Wednesday, July 31, 2019

A report on the Cultural Afternoon held at the IPBA’s auditorium

Last Thursday on the July 24th, 2003, a Cultural Afternoon was being held at the IPBA's auditorium. It was organised by the MTCP participants and the B. Ed. TESL cohort 1 students. The theme for the Cultural Afternoon is Unity In Diversity. Unity In Diversity is a poem written by the MLCP participant from Papua New Guinea. The afternoon was conducted by two of the B. Ed. TESL students. They conducted the event very well. After that, Mr. Mahmud from Turkey was called upon to recite a prayer. After he had finished reciting the prayer, the event continued with the first performance by the B. Ed. TESL students. They presented a compilation of the Malay Traditional Dance. The dance was choreographed beautifully and the dancers danced gracefully. The special thing about this cultural afternoon was the way the organiser changed the conductors. The next conductors were the participants from Tunisia and Gambia. The way they conducted the afternoon was very interesting. After they had introduced themselves, they called upon participants from Krygystan, Miss Ainur. She sang a song called Mahabbad, which means love. Even though the audience could not understand her, but the message of the song were well interpreted. Then, all the MTCP participants were welcomed to join the conductors on the stage to introduced themselves. All the participants were introducing themselves with different ways. Some of them made some jokes, holding their traditional flag and so on. There were 26 participants that day who has came from different countries such as Zimbabwe, Croatia, Tunisia, Gambia, Bosnia, Thailand and other countries. After that, Mr. Bernard from Bosnia presented his performance by singing a song using his own language. Followed by named and Ameir from Bosnia. They showed and explained about a poster of the Bosnian Movie, which had won oscars award 2000/2. The movie title is ‘No Man's Land' has won the award for Best Foreign Language. After that, they sang a Bosnian folk song. After changing conductors once again, B. Ed. TESL students performed their Kung Fu performances. After the Kung Fu show, a participant from Turkey sang a wonderful song. The audiences gave her big claps because she had sang the song well even without the background music. All the audiences had paid full attention on the stage to see the traditional costumes show from the other countries. All the participants wore their own traditional costumes and did some explanations on the costumes. After watching the colourful fashion show, the audiences were very surprised to watch the Indian dance that was led by our B. Ed. TESL student, Danielli Devi. The dance was noisily merry with energetic dancers and famous Bollywood song played. After that, the Cultural Afternoon continued with the performances by the MTCP participants. The participants from Sri Lanka sang a song. The song also a love song. After that, the East Timur participant did a traditional dance. She wore her traditional costumes and a gong. She knocked the gong using some rhymes and then danced followed the rhyme. It was far different from other MTCP participant's performances. After that, a participant from Turkey also sang a love song. Another interesting performance was from the Thailand participants. They showed and taught us the right way in greeting. Their performance is quite useful for us. After that, the Cambodian participants danced as soon as their song was played. Next performance was from Gambia. He sang his national anthem. The audiences rose up to show respect. The most waiting performance was Para-para Sakura Dance. The B. ED. TESL students performed this dance. They danced gracefully with many astonishing steps. The dancers were very energetic and noisily merry with their red and pink costumes. All the audiences felt refresh after watching this energetic dance. Lastly, before the Cultural Afternoon ended, the participant from Papua New Guinea recited her poem entitled ‘Unity In Diversity'. She very well wrote the poem. The event ended as soon as the conductors declared it was closed.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Does Religion Cause War?

I. IntroductionSince writing has been invented about 5,200 years ago, there has been religion in some levels. Whether it is the belief to a Christian God, or whether goes further back in history to Hinduism or Judaism, Buddhism and along with other religious beliefs. During that same period of time, there have also been a large number of wars and battles between different countries and civilizations. But what are the causes of these wars? Many argue that such things as politics, power and material goods are the causes of these wars, whereas others claim that it is religion which is the main reason.Where it can be said that religion has had a large influence on many conflicts in the past, it can also be argued that political issues and power struggles have had just as large an impact. While some argue that religion is the cause of wars, it is inconclusive whether war would or would not exist if there was no such thing as religion.Based on our research, some would say The Crusades are a major example of religion causing war. From the 11th century to the 13th century Christian states in Europe launched what are sometimes called Holy Wars against Muslims in the East. These wars centered on the city of Jerusalem which held a Holy significance in the Christian world. However when 3000 Christians were massacred, this began the retaliation and therefore the beginning of The Crusades to release the Holy City of Jerusalem from the rule of Muslims. In this example, religion has clearly caused The Crusades as there would not have been any war if the city of Jerusalem did not have Christian significance.II. Counter ArgumentsHowever, a contrary argument to this would be that it was the massacre of 3000 Christians which caused The Crusades to begin and not because of differing religious beliefs, although it is unquestionable that religion played a major part in the beginning of the Crusades as the massacre may not have taken place without a religious background. As the argume nt for religion causing war heavily outweighs the opposing argument, in this context it is fair to say that using this example, religion does cause war.Although the previous example concerning The Crusades suggests that religion does cause war it would be unfair to generalize this conclusion from one example of war to war in general. There are many counter arguments when discussing the topic of religion causing war such as political or cultural issues. One such example of this is the conflict in Northern Ireland which is commonly perceived as a religious one although religious and political leaders have used religion to incite division or unison within their people.The Unionists (those who wish to remain a part of Great Britain) are predominantly Protestant whereas the Nationalists see themselves as Irish and are usually of the Catholic faith. It is this difference between the identities (British or Irish) of the people which has caused conflict and not because of the commonly held belief that it is one of religion and sectarianism. By using this example it is clear that religion is not the sole cause of war although it can be used as an incentive to continue a conflict which is shown through the conflict in Northern Ireland where it has almost become a religious conflict, such is the commonly held view of the hostility. This example can therefore be used as basis for an argument stating that religion does not, in general terms, cause war.III. Our ArgumentsClaim #1Ignoring The Crusades, and more specifically the First Crusade, it is difficult to confidently state that there have been other wars which have undeniable religious causes. However, one which has underlying holy origins is World War II. In the book Mein Kampf it states â€Å"hence today I believe that I am acting in accordance with the will of the Almighty Creator: by defending myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord† (Hitler, 1924) While some say that Hitler was irratio nal in his thinking, it  is undeniable that one of the main reasons for creating the Nazi Party was a misguided religious belief, such as the one above, and therefore the beginning of World War II can be put down to religion to an extent. This is shown by his actions following his writings in Mein Kampf.Claim #2To an extent, the â€Å"anti-terrorism† war in Afghanistan is also an example of a war with a religious cause although some argue that the war began for other reasons. As the terrorist attacks in America were the catalysts for war in Afghanistan, it can be said that the conflict did have a religious cause. This is because of the terrorists having a misguided belief, much like Hitler and his determination to eradicate the Jews, that they were acting in the name of an Islamic God. Because of this belief the cause of the conflict in Afghanistan can be put down to religion and therefore suggests that religion can cause war and conflict.Claim #3On the other hand the examp les of wars which have been caused by religion cannot automatically assume that all war is caused by religion or generalize a cause of one conflict to all conflicts. Following on from this another example of a war which does not have a religious cause is the Gulf War in 1990. The basis for war in this example was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, caused by a non-religious belief that Kuwait was a part of Iraq, along with the fact that Saddam Hussein wanted to invade and capture more land for himself. Therefore, this example again confirms the idea that religion is not the sole reason for war and that again, political issues are just as likely to be the catalyst for conflict.IV. ConclusionA final argument against the claim that religion causes war is one which is based on opinion and also has large quantities of evidence to back up the point; that war would occur anyway even if religion did not exist. One viewpoint is that it is human nature to always want more (greed) and this, more t han religion, can cause conflict with others which may lead to war. The evidence to support this point comes from the large number of wars and conflicts which do not have religious causes.In conclusion, it is unfair to suggest that there would be no war if religion did not exist as it is probable that human beings would use other motives for war or find other things to fight over. However, having said that it would also be unfair to declare that religion does not cause war as The Crusades, World War II and the war in Afghanistan to name just a few, defy that notion. Following on from this, some wars do have religious causes but consequently it is false to suggest that religion causes war in general as there are other hugely significant causes such as political issues, power struggles and the greed of humanity for more material possessions which are just as likely causes for war as religion.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Brainwashing Cases and Freedom of Religion

What is the primary question addressed in this article? What can we learn from this article? Primarily this article delves into detail about certain court cases involving high tolerance sects, referred to as â€Å"cults† and ex-members attempting to sue said cult for various different reasons. The most detailed cases described by the author are of cases in which the plaintiff is accusing the so-called cult of brainwashing the person into joining; seen in cases such as George v. ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Conciousness) as well as Molko and Leal v. The Unification Church [Richardson (1990): 3, 8]. The foremost problem that this presents is whether or not brainwashing is a successful practice that members of sects or â€Å"cults† use to bring in new members. A key person in most cases using the accusation of brainwashing in order to bring a case against a cult religion is Dr. Margaret Singer [Richardson (1990): 3]. She has been used to examine plaintiffs for their emotional distress, symptoms of mental disorders, and come to conclusions if indeed they were brainwashed. Many psychologists and sociologists disagree with her positions, having posted amicus curiae briefs in appeals courts attempting to limit use of â€Å"brainwashing† accusations in cult cases. These scholars claim that psychologists like Dr. Singer ignore a large portion of studies done on new religions that reveal it is unlikely that new members are coerced into joining [Richardson (1990): 2-3]. It represents the research that scholars have put into participants joining new religions voluntarily, for whichever reasons they feel to choose using their free will. This includes the fact that in the 1960’s many people chose different lifestyles that some would refer to as â€Å"hippies† or â€Å"beatniks† instead of what they believe is a hypocritical path following the Second World War and other stresses of the world. The brief also applied that groups such as the Hare Krishna and Unification church have a small number of members and have high drop-off rates; which if brainwashing were true means that they would be expanding rather than contracting [Richardson (1990): 9-10]. The George v. ISKCON case was successful in collecting emotional distress damages and wrongful death of the father (who had heart failure soon after his daughter was returned), totaling $2. 9 million for the plaintiffs. However, now in many courts the position of brainwashing is not accepted as an argument for cult cases [Richardson (1990): 8-9]. What is the next question this article may lead one to answer? A tempting question that this article may lead one to think about is whether or not such circumstances as those presented in court cases against religious sects takes away from their freedom of religion. It does not appear that a Catholic church would be taken to court for handing out pamphlets to spread word of their religion, nor Jehovah Witnesses for walking door to door with the same idea. However, whatever methods smaller sects use to gain more members seem to ultimately deal with lost members claiming them to have used mind control or coercive persuasion to attract the member. In the George case, the claim was that since the Krishna sect helped hide the 15 year old girl from her parents, they were in a sense kidnapping her. This does not take into account that the girl was physically abused and mistreated by her parents, even chained to her bedroom to restrain her from trying different religious practices [Richardson (1990): 6]. While that may not necessarily make the Krishna sect heroic, it does seem to provide insight that the girl was unable to explore religious freedom. In essence, she was not given the choice by her parents of which religion she would like to join, which is exactly how it was argued that ISKCON had brainwashed her; by not giving her freedom of choice. This has to deal with the economics of religion philosophy that humans will make rational choices depending on their knowledge, tastes and preferences. Whether George made a rational decision to join ISKCON in the eyes of her parents, it was a decision she was not obligated to make. Three Finals Questions 1. Name and briefly explain three positions that Dr. Margaret Singer took in the George v. ISKCON case that seem to contradict popular psychologist and sociologist opinion. Singer claims that brainwashing and coercive persuasion used by the accused cults can be likened to that of Korean prisoners of war and those of Chinese Communist reformers. However, there is notable difference that ‘cult brainwashing’ uses psychological coercion while Korean prisoners of war were physically coerced through torture and other extremes. Singer even argues that psychological coercion is more effective despite tons of research that points the opposite [Richardson (1990): 10]. Singer discounts the impact on behavior from George’s parents’ negative reaction to her desire to join the church including the physical abuse she was given. Discredited ISKCON by not recognizing it as a religion having religious practices, that the case did not involve freedom of religion at all, despite the plaintiff George’s claim that she did convert to the religion. Did not accept that the plaintiff may have biases or ulterior motives for the court case, despite only spending a small session with her and claiming that she believes the plaintiff was â€Å"trying to be honest† with her [Richardson (1990): 4]. Does not believe the time in which a patient is examined after the ‘brainwashing’ event is important [Richardson (1990): 6]. 2. Explain what arguments were made by scholars in their amicus curiae briefs in the appeals of cult/brainwashing cases. The Scientific Community agreement argues that a large portion of studies have been done on new religions that reveal it is unlikely that new members are brainwashed [Richardson (1990): 2-3]. This represents the research that scholars have put into participants joining new religions voluntarily, for whichever reasons they feel to choose using their free will. The brief also applied that groups such as the Hare Krishna and Unification church have a small number of members and have high attrition (drop-off) rates; which if brainwashing were true means that they would be expanding rather than contracting [Richardson (1990): 9]. . Explain why these cases provide trouble for the perspective of freedom of religion. Unreliable sciences such as the psychology used by Dr. Singer tend to contradict the majority of scholarly research on small sects, including the study that youth who have joined such a group normally turn out to be in better psychological health individually afterward [Richards on (1990): 10]. It seems as though because of her reputation as a professional psychologist, Dr. Singer can claim whatever she wants to about a religion, using her bias or simply a lack of knowledge, and collect a paycheck for it. Krishna leaders of India fear that â€Å"paying such a large judgment would force the Hare Krishna to sell most of its United States assets, thereby severely limiting its activities here, or even leading to closure of its operations† [Richardson (1990): 9] Cases successful in accusing a small sect of brainwashing can send a negative view to the general population of cults. According to a Gallup Poll, more Americans in a nationwide survey would be less comfortable with sects or cults as neighbors than any other ethnic or religious group in the survey [Richardson (1990): 17]. The general population appears to fear what they believe is brainwashing being done to children of the society and wants to attack religions they are unaware of.

Select 2 examples of architecture that best reflect the architectural Essay

Select 2 examples of architecture that best reflect the architectural styles. It is preferable that you choose one western ans one non western example - Essay Example The project has been carried out in a total built up area of more than 330,000 square meters (Doha City, 2013). The facility encompasses a number of goals that include world-class leisure destination, exciting retail and entertainment experience, and international standard services. The mall provides a wide range of services to visitors ranging from basic shopping grounds to high-class entertainment joints. The shopping mall appreciates the need for spatial flexibility incorporating a number of features to allow its maximum usage. This has called for the development of a clear-span space border structures that mainly encompass the entertainment and cinema areas. The fllor structure is as shown below. The mall has been constructed in such a way to allow easy direction strategies. The built-up area involves five levels of facilities that may be accessed from the car park spaces on the basement and roof-top floors. Adequate space has also been allowed for shoppers to access the different businesses within the complex. The retail mall offers a wide range of services from its structural and enhanced stores. This has required a wide range of architectural structures to allow accessibility as well as lighting standards. The construction design serves to satisfy the urban morphology. The design superimposes a defined orthogonal street framework that takes an informal lattice (Doha City, 2013). This accommodates today’s vehicular movement, allowing well-structured walkways that provide intricate spaces that are in line with both Muslim and Islamic vernacular (Doha City, 2013). In addition, the design incorporates an integrated transport and microclimatic strategy. The strategic design enables the mall to capture the sea breeze while reducing ambient temperatures through shading the neighboring streets. The shopping mall occupies a floor of 145,000 square meters and acts as one of the largest shopping malls in Phillipines and within the

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory Essay

Chinas Unique International Relations Theory - Essay Example All this has also helped the country to become an independent power in the eyes of the rest of the world with time as well. The foreign or international policy of this country is the policy or theory by way of which it interacts with other nations and also the outlook that it has towards other nations around the world. According to many sources the international theory and policy of China has been said to be ‘highly influential’. The main objectives for the reason for the unique policy that it upholds with pride are to bring about independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the realist rather than the liberal school of international relations theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the Soviet Union and the United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world communism or world democracy since the Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appe ars to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the UN Security Council and is also a leader in many areas such as non-proliferation, peacekeeping and resolving regional conflicts.... nese scholars began to think about theoretical studies of IR, and some of them emphasized the construction of an IR theory with Chinese characteristics. Recent Chinese foreign policy makers may be seen to adhere to the  realist  rather than the  liberal  school of  international relations  theory. Thus, in sharp contrast to the  Soviet Union  and the  United States, China has not been given off to advancing any higher international ideological interests such as world  communism  or world  democracy  since the  Cold War; or in other words, its ideology appears to be secondary to advancing its national interest. China is also a vital member of many  international organizations; with itself holding key positions like the permanent member on the  UN Security Council  and is also a leader in many areas such as  non-proliferation,  peacekeeping  and resolving regional conflicts. Since 1978 the international relations theory in China has developed to a great extent and the entire theory is based on the works of two parallel processes that are simultaneously trying to establish their superiority within the country, the two of them being; (Yaqing, Qin) 1. A tenacious learning process aimed at trying to acquire knowledge and along with it, generation. a) Learning and acquiring knowledge from countries situated in the West like the US, through which the international relations theory has slowly and gradually developed as an independent discipline within the country of China. b) Furthermore as discussed above, the result of this learning has led to the formation of different schools of thought which have given rise to thinking of Realism, Liberalism and Constructivism. c) All these different thought processes have also helped and led to the rise and growth in the national and

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Healthcare tourism Dubai versus London Research Paper

Healthcare tourism Dubai versus London - Research Paper Example Market Penetration Market experts have predicted a massive projection in the market share of Dubai in the global medical tourism market. It has been reported that in 2010, the total value of the medical tourism industry was to shoot up seven percent in comparison with 2009. It was expected that the total value of the market by the end of 2010 would be Dh 6.1 Billion. Further, in 2014, the government approved the Dubai Medical Tourism Strategy. This suggests the dedicated aggressive marketing done by the industry to have increased presence in the market. It is interesting to note that in the initial years of establishment of the concept of medical tourism, UAE was considered more as a consumer than a service provider. The paradigm shift in the scenario suggests market penetration as an intensive strategy. â€Å"The healthcare services market in the GCC is expected to grow from AED 66 billion (US $18 billion) in 2008 to AED 175-202 billion (US $47-55 billion) by 2020† . Market Development It has been reported that in 2010, Dubai Health Authority entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Medical Tourism partners across the globe to fortify Dubai’s presence as major medical tourism destination. Dubai hosted the Medical Tourism Congress in 2011. These steps could be analyzed as market development intensive strategies of the Dubai medical tourism industry. There has been substantial improvement in healthcare infrastructure and technology and focused changes in the policies and regulations so as to comply with the market development strategies. Dubai has an investment friendly environment. It has established Health Care Free Zones (Tax free trade zones) and Health Cities.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Collaborative Innovation. Things that motivate companies to Essay

Collaborative Innovation. Things that motivate companies to collaborate in innovation - Essay Example Technology increases the productivity and profitability of a firm in which it is used. Usually, firms collaborate to innovate in the running of their businesses (Gloor, 2006, p72). When two or more firms choose to work together to develop a technology, they identify the things they have in common. Various factors that are perceived to be beneficial to partnering firms cause them to come together and innovate together. Some of the factors that cause firms to collaborate in innovation include reducing the cost of development of the technology, reducing the potential risks that are involved in technological development or entering the market, to achieve the economies of scale, which reduce the cost of production, promoting shared learning between the firms involved, and reducing the time taken to produce and market new products (Tidd, Bessant and Pavitt, 2005, p25-78). The results of the collaborative invention vary significantly according to different companies, and these factors may b e beyond or within the abilities of the partnering firms. Some factors that influence the results of a collaborative interaction between firms include: the competitiveness of the partners, the transparency issues, receptivity of ideas, the rate of learning and bargaining power of partners, the intention of the firms when they accepted to enter into collaboration, and sustainability of the deal (Hamel, 1991, p.83-101). These factors determine whether or not the collaboration will continue in order to develop technologies together; if the factors are favourable to the collaborating firms, they continue to develop technologies together. Different companies collaborate in innovation according to different interaction policies. These interactions are determined by conditions that are set by those partners, when joining together as well as those that are related to sustainability. In order to understand the issues that are related to the collaborative innovation, there is need to explore the factors that influence firms to come together as well as those that influence the sustainability of collaborative innovation interactions. Things that motivate companies to collaborate in innovation In events where firms collaborate to innovate, they need to put into consideration all the issues that can arise from it. When firms focus narrowly at the reduction of cost, it may work not for their benefit because although collaboration may reduce the cost of production and enhance economies of scale, it is also possible that the company will need to establish a strategy of developing the collaborative relationship. For instance, if firms consider the factor of cost reduction in a collaborative innovation deal, they can evaluate other costs apart from the basic raw materials for the company. A good collaborative innovation deal needs to consider the amount of money that will be required to facilitate collaborative capabilities. For instance, different firms will need to develop peo ple within their firm that will sustain the technology that they develop. This means that they should not develop a technology that they will lose within a short time (MacCormack, Forbath, Brooks & Kalaher, 2007, p17-102). Firms may be driven to form a collaborative interaction in innovation by their need to increase the income share; this is by maximisation of all the opportunities they have in their production. Every chance a firm has to reduce the risk of making losses and increase profitability becomes a motivation for the company to involve other companies to innovate (Da Vinci, n.d, p1). When firms come into collaboration, they intend to develop fast to gain their competitive advantages.

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Social Performance, part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Performance, part 2 - Essay Example Many financial industries, especially those dealing in financial services, have codes of conduct. The table below shows the codes of a competitor to Pioneer Financial Group and criticism of their codes. COMPANY CODE OF CONDUCT CRITICISM SERVICES OFFERED LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP Fairness Respect Employee Ownership Diversity Responsibility Integrity Commitment to Excellence They have stringent do’s and don’t’s, and their employees feel that if something is not specified in the code of conduct, then it is acceptable. Life insurance Annuities Retirement plan services Group protection AF FINANCIAL GROUP Honesty and fair dealing Workplace environment Compliance with laws and regulations Conflict of interest Gifts Records and reporting information Political activities Insider trading Revoked their contract with Lowerell as their independent auditors without giving them notice as this contradicts their code of honesty and fair dealings with other intermediaries Insurance services Loans such as mortgage loans Offers business services such as checking accounts CUNA MUTUAL GROUP Integrity in the workplace Integrity with company resources, information and financial disclosure Integrity while dealing with others Integrity with business conduct Faced with challenges of measuring the effectiveness of their program, though they have ambitious programs and codes of ethics Crop insurance Retirement planning for members and small businesses Insurance for union members Trevino and Nelson (2007) define business ethics as behaviors that are in line with the principles, standards, and norms of practice that are in accordance with the society. Pioneer Financial Group is facing a conflict of interest of some shareholders, side deals done by employees, and corruption. Establishing an ethical business culture is one way of improving the corporate governance. Pioneer Financial Group should have ethical codes that promote ethical behavior. This guides employees in cases where ethical course of action is not clearly known. The codes help the company to communicate their expectations to employees, communities, government, and other stakeholders. The codes do promote market efficiency, build public trust, enhance business reputation, raising awareness on the societal needs, and help the company reinforce and acquaint new employees with their values and culture. Pioneer Financial Group have put in place training programs regarding ethics in the company that are designed to offer real solutions to those employees under ethical dilemma. A code of conduct or ethical code sets out the company's values, ethics, objectives and responsibilities. Pioneer Financial Group will have the following code of conduct: COMPANY CODE OF CONDUCT PIONEER FINANCIAL GROUP (PFG) HOW TO DEAL WITH COMMUNITIES HOW TO DEAL WITH COMPETITORS GOVERNMENT ®ULATORS,EMPLOYEES,SUPPLIERS AND INTERMEDIARIES Take into account community concerns Providing good employment opportunities Su pport communities through Charitable donations Seek competitive advantage through superior products and performance Avoid discussing confidential information with competitors Not engaging in restrictive trade practices that abuse market dominance Not evade tax Report and record all reportable transactions Giving room for employees to air their grievances about the company Encourage freedom of association Providing safe & healthy working environment Rewarding employees who observe ethical behavior Providing quality products and

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Designing Effective Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Designing Effective - Research Paper Example Based on this importance, the paper emphasizes the need for further research into opportunities presented by effective designing of contracts. This paper dissects how framing and expectations of contracts influence the contract’s performance. Various researches have attempted to look into the ubiquitous nature of contracts. Some have mentioned that contracts are merely necessary safeguards which secure parties involved in a contract against potential undesirable behaviors by the involved parties. This facilitates exchanges. Many scholars note that mitigation of the threats arising from contracts is dependent on contractual framing and expectations. Recent evidence from researches suggests contract framing play an important role in determining how contractual application is implemented. For instance, contracts which are framed with a loss in mind in case of failure to meet threshold amounts to the involved parties making greater effort. Similarly, contracts framed with a gain in mind, the parties will also be motivated to work even extra hard. The expectation of something is seen to motivate an action in implementation of the contract. Many contract theorists have begun systematic unpacking of behavioral implications associated with contract frame and expectations from the same (Weber and Mayer 56). A key emerging issue in design of effective contracts is the psychological impacts of framing and expectations of contracts. Despite widespread knowledge of the role of contracts in ensuring mitigation of hazards through development of safeguards, there exists little knowledge with regard to psychological impacts of the contracts. Contract framing offers a potential mechanism to psychologically affect the exchange or continuous partnerships.as revealed in the study, contracts aim at protecting the parties involved in a relationship against any form of opportunistic behavior thus boosting the confidence of the parties involved so that they can proceed with the

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Studying Hospitality and Events in Higher eduaction Essay

Studying Hospitality and Events in Higher eduaction - Essay Example The paper tells that the best candidate for lodging and accommodation for the conference is the Days Hotel Luton. It is more expensive than the other options but well worth the additional cost. The Days Hotel Luton is centrically located upon the Channel Viaduct. The Days Hotel Luton also provides access to those who are physically challenged. The Days Hotel Luton has a five star rating out of six which is the highest rating of all of the options in this group. The second choice is the Best Western Menzies Strathmore. The rates start from 49 pounds and 50 pence. The location is centric to all forms of transit. The Best Western Menzies Strathmore has 152 rooms which would probably make it the most likely candidate for the convention. The Chiltern Hotel would be the next most likely candidate as it is located right outside the airport. The room rate is at 49 pounds and 50 pence per night. There is also an ample parking facility. The space within this parking facility may be rented and a portable structure may be erected on the site. This portable structure implies a greater risk but it also would allow for a greater allocation of resources towards security, safety, health, food, beverage and post dinner entertainment. A tent structure may be used for the conference, this innovation would allow for lower expenses. The reallocation of resources could be applied toward other conference concerns (Chiltern Hotel). The fourth option would be recommended as the Quality Hotel on Dunstable rd. The Quality Hotel has easy access from the M1 motorway Junction 11 from the south. It is located on the A505. The rate of Quality Hotel’s accommodations is fairly reasonable starting at 32 pounds 50 pence per night. This hotel is a three star facility. With all of these options it may be possible that a discount may be applied to the academic community of the University of Bedfordshire. One of the objectives of this essay is to demonstrate the ability to optimize the resource s allocated to this conference by minimizing the number of man hours allocated to human resources in this conference which is proposed on 9 May 2012 (Burke and Soubeiga 2003). It is also the objective of this essay to demonstrate the importance of emotional intelligence by assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed options for the conference: ‘Studying Hospitality and Events in Higher Education’

Mental instability Essay Example for Free

Mental instability Essay Through her Noon Wine novel, Katherine Anne Porter describes 1890s Texas settings that serve to build on the novel’s theme besides causing conflict at the end. For example, the author describes Mr. Royal Earle Thompson’s farm as barely productive primarily due to Thompson’s laziness. Strangely, Thompson holds that farm work is women’ work, indicating some mental instability in him. Amid such circumstances, Olaf Eric Helton comes to Thompson looking for work which he is promptly offered. Helton’s employment at the Thompson farm soon proves to be very beneficial. The farm miraculously becomes very productive, making Thompson to highly value Helton. The farmhand however has the strange habit of always remaining quiet and playing harmonicas. The arrival of Homer T. Hatch at the farm brings conflict since he intends to take Helton away from the farm. Thompson cannot give Helton away while Hatch wants to return the worker to a madhouse from which Hilton escaped years back. This incidence, which leads to Thompson mistakenly killing Hatch, amplifies the theme that both Helton and Hatch are insane in their unique ways (Porter 25). Firstly, the almost desperate way in which the Thompsons treasure Helton due to his remarkable good work, coupled with Hatch’s attempts at recapturing Helton, lead to a deadly conflict. A hallucinatory Thompson fatally hits Hatch, thinking that Hatch is killing Helton. This incidence shows that Thompson’s liking for Helton has built up to obsessive levels, where the farmer cannot bear seeing Helton move away. Moreover, Hatch’s disclosure of Helton’s past indicates that Helton is also insane. Porter’s theme of the presence of subtle madness in characters, Helton and Thompson, is thus supported by this conflict. In conclusion, Porters, Noon Wine description of the events surrounding the Thompson farm designate both Thompson and Helton as inherently mad. In addition, Hatch’s and Thompson’s contradictory acts lead to a concluding lethal conflict. Works Cited Porter, Katherine Anne. Noon Wine. Tulsa, Oklahoma: Schumans, 1937.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Existentialism and Human Emotions Essay Example for Free

Existentialism and Human Emotions Essay I SHOULD LIKE on this occasion to defend existentialism against some charges which have been brought against it. First, it has been charged with inviting people to remain in a kind of desperate quietism because, since no solutions are possible, we should have to consider action in this world as quite impossible. We should then end up in a philosophy of contemplation; and since contemplation is a luxury, we come in the end to a bourgeois philosophy. The communists in particular have made these charges. On the other hand, we have been charged with dwelling on human degradation, with pointing up everywhere the sordid, shady, and slimy, and neglecting the gracious and beautiful, the bright side of human nature; for example, according to Mlle. Mercier, a Catholic critic, with forgetting the smile of the child. Both sides charge us with having ignored human solidarity, with considering man as an isolated being. The communists say that the main reason for this is that we take pure subjectivity, the Cartesian I think, as our starting point; in other words, the moment in which man becomes fully aware of what it means to him to be an isolated being; as a result, we are unable to return to a state of solidarity with the men who are not ourselves, a state which we can never reach in the cogito. From the Christian standpoint, we are charged with denying the reality and seriousness of human undertakings, since, if we reject Gods commandments and the eternal verities, there no longer remains anything but pure caprice, with everyone permitted to do as he pleases and incapable, from his own point of view, of condemning the points of view and acts of others. I shall today try to answer these different charges. Many people are going to be surprised at what is said here about humanism. We shall try to see in what sense it is to be understood. In any case, what can be said from the very beginning is that by existentialism we mean a doctrine which makes human life possible and, in addition, declares that every truth and every action implies a human setting and a human subjectivity. As is generally known, the basic charge against us is that we put the emphasis on the dark side of human life. Someone recently told me of a lady who, when she let slip a vulgar word in a moment of irritation, excused herself by saying, I guess Im becoming an existentialist. Consequently, existentialism is regarded as something ugly; that is why we are said to be naturalists; and if we are, it is rather surprising that in this day and age we cause so much more alarm and scandal than does naturalism, properly so called. The kind of person who can take in his stride such a novel as Zolas The Earth is disgusted as soon as he starts reading an existentialist novel; the kind of person who is resigned to the wisdom of the ages-which is pretty sad-finds us even sadder. Yet, what can be more disillusioning than saying true charity begins at home or a scoundrel will always return evil for good? We know the commonplace remarks made when this subject comes up, remarks which always add up to the same thing: we shouldnt struggle against the powers that-be; we shouldnt resist authority; we shouldnt try to rise above our station; any action which doesnt conform to authority is romantic; any effort not based on past experience is doomed to failure; experience shows that mans bent is always toward trouble, that there must be a strong hand to hold him in check, if not, there will be anarchy. There are still people who go on mumbling these melancholy old saws, the people who say, Its only human! whenever a more or less repugnant act is pointed out to them, the people who glut themselves on chansons realistes; these are the people who accuse existentialism of being too gloomy, and to such an extent that I wonder whether they are complaining about it, not for its pessimism, but much rather its optimism. Can it be that what really scares them in the doctrine I shall try to present here is that it leaves to man a possibility of choice? To answer this question, we must re-examine it on a strictly philosophical plane. What is meant by the term existentialism? Most people who use the word would be rather embarrassed if they had to explain it, since, now that the word is all the rage, even the work of a musician or painter is being called existentialist. A gossip columnist in Clartes signs himself The Existentialist, so that by this time the word has been so stretched and has taken on so broad a meaning, that it no longer means anything at all. It seems that for want of an advanced-guard doctrine ,analogous to surrealism, the kind of people who are eager for scandal and flurry turn to this philosophy which in other respects does not at all serve their purposes in this sphere. Actually, it is the least scandalous, the most austere of doctrines. It is intended strictly for specialists and philosophers. Yet it can be defined easily. What complicates matters is that there are two kinds of existentialists; first, those who are Christian. among whom I would include Jaspers and Gabriel Marcel, both Catholic; and on the other hand the atheistic exi stentialists among whom I class Heidegger, and then the French existentialists and myself. What they have in common is that they think that existence precedes essence, or, if you prefer, that subjectivity must be the starting point. Just what does that mean? Let us consider some object that is manufactured, for example, a book or a papercutter: here is an object which has been made by an artisan whose inspiration came from a concept. He referred to the concept of what a paper-cutter is and likewise to a known method of production, which is part of the concept, something which is, by and large, a routine. Thus, the paper-cutter is at once an object produced in a certain way and, on the other hand, one leaving a specific use; and one can not postulate a man who produces a paper-cutter but does not know what it is used for. Therefore, let us say that, for the paper-cutter, essence-that is, the ensemble of both the production routines and the properties which enable it to be both produced and defined-precedes existence. Thus, the presence of the paper-cutter or book in front of me is determined. Therefore, we have here a technical view of the world whereby it can be said that production precedes existence. When we conceive God as the Creator, He is generally thought of as a superior sort of artisan. Whatever doctrine we may be considering, whether one like that of Descartes or that of Leibniz, we always grant that will more or less follows understanding or, at the very least, accompanies it, and that when God creates He knows exactly what he is creating. Thus, the concept of man in the mind of God is comparable to the concept of a paper-cutter in the mind of the manufacturer, and, following certain techniques and a conception, God produces man, just as the artisan, following a definition and a technique, makes a paper-cutter. Thus, the individual man is the realization of a certain concept in the divine intelligence. In the eighteenth century, the atheism of the philosophers discarded the idea of God, but not so much for the notion that essence precedes existence. To a certain extent, this idea is found everywhere; we find it in Diderot, in Voltaire, and even in Kant. Man has a human nature; this human nature, which is the concept of the human, is found in all men, which means that each man is a particular example of a universal concept, man. In Kant, the result of this universality is that the wild-man, the natural man, as well as the bourgeois, are circumscribed by the same definition and have the same basic qualities. Thus, here too the essence of man precedes the historical existence that we find in nature. Atheistic existentialism, which I represent, is more coherent. It states that if God does not exist, there is at least one being in whom existence precedes essence, a being who exists before he can be defined by any concept, and that this being is man, or, as Heidegger says, human reality. What is meant here by saying that existence precedes essence? It means that, first of all, man exists, turns up, appears on the scene, and, only afterwards, defines himself. If man, as the existentialist conceives him, is indefinable, it is because at first he is nothing. Only afterward will he be something, and he himself will have made what he will be. Thus, there is no human nature, since there is no God to conceive it. Not only is man what he conceives himself to be, but he is also only what he wills himself to be after this thrust toward existence. Man is nothing else but what he makes of himself. Such is the first principle of existentialism. It is also what is called subjectivity, the name we are labeled with when charges are brought against us. But what do we mean by this, if not that man has a greater dignity than a stone or table? For we mean that man first exists, that is, that man first of all is the being who hurls himself toward a future and who is conscious of imagining himself as being in the future. Man is at the start a plan which is aware of itself, rather than a patch of moss, a piece of garbage, or a cauliflower nothing exists prior to this plan; there is nothing in heaven; man will be what he will have planned to be. Not what he will want to be. Because by the word will we generally mean a conscious decision, which is subsequent to what we have already made of ourselves. I may want to belong to a political party, write a book, get married; but all that is only a manifestation of an earlier, more spontaneous choice that is called will. But if existence really does precede essence, man is responsible for what he is. Thus, existentialisms first move is to make every man aware of what he is and to make the full responsibility of his existence rest on him. And when we say that a man is responsible for himself, we do not only mean that he is responsible for his own individuality, but that he is responsible for all men. The word subjectivism has two meanings, and our opponents play on the two. Subjectivism means, on the one hand, that an individual chooses and makes himself; and, on the other, that it is impossible for man to transcend human subjectivity. The second of these is the essential meaning of existentialism. When we say that man chooses his own self, we mean that every one of us does likewise; but we also mean by that that in making this choice he also chooses all men. In fact, in creating the man that we want to be, there is not a single one of our acts which does not at the same time create an image of man as we think he ought to be. To choose to be this or that is to affirm at the same time the value of what we choose, because we can never choose evil. We always choose the good, and nothing can be good for us without b eing good for all. If, on the other hand, existence precedes essence, and if we grant that we exist and fashion our image at one and the same time, the image is valid for everybody and for our whole age. Thus, our responsibility is much greater than we might have supposed, because it involves all mankind. If I am a workingman and choose to join a Christian trade-union rather than be a communist, and if by being a member I want to show that the best thing for man is resignation, that the kingdom of man is not of this world, I am not only involving my own case-I want to be resigned for everyone. As a result, my action has involved all humanity. To take a more individual matter, if I want to marry, to have children; even if this marriage depends solely on my own circumstances or passion or wish, I am involving all humanity in monogamy and not merely myself. Therefore, I am responsible for myself and for everyone else. I am creating a certain image of man of my own choosing. In choosing myself, I choose ma n.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Neural Correlates of Religious Experience

Neural Correlates of Religious Experience An Exploration of the Reason, Methods and Research of the Neural Correlates of Religious Experience Jennifer Romano Abstract Spiritual and Religious experiences often remain and power and mysterious aspect of humanity. The aim of this paper is to address the reasons, methods and literature around the neural correlates of these events. Studying the underlying mechanisms behind these phenomenons can be controversial as it raises philosophical dilemmas. However, this research is important to further the understanding of the human condition. Recent imaging studies indicate several brain regions (frontal lobes and limbic system) associated with religious experience. Through a streamlining of these methodologies, it is anticipated that these studies will provide implications for integrating spirituality into psychotherapy. An Exploration of the Reason, Methods and Research of the Neural Correlates of Religious Experience There is a voyager condition known as â€Å"Jerusalem Syndrome,† whereby tourists to Jerusalem begin to develop a psychosomatic illness in which they experience deeply religious delusions, such as believing they are God or other characters from the Bible (Kalian Witztum, 2002). Some psychiatrists hypothesize that this disorder may develop as a result of an incongruence between their expectations of the holy city and the reality that it is, in fact, a modern city. Others speculate that many of these travelers are pilgrims, and upon arriving in Jerusalem, they feel closer to God, and it is this intense feeling of propinquity that leads to this strange psychological reaction. Other voyager syndromes exist as well. Stendhal syndrome and Paris Syndrome have also been reported, but are believed to be an intense psychological reaction to the quantity and quality of art in both Florence and Paris, respectively (Smith, 2010). All experiences, whether religious or not, are brain based and therefore provide both a psychological and physiological response. That is why standing before the Temple Mount or standing before a sculpture by Michelangelo can both send shivers down your spine or move you to tears. Spiritual or religious experiences like the ones mentioned above continue to be a mysterious phenomenon that warrants further study. Why Study Neural Correlates of Religious Experiences? Spirituality is an aspect of humanity that the field of psychology is just beginning to tap into. Surveys indicate that over 90% of United States believes in a god and 58% categorized religion as important to them (Shafranske, 1996). For this reason and several others, Pargament (2007) argues, spirituality cannot be separated from psychotherapy and in many cases can be both part of the problem and the solution for those that the field serves. Through understanding the neural mechanisms behind religious belief and behaviors, psychologists could potentially unlock new resources in practicing spiritually integrated psychotherapy. A study of the neurological correlates of religious or spiritual experiences inevitably runs into the discourse of mind and body dualism. During the 17th century, Descartes proposed his revolutionary idea that the mind and body were separate entities. He hypothesized that the mind was the ethereal component to our thoughts while the brain was the material, but neither entity can function alone. Much the same, Aristotle theorized centuries earlier that thoughts and feelings actually came from the heart rather than the brain. Eastern philosophy has held the notion for centuries suggesting that the mind/body connection is integrated and holistic. This notion was threatened with the advent of modern western medicine. Science provided a mechanistic model of health. Alan Turing, one of the forerunners of the cognitive revolution, suggested that humans operated on the same production rules as computers in his computational-representational paradigm (Boden, 2006). This has lead to the exclusion of the spiritual and religion in the study of modern psychology. In fact, the field of psychology has not always embraced religion. Freud used psychological theory to discount religion as a whole, suggesting that people invented god as a form of wish fulfillment that had its roots in unresolved childhood conflict (Freud, 1950). Much the same, B.F. Skinner rejected the notion of God, dissolving religion down to a form of behavioral control (Skinner, 1971). These two forefathers ushered in the advent of modern science in studying the human psyche. With this societal change came the prediction of religion dissolution, and yet, it still remains. Recently, psychologists have begun to advocate for a pragmatic approa ch to studying humanity’s spiritual and religious correlates. The modern approach appears to be that the mind is in fact the less tangible functions of the brain; however both the material and phenomenological are relevant to study in religious and spiritual experiences. William James in his book The Varieties of Religious Experience highlighted the danger of a reductionist explanation of religious experiences. He writes â€Å"ideals appear as inert by-products of physiology; what is higher is explained by what is lower and treated forever as a case of ‘nothing but’- nothing but something else of an inferior sort.† (James, 1981, p.8) It is important to consider neuropsychological research through this lens. However, understanding the underlying mechanisms does not necessarily take away the meaning that people find in their experiences. Does knowing that the neurotransmitters involved in the feelings of love make the experience of a mother’s love personally less meaningful? Who is to say that God did not construct us w ith the capacity to engage in these experiences? Jones (2010) argued that further study into the neuroscience of religious experience can only extend the understanding of the human condition. It is with this frame of reference that practitioners should interpret the knowledge gained through this research. Methods of Neural Correlate Studies As with all scientific research, an operational definition of religious experience is needed before any effective examination can be done. This is a current issue within this line of study as religious behaviors, beliefs and experiences are complex phenomenon. Studying any experiential component relies on subjective measures as having experience is not easily observable to an outside investigator. Religious and spiritual experiences are defined on an individual level. McNarama (2002) suggested that religious experiences involve intense cognitive and emotional reactions to humanity’s â€Å"ultimate concerns.† These may include behaviors such as prayer, meditation, and chanting. Most subjective measures that are used often include cognitive, emotional, and psychological parameters (Newberg, 2014). It is not enough to just acknowledge the existence of the experience, rather in order to understand the construct more thoroughly, objective measures are required. Physiological parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate, and hormonal changes have been used to look at the basic biological reactions to these experiences. Nevertheless, these only provide a foundational understanding of the effects of spiritual experience in the human brain. Studies show that changes in the autonomic nervous system are multifarious, in that a relaxation response may also have arousal components (Hugdhal, 1996). In order to understand these complexities, researchers must look in the brain. The current instruments to do this include imaging devices. Electroencephalography (EEG) measures electrical activity in the brain, but only allows for broad implications in the areas of activation. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allows for more localized assessment through measuring cerebral blood flow, however the machinery is limiting in measuring practices that can not be completed laying down. Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) allow for more specificity in measuring neurotransmitter systems in brain activation. It is important to note that all of these measures, while helpful can only provide correlations and should not be implied to measure causal effects. Literature Review From what has been observed, religious experiences are common across age, time and culture (Wach, 1951). Many understand religious experience to be like any other experience. Just as someone may feel joy, love, fear, or awe in regards to any ordinary object, in a religious experience all these same feelings are there, they are just superimposed towards a religious object. Previously it was proposed that the same limbic and subcortical networks that supported non-religious feelings were activated in experiencing religious feelings as well (Saver Ravin, 1997). This led to a substantial inference that religious experiences are generated as a difference in perception, rather than a difference in sensation. Essentially, Saver and Ravin supposed that individuals interpret a religious stimulus in unique ways according to the cognitive expectations that they carry. In 2001, researchers conducted a study to see if religious experience was in fact due to attribution as Saver and Rabin suggested or if these experiences were pre-conceptual. To test this, they observed brain activation via positron emission tomography (PET) scan in religious/non-religious subjects as they recited a psalm. They hypothesized that if the religious experience was an attributional phenomenon, there would be activation in the frontal parietal lobe, an area known for reasoning. However if pre-conceptual, they expected to see activation in the limbic system, which is in charge of emotions. Interestingly enough, they found that a religious state involved areas of cognitive processes, supporting the attribution phenomenon (Azari et. al, 2001). They also concluded that religious experience did not elicit the same emotional experience or arousal as compared to non-religious subjects in a happy state, furthering the evidence for the theory of attribution. While the results from this study have led to the understanding of the difference between mental states in religious and non-religious subjects, it does not isolate the variable of belief itself. This becomes especially important when religious experience is understood as logical cognitive process. It begs the question, where do these cognitions originate? In a study completed in 2009, researchers found that religious thinking is more associated with the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, a region that governs emotion, self-representation, and cognitive conflict, whereas ordinary facts were more reliant on memory retrieval networks (Harris et. al, 2009). So while this still supports the theory that religious experience and thought come from a logical part of our brains, it adds another layer, claiming that we still deal with religion in an emotional way. Beauregaurd and Paquette (2008) used fMRI scans to observe brain activation in Carmelite nuns when asked to re-experience their most intense spiritual connection. Results indicated that there was significant overlap in activation of those nuns asked to re-experience an intense spiritual interaction and those asked to relive an intense human interaction. However, there was greater activation in the prefrontal cortex, medial temporal cortex, and insular cortex for those participants in the spiritual group. The most interesting of these activations was in the insular cortex as this part of the brain is implied in interpreting visceral stimuli. This infers that those with a spiritual experience â€Å"felt† their connection deep down within in their bodies. McNarma hypothesized that the activation in the frontal lobes may have implications for the intrinsically rewarding properties of spiritual experiences (McNamara, 2002). This supposition may explain why spiritual or religious ex periences may feel so good. Conclusion Overall, imaging studies seem to indicate the frontal lobes and limbic system are involved in various religious and spiritual experiences (Newberg, 2014). It is important to note that with the methodological discrepancies in the field there is still a great amount of within group variance that should continue to be explored. Spiritual experiences such as prayer, mediation, or even pilgrimage such as in Jerusalem Syndrome are naturalistically powerful events. Through studying the mechanisms that lie beneath these events, psychologists may be able to identify the healing components and in turn inspire the development of the human psyche. References Azari N., Nickel J, Wunderlich G, Niedeggen M, Hefter H, et al. (2001). Neural correlates of religious experience. European Journal of Neuroscience, 13, 1649–1652. Beauregard, M., Paquette, V. (2008). EEG activity in Carmelite nuns during a mystical experience. Neuroscience Letters, 4441-4. doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2008.08.028. Boden, M.A. (2006). Mind as Machine: A history of cognitive science. (Vol . 1). Oxford, England: Clarendon. Freud, S. (1950). Totem and taboo (J. Stratchey, Trans.). New York: Norton Company. (Original work published in 1913). Harris, S., Kaplan, J. T., Curiel, A., Bookheimer, S. Y., Iacoboni, M., Cohen, M. S. (2009). The neural correlates of religious and nonreligious belief. Plos ONE, 4(10), 1-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0007272. Hugdahl, K. (1996). Cognitive inà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uences on human autonomic nervous systemfunction. Current Opinion: Neurobiology. 6, 252–258. doi: 10.1016/S0959-4388(96) 80080-8. James, W. (1981). The varieties of religious experience. New York: Penguin. Jones, D. (2010). Peering into peoples brains: Neurosciences intrusion into our inner sanctum. Perspectives On Science Christian Faith, 62(2), 122-132. Kalain, M., and Witztum, E. (2002). Jerusalem syndrome as reflected in the pilgrimage and biographies of four extraordinary women from the 14th century to the end of the second millennium. Mental health, religion culture, 5(1). doi: 10.108/13670110068505 McNamara, P. H. (2002). The motivational origins of religious practices. Zygon, 37(1), 143-160. Newberg, A.B. (2014). The neuroscientific study of spiritual practice. Frontiers in psychology (5:215), doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00215. Pargament, K. I. (2007). Spiritually integrated psychotherapy: Understanding and addressing the sacred. New York: Guilford Press. Saver, J., Rabin, J. (1997). The neural substrates of religious experience. Journal of neuropsychiatry, 9(3), 498-510. Shafranske, E.P. Malony, H.M. (1996) Religion and the clinical practice of clinical psychology: a case for inclusion. In E.P. Shafranske (Ed.), Religion and the clinical practice of psychotherapy , 561-586. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. Skinner, B.F. (1971). Beyond freedom and dignity. New York: Knopf. Smith, T. (2010, August 15). When art makes a strong impression. Baltimore Sun, pp. 1, 7. Wach, J. (1951). Types of religious experience. (pp. 30-47). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Wildman, W. J., McNamara, P. (2008). Challenges facing the neurological study of religious behavior, belief, and experience. Method Theory In The Study Of Religion, 20(3), 212- 242. doi:10.1163/157006808X317455

Saturday, July 20, 2019

United Nations Childrens Fund :: essays research papers

Introduction (United Nations Children's Fund [UNICF], n.d.)The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is a leading advocate for women and children rights. Founded in 1946 and active in 157 countries and territories around the world. The UNICEF has committed it resources to achieve results for children in five major areas: Rights to an education Best possible start in life Safeguard against disease, provide immunizations Stop spread of AIDS/HIV and care for those already infected Protection from violence, exploitation, abuse and discrimination UNICEF’s mission is to remain focus on these five priorities all over the world in all circumstances including conflicts, war, natural disasters, emergencies and also in times of peace. In order to accomplish their mission UNICEF’s management must take into account ethics in planning and the factors of strategy, tactics, operations and contingency which influence each plan in management. Strategy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Management at The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) must have a strategic plan which serves as the framework to build â€Å"A World Fit for Children.†(UNICEF [UNICEF], 1998) To plan strategically management must take into account UNCEF vision and mission and there strengths, weakness and threats to accomplish their goals.(World Health Organization [WHO], 2003, 1) An example of this is UNICEF working with all those who share their commitment to the rights of every child. Organizations such as World Health Organization (WHO) who have been working with UNICEF on a strategy to fight vaccine-preventable diseases called The Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) goal is to fight vaccine-preventable diseases, which kill more than two million people every year, two thirds of those killed are children. WHO and UNICEF will assist governments in designing, financing and implementing national immunization programs while also taking into account et hics involving culture and religious beliefs of those who do not believe in immunizations. Tactical The tactical plan of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) management must describe how the organizations goals will be met and by when. It must also entail plans to help assure ethical business practices throughout UNICEF. The success of these goals will depend on the quality of there programs, information, communication, advocacy and the excellence of their internal management and operations. UNICEF management must hold them selves accountable to do all that they can for the success of their goals by planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reporting to achieve the results in the five major areas to change the world to serve the best interest of the child. Operational Operational planning in Management at the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is setting out clearly the implementation of the strategic plan against specific objectives.

Ken Sandes The Peace Maker Essay -- Ken Sande Peace Maker Essays

Ken Sande's â€Å"The Peace Maker† A â€Å"biblical guide to resolving personal conflict†, this, in a nutshell is what â€Å"The Peace Maker† is all about. In this critical book review I will be taking topics from the book and giving the reader my personal views on how I either reacted or related to the topics covered. My goal for this paper is to give the reader a non-biased opinion of â€Å"The Peace Maker†, which was published by Baker Books in June of 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To first critique a book you must have some background information on the author himself and why he is qualified to write a book on conflict management through a biblical perspective. Ken Sande is the author of the book as well as being the president of Peacemaker Ministries, which is a company designed to offer Christians conflict training by using the bible and its scriptures. Mr. Sande who is an engineer and lawyer by trade has been using his peacemaking skills since 1982 to solve conflicts in business, in the church and in family disputes. Ken is a Certified Christian Conciliatorâ„ ¢ and has served on such committees as the Christian Legal Society and the Dispute Resolution Committee of the State Bar of Montana, which is where he earned his qualifications to write this book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The Peace Maker†, is what I would describe as a self-help book that can be read by anyone that wants to have a solid understanding of conflict resolution and it does not matter if you are a Christian or not this book makes good points on how to solve conflict. If you are a non-Christian this is a bit harder of a read because of the constant reference to the bible and its scriptures but there are a lot of valid points that are made even without the references to the bible.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purpose of this book is to inform the reader of the best course of action to take when trying to resolve conflict while at the same time preserving God’s good grace, which can be difficult even at the best of times. In order to do this the reader must stick to the four G’s of biblical conflict management which are to Glorify God, Get the log out of your own eye, Gently restore and Go and be reconciled. By following these four G’s you will bring praise to God and hopefully open up others to his glorious ways. At times in the book the author’s point of view goes from being an informer of ways to deal with conflict into being more of a preacher of the... ...this is in chapter 9 where he states that you can read one of his other books to get more information on being a reconciler but a reconciler does the same thing a mediator does but not to the same extent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, this book has showed me some good techniques to solving conflict and has showed me that the bible can have an influence on people even if you are not a Christian, like myself. I do admit that this book is not for everyone but if you can look past the downfalls that I have pointed out and find the relevant information this book can be an essential tool to any mediator or negotiator. I think this would be an excellent book for any person who is involved with the church who plans on taking on mediator roles because â€Å"The Peace Maker† offers great tips on how to bring estranged siblings back together as well as reuniting failed marriages. I would suggest this book to anyone that is taking a conflict management course that has not had the opportunity to see how to solve conflict from a biblical perspective because to be an effective mediator or negotiator you should be able to use all the resources available to solve any conflict that might be presented to you.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Electronic Arts and the Global Video Game Industry Essay -- Video Game

Electronic Arts and the Global Video Game Industry Demographic trends   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gaming has become an important part of growing up for people who were born in the last 25 years. Approximately 3.9 - 4.7% of total world population (250 to 300 million people) is  ¡Ã‚ §very active ¡Ã‚ ¨ or a  ¡Ã‚ §frequent ¡Ã‚ ¨ player of video games or at least owns the necessary equipment. This target group spends five or more hours a week playing video games. The United States is the largest video game market in the world with about 50% of the US population (145 Million people) spending 6.5 hours a week on computers and video games.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of video game players are preteens, teenagers, and young adults (between the age of 20 and 40). A full 70% of college students play video games at least occasionally in a year and 100% had played at some point in their life. The average age of game players in the US in 2003 is 29 years old and hard-core gamers purchase 10-15 new games annually. Indeed, the average age of game players is rising because gamers continue to play into their adult years, of those over age 50, 17% play video games up from 13% in 2000. The number of females who played console games dramatically rose also to about 40%. It is interesting to note that gamers over the age of 35 like to play games on PCs while those younger than 35 preferred console systems. Socio-cultural   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many people think spending many hours in front of either PCs or video game consoles is not a good hobby for kids. There are many issues such as health, personality, motivation and especially violence and aggression . Some people believe violence in video games and in other media promotes violent behavior among participants. It can contribute to players becoming overweight by decreasing outdoor activity and reducing the capability of eye-sight. The content of violent games could account for changes in the player's mood and cause him or her to become more aggressive or emotional. Political/Legal   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The video game business is an interdependent industry. Companies have to pay a customary royalty to the console makers. The console manufacturer have the power to authorize all games, limited the number of games, marketing plan and even the quantity of production. The guidelines and restrictions put forth by the Software Rating Board (ESRB) effects the content, storylines and features of vi... ...at encourages creativity but also will pull the plug on ideas in the early stages so that they can concentrate resources on ventures that are more likely to pay off. Because of this most of the games EA creates are sequels to previously successful franchise brands. Finally, the company is one that prides itself on moral character. EA ¡Ã‚ ¦s Chairman and CEO Lawrence Probst states that  ¡Ã‚ §EA will not publish games with gratuitous sex and violence. ¡Ã‚ ¨ This is an important distinguishing point in an industry that is know for pushing the edge of decency with regard to sex, violence and drugs. SWOT Analysis Strengths „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dominate Player in market „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Great game franchises „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  International reach „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strong talent pipeline „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Moral leadership  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weaknesses „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poor Relationship with Microsoft „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Overly focused business (on games) Opportunities „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mobile market „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cell phone market „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In car equipment „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Branch out into other forms of media (TV, movies) „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Online gaming  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Threats „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rising production costs. „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New entrants especially in the mobile market „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Console upgrades „X  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Increasing development costs

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Goodnight Mr.Tom Review

Review of Goodnight Mr. Tom by Michelle Magorian Goodnight Mr. Tom is set in the midst of World War II and the German attacks of London. In the novel many children are sent away from England? s capital onto pacific places for protection. These children are called refugees and they are to stay in the houses of the inhabitants. This is then, the destiny of little William Beech who is sent to Little Wierwold to Tom Oakley, the man who shelters him. The child was being abused by his mother so he is very shy. Therefore, Mr. Oakley helps him confront his problems and Willie drastically changes.He starts to make friends like Zacharias Wrench, or Zach for short. They become best friends and have marvelous moments together. Afterwards, Williams’s mother asks for him to go back to London as she is sick. Beech? s mother really is insane and when they enter the house she says she has a surprise. The surprise was that Mrs. Beech has had a baby. He actually returns to the nightmare he lived before being a refugee, so Mr. Oakley foresees that Willie is passing a terrible time and rescues him from the tiny room in which Mrs.Beech has locked him up. Mr. Tom immediately buys train tickets for Little Wierwold and so, they returned to their home in this little town. Months later, Mrs. Beech commits suicide as a result of her loneliness and Mr. Tom caringly adopts William. The story ends when William? s best friend Zach dies because of a bomb. Will then confronts his friend? s death having both good and bad experiences, which helps him grow physically and mentally. The main characters of this novel are William Beech, Tom Oakley, Zacharias Wrench and Mrs. Beech.William Beech, at the beginning of the story is an apprehensive, emaciated boy who does not have any self-confidence and is very mistrusting. Although he is very different on the inside, Will founds this throughout the book. When Willie starts his life with Mr. Tom, he changes abruptly and transforms into a talkative a nd active little boy. He also discovers he is an excellent artist and makes drawing his favorite hobby. What I really appreciate about this character is that he emerged from being a shy child to a talkative one who loves socializing with others around him.Tom Oakley is also a very important character in this novel. Mr. Tom is at first a grouchy old man who is immerged in the four walls of his house but when Willie arrives to his life he transforms into a social, caring and loving man who supports Will in everything he needs. Tom was very depressed because his wife had died giving birth and soon after his son, William, also died. At first Mr. Oakley took this as a coincidence, assuming William was a common name in London. Although as the months went by he realizes it this is not just a coincidence but something much deeper.Fate had brought them together so that both Tom and Willie could cure the injuries and pains they had been absorbing and keeping inside themselves. Another very im portant and special character is Zacharias Wrench â€Å"Zack for short† as he says in the novel. This character is a boy about the same age as Willie, who is a very swinging boy who likes talking to everybody. As soon he sees someone nice he immediately approaches to the person and starts talking to it as if he knows it for a long time. Zach becomes Willie? s best friend and because of him William lets â€Å"escape the Zach from him†. Goodnight Mr.Tom is definitely an incredible story. I enjoyed it so much that I have read it two times. My favorite moment on the novel is the end because Willie has improved amazingly and says to Mr. Tom who is now his dad: â€Å"Dad, I? ve grown†. I find this particular moment very emotive because despite all the challenges he has faced, he moves on with an amazing courage. I can definitively recommend this book to both adults and children (11 years +) as it makes you reflect a lot and it’s a very deep novel. I would also love to read another book by Michelle Magorian because she is a very good writer.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Of mice and men help Essay

Mens view of wo puddleforce The working mens view of women is uni wee to buy women comparable they buy a drink so even women did non founder beseeming rights just like Crooks, men would non gestate of having a proper kinship with women although Curley did fool a wife he also used to go let on with the vernal(prenominal) men into town and so there is a possibility that he may draw spent a night in a harlot house with other women.In the refreshful Steinbeck did not give Curleys wife a real name as each(prenominal) the workers referred to her as a sporting lady, streetwalker or simply Curleys wife. This shows and adds to how women were treated and seen as in society by men for the gritground that they atomic number 18 more dominant. How they sp dying their while The men have their disembarrass time on a Saturday night into the town, the men preempt go to whore houses, have a horseshoe tournament and happen money. They would spend galore(postnominal) money on drinks and play card games, solitaire and enjoin magazines.They would completelyow Crooks to play with them and join in so that he was not all t senile considered an outcast plainly they still make fun of him so Crooks spends most of his free time translation books as this is the scarcely way he is not discriminated and so he trances of a being seen as an equal to of all timeyone else, he knows his civil rights and he also remembers childhood when he vie with the white children who came up to his familys grumbler ranch plus longs for a same relationship with white battalion again. around of the other workers romance about a life that they dont have for example George and Lennie, they trance of owning a humble patch of land. Prejudice In the reinvigorated of mice and men prejudice plays a big part and it is shared among some of the characters like glaze, Crooks and Lennie and they were also considered as outcasts these all have some kind of deadening also their p ositions were low in the ranch. Candy was considered an outcast in position to his ruminate because of his hand cut of by a machine so he can not work whence he is considered an outcast, in appurtenance he is old so he different from other hands.Crooks is disabled because he was kicked in the patronize by a horse and as a result became a cripple on top this he was inglorious so he was racially treat as well, he was mostly maltreated by the boss because he seems to suck up it out on him. This was because the boss knew that he could not do anything for example he gave the stable buck hell because George and Lennie were new-fashioned arriving to the ranch so he took his impatience out on Crooks and so Crooks could not fight for his rights.Lennie is retarded and his mind is the advance of a new-fashioned child, as children like to stoke soft things Lennie likes to stroke mice because they are soft and he likes to pet them. Lennie has no physical disability so he can go out and work with the rest of the workers and to the advant mount of his strong frame he can buck barleycorn very fast in addition he can follow operating instructions very well. Loneliness Loneliness affects many another(prenominal) of the characters, and Steinbeck seems to show that it is a natural and indispensable result of the life they are oblige to follow.Steinbeck shows that the workers are caught in a maw of lonesomeness and they neer seem to range in one place to form a permanent relationship or even think of one. Even if they did have one then it would be presumable that the relationship would not stay unneurotic or even have problems by the demands of the workers life. Candy is lone(prenominal) because of his old age and the only company he has is his old train and this reminds him of the days when he was young and whole. Candy has no relatives and once his dog is shot he is totally unsocial and he tries to get into George and Lennies dream of having a piece lan d.George is also caught in the trap of loneliness when he is constrained to shoot his companion in the back of the show, like Candy and his dog George had Lennie (who is set forth as an animal) he is left lonely as well at the end of the novel. Another lonely character is Curleys Wife, she is fresh married and in a new strange place. Curley forbade her to talk to anyone through his jealousy and so she countered it by approaching workers to look were Curley is in door ways therefore the men regarded her as a slut and that became her name other than Curleys wife.Steinbeck never gave Curleys Wife a name. Finally loneliness leads to her death as she tries to overcome Curleys instructions by letting Lennie purport her hair consequently Curley is now left alone because he chose a wife which was totally inappropriate for his life that he leads in an attempt to overcome his loneliness. This is because all the workers despise him for his cowardice. Crooks is another who is isolated bec ause he is different, he tries to cope with this by retentiveness a distance from the other workers and reading books as these are his only companions. DreamsIn the novel Dreams is something that some characters use to beleaguer with loneliness of their existence. The most obvious dream in the novel is George and Lennies dream call forth, this dream is only shared by the two at first but then later spreads to Candy and Crooks. The American dream is what tidy sum used to think that in America there is a piece of land for everyone because of its vast lands, this gave people a sense of Independence and this is what make them go on and continue to face the harsh realities of life most people were likely to never achieve their dreams.This is revealed in the verse form by Crooks seems live ever guy got land in is head. The reason why Lennie asks George to recite the descriptions of the farm is because it is an antidote to overcome his disappointment and loneliness. Curleys wife is a nother who has dreams and they were to become a movie star and the life of highlife and fame, this comes to nothing when Lennie kills her. Conclusion In coating the name to this book tells you the about the novel in a few words.The title of this book is taken from an Irish poem by Alfred Burns The best lay plans of mice and men always go rail at. Steinbeck has portrayed this in a crystalise way as the story deals with so many dreams from the characters point of view and so none of these were destined to come legitimate anyway. Show preview only The in a higher place preview is unformatted text This student write piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE John Steinbeck section.

Mandatory Life without Parole for Juveniles Essay

decision maker SUMMARYCurrently, over 2,500 people argon luck a invigoration decl are without the option of free for abominations act as childlikes. Fortunately, this indemnity is non considered in all separates. Twelve call forths progress to discontinued bread and butter declares without the option of tidings for teens. Al or so two- thirds of support history story without parole sentences for youngs (JLWOP) happens in five states. Seventy-three children were mounts 13 or 14 at measure that their crime was act. explore has been conducted that proves the vast difference in brain ripening of a child compared to an adult. parliamentary procedure does not book minors to purchase cigarettes or alcohol, enlist into the armed serve or enter into a legal stick entertainment such(prenominal) as an apartment under lift out until the age of 18 or older because of the association that minors are not mature affluent to make certain decisions. However, when a min or commits homicide we allow in them to be sentenced as an adult and disregard their fond(p) brain development and decreased culpability. It is the responsibility of hostelry to protect our children from uncivilized and eccentric punishment such as upstart life without parole sentences. The policy brief entrust give a report of the jejune person person legal expert constitution, trends, and current state. Brief will in any case address importance of the problem and recommendations for disentangle of this policy.CONTEXT AND IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEMAlmost everyone would agree that children are the core of our future. Therefore, it is crying that we have laws/policies in place that will protect them from cruel and odd punishment in any capacity. However, much view continues to arise concerning obligatory life in prison without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders. In attempting to channel a social policy concerning the juvenile arbitrator system it is important to address the concern in its context. Therefore, reviewing the history of the juvenile justice system is impearned run averagetive when attempting to understand the system in its current state.The spatial relation of society towards juvenile offenders has drastically transformd over the old age and hence impacted the boilersuit stopping point of the system. The juvenile system was established in the late 1800s with the goal to iron out and rehabilitate. During this time it was thebelief that prominent environments caused bad children. Consequently, specialized institutions called reformatories were formed to inseminate home similar environments. The main belief that cause this structure of the system was that children were far polar from adults and would have unique unmarriedised needs. Contrary to the gentle idea of reformatories children were often subjected to tart labor conditions in factories and farms.Often, children who r separatelyed xv years of age were seen as children with little to no hope of reformation and as a result were transferred to adult prisons. During this era the system was not prepared to address just offenses pull by juveniles and therefore lacked execution of schematic due adjoin rights. In 1899 the first juvenile court system was created and soon after in 1906 the first federal system followed. By 1925, closely all states established juvenile court systems and probation services. imputable to a issue in 1966 the flirt unflinching that juveniles had the right to have procedural protections and due process rights. In the late 1980s violent crimes committed by juveniles dramatically increased. The increase in crime resulted in stricter crime legislation all through with(predicate) the nation. The new legislation was said to be motivated by fear due to frequent incidents of rail violence. This legislation formed the belief that adult crimes should be addressed with adult punishment.Consequences to juvenile crime seemed to be more punitive, contrary to past ideas of replacement and reform for juveniles. The progeny of juvenile offenders being imprisoned exaggerated and the cruelty of sentencing began to include life without parole. More recently, it seems that the overall attitude of society has changed again towards juvenile offenders. Society has begun to focus on the obvious differences between children and adults and childrens ability to mature and change. Recent studies on adolescent brain development confirm that children are different from adults in ways that are important when attempting to disclose appropriate sentences for juveniles. In addition, recent Supreme coquet rulings have criminalizened the use of capital punishment for juveniles and overly limited life without parole sentences to homicide offenders. Furthermore, in 2012 the Court ordered judges to consider each various(prenominal) childs mitigating circumstances.This ruling proscribe required sen tences of life without parole for all juveniles. In 2005, roper v. Simmons, the Supreme Court ruled that juveniles drop no longer be sentenced to death forcrimes committed when they were younger than 18 years of age. This ruling stated that a death sentence was cruel and unusual punishment for juveniles as they are immature and therefore slight(prenominal) culpable. Consequently, this ruling affected 72 juvenile offenders in twelve states. Before this decision 22 people were killed for crimes committed as minors. Following the Roper decision the harshest sentence for a minor was life without parole. In 2010 Graham v. Florida, the Court banned life without parole sentencing for minors not convicted of clear up. The ruling at a time affected the sentencing of 123 prisoners. Following this ruling it was recognized that crimes that do not end in murder were less de inspection and repair of the most serious punishment. After the rulings that prohibited the death penalty for minors and restricted the sentence of life without parole to murder crimes almost 2,500 prisoners were serving sentences of life without parole for crimes committed as minors.However, in 2012 miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs, the Supreme Court ruled that for minors the life without parole sentence was a direct violation of the octeth Amendment. This ruling required that judges consider the juveniles character and rationalize circumstances in an attempt to give a fair sentence. As stated previously, a number of professionals have reported that adolescent brains are not fully developed and therefore over time will develop and provide capability for change as children mature. Adolescence is known to be noticeable by transient rashness and inability to assess consequences.In addition, people serving life without parole sentences lives start but usually have been plagued with difficult upbringings, picture to violence, and direct abuse. It is important that when determining sentencin g for a juvenile that family and home environment are considered. Moreover, racial variety seems to factor into the burden of this sentence. While 23.2% of juvenile arrests for murder involve an Afri hind end American suspected of cleanup position a white person, 42.4% of JLWOP sentences are for African-American convicted of this crime. gaberdine juvenile offenders with African American victims are simply half as likely to receive JLWOP sentences nigh 2,000 prisoners who are currently serving juvenile life without parole sentences may be affected by this decision.The most recent ruling, Miller v. Alabama affects mandatory sentencingpolicies in 29 states and the federal government. There are currently no guidelines about how states should implement retroactivity of this ruling. As a result, there have been very different reactions to the way that states will handle retroactivity of this ruling. Some state Supreme Courts have decided that Mille implies retroactively and differen t states have decided that Miller is not retroactive. However, most states have not changed their statues and therefore have left wing many prisoners anxiously waiting for possible resentencing.Currently, fifteen states do not have prisoners serving life without parole sentences and the remaining 35 states have less than 100 prisoners serving life without parole sentences for crimes committed as juveniles. Furthermore, the monetary personify for JLWOP is astronomical. Housing apostrophize for juveniles serving LWOP requires decades of public expenditures. It is estimated that the annual live for captivity per inmate is approximately 31,000. Due to increased medical examination expenses after the age of 55 the annual cost raises to 65,000. Therefore, a lifetime sentence for a juvenile will cost taxpayers almost 2 one thousand thousand dollars.SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONSThere have been great strides concerning cruel and unusual punishment for sentencing of juvenile offenders. Remov ing juvenile life without parole for all juveniles would not guarantee squirt of offenders. However, it would provide the opportunity for the offenders case to be reviewed once he/she has hangd a possible amount of their sentence. During this review the offenders individual circumstances, such as their family and home environment would be considered when decided to buckle under the possibility of parole. In several other countries a mandatory review is completed once the offenders serve 10 to 15 years of their sentence. However, if sufficient rehabilitation has not occurred the individual will remain in prison and some other review be given in the next five years. There is emergence support for this method of reform concerning JLWOP. The state of atomic number 20 now provides offenders a realistic opportunity at parole after 15-25 years if their crime was committed while they were minors.Also, requiring Millers retroactivity for all states would be a great stridein the doma in of a function of policy reform. Opponents to retroactivity argue that Miller did not ban life without parole for juvenile offenders but preferably required that a judge follow a particular process when imposing the penalty. Those against retroactivity also play up the significant cost of requiring this. They also dispute that resentencing could take resources from current cases in order to focus on old cases where facts may not be visible(prenominal) or non-existent. Furthermore, this could activate the right to counsel for offenders who like to challenge their sentence which would also add to the cost of retroactivity. Opponents strongly insist that funds would be purify directed at reforming juvenile sentencing for sentencing after Miller.On the contrary, proponents of retroactivity argue that the court meant for its ruling to be retroactive. Opponents state that once a new rule is structural to the defendant in the case announcing the rule, evenhanded justice requires th at it be applied retroactively to all who are similarly situated. For that reason, when the Court reversed Jackson v. Hobbs it also authorized the retroactivity of other cases similar positioned. Replacing mandatory life without parole with lesser sentences such as life with the possibility of parole or eliminating juvenile life without parole altogether is also another recommendation for reform of this policy.The best solution seems to be individualized sentencing for juvenile offenders. This solution would require individual sentence hearing for minors with crimes of murder and individual evaluation. However, if this law was required to be retroactive family of the victims would direct be affected by this change. Families may have to endure the potential impact of parole room hearing for the offender. In addition, community members who have a financial investment in the business of prisons would also be directly affected as their receipts would greatly decrease over time. Lastl y, schools and affable workers can work to identify children who may be experiencing barrier in the family and home environment and offer services in an attempt to prevent the child from committing a crime and therefore having to be introduced to the juvenile justice system.REFERENCESThe End of Mandatory new-fashioned animation without Parole. Kennedy, Megan. cruelJustice Policy freshen. Sep. 2014, Vol. 25 bonk 5, p553-578. 26p DO1 10.1177/0887430341.Review for Release new Offenders, State Parole Practices & the Eight Amendment. Russell,Sarah French. Indiana justice Journal. Winter 2014, Vol. 89 Issue 1, p373-440. 68p.Just Grow Up Already The attenuated Culpability of Juvenile Gang Members AfterMiller V. Alabama. Kellogg, Sarah A. Boston College Law Review. 2014, Vol. 55 Issue1, p265-299. 35p. mark for Life The Unconstitutionality of Mandatory& Life time Juvenile Sex OffenderRegistration& Notification. Parker, Shannon C. Virginia Journal of Social Policy& the Law.2014, Vol . 21 Issue 1, p167-205.Criminal Law-Juvenile Life without Parole Sentences-Eleventh Circuit Holds that Miller Is NotRetroactive. Harvard Law Review. Feb. 2014, Vol. 127. Issue 4, p1252-1259. 8p.Mitigating After Miller Legislative Considerations & Remedies for the early of JuvenileSentencing. Fiorillo, Sara E. Boston University Law Review. Dec 2013, Vol. 93 Issue 6, p2095-2129, 35p.Symposium Bombshell or Baby whole step? The Ramifications of Miller V Alabama for SentencingLaw& Juvenile Crime Policy. Litton, Paul. Missouri Law Review. Fall 2013, Vol 78 Issue 4,P 1003-1014. 12p.