Relationship of US with China during Cold War Research Paper

Relationship of US with China during Cold War - Research Paper Example However, there were regional wars and civil wars in some parts of the world including China, Vietnam, Korea and even Afghanistan (Sinha 8-11). The entire Cold War period was therefore plainly dominated by international affairs. The history of US relations with China can be traced back to the time during the Second World War and after the Second World War. During the Second World War, the U.S government helped China win a war against Japan in 1937 when Japan first invaded the Chinese territories bordering the coast. This was the beginning of a relationship between the two states. Japan invasions on China did not stop even after the war of 1937; Japan still continued to attack the Chinese territories along the Coast. The American president at the time-Roosevelt further pitied China and what its citizens were being subjected to by the Japanese and decide to offer more military aid (Jonathan 412). Something that really annoyed the Japanese and provoked them to launch an attack first on a British vessel ferrying American citizens and later on Pearl Harbor- United Sates Territory of Hawaii on December 7th 1941. This forced America to retaliate with full force and signified the entry of America in the Second Worl d War. Despite the financial support and military aid to China during and after the World War Two, the Chinese leader of the time-Chiang never liked the Americans. In fact he remained quite suspicious of their motives and interests in his country (Jonathan 413). At this time, even though the Chinese leaders had allowed Americans in China, the two nations differed significantly on ideological grounds. With American continued spread of democracy in different parts Asia, China advocated for nationalism, Chiang himself openly claimed that the ideology of democracy was practically impossible in China and went on to even introduce a ban on democracy in China (Jonathan 415). In a different

Global Paper and Paper Products Industry Porter's Six Forces Analysis Research

Global and Products Industry Porter's Six Forces Analysis - Research Paper Example Porter’s six forces analysis of the global paper industry would involve certain factors such as threat of new entrants, rivalry among existing firms, threat of substitute products or services, bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers and relative power of other stakeholders. The explanations of the factors are given below: Threat of New Entrants Economies of scale The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the global paper industry has increased simultaneously with the growing usage of the paper by its consumers. In certain cases, the usage of papers remains intact where the GDP growth is witnessed to be almost stagnant. The global paper industry produces paper products of $750 billion each year comprising small enterprises globally (Scheihing, 2005). Product Differentiation Product differentiation is one of the most challenging measures of expanding or intensifying a business or industry. With the intense use of internet, the usage of paper is however decreasing day by day and as a result the global paper industry is trying to diversify or differentiate their products and trying to expand their product lines, especially based on the quality aspect (Scheihing, 2005). Capital Requirement A new entrant to the paper industry initially requires around $4.5 Million capital which may be recognized as a demanding level to position themselves in the industry (Scheihing, 2005). Switching Cost The switching cost for the paper industry is low. Therefore, the scope of new entrants is high, as new entrants can any time switch over to another industry if they do not feel competitive in the paper industry incurring minimum cost (Uronen, 2010). ... Capital Requirement A new entrant to the paper industry initially requires around $4.5 Million capital which may be recognized as a demanding level to position themselves in the industry (Scheihing, 2005). Switching Cost The switching cost for the paper industry is low. Therefore, the scope of new entrants is high, as new entrants can any time switch over to another industry if they do not feel competitive in the paper industry incurring minimum cost (Uronen, 2010). Accesses to Distribution Channels The distribution channel of the paper industry comprises of various, dealers, shareholders, retailors, and consumers to serve the ultimate customers in the corporate and educational sectors. Notably, these better facilities to an industry encourage the new entrants to enter the existing market (Uronen, 2010). Cost Disadvantages Independent of Size Due to the high installation cost, and high maintenance cost, the probability of new entrants reduces. However, due to the independence of dete rmining the size of the firms the scope of new entrants rises depicting a moderate level of threat to new entrants (Uronen, 2010). Government In relation to the global paper industry, the government has implemented certain rules and norms, laws, and regulations. In addition, there are many associations who are protesting against paper industry due to the usage of forest products and deforestations (Uronen, 2010). Rivalry among Existing Firms Number of Competitors There are too many paper mills or companies existing within the global paper industry, but the top five existing competitors are Paper Associates PTY.LTD, International Paper Company, Kimberly-Clark de Mexico, Georgia-Pacific LLC and Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget SCA among others (SKC, 2012). Rate of Industry Growth

Self Reflection Analysis In The Social Work Sector Social Work Essay

Self Reflection Analysis In The Social Work Sector Social Work Essay Social work practice can be seen as a very complex process as it seeks to promote social change, social justice, equality, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practices and also social inclusion. It is therefore significant that as social workers, we reflect and evaluate our practice in order that the values we stand for are promoted and adhered to. Reflective practice is therefore a way of making social work professionals more accountable through an ongoing scrutiny of the principles upon which the profession is based (Fook, 2002). However, Ixer (1999) criticizes that reflective practice has simply become uncritical and orthodox mainly because it can be applied in many ways and across many professions. None the less, Donald Schà ¶n (1983) a key theorist of reflective practice, saw reflective practice as a way forward for professionals to bridge the gap between the theoretical and practical aspect of their work by unearthing the actual theory which is embedded in what they do, r ather than what they say they do. He made it clear that by being reflect practitioner, one is aware of the theories or assumptions underlining your practice and what actions to take in improving your practice or providing better services for the service user. To me reflective practice is therefore like a looking glass or mirror where you as a practitioner have the opportunity to correct or redirect your course of action. For the purpose of this assignment, I am going to use a case study from my previous practice placement to illustrate my reflection and evaluation of my own practice, how the use of self, my beliefs and values might have influenced my actions, how I have developed new meaning and understanding through peer supervision/feedback and the unit lectures and how theories underpinning reflective practice may help in improving my practice as a social worker. Case study I e-mailed the learning mentor at N. Middle School concerning a boy named J (for confidentiality purposes). A 12-year old, of White- British background, who was referred to my previous placement agency for having behavioural problems (such as fighting with his peers, being disruptive during lessons, disrespecting his teacher and general misconduct) at school. J from an early age of about 6 had witnessed Domestic Violence in his family. My concern was that J had revealed very confidential information to me regarding his mum and her ex-boyfriend (his mums ex-boyfriend was violent toward his mum and he witness it as well). J was worried that this might happen again since his mums ex-boyfriend was back into his mums life and sleeps over sometimes at the family home. I informed the school about this revelation since it was a school referral and also because J had mentioned that any time his mums ex sleeps over it affects him and his behaviour at school becomes disruptive due to the worrie s he has. When I passed this information to the school authorities, the school also informed Js mum about it which I felt was not appropriate due to the fact that Js mum had been very wary as to what information or issues J would reveal to professionals. In my email I also pointed out the fact that the trust and confidence J had towards me could be undermined since his mum got informed about this although it was suppose to be confidential among professionals. Reflection and Evaluation of my practice In this case study, I felt that the school authorities should have acted more professionally. They should have contacted me first before informing Js mum but this was not the case. I only got to know that they had informed Js mum when she asked me questions or tried to clarify the issues that J had revealed to me. Although, this situation didnt mar my professional relationship with the school authorities at the time, it has made me wary of how much information I can share with other professionals and how that particular information should be treated (if very confidential). I felt that I had eroded the trust and confidence between J and I because his mum got to know about what J had revealed to me although he did not want her knowing. Order to maintain the trust and confidence we had, I should have sought Js consent first. Also the school should have contacted me first before informing Js mum so that my trust and confidence in the school could be maintained as well. I also felt that this broken trust and confidence might extend to other professions who might be working with J in future. This experience could therefore distance J from other professionals (including myself). He might view all professionals as untrustworthy and as enemies rather helpers. This therefore meant that I did uphold public trust and confidence in social care services as enshrined in the code of practice for social workers (TOPPS, 2004) I felt that J was very opened and honest to me. He had trust and confidence in me as well. I listened to him as a friend in a professional capacity which I feel he needed. However, I felt I let him down in this situation because he was not made aware that his mum would be informed (issue of consent). This issue of confidentiality posed as a big ethical dilemma for me, in that I questioned myself whether it was right for the school to have informed Js mum about his revelation? Have I broken Js trust and confidence by informing the school about this? And am I right to question the school authorities why they shared the information with Js mum even though the referral was made by the school. These were ethical dilemmas I was faced with before emailing the Learning mentor. I was therefore aware of these ethical dilemmas and conflict of interest and the implication to my practice (social work value A). However, not sharing the information could also mean that I would be held responsible for my actions if something went wrong. Furthermore, I felt this could have been an issue of potential discrimination, in that the school had overlooked the effect on J, and also the relationship between mother and son, this could have potentially estranged Js relationship with his mum, the school and even me. If this happened, he would be reluctant in dealing with professionals and this may pose as a barrier to him accessing the needed support he may require. Theories used in case study In this case study, the gathering and use of information was the main focus. Establishing service user confidentiality is as important as providing the need/service for him/her. However, though the issue of confidentiality is usually negotiated and established during the agreement meeting with the service user, there are lots of ethical dilemmas surrounding this (as to whom you can share the information with and how much of that information can be shared. Seden (2005) mentioned clearly that in working with Children services it is particularly difficult to have total confidentiality because a child may reveal something or an issue in confidence which may be a child protection issue. And as a professional you would have to share this information with others so that prompt action can be taken. It highlights the fact that in child protection issues, safeguarding and promoting the childs welfare is paramount (Children Act 1989) rather than confidentiality. Yet the Data protection Act 1998 and my previous placement agencys policy on confidentiality also informed me of my practice. In accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998, it entreats all agencies that have access to peoples personal information to keep it safe and must only use the information solely for the purpose for which the information was sought. It also means that if personal information about people fall into the wrong hands it can be used maliciously and our right to private and family life (Human Rights Act 1998) could be contravened. Personal data can further be use to enforce discriminatory and oppressive practice by using it to categorise people in terms of service delivery. Another important theory in this case study was multi-disciplinary and multi-agency working. The Working together document (DOH, 2006) highlights the importance of multidisciplinary and inter agency working in children work force. This document was put together by Department Of Health, Department for Education and Employment and the Home Office. It serves as a guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children as well. In my first placement setting, it was good practice to liaise with the lead professional/organisation that carried out the assessment and referred the case to my agency. All relevant information and process of the intervention were shared with the other agencies involved. In this way I was working according to my agency policy of liaising with other agencies, following the legal requirement of the working together document and meeting unit 17 of the National Occupational Standards (TOPPS 2004). In doing so I was able to communicate effective ly with other professionals and this also facilitated information sharing between professionals. Theories of Reflection Using the case study as a reference point, I realised that most of the reflection I did took place after the event. This is what Schà ¶n (1998) referred to as reflection-on-action. According to Schà ¶n (1998), reflection-on-action therefore means that as a professional, I only sit back after I have undertaken the intervention to think about what I did, how I did and whether there were any ethical considerations I took for granted. In doing so I am able to analyse and critical evaluate my actions and practice and improve on my shortcoming. For example, in the case study scenario, I realised that the trust and confidence J had in me was eroded once his mum was informed about his revelation to me. Had I reflected before the event or during my meeting with J (reflection-in-action), I would have made him aware that his mum would hear about it and hence J and I could have come to an amicable agreement as to how to inform his mum. This might have provided a more positive outcome rather th an the presented outcome in the case study. This same model of reflection-on-action can be related to Gibbs model of reflection. In Gibbs (1988) model, he identified six key stages of reflection; Stage 1: Description of the event A detailed description of the event you are reflecting on. Stage 2: Feelings and Thoughts (Self awareness) Recalling and exploring those things that were going on inside your head. Stage 3: Evaluation- making a judgment about what has happened. Consider what was good about the experience and what was bad about the experience or what did or didnt go so well Stage 4: Analysis- Breaking the event down into its component parts so they can be explored separately. Stage 5: Conclusion (Synthesis) -Here you have explored the issue from different angles and have a lot of information to base your judgement. It is here that you are likely to develop insight into you own and other peoples behaviour in terms of how they contributed to the outcome of the event. The purpose of reflection at this stage is to learn from the experience. Stage 6: Action Plan-During this stage you should think forward into encountering the event again and to plan what you would do would you act differently or would you likely to do the same? These six stages of Gibbs model serve as aiding tools to help professionals critically reflect on their experiences. For instance, through detail description in my case study I am able reflect on my feelings and thoughts towards the school authorities and how my actions may have affected the welfare of J. I have also been able to identify that I did not promote the social work code of practice (upholding public trust and confidence in social services). When faced with a similar situation like this in future or in practice, I believe I would think critically and reflect critically before passing information to other professionals with the view that the information will be used solely for the intended purpose. However, another reflective model is that developed by David Kolb (1984) on experiential learning. Kolb (1984) created his famous model out of four elements: concrete experience, observation and reflection, the formation of abstract concepts and testing in new situations. These entire four elements are connected in a circular way. Kolb (1984) argued that the experiential learning cycle can begin at any one of the four points and that it should really be consider as a continuous and unending process. Meaning, the learning process often begins with a person carrying out a particular action and then seeing the effect of the action in the given event or intervention. Following this, the second stage is reached in which the professional/learner understands these effects in the event or intervention so that if the same action was taken in the same circumstances it would be possible to anticipate what would follow from the action. With this understanding, the third stage is to understand th e general principle under which the particular instance happens. Generalising may involve actions over a range of situations/events for the professional or learner to gain experience beyond the particular instance and suggest the general principle. Understanding the general principle does not imply, in this sequence, an ability to express the principle in a symbolic medium but rather implies only the ability to see a connection between the actions and effects over a range of circumstances. When the general principle is understood, the last stage is the application through action in a new circumstance within the range of generalisations. Thus the action is taking place in a different set of circumstances and the learner is now able to anticipate the possible effects of the action. Two aspects can be seen as especially noteworthy: the use of concrete, here-and-now experience to test ideas; and use of feedback to change practices and theories (Kolb 1984: 21-22). Relating Kolb model to my case study, I felt that by emailing my concerns to the school mentor about how the information was treated seemed a more professional way of dealing with the issue. As the school authorities later apologised to me about their actions. I do believe that if I am faced with a similar situation with other professionals I would elegantly challenge their actions in a similar manner as I have done before and if it works I might generalise that this approach works well. This would therefore give me new meaning and a new perspective as to how to work with other professional collaborative in achieving the desired outcomes for service users. Feedback from my peers. During the learning sets meetings, I presented his case study to my peers and one the learning points from them was that I had assumed that the school authorities would not inform Js mum about the revelation and because of that I hadnt insisted on them keeping the information as confidential as possible until such a time when consent had been sought from J. I in my view this is what Brookfield (1988) called assumption analysis in critical reflection. To him, Assumption analysis describes the activity adults engage in to bring to awareness beliefs, values, cultural practices, and social structures regulating behaviour and to assess their impact on our dad to day activities. Assumptions may therefore be paradigmatic, prescriptive, or causal (Brookfield 1995). He stresses that assumptions structure our way of seeing reality, govern our behavior, and describe how relationships should be ordered. Assumption analysis as a first step in the critical reflection process makes explicit our tak enà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœforà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœgranted notions of reality. Members of the learning set also raised my awareness to the fact that the underlying assumption I had about the case could possibly being derived from my own beliefs, value base, cultural and social background, agency policies, my gender and race. Brookfield (1995) highlighted this by noting that a contextual awareness is achieved when adult learners come to realise that their assumptions are socially and personally created in a specific historical and cultural context. I should therefore have been self aware of the influences my personal, cultural and social (Thompson, 2006) may have had in the given case study. Also, the learning sets helped me to unearthing or understand more about the power imbalances that exist between service users and professionals. One of my group members made it clear that possibly the school authorities acted the way they did because they had the power to do so and as a way of proving to his mum that the boys problem was generated from home rather at school because the mum blames the school authorities constantly for her sons behaviour. According to Mandell (2008), power affects the experience and behaviour of both the practitioner and service user and so the practitioner needs to ask, or be asked, where does power lie in his/her relationship, how does it operate and who is defining the character and direction of whats taking place. Therefore, to be a critical reflective practitioner I need to acknowledge the power imbalances in my practice before making decisions or embarking on a course of action. Its also important for me to consider all the angles and checks out all the details before taking the plunge (Payne, 2002, p124) so that a more opened, honest, fair, just, anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice can be achieved in my service delivery. The case study analysis with my peers provided me yet with another very important learning point. Thus, in sharing the information with the school authorities, I was focusing more on the theory (the Every Child Matters and working together agenda) for off the peg solution (Thompson, 2005, p146) or what Schà ¶n (1998) calls technical rationality, the belief that well developed theory can provide solutions for professionals. Rather, I should have used both my theoretical background and past experiences to help inform me of my practice. This would have had a more balancing effect or less impact on J. With this now, I am confident that my decisions and actions in future placements would be drawn from my theoretical or formal knowledge and that of my past experiences or informal knowledge. Conclusion Summing up, I feel that this unit has provided me with greater insight about how my actions or decisions are influenced by my belief system, culture, values, gender, religion, assumptions, political and social orientation. It have also learnt that drawing from the views of others, I would be able to see the issue or problem from a different perspective and this might help me develop a new meaning of the event. Mezirow (2000) called the process of developing this new meaning of the event as perspective transformation. I now also understand that as a social worker, t would have draw on knowledge from all sources (theoretical and non-theoretical) in order to address the messy complexities of real-life situations and to consider each individual situation or event unique (Yelloly Henkel, 1995). Therefore, the way forward for me as a social worker is to critical reflect on the use of self, the awareness of power imbalances (deconstruction) and the development of new meaning/ perspective( re-construction) illustrated by Howe (2008).

The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity Essay -- essay

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christianity is becoming extinct. In order for it to continue on it must modernize its beliefs. The average Christian is white, middle class and is from Europe or America. The religion of Islam is expanding quickly and will soon dominate Christianity. These are all common claims made about Christianity that many people believe, yet Philip Jenkins claims and proves them untrue in his book, The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. According to his book, Christianity is moving out of the global north and into the global south. In fact, Christianity is growing rapidly in countries such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America. He also writes about how Africa and Brazil will, within the next fifty years, replace Europe as the center of Christianity. Both of these countries have been heavily missionized within that past hundred years, and the number of Christians in each has raised millions. The expansion growth in these countries is due primarily to their high reproduction rates and their hunger for the Christian beliefs that the missionaries brought with them. Jenkins says in this book that the missionaries faced no problems trying to explain about a higher deity or other â€Å"bafflingly alien world views† to the Africans, because it followed closely with many of their own tribal beliefs. Many of the tribes worshiped one higher power already and also found that many of the Christian beliefs fell in sync with t heir own heritage and customs. They did though, encounter one problem: the beliefs fell so in sync with their tribal traditions, that eventually the African culture started to incorporate their customs such as exorcism, dream visions, prophesy, healing, and mysticism into their Christian churches, creating an entire sub group of Christianity. These sub groups are closely related to the more Pentecostal churches, but are far from the ritualistic practices of the Anglicans and Catholics that primarily missionized them. Pentecostal churches, because of the resurgence in countries such as Africa and Brazil will soon be the dominant Christian sects. They strongly emphasize views about personal relationships with God, biblical literism, speaking in tongues, visions and prophesy just as the African churches do. The Pentecostal church tends to mainly attract the poor or lower class of society, which also happens to be what Bra... ...nto the thought that religious wars may occur, be he completely left out the ideas that the Islamic nation, being known for terrorism and other such acts of violence, could potentially eliminate Christianity from any form of mainstream. This is a serious topic to think about considering what they have done to other religions, and to Christian sects residing in the Middle East. I think Jenkins should have presented this as more of an issue and an actual threat then claiming that it might cause slight conflict. The book unquestionably had some strengths and some weaknesses. I believe the information that Jenkins provided was extremely well established and proven. This is exactly the type of information that people need to know, because the truth is being denied. I think for the book to be effective, it needs to be laid out better. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone besides a theological scholar due to the manner that it flows, even though it has very good reviews and is on best seller lists for Christian books. I commend Jenkins for going against the flow and writing against the average beliefs, but admonish him for writing the information in such an incomprehensible manner.

Legalization

There are several problems in our society, most of which concerns illegal transactions and prohibited actions. What consist the community’s primary legal problems are drugs, same-sex marriages, abortion and those issues which questions or consists of scientific progress such as issues about cloning, stem-cell research and in-vitro fertilization. However, there were several controversies regarding this matter, as to whether the community â€Å"illicit problems† are really illegal or not. In able for us to distinguish whether something is meant to be legalized or whether an action should be prohibited, a closer look about legalization is a bit crucial. Legalization is actually a process in which something is removed from being a crime. It will then be an act that is permissible and not to be considered as an offense anymore. Those crimes that are to be legalized are controversial crimes, since it doesn’t really have a victim or it does not endanger anyone aside from the person him/herself. The focus of this paper would be the legalization of a drug popularly known as marijuana or scientifically called as cannabis. According to http://www.legalizationofmarijuana.com/, an online site whose aim is to present arguments in favor and against the use of marijuana in able to inform the citizens, reports that nearly about 5.9 million Americans are arrested due to simply the use and possession of marijuana. Moreover they state that on the year 2000, about 88% of the total number of the arrested marijuana related violations are charge with possession while the remaining 12% includes violations for â€Å"sale/manufacture† of the plant itself. They insist that, the number of the people arrested from marijuana outnumbered those who are arrested from robbery, murder, rape and assault which are more violent crimes. Most of the supporters of the law to ban the use of marijuana are under the consideration that marijuana is a stepping stone drug, which it may further lead to addiction and may promote the use of harder kinds of drugs. Others are concerned about its immediate effects which results to short-term memory loss and accidents. Conservatives believe that legalization of marijuana would actually make it accessible to many people and might also be used by children, since regulation of the drug is hard. Those who are against the law believe on the proposition that were actually against or in opposition of the stand of the supporters. For one, there are medical studies that were made that actually prove that with moderation, smoking marijuana is far safer than drinking alcohol and smoking cigarette. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that the annual Americans deaths caused by marijuana or hashish are zero compare to some 100,000 to 400, 000 caused by tobacco and alcohol users respectively; those who have died due to the use of other drugs counts 10,000 to 20, 000, approximately, obviously higher than the use of marijuana. (legalizationofmarijuana.com) They also argued that it would help the government especially the police force to focus themselves to more violent crimes that would require more attention. The legalization of marijuana would also be a threat to most of the drug dealers because if it would be readily be affordable and accessible for the public, then it would be sold in lower price, crippling their financial gains. Aside from all this, marijuana doesn’t impair the immune system; it does not kill brain cells unlike using tobacco, cigarettes and alcohol.   Actually there had never been any records that would relate marijuana and death. (Messerli, 2006) Drinking alcohol has resulted to so many accidents, had it been ban for being so? No. It is he same with smoking tobacco which have taken so many lives and who have also been caused of diseases and deaths of even those people who are not using or smoking it. How come that these two were not being banned in the same sense as marijuana are being so? I think this is more of a business related event rather than something political. If one would look more closely, it is obvious that marijuana is something that is far safer than alcohol and tobacco, but the government acts against marijuana under the assumption that it is an opiate drug and most of opiate drugs are dangerous, thus marijuana is also dangerous. Obviously this assumption is false, and actually if the government is really that concerned about the citizens they might as well as prohibit drinking alcohol and smoking tobacco. Doing so would probably make the use of this substance expensive, less people would want to use it or even try it. There would be fewer deaths related to these substances, fewer accidents and people would be able to spend their incomes and resources for more useful things. Generally, it would make more people happy, it would result to a more peaceful community, and problems would be faced in a more rational way. If these substances would not be prohibited, then what is the reason for prohibiting marijuana? Marijuana are said to have so many beneficial effects and has no proven bad effects. It cannot even cause death. Legalizing the use of it would be very beneficial for the implementation of more laws and would save the government time, effort and resources. Indeed marijuana can caused changes in the cognition of a man, including some short term memory lost; however, it would only last for just a few minutes or an hour or two, in heavy doses. As to any type of smoking, smoking marijuana would probably results to acute bronchitis and other pulmonary problems. However as what the findings of Janet E. Joy and her colleagues at the Institute of Medicine, these health problems would only persist upon long-term use of marijuana in heavy doses. Also, chewing marijuana could actually heal some of the complications that arouse from it. Thus, marijuana should really be legalized. It would be more beneficial for the government, it would pose less health risk and it can lead to greater innovations and research regarding the issues that concerns it. Also, it is legal in other countries, most notably in Jamaica, why should it not be legalized in our country? It is important that legislators would address the actual concerns of the citizens and look at the rationale behind their decisions, not some illogical assumptions. Works Cited: Joy, J. E.   Benson, J. A.   Watson, S. J.   (1999). Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base. National Academy Press. Legalizationofmarijuana.com. (2007). US Policy on Marijuana. Retrieved on August 16, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.legalizationofmarijuana.com/index.html Messerli,   Joe (2006) Should Marijuana be Legalized under any Circumstances? Retrieved on August 16, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm   

Orthodox Christianity Essay

For centuries, the two major Christian sects of Orthodox Christianity and Roman Catholicism have been a center of comparison because of the resemblance in both religions’ beliefs and practices. But in my recent visit to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Miami, I have discovered the stark contrasts to what popular notions hold. Particularly, what befell upon me was a revelation that Orthodox Catholicism differs from Roman Catholicism and other conventional Christian churches as far as relevant doctrines, laws, standards for morality, organizational leadership, church services, and religious ceremonies are concerned. While Orthodox Christianity is generally being compared as similar to Roman Catholicism, its basic and complex theologies both concur to and diverge from that of the Roman Catholic faith. Orthodox Christians generally regard their religious system as a direct continuance of Christ’s ministry; they believe that their very sect is part of a long continuing tradition, otherwise called the Holy Tradition, which started during the first century and remained pure and intact despite the drastic changes that occurred across the world over the centuries (Ware 7-8). Orthodox Christian belief likewise holds that the Bible is the life giving tome of the church because it contains and uncovers the will of God, reveals the relationship between God and the early Israelites, narrates the events that happened during the ministry of Jesus, as well as Christ’s foundation of the first church (Ware 194-196). Apart from the sacred readable contents of the Bible, Christian Orthodoxy also considers it as the sole living witness to the centuries old tradition the sect continues to practice. And with blessing from the early church leaders with guidance from the Holy Spirit, the books of the Bible were expressed as the apostles’ way of handing down the tradition from one generation to another. Christian Orthodoxy merits the Nicene Creed with the highest of regard and considers it as a basis of its beliefs (Ware 202). As such, in its belief in the nature of God, Orthodox Christianity employs a Trinitarian concept or one God with three different personas: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The Orthodox doctrine furthers that God is an omnipotent being that constitutes no physical form, and is therefore a transcendent being (Ware 210-211). A Distinct Orthodox Catholic belief is in the concept that man is an image and likeness of God. This belief is stressed in extreme senses that Orthodox Christianity’s adherents consider humankind’s resemblance to God as a means of carrying the icon of God within the self (Benz 18). Because of the central idea that man is the image and likeness of God, Orthodox Catholicism’s notion of the original sin differs from most Christian traditions in such a way that the sin committed by Adam and Eve is not morally and spiritually inherited by humans. Instead, original sin is the separation from God’s grace and acquisition of physical and spiritual mortality (Benz 19). And humankind’s separation from God is an action out of free will, particularly when Adam and Eve chose to listen to the serpent’s word and their give in to their urge. Furthermore, Christian Orthodox belief suggests that the fall of man stained all of God’s creation with sin, and corruption while implying that Adam and Eve’s eviction from paradise is God’s way of avoiding man’s sin, wickedness, and corruption from lasting endlessly (Ware 218-219). The Orthodox Christians’ general concept of sin and corruption meanwhile is milder than any other Christian sect or any other religious system for that matter. Sin, as Orthodox Christian doctrine holds, encompasses a contamination, deformation, and infliction of damage on God’s image. However despite sin’s vile nature and humanity’s vulnerability to it, man remains as noble beings because of the simple fact that humans are created in the image of God (Benz 19). As much as the beliefs and practices have renewed my perspective of Orthodox Catholicism, the church service I became part of was a very overwhelming experience. I thought my religion was already rich in traditions and customs, but what I saw and experienced in the ceremony brought my knowledge of Orthodox Christianity to new heights as I have seen and distinguished the difference of the ceremony from conventional Christian sects. Before going to the church, I thought to myself that it is simply going to be a typical service in a Christian place of worship similar to the ones documented in Christian television networks. However, set my eyes on the church, the distinctive style of the structure surprised me as I have observed a slight difference in the church’s architecture. I expected the church to have a dome-shaped top which is a recognizable design of most Christian churches. Except for the cross on the tip of the church’s roof, the external appearance of the church resembles a mosque. The color scheme, the golden plates on the roof all appear to me as elements of Islamic design. As I entered the church, I have received a warm welcome from the church’s senior warden Gary Popovich. He mentioned that every part of the cathedral was a sanctuary for everyone, even to non-orthodox Christians. As Mr. Popovich gave me a mini tour of the church, the interiors further made me notice the distinction of Orthodox Church structures from that of most Roman Catholic structures. While both churches are known to have long, wide aisles leading to the altar, Cathedral of Christ the Savior’s hallway leading to the altar was a little compact despite the conventionality of its length. However, the lobby area of the church, or the narthex as it is properly called, was similar to lobbies of other churches in such a way that it has a board which posts announcements of the church’s activities for the week. Mr. Popovich however added that apart from the usual acknowledging of guests, the narthex is also significant in that tables are set up there during Easter to bless food that would be taken home by adherents after days of fasting and abstinence in the Lenten season. And in days of divine service and obligation, candles and offerings are sold in the narthex. As I was to be part of the Eastern Orthodox Communion for a day, Mr. Popovich toured me to the inner areas of the church. We then proceeded to the main area of the church, which, Mr. Popovich regarded as the nave. This area is where the people stay during divine services, and is thus considered sacred ground. Along the walls and the ceiling of the nave of the cathedral, I noticed numerous portraits of individuals considered holy by Orthodox Catholics including a large portrait of Christ in the ceiling. Mr. Popovich was about to give me a guided tour of what he calls an iconostasis or the room where all of the religious figures and paintings were placed, when he told me to be prepared because the service was about to start. So I proceeded to the nave to participate in the upcoming service. Although I did not clarify if there was any appropriate attire for adherents, I wore the conventional clothing reserved for church attendance. As the service started, everyone gathered in the nave of the cathedral. I first noticed that no one among the people in attendance was wearing casual clothing. The people around me had conservative clothing; the males wore formal attire with collared shirts and sleeves with cuffs. The females were all wearing mid-length and long skirts as well as blouses with sleeves. In addition, most of the women, though not all of them, sported head scarves during the service. Furthermore, apart from the clothing, I also noticed the cathedral’s segregation scheme. All the males were on the right hand side of the nave, while the females were on the right wing of the nave. While I was fascinated by the formality of the people in the church, I never asked them the relevance of wearing such clothing. I simply thought that the sanctity of their church together with the value they uphold for their tradition includes dressing well during services. Mr. Popovich informed me prior to the service that what I am going to be part of was the evening services otherwise the Vespers. I recall senior warden Popovich previously discussed that the Vespers begins at 9 in the evening, an hour which was actually based on the exact time of Christ’s death: 3:00 pm or the 9th hour in antiquated time. The service starts with the priest’s ceremonial blessing and continued with the usual beginnings, which, is basically a sequence of prayers that include the trisagion or the common hymn in almost every Orthodox liturgical service (Perry & Melling 190). The service then proceeded with the recital of the Lord’s Prayer before the actual scripture reading of psalms took place. The reader read about three psalms before reciting another short hymn called the troparion (Perry & Melling 37). Another hymn called the theotokion followed the troparion, the hymn was sung in honor of the mother of God. Particularly, the hymn honors the virgin mother of God for the incarnation of Christ through her. The singing of the hymn also coincided with the entrance of the clergy; the clergy coming from the Holy Doors signified that the creation of the world also marks man’s selection to live in paradise (Perry & Melling 295). As the service was progressing, I took a small window of time to look around and observe what was happening around me. In doing so, I noticed that most people get distracted at what they do knowing that an unfamiliar person is present to witness what they do, but I felt their utmost dedication to their obligations to God because my very presence did not even cause them to be distracted at what they do. Similarly, as much as it was a rare occasion for me to be part of their usual service, they must have felt that it was also a rare occasion to have an outsider among them, yet their dedication remained pure and untainted. A series of readings soon followed, after the clergy’s entrance, another series of hymns, the Phos Hilaron and the Prokeimenon marked a transition of the service to epistle reading. During the epistle reading, the adherents hear the words of God for enlightenment. For the first part, the reader read a passage from the Bible’s Old Testament. At the time, the reading was taken from the book of Elijah which announced what message God’s promised messiah would bring. After the reading of the scriptures, the Vespers was concluded by the Litany of Fervent Supplication and the final blessing of the presiding clergy. During the Litany of Fervent Supplication, the adherents pray that God may grant all Christians mercy. The litany is a responsorial prayer wherein the reader asks for mercy in every aspect and the people respond with the words â€Å"Grant it, O Lord. † After the final blessing has been given, the crowds of people are dismissed accordingly. Based on what I have seen in the liturgical service I attended, Orthodox Catholicism is a religion filled with tradition, symbolisms and customary ceremonies. But true service to God is not really measured by the traditions, the customs, and other rituals of sacrifice and praise; the true essence of serving God lies in a person’s obedient and relentless faith. Ultimately, the sacrifices and the customs do not matter if a person has little or weak faith. Works Cited Benz, Ernst. â€Å"The Eastern Orthodox Church: Its Thought and Life† New Jersey: Aldine Transaction, 2008 Parry, Ken & David Melling. â€Å"The Blackwell Dictionary of Eastern Christianity† Malden, MA. : Blackwell Publishing, 1999. Ware, Timothy. â€Å"The Orthodox Church: New Edition†. New York: Penguin Books, 1997

Venture screening process Essays

Venture screening process Essays Venture screening process Essay Venture screening process Essay The new venture is an enterprise of a business nature in which there is considerable risk of loss as well as chance of gain (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, Vol. XIX, p. 520). The word venture literally means a risky undertaking, which makes venture capitalists risk-takers. However, like all other types of investors, venture capitalists will only invest if perceived returns are greater than perceived risk. The saying, greater the risk, greater the return holds for venture capital financing provided it is not a speculative deal. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and quantify the probability of risk. The study by MacMillan, Siegel, and Narasimha have been undertaken to determine which criteria are important for evaluate new venture proposals. Some criteria have been point out by the Journal as the common criteria. This article is going to have a review on those criteria provide by MacMillan, Siegel, and Narasimaha and have a critical analysis whether those criteria provided could make the venture proposals successful. Summaries of the journal According to the study, the most important criteria is the quality of the entrepreneur that ultimately determines the funding decision. In the first part of the study, 24 criteria were scaled under 5 catalogs and use a survey method to examine the importance of them. The results of the study have found out that personality and experience, product and market characteristics and financial consideration are the most important criteria for venture capitalists to qualify the proposals. For personality and experience, the most important personality characteristics are evidence of staying power and an ability to handle risk. For product and market characteristics, the most important characteristic appears to be some proprietary protection. Finally for the financial considerations, the key concerns are with high upside potential and high investment liquidity. Then the study has identified 5 out of 10 most commonly rated criteria as essential have to do with the entrepreneurs themselves. By and large venture capitalists will not back ventures unless the entrepreneur is capable of sustained effort, has demonstrated leadership in the past, evaluates and reacts to risk well, has a track record relevant to the venture, and is capable of articulating the venture well. The study has also point out the characteristics of critically flawed proposals is a is important for venture capitalists to qualify the projects. That is , proposals that would be rejected by a significant majority of venture capitalists if they had only two flaws of the previous mentioned five most important criteria. Finally, with a factor analysis, the study allocates the venture capitalists into 3 broad types the Purposeful Risk Managers, the Determined Eclectics and the Parachutists. The Purposeful Risk Managers seeks the entrepreneurs with demonstrated leadership skills and a product and market with characteristics that clearly reduce the risk to manageable levels. The Determined Eclectics appear to deliberately impose an absolute minimum number of restrictions. And the Parachutists willing to support most ventures as long as they feel that they have a high liquidity parachute. The study by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha did provide us some common criteria for evaluating new proposals, but there are still some critics on those criteria listed by the author. Critiques of the journal According to the conclusion of the journal, the most important thing to consider for evaluation a new proposal is the quality of the entrepreneur. But in the real world venture capital practices there are some cases which quite match the criteria provide by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha and still failed. For example, according to the information provided by the study of MacMillan, Siegel and Subbanarasimha 1987, the investment on a highly familiar with the targeted market and had a well-established relevant track record team could just failed because the lack in capacity for sustained and intense effort. And also, according to the flawed ventures studies in this journal, it was said that if the proposals cannot match at least two of those indicator criteria the venture capitals would give up it. But there do are some example that represents a venture team lacking in terms of all the desirable criteria but only have high product protection and become successful. Finally, we should mention that Research by social judgment theorists suggests that espoused decision-making processes (that this present arguing study fallen in) may be a less than accurate reflection of in use decision-making processes (Shepherd, 1999, p.76). Conclusion The study that carried out by MacMillan, Siegel and Narasimha provide us some common criteria for evaluating new venture proposals. Those criteria are useful tools to indicate the successful of certain venture. Some of those criteria are key finds that still influence the venture capitalists in nowadays. But we should also notice there are numbers of criteria for judging a new proposal and some of those criteria have been marked as important criteria. But in real world practice proposals might be failed just because the lacking of the least important criteria even if they have all the other important criteria. And also, some venture cases may well successful with only one less important criteria (product protection) even they do not have any other desirable criteria mentioned by the study. As venture capital present a risk taking action, it is better to have a careful view on those criteria and chose the most appropriate one to reduce the risk to the lowest point. REFERENCES MacMillan, Zemann, Subbanarasimha, P. N 1987, Journal of Business Venturing Criteria distinguishing successful from unsuccessful ventures in the venture screening process Fred Pries 2001, Distinguishing successful from unsuccessful venture capital investments in technology-based new ventures: How investment decision criteria relate to deal performance, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Brealey Myers, Principles of corporate finance, McGraw-Hill 2003