Condoleeza Rice Essay Example for Free

Condoleeza strain EssayUpon assumption of her post as res publica Secretary, Condoleeza sift has taken steps to bring the dry land Department under her control. As part of the broad restructuring of the diplomatic corps and under the guise of transformational diplomacy, sift has shifted hundreds of Foreign Service positions from Europe and Washington to difficult assignments in the Middle East and elsewhere. As evidence of her aim for transformational diplomacy, Rice has even gone to the termination of announcing that diplomats volition not be promoted to senior enjoins unless they accept assignment in dangerous posts or gain expertise in at least both regions. Even though this move by the enunciate Secretary has been viewed as everywherewhelming at the least, it has maken nevertheless that Secretary Rice is serious in giving diplomacy and the foreign value a new- do focus. Whereas diplomats and foreign improvement personnel focus to a greater extent on career adv ancement and development, Rices issue of this prerogative as State Secretary, to indeed has improved the governances views on foreign policies. Ultimately, it is estimated that ab egress one-third of the 6,400 foreign service positions will be affected in the coming age because of this order.However, it could be said that Rices plans are just part of a frightful plan to withdraw broader authority over a range of foreign avail and policy programs thitherby ending in politicizing of foreign assistance. For instance, Rices plan of restructuring US foreign assistance and elevating the USAID post, specifically the nomination of Randall L. Tobias as the new administrator of the U. S. Agency for International Development, would give the former a rank equivalent of deputy secretary of State.This move is obviously intended to draw the agency closer to the department although it short of a merger between USAID and the State. Moreover, this will give the director broader authorities over a variety of foreign assistance accounts that are managed by separate entities. As Jim Bishop opined, Were concerned that the aforesaid(prenominal) priority wont be given to long-term development as resources are siphoned to support shorter-term diplomatic or military objectives (Bishop).But it cannot be denied that this restructuring will definitely cause ramifications to the diplomatic corps and the State Department as a whole. While it is good that as State Secretary has taken steps to give diplomats the wide experience and expertise in foreign relations before creation promoted to a senior rank, some(prenominal)(prenominal) move has later on declared to the whole world that the State Department is run by an iron fist. I believe that this management policy would later on prove detrimental to the State Department as there would be thousands of foreign service personnel who will be affected by this order.Instead of being able to focus on the foreign policies advanced by the d iplomats, they dexterity rather focus on how to keep their posts and their career. This would mean lesser accomplishment for the publicity of US foreign policies. As Rice has been continuously promoting the idea of transformational diplomacy, she particularly describes it as a shift from merely reporting on events to influencing them to foster the crop of democratic states worldwide (Kessler and Graham).Part of Rices plans it to expand US presence in areas where there are further one-person diplomatic posts much(prenominal) Alexandria in Egypt and Medan, Indonesia and bring diplomats closer to the streets unto the pulse of the locale instead of barricading themselves in fortified embassies. The State Department also plans to expand the use of interactive net sites maintained by diplomats to communicate with foreign citizens, promote the creation of rapid-re movement forces to deal with regional problems and seek to work more closely with military officers to promote the s circu mventness of nation conflicts (Rice, interview).The above-mentioned plans for the States foreign policies on the other hand would need to be reviewed as intimately of them seemed to be too luxuriant themes that it might be impossible to accomplish or see the success of even just one policy. For example, Rices plan to work more closely with military officers in order to promote the stability of nation conflicts can definitely be considered a far-fetched plan if not hilarious at best. Aside from US allies, the unite States has been considerably viewed as being arrogant and pushing its nose on issues not her own.The war in Iraq is a unspotted example of this. While the Iraqis were happy with the ouster of President Saddam ibn Talal Hussein, they however, were resentful of the continued military presence of the US armed forces in their country. Even the Iraqi soldiers whom the US worked closely with during the invasion and ouster of Saddam Hussein dislike the US policy of keeping an d maintaining peace in the Middle East. Moreover, Rices plan to promote the creation of rapid-reaction forces to deal with regional problems can be considered as meddling in internal affairs of each country.Foreign diplomats and ambassadors, spot representatives of the US government and its interests in a particular country certainly cannot meddle in regional affairs lest it will send a presage of political mistrust on the part of the United States to the country concerned. So long as the interests of the United States are not at risk, the US cannot interrupt and force itself and its foreign policies on a country. Perhaps, Rice inadvertently forgot that foreign countries are beyond her control unlike the US State Department where she reigns.The most that she could do is to place pressure on the country only if US interests are at stake. On the other hand, Rices may have already succeeded in her efforts to bring the State Department under her control as she already lectured her se nior staff about the dangers of media leaks. Thus, normally talkative officials have been observed to speak in carefully hushed tones. But her manner of administration can also considered a perfect example of leadership as she makes sure that she knows the whereabouts of her most senior staff, and once discussed with them a problematic newspaper article in North Korea policy.But nonetheless, Rice knows the power of the media and the messages as headspring as images it portrays to the whole world. Thus, her staff gives particular attention to the images and shots of Rice around the globe. Moreover, while she emphasizes to her staff the perils of media leaks, she on the other, has mastered the art of dodging questions from reporters that might be detrimental to the point in times she outlined for her speeches and conferences. In fact, she would often ignore questions that may inadvertently raise sore issues about Bushs campaigns for democracy.This method practiced by Rice has consid erably been sending mixed signals to the world. While it may appear that she is sincere in her efforts to effect the proposed changes in the State Department and the promotion of US foreign policy, it would nonetheless appear as well that she hesitates to trust the media and the world as well to tell them the truth herself. If I were on the part of the reporters, I would find incessantly disturbing that the State Secretary would not want to answer impromptu questions, much less questions that are not in her agenda.As she is the considered the face of the State Department, it would have been better had she practiced the art of being able to connect more with the media. But as I mentioned earlier, Rice seemed to be sending mixed signals and this would be better explained in my discussion of her promotion of democracy. Promotion of Democracy Condoleeza Rice has been repeatedly giving the relentless message to the external community that may have portrayed the State Department as a comm unications machine of the White House.Since her appointment as the Secretary of State she has articulated the promotion of democracy to any place which needs it. As she told a group of students in Sophia University in Tokyo, Japan, We are not going to flex a blind eye to the human desire for freedom anywhere in the world (Rice). Thus, this statement or something like it has become her rallying point and mantra in promoting democracy and perhaps justifying Bushs decision to invade Iraq in retaliation to the September 11 attack by terrorists.In limit to Colin Powell who was known as being an independent operator and has had his share of debates regarding the State Departments foreign policies with the administration, Rice, on the other hand is seen as speech the views of the White House into the State Department. This may be attributed to Rices loyalty to Bush whom she worked closely with during the Presidential elections. While Powell was uncomfortable giving out speeches that seem ed to portray grand schemes and themes, Rice, however loves to give them out in news conferences, interviews and speeches.Rice has delivered major policy addresses designed to place President Bushs vision with a larger strategic framework (Kessler). For example, while in Paris, she addressed a well-received speech that may have servinged lay the groundwork for an pledge with European officials on confronting Iran over its thermonuclear programs. Then in Tokyo, she outlined a new U. S. vision of Japans increasing importance as a global power and challenged mainland China to work harder to embrace some form of open and generally representative government (Kessler).Rice also never fails to insert her love for tourism and the arts into her responsibilities in promoting democracy and US foreign policies. According to aides, these visits demonstrates respect and interest in a countrys heritage and culture, thus, photo-ops are ensured to make Rice look good for the global audience. For example, while Rice was in Beijing, she attended a Sunday church service which although was a private visit and described her as a deeply political woman, it gave another significance as well.It shows Rices criticism of Chinas lack of religious freedom. As mentioned earlier, Rice has cautioned her staff regarding media leaks and its implications, but nevertheless uses its power in furtherance of her responsibilities to the international community. As such, Rice has brought new media sophistication to an agency that long prided itself on its focus on policy not image. She has dropped Powells practice of talking to reporters in front of the glass doors of the State Department after he escorted foreign officials to their cars.Instead, she brings reporters upstairs to the more visually striking Benjamin Franklin room, reminiscent of the rooms in the White House, where she sits with foreign dignitaries in front of a fireplace (Kessler). All these are examples of what Condoleeza Rice is c apable of doing despite being the first black woman in history to train such post. Weapons of Mass Destruction The Bush administration has been washed and plagued with its decision to attack Iraq in response to the terrorist attack on September 11, linking the Al groundwork and Iraq together.But there was no other person that supported this decision with much ardour than then-National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice. Despite the ramifications that resulted in not purpose the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam Hussein and Iraq allegedly harboured, Rice is firm in her belief that they did the right strategic decision although she admits that they have made tactical errors. Even before she was confirmed for the appointment of Secretary of State, Rice faced almost nine hours of gruelling questioning before the Senate Foreign Relations commission in her role in helping the President decide to invade Iraq.While her detractors have pointed out that the administration had made the mistake of invading Iraq over the alleged weapons of mass destruction, Rice on the other insisted that the war in Iraq was not launched solely over the weapons of mass destruction. Accordingly, the deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein welcomed terrorists and attacked his neighbors, all the while paying suicide bombers to aggravate the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. For Rice, Saddam Hussein has been an international threat for a long time and that he must be taken out and stopped.Although we can justify Rices position with regard to the invasion of Iraq at that time, we cannot deny however that she and the administration has focused so much on the Iraqi threat that the administration may have unconsciously allowed other act of terrorism hot spots such as Somalia, Indonesia and the Philippines to make and train. But then again, as Rice claims, she does study terrorist reports everyday and have been taking measures without disrupting international peace efforts an d mediation.Regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for example, Rice claims that the United States is willing to support the government of new Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas but withholds that Arab states must crack down on the incitement of hatred against Israel (CNN). It is apparent(a) nonetheless that the administration have focused so much on the Iraqi problem, spending close to $300 billion dollars to disarm the alleged weapons that cancelled out were not there and spent only $1 billion a year that are sure to exist such as in North Korea.This particular attitude may have been totally in disagreement with what she claimed when she was still the National Security Adviser. According to her, past administrations have permitted self-denial budgets to decline after the Cold War to a point where the resources were not matching the multiple missions that were asked from the armed forces to perform. This has led the administration to think of foreign assistance an d policy at a different light. For the Bush administration, the real goal for each country is to be prepared internally in order to grow economically as well.But as more people are getting aware of, Rice and Bush has indeed focused so much on the war on terrorism and against Iraq that it has failed to address other issues instead of focusing on the other responsibilities of the State Department. While it may be straight that the problem of terrorism has grown to such huge proportion, the State Department should not have solely focused on such as there are still other ways in order to combat terrorism. Many political scientists and sociologists claim that foremost in the reason for the spread of terrorism is poverty and economic unrest.People from poverty-stricken countries like Somalia would do everything to continue living so it is inevitable that they would attach themselves to any entity or groups that could fill their stomachs with viands in return for doing service for them. Had the State Department focused on policies that helped countries alleviate hunger and poverty, these countries would have not resorted to the use of force and instead would help the United States in its efforts to combat terrorism. Key Issues of Foreign PolicyAmong Condoleeza Rices claim on key issues regarding US foreign policies is to maintain self-reliance in the American commitment to justice and the rule of law. As such, she has for example urged the international community to act with great speed and deal with the humanitarian crisis in Darfur region in Sudan. Despite the US qualm regarding the United Nations International Criminal Courts responsibility to try Darfur war criminals, claiming that the ICC powers are unrestrained by any controlling authority, she has nevertheless showed US support on the resolution.Although she has already made it clear that the United States stand regarding the ICC remained unchanged, she asserted that the situation in Darfur was an extraord inary circumstance in which crimes against humanity are clearly being committed and that the world cannot afford further delay in addressing it (Gollust). Moreover, according to Rice, the US had no desire to be worlds jailer and that Washington wanted the terrorists that capture stand trial.Thus, although the United States had another alternate idea for a Darfur war crimes court to be set up in Tanzania but drawing little support instead, have agreed to accept the resolution that authorise the ICC in trying Darfur war crimes. Rice also averred that the use of force is not what is on the agenda now, particularly on the issues of Iran and North Koreas nuclear programmes. Although they have condemned these countries nuclear programmes, Rice nevertheless maintains that they will not take the matters into their own hands and never take any option off the table but would also leave it to the United Nations to decide on the matter.On the other hand, the United States would continue to enh ance its close ties with Britain in its fight against terrorism. twain the United States and Britain had been specifically staunch in their efforts to disarm Iraq for its alleged weapons of mass destructions and considering that Britain is among the economically well-favored nations, maintaining friendly and close relations with the country would not only help the United States in its efforts to combat terrorism but to also maintain its excellent economic ties.But we also have to applaud Rices guts as she does not hesitate to send stern diplomatic messages to countries that displease her or what she considers as those at the wrong side of freedom. For instance, she explicitly cancelled her trip to the Middle East when Egypt failed to respond to her request of releasing an imprisoned political figure.She also withdrew the US Ambassador from Syria when a former Lebanese prime minister was killed in a bomb blast and contented that additional sanctions might be taken under the Syrian A ccountability Act. closing The Secretary of State has enormous responsibility not only to the State Department but to the country as well. As for Condoleeza Rice, she is accountable for whatever decisions and advices that might have gone through her and passed on to the President for final decision.Thus, despite the criticisms that go along with her job, we can safely conclude that in the short years that Condoleeza Rice has replaced Colin Powell, she definitely has made some changes and although her decisions in running the State Department may at times be impugned, the changes under her remarkably had made differences in the Department. Whereas before, foreign service personnel and diplomats were more concerned with their respective career advancement, Rice has made sure that this practice is stopped and that diplomats live up with the expectations and demand of representing the United States to the various international posts.Moreover, Rices stance on the administrations decisio n to invade Iraq despite the ramifications of such action has proved that she will do everything and that she will continue to defend her and that of the presidents actions. Although it is not difficult to hate and condemn her for methods in acting as the Secretary of State, we can however, commend her because of her ability to express her displeasure on issues that are of importance to her and the US interest.

Media assignment - Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Media assignwork forcet Of Mice and Men EssayTask comp be the pass arounding sections of the twain take ins versions of Of Mice and Men the 1939 black and white shoot down starring Lon Chaney Junior and Burgess Meredith, and the 1981 colour version starring Randy Quaid and Robert Blake. You should look at the sections from the beginning of sever ein truth(prenominal)y film to the point where in each one Lennie says, Im shutting up, on the night before they go down to the ranch.The 1939 version snuff its off with George and Lennie running by from a group of angry men. Both sets of people be running on foot, this is different in the 1981 film because the pursuers are on horseback. The 1939 film is patently shot in a studio because the back extrusion is easy to make out, also there is no sense of distance between the chasers and the dog because they are never seen in the same shot because the studio is not spoilt enough to have a long shot so all of the shots are cl ose-ups. However the 1981 film it is shot outdoors and the pursuers are on horseback in the 1981 film to make it more exciting and to shorten the odds on George and Lennies escape. Having horses would be impossible in the 1939 film because it is shot in the studio and it would have been very hard for them to shoot a chase with horses in. in that location is a very different use of harmony in the opening sections, in the 1939 film there is little use of music and it does not veer during the chase however the 1981 film uses music very obviously to make the viewing more pleasurable. Whenever George and Lennie are on shot the music is all cheeky as if the characters are being chased (which they are) this gets the viewers attention up and helps them to feel part of the chase. Whenever the chasers are on screen there is bad-guy music and this denominates the viewer that they are the bad-guys and George and Lennie are the good guys.This is a very simple technique to use but the 1939 film does not even need to. The except technique it uses is it has a very peaceful scene with approximately rabbits at and this peacefulness is broken up by the thrill of the chase. in that respect is a big contrast here and it is designed to take the viewer surprise and keep them interested. This is significant and symbolic because George and Lennie are peaceful and all of their plans are made and thence they are destroyed as if horses have trampled on them. There are also clouds that are seen usually at the start of a storm and this could entail the start of the storm for George and Lennie.The 1981 film was made for television, to keep the viewer interested they have the ascribe over the top of the action and because of this the credit are make with just text over the picture, they are presented very simply and this is because it is faster to do it this way so that it takes up less of the film and it can be done over the action without ruining that action. In the 1939 film it was one of the graduation exercise films ever to have action before the credits. This rigoroust that they alsok time over the credits because they were actually in the middle of a scene. An extract from the verse that the book and therefore the film are connected to is written of the side of the train jitney as if it has been written there. Then the writers name comes up in what looks give care a handwritten font to look like a signature. The 1939 film have in minds the poem by Robert Burns, which goesThe best-laid plans o mice an menGang aft a-gley,An leae us nought but grief an painFor promised joy.This is significant because the film is about plans made by George and Lennie which seem to be god and nothing could go wrong with them but something goes drastically wrong and leave George and Lennie with nought but grief an pain. The 1939 film does mention this however the book on which the film was base and the 1981 film do not. This could be because the 1939 film considers i ts viewers intelligent enough to understand and that they are at the cinema for a bit of culture however the 1981 film was made for television and so just for the action of it and it would not want to bore its viewers with poetry since most of the viewers will be watching for the action of the film rather than the significance of a link to a poem. The remaining credits are done skilfully and use the motion of the train and the objects that go past as wipes to change the credit picture so that it almost looks like they are actually written on the train. The way that the credits break up the action and are in between two sections of the film show us that time has elapsed and that the beginning was just setting the scene and the rest of the film is the main storyline.In the 1981 film there is a exclusively section with auntie Clara that is not in the original film on which the later one is based. When George and Lennie are walking to Aunt Claras the music in the accent is Red River vale played on the mouth organ. This tells us a pile because the mouth organ was an instrument used a lot in old school western movies so tells us where and when this film is set. A more important point is that the song is about issue family and that implies that Aunt Clara is home. At Aunt Claras we are shown by his actions what Lennie is like when he says, Ive been here before and Arent you going to eat your pie George?This is a comical thing to say and produced some laughs while we were watching it but also shows that Lennie acts like a small child in the things that he says and does. Lennie obviously hero-worships George when he repeats everything George says and he is shown to be not so bright when he calls his own Aunt maam. George moans to Aunt Clara and the words are nearly exactly the same as when he moans to Lennie in the woodwind later on in this film and in the same place in the 1939 film.This could show that George is bitter about having Lennie tagging along with hi but the accompaniment that he uses the same words again means that it is rehearsed and the words do not come from the heart so he does not really mean them. This also sets the scene for us when George says, He aint no kin. This tells us that George and Lennie are not related. The writer feels that he might need this scene in the film because Aunt Clara is mentioned later on and the fact that the film is intended for television where you get people watching who are not paying a lot of attention means that actions and characters need explaining more thoroughly. This also explains the music and some of Lennies comments such as Ive been here before.George is presented a lot differently in the 1981 film than in the antecedent version. The fact that George could even consider leaving Lennie would be impossible in the 1939 version. Even in the 1981 version George stutters when e tells Lennie to sit and clutches as if he is not sure whether he should be doing it and that it is not plann ed. George then looks at Aunt Clara whose expression is impossible to read which tells us that she maybe can understand why George would want to leave Lennie (backed up by her agreement to Georges moans earlier on) but does not think that he will go through with it (which he doesnt.) Lennie then fidgets and looks helpless when George gets a lift, George has always been around and is Lennies comfort blanket. Lennie has complete faith in George when he mutters, I know youre going to come back but this is heard when an image of George on the truck seen and this makes the viewer very doubtful to whether Lennie is right to place his faith in George.There is more use of music when George walks back after changing his mind. There is music playing when George walks back which suggests that time has passed and it is used so that it is not silent. The music stands still when George stands still and jumps when Lennie jumps and there is bad-guy music when the bad-guys are on and chasey music w hen Lennie has to run. This music is to try and get the viewer involved and to help them understand the film. This is a literalist use of music but is also a simple technique and it provides the viewer with a sense of excitement and involvement. The 1939 film does not use this technique at all.The following chase in the 1981 film is very similar to the original chase in the 1939 film and the later film could even start there and miss out anything before it if it wanted to be the same as the film that it was based upon. It is shot outside and the chasers are on horseback, they are running a different way and there are long shots indicating distances and George and Lennie lose them in a different way but simply George and Lennie are being chased and are almost caught but somehow they manage to get away.Both films then have George and Lennie travelling, in the 1939 film they are on the bus and in the 1981 film they are walking down the railway track. Both films suggest that they have t ravelled a long way, they fact that they are on the bus shows that it was too far to walk and on the railway track you can se for miles backwards and that implies that they have walked for miles from backwards. When George throws the stone at the affect in the 1939 film it is a very good shot to hit the face and this is not very good film making simply too good to be true. He throws the stone because there is an advert for the railway and by taking the bus they will have to walk for ten miles. The psyche on the advert is smiling a lot so this will irritate George because he will not be in the mood for smiling. different examples of shots being done artificially include the huge amount of back-projection used in the 1939 film and the small amount used in 1981. The 1939 back projection includes the original chase jumping onto the train shown by the actors running on the spot and then stopping when they get on to the train and on the bus, first when sitting down and next when near t he driver, shown by the phoney movement of the drivers arms on the wheel (there are fake bus noises when it stops, using stop and then pulls away again.)The scene by the watering pond it is shot in a studio where again fake running water noises are used and fake bug noises that are supposed to be realistic but in the 1981 film it is shot outside in the real open air and there are no bug noises there because none have been added in. The only place where back-projection was obvious in the 1981 film was when George was sitting on the truck and behind him was back-projection, cleverly edited with long-shots that were real and real film when he got on and off. Back-projection was used a lot more in the earlier film because by 1981 it was possible to do a lot more filming outside because technology had improved.The 1981 film uses other techniques though. The choice of music is very important because the music nearly always has meaning, this can be as explained above or by the actual piec e of music itself. Red River Valley is used again when George and Lennie are by the river and because it is a song about going home it suggests that George and Lennie are going t their new home, which will be the ranch. New World Symphony is used when George and Lennie are walking along after the visit to Aunt Claras and the second chase. New World Symphony is based on a song Going Home which is used at funerals, this could mean that George and Lennie are on a trip to take one of them (Lennie) home for good. All the music is played on the harmonica, which is a plaintive instrument that amplifies the point that the songs are making.The last scene by the river are almost verbatim the same in both films. The second film is an adaptation on the first film so this is to be expected. Even the acting of the four men is very similar and the moving around is the same. This could be because the adaptors of the second film have liked the way the first film does this part of the production and could not think of a better way to do it so they did it in exactly the same way as the first film.

Diversity Issues Essay Example for Free

Diversity Issues EssayIt does non create a mouth-opening effect on us when we get to feel any expiration related to sexual molestation that is happening nearwhere in the sylvan, whether it is any organization, community, educational institution, or village. It is because there is no such country in the world that has totally eliminated this issue, even if they have, then other diversity issues such as, discrimination, hatred, and glass-ceiling occur. The paper would discuss an article just about sexual harassment, analyze the sound concerns, and highlight the thoughts regarding the issue. Introduction Sexual harassment is a term that is utilise to define any act of harassment where a person or employee makes continued, unwished-for sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, to another employee, against his or her wishes (Heathfield, 2010). Examples of Sexual harassment There is not any specific way of harassing the opposite gender in the workplace in situation, there are variety of ways that can be used depending on the circumstances.People pass on jokes, non-verbal gestures, or other offensive comments on the physique, dresses, or way of walking or talking of the other party. miserable and making some bodily connection also comes under sexual harassment, where patting some unitarys back, holding him or her from waste, and scratching is make. Moreover, requests to the other party are made to have date even that party has refused before. And finally, sending emails or texts that contain some lewd text or pictures and playing sexy medication are also part of sexual harassment. Legal ConcernsSexual harassment has increased to so much extent that now it is considered to be a frequent thing, which would not have any negative impact towards the organization or its performance. But in reality, it does have several legal concerns over the confidence and self-esteem of the harassed one, perfo rmance of the organization, violation of the honourable and moral principles, and also the corporate culture. Starting from the moral and ethical issues, one does not have any the right way to sexually harass anyone else in the workplace even if the other party does not entertain the offer or gets reluctant to it.It violates the ethical principles because one does not feel the sense of freedom where he or she is working, and since it is the workplace so protest or condemnation cannot be done openly. Second of all, it diverts the mind of both(prenominal) the harasser and harassee from their work since they continue to disturb and get disturbed from each others reactions. Therefore, the time is wasted and focus is not made on the everyday tasks, hence resulting in the decline in productivity of both parties.As far as the self-esteem and confidence of harassee is concerned, it gets hurt seriously because the harassee cannot openly raise voice in front of others to either protect him /her or remonstratet about the harasser. Moreover, there is a great chance of other mint perceiving the harassing situation as the consensual relationship or flirting of both the parties, which might degrade ones image. Not only this, once the rumors about sexual harassment being happening in an organization spread, it exacerbates companys image and so many of the women or minorities would hesitate to join it in the future. Thoughts and BeliefsThis growing issue in the workplaces have tarnished the image of many organizations and as well as the countries where minorities are harassed either sexually or for some other purpose. Although this is a silent issue that has not been considered to deal at the upper level either by the companies or governments nevertheless, employees are the only one who can help themselves and get out if this nuisance. Sexual harassment can be prevented by the organizations if they develop and introduce certain stiff rules about the issue, which warrant t hat whoever is found to be harassing others would either be fired or suspended.Of course, the employer would not want this issue to prevail in the company so the harassee must complain secretly to the immediate boss or manager who could take the issue seriously in dealing with it. Also, harassee must have proper proofs and records of harassment been done by the harasser, so that he or she could take legal actions against the harasser and let him or her face the music (Heathfield, 2010). This would not be it in fact the role of government and law-making bodies is very decisive here that can introduce certain laws especially for the workplaces where sexual harassment usually takes place.Once the rules are implemented, the issue would certainly take a rain check and minimize. Conclusion Therefore, there are many diversity issues prevailing in the organizations, one of them is sexual harassment that involves the passing of certain remarks, words, jokes, or some physical contact with the other party. Its outcomes are quite gloomy where the performance level of employees goes down, image is tarnished and corporate and ethical principles are violated.The issue can be managed by taking action on-the-spot by the harassee and the employer, and also by implementing stiff rules and regulations. References Heathfield. S. M. (2010). Address an Employee Sexual Harassment Complaint. Retrieved on August 4, 2010. From http//humanresources. about. com/cs/workrelationships/ht/sexualharass. htm Heathfield. S. M. (2010). Sexual Harassment. Retrieved on August 4, 2010. From http//humanresources. about. com/od/glossarys/a/sexualharassdef. htm

Gestalt theory

Gestalt theoryGestalt theory is based on the idea that the kind brain is holistic and it perceives objects as whole systems rather than the sum of its parts. Discuss and analyze the significance of the contributions of Gestalt theory to human scholarship and cognition. Give 3 examples.As I was reading and researching for this discussion I began to apply these principles of Gestalt perception theories and Gestalt therapy to my family. What I see when Jaci (my 4 year old daughter) looks at things and gives me a description of what she is eyesight her perception is very different than mine or my partners. Jaci is very creative and can see and do things much different than we do as adults. She has a subscription to highlights puzzle books. In these books there be several hidden pictures and she has a difficult timeGestalt basically means unified whole which refers to theories of perception actual during 1910- 1912 by Max Wertheimer and Wolfgang Kohler. The prominent founders of Gest alt theory are Max Wertheimer, Wolfgang Kohler, and Kurt Koffka.Gestalt theory attempted to describe how people organize things into groups which developed unified whole.Wertheimer suggested the idea of likely motion an example in Goodwin, (2009) is if an interval between a flashing light is only 60 sec then the perception is non of deuce separate lights but of one light that is moving. Wertheimer called this perception the phi-phenomenon. Wertheimer wrote a paper virtues of Organization in Perceptual Forms where he introduced several other principles related to perception and cognition.These proposed principles he argued were the answer to understanding how individuals perception. The principles that were applied to understand this visual perception was similarity, anomaly, continuation, closure, proximity, and phone number and ground. Gestalt is also known as the Law of Simplicity or the Law of Pragnanz (good figure), which states that every stimulus is perceived as close to o ur reality, as possible (Goodwin, 2009).Gestalt theorists believed that the whole is greater than the parts. In other words, the whole (a car) carried a different and greater meaning than its individual components (tire, paint, metal). When we look at the car (whole) a cognitive process takes place instantaneously the mind makes a switch from understanding the parts (tires, paint, metal) to recognizing the entire car.A simple composition may have only one figure however in a interlinking composition there will be several things to notice. We have a tendency to look from one object to the other and they each become figure however they cannot both be seen as figure and ground at the same time. The focus at any moment is the figure which then presumes that everything that is not figure is ground. An example of this would be how camouflage works. It is a purposeful attempt to have the figure blend into ground. All tanks during the gulf war changed camouflage from the one thousand cam ouflage of earlier wars to a brown base so that they could blend in with the sand. Because Gestalt theory suggests that things that share the same visual characteristics (color, texture, shape, size and value) they then are seen as belonging together. This example illustrates how camouflage attempts to do just that, visually seeing the tank and the terrain as one thus, keeping soldiers safe from harm. Gestalt theory continues to be seen in psychology today with several of his ideas. Lewins theory about the power of the group and idea of a state of equilibrium are still sizable today. My work today is strongly focused on the group dynamic and the power of the group and part of the education involves our intrinsic need to seek equilibrium.

Negative Schizotypy Reflect A Continuously Deficit Psychology Essay

Negative Schizotypy Reflect A Continuously Deficit Psychology EssayThe DSM-IV APA, diagnosiss schizophrenic psychosis found on reoccurring symptoms, including hallucinations delusions, disorganised speech, disorganised or catatonic behaviour and negative. One reason for cognitive impairments observed in schizophrenia is the treat of context. Cohen (1999) states context processing is apply in general to mean the execution of mental effort or cognitive control. It is referred to actively holding information to be used to mediate task appropriate behaviour. Buchanan et al (1994) states negative symptoms of schizophrenia are connected with deficits involving executive functioning memory. Further evidence from Dibben, et al (2009) explains executive dysfunction shows difficulty in maintaining contextual information, in that locationfore may be an endophenotype of the schizophrenia spectrum of disorders.Research has found there are certain negative schizotypy traits, associated with schizophrenia. Lenzenweger (2010) defines schizoptypy as an underlying personality construct rather than a set of open behaviours, which may indicate a concealed risk of future schizophrenia. Schizotypy traits which parallel symptoms of schizophrenia vary from start to pathological, suggesting schizophrenia as a spectrum disorder. Schizotypal temperament affection (SPD) presents as similar symptoms to schizophrenia but are explained as a border line state in DSM-III (APA, 1980) SPD not severe enough to consider the criteria to be diagnosed as schizophrenic. Therefore signifying schizophrenia corresponds to the severe end of the spectrum. Additional support from OFlynn et al (2007) shows indivi bivalents with high schizotypy come to are cognitively linked to schizophrenia as part of a schizophrenia spectrum. Furtherto a greater extent Diforio (2000) found SPD patients exhibit cognitive impairment in numerous areas, such as executive functioning, dual task information processi ng and works memory. These are similar to those seen in schizophrenia, although less severe. Studies by Barch (2004) amyotrophic lateral sclerosiso found individuals expressing schizotypal characteristics express deficits in attention and working memory. Studying individuals with schizotypy traits or SPD can help towards understanding systems and psychological processes contributing to schizophrenia, without confounding factors such as medication personal effectuate intervening, which is problematic when researching schizophrenia.The O-LIFE was developed to counsel on traits rather than symptoms. It measures four sub-scales associated with schizotypal traits, all throw away been recognized to have high internal consistency. These are unusual experiences = 0.89, cognitive disorganisation = 0.87, introvertive anhedonia = 0.82 and urge nonconformity = 0.77. (Mason et al 1995) Evidence from Burch et al (1998) found O-LIFEs test-retest reliability to be very high. except this invest igation just measures introvertive anhedonia commonly referred to as a negative schizotypy trait.Meehl (1962) states Anhedonia is the reduced ability to experience social and physical sources of pleasure, as well as avoidance of intimacy, it is an important characteristic of negative symptoms describing it as matchless of the most consistent and dramatic behavioural signs of the disease. Additionally high social anhedonia as suggested by Blanchard et al (2000) may indicate schizotypy, relating it to a taxon amongst an undergraduate population. A study by Kwapil (1998) suggests higher pull ahead of social anhedonia have been correlated to a greater probability of being diagnosed with future schizophrenia.This investigates uses the O-LIFE questionnaire to measure scores on the introvertive anhedonia subscale and to observe if higher scorers have difficulty with contextual processing. Haddon et al (2011) claim bi qualified disagreement in the form of a contextual processing task may be used to measure the way in which task-setting cues control performance. Participants are required to learn relationships by trial-and-error between stochastic pairs of stimuli and feedback responses. Cohen Servan-Schreiber (1992) propose task-setting cues are essential in resolving conflict which argue stimulus-response pathways create. A study by Mason et al (1995) examined performance of participants with high and low schizotypy scores, using biconditional discrimination and a control discrimination which did not use task-setting cues. Findings showed those who scored highly on the introvertive anhedonia subscale performed weakly on the biconditional. Therefore Liddle (1987) suggests deficits in biconditional discrimination are directly related to the introvertive anhedonia schizotypy subscale. Furthermore Burch et al (1998) states high schizotypy scores are related to impairments on cognitive tasks, similar to those with schizophrenia.Looking at previous research this inve stigation aims to replicate (using a related discrimination procedure) and generalise findings of Haddon et al (2011), also to contribute to developing projects on schizotypy which looks to understand effects of core cognitive deficits on severe mental illness. The investigation supposales the high schizotypy group will find completion of biconditional discrimination more difficult than cast down groups.MethodDesignAn experimental design was used in this study. The independent variables were the schizotypy groups 1, 2, 3 and 4. The dependent variable was the biconditional discrimination score.Participants92 undergraduates (75 females and 17 males) participated in choke for course credit and were undiagnosed as schizophrenic or victorious psychotropic medication.MaterialsMaterials included the O-life (The Oxford and Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences) questionnaire and a contextual processing task. (O-LIFE Mason 1995) This was elect as it is a reliable and valid mea sure that was specifically designed for use with sub-clinical populations.A desktop computer running windows and visual basic was used for displaying the stimuli and recording the participants responses. The contextual processing task programme was designed specifically for the investigation.ProcedureParticipants were tested individually in a quiet environment. The 160-item O-LIFE questionnaire used for measuring schizotypal characteristics within the normal population was shown on a projector screen and participants had to circle yes or no to the corresponding question on an answer sheet. Participants were allocated to schizotypy groups of 20 based on their introvertive anhedonia score relative to the distribution of this trait in participants of similar age and sexual practice. They carried out a contextual processes task which tested biconditional discrimination.Participants fictitious the role of a stockbroker and advised clients on stock profitability. In total of 80 trainin g trials presented the participant with pairs of hypothetical stocks including chemicals and paper or metal and wood. Participants because discriminated on a 9 point scale which pairs of stocks would result in profit (positive outcome) and which would result in losses (negative outcome). Participants were instructed to provide a confidence paygrade of 1 if certain there would be a loss a rating of 5 if uncertain and a rating of 9 if certain of a profit, feedback was provided on the outcome. All four types of trial (AX, BX, AY, BY) (see fig 2) were presented randomly once within each cycle, 20 trials of each compound in total.Biconditional trainingAX+AY-BY+BX-Fig 2 Table of contingences.Completing the task involves attending to both cues consecutively to predict important events. When processing one cue (X) participants have to consider the context in which it is displayed (A or B).Data AnalysisAs there were multiple levels of the independent variable a one way between analysis of variance was used to test for a difference. This analysis decreases chance of a type 1 error. The dependent variable biconditional discrimination was measured by taking the average difference between profit (AX BY) and loss (AY BX) trials in the final 40 trials of learning. Analysis was carried out this way because as Haddon et al (2011) show the effects between the groups emerge as learning progresses. A single score ranging from -8 and +8 was therefore produced reflecting each participants contextual learning ability. The higher the participants score the more context learning ability they have. As ANOVA only states whether there is an overall significant effect Bonferroni post hoc tests were carried out to find which means were significantly different from each other.ResultsLevenes test of homogeneity of variance is used to report whether variance is significantly different between groups. We cannot use the ANOVA model if there is a significant difference, although for this study Levenes test of homogeneity of variance was non-significant, (p0.05) therefore ANOVA data can be interpreted.One way between ANOVA shows an overall significant difference between introvertive anhedonia score and contextual processing. (F (3, 88) = 6.019, pPairwise comparisons using post hoc test bonferroni showed scores for group 1 were significantly higher than those in group 4 (p0.05). As figure 1 shows a linear association was found. (See figure 1).Figure 1. Mean discrimination score by group (s.e shown as error bars)DiscussionThe aim of this investigation was to further examine and replicate the findings of Haddon (2011). Findings have provided evidence consistent with this aim and hypothesis that high schizotypy groups have difficulty completing biconditional discrimination compared to lower groups. Specifically participants with higher introvertive anhedonia scores (group 4) displayed more impaired biconditional performance compared with those with low scores (group 1).T he connection found between high Introvertive Anhedonia scores and impaired biconditional performance is consistent with Liddles (1987) research linking cognitive dysfunction to negative symptoms of schizophrenia and schizotypy characteristics. However it is essential to note anhedonia is not an exclusive feature of schizophrenia, having also been found in bipolar disorder.These results not only give further support to Haddon et als (2011) findings but also maintains the theory from Cohen and Servan-Schreiber (1992) that high schizotypy individuals, should be impaired on biconditional discrimination tasks since contextual information is essential for resolving conflict between opposing stimulus-response.Futhermore the statistical test ANOVA only shows there is a difference between groups scores, not stating exact cause and effect. Variation within groups could be out-of-pocket to individual differences or other factors that were not controlled (tiredness or mood) could affect conce ntration. Participants could have found the task uninteresting therefore not engaging fully also participants different approaches to answering biconditional discrimination task can have an impact upon results.The O-LIFE questionnaire has good test-retest reliability and is useful in studying a nonclinical population. Although O-LIFE is not a diagnostic test for risk of mental illness, testing only personality traits. However there are limitations in the investigation, the sample had a clear gender bias with a larger female to male ratio. Another drawback being a young age bias as it used undergraduate students, although take from younger age groups produces groups with comparable distributions of introvertive anhedonia scores.Further research is needed to determine the significance of these results and their implications for the relationship between negative schizotypy traits and context processing. Researchers looking for intent indicators for causes of decline into schizophreni a could use further research using these results.Additionally larger understanding of negative symptoms could motivate research into producing therapies effective for negative symptoms.ReferencesAssociation, A. P. (1980). symptomatic and statistical manual of mental disorders (thrided.). Washington Author.Association, A. P. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (fourth ed.). Washington Author.Barch, D. M., Mitropoulou, V., Harvey, P. D., New, A. S., Silverman, J. M., Siever, L. J. (2004). Context-processing deficits in schizotypal personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113, 556-568.Blanchard, J. J., Gangestad, S. W., Brown, S. A., Horan, W. P. (2000). Hedonic capacitance and schizotypy revisited A taxometric analysis of social anhedonia. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(1), 87-95.Buchanan, R. W., Strauss, M. E., Kirkpatrick, B., Holstein, C., Breier, A., Carpenter, W.T. (1994). Neuropsychological Impairments in Deficit Vs Nondeficit Form s of Schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51(10), 804-811.Burch, G. S. J., Steel, C., Hemsley, D. R. (1998). Oxford-Liverpool Inventory ofFeelings and Experiences Reliability in an experimental population. BritishJournal of Clinical Psychology, 37, 107-108.Cohen, J. D., Barch, D. M., Carter, C., Servan-Schreiber, D. (1999). Context-processing deficits in schizophrenia Converging evidence from three theoretically motivated cognitive tasks. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(1), 120-133.Cohen, J. D., Servan-Schreiber, D. (1992). Context, Cortex, and Dopamine aConnectionist approaching to Behavior and Biology in Schizophrenia. PsychologicalReview, 99(1), 45-77.Dibben, C. R. M., Rice, C., Laws, K., McKenna, P. J. (2009). Is executive impairment associated with schizophrenic syndromes? A meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 39(3), 381-392.Diforio, D., Walker, E. F., Kestler, L. P. (2000). Executive functions in adolescents with schizotypal personality disorder. Schizo phrenia Research, 42(2), 125-134.Haddon, J. E., George, D. N., Grayson, L., McGowan, C., Honey, R. C., Killcross, S. (2011). Impaired conditional task performance in a high schizotypy population Relation to cognitive deficits. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 64(1), 1-9.Kwapil, T. R. (1998). Social anhedonia as a forecaster of the development of schizophreniaspectrum disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107(4), 558-565.Lenzenweger, M. F. (2010). Schizotypy and schizophrenia The view from experimental psychopathology. New York Guilford Press.Liddle, P. F. (1987). The Symptoms of Chronic-Schizophrenia a Reexamination of the Positive-Negative Dichotomy. British Journal of Psychiatry, 151, 145-151.Mason, O., Claridge, G., Jackson, M. (1995). New scale for the assessment ofschizotypy, Personality and Individual Differences 18(1), 7-13.Meehl, P. E. (1962). Schizotaxia, schizotypy, schizophrenia. American Psychologist, 17, 827-838.OFlynn, K., Gruzelier, J., Bergm an, A. and Siever, L.J. (2007) The Schizophrenia Spectrum Personality Disorders, in Schizophrenia, Second Edition (eds S. R. Hirsch and D. R. Weinberger), Blackwell Science Ltd, Oxford, UK.

Touching Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride -- Wedding Toasts

Touching spousals Speech from the Father of the Bride Ladies and Gentlemen, all of my guests, I cannot tell you how pleased I am nowadays to see my daughter Anna hold backing so radiantly happy, as she begins her life with Steven. My wife and I do feel that we are losing Anna, but entrusting her to Steven?s dandy care. During the past few months as we sport got to know him better, he has shown himself to be exactly the sort of person we had hoped Anna would marry ? charming, sincere, and reliable ? with a clear paper of what he wants from life and how to achieve it. At this time, I would like to take this opportunity to formally and wholeheartedly welcome Steven into our family. I am happy that you leave alone be part of our family and I look forward to sharing more time with you in the coming year... Touching Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride -- Wedding ToastsTouching Wedding Speech from the Father of the Bride Ladies and Gentlemen, all of my guests, I cannot tell you how pleased I am today to see my daughter Anna looking so radiantly happy, as she begins her life with Steven. My wife and I do feel that we are losing Anna, but entrusting her to Steven?s good care. During the past few months as we have got to know him better, he has shown himself to be exactly the sort of person we had hoped Anna would marry ? charming, sincere, and reliable ? with a clear idea of what he wants from life and how to achieve it. At this time, I would like to take this opportunity to formally and wholeheartedly welcome Steven into our family. I am happy that you will be part of our family and I look forward to sharing more time with you in the coming year...

The Ignored Lessons of Anne Frank :: Free Essays Online

The Message in The Ignored Lessons of Anne Frank In Bettelheims essay, The Ignored Lessons of Anne Frank, he criticizes Anne Franks military chaplain because of the way he had his whole family hiding out in the attic of one family. Bettelheim claims he is not criticizing Mr. Frank, he just wants his fillers to reexamine the way we read history. In his essay, Bettelheim concinced me that we, as readers should look again at the text and realize all the possibilities that the Franks had. In the essay, the author occlusives out that most of the other Jewish families who did mold to go into hiding did so separately, so if one family member were to get caught, the others still might have a chance. As Bettelheim points out that the chief need of the Franks was to continue to live together as if they were free, in the same manner that they had been living in. At the time when I was reading The Diary of Anne Frank, I had never thought that there was any other way that they could have lived. I never once considered that they should split up. Another important issue that the author brings up is the fact that the Franks were better informed than other Jews about the extirmination camps. The other Jews had no knowledge about these camps, making it a little bit more likely for the others to want to stick together as a family. The Franks, however, knew this and they still did nothing to prepare for the Nazis. The author also had some ideas for the Franks to prepare for the invasion when the Nazis came, even though they stayed together. He suggested that Mr. Frank could have had some form of protection, such as a gun Mr. Frank could have tried to detain the police when they came, opus his family could try to run to safety. Sure, Mr. Frank would have been killed of beaten, but he could have done a better job of protecting his family. The most important point that Bettelheim makes is why he thinks that the movie and play are such enormous successes. He declares that the ending in which Anne says, In spite of everything, I still view that the people are really good at heart, is ficticious. He says that this sentence is improbable when one considers that she was starved to death, had watched her sister meet the same fate in the beginning she did, knew that her mother had been murdered, and had watched untold thousands of adults and children being killed.