The Lorax Reaction Paper

The Lorax A. Summary Theodore â€Å"Ted† Wiggins, an idealistic 12-year-old boy, lives in â€Å"Thneedville†, a walled city that, aside from the citizens, is completely artificial: everything is made of plastic, metal, or synthetics. Ted sets out to find a  real  tree for his friend Audrey. His energetic grandmother suggests he speak with the Once-ler about this, and he discovers that their city has been closed off from the outside world, which is a contaminated and empty wasteland. The Once-ler agrees to tell Ted about the trees if he listens to his story over multiple visits.Ted agrees, even after the mayor of Thneedville, Aloysius O'Hare, who is also the greedy proprietor of a bottled  oxygen  company, confronts the boy and pressures him to stay in town. Over the course of the movie, Ted, with the encouragement of his grandmother, continues to sneak out of O'Hare's sight and learns more of the history of the trees. Over the visits, the Once-ler recounts the s tory of how he departed his family to make his fortune. In a lush Truffula Tree forest, he met the Lorax.He is a grumpy yet charming orange creature who served as guardian of the land. At first, the Once-ler had a plan to chop down the trees. Eventually, he promised not to chop another tree down. The young businessman's Thneed invention soon became a major success and the Once-ler's family arrived to participate in the business. Keeping his promise at first, the Once-ler continued Thneed production by harvesting the tufts themselves in a sustainable manner. Unfortunately, his greedy and lazy relatives convinced him to resume logging as a more efficient gathering method.Breaking his promise, the Once-ler's  deforestation  spiraled into a mass overproduction. Flush with wealth, the Once-lerrationalized his short sighted needs into arrogant self-righteousness and the helpless protests of the Lorax could not stop him. The Once-ler polluted the sky, river and landscape, until finally the last Truffula Tree fell outside, and the Once-lerrealized what he had done while making the region uninhabitable with his business's pollution.With that, the Once-ler was left ruined and abandoned by his own family and became a  recluse  with the creation and solation of Ted's town that came under young Mr. O'Hare's control, giving him the plan to sell fresh air with the absence of trees. Eventually, the Lorax sends the animals away before departing himself into the sky, leaving a stonecut word: â€Å"Unless†. At the end of the story, the Once-ler understands the meaning behind the Lorax's last message, and gives Ted a gift of the last Truffula seed in hopes of planting it to regrow the forest. Ted's desire to impress Audrey is now a personal mission to remind his town of the importance of nature.O'Hare, determined not to have trees undercut his business, takes heavy-handed steps such as covering Audrey's nature paintings, closing off the door that Ted uses to see th e Once-ler and forcibly searching Ted's room for the seed. Ted enlists his family and Audrey to help plant the seed, which has begun to germinate after coming into contact with water. O'Hare and his employees pursue the  dissidents  until they manage to elude him and reach the town center. Unfortunately, their attempt to plant the seed is interrupted by O'Hare who rallies the population to stop them.To convince them otherwise, Ted takes an  earthmover  and rams down a section of the city wall to reveal the environmental destruction outside. Horrified at the sight and inspired by Ted's conviction, the crowd defies O'Hare with his own henchmen expelling him from the town. The seed is planted, and Audrey kisses Ted on the cheek. Time passes and the land is starting to recover; the trees are regrowing, the animals are returning, and the redeemed Once-ler is happily reunited with the Lorax. B. SettingThe story took place in â€Å"Thneedville†, a walled city that, aside fro m the citizens, is completely artificial: everything is made of plastic, metal, or synthetics. The setting is a polluted town where trees don't grow and fresh air is sold in jars. C. Characters Ted- a young boy who is out to win the heart of his pretty neighbor Audrey. He has a caring and innocent nature, and he is moved by the story the Once-ler tells. He is also a resourceful and determined kid, so he continues to fight for the chance to see a real tree, even when he is threatened by the greedy businessman O'Hare.Audrey- an artistic girl who wants nothing more than to see a real tree. When she conveys her dream to Ted, he determines to make sure her dream comes true. Grammy Norma- Ted's grandmother tells Ted to go outside the town and speak with the Once-ler and learn about what happened to the trees. Once-ler–started out as a musically talented and good-natured guy. But, when he refuses to heed the warnings of the Lorax, the Once-ler makes a decision that leads him down a dark and greedy road full of regret. The Lorax- a grumpy but charming orange creature who speaks for the trees.Although he sounds quite gruff, he has a lot of love packed into his little body. He even finds a way to have compassion for the Once-ler, who refuses to heed the Lorax's warnings. Mr. Aloysius O’Hare- the mayor of Thneedville and head of the â€Å"O'Hare Air† company  who doesn’t want the trees to come back because they would ruin his business, which is selling bottled air. D. Problem / Conflict The conflict of the story is the Lorax, who clearly symbolizes Mother Nature’s response to our own abuse of the environment.The Lorax literally speaks for both the trees and the animals of the land. He repeatedly warns Once-ler of the damage he is doing just like Mother Nature warns us when we damage the environment. The Bar-ba-loots are the first among the native animals to get pushed out by the destruction done by Once-ler. The other animals flee as a result of the pollution, and each are clearly presented by the Lorax as a warning to Once-ler, just as Mother nature presents us with the warnings of red tides, ozone pollution, and increasing numbers of endangered species. E.Resolution The boy obviously symbolizes the story’s solution to the problem created by the Once-lers of our world. The story opens with the curious boy who asks questions and is willing to pay the price to learn the answers. He represents the hope of the next generation. He listens to the Once-ler’s entire story showing how much he cares about the knowledge that Once-ler can give him. When Once-ler finishes the story, he willingly accepts the challenge of repairing the land of the Truffula as is seen when he raises his hands to catch the last Truffula seed.Seuss demonstrates his belief that today’s children truly are the solution to our own environmental issues by allowing that boy to be the spark that helps Once-ler figure out the puzzli ng message left by the Lorax. When he sees the potential represented by the boy, he willingly offers both resources and advice to make the boy’s challenge possible. F. Moral Lesson The  movie has a strong environmental theme. In today’s â€Å"disposable â€Å"generation the value of things is greatly diminished. Children grow up with abundance of â€Å"stuff† and food and quickly learn that â€Å"it’s easier to buy a new one that to fix the old one. The movie stresses the importance of valuing things and the negative aspects of wasting. It is about the power of one person to change the world and make a difference. It takes the audience in and makes the audience think about what the future might look like as we continue on the path of environmental destruction.The movie asks the audience to dream bigger and to reach for the impossible. A young boy living in a polluted town visits a strange reclusive man called the Once-ler â€Å"on the far end of tow n where the Grickle-grass grows†¦ n the Street of the Lifted Lorax†, who never appears in full onscreen; only his limbs are shown. The boy pays the Once-ler fifteen cents, a nail, and the shell of a great-great-great grandfather snail to explain why the area is in such a run-down state. The Once-ler explains to the boy (shown in  flashback) that he arrived in a beautiful, pristine valley containing happy, playful fauna that spent their days romping around blissfully among â€Å"Truffula trees†. The Once-ler proceeded to cut down the Truffula trees to gather raw material to knit â€Å"Thneeds,† a comically versatile invention of his, â€Å"which everyone needs†.Thneeds can be used as a shirt, a sock, a glove, a hat, a carpet, a pillow, a sheet, or a curtain. By cutting down the tree, however, he summoned the titular Lorax, who was â€Å"shortish and oldish and brownish and mossy †¦ with a voice that was sharpish and bossy†, to appear from the stump of a Truffula tree. He â€Å"speaks for the trees, for the trees have no tongues† and warned the Once-ler of the consequences of cutting down the truffula trees, but the Once-ler ignored him, instead calling his relatives to come and work in his factory.Soon the once beautiful area became choked with pollution and the Lorax sent away the fauna to find more hospitable habitats. Confronted by the Lorax, the Once-ler declared his intention to keep â€Å"biggering† his operations, but at that very moment, they â€Å"heard the tree fall. The very last Truffula tree of them all. † Without raw materials, his factory shut down; without the factory, his relatives left. Then the Lorax, silently, with one â€Å"very sad, sad backward glance†, lifted himself by the seat of his pants and flew away through the clouds.The Once-ler lingered on in his crumbling residence, living in seclusion and remorse, while pondering over a message the Lorax left behind: a s tone slab etched with the word â€Å"Unless†. In the present, the Once-ler says that he now realizes that the Lorax means that  unless  someone cares, the situation will not improve. The Once-ler then gives the boy the last Truffula seed and tells him to plant it, saying that â€Å"Truffula Trees are what everyone needs† and hoping that, if the boy grows a whole forest of the trees, â€Å"the Lorax, and all of his friends may come back. â€Å"

Various Forms of Organizations

YOU DECIDE PAPER 2 Part I:   Discuss the various forms of organization that are available to Penelope, Mark and John The various forms of organization available to Penelope, Mark and John are: GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS: A general partnership is a business organization formed when 2 or more individuals or entities form a business for profit. All partners share in the management and in the profits and decide on matters of ordinary business operations by majority of the partners or by percentage ownership of each partner. Each partner is liable for all business debts and bears responsibility for the actions of the other partners.Each partner reports partnership income on their individual tax return. A partnership dissolves on the death or withdrawal of a partner unless the partnership agreement provides otherwise. Partnerships are relatively easy and inexpensive to form and require few ongoing formalities. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY: A limited liability company is a new and flexible busines s organization of one or more owners that offers the advantages of liability protection with the simplicity of a partnership, i. e. partners are not liable for business debts.Each partner reports business income on their individual tax return. LLCs may dissolve on the death or withdrawal of an owner depending on state law. An LLC is not appropriate for businesses seeking to become public or raise capital. LLCs require few ongoing formalities but usually require periodic filings with the state and also require annual fees. LLCs are more expensive to form than partnerships. CORPORATIONS: A corporation is a legal entity that has most of the rights and duties of a natural person but with perpetual life and limited liability.Shareholders of a corporation appoint a board of directors and the board of directors appoints the officers for the corporation, who have the authority to manage the day-to-day operations of the corporation. Shareholders are generally liable for the amount of their i nvestment in corporate stock. A corporation pays its own taxes and shareholders pay tax on their dividends. However, in a subchapter S corporation, shareholders report their share of corporate profit or loss in their individual tax return. The corporation is its own legal entity and can survive the death of owners, partners and shareholders.A corporation is the best entity for eventual public companies. Corporations can raise capital through the sale of securities and can transfer ownership through the transfer of securities. Corporations require annual meetings and require owners and directors to observe certain formalities. Corporations are more expensive to form than partnerships and sole proprietorships. Corporations require periodic filings with the state and also require annual fees. (COMMON FORMS OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ http://www. tulsascore. org/organization. tml) PARTNERSHIPS: Partnerships are unincorporated businesses. Like corporations, partnerships are sepa rate entities from the shareholders. Unlike corporations, partnerships must have at least one General Partner who assumes unlimited liability for the business. Partnerships must have at least two shareholders. Partnerships distribute all profits and losses to their shareholders without regard for any profits retained by the business for cash flow purposes. (LLCs are taxed as partnerships, unless they choose to be taxed as corporations. of   organization you believe will be best and be sure to explain the reasoning for your choice. In my opinion, a Limited Liability Company would be the best choice for them to form as it provides easy management and â€Å"pass-through† taxation (profits and losses are added to the owner(s) personal tax returns) like a Sole Proprietorship/Partnership, with the liability protection of a Corporation. Like a corporation, it is a separate legal entity; unlike a corporation, there is no stock and there are fewer formalities.The owners of an LLC ar e called â€Å"Members† instead of â€Å"Shareholders†. So in essence, it’s a like a corporation, with less complicated taxation and stock formalities. The heart of a Limited Liability Company is known as the â€Å"Operating Agreement†. This document sets the rules for operating the company and can be modified as the business grows and changes. Operating an LLC is less formal than a corporation, usually only requiring an Annual Members’ Meeting and Members’ agreeing to changes of the Operating Agreement and other major company decisions.Provides the liability protection of a corporation without the corporate formalities (Board meetings, Shareholder meetings, minutes, etc. ) and extra levels of management (Shareholders, Directors, Officers). Taxed the same as a sole proprietorship (1 Member LLC) or partnership (2 or more Members). (Which Type of Business Entity to Choose? http://www. mynewcompany. com/entity. htm) Part III:   Discuss the ta x consequences of contributing cash, property and/or services to the new entity. Contributions of appreciated property to an LLC, however, are generally tax free and there is no ownership or control requirement.There are ordinarily no federal income tax consequences when a person contributes property or services to an LLC, but there are some exceptions to this rule that you should keep in mind when planning for contributions by new or existing members of LLCs. Under IRC  §721(a), a contribution of property to an LLC is generally tax free to both the contributor and the LLC. There is no 80 percent control requirement to obtain tax-free treatment for a contribution to an entity taxed as a partnership as there is for a contribution to a corporation under IRC  §351.Therefore, a contribution of property to an LLC will be tax free even if the contributor obtains only a relatively small interest in the LLC in exchange. Part IV:   Discuss, in detail, how this entity is taxed (if at al l) and what filing requirements it has with the IRS Limited liability companies that are subject to the partnership tax rules are not responsible for actually paying the tax on business earnings, but are responsible for preparing annual partnership tax returns on IRS Form 1065.This return is for informational purposes only; all income, deductions and credits are reported by each individual owner. The LLC reports each owner's share of these amounts on a Schedule K-1 at the end of the year. In this situation, if Penelope, Mark and John earn $120,000 and have $60,000 of deductible business expenses, then each of them will receive a Schedule K-1 with $40,000 of earnings and $20,000 of deductions. Each of them must then report these figures on their personal income tax returns.Essentially, the business will increase their personal taxable income by $20,000. (LLC Tax Filing Rules – Tax Basis in LLC Interest: In general, the initial tax basis of a member who acquires an LLC interest from the LLC will be equal to the amount of money and the tax basis of any property that the member contributes to the LLC in exchange for such interest. The tax basis thus determined will be increased by such member's share of the LLC's liabilities, by its share of the LLC's income, and by any subsequent capital contributions.The member's tax basis will be reduced (but not below zero) by the member's share of LLC distributions and losses and also by any decrease in such member's share of the LLC's liabilities. IRC  § 752 embodies the statutory rules for sharing LLC liabilities. That Section provides that any increase in a partner's share of a partnership's liabilities, or any increase in a partner's individual liabilities by reason of assuming a partnership's liabilities, will be considered a contribution of money by such partner to the partnership.Conversely, any decrease in a partner's share of a partnership's liabilities, or any decrease in a partner's individual liabilities by reason of a partnership assuming such liabilities, will be considered a distribution of money to the partner by the partnership. Unfortunately, the statute does not provide for the manner in which a partner's share of liabilities will be determined. Instead, one must look to the Regulations. (Federal Income Taxation of LLC Members – http://www. mmmlaw. com/media-room/publications/articles/federal-income-taxation-of-llc-members)This last exception is the most important. In some circumstances, a court might say that the LLC doesn’t really exist and find that its owners are really doing business as individuals, who are personally liable for their acts (LLC Business Basics – http://articles. bplans. com/small-business-legal-issues/llc-basics/186) Cited Sources: COMMON FORMS OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATION  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ http://www. tulsascore. org/organization. html Types of Business  Organizations: 6 Forms of Business for IRS  Purposes http://taxes. about. com/od/taxp lanning/a/incorporating_2. tm Which Type of Business Entity to Choose? http://www. mynewcompany. com/entity. htm Contributions to LLCs – http://www. alberty. com/newsletter_summer01. html How LLC Members Are Taxed – http://www. nolo. com/legal-encyclopedia/how-llcs-are-taxed-29675. html Tax Implications: LLC Versus S Corporations – http://www. hutchlaw. com/library/tax-implications-llc-versus-s-corporations LLC & Asset Protection – http://www. ehow. com/about_6563015_llc-asset-protection. html LLC Business Basics – http://articles. bplans. com/small-business-legal-issues/llc-basics/186

British Wildlife Essay Example for Free

British Wildlife Essay Outline of species along with related anatomy, handling considerations and rehabilitation, release requirements Although the deer’s skeletal system is very similar to a dog or cat’s in terms of its basic structure, although there are some adaptations that they require in order to survive the wild. Deer have long necks which enable them to crane it so they can feed off low lying grass and other vegetation. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer are prey animals and so they require adaptations that enable them to run fast and this is why they are ‘ugulates’, (hoofed mammals). Ungulates walk on their ‘ungulis’ which is a tough outer plate of a hoof or toenail. When ungulates walk, their feet or digits do not come into contact with the ground but their hooves. Stefoff, R. (2007). This clever evolutionary asset is essential for speed. This is down to the biomechanics of how bodies move- the smaller the area that touches the ground with each stride, the greater the stride is which results in faster movement. Hooves are an extremely strong version of human fingernails strong enough not to break when under immense pressure i.e. when the deer is running. Stefoff, R. (2007).The strength of the hooves comes from the keratin which exists in thick sheets and keratin fibres which run in all directions Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer have a total of four toes on each foot. The middle two toes touch the ground and the outer two are elevated at the back, just above the hoof and are called dewclaws Stefoff, R. (2007). Metapodials in deer are elongated and form the lower part of the deer’s legs. In a deer, the femur and the humerus are short and thick in order to be able to anchor the large mass of muscle needed to propel them forward when running at high speed. Stefoff, R. (2007) Seven glands are located on the body of a deer, scattered from head to toe to assist with communication amongst the herd and is how deer differentiate between one another (interspecies communication) Nickens, E. (2009). Deer scent is made up of scent glands and their urine. Stefoff, R. (2007) Deer use a technique called ‘flehmen’; this is the act of curling back their upper lip and sucking in air. This is used to detect scents from other deer. Stefoff, R. (2007) Antler growth is an interesting area of study which provokes questioning as to why antler growth is delayed until the start of puberty and secondly, mammalian organ regeneration. Antler growth only occurs in male deer and is delayed until the start of puberty at 5 – 7 months old. No other mammal can regenerate an organ. The antlers of a 200-kg adult red deer may weigh as much 30 kg but take only 3 months to grow. Antlers are formed from pedicles; permanent bony horns on the frontal bone of the skull. Periosteal cells (Antlerogenic Periosteum) are collected in the distal parts of the cristae externae of the frontal bones. These are activated by rising androgen levels in the blood. Testosterone binds to specific sites on the AP which leads to trabecular bone being formed beneath the periosteum and a pedicle develops. There are four ossification stages in the formation of antlers in deer starting with ‘Intramembranous ossification’; this is the proliferation of antlerogenic cells and differentiation into osteoblasts. Osteoblasts form trabecular in the cellular periosteum. This then leads to ‘transitional ossification’, this initiates when pedicle reaches 5-10mm in height. Osseocartilaginous tissue is formed by the antlerogenic cells at the apical surface, which have undergone a change in differentiation pathway to form chondrocytes. The third stage is ‘pedicle endochondral ossification’ when chrondrogenesis takes place in the pedicle alone. The final ossification stage is ‘antler endochondral ossification’- antlerogenic cells maintain their chrondrogenic differentiation pathway until the very first antler has fully formed. Shiny velvet skin covering the distal end of the pedicle coincidences with antler formation. Un-branched antlers described as ‘spikers’ elongate as a result of an endochondral process in the distal tip. (Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals?) The first antler continues growing until the autumn rutting season where testosterone levels are increased once again. Cessation in longitudinal growth causes this endocrine change. Antler bone becomes fully mineralized and the overlying velvet sheds to reveal bare bone. A single unbranched antler is left attached to the pedicle until it is cast the following spring Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals? The safest method of restraining/handling deer is to try to pull head to its flank, cover their head, hold the leg at the front and push the deer down onto the ground. This technique requires mastering so a well-trained person should only be allowed to do this. Deer bones are fragile so need to be cautious. When it comes to releasing deer, a few things need to be kept in mind when choosing a location to release them. Deer need as much woodland cover as possible, especially with a male deer as they are very much territorial creatures. It is preferred to release a deer exactly where it was found. If this is not possible i.e. the deer was found in the middle of a road then it must be released no more than 1km from where it was found. Outline of condition, clinical signs and recommended treatment Roundworm is a condition commonly seen in deer. These are internal parasites that are found in the intestines and soak up nutrients from the animal’s diet which results in the sufferer becoming malnourished and weak because they are not getting the nutrients they require. The clinical signs of a deer with worms are very hard to detect because they are prey animals and must not show signs of weakness otherwise it would make them a target for predators. Often they won’t show any signs until they are close to death. Should they show signs they would be lethargic, losing weight, scowering (lowering their head) and producing fluid faecal matter. Deer get stressed very easily and it would be unethical to try and capture them for treatment as it would be putting the person capturing the deer at risk as well as the deer as their skeletal systems are very fragile and is liable to shatter. Deer antlers are extremely dangerous because they are strong as well as being full of bacteria; deer use their antlers to fight and they also urinate on their antlers so it could infect a human quite severely. To treat worms in deer, Ivermectin â€Å"spot on† is used and is placed on the back of the deer’s neck. It is applied at 2 week intervals and, once cleared it can then be applied monthly to prevent it recurring. What are the nursing needs of this patient and condition etc Deer, ideally should be nursed in a barn or large enclosure and not kept in a veterinary practice. This is purely because they are dangerous animals and are likely to lash out or charge at humans when they feel provoked. Isolating the deer is ideal to prevent the worms passing onto other animals nearby and to avoid having to treat the others. Deer should not be isolated for too long as they can get stressed and this would not be an ethical thing to do. Discussion of legal and ethical considerations What legislation and ethical considerations are relevant Wildlife and countryside act 1981 Wildlife and natural environment (Scotland) Act 2011 http://www.nyantler-outdoors.com/deer-anatomy.html British Wildlife. (2017, Jan 06). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Primer of Biostatistics Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Primer of Biostatistics - Term Paper Example During data analysis, quite often, either of descriptive statistics or inferential statistics methodologies is employed. Descriptive statistics (which unlike inferential statistics is not developed on the basis of probability theory) basically refers to the discipline of quantitatively describing the main features of a collection of data while inferential statistics on the other hand denotes the process of arriving at conclusions from data open to random or sampling variations (such as observational errors) (Graham, pg.40). Statistics is a wide field of study, probably one of the broadest disciplines available, with a plethora of applications too. The topic of ‘Fields of Application of Statistics’ is a rich topic in itself and one that sparks a lot of interest both to scholars and professions globally. Some of the sub-topics herein include actuarial science, astro-statistics, business analytics, chemo-metrics, demography, econometrics, environmental statistics, epidemiology, geo statistics, operations research, population ecology, statistical thermodynamics, and biostatistics and so on (Graham, pg.82). This paper deals with the biostatistics aspect of statistics. Biostatistics, commonly referred to as biometry, is the use of statistics in a wide range of topics in biology. Biostatistics deals with the design of biological experiments (such as in medicine, agriculture, pharmacy, fishery, etc), the collection, summarization and analysis of collected information from the experiments, followed by the interpretation of, and interference from, the results. Biostatistics is a combination of mathematics and reasoning, it considers how research questions are generated, studies are designed, data are collected and results interpreted. If the samples one takes are representative of the population of interest, they will provide good estimates concerning the overall population (Hubert).

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months Essay

Why is it important to get tested for HIV every 6 months - Essay Example The decisions will be important in determining one’s sexual health and the future. Studies have shown that realizing one’s HIV status helps take actions that will protect their health, as well as their partners and relatives. With respect to Sherman, a respected scholar on health issues, it is only through testing that one may realize as being positive, in such a situation the victim will seek medical intervention in time. People live healthy, long, and fulfilling lives upon getting the HIV test. It is important to safeguard your health once you get the HIV test regardless of whether you test negative or positive. According to the cdc website, knowing your HIV status makes one stronger than before. You also need to seek medical attention immediately you get or feel unwell. Many people do not realize the HIV virus is within them because they feel fine with no complications. HIV, however, will attack the T-cells or CD4 cells that defend the body against attacks. The attack of the cells leads to a weak immune system. If one gets the virus and does not seek medical treatment, it destroys many CD4 cells to the extent that body becomes weak and cannot fight even the slightest infections. In such a situation, the HIV virus graduates to AIDS. Go for the HIV test as often as possible. For those who get positive results, am sorry but you should seek medical treatment immediately. Cdc further stresses that, although there is no cure, proper medical care can control the virus. Please go for the HIV tests to avoid the saying of â€Å"I wish I knew.† It is important to maintain every part of our bod y in the right state of health. According to Womenhealth.org, getting an HIV test will prevent health complications that may exceed your financial abilities in future. It will make you honest to your own feelings. The virus spreads even in unthinkable ways. HIV spreads through some simple means which people may tend to neglect or

Walt Disney Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walt Disney Company - Essay Example In general the team had pretty good track record of delivering the assigned tasks on time with exception of some minor incidents. The team had strengths and weaknesses that affected the performance of the group. One of the strengths of the team was that it did not waste any time in choosing a topic for the project. This enabled the team to quickly start working on the topic. Another strength of the team was its communication process. The team often utilized emails to communicate with each other. The use of emails was very effective because it allowed the members of the team to exchange information instantly. The members of the team communicated well during meetings. The organization of the team was also very good. Everybody was assigned their own part so we would not have any incidents. The teammate that worked the hardest in the team was Jay. He did more work because every one emailed their part to him and he had to connect and correct all of them before making the final paper. He d eserves a lot of credit for his tremendous work efforts. The weaknesses of the team can be best described by evaluating the work behavior of the members. Shane did a pretty good job, but one time he submitted his part late. Despite his mistake the team was not hurt. The weakest link on the team was Alana. Alana was a problematic teammate that often acted unprofessionally with her antics. Alana contributed fairly to the topic, but it seemed like she always choose the easy part to do. My assessment of Alana is that sometimes she did not take the work seriously. She often laughed at all times about any topic whether it was good or bad. She did not seem to realize that her antics were annoying to the group. She also had the bad habit of nail biting. Another thing is she acted like a child when she kept knocking her pen on the table nonstop during the class and group meeting time. My role in the group was to bring up ideas and make some suggestions at the time we choose topic. I also sub mitted my work on time despite the fact that I had a hard time due to personal problems. I had to come back to my country due to an emergency to resolve a problem. If the team had to work together again next semester I would make changes by establishing ground rules to follow during the team’s initial meeting. I would also increase the amount of meetings during the project to improve the planning and the communication process. The team achieved a coordinated effort. This was accomplished by meeting regularly and by each member being accountable for their actions. The leadership function of the team was not clearly defined, but the team member that showed the most leadership was Jay. I also informally provided leadership to my team by leading through example. I always supported my teammates during the project. I helped my teammates by giving them ideas on how to proceed with their assigned tasks. I was able to build a sense of trust with most of my teammates except with Alana. Her childish behavior made me think she would be an irresponsible teammate. In the end she actually delivered her assigned tasks and performed a fair job. Since leadership roles were not clearly defined by the team I can honesty say that the team exercise did not help me that much in building my leadership abilities. I did not feel compromised by the team because the work was evenly distributed. The team did not experience any major conflicts that would have compromised the project deliverables. The tasks performed by the group were

Business Strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Business Strategy - Assignment Example According to this theory, a producer should work hard to make a product that has an appealing design, such that the customer gets to like the product before even using it. This theory explains that, for the satisfaction of the customers, the strategy that the business takes into consideration should tolerate achievements that are not for the long-term sustenance; rather, they should tolerate achievements that are lofty. There should be the addressing of the competitive advantage keenly in this context of business. The theory explains that for a business to achieve the strategy, it should be defensive rather than offensive; this helps the business to avoid the acute angle, leading to the loss of customers (Campbell & Edgar 2011). Theory of pricing For customers to afford the goods that are in the offer, the prices should be at their level of income. Thus, a legitimate business strategy should ensure that the pricing favours the majority of customers. According to this theory, the busi ness should first evaluate the level of income of the customer by conducting presale marketing, thus, they are able to know what is the best price to sell the goods such that they realise the optimum profits. Market mixing theory This theory aims at tapping customers from all runs of life by a business. Thus, the business ensures that the products that the business creates possess no bias on grounds of age, sex or religion. According to the theory, conducting of promotions ensures that the business learns of the potential market, thus, is able to establish the various strategies to put in place so as to increase its market. Production of products that favour all the people is the consideration in this technique (Ireland & Hoskisson 2008). Theory of competency The theory by McDonald’s explains that a business should consider a strategy that allows for the competence of employees for the maximum production. The technique indicates that the business should ensure that the strate gy does not create monotony on the workers. Giving breaks during working hours and offering considerable salaries, as well as vocational training to its employees, ensures competency (Kourdi 2009). Critical reflection in presentation of work This is essential in comparing the theory business aspects to the practical bit of business. Consideration of these factors ensures that there are minimal errors in running of the business. In work under presentation, there is a comprehensive description of the work done, from the resources in application to the actual sale of the goods. Use of critical reflection is through the determination of the actual meaning of the description. There is critical reflection due to the addition of the depth and breadth. This is through questioning things that help in the relation of the meaning of the work under presentation to a context of professional, as well as personal issues. The application of this work is essential because a business will succeed if what the management outlines for the business, that is, the theory bit is the same to the practical bit of business. Thus, customers get the best satisfaction from the products that a business sells to them (Ireland & Hoskisson 2008). The various techniques aim at legitimating the operations of the business such that the business strategy shows a building platform which ensures there is consolidation of numerous products that the business produces. The consolidation of the products leads to massive profits by the business, as

Managing Capabilities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managing Capabilities - Essay Example The adoption of new technology on regular intervals has boosted the marketing capabilities of ASDA. For any organization to stay competitive in the world it is very important to adopt the strategic changes. For ASDA the distribution channel in connection with the internet by online stores has helped the company a lot to expand the range of services and providing the customers with various purchasing options. Another approach used by ASDA that enhances its overall capabilities is the process of acquiring more information related to the product while the customer is in the process of taking decision. Online services also serve as sales tool. ASDA is the second retail store to offer this online service. ASDA has also brought in structural changes like removing the top layer hierarchy and the freezing wages. This change brought in positive change in the performance of the organization. The transparency has helped the company win the name of the best employer in the UK today. This led to an increase in the shareholder value. ASDA is the second largest supermarket chain in UK and has about 17% of the market share. It is a powerful retailing business and is well reputed for the products it has and the convenience it gives to its customers. The primary focus of ASDA is to save money and keep the costs as low as possible. The company has a strong technology system that supports its operations. If we talk about the weakness of the company so it can be regarded as the lack of convenience stores and the small supermarkets (Ackerman, 1997). Talking about the biggest competition to ASDA that is Tesco it is found out that almost two third of its total... Managing Capabilities Structuring tools and strategy frameworks are main keys to assess the situation of the business. Value trade-offs and risks are made explicit that lead to proposals that are concrete for adding value and reducing the risk. The frameworks that have been discussed in this study and the Pestle analysis in specific are likely to help ASDA in the identification of related laws planning and conform to decrease any distraction associated with them. To retain the customer base ASDA meets the customer needs, customizes the service, ensures lower prices, helps in making better choices, continuous flow of in-store promotions. These analysis will help the company in assessing the possible success for opening new stores, that are small in any area, which is the need to stay in competition. These analyses are likely to assist in identifying the policies, regulations and laws that govern the competition and monopolies. This is a challenge faced by ASDA in its pursuit to expand its business. Under t he European Union law, the unfair competition and the large market share (dominant) can lead to low quality services and products that consequently will increase the prices of services and goods. ASDA needs to keep this in mind as it aims to increase the number of its stores and move to new areas. This study can be of great help for ASDA to maintain its strong position and implementation of the frameworks given in this study can further assist the company to enjoy the heights of success.

Interagency Networks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Interagency Networks - Essay Example The principle challenge that lies in any country is creating coordination and integration between the numerous national instruments through the interagency process. This is a major challenge faced even by the United States, a country whose power has global influence unmatched by any other country. The problem can become greater in the current century as strategy makers both of civilian and military stature struggle with geopolitical issues that will be needing fluency in fitting together all the elements and levers of power. Today, the U.S. has embassies, consulates and memberships in most international organizations. It has a singular military command system that has reach in every part of the world and even the outer space. It initiates and makes agreements that endorse peace, human rights, democracy and protection of the environment. All the instruments of American power are implemented to create a global impact. In spite of all these, there remains â€Å"the challenge of strateg ic integration, of bringing the instruments into calculated effectiveness†. The political leaders and the national security staff continuously attempt to achieve consistency with limited success through the interagency process. For any kind of policy formulation and implementation, the participants are governments or their agencies which mean governments function through the cooperation of subordinate agencies. The roles of governments for solving national and international problems are always under scanner. However, it is also needed that any structure that is created as advisory body of the government and to make strategic decisions for policy implementation should also be scrutinized. Governments function through institutions, hence officials of each institution should be categorized into coherent groups to assist the government. The challenge here is to organize the officials in an efficient manner, and to ensure positive outcomes of organizational decisions. The solution lies in performing functions in a better process, better organizations and more coherent allocation of government’s instruments. However, there is no common perspective on what is the best approach towards organizing a government’s myriad functions. Also, there is no concrete proof how well modifications in the working process of the government have worked. The demand to bring changes is â€Å"as often based on statements of belief or intent as on clearly defined calculations of institutional cause and effect† (O’Faircheallaigh et al., 1999, p.72). An organization is formed because of the

Marx's historical theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marx's historical theory - Essay Example This paper illustrates that in the groundbreaking book, The Communist Manifesto, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels begin with the assertion that class struggles are integral in defining the existing society. This forms the basis of understanding Marx’s concept of history. According to Marx, the outline of history has two dimensions of linear chain events: a consistent progress in class division, created and overthrown in subsequent order, until it reaches a utopian endpoint, or communism. In the book, Marx argues that the history of humans occurs in a teleological order, unfolding to a distinct series of stages, each subsequent to the other. Ultimately, these stages lead to a certain utopian endpoint, which marks the end of the changes and an end to history. In his perception, Marx believed that these scientific laws could allow the prediction of these stages, as the scientific laws governs the progress of history. Class struggle, in Marx’s perception, determines human his tory. Therefore, the primary reason for historical changes is class animosity. Accordingly, societies are based on antagonism of the oppressed and oppressing classes. Thus, history is definable at any one time by the relationship between the different classes. In other words, the theory seeks to establish the premise of the materialistic methods in relation to humans’ production to satisfy material needs. The satisfaction of human needs give rise to new needs of social and materialistic nature, forming a society that corresponds to the forces of human production development. (Shimp, 2009:7). In this regard therefore, material life determines or conditions social life, thus social explanations emanate from materialism to social forms, and ultimately to forms of consciousness. As production means develops, economic structures or production modes rise and fall. According to Marx, communism may possibly become real as the workers become aware of alternatives, motivating them to i nitiate reforms. In his reinterpretation of the theory of history by Marx, Gerald Cohen created the development thesis, which states that production forces develop, becoming stronger over time. However, the thesis clarifies that the development is not absolute, but rather a tendency. Together with productively applicable technology and knowledge, these forces are production means(Cohen, 2000:176). The primacy thesis is Cohen’s next thesis. The latter has two important aspects: first, the productive forces level of development may explain the nature of the structure of the economy, and second, the nature of the structure of the economy explains the nature of the superstructure. From these observations, it is evident that Marx believes that the economic structure of a society may explain the nature of societal ideology, such as moral, artistic, philosophical, and religious beliefs within the confines of the society. It is indeed possible for various activities to combine aspect s of ideology and superstructure simultaneously. A prime example is religion, which combines both a set of beliefs and institutions. Scholars argue that revolutionary changes occur naturally from the failure of further development of productive forces. At the revolution point, the development of productive forces is fettered. Drawing from the theory, once development fetters in an economic structure, another structure will eventually replace it. It is reasonable that human productivity develops over time, and also that structures of economy only exist insofar as they develop the forces of production, but are ultimately replaced when they fail their duty of development(Stanford). Nonetheless, Marx’s theory of history has come under criticism, primarily for its incoherence, as well as lack of projection and empirical evidence. Criticism There are various forms of criticism against Marx’s theory of history, including claims of incoherence, lack of evidence and projection. These three categories result from the fact that the

NonProfit Management Case Study Essay Example for Free

NonProfit Management Case Study Essay Introduction The civil society has taken a very active role in the quest for democracy that continues to spread across the continents till it reached the Middle East region only recently. This is clear given the successive revolts that have taken place in many of the Arab countries calling for real democracy. Therefore, especially in Egypt, efforts should be directed toward defending civil society organizations and activists who are being threatened by the coercive authoritarian government actions over the past decades (Naidoo, 2007). The civil society as identified by Khallaf (2010) comprises â€Å"non-governmental organizations (NGOs hereafter), community groups, professional associations, trade unions, media organizations, research institutes/ think tanks, and advocacy and human rights civil society organizations† (p. 2). However, the current paper aims at focusing mainly on the role of NGOs in strengthening democracy. This is due to the major role NGOs play in several areas in order to enhance democracy. Among these are their role in: (1) allowing a wider range of interest groups to have a ‘voice’, pluralizing institutions to act in a ‘watchdog’ role vis-a-vis the state, networking and creating alliances of civic actors to place pressure on the state, (2) working with grassroots organizations comprised of poor and marginalized groups, and (3) exerting some pressures on the state by pressing for change and developing alternative policies (Mercer, 2002). Previous Studies of civil society in Egypt, over the past twenty years, have been both superficial and confined to only limited areas, namely (issue based publications, academic publications, training materials/ manuals, directories, conference publications, empirical comparative studies, civil society organizations’ (CSOs) publications, donor guide books and publications, CSOs coalitions occasional papers, evaluation studies, and web based sources) (Khallaf, 2010). (Figure: 1). Figure : The diversity of civil society research in Egypt Therefore, more detailed studies should be directed toward deeply investigating the civil society organizations operating in Egypt. Khallaf (2010) has mentioned that more research has been directed recently to track the actual magnitude of civil society through donor efforts in Egypt. However, the literature has pointed to serious gaps in the study of NGOs in Egypt. These include; First: Updated statistical information on number of NGOs. Second: The systematic evaluation of NGOs activities. Third: periodic assessments such as the CIVICUS or Civil Society Index and the Philanthropy study. Forth: studying participatory governance and the involvement of civil society in decision making processes. Fifth: changing Laws and regulations governing NGOs in Egypt. Sixth: An impact assessment of all new NGOs working in charity or development. Seventh: an assessment of aid effectiveness to Egypt (Khallaf, 2010). Finally: a detailed diagnosis of the NGOs operating in Egypt is needed. This should focus on both internal and external analyses of the selected NGOs and provide policy recommendations for possible improvements in the sector. The current paper attempts to draw light on how the civil society operates in Egypt. A well recognized Egyptian NGO was selected in this ethnographic research. It is called the Future Protectors Association for Care and Development or â€Å"Homat Al-Mostakbal†. The reason behind selecting it is the higher credibility and the good reputation it is enjoying. This is quite well perceived by the researcher based on her personal experience with this association. The current research can add valuable insights both theoretically and practically. Theoretically, it attempts to cover few of the gaps mentioned about the civil society research in developing countries and Egypt in particular. Practically, proposed recommendations can serve as strategic agendas for improving the performance of the selected NGO in particular and the entire NGO sector in general. The current paper is organized as follows; the first section will provide detailed information about association’s background. This will be followed by the analysis section which would sum up the major facts collected about the association. The analysis is based on qualitative in-depth interviewing1 conducted with five key persons in the association including its founder. Finally, conclusions and recommendations are presented, to guide future research directions, at the conclusion part here later. Background Future protectors association for care and development (homat al mostakbal) is one of the well known non-governmental organizations in Egypt. It is located at 425 Avenue Road, Roushdy, Alexandria, Egypt. It is a group of young people who work in the field of developmental work and volunteerism in for a better future and a true renaissance to Egypt. It serves in the great Cairo area and some other governorates including; Alexandria, Dakahleya, Gharbeya, Menoufeya, and others. It was originally founded on the 2nd of Novermber, 2004 by Eng. El-Dreiny and his daughter engineer Marwa El-Dreiny. It was mainly founded seeking community development. The vision of the association is to be one of the largest civil society organizations working in the field and leading the areas of development, community care, and voluntary work in Egypt and the Arab world by year 2020. The mission of the association is the development and care of the community through several dimensions including; raising the general level of education and the development of production philosophy, increasing awareness of drug taking problems, providing health awareness, raising the cultural level of young people, and providing a variety of social services. These are to be achieved while taking into account the mastery of work and commitment to the principles of ethics and team work cooperation. The primary objectives to fulfill the pre-mentioned vision and mission include the following; Providing guidance and better utilizing the power of potential volunteers in various activities of the association and developing their skills while strengthening their moral values. Increasing the awareness of community members about the dangers of drugs and training of cadres for different age groups. In addition to providing technical support to partners and trainers in the field of awareness against the dangers of addiction and drug. Training community members by spreading the production thinking and helping youth and poor families in establishing small craft projects to supply industries with high quality products at competitive prices. Providing social services (in kind physical technical) and the work projects for poor families, orphans, deaf and dumb cases. Developing different segments of the society, especially children and young people both culturally and scientifically. This would entitle them to acquire new skills, open their horizons to different lives, and raise the level of education among the educated classes with aim of bringing progress and prosperity to the society in large. The major values of the association comprise the following; Intentions precede action Our basic principles are our main priority. Understanding the priorities and giving a high commitment to them. Mastering our work. Best employing our resources. Our clients are our core interest. Team work spirit. Commitment to a safe environment. The association is registered under the old NGO law. This entitles the association to be under the scrutiny and supervision of the Directorate of Social Affairs. Here is the copy of the registration certificate. Figure : Formal Registration Certificate The association tries as much to manage its institutional memory. This can be manifested in the form of reports including information about what happened in the past. Other reports are prepared for each activity and collected annually to be archived and documented for each committee. Also, there are few attempts to record religious seminars and cultural meetings either video or audio. Sometimes the association registers the campaigns to serve the new members by providing them with information about the work flavor. These tentative mechanisms are aimed at saving association heritage of knowledge and transfer it to the future generations who would complete the mission. The organization chart of the association was revised recently. There are intentions to modify it also however some limitations hinder this at the current period. The chart is decomposed into the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Executive Director, the Chairmen of the various Committees the Vice Chairmen of the various Committees -who are appointed by the administration according to experience and seniority- the executive management including Secretary, the financial management. There were areas for development and the last updated organization chart was reproduced recently in 2011. The association was built on the basis of predominantly volunteerism however; there are 17 formal employees who are getting paid monthly. There are mainly three managers; executive, financial, and legal affairs. Staff members do not perform overlapping roles, instead there is a clearly specified job description for each single role. This would allow the upper management to apply a strict accountability procedures based on assigned responsibilities. The association is able to deal smoothly with the threat of losing any/all staff member(s). Sometimes, the operations of a highly specialized department, which loses a key staff member, can be postponed until the appointment of a new person. However, in the key roles like secretarial work, work cannot be stopped and duties can be referred to any interested volunteer. The collectivity and shared team working spirit that characterize the association enable it to face sudden problems of this sort. The association is having a board of directors. It is composed of 9 members, 1/3 of them are dropped during each nomination period. The nomination is made for 6 upcoming years. It is preferred to nominate persons with strong public relations to offer some facilities and those who have the expertise and strong knowledge about association’s policies. The association is membership based. There are different types of members including volunteers, affiliated, and working member. The membership status is documented only for continuing members who are then entitled to receive a formal membership card. Members pay a symbolic annual fee of about 20 pounds which represents one of the financial resources received by the association. The following chart represents the progress that has occurred in association’s membership from 2004 to 2008. In 2010, the number of volunteers has reached 4000. Figure : The number of volunteers The following chart represents the geographic allocation of volunteers across the different governorates. Figure : The geographic allocation of volunteers The social and economic background of the members is diverse. Majority of members are classified to be from the middle to upper middle social class. They are almost well educated having a clear intent toward the importance of charity and development societal roles in their country. They have strong religious understandings which enable them to volunteer their efforts for the sake of making others happy while earning credits (thawab) and pleasing the only god (ALLAH). The association has completed a huge number of successful projects2 and some of which are seasonal. The seasonal projects include distributing El Kheir bags and Ramadan lamps. It is planning to undertake some continuous projects not to be owned by the association but by encouraging the youth to execute them and the association can be a partner by 10%. Attached here below in the appendices is a list of the projects and activities the association is involved in. The primary beneficiaries of the association are; Volunteers, university students, school children, widowed women, poor families, knowledge seekers, patients, orphans, and the elderly at large. The association is not specifying a certain population to focus on serving. Activities are therefore not based on the coverage of a particular area, but they are tailored to achieve certain goals across the various geographic segments. 3 The association has unique policy for recruiting both members and staff. For the former, recruitment is based on the real intention to perform volunteer work. For the latter, recruitment is based on the exact mission to be completed within the functional department the potential candidate will join. The association views the current recruitment policy to be an effective one. Therefore, there are no plans to change its policy during the current period. The ratio of association’s founders to its members is roughly estimated to be 10%. Taking into considerations that the number of registered volunteers is roughly 4000, only 100-200 of them are active ones. The association depends on a self financing scheme. Majority of funds come from membership fees, donations (in cash or in kind), and revenues from profit-based committees. There is one company which operates in the field of quality and 75% of its income is transferred to the association. There are some funding projects such as the share the good, CSR, and Ijada company. Only 10% of the directed donations are taken to cover a proportion of administrative expenses but the money of Zakat is kept untouched. The association collects money from Egyptians. The money comes in forms of Zakat, sadakat, and in cash or in kind donations. It utilizes no foreign funding alternatives except for the single initiative with the United Nations. This partnership agreement was made under pressures from Dubai police and entitled the association to receive a fund of $ 10. 000 in order to execute some projects. The association has neither an initial endowment nor an emergency fund. It depended mainly on donations during the initial construction phase. There is a bank account for the association where the money collected from the various sources is being deposited to or withdrew from when necessary. The association does not always profit from most of its projects because they have low profit margins. Some seasonal projects might generate profit like the partnership with Toshiba Company to distribute Ramadan lamps. Donations are considered as part of the revenues. The association uses money coming from donations, sadakat, and the yield of some revenue-based activities. The general overhead costs of the association are estimated roughly to be from 30-40% of the budget. The ways to manage costs to the least possible level include, inducing members to rationalize consumption rates, closely monitoring monthly expenses, rationalizing staff recruitment process, and covering the costs of high telephone bills, hospitality and administrative outlays through collecting in kind donations. The association does not recognize any kind of support offered by the Egyptian government. The old government has provided only some facilities to make agreements with some concerned authorities such as ministries. This was mostly perceived prior to the revolution. However, the picture of the new potential government is still vague and there is no assurance that the new government would adopt a pro-civil society philosophy or not. There are tentative expectations about possible cooperation from the ministry of environment in the future. Analysis Based on the results of the in-depth personal interviews conducted with key persons in the association two types of analysis were made. The following section starts by presenting the first type of analysis which is the SWOT. This will be followed by the PEST analysis. 1. SWOT analysis The association enjoys a number of strength points. These strengths include, but not limited to, the following; a. Strong team spirit is a huge asset, good and efficient management system, good public relations, raising the skills of volunteers through gained experience, and very good reputation perceived by partners and the community at large. b. The presence of strong networks both locally and internationally. Locally with government institutions such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education, the Adult Education in Alexandria, the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Environment (protocol of cooperation),partnership training with the engineering industries sector TV ITVs affiliated to the Ministry of Industry, Alexandria Biblotecha library (Department of Public Relations and Information), Morkoseya Church, the Food Bank, and the Egyptian (permanent agreement). Internationally, networks with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Organized Crime in the United Nations, the Dubai Police (working as technical/training consultants to raise awareness of the damages of drug addiction. c. Good coordination with other local and international organizations. Examples include organizing joint training programs with renaissance makers club in Kuwait, the Ministry of Awqaf in Kuwait, the American University of Kuwait, Gulf University, CID in Kuwait and the Ministry of Defense, Union of Arab Doctors (donations to Libya), the office of Dr. Muhammad Salim Al-Awa, Toshiba Arab company and Ocean Express Company and Isam Abu-setta for heavy transport, New Horizons and Xeon, Arab Academy for Science and Technology, University of Pharos, Alexandria University, Cairo University, Helwan University, Ain Shams University, Menoufiya University, Western University , Mansoura University, Assuit University. Alshanek ya Balady Association, Alexandria west investors association, and set your goal association, the future hands Hospital. In addition to cultural partnership cooperation with the Egyptian-Turkish Friendship Association. d. The presence of a strong infrastructure in the main headquarters in Alexandria. It is located in a prestigious location, well furnished, and highly accessible. However it is not a private property and thus imposes the burden of paying high monthly rent. This location is equipped by personal computers, laptops, wireless network, and they have electronic marketing forces empowered by strong specialists in the field. e. The presence of an independent financial management and independent social affairs and legal affairs units whose staff are paid. The recycling project, the specialized teams used in field case studies, the illiteracy teachers, and volunteers. f. The lack of specific religious or political directions and the presence of strong relationships with respectable figures in Alexandria. The inclusion of small associations in the many events organized by the association. Dependence on respectable personalities in providing certain services. g. Partnering with the association provides the partner several privileges and huge returns. A list of those privileges and returns to partners and individuals can be found later in the appendices. The obvious weakness points observed in this association include the following; a. Funding problems (almost self-financing by 99% from members) and the presence of many projects in second row but (senior management has recently begun to train the middle class members to complete these projects and continue the transfer of expertise to their followers). b. There are no integration links between the projects. c. Some personal conflict problems might arise sporadically among members. d. Administrative problems, and lack of strictness and formalization procedures due to a conflict between the role of leader and manager, but they overcome this problem by appointing an executive director. e. Inadequate promotion for the association in the media compared to other competitors. The reasons are mainly to reduce expenses and due to the imposed security restrictions. f. The absence of headquarters in some governorates like Dakahleya and Gharbeya which constitutes a big problem because the teams there are highly specialized and they need the proper setting to grow on it. g. The lack of specialization between the work forces in undertaking the projects. h. Some communication problems were present however, the Human Resources Director has solved them. i. Lack of volunteers and problems with their continuity/tenure. In some cases the volunteer has a desire to see the immediate result of his voluntary work which makes them less patient to continue. Most of the projects carried out by the association have longer term impacts and feasibility. j. Shortage in financial resources and operational tools. The major opportunities, brought from the external environment, facing the association for the time being include the following; a. Activating some agreements with the Union of Arab doctors, the Ministry of Environment, various associations, political awareness teams, in addition to different charitable and awareness-raising teams seeking support from the association in terms of logistics and training. b. A strong deactivated relationship with Al-Jazeera training center which is currently under study. c. The existence of many public figures, associations, and young modest advocates who have neither political nor religious direction. The association can take advantage of their cooperation efforts. d. A number of donors from America, Canada and Morocco who have appeared after the revolution as service volunteers like doctors. e. Localities and the Council of the People elections. This can be achieved by nominating independent members. Any successful nominated member can offer some facilities and services to the association. Also, this will give the chance for the association to be presented as one of the active civil society organizations participating in crafting the new constitution. f. Offering many partnerships to join the association with large well known institutions such as New Horizons, the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, and other new companies through exhibitions. Their offered contributions come mainly in the form of donations. g. The existence of promising facilities to complete some strategic projects through governmental entities. h. Reducing some of the strict scrutiny procedures imposed previously by the old government and the security apparatus. i. The expansion and proliferation in the environment of charity work, the launch of various public events and the intense presence of the civil society activities. j. The potential for participation with other unknown may be small, associations to perform some other projects outside the scope of work of the association. This represents the potential for diversification and expansion of work coverage. k. People’s Openness and their new reconciliation with the community with the desire to join the civil society institutions to provide charity services. l. The presence of various finance institutions through which the association can expand its operations scale after getting approvals from concerned authorities. m. The neutrality of the association both politically and religiously is a major strength. It is manifested in attracting bodies of various ideologies either as beneficiaries or participants. These include for example, Morosely Church or El-Azhar in my life project. The major threats or challenges, brought from the external environment, facing the association include the following; a. The societal openness can produce many competitors; some of them are supported by huge funding schemes and are biased toward the fulfillment of certain political religious agendas. b. Security threats to volunteers and the possibility of exposure to risk in places where they provide services. The possibility of being abused by law breakers due to the lack of security in the Egyptian streets mainly after the recent events. c. Exploiting association’s activities for the beneficial interests of others. This is totally rejected. This might impose the threat of diluting the association’s public image. Examples include candidates’ coverage for elections or political support using association’s name and good reputation. d. The presence of some competitors with high media coverage, such as resala. e. The culture of voluntary work is still somehow tentative. The lack of awareness of others about the culture of volunteerism and societal responsibility. f. The necessity to invest in volunteers to improve their skills and derive maximum value out of their participation. g. The unstable economic situation of the Egyptian State. h. The role of the Ministry of Social Solidarity has been hindering the progress of the work of the civil society for long years ago. i. The emergence of the Muslim brotherhood and the ancestors (salaf) as major competitors. j. Lack of human rights and political awareness and the prevailing unjustified freedom leading to chaotic results. k. The culture of the conspiracy against Egypt and the presence of some many unnatural Egyptian T. V talk show moderators. l. The owners of certain rented headquarters are drug dealers. This represents a major threat calling for immediate actions in moving those headquarters. 2. The PEST analysis a. Political Factors The political environment in which the association operates appears to be unstable. This status has recently turned to be much intense following the revolution due to the emergence of new political groupings. There are some promising expectations that the new democratically elected government will set new policies that are pro the civil society. The new policies are expected to contain modified laws that regulate taxation and provide more support and facilities to NGOs’ operations. The old government economic policies seemed to be incredibly inefficient resulting into a deteriorated national economic performance. This government had also no hand on regulating the marketing ethics of operating NGOs. Its major concern was on prohibiting religiously oriented activities and banning NGOs participation in the political life. b. Economic Factors The slowdown in Egyptian national economy has impacted the role of the association. This was reflected into low interest rates on savings and high interest charges on borrowings. The inflation rate continued to grow reducing the purchasing value of the Egyptian pound. The long-term prospects for the economy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita and other economic indicators will depend on the policies and procedures adopted by the new elected government. c. Socio-cultural Factors The dominant religion in Egypt is Islam. The association is not discriminating against either religion or gender. The partnership with morkoseya church is an evidence to support this claim. The role of women continues to grow largely and rapidly in the Egyptian society. They are becoming well educated, highly paid, and having a self commitment toward volunteer work. The majority of people the association is targeting its services are illiterate. The general population lacks a solid awareness regarding green environmental issues. This is a very important role of the association in advocating for a green environment and promoting green activities. These include reducing consumption and disposal rates, saving energy, recycling disposed items†¦etc. d. Technological Factors Technological innovations make life easier for all. The association utilizes as many of the technological facilities like wireless connections, fax, and international calls to carry out daily activities. The emphasis should be directed toward strengthening association’s technological infrastructure to be able to do business through online communication channels. There are strong promises regarding what the future can bring to the civil society in general and to the association in particular. This is manifested in several key points. First: the majority of people are becoming motivated to volunteer work. Second: the increased public awareness of the importance of civic and collective actions in contrast to confining the role of the individual to achieve purely personal goals. Third: the strong promises and positive perception maintained by the majority of the poor toward the role of the civil society due to government failure to satisfy their needs. Forth: the diversity in working areas removes many of the restrictions imposed on the civilian work. Fifth: the potential for cooperation from the new elected democratic government. Sixth: the potential for receiving huge inflows of international donors’ funds. Finally, the presence of many initiatives aimed at community and society renaissance that could be built upon. Conclusion and Recommendations Based on the previous systematic analyses, the following conclusions are reached. The selected association is one of an above medium size. It has several branches covering a range of governorates in Egypt. In addition to that it has multiple international partnership agreements abroad with some countries like Kuwait and Dubai. It is innovative due to the creativity exercised by its members in proposing and launching new project initiatives given the limited financial and physical resources available to them. The diversity of its projects adds to its effectiveness by solving problems in multiple critical areas. Administratively, the association can be run more efficiently than its current status. The overhead costs can be controlled so that not to exceed 10% of the annual budget. This can be achieved through cutting back on hospitality, renting, and utilities expenses or finding a sponsor company to offer them for free. The remainder of the budget should be entirely devoted to implementing key projects and programs. Once those two objectives are met – keeping O. H costs to the minimum and maximizing the pool of resources available to projects – the association can enhance its reliability and credibility as perceived by the various stakeholder groups. It has to overcome one of its critical weaknesses which is the deficient public media coverage. Adopting innovative promotional campaigns, through media, flyers, and positive word of mouth, can bring in extra revenues, many volunteers individuals or corporations, government support, and a favorable public image. It has to integrate advanced sophisticated techniques to save institutional memory for the next generations. Applying digital archiving, video and audio recordings of important projects, seminars, and events, keeping records of association’s best practices are all effective methods to save memory beside the conventional paper-based archiving mechanism. Web presence is very critical to the association. It is not well developed because the current website is down and the main gate to potential members is through the social media like the face book. Thus, developing a full featured website can provide good communication channels for the association both locally and internationally. The association has to allow potential members to register online. The composition of the board of directors needs some adjustments. A combination of co-founders, highly prestigious figures, wealthy capitalists, experienced technocrats – given the fact that they are all politically and religiously unbiased will allow the association to leverage each party’s privileges respectively. The reason is that co-founders are well informed about the association, its mission, vision, goals and have an intuitive inner commitment to achieve them. The highly prestigious, well known, famous, and rich members – who represent the status symbol can bring in extra money through their special donations and strong contacts with bureaucrats. The wealthy capitalists can have a win-win situation. On the one hand, they can enjoy public credibility and commitment toward social responsibility and on the other hand they will cash in the association to derive this legitimacy. Experienced technocrats can propose better structural reforms, manage operational complexities, and implement strategies to improve performance by capitalizing on strengths and overcoming weaknesses. The association is membership-based and it serves multiple interests. It channels members’ annual fees to implement projects serving members of the poor communities. It also develops the skills and competencies of its members in return for their volunteer time, money, and efforts. The non-profit nature of the association should not hinder its attempts to implement profit-based projects. These projects are important to cover the high overhead cost, keep an emergency fund â€Å" to hedge against bad economic conditions,† invest surplus in revenue earning initiatives, finance new developmental projects, and finally keep work flow smoothly while enjoying the tax exemption privilege. Providing full fledged free support should be only restricted to severe cases. These include very poor, eldery, disable, and young sick children in highly marginalized areas. Otherwise, providing services should have something in return. For example, providing microfinance for poor families can be balanced against donating a certain percentage of periodical revenues to fund other projects. One more thing that should be emphasized specially after the revolution of January 25th is augmenting international funding options. The association has to devise an effective strategy to share a large portion of international donor money coming into Egypt to support democracy. Only with a clear schedule of valuable projects, the association can guarantee international donors’ support without facing the threat of policy conditionality i. e. , imposing a certain development agenda on fund recipient as a condition to be granted the money. This can secure association’s activities financially, allow it to cover O. H costs, implement expansion plans, and better serve society’s compelling needs. General recommendations to improve the civil society in Egypt; 1. The presence of a regulatory environment for transparency rather than for control. 2. Ensuring enough flexibility in law application and enforcement i. e. , the law versus the implementation issue. 3. Promoting an openness commitment to partnership between government and public institutions and the civil society. 4. Supporting a bottom-up approach to development from donors’ side. 5. Supporting the creation of institutions rather than only short or medium term programs to promote for sustainable development. 6. Mobilizing mechanisms to maximize the real value perceived by the beneficiaries from the donors’ dollars. Page (2011) mentioned that only 10 to 30 percent of this actual grant will go to the real beneficiaries. 7. Supporting the youth-led NGOs so that they can actually participate in leading the winds of change toward democracy in Egypt. P. S. for those interested in accessing the association for donations, or more research work, here are association’s contacts. Address

Associates vs Bachelor Degree in Nursing Essay Example for Free

Associates vs Bachelor Degree in Nursing Essay Bachelor degree nursing programs are highly regarded for the skilled, clinical thinking, and professionalism of nurses they provide for the community. Obtaining a baccalaureate in nursing provides the same skills and knowledge encompassed in most associate’s programs, while allowing a broadened look into research, public health, management, and humanities (AACN IENP, 2012). Many facilities are now providing incentives for nursing staff to continue their education; from tuition reimbursement, an increase in pay, and played time off for the sole purpose of education. Research has proven that with a more educated nursing populous there is a decrease in morality rates and medication errors, and it also provides more positive outcomes (AACN Fact Sheet, 2012). With such a high demand for nurses, the scope of nursing has become more comprehensive with a larger responsibility being placed on nurses. All of this has shown not only to the medical field but also policymakers and other leaders of the community that a higher level of education not only makes a difference, but many feel it should be a requirement. The difference between a baccalaureate and associates degree program may seem obscure at first, but looking into the information and research that students learn in a four year program verses a three year program can be shocking. When looking into the core requisites needed to graduate with a bachelors verses an associates, some obvious differences are the higher levels of English, math, communication, and pathophysiology required to graduate with a BSN. Also, the higher level course work required to complete a bachelors shows the necessity of critical thinking and research a nurse needs to even graduate. Once past the prerequisites required for a bachelor’s in nursing we have to exam the nursing course work itself. As stated before, most of the associates program is incorporated in a bachelors degree; with an associates the clinical experience is more limited to the clinical setting hospitals, nursing skilled facilities, and rehab centers, where as many bachelors programs also included public and community projects. Bachelors programs also put a broader focus on ethics, religion and spirituality, research, global awareness and public health, as well as nursing leadership and management (GCU, n. d. ). Nursing care is focused on the assessment, nursing diagnoses, planning, implementation, and evaluation of patients. This nursing process can also be implemented in aspects outside of nursing and on the nursing field as a collective group. The nursing role is evolving, following the process the outcomes have to be evaluated and put into perspective. Research is being completed the conclusions are all the same, the higher education of nursing care the better the patient outcomes. In an article published in Health Services Research in August 2008 that examined the effect of nursing practice environments on outcomes of hospitalized cancer patients undergoing surgery, Dr. Christopher Friese and colleagues found that nursing education level was significantly associated with patient outcomes. Nurses prepared at the baccalaureate-level were linked with lower mortality and failure-to-rescue rates. The authors conclude that â€Å"moving to a nurse workforce in which a higher proportion of staff nurses have at least a baccalaureate-level education would result in substantially fewer adverse outcomes for patients. † (AACN Fact Sheet, 2012) A Jewish patient is awaiting discharge after receiving an open heart procedure. The difference a bachelor’s educated nurse and an associate degree nurse may have on the patient can be profound in this scenario. A bachelors nurse will have a better understanding of the pathophysiology of this patient’s condition, instead of providing instruction on just the patient after care of the procedure the higher level education will allow the nurse to incorporate teaching of the patient’s condition that brought along the cause of the procedure, the nurse will be provide a broader education base to help the patient better understand the treatment and the conditions that they may face. The bachelors nurse will be able to better identify environmental factors, diet and exercise factors, and other stresses that could be changed to promote health wellness for the patient. The bachelors nurse will be more aware of community based health assistance and programs that will help the patient make more positive health changes. The bachelors nurse will be more aware of the patient’s religious requirements and needs, this may help the patient in making better overall health and wellness decisions. Also, BSN nurses have a more in-depth education in regards to ethics and religion, this may provide a more trusting bond between the nurse and patients allowing the patient to see that the nurse is there for providing care not only in his treatment but all aspects of the patient’s wellbeing. The history of nursing provides a great foundation and view on how nursing came into existence and how nursing has always strived for higher education. Before World War II great strides were made for university nursing programs, with the onset of war and the need for nurses, diploma and associates nursing found its place (Creasia and Friberg, 2011). Many feel that the nursing shortage is the reason that diploma and associates nurses programs still exist. Though, with the growing population that has increasing comorbidities it is more important than ever for nurses to have higher education. References American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 2012. Fact Sheet: Creating a More Highly Qualified Nursing Workforce. Retrieved from http://www. aacn. nche. edu/media-relations/NursingWorkforce. pdf American Association of Colleges of Nursing. 2012. The Impact of Education on Nursing Practice. Retrieved from http://www. aacn. nche. edu/media-relations/fact-sheets/impact-of-education Creasia and Friberg. (2011). Conceptual foundations: The bridge to professional nursing practice. (5th ed. ) St. Louis, Missourit: Mosby Inc. Retrieved from http://pageburstls. elsevier. com/#/books/978-0-323-06869-7/pages/47247567 Grand Canyon University. (n. d. ). Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN). Retrieved from http://www. gcu. edu/degree-programs/registered-nurse-to-bachelor-of-science-in-nursing.

Walton S Mississippi: An American Journey | Analysis

Walton S Mississippi: An American Journey | Analysis Before his travelling to Mississippi, he never really felt the severity of the issue of racism, for he was born into a neighborhood where people kept what prejudices they had to themselves (4). For Anthony and most of the blacks today, Mississippi is something from which the blacks had freed [themselves], washed into the past. The blacks like Anthony today enjoy the fruits of success, freedom and equal rights from the sacrifices of their ancestors. Their biggest concern surrounds trivial questions like whether to have espresso or cappuccino after dinner (9). Most of his knowledge surrounding issues of racial discrimination towards African American are limited to textbooks and conversations with family. During the night of the assassination of Martin Lurther King, Anthony, who was only seven by that time, refused to take out the garbage'(5) for he was terrified of the dark. He knew that Mississippi had something to do with [his] fear (5). His real image of Mississippi came only when his school, Notra Dame lost to Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) during a football game. He was petrified by the scene where the Ole Miss supporters raise the controversial Confederate flags to support their team. He was befuddled by their acts but he realized that something was not right. His experience towards racism was strengthen during his stay in New York to report the protest march in Brooklyn neighborhood in the wake of Yusuf Hawkins murder where he realizes the existence and the severity of racial discrimination. The roads were filled with whites who were throwing watermelonsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and shouting NIGGERS! (7) He was terrified. He thought that such kind of open racism would only happen in the past, during the pre-Emancipation period. But he was wrong. It happened right in front of him, in this contemporary metropolitan New York. He knew something was wrong but he could not figure out what. That was when he decided to embark on the journey to Mississippi; to discover the root of the problem and find explanation for his many observations, he need to go back to a place where everything begins and that is, Mississippi. During his travelling in Mississippi, he has learnt and observed things that could never be learnt from textbook. During his visit to the Ole Miss football game, among the sharply and richly dress (161) spectators raised Confederate battle banner that were in everywhere, particularly among the alumni (161). Anthony was again befuddled by his sight. Shouldnt the Confederate flag, which is the ultimate symbolization of racism and oppression towards blacks, be removed in this day and ages? What was the intention of white Mississippians raising the Confederate flag? Dont they know that the flag was the key symbol of the period of greatest pain and suffering of the blacks ever in the American history? As he searched for the answer, he soon learnt that the Mississippians have not truly recovered from the pre-Emancipation period. Beneath the seemingly peaceful racial relationship are the prejudices which are deeply rooted in every Mississippians, that even the passage of time could not erase them completely. In places like football stadium in Mississippi, blacks would not be present, as Anthony suggest, for the blacks did not [feel] belong and certainly were not missed (162). There is still a great rift between the black and whites, that Mississippi contains two cultures of blacks and whites that are mutually hostile at each other. Just like the confederate flags that were waving high in the stadium, the whites see it as a representation of history and heritage while blacks think that the flag is a totem of subjugation. Two contrasting and opposing idea, again, reflected the very core problem of the contemporary Mississippi society the lack of understanding and tolerance between ra ces. After having been meeting with a few people like Mrs. Luckett and visiting places like the big mansions that whites reside, he realized that he was missing one major linkage in his search for the true and ugly American history his father. Being a direct victim of racial prejudices and oppression in the 50s, Anthonys father Claude did not talk to his child very much about his past. Anthony realized that by involving his father in his search for the roots of the problem, he would be able to find the linkage between his family past history with the disgusting, violent and often brutal Mississippi history. Through his father, Anthony knew that he was able to learn and feel the suffering of a black directly. Claude was born in Holly Spring. Just like many black children, he too faced with a lot of discriminations from the whites. For instance, he has to receive old books which always have pages missing (215) in school. Unlike the white kids, he didnt get to ride the bus. When there was n o school, Claude had to work in cotton field from early morning till at night. Through the vivid description of his father, Anthony finally understands how the aspect of Mississippi was like, that he often find hard to imagine. It was not until the brutal and merciless murder of his friend James, coupled with the hatred towards whites that he had long carried with him that James decided to leave Mississippi for Chicago, for he was tired of the racism and meanness'(213) here. He wanted to be treated like a boy, like a man (213). Through his journey to Mississippi, Anthony is able to gain more appreciation towards the Blues music, that blues has increasingly shadow everything, including his own worldview and those of [his] parents (227), as the detune notes (227) of the blues truly reflect and echoes the delivers of the spirit, the growl and the shriek (227) of the oppressed blacks towards the society. As Anthony continues to reveal one of the bloodiest chapters in the American history and associated them with his observations, he was petrified and abhorred by the ugliness of history the oppression of whites towards blacks and the inhuman and disgusting acts that have ever committed. He appreciates what his journey had taught him, though they might not necessarily be pretty. He tried to find the answers for what had happened around him. However, for each question he tried to answer, it will branch into three more, into infinitudes that he could no longer grasp (211). He started to view the problems, which he put the blame on the blacks, that trouble that blacks in South Chicago as an continuation of prejudices that rooted in the long history of Mississippi and American in general. He had finally learned to stop to evade and forget (275) the history but to embrace and call them [his] own. (275) In Mississippi: An American Journey, Anthony Walton travels back and forth in the river of Black history and his real-life journey to Mississippi. Waltons journey covers not only places that cast 200 years of history but also a long list of people: sharecroppers, planters, his parents and relatives, famous writers, bluesmen, aristocrats-white and black, those who create the history and those who inhabit it now. To Walton, once one of those who suffered from historical amnesia (274), this journey is a process of answering the contradictions and illusions around him, a process of gaining knowledge instead of being an American innocent, (274) and a process of deciphering his heritage, Mississippi, a place bearing the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. (274) However, it is not the knowledge increment of truth and stories that disappoint him but the acknowledgement of that the past has not yet passed do. Waltons innocence refers to his limited understanding of racism, Mississippi, even America. His knowledge of these is confined to awareness of them but not the insight into them. Walton once believed that the journey would bring him clarity and master of historical tradition of his race to compliment his inexperience. Certainly, the journey does give him enough fruit to appease his hunger. But what he discovers in Mississippi exceeds what he wanted to know. The knowledge he gains from the journey is that he progressively understands that the innocence comes from his happily suffering the historical amnesia that leads Americans to think they are innocent of history because they won-their values prevailed, their goals were achievedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Moreover, the realization of the pervasion of the darkness of Americas history wakes him up from the dream of the pursuit of truth and enlightment. In the prologue of Mississippi, Walton depicts a powerful scene in which his father, Claude, recounts an event happened on a Christmas Eve forty years ago. Claude points a shuttered building and says James Crump, his childhood friend, was shot right here where used to be a bus station because somebody called the sheriff and complained about James singing and clapping his hands on Christmas Eve. In Waltons mind, his father is a quiet man, well behaved, middle class as him, and never associated with violence because of his religion. But, what he sees in Claudes eyes when he recounts the story is indignation and grief that astonishes him. This old man turns to be a character lived under racism that he had never known. The increasing understanding of his fathers lives inspires him to reexamine racism and Mississippi. In a later chapter, Claude tells Walton the stories of his work during his escape from Mississippi to the North. Walton asks Did you ever want to hurt white people? (216) Claude responds with an ironic smile Most definitely. I hate white people, with a passionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I hated them as much as they hated me. I often had visions of wiping out the entire white community. (217)Upon this time, Walton is amazed that his father and thousands of other people who experienced and suffered from racism did not push their suffering down into another generation. (274) But, compared to what confused him before the journey, the toll of daily discrimination and hostilities he paid at New York, Walton realizes that he is still living in the same life as his father did except for the physical labor. Though Walton and other younger blacks can be well-educated, though their parents tried hard not to pass down their suffering and grief to them, the truth that young blacks are unconsciously suffering from the racism cannot be omitted, as long as they are blacks. The augmented knowledge of his father pushes him to realize the vagueness of what he deeply believed before-history is [as being] progressive, as having a purpose. In college, Waltons connection to Mississippi is only when his school, Notre Dame, loses a bitterly fought football game to Ole Miss, which is also the University of Mississippi. What he only knows about University of Mississippi at that time is that there is lots of Confederate hoopla surrounding the Rebels (6) and he does not glad about that. During his journey, he visits University of Mississippi several times, with his mother, Dorothy, and his friend, Mona. Walton and Mona go to the homecoming football game. In the stadium, he once again catches the sight of the Confederate flag among the alumni occupying a half of the stadium. The whites claim the rebel flag represents history and heritage whereas blacks see it as a totem of their subjugation; and it was astonishing to see fifty thousand whites waving Confederate flags to urge on their black gladiators. (162) This striking scene shows that racism is still here, at Mississippi. The society is still separate; the cost of their parents generation has not yet been paid off. However, as Walton and his mother wander around the campus, they find that some of the college students of Ole Miss and other younger blacks generation seem to comfortably live in the freedom in the cost of the 250-year battle of black Mississippians for recognition and civil rights, especially the battle for Ole Miss. (91) No one black student seems to be aware of what had happened here and what is going on here. In Dorothys eyes, A lot of them dont really identify with the cause of Mississippi or with blackness, or with what it took to get here. They dont care what it took as long as they can get in on some of the benefitsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ They probably dont even know who James Meredith is. (91) Statistics even shows that nine out of ten of the black college students in Ole Miss dont know who Medgar Evers was. The reality and statistics both convince Walton of the persisting racism in Mississippi and the ignorance of the generation of young blacks. He defines this symptom as amnesia, an epidemic disease among young blacks. Fortunately, Walton recovers from the journey to Mississippi. In contrast to his previous innocence, Waltons new knowledge about Mississippi and the persisting segregation helps him see the hooplas as something more concrete than mere dislike. The emotion is more complex. It is filled with centuries of hatred and violence, the same as what he sees from his fathers eyes. Dorothy once asked him about William Faulkner when he was in graduate school at Brown University, because she wanted to write about a Nobel laureate from her hometown, New Albany. Walton laughed out loud and informed her that this Faulkner was white. So? she replied. Walton tries hard to not think of Faulkner during his trip to Mississippi because in his mind, Faulkner was a white, a celebrator of the Confederacy and the owner of a big house out on Old Taylor Road whereas himself is a descendent of those who had been the slaves of his Sartorises, Compsons and Sutpens, who had suffered enormously under the Snopeses. But, he realizes he was wrong. Faulkner is everywhere in Mississippi. What Faulkner says about the past is undoubtedly right-the past isnt dead. It isnt even past yet. Faulkners novel Absalom, Absalom! reflects the history of South and foreshadows its future. In the novel, Supten disavows his black son by a black woman while embraces the white son by a white woman. The refusal of admitting the black son sets off a chain of incidents that lead to the destruction of the entire Sutpen family and plantation. After two years of his trip, Walton comes to decipher the metaphor in the novel as the reality what he is examining in Mississippi. The states tragic history is testimony to what this refusal has wrought. And it is now likely that the members of the two racial groups are permanent strangers, doomed to gape and stare but not see, blind to each other as siblings, humans, Americans. (163) Walton also refers Faulkners family story as the history of Mississippi. Faulkner understands the conflict in the hearts of Mississippian because he has deeply fallen in love with a black woman, Caroline Barr. However, when looking around at Faulkners marvelous mansi on, Walton can hardly find anything implies the existence of Caroline and manifests the love of them. Waltons new knowledge or acceptance of Faulkner is the product of his journey, clearing his innocence, recognizing the truth and exposing the scar of history. The book Mississippi: An American Journey emphasizes the shift of Waltons innocence to knowledge of history of blacks, of Mississippi, and of America. In the journey to Mississippi, the cotton plantation, the Rosaline mansion, the resting place of Medgar Ever, Holly Spring, New Albany, and Ole Miss are not simple places or scenic spots to Walton. The long roster containing Richard Wright, President Roosevelt, Ross Barnett, Meredith, sharecroppers, and bluesmen is not merely a review of history neither. They are testimony of racism, hatred and the logjam of history. In the end of the epilogue, Walton points out that Most of all, we want to be innocent of how much the ghosts and bones of our beautiful landscape have shaped and twisted virtually everything that has happened here; and we want to remain ignorant of how costly our innocence is to our government, our communities and our hears. But now, after the journey, Walton is glad that he could recover from the amnesia, never embrace t he ghosts and cradle the bones and call them his [my] own. (275) again. Work Cited Anthony, Walton. Mississippi: An American Journey. New York, Vintage, 1996. Innocence to knowledge Anthony Walton, a black upper middle class man with an Ivy League education, decides to journey back to Mississippi in hopes of discovering more about the, the troubled soul of the south(Caryl Phillips). He describes his experience in his book entitled, Mississippi: An American Journey. Mississippi is a landmark place for him because both his parents were raised there and as a child he spent countless summers with family members there. In the end of his long journey Walton reviews over all that he has learned and witnessed while in Mississippi and he concludes that his findings have taken him from a state of innocence into painful knowledge he did not have before (272). Walton explains this knowledge to be much like the knowledge Adam and Eve received once they, [ate] the fruit of the tree of knowledge, because, [he] became aware of things [he] could never not know again (272). Now Walton is no ignorant person, he studied at both Brown and Norte Dame University, so when he talks of acquiring knowledge he is simply saying he was given in depth information on topics he did not know there level of severity. It is not just Walton who did not know the extent of Mississippi history, but he said Americans in general had this amnesia about the past (272). Some of the realities Walton received were the stories told by older family members. His father told the first story of the book, and that was of his friend being shot to death on Christmas Eve. This story was told as they were walking in Mississippis humid summer weather in the exact location that the killing took place. At the time of the story Walton could only focus on how terribly uncomfortable he was in the weather, while it seemed like his father had stepped in a time machine that put him back at the scene. The deceased boy was innocent, young, and had not hurt a soul that night, but without the slightest bit of questioning was shot and killed instantly by a white man for expressing his happiness. Seeing the emotional and long term effect this had on his father, Walton began to get a glimpse into the sufferings his father experienced as a child in Mississippi compared to the privileged life style his father had given to him. A life style in Illinois where people, kept what prejudices they had to themselves (4). That single story was the beginning of a long str ing of knowledge Walton would collect. In the journey Walton and his mother visited Ole Miss. Ole Miss is the University of Mississippi, the fighting ground for people like his mother and fathers generation. As the two of them sat on campus, Dorothy Walton, his mother reminisced on her dreams about Ole Miss. She said although her generation was not able to attend it she would think, if i could get a chance to go here, that would everything alright, (95). Dorothy also noticed black students on campus who did not acknowledge her and she felt as if they had disconnected and forgotten about all the hard work before them that allowed them to be where they are (91). For instance the first black man to attend Ole Miss, James Meredith, having to be escorted by, five hundred U.S. marshals, border patrolmen, and deputized prison guards (94).Walton listens to her and thinks back to the time when they were touring colleges for him and that bit of information about Ole Miss and his mothers discontent with blacks interaction on campus let him understand the true cost of education. Walton would attend an Ole Miss football game while in Mississippi and witness a sign of racism he had never seen before. He was obviously aware that black people were not always admitted into the university and therefore the past alumni would be white; what he did not know was that the alumni carried, Confederate battle banner[s] everywhere (161). That flag was not a flag that displayed unity amongst all but one that was symbolic of a time where blacks where suppressed and unequal. Whether the flag represented history or not it was offensive to groups and Walton had to be in disbelief when he saw it. These signs were the pieces of the knowledge puzzle he was putting together in his head. Throughout Waltons journey he continues to ask the question of worthiness. His aunt and his mother were approached with the question. He wanted to know from his aunt was it worth moving up north and then moving back to Mississippi where racism is different from up north. She said the ghettos up north were the cause of death for many black men and if she wanted her sons to succeed then they would need to be in another area. This was an eye opener for Walton because he grew up in the north an assumed its was better then the rural south. Walton also asks his mom was it worth having black students who went far but did not even recognize each other? The response that his mother, Dorothy, gives is yes it being worth all the struggles her generations and the ones before endured. He then understands everyone wants better for each other whether it be now or in the future. This was where Waltons innocence was diminished because he now understood that his success was because of the sacrifices o thers before him made, and uncovering these sacrifices was like the key to knowledge. Mississippi: An American Journey is truly a journey that people take as they read the story Walton writes. He brings to the light all of the dark in Mississippis history that he learns. Through Waltons lens Americans and himself know little truth about Mississippi other than its racist and segregated past. What Walton ends with is not petty events and insignificant details found on the street or in a history book, but critical details and events he never knew existed. His newly found knowledge gave him a sense of the strength within the black people of Mississippi and the courage to embrace the past ghost and call them his own(275).