Organisational Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Organisational Change - Assignment Example In most cases, the process of change is met by some sort of resistance because employees tend to uncertain about the new concept being introduced as its outcomes tend to be uncertain (Pardo del Val & Maartinez Fuentes n.d, p. 5). Change should be a gradual process that should focus on having all team members on board, but those that seek to maintain the status quo are usually outshined by the same. John Kotter, a leading thinker in management, asserts that an eight step model is the surest way for leading changes in an organisation with a high chance that the organisation that applies it assured of success. The eight step model will be discussed later within the paper so as to capture an in-depth analysis of the same. Resistance within an organisational setting is something that a leader should anticipate, meaning that being prepared for this is likely to influence the speed of implementing the changes desired. Once change has been implemented, managing it becomes the next task as poor management of change is likely to foster undesired results. In essence, the need to implement change results from the aspect of globalisation and new technology innovations made every day that seek to make business practices be more effective, which is what every business organisation seeks to achieve (Aquinas 2010, p. 244). The implication of this is that organisations should operate at their l ocal level but apply international strategies so that their products and services can go global which a concept that McDonalds understood well (Vignali 2001, p. 98). With this, the essay will delve into the perspectives of John Kotter on change, the three schools of thought on change and their relevance today. In an organisational setting, change management refers to the process of helping individuals and teams within an organisation to transition towards the future that that the organisation desires (Burgess 2004, p. 169). According to many, change tends to be deliberate and

Human Resource Management Overview in Health Care Research Paper

Human Resource Management Overview in Health Care - Research Paper Example In this regard, past literature review can be helpful for healthcare human resource managers to manage their roles efficiently with the ever changing focus. The literature related to resource-based view (RBV) of companies reviews the level of employees’ knowledge, expertise, and capabilities along with their motivation and loyalty to be inseparable with the human capital of companies. More than that, formal and informal communications among employees and between employees and the company are recognized to be associated with social capital of companies. As per the Resource Based View (RBV), focus has changed from outside factors of competitive advantage to inside company resources, which has added legitimacy to the human resource’s claim that people are strategically significant to company success (Sadatsafavi & Walewski, 2013). The criticality of human resources in producing a long-lasting competitive advantage is necessary for the strategic leadership and management. O bserving human capital through the lens of RBV reveals the importance of human capital for creating competitive advantages as it is mostly the company’s most distinct resource and the means employed for creating and managing it could be complicated. It shifts and offers equal significance to human resource management system as a tool for creating competitive advantage from human capital. ... The behavioral arrangements provide sufficient inducements to the workforce, along with the built environment to add to the varied list of human resource management tools for increasing the criticality and distinctiveness of the mechanism from which the human capital pool of the company is created. Additionally, the principles of RBV indicate that the value generated by a rare, distinct, and complicated resource pool cannot be copied for reproduction by the competitors (Sadatsafavi & Walewski, 2013). When discussing human resource for health, decentralization of power and resources is important but more than that, it is the challenge to set answerability procedures in place of those who take decisions and act, irrespective of the matter what rank they hold. Human resource management, quality and equity of staffing cannot change for the better if decentralization policies are not there to check accountability. Equally important are innovations in capacity building of all actors in fra ming efficient incentive measures (Lodenstein and Dao, 2011). Evaluate Three to Five (3-5) Functions of Human Resource Management in Terms of their Level of Support to the Health Care Field, and then select which One You Believe is the Primary Function in Furthering the Health Care Field Some major functions of human resource management that add to the healthcare field include use of technology, which is going to increase in future in healthcare. The increasing focus on technology is going to impact job profiles of employees. It would heighten the role of leadership to adapt to the changed environment. It is general opinion that good leadership helps in creating a better job environment with reducing retention issues and employees’ crunch (Berardino et al.,

Reflective Portfolio of an Occupational Therapist

Reflective Portfolio of an Occupational Therapist Reflective Portfolio and Continuing Professional Development Portfolio The HCPC defines a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) portfolio as: ‘A range of learning activities through which health professionals maintain and develop throughout their career to ensure that they retain their capacity to practise safely, effectively and legally within their evolving scope of practice’. (Allied Health Professions project) Put simply, a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio is a way for professionals to continue to learn and develop throughout their careers so they keep their skills and knowledge up to date and are able to work safely, legally and effectively within social services or the private sector. Alsop (2000) recognises that there is a wide range of benefits of CPD. By keeping a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio it helps to encourage a higher standard of personal professional performance. It demonstrates a commitment from the healthcare professional to ensure the best practice is given as well as demonstrating a dedicated commitment to service users. Continuing Professional Development Portfolio requires some specific documents. For example a CPD portfolio requires a fully up-to-date Curriculum Vitae and a personal statement with a summary of current work and how your CPD improved the quality of your work and the benefits you have provided to your service users. As well as the basic necessities there are a variety of things that could be beneficial to include in ones Continuing Professional Development Portfolio such as informative hand-outs or articles that have impacted upon your understanding of Occupational Therapy or examples of your skills applied to your current situation. Another key aspect of keeping a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio is to have regular reflections of your objective practices and assessments. By turning ones experiences of practice into a written form of documentation it will help each individual identify and support their learning outcomes and learning needs. It also helps to have a wide ra nge of learning activities including peer review/feedback and group projects. As well as peer feedback from group work it would also be beneficial to include feedback on assignments from professors, illustrating how your learning has developed, and your practice has improved. The Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct (COT, 2010) specifies the requirements of an Occupational Therapist in relation to keeping a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio. It states that all Occupational Therapists must continue to keep a CPD portfolio that may be audited by the HCPC every five years. Each professional must make sure that their CPD Portfolio shows a variety of different kinds of activities and that each activity is relevant to their line of work. Each CPD portfolio should aim to improve the quality of work you produce, and ensure that each healthcare professional is able to practice safely and effectively within their scope of practice as well as being able to practise within the legal and ethical boundaries of each varying profession. For example an Occupational Therapist because they have such a holistic approach to their care would need to be aware of the impact of culture, equality and diversity on their practice (HCPC 2013) With each health care prof essional updating their Continuing Professional Development Portfolio they will be able to draw on up to date and appropriate knowledge and skills to inform their practice decisions and to help them understand the need to establish and maintain a safe practice environment. However a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio is not just kept by Occupational Therapist’s but are required from the entire multidisciplinary team A multidisciplinary team (MDT) is composed of members from different healthcare professions with specialised skills and expertise. This is beneficial to the patients because when professionals from a range of disciplines with different but complementary skills, knowledge and experience work together they are able to deliver comprehensive healthcare aimed at providing the best possible outcome for the physical and psychosocial needs of a patient and their carers. Multidisciplinary care occurs due to the fact that a patient needs may change with time and treatment. Since the team has such a diverse range of professions to call upon for a patients care the structure of the team may also change to meet these needs. There are many health care professions that make up a multidisciplinary team ranging from District Nurses, Physiotherapist, Doctors, Speech and Language Therapists and of course Occupational Therapists The role of an Occupational Therapist can provide many benefits within the multidisciplinary team. Their specific training allows them to hold the distinctive role of understanding a patient’s medical, physical and psychological state and the impact that their disability or injury might be imposing on their lives. It also helps that occupational therapists are able to address an individual’s broader goals that will help a patient integrate with their local community and reduce depression and participate in the activities that are important to them. Essentially Occupational Therapists prove to be instrumental in combined teams as they are able to understand both the health and social care context of a client. The Occupational Therapists have a unique opportunity to link various professionals dealing with a clients care. They can act as the cohesive agent to maximise the effectiveness of a team. They have involvement in working with both health and social care and return to work schemes. Unlike the rest of the multidisciplinary team Occupational Therapists’ provide a client centred approach to their practice, they look at the person as a whole so involving the clients occupation, their environment and their spirituality into their treatment. ‘The occupational therapist values individual experience, cultural diversity, religious beliefs and lifestyle diversity in their clients. The expression of these values means that occupational therapy is essentially a flexible process in which the therapist listens to the client in order to understand and respond to their individual needs, values, interests and aspirations. For intervention to be integrated into the life and context of the individual, the family and carers, it must be culturally sensitive and culturally relevant.’ (Creek 2003, p29). This client centred approach is also greatly aided by the fact that occupational therapists have an extensive knowledge and understanding of the equipment and adaptations that are a major part of healthcare services (Rabiee and Glendinning 2010). This makes Occupational Therapists a valuable part of the MDT for the government as they drastically help reduce the cost of care for some clients. A recent study which explored the relationship between provision of correct equipment from an Occupational Therapist and the reduction on care package costs and residential care found that on average the cost of an eight week care package was dropped by over  £60,000 (Hill. S (2007). This was because housing adaptations made by the Occupational Therapist greatly reduced the need for daily visits and reduced or even in some cases removed the costs for home care this ultimately brought savings in that ranged from  £1,200 to  £29,000 a year. (Heywood and Turner.2007). Ultimately the setting up of supplementary moving and handling equipment by the occupational therapists reduces the need for two carers to assist the patients with their personal care. In Somerset, of the 125 services users who were assessed; 37% of them are now only assisted by one carer instead of two, with savings of  £270,000 achieved. The average initial investment in equipment was  £763 per service user (Mi ckel 2010). This additional money saving shows that the Occupational Therapists are a cost effective and highly efficient members of the multidisciplinary team, who can provide holistic, well rounded care to each individual patient. As well as all members of the multidisciplinary team having to keep a Continuing Professional Development Portfolio they must also keep reflection folders. Reflection can be defined as a framework through which professionals can explore all issues involved in clinical practice to them it is a means of enabling practitioners to theorise about practice and thus enable theory to emerge from practice. Schà ¶n (1983) presents the idea that there are two types of reflection: Firstly there is reflection in action this is when the professional’s instinctive actions are reflected upon, whilst they are carrying it out the actions or assessment, and altered as necessary whilst in the situation. Secondly there is reflection on action this is when we as professionals step back from the performance and reflect on that action at a later time and date. Many different professionals have presented different models of reflection for healthcare practitioners to follow, ranging from Graham Gibbs, Christopher Johns and John Driscoll. Graham Gibbs developed his reflective cycle (Gibbs 1988) based upon each stage of David A. Kolb’s experiential cycle (Kolb 1984). He suggested how a full structured analysis of a situation could take place using prompt questions at each stage. It is probably the most cited model by health care professionals but does not contain the number or depth of prompt questions contained in some other models Description In this section, the professionals need to explain what they were reflecting on. This means that they need to include background information, such as what it is they were reflecting on and tell the reader who was involved. It’s important to remember to keep the information provided relevant, to-the-point and most importantly confidential. Feelings In this section the professional needs to discuss their feelings and thoughts about the experience. They need to consider questions such as: How did you feel at the time? What did you think at the time? What did you think about the incident afterwards? Here they are able to discuss their emotions honestly. Evaluation-For the evaluation, the professionals need to discuss how well the event went. Including factors such as: How they reacted to the situation at hand, and how did other people react to the same situation? What was good and what was bad about the experience? Analysis- In the analysis, one needs to consider what might have helped or hindered the event at the time. The professional also has the opportunity here to compare the experience with the literature they have read. Conclusion- In the conclusion, it is important for the professional to acknowledge: whether they could have done anything else; what has been learned from the experience; consider whether they could you have responded in a different way. If the experience was positive it is important to discuss whether the same actions would be undertaken to ensure the same positive outcomes next time. At the same time considering if there is anything that could have been change a to improve things even further. If the incident was negative then you need to reflect on how this could have been avoided and what needs to be done to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I chose Gibbs’ model of reflection to use in my own assignment, because I found that the structure was easy to follow, and was laid out clearly. The instructions were simple and sequential. In addition to this the model was easy to apply to my assessments and my clients. Applying the Model to an Assessment performed on Placement. For confidentiality reasons during this reflection the client will take the pseudonym of Mrs Jones who was a seventy five year old woman and my educator will go by the pseudonym of Mrs Smith. Description In this section I will be reflecting upon a washing and dressing assessment with Mrs Jones that took place on the ward before her returning home. Mrs Jones was in hospital for several months after suffering a fall at home. Mrs Jones lived at home by herself in a two storey house, with three bedrooms but with a downstairs toilet and bathroom. Involved in this assessment were myself, Mrs Jones and Mrs Smith. The assessment took place on the ward in a small wash room and toilet. After her fall Mrs Jones had been using a Zimmer frame to walk around the hospital ward. Feelings As this was my first assessment on my own naturally I was incredibly nervous. Throughout the entire assessment I was worried that I was going to make a wrong choice or a poor decision. Throughout the assessment I was also conscious about trying to impress my educator, so actually I could be guilty of focussing more upon impressing my educator than focussing on the patient. However after the assessment had finished I did feel that it had been a success! Mrs Jones had performed well proving that she was capable of washing and dressing herself with minimal assistance from myself or from Mrs Smith. This ultimately proved that she was ready to return home. Evaluation- During the assessment I felt that I remained calm and collected and managed to keep my nerves under control. However looking back on the assessment and after a discussion with Mrs Smith, I feel like I could have been a bit firmer with Mrs Jones. For when she kept asking to sit down and rest during the assessment I would let her whereas Mrs Smith said that she would had encouraged Mrs Jones to keep going. Stating that since being on the ward Mrs Jones had become used to the nurses doing everything for her and that whilst she was with us I would need to learn to differentiate between Mr Jones genuine need for help, for example when she needed help washing the top of her back and when she was being lazy and trying to get me to do things for her. However Mrs Smith said that being firm but fair with clients would become much easier with age and experience. Analysis- During this assessment I also learnt to give the physical environment much more thought before starting a washing and dressing assessment. The cubical wash room was quite small and I failed to take into consideration that during the assessment I would have to manoeuvre myself, Mrs Jones and Mrs Jones’ Zimmer frame around the toilet, shower and wash hand basin. I should have realised that I should have entered the wash room first in order to have full access to all the facilities, however I politely followed Mrs Jones into the bathroom, but then had the difficulty of moving round Mrs Jones and her Zimmer frame in order to move on with the assessment. A greater awareness of the physical environment would have enabled me to pre-empt this inconvenience. Conclusion- In conclusion I feel that the assessment was a positive experience for both myself and Mrs Jones. In order to replicate the same positive experience for both parties, I need to remain confident and emphatic to my clients, whilst ensuring I am realistic with their abilities. The fact that I remained in an energetic and encouraging mood help lift the spirits of Mrs Jones, and inspired her to keep going in the assessment even when she claimed she didn’t want to. I found that the mood of the Occupational Therapist can quite often transfer to the patient, so remaining positive whilst in front of the client is essential to a beneficial and successful assessment. Reflecting on all of my assessments whilst on my placement helped me identify my future learning needs. I realised that there is still plenty of room for me to grow and develop not only as a professional but also as a person. Mrs Smith and all of the clients helped me understand that to grow as a professional I need to continue to build therapeutic and respectful relationships with my clients. Although a strong rapport with patients is essential at the same time I need to learn to distance myself emotionally from my clients and to continue to remain professional. For a few times on placement and during initial assessments I found myself becoming emotionally attached to my clients, viewing them as if they were a family member, my grandparents for example. In order to become a better professional I need to learn to differentiate sympathy and empathy for my clients. Once I have managed this it will be easier for me to learn to find the balance between firm and fair when assessing my eld erly clients, and only ask them to do what was realistically achievable. The final learning need that I was able to identify from my multiple written reflections, and from my reflection discussions with Mrs Smith was that as a professional I need to learn to be more confident when in charge of an assessment, but this will be something that will continue to develop and grow with age and experience. In assessing a client’s needs and appropriate course of treatment I need to consider which methods will best help achieve the desired outcome. Experience will help develop my ability to determine realistic targets and reflection will enable me to create a portfolio of these methods to achieve those targets. A record of good and effective practices such as exchanges with other Occupational Therapists can only serve to enhance my professional development. References (Allied Health Professions project), ‘Demonstrating competence through CPD’, 2002. Alsop, A. 2000. Continuing Professional Development: A Guidefor Therapists. London: Blackwell Science. COT- College of Occupational Therapists 2010. Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. London. College of Occupational Therapists. Creek J (2003) Occupational therapy defined as a complex intervention. London: College of Occupational Therapists Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Unit. HCPC Health and Care Professions Council 2013.Standards of proficiency for occupational therapists. London. Health Care professions council Heywood F and Turner L (2007) Better outcomes, lower costs: implications for health and Dsocial care budgets of investment in housing adaptations, improvements and equipment: a review of the evidence. London: Stationery Office. Hill S (2007) Independent living: equipment cost savings. [Research report identified through the COT Killer Facts Database]. Mickel, A (2010) A ticking timebomb. Occupational Therapy News [OTnews], 18(5), 38-39 Nottingham University: Reflection Models online accessed 25/04/2014 http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nmp/sonet/rlos/placs/critical_reflection/models/gibbs_model.html Rabiee P, Glendinning C (2010) The organisation and content of home care re-ablement services. (Research Works 2010-01). York: University of York, Social Policy Research Unit. Schà ¶n D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. Aldershot. Arena

Estrangement in Joseph Conrads Amy Foster and in Rebecca Wests The Re

Estrangement in Joseph Conrad's Amy Foster and in Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier The concept of male estrangement in an alien environment is portrayed in both Joseph Conrad’s short story, Amy Foster, as well as in Rebecca West’s book, The Return of the Soldier. First, there are adverse reactions to the male protagonists’ placement in their environments. The reactions vary between the protagonists and the people they come into contact with. Second, there are similarities and differences between the way the two authors chose to explore the situations presented. Third, both protagonists handle their estrangement differently. It is hard to behave appropriately when you are among peculiar customs. It seems ironic that in both instances, the protagonist has reached the alien environment from violent circumstances. In Amy Foster, the main character, Yanko Goorall, falls victim to a shipwreck, leaving him stranded in a mysterious land. For instance, Conrad writes: â€Å"†¦he was a castaway†¦washed ashore here in a storm. And for him†¦England was an undiscovered country† (Conrad 140). Upon arrival, he was desperate and in need of shelter and sustenance, causing him to appear as though he was behaving erratically. â€Å"The driver of Mr. Bradley’s milk-cart made no secret of it that he had lashed with his whip at a hairy sort of gipsy fellow who, jumping at a turn of the road†¦made a snatch at the pony’s bridle† (Conrad 145). This is justified by the narrator who claims: â€Å"Maybe that in his desperate endeavours to get help, and in his need to get in touch with some one, the poor devil had tried to stop the cart† (Con rad 145). Although Yanko had appeared to be behaving oddly, his behaviors were also responded to in a rather harsh f... ... from his present life, back to a time when he was safe and happy. In conclusion, the idea of male estrangement in an alien environment is examined in both Joseph Conrad’s fabulous short story, Amy Foster, as well as in Rebecca West’s sad tale, The Return of the Soldier. First, various reactions occur. There are the reactions to the protagonists as well as the reactions of the protagonists. Second, the authors chose to explore different situations. Despite this fact, there are a few similarities in both situations. Third, each protagonist explores his situation differently. One runs from his past, his eyes gleaming with a brighter future. The other openly embraces his past, while rejecting his present life and hoping for a second chance. There is no easy way of going about it, and it is interesting how similar yet different both of these adventures are.

A Book Review of Native Son by Richard Wright

Strong interest in Wright's life, his work, and his influence continues in the 1980s and 1990s, although with not quite the same emphasis as in the preceding four decades. The focus of attention has shifted somewhat, with studies of Wright's political vision diminishing and analyses of his craftsmanship and literary sources increasing.The great majority of scholars and critics during this period are in general agreement about the centrality of Wright's position in African-American letters and his great importance in American and modern traditions, although some reappraisal of a negative sort has also developed, especially among those expressing dissatisfaction with Wright's portrayal of female characters.And with the publication in 1991 of the Library of America editions of Wright's major work, the critical response to Wright has entered an important new phase in which fundamental questions are now being raised about which texts are the most authentic representations of Wright's actu al intentions and which texts are highest in literary quality.Wright's achievement in Native Son was not only to project the experience of American black people, in all its raw brutality but also to form it into a rich, coherent, balanced vision of life. Wright attracted in some ways to Western culture because of its tradition of Enlightenment rationalism that promises political freedom to oppressed people. Wright was deeply suspicious of other aspects of the West, especially its history of racism.Although characters like Bigger Thomas are initially described as alienated from both self and community, they experience genuine selfhood and become a participant in the life of the spirit by establishing kinship with others. I envision Bigger Thomas as caught between these two opposite qualities of Western culture, for he is both victimized by Western racism and also achieves selfhood in a very Western way through â€Å"revolutionary will, individualism and self consciousness† (p. 311).The slum conditions of the South Side so vividly portrayed in Native Son had been the daily reality of a decade in Wright life ( 1927- 1937). He had lived in a cramped and dirty flat with his aunt, mother, and brother. He had visited hundreds of similar dwellings while working as an insurance agent.The details of the Chicago environment in the novel have a verisimilitude that is almost photographic. The â€Å"Ernie's Kitchen Shack† of the novel, located at Forty-Seventh Street and Indiana Avenue, for example, is a slight disguise for an actual restaurant called â€Å"The Chicken Shack,† 4647 Indiana Avenue, of which one Ernie Henderson was owner. Similar documentary accuracy is observed throughout the book.Wright drives his story forward at a furious yet skillfully controlled pace. The full drama is unfolded in just about two weeks. There is first of all the prophetic killing of a rat in the room where Bigger, his mother, his sister and his brother live in quarre ling, desperate squalor.Then Bigger, who has a bad name as a braggart living by shady devices, goes out to meet the poolroom gang environment provides. He plans a hold-up he is afraid to carry out. To hide his cowardice he terrorizes one of his friends.You see his character. That is the point. Wright is champion of a race, not defender of an individual wrongdoer. Bigger gets a job as chauffeur in the house of Mr. Dalton, who is a philanthropist toward Negroes and owner of many Negro tenements. Mary Dalton, the daughter of the house, and her friend Jan, a supernally noble radical, make him drink with them. Through an accident, Bigger kills Mary Dalton.That is the first murder. There is a gruesome dismemberment to hide the crime. Bigger thinks of demanding money, and makes his girl, Bessie, help him. His crime is discovered. After that there is the flight, the second murder, deliberate and brutal, the manhunt spreading terror over the whole South Side, then the spectacular capture and the day of reckoning in court for all concerned.Apart from the ideas that give it volume, force and scope, Native Son has some magnificently realized scenes: in the early part, where Bigger, a stranger and afraid, as Houseman said, in a world he never made, gropes for freedom from the walls that hold him; in the flight across the roofs and the stand high over the world, in the jail where processions of people come to see him, at the inquest and in the howling mob outside the court.The measure in which it shakes a community is the measure of its effectiveness.

Affording EU Homes

The ever rising housing demand in Europe, and indeed all over the world is forcing countries to develop measures ensuring that all people across income lines get decent accommodation.Being among basis human rights, states are obligated to develop and maintain systems that consistently help citizens with their housing needs. In this regard, individual EU countries are under, the Union supposed to ensure that the basis human right of hosing is provided, failure of which could lead to disciplinary action from the secretariat as well as ridicule from other members.However, the question whether the Brussels should have a say in member country housing policy has been rising and consistently debated at national and regional level. As a contribution to this debate, this paper shall investigate whether the European Union as a body has a part to play in national hosing policy development; it shall be argued that Brussels has no role to play at the national level. However, Brussels should provi de guidelines and targets to be followed by individual member countries.The paper shall pass Italy's decentralization and Localization of housing problems as the best framework that EU should copy.   The concluding part would reiterate on important points made in the paper.Brussels' Role in National Housing PolicyCurrent arrangement at the regional levels have national governments take control of their nation's housing policies (Priemus, 2006, p. 1). This ensures that individual countries develop and maintain policies that are in line with national demand. In addition, countries are able to wither through business cycles affecting their industries without affecting other nations.Having each country take care of housing policies further mean that member countries are able to see and learn for best practices used in different nations. This diversity of policies are hard for EU officials to manage, which explains why national governments should continue taking the center stage.Despit e the independence of national governments in managing their countries' housing markets, it has been reported that the European Union has been slowly making inroads into the management of the sector, a matter that many countries are not very comfortable-with (Priemus, 2006, p. 1). The EU comes into the management circle in the name of streamlining housing industry in the entire region. One route that is consistently used by the EU is the pretext of assuring that social aspects of housing are met by all members.That is, members of the community without abilities to provide themselves with shelter are considered and equally attended. Due to the need of providing shelter for all in the region, EU authorities have been pushing national governments to adopt a single approach to the issue. This however requires minimal state intervention and increased role of the European Union in running of housing affairs in the region.The loss of national control of the housing market is not being take n lightly by European governments and the electorates. One reason being that the sector is seen as so vital such that the state and local stakeholders have to be involved with day to day running of the industry.National governments should less be involved in the management of housing industry as is in Italy, which means that even the EU should stay clear of housing. Reason: the one-size-fits-all policy of development would not be effective in meeting housing goals than the policy of decentralization (Eurofound, 2006, p. 7).ReferencesEyk, H. (2002). EU & Housing. Amsterdam. Housing Ministry.Eurofound, (2006). Social Dimensions of EU Housing. Dublin: Eurofound.Longo, G. (2006). Coupling Localization and Urbanization of Housing in Italy.   Ljubljana:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ENHR.Premus, H. (2006). EU and National Housing Systems. Ljubljana: ENHR.Toa, A. (2007). Italian Housing Policy. Roma: University of Roma.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy †Biology Research Paper

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy – Biology Research Paper Free Online Research Papers Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Biology Research Paper Imagine being a parent and discovering that your child won’t be able to walk by the age of 12 and wont live past the age of 20. This has become a reality for many parents as they find out that their child has a form of muscular dystrophy. This particular type of muscular dystrophy is referred to as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, which is a genetically inherited disorder that is the most common and severe of all muscular dystrophies. It is found in 1 of every 3,500 males and is characterized by progressive muscle wasting. It is caused by the lack of dystrophin, which is a protein found in the cell membrane of muscles. One early clinical sign of the disease is the child showing a late start in walking and sometimes they are referred to as a late bloomer. Usually when the child walks they have a waddling motion and sometimes they walk up on their toes. Usually, hypertrophy, or enlarging of the muscles, especially in the calves is noticed. However, the hypertrophy is actually caused by adipose (fat) tissue, which replaces the muscle tissue. Another clinical sign of DMD is small amounts of mental retardation or learning disabilities. Although this is not apparent until the child is older, it is a common pattern that is found in children with DMD. There have been many studies done to determine what exactly causes the mental retardation. Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy is a recessive genetic disorder caused by a deficiency of the protein dystrophin, which is found in muscle cells. This disorder is usually only found in males. It has very rarely been found in females because they have two X chromosomes and the disease is recessive. They pass it on to one half of their sons and to one half of their daughters who become carriers. In the possibility that the male with DMD reproduces, his sons would not be infected however is daughters would be 100% carriers of the disease. Even though DMD is present from the initial stages of fetal development, physical signs are not present until 18 months to 4 years of age. In addition to the clinical signs mentioned above, a child with DMD is unable to climb or pull itself up from the floor. Between the ages 3 and 7, a child with DMD may show signs of improvement, but that is due to natural growth and development. In school they start to fall behind in being able to keep up with their peers in physical activity. This sometimes leads to them being called clumsy or lazy. When the child is around 9 years, the disease starts to progress rapidly and by age 12, they can no longer walk on their own. In the late stages, a significant loss of muscle tissue is noticeable. There may also be an increase of the curvature of the spine. When they are brought to the doctor, a series of tests are done to determine the problem. When a biopsy is done, the doctors find that the muscle tissue has hypertrophied with adipose tissue. Short ly after the cells have become full of adipose tissue they die. Unlike other tissues of the body, muscle and nerve tissues cannot reproduce. An individual is born with a specific amount of muscle and nerve cells. Once they die, they cannot be regenerated. This is bad news for people with DMD and they usually die around the age of 20 due to the diaphragm or heart muscle degenerating. There are several ways to test for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The first is a blood test, called the serum creatine kinase test, looking for an increased amount of creatine kinase. Normally there is only a small amount of creatine kinase in the bloodstream. All muscles produce creatine kinase and release small amounts, however when the muscle cells tear from contracting, the creatine kinase leaks into the bloodstream. The second test that could be done is an electromyopathy test. This involves putting a small needle in the skin and recording the pattern of electricity. When muscles contract, there is an electric current flowing through the tissue. The third way to test for the disease is a muscle biopsy. In this process a piece of muscle is removed and examined under the microscope. When the cells are seen as enlarged and filled with adipose tissue then the disease is prevalent. Or another sign is if the muscle cells are dead. The last way to test is direct DNA testing. While the c hild is still in the womb it can be tested for the disease by doing an amniocentesis. In this procedure, fluid and fetal cells are taken out from the amniotic layer that surrounds the fetus. Then the cells are checked for a defect or genetic mutation in the DNA. At this time, there are many research studies being done to try and find a cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Unfortunately, a definite cure has not been found yet. Even though there is no cure for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, there are places people with disease can go to get help. There are several Support Groups out there to help people with DMD. The Muscular Dystrophy Association or MDA is probably the largest support group. They offer financial and emotional support as well as a vast information site for all of the different muscular dystrophies. They fund research projects that are aimed at finding a cure for the diseases and they also publish their own bimonthly magazine called â€Å"Quest.† They can be found on the Internet at www.mdausa.org. Another support group is The Parent Project for Muscular Dystrophy Research. Like the MDA, they also support families with DMD and fund research projects. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a severe form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive muscle degeneration. Its main cause is the lack of the protein dystrophy that is necessary for the muscles to function properly. It is tough for the victims and their families because there is no definite cure and they usually don’t live past the age of 20. Hopefully in the future, technology will enable researchers to be able to find a cure that will be a 100 percent effective when used. Until that time comes, all DMD victims can do is wait and hope. + Research Papers on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy - Biology Research PaperPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenGenetic EngineeringThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementHip-Hop is ArtResearch Process Part One

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki Free Online Research Papers Abstract Financial Literacy is something that isn’t commonly taught to people and Kiyosaki believes is it the single most important thing for young people to learn. The biggest difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich let money work for them and the poor work for money. In my paper I will explain how important it is for you to become financially literate and let money work for you. You have to get out of the Rat Race and join the few that are actually financially successful. You say how is it possible to allow money to work for you? Well I will show you how the rich and poor balance their assets and liabilities against their income, the history of taxes and corporations, how the rich actually invent money, how to manage cash flow, systems and people, and why it important to work to learn not just for money. Are you really preparing your children for the real world? Many parents tell their children to study hard, make good grades and you will find a high paying job and make lots of money. Truth is that no amount of school can really be helpful without financial literacy with it. There is a definite difference between what the rich teach their children verse the poor. In my paper I will explain the differences and why it’s so important. First you have to discover a way to live on the â€Å"Right Side of the Street†. You have to ultimately make the decision of whether or not you want to be rich or poor. Then realize that different lifestyles create bad habits and barriers. Also, you have to discover and learn about the laws that govern making money. When you have figured out these contrasting ideas you are well on your way to being on the â€Å"Right Side of the Street†. The â€Å"Right Side of the Street†, isn’t necessarily being either rich or poor, it’s learning the literacy of finances and letting money work for you rather than you work for money. One difference between the rich and poor is that the poor and middle class work for money whereas the rich do not. They are passionate, driven and energetic about making money work for them almost downright greedy. The biggest challenge the poor and middle class have is fear, fear keeps them from letting money do the work, because they have bills to pay and you have to work to pay bills right? Wrong! Rich dad teaches that money always works for you. He makes you work for no money to teach you that. Always pay yourself first and see what opportunities others miss out on. Poor dad teaches you to work for money and to pay everyone else first (taxes). The middle class should have found some happy medium, but all they teach is when your income or assets go up then so should your liabilities, this is even worse. It creates a higher more dangerous amount of debt. I bet your wondering how to let money work for you when all you know is how to work for money. Well its simple really, learn how money works. The school system doesn’t teach how money works, and most â€Å"educated† people don’t know how it works either. You have to start with the basics of money management and the differences between assets, liability and income. Then you have to sacrifice it all, not let fear hold you back and go for it. Sometimes you may fail, but we learn mostly by mistakes and can only grow from them. An Asset is what puts the money in your pocket. There are three types of assets paper, real-estate and businesses. Along with that are three types of income Portfolio income, passive income and earned income. Portfolio income is derived from paper assets like stocks, bonds, mutual funds and insurance and is the easiest to manage. Passive income is derived from real-estate or royalties from patents. Earned income is derived from paychecks and is the most highly taxed type. With everyone there is a cash-flow pattern and this determines whether or not you are on the â€Å"Right Side of the Street†. The poor spend every penny and have no assets only liabilities. The Middle class had an increase in income and so does their spending creating more liabilities. The Rich let their assets pay for themselves; they have control over their expenses and usually have little or no personal liabilities. Be about the business of building assets and having no liabilities. Your business should revolve entirely around your asset column and not your income column. Many owners of a business own more than one business, because they use their assets to buy other assets not just use them on personal liabilities. Key goals to remember is to be a good leader have a mission and work as a team. In a business you must be savvy about the product you’re selling and endorse it well. Communication is also one of the biggest contributing factors in running a reputable business. Also, always follow the legal rules of the business and never cut corners. Your business will grow and in turn buy you many more assets. Taxes are a tricky thing; we are taxed when we work for money and when we buy things. They were originally designed to generate government income from the rich. Like I said earlier, the rich are greedy and financially smart and they found ways to make loopholes in the tax laws and in turn the government began taxing everyone. One thing about the rich is that they will always find a way to pay them first and everyone else second. The power of a corporation is a great thing; it protects your assets from the government. When people own corporations, they earn, spend and then pay taxes. People who work for corporations earn, pay taxes and then spend. See the difference. You have to learn to invent money because working for it will never get you anywhere. You have to have financial literacy, investment strategies and learn how to work the market of supply and demand. Find out what people want/need and get it to them. Make assets for yourself. Don’t let fear be your guide in the Rat Race forever. Learn how to accept and deal with change. You have to know the financial skills for success; the management of people, the management of systems, and the management of cash-flow. With these tools you will be able to succeed and become better at building your assets to sustain you rather than your liabilities you have to maintain. In conclusion the rich don’t work for money. You have to become financially literate like I have said a thousand times and figure out the way money works and let it work for you. Mind your own business and build it with ethics and honesty, let it buy you more assets. You must study the tax laws and let the tax laws of corporations be your shelter. Invent money, work to learn not work for money. Research Papers on "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationResearch Process Part OneHip-Hop is ArtPETSTEL analysis of IndiaTwilight of the UAWIncorporating Risk and Uncertainty Factor in CapitalMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductStandardized TestingWhere Wild and West Meet

How Minority Voters Helped Obama Win Reelection

How Minority Voters Helped Obama Win Reelection Americans from ethnic minority groups voted en masse to help  President Barack Obama win reelection. While just 39 percent of white Americans voted for Obama on Election Day 2012, staggering amounts of blacks, Hispanics and Asians backed the president at the ballot box. The reasons for this are multifaceted, but minority voters largely supported the president because they felt that Republican candidate Mitt Romney could not relate to them. A national exit poll revealed that 81 percent of Obama supporters said the quality that mattered most to them in a presidential candidate is whether he â€Å"cares about people like me.† Romney, born into wealth and privilege, apparently didn’t fit the bill. The growing disconnect between Republicans and the diverse American electorate wasn’t lost on political analyst Matthew Dowd. He remarked on ABC News after the election that the Republican Party no longer reflects U.S. society, using a television show analogy to make his point. â€Å"Republicans right now are a ‘Mad Men’ party in a ‘Modern Family’ world,† he said. The rise in minority voters reveals how much the United States has changed from 25 years ago when the electorate was 90 percent white. If the demographics had not changed, its highly unlikely that Obama would have made it to the White House. Loyal African Americans Blacks may be the second largest minority group in the United States, but their share of the electorate is larger than any other community of color. On Election Day 2012, African Americans made up 13 percent of U.S. voters. Ninety-three percent of these voters supported Obama’s reelection bid, down just two percent from 2008. While the African  American community has been accused of favoring Obama precisely because he’s black, the group has a long history of loyalty to Democratic political candidates. John Kerry, who lost the 2004 presidential race to George W. Bush, won 88 percent of the black vote. Given that the black electorate was two percent larger in 2012 than it was in 2004, the group’s devotion to Obama undoubtedly gave him an edge. Latinos Break Voting Record More Latinos than ever before turned out at the polls on Election Day 2012. Hispanics made up 10 percent of the electorate. Seventy-one percent of these Latinos backed President Obama for reelection. Latinos likely backed Obama overwhelmingly over Romney because they supported the president’s Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) as well as his decision to stop deporting undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Republicans widely vetoed the  legislation known as the DREAM Act, which would have not only protected such immigrants from deportation but also put them on the path to citizenship. Republican opposition to immigration reform has alienated Latino voters, 60 percent of whom say they know an unauthorized immigrant, according to a Latino Decisions poll taken on the eve of the 2012 election. Affordable health care is also a major concern of the Latino community. Sixty-six percent of Hispanics say the government should ensure that the public has access to health care, and 61 percent support Obamacare, according to Latino Decisions. Rising Influence of Asian Americans Asian Americans make up a small (3 percent) but a growing percentage of the U.S. electorate. An estimated 73 percent of Asian Americans voted for President Obama, Voice of America determined on Nov. 7 using preliminary exit poll data. Obama has strong ties to the Asian community. Hes not only a native of Hawaii but grew up partly in Indonesia and has a half-Indonesian sister. These aspects of his background likely resonated with some Asian Americans.   While Asian American voters don’t yet wield the influence that black and Latino voters do, expect them to be a bigger factor in the next presidential election.  The Pew Research Center reported in 2012 that the Asian American community has actually outpaced Hispanics as the fastest-growing immigrant group in the country. In the 2016 presidential election, Asian Americans are expected to make up five percent of voters, if not more.

Informal Report Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Informal Report - Personal Statement Example Apart from being a BA student at the Goldsmith University he has had a number of musical and theatrical experiences. I made me feel that everything was going good so far, as he showed his keen interest in the project. As I needed actors for this project, I contacted the drama department to help me out as I needed two female actors, after which six actresses contacted me through email. It was to me surprise that out of these six actresses who had contacted me, there were two actress named Michelle and Jenny who had worked with me previously in another project called 'Hello Again' therefore at this point I actually had to decided whether I should arrange for an audition for these six actresses including Jenny and Michelle or just take them without an audition. Thus I found it appropriate to discuss the issue with Sung Hyun, after we have discussed we decided to take Jenny and Michelle directly without an audition. They both happily accepted our offers. So far little progress had been reached towards the success of the project. However later I actually had to face some problems. For instance, I tried to contact Michelle so that she could provide me with the score and the script, but I wasn't able to contact neither by email nor by cell phone. Even then there were issues that were more serious and problematic; the person whom Sung Hyun referred, which we had decided to take as the music director was already involved with another therefore he was not able to join us and he told us that later he was going United States for his holidays. This was such a lack of responsibility, however no one to be blamed. Later there onwards I searched for another music director, though this wasn't easy. Finally I got an email from a person who showed interest in my project. She was a Korean and a major in music. Therefore a I discussed her offer with Sung Hyun, but she refused saying that she doesn't want to appoint a Korean, because she said what we are working on requires speaking with the native speakers and she I think th at native speakers are if not unwilling they are uncomfortable to work with the non native speaker. Even though I was quite disappointed with Sung's perception, I had nothing else than to agree to her, therefore I told her to continue to search for a music director. Thus what I could only do was to wait and wait. Thereafter Sung told me after about a couple of days that Theo wanted to work with us. But the issue was this that he could join us after his holidays were over which were only about fifteen days before the show. As the show was to be on the 27th of April, I thought that fifteen days before the show would be appropriate. After when he set the days for rehearsal on the 10th and 11th I realized that o should now call Michelle, therefore I emailed her again so that she could join us. However at this time I was able to contact her thus in her response she confirmed that she was going to join us, but after only a single day I received her conformation email, she vanished again and didn't even gave me response. Now I had nothing else to look for another actress, therefore I talked to Sung Hyun. Fortunately, Natasha was introduced to us by our music director Theo. On the other hand during this period Jonathan contacted me and asked if I was willing to work

Journal 1 Information Structures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal 1 Information Structures - Essay Example There are, however, challenges which needs to be addressed so that the government can fully benefit from the IT, particularly pertaining to policy, strategy, data and information control, costs, workforce and changes. These rests on the shoulders of the CIO and the proficiency of agency leaders to match the rapid influx of technology with the corresponding policy decisions (Fountain, 2007, 63-93). Readings: Fountain, Jane, E. 2007. â€Å"Challenges to organizational change†: Multi-Level integrated information structures (MIIS). In Governance and information technology: From electronic government to information government, ed. Viktor Mayer – Schonberger and David Lazer, 63-93. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Main argument Governments are big users of information and appropriate resources to create, share and disseminate information to enhance delivery of public services. Design of information flow, however, revealed several challenges which need to be ad dressed in terms of complexity of a tri-level nature of change at the micro-level, organizational and inter-organizational levels, and institutional level.

DUNKIN DONUTS CASE STUDY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DUNKIN DONUTS CASE STUDY - Essay Example In their attempt to sell only good quality products, Dunkin Donuts have created a Coffee Quality Checking Lab, in which every aspect of the coffee is checked, so that the consumers get the best value Dunkin Donut product, no matter wherever it is sold. They have also increased the value perception by giving consumers "what they want". For example, they introduce only those products which are demanded by the consumers and do not come out with random products. This is how Dunkin Donuts is increasing its value perception and having great success in matching their philosophy which is 'great quality with affordability'. Its value perception is similar to that of KFC and McDonalds. They also try to give the maximum quality to their consumers and waiting time for their burgers is only 3 minutes. This is like if Dunkin' Donuts could not sell their coffee in 18 minutes they throw it away, in the same way KFC and McDonald throw away their burgers if they are unable to sell them. The positionin g strategy of Donut Dunkin is very simple as they target a mass market without any distinction of different classes, different level of education etc. According to William Kussels, Dunkin' Donuts Senior Manager, whenever you take a ride to one of our outlet, you always see Mercedes parked with pickup trucks, this shows that we do not target any specific consumer class but we target a mass market.

Analytical brief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analytical brief - Essay Example Earth & Space Science professor and Quaternary Research Center director Eric Steig states that this is a fact and there is no theoretical basis that this is a natural cycle (p.5). Although there are different findings on this issue, a new study on these upswings associates with the rise of the temperature of the ocean surface. Scientists are still not in consensus on the possible cause of this issue. Heat waves will be more frequent and more intense as temperatures rise (Gore et al., An Inconvenient Truth). He presents a record of the temperature increase in correlation to the heat waves the globe experienced in the history. The data gathered prove that as the average increases, the extreme goes up as well. Global sea levels could rise by more than 20 feet (6 meters) with the loss of shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica, devastating coastal areas worldwide (Gore et al., An Inconvenient Truth). Gore argues that the melting of Greenland and Antarctica, due to rise on CO2 level cause e xtreme flooding by 2050. Although scientists believe that if Greenland and glaciers in the Antarctic melt, this will cause an increase in the sea level which will cause the low-lying areas to submerge into water. But they have different estimates on when this would happen. Some say that if the temperature rises to 3C, which is 5.4F within the next 100 years, there is a big possibility that Gore’s claim may happen (Nielsen-Gammon 22). With all the claims mentioned and data presented, how does Gore intend to combat our devastating predicament? His main point is to lower energy consumption to decrease the greenhouse gas effect by the use of Electranet. This will replace our fuel-consuming engines found in cars, factory machines and the likes. Coming from an environmental activist point of view, this will definitely help reduce our greenhouse gases that are the main cause of global warming. However, apart from some inaccuracies in his claims, Gore also fails to

The study of Market Entry Strategies of SGP to expand into China Literature review

The study of Market Entry Strategies of SGP to expand into China - Literature review Example During its expansion programs SGP already had bought a stake in China’s Liquid Petroleum Gas market and is looking forward to become the market leader for the product. (Forbes.com, 2010). Literature Review One of the largest Liquid Petroleum Gas distributors, SGP based in Thailand as studied focuses on its strategic move on gaining entry into the Chinese soil. To this end, Levi (2006) states that the strategy devised by a company to make its entrance into a totally new or sub-divided market is better known as the ‘market entry strategy’ for the company. These firms further adopt another strategy to support its expansion to newer markets. This strategy helps the firm to make reasonable allocation of its resources to gain the potential of effectively operating in the newer markets. Levi (2006) further states that through the employment of the ‘market entry strategy’ the firm successfully draws out a plan to tap the newer markets. The plan incorporates a n outlook through which the newer market is properly segmented and effective plan of actions are chosen to meet the demands of the target group through acquisition and expansion operations. The central component of the strategy taken by the company to enter into newer markets is constituted by ascertaining the ‘mode of entry’ by the company into the foreign market. Research made along several firms on a global scale confirms that there are mainly five modes through which a firm plans to make a foray into foreign markets. (Levi, 2006, p.34). Levi (2006) states in this regard that entry models like ‘exporting’, ‘licensing’, ‘financing’, ‘building up a joint venture with the foreign firms and establishment of subsidiaries in the foreign land are considered feasible by a firm willing to enter into foreign markets. Each of the several modes of entry has significant advantages and disadvantages which can be underlined as follows. T he company through the export mode targets to push the products produced in its own country to the foreign market. Thus the company is not required to set up a new factory in the foreign market. The company through the export mode endeavours to build huge amount of revenues by exporting a large number of products to the foreign nations. Export strategy used by the firm to enter into foreign markets however faces some distinct disadvantages. The company using such strategy may have to face the stringent regulations and market policies of the foreign market which can prove detrimental to its expansion. The cost of transferring products along the borders also tends to impose huge costs to the production firm. Again the foreign market may happen to be non-demanding to the products produced by the exporting firm. The level of obstruction can also result out from the barriers relating to difference of culture between the exporting and the receiving nation. Thus the above reasons may happe n to make the export mode unsuccessful for the exporting firm. Levi (2006) further observes that the company can also take help of transferring the license to produce a stated amount of the products and thereby to market the same in the foreign market. In that the company renders a sum to the firm in the foreign nation taking such task. The company operating through the licensing mode gains the advantage of cost for not

Final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Final exam - Essay Example Because of court queues, time delays and elevating costs of litigation continue to affect litigants; many states have decided to experiment with ADR programs. Some of these programs are mandatory while others are voluntary. Despite arbitration and mediation being the major forms of ADR, negotiation is in most cases attempted first so as to resolve dispute. This is because it is the best mode of resolving a dispute. Negotiation creates a forum whereby the parties involved can meet so that they can settle a dispute. The main benefit of negotiation is that the parties involved have the opportunity to control the negotiation process and come up with solutions themselves. Another informal alternative to litigation is mediation. Mediators are those individuals who have been trained carry out negotiations. They bring together the opposing parties by trying to figure out the kind of agreement or settlement, which both parties can accept. Mediation can be applied in a wide variety of case-types ranging from federal government negotiations to minor juvenile felonies. It is also a significant method in solving of disputes that arise between shareholders and their stock brokers. Arbitration, on the other hand is a simplified version of a trial that involves limited discovery and rules of evidence. Arbitration is normally headed and decided by an arbitral committee. To comprise a committee, both sides can either agree on a single arbitrator, or each side can select one arbitrator after which the two arbitrators can elect the third arbitrator. During arbitration process, the committee only meets for a few hours and this may last for probably a week. After this, the committee then deliberates and issues an arbitral award, or a written decision. The agreement made during arbitration is enforceable under both state and federal law. The World Economic Forum is a global institution that has the

The study of Market Entry Strategies of SGP to expand into China Literature review

The study of Market Entry Strategies of SGP to expand into China - Literature review Example During its expansion programs SGP already had bought a stake in China’s Liquid Petroleum Gas market and is looking forward to become the market leader for the product. (Forbes.com, 2010). Literature Review One of the largest Liquid Petroleum Gas distributors, SGP based in Thailand as studied focuses on its strategic move on gaining entry into the Chinese soil. To this end, Levi (2006) states that the strategy devised by a company to make its entrance into a totally new or sub-divided market is better known as the ‘market entry strategy’ for the company. These firms further adopt another strategy to support its expansion to newer markets. This strategy helps the firm to make reasonable allocation of its resources to gain the potential of effectively operating in the newer markets. Levi (2006) further states that through the employment of the ‘market entry strategy’ the firm successfully draws out a plan to tap the newer markets. The plan incorporates a n outlook through which the newer market is properly segmented and effective plan of actions are chosen to meet the demands of the target group through acquisition and expansion operations. The central component of the strategy taken by the company to enter into newer markets is constituted by ascertaining the ‘mode of entry’ by the company into the foreign market. Research made along several firms on a global scale confirms that there are mainly five modes through which a firm plans to make a foray into foreign markets. (Levi, 2006, p.34). Levi (2006) states in this regard that entry models like ‘exporting’, ‘licensing’, ‘financing’, ‘building up a joint venture with the foreign firms and establishment of subsidiaries in the foreign land are considered feasible by a firm willing to enter into foreign markets. Each of the several modes of entry has significant advantages and disadvantages which can be underlined as follows. T he company through the export mode targets to push the products produced in its own country to the foreign market. Thus the company is not required to set up a new factory in the foreign market. The company through the export mode endeavours to build huge amount of revenues by exporting a large number of products to the foreign nations. Export strategy used by the firm to enter into foreign markets however faces some distinct disadvantages. The company using such strategy may have to face the stringent regulations and market policies of the foreign market which can prove detrimental to its expansion. The cost of transferring products along the borders also tends to impose huge costs to the production firm. Again the foreign market may happen to be non-demanding to the products produced by the exporting firm. The level of obstruction can also result out from the barriers relating to difference of culture between the exporting and the receiving nation. Thus the above reasons may happe n to make the export mode unsuccessful for the exporting firm. Levi (2006) further observes that the company can also take help of transferring the license to produce a stated amount of the products and thereby to market the same in the foreign market. In that the company renders a sum to the firm in the foreign nation taking such task. The company operating through the licensing mode gains the advantage of cost for not

Candide by Voltaire Essay Example for Free

Candide by Voltaire Essay 1) What is the relationship between Candides adventures and Panglosss teachings? In Candide, we see lives filled with struggles and tragedy. Although Candide witnessed and fell victim to worldly evils of cruelty and suffering, he maintained his optimistic views through much of the novel. Candide picked up this idea of optimism through Panglosss teachings. Although he did not see any good reasons to disbelieve Panglosss teachings while living in the Barons castle, once in the outside world, Candide experiences many tragic events that make him, and the reader, question the philosophy of optimism. Candides adventures, starting when he is kicked out of the Barons castle, clearly represented an imperfect world, full of atrocities that contradicted Panglosss teachings. The events that break apart Panglosss teachings begin almost immediately when Candide is thrown in the streets to live on his own. He runs into recruiting officers of the King of Bulgars. They have him toast to the health of their king, but then beat Candide severely and put irons on his legs. Luckily though, the king comes by and tells them to spare Candide since he is innocent. Soon after that, Candide witnesses an awful, bloody battle between two armies. This horrible spectacle shows us how hateful and violent people are in this world. Later, he finds a beggar who turns out to be Pangloss. Pangloss shares some of the horrible things he had been put through and that Candides one and only love had been raped and her entire family had been murdered when the Barons castle had been taken over. Once with Pangloss, he has many new adventures. While out at sea with Pangloss and Jacques, a violent storm occurred and destroyed their ship. Many innocent passengers are killed including Jacques, who died saving a sailor. The innocent passengers deaths disprove Pangloss theory since it appeared the bad that came out of the shipwreck led to nothing good for them; instead, only brought them to their deaths. When the sailor, Pangloss, and Candide get into Lisbon, an earthquake destroys most of the city. A  tidal wave also crushes ships in the port. In an effort to prevent another earthquake, wise men take ridiculous actions against the slightest wrongdoing. Candide and Pangloss end up getting arrested. Pangloss is hanged and Candide is beaten badly. The ridiculous actions taken place prove to be futile when another earthquake erupts the next day. All of the bad that came from the first earthquake provided no good. Pangloss had been hung for no reason and Jacques, a good man, had died from the storm out at sea. The reader is left wondering how these horrible events could result in a greater good. Candide finds that God might have spared one place on earth, El Dorado. He finds this seemingly perfect city, yet does not want to stay because is still in love with Cunegonde. The king gives him and Cacambo a few sheep and some gold. This portion of the story brings a little light, yet the whole world cannot be like El Dorado, and people who do live in perfect worlds cannot even appreciate it because they have nothing to compare the high points against. Since life is always perfect, they live in lethargic boredom and cannot truly appreciate how well off they truly are. We also see times of happiness and good fortune that restore Candides faith in optimism throughout the book. Such periods include when we find Pangloss survived, and the points in the book when Candide and Cunegonde get to be together, even for short amounts of time. Towards the end of the story, Candide begins to question Pangloss philosophy more and more. Although we find events that support optimism, we find more counterexamples. Although Pangloss and the Barons son are found alive, they tell Candide their escapes from death, and the tortures they had been put through afterwards. Soon after they free Pangloss and the Barons son from slavery, the men go and find Cunegonde, the woman Candide had been searching to live with and love for his entire life. When they do find her, she is extremely ugly and Candide no longer wants to marry her. Although he is no longer attracted to her, he is a man of his word and feels he must do his duty to take care of her and love her. Now, he is stuck with a woman he no longer lusts over. Candide has finally found what he had been sacrificing for all of his life to find, yet is not satisfied with what he has acquired  for his hard work. Throughout the entire story of Candide, we are bombarded with horrendous events that happened to an individual to disprove Panglosss teachings. Candides adventures encountered such atrocities as murder, rape, slavery, and prostitution. The bad events that occur in Candide, help show that the world is not perfect, and that not everything happens for the greater good in the end. Candides adventures, great in number, show us how bad others lives turned out as well as their friends and families lives were hurt as well, such as the old woman. In the end, Candide finally realizes that optimism is not a flawless philosophy, and that the idea of working hard and enjoying life is better than waiting around for the good you think will happen. Candides adventures helped to contradict optimism and ultimately changed Candides beliefs from optimism to a realization of reality. Candide begins to live a simple life, working hard to avoid boredom, vice, and poverty.

Psychological Manipulation Different Techniques Psychology Essay

Psychological Manipulation Different Techniques Psychology Essay Psychological manipulation is  like brain washing in that it wears away the victims self-confidence, sense of self-worth, trust in their own perceptions, and self-concept. Whichever way it is done, the results will be fairly similar. Eventually, the recipient of the abuse loses all sense of self and the final remaining vestiges of personal value. Psychological manipulation cuts through to the very core of a person. It cuts scars that are deeper and longer lasting than physical ones. Manipulators may take many forms to manipulate people throughout the different ages. Most people have all been manipulated by others. Telling a white lie in order to get what we want is one way of manipulation. Students are dishonorable for telling teachers that they couldnt get their paper in on time because their computer crashed the previous night. Employees claim to be sick in order to miss a day of work. When a manipulator manipulates other people, he is depriving them from their ability to make decisions based on their own accurate reading of reality. When a manipulator tells a lie, he provides an alternate reality to the other person therefore, they make decisions that may be to that manipulators advantage, but it may not be a decision that this person would make if he knew all the facts. People all want to trust and assume the best in other people. People believe that when someone tells them something, the other person is telling the truth. When people have been repeatedly hurt because others have taken advantage of our trust, People may change their beliefs about the world. They may become pessimistic and try to undermine others before we are hurt again. However, the best strategy is probably to trust until someone shows us that they cant be trusted. Its even better if we can learn how to recognize psychological manipulation when it appears. (Recognition of psychological manipulation will be seen later in this paper). Manipulators use many techniques of manipulation. I will now state two which I find used by many manipulators. A psychological manipulator is always displaying his/herself in the image of a willing helper. If you ask him/her to do something they will almost agree. In other words, when you ask him for something he agrees and when you thank him/her, he/she makes a lot of sighs or gestures that let you know they dont really want to do whatever you asked of him/her. Psychological manipulators can make you doubt yourself as they are very good at turning things around. They will say a thing and later assure you that they didnt where they can make you think that one plus one is three. Psychological Manipulation can be very effective that it may control ur behaviors and actions such as seen in the famous novel 1984. There are simple ways in which you can spot manipulators therefore preventing them from manipulating you. First thing to keep in mind is when a manipulator has years of experience they use words as their weapon of choice. They know exactly what to say and how to say it in order to get what they want.  Understand that psychological manipulators dont care what you want. They may act as though they do, but know that they have great acting ability. Many can cry on cue or act out fits of rage and not be angry at all. The second thing you should put in mind is that emotional manipulators are charming and all your friends and family will like them. They put on their best impersonation of a nice person around others. They continue this facade throughout your time together. This deception is how they make you turn out to be the crazy one.   Your feelings are your best friend. If something doesnt feel right and you are feeling confused, then you need to really pay close attention to what this person is saying and doing. When you find that their actions dont match their words, take this is a bright red flag. They will say something like Everybody makes mistakes. Even Im not perfect. This is a guilt trap set up and dont fall into it! Third psychological manipulation tactic is flirting. They flirt right in front of you, and then accuse you of over reacting. Naturally, then, youre the bad person ; theyre just being friendly, and so on. They thrive on your drama, so they find ways to push your buttons.   Remember, in the beginning theyre listening and watching, so they know what gets to you. Give them ammunition and they will use it! This is why you do not bare secrets early on. Its your secrets and fears that they use to make you appear unstable and unreasonable. The Fourth and most important to keep in mind is to look for doubt to set in, not in them, but in you. You will start doubting your own sanity. Did I really say that? Did I really do that? Emotional manipulation is all about making a person doubt themselves. This way the manipulator is always right and always gets their way. They are in control and plan to keep it that way. The use of guilt, anger, deception, intimidation, control and power will all come into play at some point. They will also be ambiguous, elusive, and emotionally unavailable. There is no love only lust. Sad to say, but many people mistake lust for love and fall for this tactic head first. The last thing to take care of is to know that the worst part of this is that if youre around them long enough, you will become like them. Thats right, you become like who youre around. How do you fight back or survive if you dont use emotional manipulation tactics yourself? After all, manipulators dont play fair! Its called natural adaptation. Many times it ends in sadness and violence; emotional baggage to carry for life unless counseling is sought. If you dont want to fall for these emotional manipulators build up your self esteem and confidence, so that you find their behaviors are unacceptable. People are sitting at a neutral state being swung back and forth on what and who to believe. They dont know that manipulation can be very dangerous and can be used in totalitarianism especially if they are manipulated by double think. An example of double think, the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously and accepting both of them, as a manipulation technique for a large population (e.g. population of a country) is found in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. Where British citizens are psychologically manipulated to believe what the government and media declares. War is Peace is an example. To illustrate War is Peace, we must look at the term keeping the peace. America, the worlds liberator, has a wicked habit of keeping the peace in foreign lands. What this really means is that they send troops to these lands, armed with the most advanced weaponry, and threaten to kill everyone that goes against the interests of democracy. All of this is in the name of keeping the peace. The act of doublethink is now common in the world, many young adults are torn to believe contradictory statements about politics, and life which will prevent future generations from knowing what peace is. Not everyone in this world knows about psychological manipulation. Psychological manipulation techniques may be scattered all around your life; but that doesnt mean you have to give in to them. With this paper, you are now more equipped to handle different manipulative techniques. I also do recommend people to prepare their children to overcome manipulation. Sources: Books: Title: Mind Control. Publisher: Citadel; illustrated edition edition (August 1, 2006). Author: Dr.Haha Lung. Internet: http://www.manipulative-people.com/psychological-manipulation-an-overview/. http://mentalabuse.org/home.asp. http://www.articlesbase.com/self-improvement-articles/psychological-manipulation-techniques-3-awful-things-people-do-to-manipulate-others-1574468.html. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_manipulation. http://www.psychologicalharassment.com/psychological_manipulation.htm.

OnLive: The Future of Gaming or Technological Disaster? Essay

OnLive: The Future of Gaming or Technological Disaster? The OnLive Company first proposed their plan to provide cloud-based gaming service to the public at the E3 conference, June 2009. To many of the enthusiasts at the conference, it seemed that an On-Demand service for video games was only natural, given that movies and music have already adopted cloud distribution. As Microsoft and Nintendo premiered their new resource-hungry consoles, OnLive demoed Crysis, a graphics intensive videogame, on an iPhone. The crowd was astonished by the games low-latency, and quality. CEO Steve Perlman also points out â€Å"we can deliver anything† through the cloud, including design applications, movies, and other forms of multimedia. OnLives idea to deploy the innovative service has not gone without criticism; many people are skeptical of their business plan and believe it to be impractical. In prospect, the OnLive service will revolutionize the gaming industry. After using the service for only a few minutes, I mused that gaming consoles would never again dominate the market. Along with games, OnLive’s interface is also a social network. It allows users to interact and share information, such as "Brag Clips" which are user-selected 10 second clips of memorable moments in their gameplay. Perhaps most importantly OnLive can be played through nearly every new device with an Internet connection, including iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. Currently on pre-order is OnLive’s â€Å"MicroConsole", a cigarette package-sized device that can connect to OnLive to a Television. Even the old IBM computer that has been sitting in your garage for years can run the newest games through OnLive. Whereas in the past gamers were forced to purchase the new Sony Pla... ...Perlman Gives Us His Post-launch Perspective.† Interviewed by Rich Brown. CNET News. Communication Network Inc., 15 July 2010. Web. 4 Nov. 2010. . Paul, Ryan. "40GB for $55 per Month: Time Warner Bandwidth Caps Arrive." Ars Technica. 3 June 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. . MMOGchart. MMOG Subscriptions Market Share - April 2008. Digital image. MMOGchart.com. MMOGchart, Apr. 2008. Web. 7 Nov. 2010. . Rayburn, Dan. "The Rapid Decline in Bandwidth Costs Since 2005 -- Seeking Alpha." Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha, 2 June 2009. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. . "What Is MMOG?" GamesTotal.com. Games Total. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. . "What Is Pandora Radio?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. WiseGEEK. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. .

Descartes Proof of God Essay -- essays research papers

Rene Descartes’ arguments in â€Å"Meditations on First Philosophy† are questionable to exactly how valid and sound they really are. His proof for the existence of God in the fifth meditation is an example of one of his invalid and therefore unsound arguments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the meditations Descartes refers to clear and distinct ideas. Descartes first introduces doubt to the reader by saying that one cannot trust these clear and distinct ideas. â€Å"I have noticed that the senses are sometimes deceptive; as it is a mark of prudence never to place our complete trust in those that have deceived us even once.† (Descartes, 60) He introduces doubt through the senses, dreams, and through the possibility of an evil genius at work. For instance he states that â€Å"There is no sure sign that I can tell that I am awake. If there are no sure signs that I can tell that I am awake then there is reason to doubt I am awake. Therefore there is reason to doubt I am awake.† (Descartes 60)This is how Descartes shows that we may be dreaming even though during these dreams we can experience authentic truths. He also he goes on to state that, â€Å"If there is reason to doubt that I am awake then there is reason to doubt that I am sitting by the fire. So then there is reason to doubt that I am sitting by a fire even though I see and feel a fire.† (Descartes 60)This Descartes believes could be true because there may be an evil genius at work, whose sole purpose is to put his entire effort...

Culture and education in the development of Africa Essay

Some of the colonial power portrayed Africa as primitive in their descriptions, for instance, Cecil Rhodes Social Darwinism advocate states, â€Å"I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King Leopold of Belgium assertion on civilization, â€Å"To open to civilization the only part of the globe where it has yet to penetrate †¦is, I dare to say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress.† From the above assertions, it is prudent to note that, colonial powers thought Africa to be devoid of the organization in social, political and economic perspective and therefore they wanted â€Å"to make Africa, England.† In that thought of naivety of the Africans, there were societal structures and organizations which British did not care to observe. However, it was not going to be easy as where two or three cultures interact a conflict is inevitable. Although Africa was not a plain or bear continent, Africans had their way of life, structure of government, religion, economic activities, education, systems of marriage and development plans for their societies, nevertheless the British brought their systems which conflicted with Africans established way of life, this was because the British, as many other European powers were economically depressed and Africa appeared to be the only way out. The British wanted to pass the three C’s; Commerce, that is to make money through an acquisition of free labor form Africans, raw materials for their industries as industrial revolution back in Britain was rapidly taking place, the market for their surplus production; Christianity to save Africans.Explorers such as David Livingstone, Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Diego Cam and Arabs with Muslim faith had missionary zeal. The last C is for Civilization, they wanted to civilize Africans in terms of education, culture and many other aspects. Th us, to a larger extent, the activities of British heartened conflicts. African traditional religion is rooted in the African culture, it was difficult for Christianity to penetrate through. Portuguese tried in the fifteen century and failed. For Christianity to take the course the Africans had to abandon their culture which was hard so to say. The Missionaries in the nineteenth century, however, came up with an elaborate plan for them to spread Christianity. They introduced through religion, education and health centers which contradicted informal learning and the institution of medicine men. Africans gradually began to embrace Whiteman’s way of life but not without several clashes. These battles are seen in various forms such as spiritual, doctrinal, cultural and practical. The African religion has been given several definitions by different scholars, for instance, Dr. John Mbiti has elaborated aspects of African religion. In his book African Traditional Religion, Mbiti (1991) African religion is very pragmatic and realistic (p2), he explains that it is applied in circumstances where need arises. In addition he states that religion is rooted in the local language, so to comprehend religious life of an African society one has to understand the local dialect. He further affirms, â€Å"To be an African in traditional setup is to be truly religious.† (p30) He states that the religion can be seen in five aspects of culture; beliefs, practices, ceremonies and festivals, religious objects and places, values and morals and religious officials and leaders. He defines African religion as: â€Å" The product of the thinking and experiences of our forefathers and mothers that is men and women of their generations. They formed religious ideas, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they told proverbs and myths which safeguarded the life of individual and his community.(pp 13-14) Mbiti notes that Af rican religion has no scriptures as compared to Christianity and other religions, it is written in peoples history ,hearts and experiences of the people.(p14) Awolalu in his book Sin and its Removal in the African Traditional Religion defines African religion as â€Å"†¦largely written in the people’s myth and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has no zeal for membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascination for Africans, young and old.† The African traditional religion was not homogeneous as the communities had different ethnic background thus the religious practices such rituals varied one community to the other. It is worth noting that it was oral not scripted or written and was passed from one generation to the other by word of mouth, as I earlier alluded in the definitions of religion. Within their organized societal structures, Africans believed in supernatural beings together with ancestral spirits.The ancestral spirits were believed to li nk the living societal members to the gods. Therefore, the African traditional religion was and still is interweaved to the African culture. From the above insights, one cannot talk of African religion without African values as they are intertwined and inseparable. African religion was embedded in moral values or codes or standards which were believed to originate from god through the ancestral spirits, these values when observed one would be rewarded with maybe good harvest from their cultivation of land or increased number of flock of cattle. When these values were violated the culprits were reprimanded. The concept of values is a vital point as one talks of the African religion. For that reason African religion is drawn from the African values and Culture. African Culture was the source of law through the moral codes and values passed from generation to generation. From the above description we can see that law or rules of conduct were embedded in religion and that African religion was interweaved in the African culture.The African religion had some institutions as Mbiti points out in the aspects of African religion, w ho presided over religious functions, these institutions were believed to communicate directly to ancestral spirits (living dead) who in turn would communicate to the gods and grievances of the living societal members would be heard. In the Kenyan context, these institutions include Orkoyot of the Nandi, Oloibon of the Maasai, Seers, Diviners, and Rainmakers depending on the ethnic communities which they came from. These institutions apart from veneration of the ancestors, they blessed warrior before going for war, advised the political leaders, offered sacrifice to god and conducted rituals for the culprits who violated moral values in the community. The gods had some specific names for instance, in Kenyan context, we had Enkai for the Maasai, Engoro for the Abagusii, Mulungu for Akamba, Asis the Nandi, Ngai for the Agikuyu and Nyasaye for the Luo. There were specific worship places which were regarded as holy, this places included shrines, mountaintops some special trees such as m ugumo, hills and some caves. The diversity of the names given to gods and places of worship, show the lack of uniformity in the African Religion. Thus Africans were of different ethnic background and had their own religion, gods and religion as a community. The clashes can be seen in the five aspects as earlier alluded in Mbiti’s work that is beliefs, practices, ceremonies, festivals, religious objects and places, values and morals, religious officials and leaders. These aspects of African religion differ from those of Christianity. I) Source/origin of Religion The Africans believed that their religion was sourced from god, who they believed long before their ancestors’ existence. The British Missionaries conflict with Africans by telling them about the existence of a God who had a son and lived among them many years ago. The religion of British was written (Bible) thus one had to have the ability to read and write in order to understand it, whereas that of African was passed from generation to generation by oral tradition. There is an introduction of a new system of identifying the origin of religion which conflicts with the African system. II) Places of worship The Africans revered in special caves, Mountaintops, hills, Forests, Special trees (mugumo) and shrines. The British tell Africans that they should worship God places called Churches. This encounter shows that there is a bit of clashing as the African places were very clearly defined and preserved by the community members. The British also seized African land to construct churches or chapels, Africans as a result became very hostile as they had distinct worship places which occurred naturally. They believed that their land was for cultivation and a gift from their gods. III) The Practices of Religion The Africans practiced their religion by reverence to their ancestors, offering human and animal sacrifices and invoking the ancestral spirits. They offered sacrifices in order to get favours in terms of harvest. The African worship was communal that is, all community members used to convene to pray for rain and ask for wellness of the community. The British religion had an aspect of confession of one`s sins before worship, repentance and forgiveness of sin is granted. This aspect of forgiveness of sins lacks in the traditional African religion, one had to be punished for wrong doing. British missionary religion brings out an aspect of offerings in terms of money and tithe which is ten per cent of one`s total earnings. IV) Religious leaders In African religion, worship was led by Diviners, Rainmakers, and Seers who were considered righteous. The work of religious leaders was taught through apprecentiship and was hereditary from specific clans in the community. There were certain clans from whom diviners would descend. They were highly respected in the community. The British Christian religious leaders attend school to be trained mainly on theology. They study formalities of worship and nature of God. Any member of Christian family can become a religious leader although there are some myths which say one has to be ‘called’ by God. A Christian leader has to have the ability to read and write so as to pass the scriptures to his congregation. V) Uniformity of Religion As I handled earlier in this essay, the African traditional religion was diverse from one ethnic community to the other due to the linguistic differences, migration patterns and origin. Christianity is introduced as a homogeneous religion as the author of it is Jesus Christ, a common ancestry and reference point for all Christians. The diversity of worship is dismantled by the British introduction of this even religion. Africans were notoriously religious as it was found in each group. Africans who lived as per the traditional way of life were regarded as very religious.it is also worth acknowledging that Africans are at crossroads due to the fact that religion is imbedded in the African culture. It is thus difficult for Africans to fully be committed to Christianity as being fully whole-hearted means they will have to abandon some of the partaking of African culture. This has already happened as some dedicated African Christians refer to traditional religion as paganism, fetish, and animism. References. Mbiti J.S (1999) African Religion and Philosophy, Oxford, England, Heinemann Educational Publishers. Mbiti J.S (1991) Introduction to African Religion Oxford, England, Heinemann Educational Publishers. Awolalo J.O (1976) Sin and Its Removal from the African Traditional Religion Uchenna O (2008) African Crossroads: Conflict between African Traditional Religion and Christianity, The International Journal of Humanities volume 6 Number 2 History and Government Form One to Four, KLB Fourth Edition. Kwasi W. (1998) Towards Decolonizing African Religion and Philosophy, African Studies Quarterly volume 1 Issue 4. NAME: MUNYALO, DANIEL MUTHENGI REG.NO: G34/102614/2017 COURSE: GPR 109 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING