howard and the Dalai Lama, The art of happiness : a handbook for living (New York : Riverhead Books, 1998) 124. 13 Davidson, Richard J. Visions of compassion : Western scientists and Tibetan Buddhists examine human nature. (Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002) 149 14 Piburn, Sidney, The Dalai Lama, a Policy of Kindness (New York: Snow Lion Publications 1990) 49. 15 United Nations. Dept. of Information. Pope John Paul II at the United Nations (New York : Dept. of Public Information, United Nations, 1980) 31