Xenophobia in Homers Oddyssey free essay sample

The greatest example of xenophobia in this book is in lines 148-153 on page 172. â€Å"So Odysseus moved out†¦ about to mingle with all those lovely girls, naked now as he was, for the need drove him on, a terrible sight, all crusted, caked with brine0 they scattered in panic down the jutting beaches,† In this scene in the book, Odysseus is woken up by Nausicaa’s maids playing in the river. When he comes out of the bushes and the maids take sight of him, they are frightened and they run away from him. They do this most likely because he is a foreign stranger and they are unfamiliar with him. They are also frightened because Odysseus appears out of the bushed naked. This scene reflects xenophobia because Nausicaa’s maids have an irrational fear towards Odysseus, who is a stranger. Nausicaa is the only one who does not show xenophobia because instead of running away like her maids, she chooses to stay out and confront Odysseus. We will write a custom essay sample on Xenophobia in Homers Oddyssey or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This suggests to the readers that Nausicaa was raised to be a strong, fearless person. Although, Nausicaa’s quality proved to be a good one, in other cases it may not be. Had Nausicaa met someone other than Odysseus, the result may not have been the same. If the person she had met had ill intentions, Nausicaa could have ended up being harmed, which would have been wrong judgement on her part. For a reader, this might be an example of the â€Å"proper way† to act towards strangers. Becasue Nausicaa is a Princess, she shows an amount of authority, and also people might look up to her as always doing the right thing. If Nausicaa sets and example in this book people may begin to follow it.

Free Essays on First Stop the Bombing

First, Stop the Bombing The article â€Å"First, Stop the Bombing† is about the decision of the United States Government to bomb the Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks in United States in September of this year. There are many legitimate, complex, and se- rious questions about how the United States should respond to the horrifying attacks of September 11th.The article claims that the American government should have tried to review its international policies to better understand the reasons why the attacks happened in first place. It also claimed that the bombs aren’t going to kill Osama Bin Laden or the Taliban leaders, but what is left of the already weaken civilian infrastructure, after the last war.(â€Å"The Soviet Union severely bombed most of the infrastructure in the 1980’s†). I agree with the article because it has a clear vision of what the United States didn’t try to do before it started bombing Afghanistan. The United States, first of all, should stop the bombing, change its international policies in the Middle East, and stop the continuous help to Israel. â€Å" First, Stop the Bombing†. First of all, let’s start with the purely practical considerations, the bombs are not going to kill Osama Bin Laden (who is almost certainly hiding somewhere safely out the line of fire), nor the Taliban leaders, they are hiding too. The direct consequence of the bombing is that, many innocent civilians, who do not support Osama Bin Laden or the Taliban leaders, will be killed. The already weakened civil infrastructure, after the last war, (the Soviet Union bombed most of the infrastructure in the 1980’s) will be destroyed. It will also create the kind of political backlash that Osama Bin Laden wants, with a direct consequence of new terrorist attacks in the United States. Million of refugees have already crowed into Pakistan or are waiting at the border, to get in. There is... Free Essays on First Stop the Bombing Free Essays on First Stop the Bombing First, Stop the Bombing The article â€Å"First, Stop the Bombing† is about the decision of the United States Government to bomb the Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks in United States in September of this year. There are many legitimate, complex, and se- rious questions about how the United States should respond to the horrifying attacks of September 11th.The article claims that the American government should have tried to review its international policies to better understand the reasons why the attacks happened in first place. It also claimed that the bombs aren’t going to kill Osama Bin Laden or the Taliban leaders, but what is left of the already weaken civilian infrastructure, after the last war.(â€Å"The Soviet Union severely bombed most of the infrastructure in the 1980’s†). I agree with the article because it has a clear vision of what the United States didn’t try to do before it started bombing Afghanistan. The United States, first of all, should stop the bombing, change its international policies in the Middle East, and stop the continuous help to Israel. â€Å" First, Stop the Bombing†. First of all, let’s start with the purely practical considerations, the bombs are not going to kill Osama Bin Laden (who is almost certainly hiding somewhere safely out the line of fire), nor the Taliban leaders, they are hiding too. The direct consequence of the bombing is that, many innocent civilians, who do not support Osama Bin Laden or the Taliban leaders, will be killed. The already weakened civil infrastructure, after the last war, (the Soviet Union bombed most of the infrastructure in the 1980’s) will be destroyed. It will also create the kind of political backlash that Osama Bin Laden wants, with a direct consequence of new terrorist attacks in the United States. Million of refugees have already crowed into Pakistan or are waiting at the border, to get in. There is...

Three Words Improvisations

Three Words Improvisations Student actors love improvs. This one generates a lot of original thinking in a short amount of time. If you focus the thinking of student actors on three words or phrases chosen at random to guide their creation of an improvised scene, you will free them to think far more creatively than if you told them to create a scene about anything at all. Although it sounds counter-intuitive, setting limits actually frees up creativity. This exercise gives student practice in quick collaboration, decision-making, and improvising based on a small amount of pre-planning. Detailed Instructions for facilitating this Improvisation 1. Prepare a number of words on individual slips of paper. You may prepare your own, or visit this page for lists  of words that you can download,  photocopy, cut, and use with your students. 2. Place the slips of paper containing the words into a hat, which, of course may actually be a box or a bowl or any other kind of bin. 3. Tell student actors that they will work in groups of two or three people. Each group will pick three words at random and meet together to quickly decide on the characters and context of a scene that will somehow employ their three chosen words. The individual words may be spoken within the dialogue of their improv or may merely be suggested by the setting or the action. For example, a group that gets the word villain may create a scene that features a character who is a villain without actually ever including that word in their dialogue. A group that gets the word laboratory may set their scene in a science lab, but never use the word in their scene. 4. Tell students that their goal is to plan and then present a short scene that has a beginning, middle, and an end. Every member of the group must play a role in the improvised scene. 5. Remind students that some kind of conflict within a scene generally makes it more interesting to watch. Recommend that they think about a problem that the three words suggest and then plan how their characters might work to solve the problem. Whether or not the characters succeed is what keeps audiences watching. 6. Divide students into groups of two or three and let them choose three words at random. 7. Give them approximately five minutes to plan their improvisation. 8. Gather the whole group together and present each improvised scene. 9. You may choose to have each group share their words before their improvisation or you may wait until after the improv and ask the audience to guess the groups words. 10. After each presentation, ask the audience to compliment the strong aspects of the improvisation. What worked? What effective choices did the student actors make? Who demonstrated a strong use of body, voice, or concentration in the performance of the scene? 11. Then ask the student actors to critique their own work. What went well? What would you change if you were to present the improv again? What aspects of your acting tools (body, voice, Imagination) or skills (concentration, cooperation, commitment, energy) do you feel that you need to work on and improve? 12. Ask the whole groupactors and audienceto share ideas for ways to improve the improvised scene. 13. If you have the time, its great to send the same groups of student actors back to rehearse the same improvised scene and incorporate the recommendations that they agree with. Additional Resources If you havent already, you may want to review the  article  Classroom Improvisation Guildelines and share it with your students. These guidelines are also available in poster form for older and younger students.

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 16

Summary - Essay Example At times English borrows new words from different places which later become part of the language. It has been obsereved that word order also changes as time passes, although its process slower than the change of words. Moreover, sounds of a language also chnge, for instance Vowel Shift occurred in English changing sounds of many different words. Some argue, English was more elegant in Shakespeare’s time. However, it should be noted that as language changes it does not get worse, it just replaces some words with changing needs of the people. The new words do sound odd at first; however, they become part of the formal language later on. Some people get annoyed when others don’t use â€Å"correct† English. However, there is no sloppy or lazy dialect. It’s true that English has some rules but they only implicate what English is like and not how one should use it. There are different dialects in English language all of which are correct. In fact, nowadays youngsters use English in such a way that they give every detail of the situation in a concise way. Formerly, it was argued that English should be more like Latin and some still want it to be like Latin. Thus, language changes with the passage of time and the change is inevitable. The changing language does not mean it is getting worse, it just happens because people change and so do the things they

Benchmarking and policy and regulations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Benchmarking and policy and regulations - Essay Example This percentage is increasing day by day with the increase in health care costs. The American nation is acutely aware of the fact that the health care system of their country is not working out for everyone. The increasing costs and an increasing percentage of uninsured people contribute to the rising problem in the health care system. The attention of policy makers is often directed towards these issues which they try to solve by addressing specific problems rather than looking at the whole health care system. These short-term solutions help in solving these problems for a limited period of time. Nonetheless, the problem as a whole still remains (Bureau of labor education, 2001). There are many causes of health insurance problems in United States. Due to the high cost of insurance, many people (mostly unemployed and poor) tend to remain without insurance. Businesses do not offer all their employees health insurance, hence more than half of the employees remain uninsured. Moreover, there are some people who want to get insurance, but the insurance companies consider them unfit for health insurance. Lastly, there are people who consider themselves healthy and do not want to seek insurance and pay high amounts of money to these health insurance companies (Bureau of labor education, 2001). As per the statistics 46.3 million people are currently uninsured in United States, however according to Families USA (2009), the number is even higher if we add the number of people who remain uninsured at least during for a little time. In 2007-2008 almost 86.7 million people were uninsured at some time. Almost 5 million people have the finances to get health insurance, however are not able to due to pre existing conditions. Texas has the highest number of uninsured people as compared to all other states of America. During 2004-2006 almost 24.1% of Texas population was uninsured (US Census Bureau, 2009). The percentage of under-insured

Security and Privacy Essay Example for Free

Security and Privacy Essay Introduction Identity theft is becoming very easy due to technological advancements. Protecting patient information must include all efforts from medical facilities, employees, and consumers. Society has the right to be protected from any misuse of personal data. An effective protective program starts with front-end preventive safeguards and ends with follow-through that reaches wherever incorrect information has flowed Identity theft has become a very popular topic for the past decade or so, the number of complaints has increased and is costing more than anyone wants to be spending on that issue. The Federal Trade commission estimates that as many as nine million Americans have their identity stolen each year, resulting in over 50 billion dollars of financial loss (Mercuri, 2006). Very common on Television to hear news and commercials warning about identity theft or some company trying to sell their services, helping in the fight to prevent it. In this paper, there will be discussions on the disadvantages of the break in privacy dealing with identity theft and on possible action plan to prevent the incident. What are your Reactions? Identity theft is a fraud that occurs when one identity is taken away and used in order to gain services or something usually of financial nature. Criminal identity theft occurs when a victim’s name, address, and mostly social security number is used by a different individual other than the actual owner. Oftentimes, the imposter would obtain that information from someone with access to a data bank where personal information is stored; it may be a hospital, social security department, company that collects data for the purpose of providing financial services. The information may be sold and used to open accounts, gain access to services fraudulently, which the actual owner, a victim of the theft will be charged for. Though many have tried to find ways to prevent and fight that kind of invasion of privacy, it  remains an issue and a very expensive one. Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in United States; it affects 13 persons per minute, 799 per hour, or 19,178 per da y (Mercuri, 2006). When it comes to personal identity theft, elaborate steps must be taken to repair identity, all creditors and banks must be contacted in order to freeze accounts and limit the damages. Any financial activities that were not approved should be reversed and investigated and any opened accounts closed. New identification cards should be provided, depending on the extent of the situation legal counseling may be necessary. Whichever way it happens, identity theft remains a burden for all not only individuals, but also for companies who carry the burden of screening employees in order to protect their customers from such occurrence. No one would welcome such calamity, not only the loss of privacy, the financial burden, but more so the trauma of not being able to prevent it completely. What are the Disadvantages of the Break in Privacy? The disadvantages of the break in privacy are for the hospital as well as the victims. Big corporations are kept accountable for all data collected from their clients and are liable for any misuse of that information no matter the use. Personal information are trusted to be used for an individual benefits in the process securing a service; it should not be sold or used without consent for others benefits. Once information has been compromised, it is the duty of the corporation which allows the break to occur to remedy the problem. Remediation can be very costly, the company is liable for the break, cause analysis is necessary to find the leak and establish preventive measures. Which involves retraining personnel and maybe adding more doing the hiring, better screening process; make every one accountable for work involvement. It is a costly process but necessary. It is a federal offense and as an HIPAA violation all perpetrators will be fined, it is a mandate. Victims of identity fra ud bear the burden of regaining their identity and find any measure to prevent future occurrence. Such fraud creates a financial burden, all major federal instutions such as social security department, internal revenue services, banks and creditors must be informed of the fraudulent act before identity can be restored. All activities under the victim name must be verified and investigated, that will require to work with the fraud departments of all banks where accounts  was opened or compromised. It can be very costly not only to restore identity, but also mostly once the damages are discovered it will take a lot of time and money to correct the wrong done. The federal trade commission must be contacted; they collect information that is shared with law enforcement agency investigating identity fraud. Consumer Credit reporting agencies must be informed and a credit reports requested to investigate whether the victim history has been compromised. The motor vehicle and passport agency must be contacted as well, in such a case all possible areas must investigated for possible damages. It takes time and resources to correct break in privacy. Medical identity theft may be very difficult to discover, an individual my not have any idea that he or she has been the victim until late and the damages result in a mounts of debts and loss of revenue for providers and insurers. One victim hired an attorney to sort out the damage to her records. She avoided the hospital where the identity thief was treated, because of the inaccuracies in her health record as a result of the medical identity theft (AHIMA, 2008). What are the Possible Actions Plans to prevent the Incident? Preventing any incident requires individuals as well as corporations to be very diligent in safeguarding personal data. It requires a team effort on the part of all parties, corporations must be willing to put in place the necessary resources in the respect, although the first line of defense rest with the individuals seeking services. Some of the preventive measures include, but not limited to: Share personal and health insurance information only with trusted providers. * Monitor the explanation of benefits received from insurers and obtaining a summary of all the benefits paid in the patient’s or guarantor’s name. * Question â€Å"free† medical services or treatments. Individuals should always question what is being offered and who is paying the cost. If not satisfied with the answers, they should decline the offer. * Protect health insurance information. Individuals should safeguard insurance cards, explanation of benefits, and health plan correspondence in th e same way they would safeguard credit cards. * Obtain and maintaining personal health records that include copies of significant health information from each healthcare provider (O’Brien, 2008). Furthermore it is very important that every hospitals or any  corporations having access to individuals personal data, to empower every consumer to be very diligent about personal data. It is necessary educate the public about the threat of identity theft. Increase awareness of the consequences and prevention measures. Institute sophisticated security monitoring measures and implement a broadly accepted, executive-supported information security charter for effective security policy and governance (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], 2008). HIPAA rules require that a risk analysis of any system be conducted that would address administrative, technical and physical safeguards. HIPAA security rule does not focus on technology but administration (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], AHIMA, 2008). It requires that any data collected of consumers be protected according to its security rule. Corporations must develop guidelines that protect consumers, but also that would minimize employee’s incidents of mismanagement of data. The process should start from hiring, to training and setting up steps that would raise red flags with any questionable occurrence. Conclusion Medical identity theft is becoming very complex and must involve the effort of all consumers, providers and insurers to battle and prevent occurrences. Consumer involvement is very important and necessary, they must be made aware of the threat to their privacy and educate on ways to prevent any occurrence. The public deserves to be protected from any mismanagement of personal data, it incumbents on every corporation to put in place process that safeguards all data collected. An effective protective program starts with front-end preventive safeguards and ends with follow-through that reaches wherever incorrect information has flowed (American Health Management Association, [AHIMA], 2008). References American Health Management Association, [AHIMA]. â€Å"Online, On Message, On Duty: Privacy Experts Share Their Challenges.† April 2008. Available online in the FORE Library: HIM Body of Knowledge at www.ahima.org. American Health Management Association, [AHIMA] e-HIM Work Group on Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs). â€Å"Using the SSN as a Patient Identifier.† Journal of AHIMA 77, no. 3 (Mar. 2006): 56A–D. Retrieved from www.ahima.org Mercuri, R. T. (2006, June). Security Watch: Scoping identity theft. Communications of the ACM, Retrieved from: www.citeseerx.ist.psu.edu O’Brien, Jenny. â€Å"Responding to Identity Theft: One Organization’s Effort to Turn a Negative Event into a Positive Result.† Journal of AHIMA 79, no. 4 (Apr. 2008): 40–41. Retrieved from www.ahima.org

Rite Aid Stock Analysis :: essays research papers

I chose to analyze the third largest retail drugstore chain in the United States, Rite Aid Corporation. I chose to analyze Rite Aid Corp. because our family owns approximately 1200 shares and we have taken quite a loss on our investment. We are in the process of deciding whether or not we should sell our stock. Additionally, my Mother has been a pharmacist at Rite Aid Corp for 11 years and she often pays close attention to the financial stability of the company. We both feel that when you are employed by a corporation, that the corporation should be financially stable. A financially secure employer is one who generally offers better compensation and advancement to its employees.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rite Aid Corp. has its corporate headquarters located at 30 Hunter Lane, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania 17001, and their telephone number is (717) 761-2633. Rite Aid’s common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Pacific Stock Exchange under the trading symbol â€Å"RAD† The board of directors consists of 11 members. Robert G. Miller is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman of the Board. The board is mainly male in gender with only 2 female directors. One of these females is Mary F. Sammons, president of the Rite Aid Corp. She is not only the President of the company, but also fulfils the role as Chief Operating Officer. The majority of the members are over the age of 55 years, with the youngest member being 43 years old and the oldest being 72 years old.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rite Aid Corp. sells â€Å"prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise that they call ‘front-end products,’ including over-the-counter medications, health and beauty aids and personal care items, cosmetics, greeting cards, household items, convenience foods, photo processing services, and seasonal merchandise.† They are distinguished â€Å"from other national chain drugstores, in part, through their private label brands, their ‘stores-within-Rite Aid stores’ program with GNC and by their Internet presence. The sale of prescription drugs alone represents 59.5% of their total sales. Over-the-counter drugs and personal care items (10.9%), health and beauty aids (5.8%), and general merchandise (23.8%) account for the remaining 40.5% of their total 2001 fiscal year sales. Rite Aid Corp. operates in the highly competitive retail drugstore industry. â€Å"In the sale of prescription drugs, they compete with, among others, retail drugstore chains, independently owned drugstores, mass merchandisers, supermarkets, discount stores, and mail order pharmacies.

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology on Family Life

The Positive and Negative Impacts of Technology on Family Life â€Å"Is technology tearing apart family life? Text messaging, social networking, and online video are changing the way parents and children see the world—and each other. † There are many technologies in today’s world that are widely used not just as a want, but as a necessity of life. This term paper will focus on relationship between family life and computer technologies, which have become the most widely used technology in the world due to its variety of functions including SNS, mailing, online face-to-face video chatting, and assignment completing tools. Computer technologies have both positive and negative effects on family life. As more and more families are beginning to own their own computers (computer internet users in North America reached to about â€Å"78. 3 %†) , the effects of technologies on family life is becoming more easily identifiable. This term paper will come across both the benefit and negative effects of using technologies on family life. There are the negative effects which include the isolation of family members, and parents bringing their work home. On the other hand, linking relatives together is one positive effect that technologies have on family life, and being instantly updated on other family members’ status is also a huge benefit. Overall, the benefits of using technologies outweigh the negative effects. One negative effect of computers on family life is less face-to-face contact between family members. In most families, each family member has their own computers or smart phones that are kept in their own rooms. Nowadays, the functions of computers and smart phones are not just limited to internet surfing, and assignment tools. They are also widely used for social networking services (SNS), such as; Facebook, Skype, and Twitter just to name a few. As a result of the increasing time consumption of using the functions on computers, family members are now more isolated from each other and cannot talk to each other face to face as often as before when technologies were not as important in day to day living. Even when there is only one computer per family, there is an interruption with family life. If one person is using the computer, then other family members do not want to just wait while the computer is being used, so they will go to a different room and each person will end up using the computers at their own leisure. The use of computer games is another thing that has reduced human contact between family members. Before computers were used in the home, if someone wanted to play a game, they usually had to find at least one other family member to play a board game or card game with them. That forced families to spend more time talking to each other. Now if someone wants to play a game that requires more than one person, they can just go on the computer and either play online against another person, or they can play against the computer. Playing games on the computer makes it easier to be isolated from physical contact with other family members. Now that you don’t have to ask person in your family to play a game, most families don’t spend as much time talking to each other and learning about each other. Another negative cause that computers have on family life is that many people now bring their work home with them instead of leaving it at work the way they used to. People’s work is now invading the privacy of their home. People find that it is easier and more convenient to work at home, so they bring their work home allowing it to invade their home. When people bring home their work, it separates families by causing parents to spend more time at home working, and less time with their family causing parents to not know as much about what is going on in their children’s lives. Bringing work home separates families, making them not as close knit as they would be if they spent more time together talking. Computer technologies have not just had negative effects on families; they have also had some positive ones. The use of Social Networking Service (SNS) through computer is one of the positive effects that technologies have had on families. With the use of computer functions such as; e-mail, Messengers, Twitter, and Skype, families can take care of things that they would otherwise have to leave the home to take care of. Using SNS also allow families to communicate with other family members who might not live close by. For example, I Skype (free online webcam chatting) my father in Korea at least twice a week. Without the use of SNS I wouldn’t be able to communicate with him nearly as much because phone bills would be too expensive for me to afford. So, because of SNS I am able to remain close to my father even though he is in Korea, and I am in Canada. A second positive effect that technologies have had on families is the use of instant texting service. This allows families to talk to each other and have a fairly normal conversation with each other even though they might not be in the vicinity. I personally use instant text messaging services to talk to my parents, my sister, and my relatives regularly because it keeps them updated on what is happening with me on a daily basis. While I am at school, I am still able to stay in touch with everyone back home without having to call each one of them separately. For many people who are away at school, instant texting services allow them to stay in touch with friends and family even though they are not at home. A third positive effect that technologies have had on families is computer web pages (Facebook). Web pages allow families to post pictures of themselves and other family members so that everyone in the family can go to the web page and view the pictures. My sister has a web page that explains things about her, and it has pictures of her and friends. One of my other uncles who lives in Korea also has his own web page. On his web page, he has pictures of his baby daughter. By going to my uncle’s web page, I have been able to see pictures of my baby cousin as she has grown and changed. Many other families have web pages similar to my families that they use to watch their families change even though they are not in the same country. In conclusion, the negative effects of using technologies posed can essentially be overcome by use of SNS technology through computer or phone. When there is lack of human contact between the family members, then Skype can be used to perform online face-to-face chatting. The use of technologies also proved to be more efficient when each family member want to be updated on each others’ status. Without the use of technology, instant messaging system would not be possible, so the relatives or family members would not be able to interact with each other as easily. APA 6th edition reference 1. Miniwatts Marketing Group (MARCH 31, 2011). WORLD INTERNET USAGE AND POPULATION STATISTICS. Retrieved from http://www. internetworldstats. com/stats. htm 2. Chris Barylick (June 21, 2001). Technology and Social Isolation. Retrieved from http://www. irchelp. org/irchelp/misc/tech. html 3. Gary Small, M. D. (June 19, 2009). Is Technology Fracturing Your Family. Retrieved from http://www. psychologytoday. com/blog/brain-bootcamp/200906/is-technology-fracturing-your-family.

Describe Your Own Leadership Style Essay

Jim Collins and a group of 22 research associates conducted a five-year research project searching an answer on the question ‘how a company from merely good can be transformed to great one’ and identified that behind this transformation lies a level 5 leader. Level 5 leadership refers to the highest level in a hierarchy of manager’s capabilities. A level 5 leader transforms the organisation into a great institution through a paradoxical combination of personal humility plus professional will. Beneath Level 5 leaders, lie four other layers, each one appropriate in its own right but none with the power of Level 5. Level 1 leader is a high capable individual who plays an important role in the success of his organisation through his talent, knowledge, skills and good work habits. A level 2 leader is a contributing team member who is very good with his team members and ensures that his team meets its assigned objectives and fulfils the core purpose. A level 3 leader is a competent manager who is skilled at organising people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. A level 4 leader is an effective leader. He sets high-level performance standards. He is remarkable at motivating his people and leading them towards realising his vision of the organisation. (Appendix 1, p. 11 summarises all levels of Collins’ Leadership Hierarchy) (Collins, J. (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) The purpose of this assignment is to conduct an evaluation of my own style of leadership within the organisation in which I work by using the above hierarchy as a frame of reference. In order to produce a thorough assessment on both my style and the usefulness of Collin’s model, a range of other theories and concepts must be taken into consideration. However, before proceeding to the analysis and evaluation, it would be helpful first to know the position I hold as well as its responsibilities within the organisation. A Brand Manager, member of the Marketing Department, is responsible for the planning, development and implementation of the Company’s marketing activities, among others: Launching of new products, market research studies, promotional activities/materials, to organize and execute the raining programs for the Sales Force. In order to become an efficient and effective Brand manager, the company is requiring knowledge (good academic background), experience and managerial skills including: Strategic and analytic capabilities, entrepreneurial spirit, team player, and flexibility and strong skills in communication and leadership. The Idea of Leadership It is most likely to find a topic more important to business success today than leadership. Leadership is defined as the ability to influence people toward the achievement of goals. Leadership occurs among people, involves the use of influence and it is used to attain goals. Leaders are expected to persuade or inspire people, produce cooperative efforts and pursue goals. Leadership is different from management, though the two are easily confused. One may be a leader without being a manager and many managers cannot ‘lead a squad of seven- years –olds to the ice cream counter’ according to Gardner (1989). Gardner believes that there are several dimensions for distinguishing leadership from management. Leaders think long-term, look outside as well as inside and influence others regardless the position that they possess. In order to understand the idea of Leadership and which are the characteristics a leader usually has, studies and research have been conducted and several approaches to leadership styles as well as theories are arose. Some of them are going to be related to Collin’s Level 5 leadership hierarchy as well as to my own style of leadership. (Daft R. L. , Management, ch. 16, Leadership in Organisations , p. 514-515) Level 1 Leader & The Leadership Traits Approach Leadership trait approach is the oldest approach to the study of leadership. From this approach occurs that there are certain qualities in some people that define them as leaders or potential leaders. Traits therefore are the distinguishing personal characteristics such as intelligence, values and appearance. Leaders extend their power and use their abilities to influence events. Effective leaders are usually more intelligent, more dependable, responsible and more active. They usually ask for more information and give out more information. However, the ppropriateness of a trait or a set of traits depends on the leadership situation. The same traits do not apply to every organisation or situation. (Appendix 2, p. 11 summarises the physical, social and personal leadership characteristics) On the contrary, Collin’s Hierarchy is consisted of several characteristics/ capabilities that most can be found also in the leadership trait approach such as knowledge, achievement to drive and working effectively with others in a group setting. However, two characteristics that are of great importance are not included in it. There are the most important ones and are a necessary requirement for transforming an organisation from good to great, humility and professional will. (Diploma in Management, Module book 1, section 6, Teams in Management, p. 6. 16) However, in order to understand in what extent these two concepts can be correlated, we can use ourselves as an example. For instance, my position requires being a highly capable individual (Collin’s Hierarchy Level 1). How can I accomplish this requirement? By demonstrating many of the personal traits such as intelligence, knowledge, judgement and cognitive ability. For instance, the products that I handle have intense competition. Good knowledge of the market as well as intelligent moves made them to differentiate from competition. The creation of a guideline for treatment at home as well as the delivery of the products at home gave a benefit to them. As a result, Doctors preferred to prescribe these products for long term use and hade great impact on the company’s name and reliability. When we speak of leadership, either we refer to the qualities/ competencies of an individual or we can refer to a function of organisation. The ‘trait’ theory of leadership- the traditional or popular management view of leadership- focuses on the concept that leadership is a quality or set of qualities particular to an individual. On the contrary, the group dynamics theory sees leadership as a function of organisation. Level 2 Leader & Task versus people perspective styles Task versus people perspective styles of leadership do not take into consideration the organisation as a whole. They focus on teams. Every group of people has a task to accomplish. However, since groups are composed of people, several needs arise from them. According to the group dynamics theory of leadership, the person who adequately fulfils the needs that the group perceive to be the most important could be considered as an effective leader. A working team need to fulfil two functions. First, its formal tasks must be fulfilled. In order this to be accomplished; a set of competencies must be evolved. Technical knowledge, innovation and sense of achievement are related with the instrumental need to perform the tasks. Second, needs for affiliation, interaction and mutual support are usually observed within a team. Such needs are called expressive needs. The person who becomes leader must facilitate the satisfaction of some of the teams’ needs. This leader emerges to the group because he is the best able to help the group survive and succeed. ) (Master in Business Administration, Module book 3, section 1 The Theory of Leadership, p. 1. 7-1-11) According to Collin’s leadership hierarchy, the leader that is described in the group dynamics approach could be characterised as a level 2 leader. A contributing team member who is very good with his team members and ensures that his team meets its assigned objectives and fulfils the core purpose. Both group dynamics approach and Collins hierarchy are useful in helping us to see how leaders may relate to team members and to situations. (Collins, J. , (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) As a Brand Manager, one of my responsibilities to support our sales team by providing them with moderate amounts of detail and focus on why it is important for the team members to complete our objectives. However, I believe that co-owning the objective/action plan with team members and asking team members ideas as well as offering my own ideas is more efficient and can lead us easier to our goals. Besides, It is better to have, for instance, five people to think rather than one. Therefore, I strongly believe that teamwork can lead to better results. Level 3 Leader & The Contingency Theory According to contingency models, leadership depends as much on the situation of the group as on the leader himself or herself. Thus, we have a choice; either the leader can fit to the situation or change effectively the situation to fit the leader. As we can understand, leadership is different for first-level supervisors than for chief executives and the kind of leadership needed for skilled and highly motivated followers may not work for followers who are alienated and untrained. According to Fiedler, contingency model divides the leadership situation into three variables. In order to determine the most effective leadership style, we must consider the inter-relationship of the three contingencies: leader – member relations, task- structure and position power. 1. Leader – member relations, where mutual trust, respect and open communication exist and can be consider as advantageous. This means that tasks are clear and structured and members are aware of the power the leader holds. On the other hand, where there is little or no trust, respect of communication, then the relationship can be characterised as disadvantageous (control over the situation is needed and a focus on a task will not detract from the leaders/ team relationship because this is not essential to start with. 2.  Task- structure, when work is highly structured and easy to know when somebody has not complied with an instruction and it is easy to impose sanctions. However, when work is unstructured, leaders cannot enforce compliance with external controls and therefore, the leader has much less power than when work is highly structured. 3. Position power, is the extent to which a leader has formal authority over the followers. When position power is high then the leader has the power to plan and direct the work of followers, evaluate it and accordingly reward or punish it. On the other hand, when position power is low, the leader has little authority over followers. (Appendix 3, p. 11 presents Fiedler’s examination on how Leader Style fits the situation) Finally, according to Fiedler, task-oriented leaders tend to be more effective in situations that are either highly advantageous or highly disadvantageous to them and that relationship-oriented leaders tend to be more effective in situations that are moderately advantageous to them. (Bolman,L. G. , Terrence,D. E. , Reframing Organisations, Ch. , Reframing Leadership, p. 342-344) According to Collin, a level 3 leader is a competent manager who is skilled at organising people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. However, as it is showed above, an efficient leader must differ from situation to situation or from team to team, according to its special characteristics. Analysing a level 3 leader in correlation with Contingency theory, we understand tha t a level 3 leader should consider both leader –member relations and tasks. Predetermined objectives cannot be achieved, if mutual trust, respect and open communication do not exist in a team and if tasks are not highly structured and followers do not know precisely their responsibilities. However, we must never ignore the extent to which a leader has formal authority over the followers. (Collins, J. , (2005). Level 5 Leadership: The Triumph of Humility and Fierce Resolve, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 83. No. 7, p. 136-146) For instance, according to my position, my everyday contact is with the sales team. According to my opinion, it is clear that trust, respect as well as open communication and mutual understanding exist within our team. One of the responsibilities of my position is to organise in some extent, their work by indicating them what is our goal and how we can reach it, with what tools and where we want to focus. Another one is to monitor our products sales and ask questions whenever I believe it is necessary. However, my position power is not as high as to evaluate them and reward or punish them accordingly.

Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman Essay

Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman Essay Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman Sociology Essay Example Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman Sociology Essay Example Nowadays, much attention is paid to the notion of self, especially in health care providing institutions. A great number of patients, especially those who obtain disability care, suffer from depressions, exclusion and segregation. These feelings are formed by the surrounding environment and by themselves. The current work investigates how this issue was considered by Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault in order to provide deep understanding of their ideas by comparing and contrasting them. Erving Goffman and His Ideas Erving Goffman is the Canadian sociologist who made the considerable contribution into the social science and study of the human nature in the 20th century (Barsky 1994, p.95). The formation of Goffman’s ideas was based on the works of Tom Burns, Emile Durkheim, Sigmund Freud, and other notable philosophers (Barsky 1994, p.95). He is widely recognized for studying of symbolic interaction, sociology of everyday life, framing of experience (i.e. social organization) and social construction of self. In addition, he paid much attention to the analysis of stigmas and total institutions. The current essay will be focused on his ideas concerning stigma, identity, institutionalization and disability care in the modern society (Barsky 1994, p.95). Erving Goffman provided the following definition of stigma: â€Å"the phenomenon whereby an individual with an attribute which is deeply discredited by his/her society is rejected as a result of the attribute; stigma is a process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity† (Goffman 1986, p. 34). The person with a stigma is not considered to be a common (Albrecht et al. 2001, p.67). Hence, this person suffers from discrimination and other actions, which reduce his life chances from the side of â€Å"common† members of the society (Goffman 1986, p. 45). This situation can be also described as cutting off from the society (Manning 1992, p.89). It facilitates the individual with stigma to respond to the social discrimination by defensive cowering or hostile bravado (Goffman 1986, p. 67). At the same time, it should be noted that, as per Goffman’s understanding, stigma represents the language of relationships between various individuals but not the set of attributes because individuals from a similar stigma category tend to unite in special groups for the protection of their interests and reflection of their ideas (Goffman 1986, p. 78). The process of stigmatization is brightly reflected in modern health care providing institutions because people with certain illnesses can feel rejection from the side of other (healthy) members of the society. An obvious example is patients with HIV/AIDS as â€Å"when a disease label is attached to a person, the very label itself has the power to â€Å"spoil the sufferers identity†; both personal and social† (Healthy Knowledge 2011). Goffman noted that the social stigma is based on the labelling process. It can be caused by social reaction, i.e. discriminatory experience (â€Å"enacted stigma†), and even by imagined social rejection that can have a negative influence on patient’s self-identity (â€Å"felt stigma†) (Healthy Knowledge 2011). The situation is even sharper in the case of rendering of disability care. It is notable that both abled and disabled patients are influenced by felt stigma because â€Å"the stigmatised individual may be able t o hide the discrediting attribute from others but cannot do so from him or herself† (Healthy Knowledge 2011). However, disabled individuals cannot avoid enacted stigma by moving to another place where they can feel themselves less stigmatized. In their book Caring for People with Learning Disabilities, Ian Peate and Debra Fears (2006) applied Goffman’s works to the modern disability care. They noted that Erving Goffman used the term â€Å"insititualization† to show the way, in which patients became depersonalized by the system of health care providing institutions and health care providers. The sociologist determined a set of various features, which defined the â€Å"insititualization† (Smith 2006, p.109). These features are the following: block treatment, depressonalization, rigid, and inflexible system of social detachment and care between the staff and patients (Goffman 1961, p.101). Hence, patients with disabilities feel exclusion, segregation and abus e for the long-term period (Peate Fearns 2006, p.76). Additional attention should be paid to the concept of â€Å"courtesy stigma† described by Erving Goffman (1963) in his work Stigma: Notes on the management of a spoiled identity. He identified this phenomenon as â€Å"tendency of stigma to spread from a stigmatised individual to his close connections† (Goffman 1986, p.30). In her work Disability and stigma: an unequal life. Speech Language Therapy in Practice, Sarah Earle (2003) provided the real-life example of this concept: the relatives and carers of patients with Alzheimer usually feel shame and embarrassment (Earle 2003, p.22). In addition, it should be noted that Erving Goffman focused on the management of stigmatizing marks rather than on their resistance (Trvino 2003, p.73). Such a micro-social focus created the background for sharp criticism of Goffman’s ideas because the idea of stigmatization was considered as â€Å"articulated, apolitical and divorced from the social processes† (Farrugia 2009, p.1015). The interrelation between social processes and stigma was discussed in the works of Michel Foucault whose ideas are closely connected with Goffman’s. Michel Foucault and His Ideas Michael Foucault is a French philosopher and social theorists who described relationships between knowledge and power and their application by various social institutions for controlling people (Foucault 1982, p.780). The current essay will focus on the description of his ideas concerning personal identity, stigmatization and the role of institutions in the modern social life. It is notable that Michael Foucault provided the dual meaning of the term â€Å"subject†. This meaning depends on the disabled person and the surrounding environment. On the one hand, being the subject means being controlled and dependent from someone else; on the other hand, it implies being tied to someone’s identity by means of self-knowledge and conscience (Tremain 2005, p.87). The philosopher relates both senses to the reflection of power and models, through which individuals were transformed into subjects (Tremain 2005, p.88). Michael Foucault considered institutions as the methods of obtaining advantage by some group of individuals (i.e. confer powers to themselves) by changing some relationships and self-perceptions (Michel-Foucault 2010). In his work, David Farrugia (2009) noted that Michael Foucault put the emphasis on the structural aspects of the stigmatization.The philosopher identified connections between knowledge and power and argued that the power is reflected â€Å"through the construction of embodied subjectivity† (Farrugia 2009, p.1016). Hence, the social control is realized inside the various institutions governed by professionals (such as hospitals, rehabilitation institutions). The subjectivity is created by the constitution of subjects as knowable. Various technologies are used for actualization and performance of this subjectivity. This idea is more thoroughly explained by Shelley Tremain (2005) who investigated the treatment of disabled individuals. The author noted that during the past two centuries the well-being of the general population was secured by the special apparatus which created, classified, controlled and even managed social anomalies, by which people were divided from others and o bjectivized as uncommon (Tremain 2005, p.88). This idea is based on Foucault’s understanding that the exiting practices of division and classification act as the means of individualization of people. Hence, the necessity to increase power is reflected in the creation of the numerous nursing homes and incarcerating of people there (Tremain 2005, p.87). Foucault considered power as the fundamentally repressive thing, in which one social group reigns over the other (Tremain, 2005, p.87). This reigning is reflected in the creation of the illusion that some people are prediscursive, or natural, antecedent (impairment) (Tremain 2005, p.87). This illusion justifies the governmental practices directed on the control of one group of people over the other group of people. Along with that, such illusion can be easily created in the health care providing institutions, which perform treatment of people with disabilities. Being put in the environment of constant pressure and reflection of power, the patients consider themselves as subjects. In addition, health care providers and healthy people influenced by the system and the created illusions perceive these patients as subjects. It should be noted that Foucault did not deny the existence of mental disorder (Varga 2015, p.64). The philosopher just resisted the idea that there should be a defined separation between mental disorder and normal experience (Varga 2015, p.64). He stood in opposition to making any â€Å"normative judgements about the correct point on this continuum at which to fix the boundaries of mental disorder† (Varga 2015, p.64). Comparing and Contrasting of Ideas Presented by Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault As it was stated above, this essay provides analysis and comparison of ideas of Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault concerning the work of various institutions, which are connected with the disability care and self-identification of people who suffer from various disability diseases. It is notable that the ideas of these philosophers have similar backgrounds. However, they are developed in various directions and explain the phenomenon of stigmatization differently. Both Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault highlight the fact that identity of the individual and personal stigmatization is based on two features. The first feature is the perception of the individual by other members of the society. Erving Goffman called this feature â€Å"enacted stigma† while Michel Foucault described it as subjectivization by someone else. This means that both philosophers agreed that the surrounding environment has the considerable influence on the personal identity. The second feature refers to the imagined social rejection, i.e. how the individual considers social attitudes to himself or herself. Erving Goffman named this self-identification feature â€Å"felt stigma†, and Michel Foucault described it as a personal tie to the existing identity by self-conscience. Consequently, both philosophers recognize that the individual himself plays a great role in the personal stigmatization. This understanding is rather relevant for the consideration of the issue of stigma of disabled patients because it shows that this issue is caused by both self-perceptions and social attitudes to these individuals. Erving Goffman even laid emphasis on this statement by providing the idea that people with similar stigmas can join in one group, i.e. form some sort of the society where they are treated as equal. Michel Foucault agreed that people with similar stigma can represent one joint social group that is influenced by other social group (common members of the society). Additionally, it should be noted that both philosophers pointed to the great role of healthcare providing institutions in sharpening of the rejection of individuals with various disabilities. The existing system of health care where patients feel themselves as uncommon members of the society increases their feeling of exclusion and segregation. Goffman stated that in such institutions, â€Å"the organization of life is deliberately designed to strip the inmate of his or her self-image and replace it with one more acceptable to the ethos of the institution† (Jones et al. 2011, p.83). Michel Foucault even stressed that this system was created for planting of this feeling. Special separation of common and uncommon (i.e. disabled) groups of individuals is necessary for strengthening the power and the influence of the first group over the second one. This means that both Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault agree that in the modern society, disability care sharpens the issue of socia l rejection of patients by their depressionalization and exclusion based on social attitudes and their self-identity because they are considered to be uncommon. Along with that, both philosophers highlighted the great influence of the way of interaction between individuals on the formation of the self-identity. Erving Goffman described this phenomenon as interactional footing (Hauser 2005, p.36). He considered conversation between individuals as some kind of reflection of their own frames, schemes and attitudes. In addition, the socialist noted that individuals adapt the way they participate in listening and speaking to interaction on the basis of the consideration of their own position and the position of interactor (Marks 2012, p.16). He noted the following: â€Å"footing is the alignment we take up to ourselves and the others present as expressed in the way we manage the production or reception of an utterance† (Marks 2012, p.16). Erving Goffman also showed that footing can be shifted because of the changes of the alignments and attitudes. In her work, Annie R. Marks (2012) stated that â€Å"the shift in footing is noteworthy beca use it demonstrates the power†. This idea was further developed by Michel Foucault. He noted that the knowledge and the power are reflected through the language. Hence, one social group can create an illusion of separation from other social group by means of discourse through the number of procedures: so called â€Å"discursive practices† (thinking, writing and speaking) act as producers and inhibitors for designation of choices and exclusions (Hook 2001, p.531). The way of interaction has the considerable influence on the formation of relationships between the carer and the disabled person in the modern society because it has particular language forms and reflects the rejection of the patient by the society and by himself or herself. However, there are some contrast in ideas presented by Erving Goffman and thoughts provided by Michel Foucault. While the Canadian philosopher focused on management of stigmatizing marks and the ways, in which people are constituted in mutual interactions, French philosopher directed his investigations on the interrelation between social processes (power and knowledge) and stigma through local circumstances and practices. This means that Goffman is considered to be â€Å"bottom-up† micro-theorist while Foucault represents â€Å"top-down† macro-theorists (Jacobsen 2010, p.16). As per doctrine developed by Erving Goffman, social stigma is based on labelling process while Michel Foucault in his studies stressed the fact that individual’s identity is formed by the intends of one social group to increase its power and influence on the other social group by intensification of the separation between them. This power is reflected in the creation of the illusion of divers ity between the groups. In the modern society, particularly in institutions providing care to disabled patients, this power is reflected in the total control of health care providers and carers (for example, family members) of all the actions and environment of patients. The current essay provides the general description of ideas of Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault in regard to institutialization of the society and personal stigma identity of people who obtain disability care. It is notable that both philosophers have similar visions on numerous matters. First of all, Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault recognized that stigmatization is formed under the influence of attitudes of social members and self-esteem. The attitudes and self-perceptions are reflected through the language. Along with that, both philosophers agree that people with similar stigma can join in one group for reflection and protection of their interests. Erving Goffman and Michel Foucault also noted that modern health care providing institutions have the considerable negative effect on patients because they increase rejection of these people by the society and themselves. However, there are some contrast in ideas of Canadian philosopher and French social theorist. While Erving Goff man focused on management of stigmatizing, Michel Foucault studied the interrelation between social processes. The first one noted that social stigma is based on labeling process while Michel Foucault stressed that individual’s identity is formed by intends of one social group to strengthen its influence on the other social group by escalating the separation between them.

Catalogue Of Christian Herasie Essay Research Paper

Catalog Of Christian Herasie Essay, Research Paper St Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, called the Council of Nicea to cover with some of the unorthodoxies of the clip, such as Arianism and Novatianism. This council lasted 2 months and 12 yearss, and had 318 bishops in attending. The benefits from this council were of import to reaffirming the religion. It stated that all people could be forgiven of their wickednesss, no affair how bad the wickedness is, every bit long as the individual was genuinely regretful for what he has done. The Nicene Creed is besides a merchandise of this council. The Nicene Creed is a announcement of our beliefs as Catholics. Council of Ephesus ( 431 ) The Council of Ephesus was called to cover with the unorthodoxies of Nestorianism and Pelagianism. There were over 200 bishops present, under the counsel of St. Cyril, who was stand foring Pope Celestine. The major parts to faith brought Forth from this council was that Mary is genuinely the female parent of God ( Theotokes ) , and that Jesus was both God and adult male in one being. Council of Chalcedon ( 451 ) The Council of Chalcedon was called by Pope Leo the Great to manage the unorthodoxy of Menophytism. The Emperor Marcian was in attending, along with over 150 Bishops. This council denounced Menophytism, and stated that Christ had two natures, Godhead and homo, which were both in one being. Fourth Lateran Council ( 1215 ) . Pope Innocent III held the Fourth Lateran Council as a call for religious reform. Over 1,200 of the universe s taking clerics were in attending at this council. This council did many things to confirm the religion. It brought about a reform in clerical life, spiritual direction in slang, condemned many of the unorthodoxies traveling on at the clip, seal of confession ( priests can non let go of what you confess during rapprochement ) , one-year confessions and Eucharist at Easter clip, and reaffirmed the seven sacraments and transubstantiation. Council of Constance ( 1414-1418 ) The Council of Constance was called during the Western Schism to make two things. The first was to stop the separation of the church, and the second was to declare who would be the Catholic Pope out of the 3 Catholic Popes who were claiming pontificate. This council did two of import things. It ended the Schism that had 3 cabals of the church controversy over whose positions were right, and whose Catholic Pope was the rightful Catholic Pope. Second, it named Pope Gregory XII as the rightful Catholic Pope, but he steps down and hands the place over to Pope Martin V. Fifth Lateran Council ( 1512-1517 ) The Fifth Lateran Council was called by Pope Julias II to set and stop to the corrupt patterns in the church. There were around 95 high members of the church nowadays at this council. This council put an terminal to many of the corrupt patterns of this clip period within the Catholic Church. Council of Treant ( 1545-1563 ) The Council of Treant was called by Pope Paul III to conflict the Protestant beliefs and clearly lay out the Catholic beliefs. There were over 450 people present at this council over the 18 old ages it was held. Besides, 5 Catholic Popes presided over it during the clip it was held. This council affirmed 12 philosophies on the church, apostolic domination, godly disclosure consists of Bible and tradition, Faith and good plants are necessary for redemption, reaffirmed transubstantiation, the mass is a true forfeit, Penance is the manner in which wickednesss are forgiven, reaffirmed the seven sacraments, Purgatory exists, psyches in purgatory benefit from our supplications, indulgences have a true religious value, condemned superstitious utilizations of relics and indulgences. First Vatican Council ( 1869-1870 ) The First Vatican council was called by Pope Pius IX to reaffirm apostolic authorization and to clear up church learning to onslaughts from enlightenment minds. There were 803 in attending, including 46 from the United States. The major part to faith from this council is the philosophy of Papal Infallibility, which means the Pope can non do mistake when learning church philosophy or on the religion. Second Vatican Council ( 1962-1965 ) The Second Vatican Council was called by Pope John XXIII to regenerate the church spiritually, and to reconsider the church s topographic point in the modern universe. This council made many alterations to the Holy Eucharist, such as doing it common so the common individual could understand God s message. It besides allowed for more engagement in mass by the common individual.

Personal Growth Influences Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal Growth Influences - Essay Example This lifestyle, with it’s exposure to a variety of cultures and ethnicities, has been the learning experience of my lifetime and has made me very much aware of the universality and basic oneness of mankind, despite differences of race, language and religion. It has made me a true ‘citizen of the world.’ The extracurricular activity I have most enjoyed has been running track in High School. This has inculcated in me the passion to go all out to reach my goal, taught me that preparation is the key to success and has given me endurance and the hunger to win. It has also taught me to work as a member of a team towards a common objective and made me appreciate the camaraderie of a commonly motivated group and also the importance of physical fitness in life. The strongest influence of my life has been my parents. My Mother, who is a registered nurse at a retirement home, has influenced me to be sensitive to the needs of the economically and socially disadvantaged and also the aged and the ill. At her suggestion, I have been involved in a community project in which I have visited hospices for the aged over the weekends and spent some time with the inmates, reading to them (mainly the newspapers and the Bible) and helping them with their letters and other correspondence. I have come away from this experience with the certainty that society owes the aged a gift of security and inclusion. I have a deep admiration and respect for my Father, who is an International trader for a major American bank. He treats me not only as his son, but also as his confidante and friend. I am often privy to the information inputs which guide his management techniques and his responses to the various financial complexities involved in his profession. From his experiences, I have understood that the quality of life and the personal happiness of people all over the world is dependent on their financial security, particularly in the later years.