Gender and Ethnic Minority Exclusion within Construction Dissertation

Gender and Ethnic Minority Exclusion within Construction - Dissertation Example The women contribute about 49% to the labor force of the United Kingdom. But they constitute just 9% to the entire  labor force employed in the construction industry. The part by part figures of this small number of women participating in the construction industry reveal some further facts. A tenth of all these women working in the construction industry is in design and management and a hundredth works as a tradesperson. A vast majority, about 84% work in the secretariat of the construction companies. The other fractions are 2% as sole traders and 4% as micro-enterprises. (Where Have All the Women Gone? n.d) The data shows that majority of the women employed in the construction industry work from office (Byrne, Clarke, & Meer, 2005). Similar is the case for racial discrimination. In the USA in 1991 only 32700 Afro-American people worked in the construction industry out of the total 4.7 million people employed. 1n 1977 out of the total revenue of $73.87 churned out by the constructi on industry, the black construction firms accounted for a mere $758 million. Studies carried out in Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle and elsewhere have confirmed the existence of wide racial discrimination in the construction industry. (A Croson to Bear, 1992) There has been increased participation of the ethnically minor groups and women in the entire labor force. This can be accounted to the fact that there has been an increase in consciousness regarding this and policy, changes to encourage their participation. The European Union has undertaken a policy to overcome this segregation of the labor market. However, the representation of the aforementioned groups in the skilled construction group has been dismal. More or less in every part of Europe, this discrimination exists irrespective of the nature or structure of the construction industry. The incidence of such discrimination can be experienced in the deregulated industry Italy and Spain as well as the regulated and training oriented industries of England and Denmark.

Eugenics the Unethical Pseudoscience Essay Example for Free

Eugenics the Unethical Pseudoscience Essay Our topic was on selective human breeding, or in other words eugenics. If you don’t know what eugenics is don’t worry I’ll tell you, according to Oxford dictionaries eugenics is the science of improving a population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. Desirable heritable characteristics for example can be things like a particular eye color, hair color, height, etc. My question to you all is if you think eugenics is ethical or not? I want to hear your answer after I give you my reasons of why I don’t believe eugenics is ethical. Now this might not sound like such a controversial topic but the history of eugenics is not exactly a bright one. Now everyone knows how WWII began, and the people responsible for it. Hitler and his henchmen victimized an entire continent, murdered millions, during his search for what he called the â€Å"Master Race. † His vision of the ideal race was white, blonde-haired, and blue-eyed, but contrary to popular belief, this idea of the â€Å"Master Race† did not originate with Hitler. The idea came from the United States and its eugenics program. The E. R.  O also known as the Eugenics Record Office was founded on 1910 in New York. A thing that not many people know is that the United States actually had one of the largest eugenic movements in the world. Eugenics was used by scientists as a way to control people, by that I mean they would use various research methods, hereditary questionnaires, and interviewing groups with special interests. The E. R. O. was able to convince the U. S. government to administer eugenic laws nationwide. This included immigration and marriage restrictions, race segregation, and forced sterilization of criminals and who was seen as undesirable. Well what is forced sterilization you ask? To simplify it for males it’s a vasectomy and for woman it’s a tubal ligation, getting your tubes tied. The U. S. was forcing people to be sterilized just because they were seen as unfit to breed, because they didn’t fall under what was seen as desirable. Now this thing eugenics they called it science, I personally see it as pseudoscience used to discriminate people, was used for decades. Oh and did you know that California had the largest eugenics movement in the country. From 1907 to the 1970’s over 60,000 people were forced sterilized in the U. S. alone, and 20,000 of those people were in California. Now who decides if a person should be forced sterilized or not, well a list was made and if a person has or falls under any of the items on that list, they are to be sterilized right away. The few things on that list are paralysis, congenital blindness, acquired deafness, sexual promiscuity, and not being physically attractive. Now I have a video I’d like to show you about eugenics and its forced sterilization.

Evolution Is :: Science Biology Essays

Evolution Is Has the narrative of Mayr and his fellow naturalists—those evolutionists who include natural selection in their explanations and who comprise a strong majority of evolutionist voices today—now entered a sort of evolutionary stasis? Not yet. For example, consider Mayr's central theory of speciation as it applies to a creative species such as humans. There are cultural and creative aspects of our so-called "higher level" species that have the potential to perturb whether and how new species taxa might evolve from homo sapiens: mobility and its effect on isolation, technology applied to environmental and physiological conditions, artificial constraints on reproduction, social cultures, and our creative abilities. Whether our species is better equipped to survive or more likely to accelerate towards extinction may, in part, be determined by these factors and their interactions. Evolution is. Therefore, we are. The human species is an infinitesimally improbable out-come of countless, unrepeatable iterations of a process that itself is a fluke. To paraphrase the late naturalist Stephen J. Gould, erase the tape, have one player move a few feet to the left for good measure, do a retake, do a trillion trillion retakes, and nothing akin to homo sapiens is likely to emerge. Evolution is not intuitive, nor would any sane gambler bet on its odds. There are no "proofs," no conclusions based upon experimentation and testing. What we know about evolution derives from historical narrative—the evolutionary biologists' reconstruction of what might have happened. Their scenario has also evolved through iterations of accumulating, adapting, and eliminating ideas according to new findings, new observations, and new knowledge. In the process, the narrative's woof and warp have tightened. Gaps narrowed to the point that, in "What Evolution Is," biologist Ernst Mayr coul d proclaim, "Evolution is not merely an idea, a theory, or a concept, but is the name of a process in nature, the occurrence of which can be documented by mountains of evidence that nobody has been able to refute...It is now actually misleading to refer to evolution as a theory, considering the massive evidence that has been discovered over the last 140 years documenting its existence. Evolution is no longer a theory, it is simply a fact" [Mayr 275]. Central to this "simple fact" is the concept of speciation, which was developed in the 1930s by Dobzhansky and Mayr. According to them, allopatric speciation is contingent upon the spatial and temporal integrity of a population, a species taxon. Evolution Is :: Science Biology Essays Evolution Is Has the narrative of Mayr and his fellow naturalists—those evolutionists who include natural selection in their explanations and who comprise a strong majority of evolutionist voices today—now entered a sort of evolutionary stasis? Not yet. For example, consider Mayr's central theory of speciation as it applies to a creative species such as humans. There are cultural and creative aspects of our so-called "higher level" species that have the potential to perturb whether and how new species taxa might evolve from homo sapiens: mobility and its effect on isolation, technology applied to environmental and physiological conditions, artificial constraints on reproduction, social cultures, and our creative abilities. Whether our species is better equipped to survive or more likely to accelerate towards extinction may, in part, be determined by these factors and their interactions. Evolution is. Therefore, we are. The human species is an infinitesimally improbable out-come of countless, unrepeatable iterations of a process that itself is a fluke. To paraphrase the late naturalist Stephen J. Gould, erase the tape, have one player move a few feet to the left for good measure, do a retake, do a trillion trillion retakes, and nothing akin to homo sapiens is likely to emerge. Evolution is not intuitive, nor would any sane gambler bet on its odds. There are no "proofs," no conclusions based upon experimentation and testing. What we know about evolution derives from historical narrative—the evolutionary biologists' reconstruction of what might have happened. Their scenario has also evolved through iterations of accumulating, adapting, and eliminating ideas according to new findings, new observations, and new knowledge. In the process, the narrative's woof and warp have tightened. Gaps narrowed to the point that, in "What Evolution Is," biologist Ernst Mayr coul d proclaim, "Evolution is not merely an idea, a theory, or a concept, but is the name of a process in nature, the occurrence of which can be documented by mountains of evidence that nobody has been able to refute...It is now actually misleading to refer to evolution as a theory, considering the massive evidence that has been discovered over the last 140 years documenting its existence. Evolution is no longer a theory, it is simply a fact" [Mayr 275]. Central to this "simple fact" is the concept of speciation, which was developed in the 1930s by Dobzhansky and Mayr. According to them, allopatric speciation is contingent upon the spatial and temporal integrity of a population, a species taxon.

Different Views in Courtship and Marriage Essay

Outline: Thesis: Compared to my grandparents desired courtship and marriage, my preferred matrimony differs from their expectation in terms of the way to find a spouse, the form of holding a wedding, and the role to play in a family. Topic Sentences: In the first place, when it comes to the ideal way to find a spouse, there is nothing similarly between my grandparents and me. Furthermore, when it makes a mention of the favorite form of holding a wedding, there is almost no alike idea between my grandparents and me. At last, when it points to the appropriate role to play in a family, there are a few standpoints in common between my grandparents and me. Different Views in Courtship and Marriage It is an undeniable fact that traditional culture has influence on courtship and marriage in a country, but the key points of courtship and marriage vary in the different stage of social development. Nowadays, people’s perspective on courtship and marriage has changed with the improvement of life quality in China. Comparing to my grandparents desired courtship and marriage, my preferred matrimony differs from their expectation in terms of the process to find a spouse, the way to hold a wedding, and the role to play in a family. In the first place, when it comes to the ideal way to find a spouse, there is nothing similarly between my grandparents and I. In my grandparents’ opinion, the introduction of matchmaker is the most acceptant way to find a partner, but I prefer to seek mate through myself. It is an undeniable fact that the spouse introduced by a go-between would have more similarities with us in the respect of family background. The importance of family background could be shown in the aspect of building a person’s personality. After all, a good family background is beneficial to build sound personality. Nevertheless, the parties feeling to spouse is usually neglected correspondingly when the matchmaker help applicants to search for a partner among the candidates. It is hard to feel happy for most people in a marriage without love, and then we would lose patience and confidence to this kind of marriage. Seeking the partner by ourselves will  resolve the feeling problem effectively, and the advantage of deciding the spouse obey our mind is also represented in the following sides. For instance, it is easy to forgive each other after an argument because we value the relationship and do not willing to give it up lightly, and it is also not complicated to take care of the other one in the right way due to the fact that we are familiar with his habits. However, the disadvantages of making the decision by our mind should be brought to our attention as well. For example, there are a great many examples stating the fact that the amorous couple often gives too little care to the partner’s weakness. This behavior always leads to the occurrence of Lightning marriage, and lightning marriage often results in a tragic ending due to lack of family commitments. Furthermore, when it makes a mention of the favorite form of holding a wedding, there is almost no alike idea between my grandparents and I. In my grandparents’ eyes, complying with the traditional wedding form is the best way to hold a wedding. But in my view, I really desire to have a wedding of my dreams. In other words, I would be the designer of my wedding form. The benefits of traditional wedding form are all wedding participants understand their work and people could pay more attention to the wedding arrangements. However, most people have a boring and outdated feeling when they talk about the traditional wedding form at present. The drawbacks of the traditional wedding are enlarged in the mind of our generation, because we can easily find that not only it difficult to leave a special impression, but also with som e feudal colors, and feudal colors could not coexist with our values to advocate science. Holding the wedding in the form of my dream will full conform to the standard in my mind, and let me comprehend the meaning of my marriage at a deeper level. Of course, I have to admit that the wedding form in the field of my expectation still has drawbacks. For example, I want a wedding at the beach with a simple way, but a comfortable atmosphere. This wedding form determines the main participants are composed of the most important person in my life instead of the friends of my grandparents or parents. Consequently, it loses the opportunity to become a public ceremony, and my families will feel disregardful and regretful. This hurt would be in the wake of their life, and it has negative influence on the relationship between my families and I. At last, when it points to the appropriate role to play in a family, there are a few standpoints in common between my  grandparents and I. In the perspective of my grandparents, the woman should be a fulltime wife in a family, and the man should be responsible for make money to raise a family. Nevertheless, from my point of view, men and women have equal status in marriage. It means men and women play the same role in a family. The merit of my grandparents’ perspective is evident that children will grow up in the environment which is full of love. Nevertheless, this allocation of roles in a family goes against to women’s individual value. The merit of my point of view is women could achieve her goal by pursuing career achievements. However, the weakness of my point of view is that women have to undergo extra pressure from the society competition and then they are in fear of getting married. All in all, different perspectives and attitudes in terms of courtship and marriage have positive sides as well as negative sides, it would be much better if we consider all of them before making a choice. Your first draft Grade is D- Read the instruction carefully, and rewrite your essay. Submit your final draft by Oct. 5 11:59PM

An Analysis of Organisational Culture Essay

1 Background of Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines is a major American airline and pioneer in low-fare air transportation in the world, based in Dallas, Texas. Southwest Airlines is known for its low prices and no-frills service. Based on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s most recent data, Southwest is the nation’s largest carrier in terms of boarding domestic passengers. (Southwest Airlines, 2014) Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 by Rolling King and Herb Kelleher. It started its operation in 1971 covering intrastate Texas cities, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Originally, the airline was only serving Texan cities but few years later, the company has progressively enlarged its service to other American states. Southwest Airlines was able to differentiate themselves from their competitors by offering the lowest prices. At first, many practices of Southwest Airlines had been see as irregular and had been disdain by other airlines. However, it’s Low-cost  strategy has won a great victory in the US especially, when the airline industry suffered difficulties after the terrorist attack. In 2011, the acquisition of Air Tran Airways allowed Southwest Airlines to serve international destinations in five near-international countries. According to the Southwest Airlines’ official report, the airline has nearly 46,000 employees and operates more than 3,400 flights per day. Southwest Airlines has acquired many awards, such as it had been ranked as 18th on the World’s Most Respected Companies by Financial Times (2011) and was given the title; the world’s most admired companies for 20 consecutive years in Fortune’s 2014 list. 2 Induction of The Practice In the United States, Southwest Airlines has been the most successful airline in its industry. This success is largely due to its effective human resource practices, most of which fall under the rubric of employee. A study by Miles, S,J. & Mangold, W,G. (2005), demonstrate an interview with Colleen Barrett, President and Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Airlines that she credited Southwest’s success to its employees. On the hand, In 2008, a large number of companies cut jobs in order to face Global Financial Crisis. However, Dickler, J. (2008) reported that Southwest Airlines is committed to avoiding layoffs at all costs during the recession and employees in the company have never felt that their job is in jeopardy due to the economy. Research by Glassdoor blog (2010) indicated that Southwest Airlines is the best company to work for. Clearly, Southwest Airlines focuses its attention on its employees. Kotter researched the corporate culture and performance (2012) and come to the conclusion that organizational culture has the ability to improve organizational performance and employee job satisfaction. Southwest Airlines demonstrated a perfect performance in terms of corporate culture. Over the years, the company has imposed a strong corporate culture that made the company even stronger. I will apply Schein’s framework to approach practice of Southwest Airlines that the company centers around the relation privileged with its employees and the employee focused culture lead to Southwest Airlines successful. By adapting the Schein framework, we can  approach understanding of the organizational culture of Southwest Airlines. 3 Justification of Framework There are many reasons using Schein’s framework to analyze organizational culture. First, He divided culture into three levels, namely artifacts, values and basic assumptions. These levels are used as a basis for assessing any organizational culture.( Comer, M., n.d.) Therefore the framework can be used to analyze dimensions of organizational culture influence employees in Southwest airline. Second, it is a popular viewpoint be used in many literatures on organization culture. (Sun, S.,2008) Third, Alvesson & Berg, (1992) indicate that the framework having received less criticism. Moreover, Kong, S. H. (2000) and Miles, S,J., Mangold, W,G. (2005) also indicated Schein’s three levels model has capability to combine a number of perspectives in cultural studies. Additional, An onion diagram of organizational culture that developed by Hofstede et al. (1997) is based on Schein’s model. Hofstede divided culture in to four layers that include symbols, heroes, rituals and values. The similarities between both models are focused on the physical assumptions that shape the ideology of culture and lead to the norms and values. However, the model of Schein encompasses more aspects than the model of Hofstede. On the other hand, there are some critiques of Schein model form scholars viewpoints. First, Hatch, M. J. (1993). indicates that Schein’s model is lack of the dynamic role of assumptions and beliefs in creating and changing organizational culture. Second, Tuan, L,T. and Venkatesh, S. (2010) proposed the model developed by martins extend more on the interaction between the organizational sub-systems, the two survival functions, namely the external environment and the internal systems, and the culture dimensions. 4 Explanation of Framework Schein (2004) defined organizational culture as a â€Å"dynamic phenomenon that surrounds us at all times, being constantly enacted and created by our interactions with others and shaped by leadership behavior, and a set of  structures, routines, rules, and norms that guide and constrain behavior†. To fully understand the meaning of culture, he defined organizational culture consists with three levels as represented in Figure. 1 First level of Schein’s model is the most visible indicator of culture that consists of artefacts and creations. Artefacts represent the physical construct of the organization and its social environment and provide a superficial glimpse of an organization’s culture because the true significance or meaning that lies behind their use can be difficult to decipher and interpret.( Pierce J, G. 2004) The surface of a culture can be easily observed from Physical layout of the building, Communication methods, Dress code, social interplay and informal structure. According to Brown, G (2014) Organizational artifacts and creations be split into six characteristics : Norms are the assumptions made by employees following historical evidence as to the normal ways of achieving things in the organization. Language is the way managers speak a business term to subordinates and vice versa is a clear indicator of culture. ( Brown, G. 2014) Symbols used as the way of communicating that associated with culture. Rites demonstrated by the collective interpersonal behavior and values constitute formal or informal culture structures. Myths and stories are narrative based on events that shared among employees and used as a method of communicating core values. Taboos are the indicators of what should not be done in the organization. Those institutionalized artefacts serves as a guide to channel behaviours toward desired behavious that vest fit the value of organizational culture. Figure 1. Model of culture indicating different levels of culture Second level of Schein’s model examines the values and beliefs of the organization. Values provide organizational members with a sense of the moral and ethical codes which shape an organization. Such values and beliefs include trust, effort, basis of reward and honesty; these must be followed through to growth a culture. Schein believed that organizational values are not as apparent as organizational artifacts. However, he states that they do exist at a greater level of awareness than â€Å"basic underlying assumptions,†Ã‚  which he identifies as his third level of cultural manifestation. ( Pierce J, G., 2004) The latest is the most important since as Schein puts it â€Å"Human minds needs cognitive stability and any challenge of a basic assumption will release anxiety and defensiveness†. The third and core level of organizational cultural performance is basic assumptions. These basic assumptions especially from the continuous use of a problem solution that are often so fundamental and repeatedly been successful in the past and has unconsciously been taken for granted. Typical basic assumptions include: the basis on which individuals are respected, the basis of the firms’ ability to compete, the use of involvement and participation and How and whom makes decisions. (Brown, G. 2014) According to Comer, M. ( n.d.), the best way to identify underlying assumptions is through a process meeting where artifacts are listed, values discussed and underlying assumptions are reviewed. Schein’s three levels of the manifestation of organizational culture can be depicted as an iceberg as presented in figure 2, with the most visible level at the top which is artefacts. In the iceberg metaphor, organizational values, are closer to the surface and provide a more accurate assessment of the organization’s culture. However, the true scope of the culture still remains hidden beneath the surface. (Pierce, J, G., 2004) the basic assumptions of an organization’s culture lies beneath the surface and is very difficult to recognized. Figure 2. Iceberg Conceptual Model of Schein’s Three Levels of the Manifestation of Organizational Culture. 5 An Analysis of The Practice In the level of artefacts and creations, these visible indicators cab be observed by employee in the southwest airline and outsiders. The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedicated to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit. (Southwest, 2015) The culture at Southwest Airlines is visible in many ways. Norms are informal ground rules that provide guidelines concerning appropriate and inappropriate behavior in a group. (Calvary, W. 2014) In Southwest Airlines, fun and celebrating are the norm. Southwest Airlines has creating their own language, such as â€Å" passengers are Customers, and love is LUV†. This unusual language style also provides leaders at Southwest Airlines with many opportunities to spread and connect Southwest’s corporate culture together. ( Lauer, C. 2010) Symbols communicate the culture through unspoken messages and mental images held by employees. Logo of Southwest Airlines with a heart, it shows Southwest Airlines’ spirit with love and employees work with fun and humors. Southwest Airlines has had several slogans that have indicated company’s value and caught the attention of customers and employee, such as â€Å"Just Plane Smart† (Southwest Airlines, 1992). This slogan somewhat promotes a sense of humor that Southwest Airlines have always had that approach in an informal way (Organizational Dynamics, 1992). Southwest Airlines created many rites to do with employees. Once employees are hired, they are immediately given a celebration greeting into the company (Tyler, 1998). Through the rite in the Southwest Airlines, it shows the warmth and friendly culture in the company. There are many stories had been share in the Southwest Airlines, such as successful events and failure experiences from employees. Southwest Airlines called the story as LUV Story that enhances the customers’ experience, and that helps employees understand how they should behave in a particular situation The middle level value and beliefs, values are the foundation for an organization’s mission, vision, and defined by different beliefs of the company. The clearer an organization’s shared perceptions and values are defined, the stronger people can associate with its mission and feel a vital  part of it.( Racelis, A ,D., 2009) The core values in the Southwest Airlines are fun loving and spirited. First, Southwest Airlines focus on the situations, issues, or behavior, not on the person. People in the company should find a solution instead of judging others. Second, maintain the self confidence and self-esteem of others. Southwest Airlines offer employees not only the internal training programs, but also provide employees with external training whenever they want to advance their careers. Additional, Southwest Airlines also uses an employee recognition program to reinforce employees, such as President’s Award, Winning Spirit Award and Star of the Month. According to the Southwest report, the company will hold an event called Heroes of the Heart every year on Valentine’s Day. The event takes place at Headquarters in Dallas, where employees with good performance will be awarded by president Colleen Barrett. ( West, R. 2014) People enjoy in it and part of the fun in the party is the surprise when the winning team is announced. The winning Team holds one of the highest honors at Southwest Airlines. Therefore, Southwest Airlines won the hearts and minds of their employees. Deal, T. E., & Key, M. K. (1998) note that Southwest Airlines is a model company in providing both frequent spontaneous praise (acknowledgment) on current behaviors as well as having formal recognition programs which reward past behaviors. Third, to maintain positive relationships with employees, colleagues and managers, Southwest Airlines focuses on a team environment that enables employees embrace their connections with one another. Southwest Airlines has always placed little emphasis on formal organizational company structure, that employees are given authority to make decisions and Supervisors view their subordinates as internal customers who deserve help in doing their jobs better. (Gittell, J. H. 2004) Fourth, fun and love attitude. Southwest Airlines create an environment that combines humor with responsibility. Southwest Airlines places the highest importance in its selection process on employee that hire for attitude that based on their social skills. Employees can use any talents they have in order to entertain the customers as long as  they make them happy. There are many popular videos about the funny safety speech made by Southwest flight attendant that consists of rapping or singing when they present the safety rules such as Hilarious Southwest Airline Safety Presentation that is recently the most popular video on the internet. A relaxed atmosphere at work makes Southwest Airlines’ employees happy and this also keeps customers coming back because they like this style. It shows that having fun in the working environment is an essential value of the company. Fourth, Southwest Airlines holds variety events in many fun loving ways to implicate their value. In 2011, the celebration of 40th Anniversary Southwest Airlines held 40th Anniversary parties at three cities—Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio (Southwest Airlines, 2014). Every year Southwest Airlines hosts a huge Halloween party at its Dallas headquarters (West, R. 2014). The events convey beliefs of the fun and loving culture and made it become a tradition at Southwest Airlines. At the deepest level, basic assumptions are below our awareness. The assumptions that shape the organizational culture can be exposed by observing how employees interact and the decisions they make. Southwest Airlines is noted for operating according to basic assumptions that value employees’ welfare and providing high-quality services. (Qwabe, N. P., n.d.) Southwest Airlines implicates no layoff policy. According to Southwest Airlines’ report (2010), Southwest Airlines offers Employees the freedom to pursue good health, create financial security, travel. Southwest Airlines also has a long tradition of bridging the work divide by seeking to accommodate the needs of families through flexible scheduling and ensuring that managers do not devote too much time to the job at the expense of their families. (Gittell, J. H. 2004) These values and beliefs informs employees of exactly what is expected of them and help them understand the organization. 6 Conclusions Organizational cultures can have multiple impacts on employee performance. Normally, employees work harder to achieve organizational missions if they  immerse themselves in the organizational culture. First, the case of Southwest airlines shows that the company puts its employees in priority that they implement a no layoff policy. Employees feel secure in their job, and enjoy a high level of compensation. In addition, Southwest Airlines sees employees as the greatest assets of the company. Second, Southwest Airlines creates an happiness environment and operate with the concept, love (LUV). Southwest Airlines encourages employees to work with humor and responsibility, that happy working atmosphere not only greatly improve the efficiency of their work but also get recognized by customers. Third, team work is crucial in the company, Southwest treat employees as family member instead of worker. Southwest creates the maximum welfare to employees and returned loyalty from employees. The effect of organizational culture relates to its strength. Organizational culture strength based on how broadly and deeply employees hold the company’s values and basic assumptions. In a strong organizational culture, most employees embrace all beliefs and values that through well-established creations and artefacts, as a result of that those values are difficult to change. Furthermore, strong cultures tend to be long-lasting. (Ojo,O. 2009) According to Sun, shili (2008), a strong culture (one in which beliefs and values are widely shared and strongly held) can also offer many advantages. Southwest creates a strong organizational culture that majority of the people hold the same basic beliefs and values as applies to the organization. The performance of employees improves by strong culture in Southwest Airlines. A strong culture provides Southwest Airlines with immersing everyone in the culture immediately and has awareness of culture. Thereby, every individuals in the Southwest Airlines with shared values that assist employees achieve organizational goals successfully. References Alvesson, M., & Berg, P. O. (1992). Corporate culture and organizational symbolism. Brown, G. (2014, September 30). The learning organisation [PowerPoint slides]. Calvary, W. (2014). Beliefs and Norms [Powerpoint]. Comer, M. (n.d.). Cultural Congruence Model: A framework for examining organizational culture. The Hayes Group International. Corporate-Fact-Sheet. (2014). Retrieved from Southwest Airlines website: http://www.swamedia.com Deal, T. E., & Key, M. K. (1998). Corporate celebration: Play, purpose, and profit at work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Pub. Dickler, J. (2008, December 11). Even in recession, some employers stick to no-layoff policy. CNN. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/ Financial times. (2011, October 31). The world’s most respected companies. Financial times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com Gittell, J. H. (2004). The Southwest Airlines Way: Using the Power of Relationships to Achieve High Performance. Glassdoor. (2014). 50 Best places to work in the US [Web log post]. Retrieved from www.glassdoor.com Hatch, M. J. (1993). The dynamics of organizational culture. Cross-cultural Research, 18(4), 657-693.. Hilarious Southwest Airline Safety Presentation (Open Captions) [Video file]. (2014, June 17). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com Hofstede, G. (1998). Attitudes, Values and Organizational Culture: Disentangling the Concepts. Organization Studies, 19(3), 477-492. doi:10.1177/017084069801900305 Kong, S. H. (2000). A Discourse on the Roots of Mainland Chinese Organizations. Euro Asia Journal of Management, 21, 105-142. Lauer, C. (2010). Southwest Airlines. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood. Miles, S. J., & Mangold, W. G. (2005). Positioning Southwest Airlines through employee branding. Business Horizons, 48, 535-545. doi:10.1016/j.bushor.2005.04.010 Ojo, O. (2009). Impact assessment of corporate culture cn employee job performance. Business Intelligence Journal, 2(2), 388-397. Retrieved from http://www.saycocorporativo.com/ Philips, M. E. (1990). Industry as a Cultural Grouping (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of California, Los Angeles. Pierce, J. G. (2004). Organizational Culture and Professionalism: An Assessment of the Professional Culture of the U. S. Army Senior Level Officer Corps (Doctoral diss ertation, The Pennsylvania State University). Qwabe, N. P. (n.d.). Organisational Culture, Innovation and Creativity | Nombali Qwabe – Academia.edu. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu Racelis, A. D. (2010). Relationship between Employee Perceptions of Corporate Ethics and Organizational Culture: An Exploratory Study. Asia Pacific Management Review, 15(2), 251-260. Retrieved from http://apmr.management.ncku.edu.tw/ Schein, E. (1996). Culture: the missing concept in organisation studies. Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(2), 229-240. Southwest Airlines. (2010). southwestonereport. Retrieved from http://southwestonereport.com Tuan, L. T., & Venkatesh, S. (2010). Organizational culture and technological innovation adoption in private hospitals. International Business Research, 3(3), 144-153. Retrieved from www.ccsenet.org Tyler, K. (1998). Take new employee orientation off the back burner. HRMagazine, 43, 49-57. West, R. (2014, December 19). Flashback Fridays: Halloweens of the Past [Blog of Southwest]. Retrieved from http://www.blogsouthwest.com World’s most admired companies – Fortune. (2014). Retrieved January 5, 2014, from http://fortune.com

Progress Essay Example

Progress Essay Example Progress Essay Progress Essay Progress Having the experience and guidance to enhance my writing skills with the support of a college professor and other students has helped me greatly. Although I still feel that I struggle with having my essays flow, I am confident that I am a better writer after taking the course Written Expression. The majority of the essays involved analyzing a piece of literature and making a point of something. Every essay involved an argument and being able to prove what I believe. The significance of structure and creating an outline before beginning an essay as greatly stressed. I learned a specific way of creating an outline, an introduction, how to conduct an appropriate thesis statement, key points and being able to transition from broad to specific. I also worked on being able to organize an outline with a main topic, two ideas, and two examples for each idea in order to have the essay flow. Tackling essays involving arguments has taught me how to make a substantiated statement and being able to follow it up, while using a rational in my thesis statement. I argued against child beauty pageants by discussing and proving hat they create a false image of how females should behaving and look, while creating insecurities throughout younger generations. I argued against bullying in schools by explaining the long -term effects it can have on children, and how it can be prevented. My professor gave us the opportunity to choose a piece of literature of our choice and create an argument. I chose the short story Hansel and Greeter and elaborated upon how children could have separation anxiety and a fear of abandonment from hearing stories about parents leaving their children and being introduced to deception and witches traps. Taking a different approach aside from the general assignments based on literature, we learned what different texts are. A text is anything that has been created by human beings, to convey meaning, which does not have to be in writing. I was able to choose an object of my choice, which is a text rather than having to write an essay based off of a piece of writing. Each student in the classroom having to come up with an object that he or she felt would suffice for a strong argument strengthened the classrooms ability to come up with valid points, without having to upend on a piece of literature for an argument. For practice the classroom would come up with arguments together and create outlines, without taking the next step of writing an essay. I have improved greatly in my development of analyzing what I read, my writing skills, researching academic databases and conducting thesis statements. Being given the opportunity to be in more of a discussion based class allowed me to communicate with the class in regards to my writing by hearing others ideas, and incorporating them into my writing. By deemed 204

How to Find Scholarships for College Expert Guide

How to Find Scholarships for College Expert Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Paying for college is already stressful and a bit overwhelming - applying for scholarships shouldn’t be too. To help you navigate the process of finding (and applying for) this helpful type of financial aid, we’ve put together this strategy guide with everything you need to know about how to findscholarships that are right for you. You’ll learn about searching for awards in the right places (perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process), selecting the right scholarships, and putting together high-quality applications. Let’s get started! Before the Applications: Optimizing Your Chances of Winning a Scholarship There are, of course, many niche awards that go to students with very specific skills, interests, and accomplishments (we’ll get to that in a bit). If you want to increase your chances of winning significant scholarship money, however, you have to step back and look at the big-picture perspective: how can you make yourself appealing to the greatest number of scholarship programs? Here are the most common things that scholarship programs look for: Academic Excellence You can demonstrate academic excellence with ACT or SAT scores, high GPA, and high class rank. Leadership Skills Show you have leadership potential with important positions (or just consistent, engaged participation) in student groups, sports, other extracurriculars, or student jobs. Read more about participating in student groups and getting a student job. Commitment to Community Service Demonstrate that you're invested in your community with consistent, personally meaningful volunteer work. Learn more about the benefits of community service. Read about different community service projects and ideas. Strong Relationships With Educators and Mentors This is a bit harder to define. Most scholarship programs evaluate relationships through letters of recommendation or even short phone conversations. Learn more about what makes for a good letter of rec, and check out examples of awesome letters. Clear Personal Goals Scholarship organizations often look for students with goals and values that are congruent with those of the organization itself. You can demonstrate that you have clear, well-developed goals (even if you don't!) through your application essays or in-person interviews, if applicable. Learn more about writing application essays and coming across well in interviews. The good news is that your scholarship strategy can be easily integrated into your greater college application goals - the things you can do to make yourself appealing to scholarships are the same things you can do to make yourself appealing to colleges. To be most successful in making yourself appealing to scholarship programs, you have to take a long-term approach - it’s best if you start working on the above goals freshman year (or even earlier), but it’s also never too late to start. Where to Look for Scholarships When you’re just starting your scholarship research, the sheer number of awards available can be kind of overwhelming. Here are five suggestions for how to find scholarships. PrepScholar Guides This one’s easy - we’ve already done the legwork for you by compiling lists of different types of scholarships: Top Scholarship Lists Top Scholarships for Sophomores and Freshmen Top Scholarships for Juniors Top Scholarships for Seniors SpecialtyScholarship Lists Minority Scholarships Engineering Scholarships Other Scholarship Lists Guide to Local Scholarships Guaranteed Scholarships Based on SAT/ACT Scores Full Ride Scholarships Easy Scholarships Weird Scholarships Specific Scholarship Guides National Merit Scholarship Gates Millennium Ronald McDonald Scholarship Tylenol Scholarship Florida Bright Futures Other Scholarship Search Tools AsI mentioned earlier, you won’t want to just apply to the big, prestigious scholarships - it’s important to apply to less competitive awards as well. To get info on almost any scholarship you can think of, check out the following online search tools. Want more detailed info? Read our guide on how to effectively use these online search resources. The College Board With the College Board’s scholarship search, you can look for awards based on all sorts of criteria. There are two ways you can search for scholarships: By keyword By filling out personal information about things like minority status, disability status, religious affiliation, veteran status, and club/organization membership. The search engine then finds scholarships that match the personal characteristics you’ve entered. You can enter in as much or as little identifying or demographic information as you’d like. Obviously, the more information you enter, the more relevant and helpful the search results will be. Scholarships.com Scholarships.com claims to be the largest free scholarship search resource available, with a total of over 2.7 million scholarships listed in their database. The site lets you save, â€Å"favorite,† or remove scholarship matches associated with your account. Students tend to have more luck with Scholarships.com when it comes to finding relevant awards when compared to many other scholarship search engines. Your Favorite Search Engine Once you get a better sense of the scholarships you’d like to apply for, you can use Google (or something similar) to search for awards. This gives you a lot of freedom and flexibility when you’re searching for scholarships, especially if you have specific keywords in mind. You might find individual awards or lists of relevant scholarships that others have already put together. Your Guidance or College Counselor School counselors are an untapped resource when it comes to finding scholarship money! Definitely schedule a meeting with your guidance or college counselor - the earlier, the better, but ideally by the beginning of junior year. They likely have insider info on scholarship programs that may be a good fit for you, especially when it comes to local awards. If you have unique skills or needs (e.g. you’re hoping to be recruited for a college sport), your counselor may also be able to help guide you through the process - this isn’t something you can get from an online scholarship search tool. A guidance counselor can give the sort of personalized feedback that you can only get from a real, live human How to Choose Which Scholarships to Apply for You might come across thousands of scholarships in your college search, but you can’t apply to all of them, no matter how efficient you are. It’s important to pare down the number of scholarships you apply to in order to maximize your success of winning cash (8-10 applications is a reasonable goal here). Here are some questions you should ask yourself when you’re putting together that all-important list of scholarship applications: Do You Meet All of the Eligibility Requirements? This seems obvious, but it’s really important. Carefully read through all of the eligibility requirements to make sure you meet every single one. If the organization has set specific guidelines on things like GPA, ACT/SAT scores, community service hours, etc., don’t expect them to even look at your application if you’re just â€Å"close† to meeting the requirements. This will just waste time you could have spent applying to other scholarships. If you have any questions about confusing requirements, reach out to the scholarship organization directly. Are You a Good Fit for the Award? This is similar (but not the same) as meeting the eligibility requirements.If you do meet the requirements, ask yourself (and answer honestly) whether you are this scholarship’s target audience. That is, do you fit the spirit of the award and not just the letter of it? For example, let’s say you’re looking at an award for scholar-athletes, and you’re a great student, but you’ve never played on a varsity team. You might meet the hard requirements (i.e. you’ve played a sport), but you’re not what the organization is looking for when they say â€Å"scholar athlete.† This is an award you should pass on. Is the Scholarship Worth the Time You'll Spend on the Application? Some scholarship applications ask a lot of the students hoping to get the award. You might have to submit all sorts of documentation - everything from transcripts to financial docs to letters of rec to student essays These obstacles may be worth it for relatively large awards where you’re sure you a) meet all requirements and b) are a good fit for the scholarship. But for smaller awards or awards where you’re not the ideal applicant? Pass. When Is the Application Deadline? Does the deadline conflict with any other big responsibilities (e.g. exams, college app deadlines, important extracurricular events)? Avoid scholarshipsyou won't be able to finish in time as well as ones that will require you to miss schoolwork in order to finish. Do you have enough time between now and then to put together a polished application? If you just have to fill out a few forms and write an essay or two, you won’t need that long - maybe a couple of weeks (you’ll want to build in time to get feedback from a teacher/counselor).If you have to put together a lot of documentation - like official transcripts, letters of rec, etc. - you might need 2-3 months. Have You Looked for Niche Awards? Most scholarships programs look for qualities that I discussed earlier in the article - academic excellence, leadership skills, community service, etc. If you can find awards that are targeted towards students with your niche interests, skills, or background, you’ll really increase your chances of winning some scholarship money. Even if you don’t use resources like the College Board search tool to find scholarships, you should go through the questionnaire asking about various group affiliations or student characteristics. If you identify with anything listed, use those keywords to look for potential scholarships (e.g.religious affiliation, ethnic background, veteran status, unique extracurriculars). The smaller the applicant pool for a particular award, the weaker the competition. Take advantage of these niche award opportunities. Do You Have a Good Variety of Scholarship Applications Lined Up? You may find a ton of great awards for which you’re an excellent applicant, but if they’re all very competitive or very popular (see: Coca-Cola scholarship, Gates Millennium scholarship), you’re doing yourself a disservice. Just as(strategically minded) top students don't just applyto Ivy League schools, you don't want to just apply for uber-competitiveawards.Try to put together a list of scholarships of varying degrees of competitiveness. Look at both national and local awards. Ever hear that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket? This is why you should apply to a variety of scholarship programs. Scholarship Application Tips and Strategies Once you’ve chosen which scholarships you’d like to apply for, you’ll want to be as organized and as polished as possible when it comes to submitting the apps. If you want to increase your chances of submitting successful applications, follow these tips! Get Organized Set up a scholarship application plan in the same way you’d set up a college application plan - organize all of your tasks and deadlines in one place. The easiest way to do this is to set up a spreadsheet with all this important info - like scholarship name, deadline and application components. This makes it easy to track your progress if you check off relevant tasks as you go. If you choose to set up your own spreadsheet (like in Excel or Google Drive), start by setting up the following spreadsheet columns (you can customize these as necessary): Scholarship name Application deadline Link to application Application â€Å"start† date (the date by which you want to start working on the app) Application essay required? (check off when complete) Letters of recommendation required? (check off when submitted) Transcripts required? (check off when submitted) ACT/SAT scores required? (check off when submitted) Any other required documentation? (check off when submitted) Checkpoint:Application essay edits received and implemented Checkpoint:Application reviewed by friend or family member Checkpoint:Application submitted Think Strategically Applying to scholarships is a numbers game, just like applying to colleges.You can apply to as many or as few awards as you’d like, but it's best to find some sort of optimal middle ground. This middle ground will vary a bit for each student, depending on his or her goals and personal characteristics. Too many applications may leave you feeling overwhelmed (and cut into other important commitments); too few applications may mean you don't actually win any money. Here are some important questions to consider when putting together your list of scholarship applications: How badly do you need scholarship funding?If you don't think you'll end up withmuch need-based financial aid, but you're still worried about paying forcollege expenses, you might want to apply to more scholarship programs. Are youa competitive scholarship applicant?Unless you've stumbled upon some sort of unknown secretprogram, the chances are that your application for each award will be weighed against those of many other students. If you're not a strongstudent - say, in the top quarter of your class - you mayhave trouble winning merit awards. If this is the case, you may want to increase your number of scholarship apps. How much extra time do you have?If you have an overloaded schedule, applying to too many scholarship programs may hurt your academic and extracurricular performance. Overbooked students may want tobe more selective with their scholarship applications. On average, I would say the ideal number of scholarship applications on average is 8-10 - you'll want to adjust your own number of apps based on the questions I laid out above. Finally, try to choose a few â€Å"reach† scholarships (i.e. very large/competitive awards), a few â€Å"safety† scholarships (i.e. small, noncompetitive or local awards), and a few â€Å"target† scholarships (mid-sized awards that you feel are a good fit). Have Someone Review Your Applications This is a super important step - it might be tempting to skip (especially if you’re on a deadline), but make sure SOMEONE looks over your applications with fresh eyes. If the application requires essays, it’s best to get feedback from a teacher or guidance counselor. Try to build 2-3 weeks into your application timeline for edits and comments. To check for typos, missed information, and general clarity, have a parent or even a trusted friend look over your apps. You could always repay the favor for a friend by looking over their applications! Even the most conscientious student should look for feedback on herapplications. What's Next? There's so much more to learn when it comes to finding and winning awards! You'd undoubtedly be interested in reading more about full ride scholarships - for more info, read about the top 15 full-ride awards, 79 colleges that offer full ride scholarships, and the top strategies for winning a full ride scholarship. If you're considering applying for scholarships, you should alsolook into other forms of financial aid. Read our guides on the four different types of financial aid and how to apply for them. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Egypt Cult of the Sun God and Akhenatens Monotheism

Egypt Cult of the Sun God and Akhenatens Monotheism Egypt During the New Kingdom, the cult of the sun god Ra became increasingly important until it evolved into the uncompromising monotheism of Pharaoh Akhenaten (Amenhotep IV, 1364-1347 B.C.). According to the cult, Ra created himself from a primeval mound in the shape of a pyramid and then created all other gods. Thus, Ra was not only the sun god, he was also the universe, having created himself from himself. Ra was invoked as Aten or the Great Disc that illuminated the world of the living and the dead. The effect of these doctrines can be seen in the sun worship of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who became an uncompromising monotheist. Aldred has speculated that monotheism was Akhenatens own idea, the result of regarding Aten as a self-created heavenly king whose son, the pharaoh, was also unique. Akhenaten made Aten the supreme state god, symbolized as a rayed disk with each sunbeam ending in a ministering hand. Other gods were abolished, their images smashed, their names excised, their temples abandoned, and their revenues impounded. The plural word for god was suppressed. Sometime in the fifth or sixth year of his reign, Akhenaten moved his capital to a new city called Akhetaten (present-day Tall al Amarinah, also seen as Tell al Amarna). At that time, the pharaoh, previously known as Amenhotep IV, adopted the name Akhenaten. His wife, Queen Nefertiti, shared his beliefs. Akhenatens religious ideas did not survive his death. His ideas were abandoned in part because of the economic collapse that ensued at the end of his reign. To restore the morale of the nation, Akhenatens successor, Tutankhamen, appeased the offended gods whose resentment would have blighted all human enterprise. Temples were cleaned and repaired, new images made, priests appointed, and endowments restored. Akhenatens new city was abandoned to the desert sands. Data as of December 1990Source: Library of Congress Country Studies Ancient Egypt LOC Articles Ancient Egypt - New Kingdom 3d Intermediate Period Ancient Egypt - Old Middle Kingdoms and 2d Intermediate Period

Consumer Behaviour in Malaysia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Consumer Behaviour in Malaysia - Essay Example (Ndubisi 2006, p17) In order to be able to take advantage of opportunities and establish strong chance at competition in Malaysia, Australian exporters should be able to understand the dynamics of the country’s consumer market because Malaysian consumers differ significantly from those in Australia. An understanding of consumer behavior, particularly, can make a difference since it impacts purchasing behavior and, therefore, marketing decisions as well. In addition, the diffusion of trends such as technological and economic is also crucial to penetrate the Malaysian market. Culture and Consumer Behavior The relationship between consumers and consumer goods is driven by several variables. Culture is one of the most important of such. McCracken’s model, which explained the movement of cultural meaning, identify possession ritual, exchange ritual, grooming ritual and divestment ritual as what dictates individual consumer behavior in the process wherein meaning is construct ed, structured and transferred in the flow of consumer goods. (Schiffman et al 2009) Ritual is the key concept at work here. Consumption becomes a symbolic activity typified by steps, behaviors and actions that became constant, occurring repeatedly over time. This underscores how culture impacts consumers. Consumer products are symbols that represent what the consumers value in products and services or what the marketers communicate as value for the buyers. Karahana, Evaristo and Strite also explained how culture impacts behavior through their own theoretical model of culture’s influence on behavior. Here, behavior is driven by attitude and social norms, variables that are produced by cognitive beliefs, cultural practices and values. (p8) Pecotich and Schultz conducted a review of studies on consumer perception on brands in Malaysia. It was found that Malaysians display specific characteristics in their attitude towards products. Specific examples were provided. For instance, in brand selection on electrical products, Malaysians were found to be motivated by the perceived best brand, favoring prestige over a product that is simply thought of as efficient or works well. (p426) This is also congruent to the tendency of Malaysian consumers to patronize celebrity-endorsed products and their loyalty to brands. According to Kacen and Lee (2002), impulse consumer buying behavior now accounts for up to 80% of all purchases in some countries and that culture plays a part as consumers engage in sudden, compelling, hedonically complex purchase decision process that precludes thoughtful, deliberate consideration of all information and choice alternatives. (p163) The argument is that culture tempers impulsive buying. This is highlighted in Malaysia by the Islamic subculture, which in turn can best be depicted through the concept of halal. In Malaysia, halal, which means what is permitted, is the norm in Islamic consumption. Consumers and their consumption are subjec t to institutionalization regulated by the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs. Fischer (2008) explained that halal informs and controls ideas and practices such as wearing of gold and ornaments, wigs and hairpieces; paintings; photographs, keeping of dogs; cleanliness;

The Punishment by Means of Death Sentence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Punishment by Means of Death Sentence - Essay Example Certain cultures and societies stand against it and others support it. In this paper we will be discussing that capital punishment is an ethical and moral way of punishing individuals who indulge in wrong doings. To support this view, the argument will be backed with the ethical theory of Utilitarianism and Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Discussion According to the Utilitarian perspective, actions should be considered as right or wrong on the basis of utility or benefits and costs those actions have to offer to the society (MacKinnon, 2009, p.38) . The view even suggests that those actions should be selected which have higher utility than cost for the society, as compared to any other actions that can be conducted. Death penalty, offers more benefits than costs to the society, therefore, it is considered as a morally and ethically correct action. The various benefits of death penalty include; death penalty is considered as a very harsh punishment, people fear death. This fear of death may stimulate other criminals from committing crimes in the future. Therefore, death sentence inflicts fear of death in criminals, and due to this fear, criminals might avoid committing future crimes. Another benefit of death penalty is that those criminals who are currently conducting crimes and will possibly commit future crimes will be removed from the society and the number of criminals currently existing in the system will decrease. Another advantage of the death sentence is the satisfaction that the society as well as the victim’s family receives from knowing that justice has been served, and the criminal has faced equal consequences and pain that the victim faced. Those who are not in the favor of death penalty argue that due to death penalty, those individuals have to experience death that might have not actually committed the crime and have been held responsible. Some contradictors of death penalty even state that there is no pure research stating that death penalty has really stopped criminals from committing crime and has stopped potential criminals from conducting future crimes. Contradictors argue that the level of suffering in case of death penalty is less than the suffering experienced in life imprisonment, thus life imprisonment should be considered as a better option than death penalty. Those who are not in the favor of death penalty even state that the monetary cost bared by the government for conducting a case of death penalty is higher than the cost of any other form of trial, thus the society ends up paying in the form of higher taxes. According to retributive justice, those individuals who have committed wrong, should pay the cost of their actions and should be held responsible (Hinman, 2009, p.245). Kant supports this view; Kant believes that equality and justice can only be served if a wrong doer is treated in accordance to his wrong doings. Kant supports the idea that an individual should be treated the same way he has treated others. This does not mean that a murderer should be murdered in the same way he has committed the murder. However, the murder should experience equal pain as the pain felt by the victim who was murdered. Secondly, Kant states that an individual should treat others in a particular way, if he/she is ready to accept the same treatment (Pojman, 2009, p.129).

Star Formation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Star Formation - Essay Example Some of the widely known astronomical substances that represent mainly the basic building blocks of most galaxies are stars. This therefore means that the composition, age and distribution of stars in a galaxy usually suggest the dynamics, evolution and history of that particular galaxy. Furthermore stars are mostly responsible for the manufacturing and dispensing of heavy elements for instance oxygen, carbon and nitrogen and therefore their distinctiveness is closely tied to the uniqueness of the planetary systems that may possibly unite around them. As a result the study of the origin, life and ultimately death of stars is key to the astronomical field (Whitworth, Thompson, 2012). Stars usually are formed within comparatively dense concentrations of interstellar dust and gas referred to as molecular clouds. These areas are mostly very cold and temperatures may fall to around 10 to 20K, just over absolute zero. Gases under these temperatures become molecular which means that there is binding together of atoms. Within the interstellar gas clouds are mostly Hydrogen and carbon monoxide molecules .These low temperatures result in extremely cold conditions causing the gases to clump together to high densities. It is when the density attains a specific point when stars are formed. The regions are mostly dense and consequently opaque to any visible light and are referred to by the name dark nebula. They also do not shine by light that is optical which means that they are observed and investigated by use of IR as well as radio telescopes (Whitworth, Thompson, 2012). Formation of stars starts when the denser regions of the cloud’s core collapse due to their own gravity or weight. The cloud’s core usually has got masses to the tune of 104 solar masses and is mostly in the structure of dust and gas. Being of higher density than the outside clouds,

LAB8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LAB8 - Essay Example Take a walk of approximately one mile along a country road or walk at least 30 minutes in a city or town and record the trash that was improperly disposed of in the natural environment. (It’s a good way to get some extra exercise this week too). Use the same categories as in question #1 above, but be more specific (i.e., how many glass or metal cans, how many old tires, etc.) were found along your walk. Keep your eyes open for all sorts of waste, which could be defined as anything that is not natural in the environment. If you try to help the environment by picking up the refuse, please wear protective gloves. Recondition tires are retread tires; they are able to be repaired and can once again be used safely on a vehicle. Reprocessed tires are those tires that at are too damaged to be reconditioned or repaired are often reprocessed tires, can reappear and be repurposed for application as in asphalt and road ways. Firstly, coffee grounds can be added to compost when saved, they can purchase local fresh fruits and vegetables to serve at their cafà ©, they can use real cups, as opposed to paper or plastic, selling used and donated books is also a very helpful contribution that many coffee houses could make. Recycling the packaging and reusing shipping boxes can be both money saving and environmentally friendlier. Companies can also switch from traditional packing popcorn and switch to a new packing material that can be disintegrate with water when no longer needed, unlike Styrofoam. Motor Oil can be recycles and is very detrimental when simply dumped in the environment. CFCs, or Chlorofluorocarbons, found in cooling systems are environmentally damaging and should be collected. Finally, all of the cleaning solvents mechanics use to clean the working parts of vehicles, these should be collected. The Savemor’s reduce waste by maintaining household appliances and when they need replacing always invest in energy efficient

Training Series Part 6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Training Series Part 6 - Assignment Example â€Å"a criminal offense on the Web, a criminal offense regarding the Internet, a violation of law on the Internet, an illegality committed with regard to the Internet, breach of law on the Internet, computer crime, contravention through the Web, corruption regarding Internet, criminal activity on the Internet, disrupting operations through malevolent programs on the Internet, electric crime, Internet crime, sale of contraband on the Internet, stalking victims on the Internet, theft of identify on the Internet† Cybercrimes have now become extremely important to be dealt with. These are growing phenomenon in the current age. A hacker is a person who is able to deflect the online security system of a particular online database and then explore the limits of this database. Once a hacker is able to hack into someone’s account, then that particular act in itself amounts to hacking. Tom is a business developer with Apple Inc. He has been associated with this company for a long time. He has the relevant information which is confidential in nature. Don is a hacker who is into major form of hacking into different accounts. He indulges magnificently into this form of stealing and is a master of snatching confidential information. One day, Tom had installed all the financial and banking details of Apple Inc. onto his own laptop for a convenient way of working and signing deals with other companies. Don hacks into Tom’s laptop using the wifi and goes through all the details of Apple Inc. in detail. He then comes to know that he can sue this information for his own benefit. He steals the secretive information and online documents from Tom’s laptop and sells it to other rival companies such as Samsung Inc. which is a huge rival of Apple Inc. Samsung Inc. uses this information for its own benefit and trades this information for a financial gain for Don. Don becomes extremely rich and has bought a new house which is questioned by the

LAB8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

LAB8 - Essay Example Take a walk of approximately one mile along a country road or walk at least 30 minutes in a city or town and record the trash that was improperly disposed of in the natural environment. (It’s a good way to get some extra exercise this week too). Use the same categories as in question #1 above, but be more specific (i.e., how many glass or metal cans, how many old tires, etc.) were found along your walk. Keep your eyes open for all sorts of waste, which could be defined as anything that is not natural in the environment. If you try to help the environment by picking up the refuse, please wear protective gloves. Recondition tires are retread tires; they are able to be repaired and can once again be used safely on a vehicle. Reprocessed tires are those tires that at are too damaged to be reconditioned or repaired are often reprocessed tires, can reappear and be repurposed for application as in asphalt and road ways. Firstly, coffee grounds can be added to compost when saved, they can purchase local fresh fruits and vegetables to serve at their cafà ©, they can use real cups, as opposed to paper or plastic, selling used and donated books is also a very helpful contribution that many coffee houses could make. Recycling the packaging and reusing shipping boxes can be both money saving and environmentally friendlier. Companies can also switch from traditional packing popcorn and switch to a new packing material that can be disintegrate with water when no longer needed, unlike Styrofoam. Motor Oil can be recycles and is very detrimental when simply dumped in the environment. CFCs, or Chlorofluorocarbons, found in cooling systems are environmentally damaging and should be collected. Finally, all of the cleaning solvents mechanics use to clean the working parts of vehicles, these should be collected. The Savemor’s reduce waste by maintaining household appliances and when they need replacing always invest in energy efficient

Self_Appraisal_Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Self_Appraisal_Report - Assignment Example The assessment has been made in accordance with theories provided by research scholars regarding the benefits of work based learning and the skills obtained from this process which will help an individual to secure a better job. The report also highlights the researcher’s future plans in terms of the developments that are yet to be made in order to enhance his/her skills. Following that suitable conclusions and recommendations have been made. Table of Contents Summary 2 Introduction 4 Self-Appraisal 4 Skills and Experience relevant to my career goals 6 Future Plans 7 Conclusions and Recommendations 7 Reference List 8 Introduction Over the past few decades, the field of education and occupational learning has witnessed a shift of regime. There has been a significant change in how students and policy makers perceive higher education and the role of universities. The idea of enrolling in a university to become intellectually enlightened has been replaced with the idea that the pr imary objective of higher education is to serve the industry (Huq and Gilbert, 2012). The fundamental of work based learning (WBL) is based upon the fact that individuals will thrive to understand the meaning of theory and thereafter attain wisdom through real life experience. This is also known as experiential learning. WBL is of utmost importance which helps an individual to be self directed, competent, self managing, constructive, reflective and autonomous who will be able to extract and articulate the meaning of learning from their everyday routine of work. As such this report will primarily involve a self assessment of the researcher on the basis of the internship that the researcher underwent and thereby highlighting the importance of internship and work based learning and the outcomes from them. In addition to that, the self assessment of the researcher will also describe personal skills and experience possessed by the researcher prior to the internship and how those implemen ted and what additional skills and experiences were earned. Based on the points explained, a suitable conclusion will be reached as to how important is work based learning/internship to the modern day education system and recommendations will also be made regarding the changes that are required, if any, in order to bring upon improvement in this system of education. Self-Appraisal As has been explained by Gault, Redington and Schlager (2010), work based education also referred to as experiential education, plays a crucial role in shaping lives of undergraduates thereby enhancing their preparation in order to achieve success in the entry level job market. It provides a means by which both students and faculties can bridge the gap between the career expectations developed during classroom tutorial and the reality of employment in the field of work. Similar conclusion has been presented by Gault, Leach and Duey (2010), who also highlighted the importance of experiential learning. They explained that, experiential education is of paramount importance at the initial stages of an individual’s career thereby uplifting the prospect of employment candidates in job market. Similar theories have been outlined by Bridgstock (2009). Having the same belief, as has been explained by the authors mentioned above; I also enrolled for an internship in order to undergo the experiential learning process while pursuing my degree education. My job title was that of a

Educational Mobility Essay Example for Free

Educational Mobility Essay The journal article is basically a report on the first study to longitudinally examine educational mobility among nurses. The reason for the study is that schools of nursing cite a lack of qualified nursing faculty as a primary barrier to program expansion. The main objective of the study therefore is to identify patterns in how nurses’ entry-level degrees and other individual characteristics correlate with the timing and achievement of subsequent advanced nursing education. The researchers used longitudinal analysis of data gathered as part of North Carolina’s licensing renewal process. They studied the educational mobility of newly graduated RNs with a variety of entry degrees in this state. They followed cohorts of new graduates who were licensed in 1984, 1994 and a special group in 2004, which is basically a longitudinal study of three decades. The results suggest among others that, more than 80% of all nurses in either cohort who attained a master’s degree in nursing or a doctorate in any field began their nursing career with a bachelor’s degree. Younger age at entry into nursing, male sex, and belonging to a racial or ethnic minority were associated with being more likely to pursue higher academic degrees. Based on their findings, they concluded that increasing the number of graduates with a bachelor of science in nursing degree, especially those who are men or members of a racial or ethnic minority will have the most immediate effect on increasing the potential nursing faculty pool. A Critique of the Research Process and Paper The hypothesis or research question was clearly articulated in the article when the authors introduced the issue of the lack of qualified faculty by schools of nursing as a primary barrier to program expansion. The researchers realized that an examination of the data could offer a much better understanding of how patterns in educational mobility have led to the current shortage, as well as some insight into how to address it. Since it was a longitudinal study of three decades, the literature review must not just be current, but also pertinent in order to address the research problem. In this study, the researchers used only two sources of data: cohort data from the North Carolina Center for Nursing database and data on national graduates from the National League for Nursing Division of Research: Nursing Data Book, 1984; Nursing Data Review, 1994; and Nursing Data Review, 2003. In terms of research design the researchers used longitudinal analysis (which is done over time) to explore patterns of educational mobility among RNs in North Carolina. In this type of research, longitudinal analysis is valuable and relevant because it profiles actual behavior and does not rely upon intentions or recall as in other types of conventional research such as cross-sectional research. However, as the authors admitted a disadvantage of this approach is that over time the nature of educational opportunity and access change so that what was true for nurses starting their career at a specific point in time may not be true for those starting in another time. In terms of selecting the sample and adequacy of the sample size, it was done in accordance to the sampling requirements of the longitudinal study. The first cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1983 or 1984 and were licensed in 1984. A second cohort initially consisted of all RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in North Carolina in 1993 or 1994 and were licensed in 1994. They also collected demographic data on a third cohort of 5,400 RNs who graduated from an entry-level program in 2003 or 2004 and were licensed in North Carolina in 2004. Using the database from the North Carolina Center for Nursing (NCCN) to get the raw data, the researchers were confident that as the first state agency dedicated to nurse workforce planning, the NCCN has 20 years of longitudinal data, including educational information, on the state’s nursing workforce. As far as ethical issues are concerned, there is no point or period in the study article that would suggest of any ethical issue raised by respondents. However, as longitudinal researches take a long time to finish, certain privacy may be raised by some respondents who do not want their past information to be dug up by researchers. For statistical analysis the researchers basically used descriptive statistics such as frequency, means, and certain non-parametric tests (chi-square) for testing significant differences between means computed from the data. Because of the relative characteristic of the statistical tests, the power of the non-parametric test is comparatively lower to that of parametric test. So it is difficult to determine why the authors decided to use non-parametric tests in this case. The findings of the authors do well in identifying the behavior and characteristics of nurses who will most likely fill the gap in terms of the shortage of qualified nursing faculty. Their data also suggests that the nursing shortage will not be remedied without having sufficient nursing faculty in place. While the number of RNs has increased in the past decade, their findings suggest that the demand for nursing faculty is not being met. This research is a longitudinal study only of a specific groups or groups of respondents. This study cannot be generalized and duplicated in other states or locale because of such study’s background. The presentation and style of presenting the research article to the average reader might be a bit overwhelming considering that, although a descriptive study, certain areas are complicated and have heavy technical descriptions. The figures such as charts, tables and graphs are also readable and accurate, albeit it takes time for an average reader to understand them. The articles is useful to nursing practice since it tries to address the issue of shortage of nurses due to the lack of qualified nursing faculty who hold master’s or doctorate degrees. The authors themselves tried to encourage all nurses to understand the value of an advanced formal education and the expectation to pursue it. The authors believe that the fastest way to increase the ranks of faculty nurses is to encourage more nurses to enter practice at the baccalaureate level as this academic route has been shown to make advancement for master’s and doctorate degrees more rapidly.

An Analysis Of The Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Politics Essay

An Analysis Of The Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Politics Essay This dissertation focuses on the conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh; the origins of the conflict, its present state and the possible future. Throughout the dissertation several key aspects and theories of International relations are analysed, such as: peoples right to self determination, the concept of nation-state and conflict resolution. Firstly, the relevant theories of International relations are explored and an attempt is made to compare them with reality and to show their use in the real world. Secondly, a historical background of the conflict is described, followed by a description of the conflict from 1988 to 1995 and the peace talks. Thirdly, an analysis of the future of NK is examined, pointing out possible solutions and forms of reconciliation. Moreover, relevant questions are individually looked at. For over ten years NK has been on a path of nation-state building. NK sees itself as an independent republic, even with lack of international recognition. NK has a population of 141,000 and an area that covers 11,458.38  km2. (Official website of the President of NK, http://www.president.nkr.am/en/nkr/statePower/ , accessed on March 2, 2011). The map below show the situation of NK, they show both the NK Autonomous Oblast and the present NK state boundaries that include the occupied territories of Azerbaijan: As this dissertation deals with the de facto state of Nagorno-Karabakh, it analyses and explores International Law concerning peoples right to self determination and the consequent recognition of their state. Chapter 1, Article 1, part 2 of the United Nations Charter created in 1945 states that the aim of the UN is to: Develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace. Article 1, part 1, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966 states the following: All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development. (United Nations Charter 1945, available at: http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/ [accessed March 2 2011]) Moreover, the Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations of 24th October 1970 declares that: By virtue of the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, all peoples have the right freely to determine, without external interference, their political status and to pursue their economic, social and cultural development, and every State has the duty to respect this right in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm [accessed march 2 2011]) The establishment of a sovereign and independent State, the free association or integration with an independent State or the emergence into any other political status freely determined by a people constitute modes of implementing the right of self-determination by that people. (UN General Assembly, Declaration of Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation Among States in Accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, 24 October 1970,  available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3dda1f104.html  [accessed March 2 2011] ). These legal statements show the core understanding and acceptance of the international community regarding the idea of peoples right to self determination. Even though some core aspects of these declarations can be vague in their practical sense, their overall message is not contested. By taking into account these and other declarations, the case for the people of NK becomes clearer. Presently, the problem lies with the idea that NK peoples right to self determination collides with Azerbaijans right to sovereignty, so what is the solution? According to Dr. Otto Luchterhandt, the director of East European Research Department (University of Hamburg): The right to self-determination is not only a political principle but a rule of existing international law. The people of Nagorny Karabakh are the subject of the right to self-determination. The people of Nagorny Karabakh can claim for the highest level fulfilment of the law of self-determination secession from the state of Azerbaijan because on the one hand its restriction to the status of a national minority stands in no reasonable relation to its legitimate interests in development and protection, and on the other hand the measure of its oppression has reached such unbearable proportions, that remaining in the federation of Azerbaijan has become unacceptable and it has announced it will for self-determination in an unmistakable and convincing manner. (Luchterhandt, Nagorny Karabakhs Right to State Independence According to International Law, Boston, 1993) To use international law in a discussion in the case for NK, specific proof has to be shown. There is also the argument that juridical legitimacy of borders and territorial integrity works against the self-determination principle, however this cannot be taken into account in the case of Azerbaijan SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic). Firstly, it must be stated that NK was an autonomous oblast (an administrative unit) within the Azerbaijan SSR, and that Azerbaijan SSR was not defined by state borders, it was defined by administrative borders, therefore the Helsinki Agreement Final Act in 1975 concerning territorial integrity cannot be applied. As Francois Mitterrand said: Why should the interior administrative borders of a state be automatically recognised as international ones? (Zargarian,1999). Secondly, on the 31st August 19941 the Azerbaijan SSR confirmed the restoration of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan that had been created from 1918 to 1920. This declaration leaves to question the legality of the present Azerbaijans borders, including the territories of NK, territories surrounding NK and Nakhijevan, as none of these were part of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan. In addition, it is well documented that in December 1920, Azerbaijan SSR accepted the territories of NK and Nakhijevan as belonging to Armenia. These declarations were later altered by Stalin, which at the times was Commissar of Nationalities. To further analyse, the value of state sovereignty of Azerbaijan should be graded as lower than the importance of sovereignty of a state in a normal situation, with reference to the system of states in the League of Nations, therefore it is lower than the NK peoples right to self determination. (Raschhofer, 1960) This notion gives support to the national right to self-determination of NKs people in right to secession over Azerbaijans state sovereignty. (Luchterhandt, 1993). To conclude, as the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was founded after a referendum on state independence on 10th December 1991, resulting in a 98% acceptance, and in agreement with international and Soviet law, it should ultimately be acknowledged as genuine under international law. Moreover, precedent of Eritrea can be used, which showed that self proclamation leads to be under the power of international law. NK relationship with other countries, international organisations, and treaties such as the Geneva Convention, all give power for self-determination. HISTORY The name Nagorno-Karabakh has a mixture of 3 languages; Nagorno is in Russian meaning mountainous, and Karabakh is in Turkic and Farsi meaning Black Garden. However, the Armenians call it Artsakh, as it was one of the provinces of Greater Armenia, and it is mentioned as early as second century BC: the ancient provinces of Artsakh and Utik, situated between Lake Sevan, river Kara and river Araxes. (Strabo, 1st century BC.) During the centuries, NK has been mainly populated by ethnic Armenians, however there were periods in which during conquests other ethnic groups would settle, such as Caucasian Tatars, Caucasian Albanians (no connection to Albanians in Balkans), Persians and Turkic tribes. The recent conflict with Azerbaijan has unleashed a historical fact finding war, where the Azeris lay historical claims to these lands, and the Armenians refute them. The people living in NK point out to the obvious evidence, such as hundreds of ruins, ancient monuments, religious building, churches and monasteries. (Tchilingirian,1999). As one farmer said in regard to this: This monastery (Monastery of Gandzasar) kept us Armenian, the writings on these walls made us know who we are. There is a khachkar (cross-stone), the size of a car, on top of this mountain; our ancestors placed it there to indicate that this is Armenian land (Martakert, 1995). To review the history of Artsakh a new dissertation can be written, therefore to keep in line with this dissertation, a review of more recent history is made. After 1918, when the Georgians, Armenians and Azeris took advantage of the chaos of the Russian Revolution to establish independent states, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, however by 1921 all three republic were under the rule of the Red Army. (Swietochowski, 1985) Originally, the Bolsheviks determined NKs problem: The Chairman of the Azerbaijani Revolutionary Committee (Azrevkom), Narimanov declared: The government of Workers and Peasants of Azerbaijan, having heard the news of the proclamation in Armenia in the name of the insurgent peasantry of the Soviet Socialist Republic, salutes the victory of the fraternal Armenian people. From this day forward, the former borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan are suspended. Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur, and Nakhichevan are recognized as integral parts of the Socialist Republic of Armenia. Long live the fraternity and union of workers and peasants of Soviet Armenia and Azerbaijan. (L. Chorbajian, P. Donabedian, C. Mutafian, 1994) The decision by Narimanov was acclaimed by the ethnic Armenians which thought that it was a fair decision. Moreover, Narimanov declared: no territorial conflict will cause bloodshed between these two age-old neighbourly peoples. ( Chorbajian, Donabedian, Mutafian, 1994). Yerevans central authority henceforth declared: Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia (Libaridian, 2004) This announcement was never realised, even if it was at the beginning supported by Stalin. Stalins view was that Karabagh should be given to Azerbaijan, in an effort to increase friendly relations with Turkey, which by then had aspirations to be a communist state. (Lane, 1992) It must be understood that Turks and Azeris are ethnically the same people. Even though the decision over NK was reached on July 4th 1921 in the Kavburo (Caucasian Bureau of the Communist Party): Based on the declaration of (Azrevkom)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is hereby declared that Mountainous Karabagh is henceforth an integral part of the Socialist Soviet Republic of Armenia (Libaridian, 2004) The Kars and Moscow treaties were signed in October, giving Azerbaijan the control of NK. Thus, NKs Armenian populations (90% of NK) desire to unite with Armenia was ignored, creating ethnic tensions that would eventually end in full scale war. The Armenians tried to relocate NK to Armenia SSR in 1929, 1935, 1963, 1966, 1977 and 1987. The main reasons were the anti-Armenian discrimination, demographic shifts and economic underdevelopment. (Ulubabian, 1994) The Armenian population had declined by 25% from 1920 to 1979, due to hardships created by these discriminatory attitudes. The modern conflict started on February 1988, when due to the glasnost policy created by Gorbachev and its subsequent openness, the NK authorities asked to transfer the NK Autonomous Oblast to Armenia SSR. The reaction in Azerbaijan SSR was negative, as in 13th June it rejected this demand, on the other hand Armenia SSR on 15th June gave acceptance to this request. Due to the argument between Azerbaijan SSR and Armenia SSR, Moscow had to decide, and since Articles 73 and 78 of the 1977 USSR Constitution states that borders may only be changed if both republics agree on the change, NK stayed under Azerbaijans SSR authority, until the Soviet Union broke down in 1991. The conflict itself started with violence and ethnic-cleansing, with guerrilla warfare. Pogroms against Armenians started in Sumgait (near Baku) in February 1988 and in January 1990 in Baku. The Armenians of Baku (approximately 220,000) and from other parts of Azerbaijan were forced to flee, except in areas of NK. In return, Azeris in Armenia (160,000) were forced to leave, however no pogroms and mass violence was recorded, unlike in Baku. It was not until Yeltsin came to power that Russia sided with the Armenians, as before the USSR broke down the USSR Army was helping the Azeris. The Russians helped the Armenians with weapons, fuel and logistical support. The reason the Russians sided with the Armenians was because it was against Azerbaijans pro-Turkey and pro-Western positions. (Betts, 1999). Russias view was that Armenia was its only ally in the South Caucasus, and due to its geopolitical situation in regard to Turkey in Iran, help should be given. Full scale war broke out between 1991 and 1994 among the Azeri Army and the irregular Armenian guerrilla fighters. At the beginnings of 1992 the Azeris were in control of nearly half of NK, forcing out Armenian civilians as they advanced. Spring 1992 was when the advantage turned towards the Armenians, as their offensive pushed the Azeris to retreat. Once the city of Shushi was captured in May 8 1992, the Armenians had control of NK and the surrounding territories. It must be noted that the Armenian side was mostly fought by guerrilla fighters, which did not respond to any central authority in NK or Armenia. Most of the fighters or Fedayeen (Freedom Fighters), as the Armenians call them, were ordinary people without training or military weapons. The Armenians were helped by the Diaspora, which sent money, weapons and volunteers to help. The Azeri side brought mercenaries from Chechnya and mujahedeen from Pakistan and Afghanistan (approximately 3,000 fighters). (Taarnby, Michael. 2008 ) In May 1994 a cease fire was signed with Russia as intermediary in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The ceasefire was signed by the Azerbaijani authorities and General Babayan from the NK Armed forces. The result of the war was that the Armenians ended up controlling 20% of Azerbaijans territory. An estimated 4,500 people died and 25,00 wounded from the Armenian side, and an estimated 30,000 died and 60,000 wounded on the Azeri side. (De Waal, 2003). CEASE FIRE AND PEACE TALKS Before the ceasefire agreement mediated by Russia, several attempts were made to find a solution. The first attempt was by Boris Yeltsin and Nursultan Nazarbayev on September 1991, it gave no fruit. Next mediation was by Iran on February 1992. Since Irans historical relationship with both the Armenians and the Azeris was close, it attempted to increase its dominance in the region, especially to push Turkey aside. The Tehran conference did not reach to any agreement. After this, CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) started to arbitrate, it also pressed Iran out of the negotiations, as the latter was not a member of CSCE, On August 1992, Nazarbayev tried again, but the mediation led to nowhere. CSCE tried on several occasions from 1992 until December 1994 to reach an agreement for both sides, but its inexperience and Russias parallel involvement made it fail. From May 1994, when the ceasefire was signed, several propositions were laid on the negotiation table, but NK was only to agree to a complete package, while Azerbaijan pushed for a step by step approach. (Mo oradian, 1999) To date, there has been no concrete agreement between the two parts. The main mediator is the Minsk Group, created in 1993 by the CSCE (now OSCE), even though the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have met on various occasions, NKs government is still left out of any negotiations. CAN KOSOVO BE USED AS AN EXAMPLE? After the recognition of Kosovos independence, many other de facto states looked closely to see if it would set an example. Even though the states that have recognised Kosovo state that Kosovo cannot be used as a precedent, others may argue that it can and has. The main reason the international community uses to implicate the uniqueness of Kosovo is that it has been under UN and international control, while other de facto states like NK, Abkhazia and South Ossetia have not. To analyse the relevance of Kosovo, a comparison is made. The similarities with NK are various: both consist of a minority that sees itself discriminated, both conflicts started in an era of transition brought by the disintegration of the Soviet Union, both held referendums and used the peoples right to self determination idea. The differences must also be noted: NK can argue that before the transition era, it already was an Autonomous Oblast. NK has existed for longer, with relative better stability, and has made more progress on state-building, even though it received less international attention and financial support. (Murinson, 2004) Other differences are that NK is not accepted as a negotiating part in the peace process, Armenia acts as its representative. It can be argued that the Kosovo can be used as an example of a state gaining independence, however, the international community argues that it is a unique case, however this does not limit the political ramifications it has brought. Kosovos independence has given hope to other de facto states, who argue that in all, they should have a better chance in gaining independence than Kosovo. As the former President of NK stated: If the world community is ready to recognize the independence of Kosovo, I think it will be very hard for them to explain why they do not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh (Yakubyan, 2006) And as the Speaker of NK Parliament said: A serious basis for the international recognition of our sovereignty, we have held free elections for 16 years, law-enforcement bodies are formed, powers are divided, [the] army is under civil control (Karabakh Has Serious Grounds for International Recognition of Sovereignty «, in: Karabakh Open, 20 February 2008) To explain why Kosovo deserves international recognition and other de facto states in very similar positions do not is very hard, even by the same international community that accepted Kosovos independence. The reasons can vary from the official statement that Kosovo has been under international control, while other have not, but it is also correct to assume that other factors such as mutual interests among regional powers. Russias involvement in the NK peace process has many times thrown the Minsk Groups propositions away, as Russia can benefit from the no peace no war situation over NK: it sells arms and heavy weaponry to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, arming both sides. WHY HAS ARMENIA NOT RECOGNISED NKS INDEPENDENCE? This question is very interesting in the sense that it would be logical that Armenia should be the first country in recognising the independence of NK, however there is one main reason of why it has not. The official Armenian response to these questions is that since Armenia has started: An international legal process of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict, and this is why Armenia has still not recognized the enclaves independence It  is for  the  same reason that Armenia has not recognized the independence of Kosovo, Oleg   Yesayan,   Armenian   ambassador   to   Belarus. (Alima Bissenova. (2008). Armenia links issue of Abkhazia, S. Ossetia to N.-Karabakh. Available: http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=taxonomy/term/4page=6. Last accessed 20th January 2011.) However, due to the recent statements by Azerbaijan of taking NK back by force has made the Armenian side declare that it would recognise NK if war started: Armenia is categorically against a military resolution of the problem. In the event Azerbaijan unleashes a new military venture, Armenia will have no other choice but to recognize de jure the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh and provide for the safety of its population through all means, President of Armenia, Serge Sarkisian Astana, Kazakhstan, December 2010. EuroAsia. (2010). Armenia Says Will Recognize Karabakh In Case Of War. Available: http://www.eurasianet.org/node/62556. Last accessed 20th January 2011 One could argue that Armenia should recognise NK, in the same manner as Russia has recognised Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The recognition of NK would give Armenia legal right to aid NK in case war started with Azerbaijan. Moreover, some argue that if Armenia does not recognise NK in the foreseeable future, the status and issue of NK could be forgotten to history, as it would lose its momentum in the pursuit for recognition. RECOMENDATIONS From the overall analysis of the NK conflict and other similar conflicts around the world, some basic and concrete to the NK case recommendations can be made: OSCE and other international peace organisations should look to include NK in the negotiation process as an independent actor, like they did with the ceasefire agreement. International organisations should pave the way to stipulate better assurances for non resumption of armed conflict. The line of fire should be closely observed for ceasefire violations. Programs should be developed in order to teach both societies about tolerance, reconciliation and mutual respect. International organisations should look to integrate the public in debates and discussions, and rely less on top-down approaches. (Faber, 2005) International organisations should push for a peacekeeping force to be deployed on the contact line, it should also try to organise a new referendum under the eyes of international observers, henceforth push for a lawful democratisation and a peace settlement. (Freizer, 2006) Governments in Armenia, NK, and Azerbaijan should start to include conflict resolution and prevention, peace building and peacekeeping, human rights programmes at schools and universities, in order to increase public awareness. NGOs should create projects along with the civil society to educate the population about the conflict and conciliation for peace. Finally, an international recognition of NK would ensure a peaceful settlement of the conflict, and would make NK answerable to international law. Moreover, NK would have access to loans from the IMF or the WB, thus being able to develop better as a state. Open borders with Azerbaijan would bolster trade, and maybe bring trust between the people. CONCLUSION The conflict of NK is very complicated to be able to analyse without going into much detail. There are many arguments for and against certain strategies, using international law, international recognition, state sovereignty, refugees, and many others, but one thing is being ignored; the fact that NK has been acting like any other recognised democratic state for over 15 years. NKs human rights violations, degree of democracy and transparency and corruption are all better than Armenia or Azerbaijan, (Freedom House, 2011) yet still there is little advance among the international community in recognising NK. Some may add that the West uses double standards: Weve got used to the double standards of the West. I believe that the people of South Ossetia have much more reason for gaining independence than the Kosovan Albanians. (Yuri Morozov, Prime Minister of South Ossetia). In my opinion, the West does not fully use double standards, but approaches the question very surgically, since it und erstands the uniqueness of every conflict, and that it could be disastrous to use one peace settlement in another area, as every conflict has its own inimitable dynamics. I think that NK pace to independence is correct, as sooner or later it will have to be recognised, it should continue developing its government in order to set an example. In the near future two outcomes are possible, either an international recognition of NK or war will break out, it is inevitable, as both sides continue arming themselves, therefore it in my opinion it is in the best interest that of the international community to prevent such hostilities by recognizing NK. As Chekov said: If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise dont put it there. (A. P. Chekhov, in Teatr i iskusstvo 1904, No. 28, 11 July, p. 521)