Research paper on Workplace diversity Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paper on Workplace diversity - Research Proposal Example On the other hand it can become a constraint or limitation if a firm disregards the existence of workplace diversity. This essay analyzes the topic of workplace diversity by discussing the author’s personal experiences and by analyzing concepts and theories on the topic. In the United States of America there are laws that protect employees from being discriminated against based on race, sexual orientation, religion preference, or ethnic background. The most important law that prohibits discrimination in the workplace is the Civil Rights Act of 1964. A lot of discrimination cases occur due to stereotypes. A stereotype is an assumption made about a person based on group categorizing. In a recent judicial proceedings judge Miller ruled that an employer can’t discriminate based on sex stereotypes, but it can rely on dress code that enacts stereotypes (Weiss). Resistance to change is one of reasons that it is sometimes difficult for organizations to properly manage workplace diversity. I’ve personally seen how workplace diversity can help companies get the most out of its human resource. A few years ago I worked in a medium size company whose corporate culture took advantage of workplace diversity. There were a few hundred employees in the company which included more than 50 international employees. The human resource department recruited through the internet professionals from all over the world. The company offered very good relocation incentive packages and paid these foreign employees 10-25% more than what the industry paid employees of similar educational and work experiences. One of the reasons the company hired so many international workers was for the insight these people could provide which in turn was utilize to determine the best locations for corporate expansion. The company utilized multiple communication factors in their dealings with international employees. The interpersonal relationships among the entire staff were a motivating factor

Roles and Responsibilities in Lifelong Learning Essay Example for Free

Roles and Responsibilities in Lifelong Learning Essay Unit 001 Roles. responsibilities and relationships in lifelong learning As Education Officer for the Heritage Service (HS) my Job is to provide inspiring, enjoyable and informative learning that promotes lifelong learning and encourages regular return visits to the councils museums (HS Education Policy), In order to do this in line council and national/international legislation, regulatory requirements and codes of practice. These include the: Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 This act provides for the health and safety of people who may be affected by the ctivities of work including learners and visitors to educational sites. The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 All our activities are risk assessed regularly In line with this act _ Data Protection Act (1998) All data taken when booking activities, evaluating activities, taking photos Is kept as stated In the act_ Everyone who Is responsible for using data has to follow strict rules called data protecuon prlnclples_ They must make sure the Information Is: used fairly and lawfully used for limited, specifically stated purposes used In a way that s adequate, relevant and not excessive ept for no longer than Is absolutely necessary handled according to peoples data protection rights kept sate and secure accurate not transferred outside the uK without adequate protection This Is also reiterated in the councils Data Protection Policy. We also ensure that we adhere to The Protection ot Children Act (1999) and the Councils Sateguarding Adults Policy The Equality Act (2010) The Councils Equality Policy Statement says that The council is committed to achieving equality ot opportunity in our employment practices and provision of services. The policy is xplicitly linked to the requirements of the council as an employer and provider of services in adhering to the Equality Act 2010. When devising activities also follow the councils equality statement in line with Equality Act As Ann Gravells (2012) says

Constantine the Great

Constantine the Great Constantine the Great was one of the strongest and most important rulers in the Byzantine and Roman Empire. He made big changes and accomplishments that made the empire greater, and more powerful such as maintaining the full size of the Roman Empire, successfully defeating his enemies and competitors, and staying in charge. Constantine made huge improvements such as outlawing Pagan sacrifice, confiscating temple treasuries, and curbing Christian heresies. -(Phillip Sherrard, 1986, Pg. 10-14) Constantine was born on twenty seventh of February ca. 272 in Naissus (Serbia). Constantine was the son of Constantius and his first wife Helen, born with the Latin Roman name Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinu. Constantines mother promoted Christianity, made a pilgrimage to the holy land where she collected relics, identified sacred places and built churches. His father ruled as a Roman Emperor from 293 to 306 and was the founder of the Constantinian Dynasty. Constantine, feeling neglected after when his father divorced his mother, distinguished himself as a soldier and won the affection of the army. He excelled in military exercises, was modest, and well informed. Constantine later joined his father, who ruled in the west. Before Constantinus died he proclaimed his son his successor (306). Constantine the Great married Minervina who either died or divorced before 307 and Fausta who was Maximians daughter. He had six children, one of them from Minervana but the rest from Fausta n amed Crispus, Constantina, Helena, Constantine II, Constantius II, and Constans. Constantine the Great had many excellent qualities. He was brave, active, untiring, and ruled with firmness and fairness. As Constantine got older, he adopted the luxury and pomp which was introduced from the East. He wore false hair of different colors perfectly arranged, a diadem of costly gems, and a robe of silk that contained flowers made out of gold and more precious stones. He reigned thirty years, the longest period since Augustus. Since he was converted into Christianity later in his life, he was not baptized until a little time before his death. He died on May twenty second, A.D. 337 on the way to campaign against the Persians. Constantine was buried in Constantinople. -(James Carroll, 2001, Pg. 346-372) Constantines most important achievement and greatest project was his new Rome (Constantinople, present day Istanbul). Constantine moved the capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium. He enlarged and enriched the city at enormous expense. Massive walls and stately buildings were built, and a large chain was placed in the water to protect their new capital. Constantine the Great provided the city with a forum, a hippodrome, a circus of great size, baths, and pleasure-grounds, to make it somewhat similar to Rome. Schools and theatres, aqueducts, fourteen churches, fourteen palaces, and a great number of magnificent private houses were added later on. Constantine issued special commemorative coins in 330 to honor his new city that he created. After creating this city, he began to form a new constitution for his empire. He established complete despotism, all the power being in his hands. ÂÂ  He outstandingly improved this beautiful city, and made it equal to Rome in power and influence. Not only did Constantine make his capital, Constantinople beautiful with art and architecture but he also filled Trier with imperial buildings and Rome with baths, and the great arch of Constantine near the Colosseum. -(Phillip Sherrard, 1986, Pg. 34-41) Constantines second biggest and most important achievement was being the first Christian Roman Emperor. After winning many battles, it was said that during the campaign against Maxentius, Constantine saw the miraculous cross in the heavens. Short after becoming a Christian he made Christianity the established religion of the state. Constantine began the process of making Christianity the religious foundation of Europe.ÂÂ  -(James Carroll, 2001, Pg. 58-67) Thirdly, Constantine not only earned his honorific the great title from Christian historians but also because of his military achievements and victories. Besides getting the empire together under one emperor, Constantine also won major victories over the Franks and Alamanni in 306-8 and Franks again in 313-14. Constantine the Great always believed in changing plans last minute and he would rearrange things at the battle field. Constantine had a magnificent and trained army and was trained well with strategies since he was an officer in the Roman army in 272. His army stayed loyal to him at all times during a battle or when there were problems with ruling. -(J. Lowden, 1998, Pg. 12-19) In conclusion Constantine the Great had a huge impact on both the Roman and the Byzantine Empire and was a great leader during his rule. He left behind many great architecture and art. In my opinion he was probably the most important historical figure in my civilization because he brought Christianity to Byzantines and Christianity was a big part of this empire since the art and architecture was based upon it. He never gave up or showed any types of weakness during battle or other times. He was a strong leader with a strong mind who greatly changed my civilization and many around it in good ways.t Reference Page Carroll, J. (2001).Constantines sword: the church and the Jews: a history. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Constantine. (n.d.).ÂÂ  Roman Colosseum. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://www.roman-colosseum.info/roman-emperors/constantine.htm Norwich, J. J. (19891996).ByzantiumÂÂ  . New York: Knopf :. Lowden, J. (19971998).ÂÂ  Early Christian Byzantine artÂÂ  . London: Phaidon. Internet Ancient History Sourcebook: Main Page. (n.d.).FORDHAM.EDU. Retrieved March 14, 2011, from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/

Essay --

‘Uribe opositor’ La imagen â€Å"Uribe opositor† se compone de varias metà ¡foras como lo son â€Å"Uribe profeta†, â€Å"Uribe pez de leà ³n†, â€Å"Uribe lengua venenosa†, todas ellas apuntan a ratificar la oposicià ³n de Uribe al gobierno de Santos, a deslegitimizar su periodo presidencial y a daà ±ar la imagen del presidente actual. Por eso, durante las marchas del â€Å"paro agrario† salieron a relucir caricaturas donde Uribe es representado como un â€Å"campesino† que apoya las manifestaciones, por ejemplo. Ahora bien, dichas metà ¡foras que legitiman la oposicià ³n de Uribe al gobierno de Santos, tienen como base la estrategia de representar a Uribe (y a Santos) de manera ‘zoomà ³rfica’. Este, se constituye como un recurso que agrega rasgos propios de los animales a la representacià ³n visual (la imagen) del actor representado. Figura 1. ‘Ataque del pez leà ³n’, 19 de septiembre. En ese sentido, en la figura 1, se puede apreciar cà ³mo se construye la metà ¡fora â€Å"Uribe pez leà ³n† a travà ©s de la transicià ³n del dominio origen (pez leà ³n) al dominio destino â€Å"Uribe opositor†, sin duda es un opositor de cuidado, puesto que los rasgos que se toman del domino origen son los de â€Å"depredador†, y con à ©l otros como â€Å"amenaza†, â€Å"plaga†, â€Å"de mordida venenosa†, entre otros. En contraste, a Santos se le representa como un pez â€Å"normal†, un tanto confiado, cuya ruta o meta propuesta son las elecciones del prà ³ximo aà ±o (2014). De hecho, parece ser una competencia para ver quià ©n saca partido en las prà ³ximas elecciones. El trasfondo polà ­tico de esta caricatura versa en las constantes apariciones del ex presidente en los medios masivos de comunicacià ³n, en los cuales tiende a criticar el gobierno de Santos, adjudicà ¡ndole todas las irregularidades y las acciones que afectan a... ...dominio origen de la adiccià ³n a las drogas al domino de llegada de una â€Å"adiccià ³n al poder†, entendido este à ºltimo aspecto como una â€Å"obsesià ³n†, â€Å"una necesidad de† ocupar un cargo pà ºblico dentro del Congreso de la Repà ºblica. Figura 4. ‘Recaà ­da de un adicto†¦ al poder’, 24 de septiembre De tal forma que la imagen de Uribe se configura como un ser obsesionado, aspecto que llega a tratarse como un trastorno, por querer aspirar cargos polà ­ticos en el paà ­s. Es un personaje vigente â€Å"que utiliza su jeringa para darse una dosis de CONGRESO†. En à ºltimas, ratifica que està ¡ dispuesto a hacer lo que sea necesario (â€Å"el fin justifica los medios†) para ocupar dicho cargo. Cabe resaltar el fondo de la imagen, una pared sin repellar, y la iluminacià ³n que engloba al ex presidente, aspectos que dan la nocià ³n de â€Å"juzgamiento†, de â€Å"encarcelamiento†, y en à ºltimas, de â€Å"corrupcià ³n†.

Love in 4 pre 1940 poems Essay

What differences have you found in the presentation of attitudes to love in any 4 of the pre 1940 poems I am going to write about 4 different poems and about there differences and similarities The 4 poems i have chosen to write about are: To Celia – by Ben Jonson To His Coy Mistress – Andrew Marvell My Picture – By Abraham Cowley Shall I Compare thee†¦? – By William Shakespeare The predominant attitude to love before nineteen-fourteen was to base affection purely on surface qualities and not the internal qualities. Some of the poems support and others contradict this view. I am going to explore the different attitudes to love in poems written before nineteen-fourteen by Shakespeare, Jonson, Cowley and Marvell. The main purpose of Shakespeare’s sonnet, â€Å"Shall I compare thee†¦? † is to immortalise his beloved through his own poetry. The sonnet is initially seen as typical of the love poetry of Elizabethan England because he is comparing his beloved to nature’s beauty However, Shakespeare takes the Elizabethan love poem a step further by explaining that his beloved is, in fact, not to be viewed at all like this: â€Å"And every fair from fair sometime declines†. The sonnet is split into three quatrains with a rhyming couplet to end the poem. Shakespeare uses examples of natural beauty to explain that his beloved is not as beautiful as these exquisite natural beauties, but will last longer and will stay even more beautiful inside: â€Å"But thy eternal summer shall not fade† He reveals that she is, in fact, is even more beautiful than the summer as her beauty will never fade. Shakespeare appears to be very mature in his views on love and talks realistically rather than in a passionate moment. Shakespeare used a conventional form of poetry to praise poetry and his beloved. He boasted that both would be preserved nearly eternally. Five hundred years later, no one refutes his boast. On the other hand, â€Å"To Celia† is an example of the idolatry that the Shakespeare sonnet mocks. Jonson likens his beloved to a goddess, giving her special powers beyond realistic measure. He writes lyrically and expresses deep personal emotions about love as someone who was foolishly and passionately in love would do, using many exaggerated metaphors and vivid language phrases: â€Å"But might I of Jove’s nectar sup, I would not change for thine. † He attempts to show the extent of his love for her, by telling her, that even if he was offered to drink from the Holy Grail, he would prefer to drink from her cup. Using religion to express love was very popular in love poetry at that time, as it was viewed as extremely important part of their culture. In â€Å"To His Coy Mistress†, Marvell’s beloved is also not idolised, as in â€Å"To Celia† but he does use excessive flattery as a persuasive device. This makes many of the supposedly devoted phrases he uses seem false. â€Å"An hundred years should go to praise Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze† He exaggerates how beautiful he thinks she is by likening her to a Goddess who should be worshipped, hoping that this will convince her of his love. The Shakespeare sonnet makes references to the five senses. Jonson’s â€Å"To Celia†, written at a similar time, also refers to the senses: â€Å"Drink to me, only, with thine eyes† Marvell writes â€Å"To His Coy Mistress† in 1621, also attempting to persuade, like Jonson. This time not to get his beloved to love him, but to persuade her to sleep with him. Both men are seen to be being rejected whereas in the Shakespeare sonnets, it is obvious that the couples are very much in love already. The poem â€Å"My picture† by Abraham Cowley is similar to â€Å"To Celia†, as both women are the two men’s life forces. They imply in their poems that if the women were not there, then their lives would be worthless and they would die. In â€Å"My picture† Cowley gives his beloved a picture and he implies that if she is not in his life then the picture will no longer look the same. This is even though the picture has only recently been drawn, because he will have withered away as he has been out of her presence. As you can see both in â€Å"My Picture† and â€Å"To Celia† both men rely on the two women to keep them alive. If we look at the poem â€Å"My Picture† by Cowley the words he has used looked quite forced as if he has just used them to make the poem rhyme. I think however that Cowley has tried to make the poem quite light hearted by using simplicity with the rhyming- â€Å"The next sun’s rising will behold Me pale, and lean, and old. † – We can see from this small extract the simplicity of the poem and also the way Cowley has just used words that fit but therefore look forced. However if we look again at the language of â€Å"To Celia†, Ben Jonson has used quite complicated language that some might find hard to understand – â€Å"Deserts of vast eternity† Doth ask a drink divine; But might I of Jove’s nectar sup, I would not change for thine The poem â€Å"To Celia† has a rhyming scheme ABCB. Ben Jonson has made the words of the poem flow really well – â€Å"Drink to me only with thine eyes, And I’ll not look for wine Or leave a kiss but in the cup And I’ll not look for wine† As you can see by reading this the words Ben Jonson has used do not seem as if he has just used them because they rhyme, he has simply used them because these chosen words are telling his story. If we look at the poem â€Å"Shall I compare thee†¦ † by Shakespeare the language he has used is simple and easy to read. The poem is also understandable unlike parts of â€Å"To Celia† by Ben Jonson. In conclusion we can see that all four poems however being similar in some way also have there on qualities and downsides. In Shakespeare’s sonnet he tries to say that beauty on the inside will last forever however beauty on the outside will be destroyed one day. On the other hand Marvell writes his poem to persuade his beloved, not to adore her. Jonson writes to try and tell his beloved how much he loves her as he is desperate to be with her.

5 Compound-Word Corrections

5 Compound-Word Corrections 5 Compound-Word Corrections 5 Compound-Word Corrections By Mark Nichol Writers sometimes confuse a two-word phrase for a closed compound noun consisting of those two words, or vice versa. Here are five cases in which a noun phrase or a verb phrase was mistaken for a compound word or the other way around. 1. â€Å"Eating McDonald’s food everyday for four weeks turned this filmmaker into a bloated, depressed wreck.† Everyday is an adjective (â€Å"It’s not an everyday occurrence†). â€Å"Every day† is a phrase consisting of an adjective and a noun (â€Å"That’s not something you see every day†). In this sentence, the usage is adjective-plus-noun: â€Å"Eating McDonald’s food every day for four weeks turned this filmmaker into a bloated, depressed wreck.† 2. â€Å"Seen as both godsend and a major let down, it remains the city’s artistic center.† â€Å"Let down,† consisting of a verb and an adverb, is employed in such sentences as â€Å"He was let down.† As a closed compound, it’s a noun: â€Å"That’s a real letdown.† In this sentence, it should be in noun form: â€Å"Seen as both godsend and a major letdown, it remains the city’s artistic center.† 3. â€Å"Resistance from the state legislature could doom the governor-elect’s promise to rollback the hike.† A rollback is a thing (â€Å"The rollback proposal failed in committee†); to roll back is to perform an action (â€Å"The state will roll back the price hike†). This sentence refers to an action, not a thing, so the compound must be changed to a verb phrase: â€Å"Resistance from the state legislature could doom the governor-elect’s promise to roll back the hike.† 4. â€Å"California gave a record $100 million loan to bailout schools.† As in the previous example, what is in context an action is styled as a noun. The sentence should read, â€Å"California gave a record $100 million loan to bail out schools.† Better yet, close the sentence with the preposition: â€Å"California gave a record $100 million loan to bail schools out.† 5. â€Å"International organizations continue their pull out as rebels attack a train.† If the sentence read that the organizations continued to pull out, the two-word verb phrase would be correct. But pulling out is an action, so it’s a pullout: â€Å"International organizations continue their pullout as rebels attack a train.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Exquisite AdjectivesCapitalization Rules for Names of Historical Periods and MovementsAdvance vs. Advanced

Joan Miro essays

Joan Miro essays The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mir s art; Miros techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mir to express his feelings and depict the Catalan peoples struggle through art. II. Lack of interest in political matters C.) 1914 Mirs earliest painting The Catalan struggle and Spanish Civil War greatly influenced Joan Mirs art; Mirs techniques of forceful strokes with paint and ceramics enable Mir to express his feelings and depict the Catalan peoples struggle through art. Surrealism in the 1920s was defined as a fantastic arrangement of materials that influenced Mir, due to the fact that he was one of the most original and sympathetic artists during the Surrealism periods. Mir was born into the Catalan culture in April 20,1893 in Barcelona, Spain (Munro 288). Having to be born into the Catalan culture gave Mir an opportunity to have an intense nationalist activity. In which much attention was paid not only to political expressions of the need for autonomy, but also to the re-Catalanizing of every day life (Higdon 1). It was necessary to fight so that Catalan, our language might be recognized as a cultural language (Mir). In 1910 Mirs parents bought a masia which is a sort of traditional farmstead of Catalo ...

Literature essays

Literature essays Literature has been divided into many periods or eras according to what they emphasize. In the Romantic Period, the Romantic writers stressed the ideas of exploring exotic settings, whether past or present, and contemplating the natural world. Romantics do not trust "civilization," they think the cities are a place of corruption and believe in the dominance of the physical world. Transcendentalism, popular from the mid 1830s to the mid 1840s, was based on the German philosopher Immanuel Kents ideas. They declare that individuals need to gain knowledge of God through reason and not organized religion. They believe the physical world is only a reflection of the spiritual world. In contrast to the Romanticists' beliefs of the physical world being dominant, the Transcendentalists believe the spiritual world dominates. Transcendentalists strive towards being a perfect, complete person. Ralph Waldo Emerson, probably one of the most influential writers during the Romantic Period, expands greatly on the ideas of Transcendentalism and is a strong believer in the concept of self-reliance. The self-reliant man does not conform to the policies of society that he does not believe in, but takes his own initiative to support his beliefs. He will sacrifice anything he has to in order to sustain his values. Emerson was such a strong believer in nonconformity and self-reliance that he wrote an essay entitled Self-Reliance in which he elaborates on his ideas of how a man should act in a society. Many other writers during this time are influenced by Emerson. One of those writers is Richard Wright, who wrote an autobiography entitled Black Boy. He tells how he grows up and how he could rely on himself to get through his struggles. Richard Wright is a primary example and is the embodiment of Emersons self-reliant man. For the most part Wright has to grow up on his own, learning valuable lessons...

How does culture affect politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How does culture affect politics - Essay Example The shared beliefs and norms usually define people’s expectations and how they should deal with issues once they arise. It affects the way people think and the processes of communication. Culture shapes a person and how he or she views the world. People’s identities are defined by their belief system, and people are satisfied that they belong to a certain community. On the other hand, politics is defined as shared symbol system. It links members of a group to a certain leadership system. Thus, the essay critically discusses how culture affects politics. Ideally, every country has a political culture which is defined by the shared values, norms and belief systems. The shared beliefs define the relationship between government and the citizens. People are brought together in a nation by heritage and language which defines how people should relate with one another. In a nation, people are held together by ideologies, patriotism and religion. Countries have different type of ideologies such as communism and capitalism. A nation will choose the type of ideology to adapt depending on the beliefs, norms, and values a country uphold (Skocpol 23). Consequently, culture has a powerful influence on people’s behaviors and thoughts. In the world today, interaction between different nations has resulted to change in people’s culture. People from different parts of the world share their views on different issues hence affecting their belief system. As a result, the political systems have been altered as a result of the change in different cultures. Through the shared ideas and principles, the political systems in most parts of the world have changed (Robert 166). Subsequently, a political system refers to the learned beliefs about a political system and how they operate wsith certain political boundaries. Political culture affects the way people see their political world and the value they give to it.

Condition of women in the period between the American Revolution and Essay

Condition of women in the period between the American Revolution and the Civil War - Essay Example The first quote I chose is one that was given to Lucy by her soon to be husband, Henry Blackwell. She had voiced concerns over the marriage to which he responded, "I wish, as a husband, to renounce all the privileges which the law confers upon me, which are not strictly mutual. Surely such a marriage will not degrade you, dearest" (Lewis, 1999). This quote deals with the marriage laws that were in place during the mid 1800's when Lucy and Henry were married. The laws took all the rights, property and identity away from the woman and gave them to the man. They released a statement mutually protesting the laws that essentially robbed woman of their selfhood by stating, "The legal existence of the wife is suspended during marriage" (Lewis, 1999). They would not agree to any law that did not afford mutual benefits and power. Looking at the marriage laws of their time it is easy to see how things have changed. In virtually every civil and religious marriage ceremony performed today, unless the couple have written their own vows, the vows exchanged are identical. That was not the case at the time that Lucy Stone was married. Had she agreed to said laws, she would have lost any rights she had as an individual, and would essentially be the property of her husband.

Gay marriage (equal rights for everyone) Research Paper

Gay marriage (equal rights for everyone) - Research Paper Example The third point to be considered is the negative attitude toward legalization of gay marriage, because very often these relationships are considered only with regards to sexual and intimate relations among gay couples. The fourth point to be taken into account is positive attitudes to gay marriage, because gays as a rule are devoted partners and contribute much not only to their families, but also to the community and the society. The fifth point, which should be taken into account, is that homosexuality is not a kind of deviance and these people have the same rights as all of the rest of the members of the society. Analysis and Evaluation Jullian Rayfield in her online review "New York State Senate Passes Marriage Equality Bill" (24 June, 2011) is focused on gay marriage legalization in New York. The author generalizes her main concerns and introduces the supportive arguments for the introduction of gay marriage. A centennial struggle happened in the society, where gays wanted to pr otect their rights and have an opportunity to live together with their sexual partners. Nowadays this struggle has borne some fruits and led to the legalization of gay marriage in the New York State Senate. The author of the article provides her main argument referring to the answers of Republicans and other representatives of political parties, providing supporting and counterarguments to the discussion of gay rights marriage. Social participation of gays and their restriction from heterosexual individual rights is the most controversial claim. Nowadays we have a perfect opportunity to raise our voices in order to protect gay community. Moreover, the author of the article provides positive answers of the members of the Senate, who are much concerned an opportunity of all people to behave equally and have a chance to provide gay couples with a right to get married. The processes of globalization underline the necessity of limits blurring and there is no need to save worn out stereot ypes and social norms. Republicans underline that inability to pass this law would mean to hide the democratic principles of their policy. To have a right for marriage means to have an ability to live with a beloved person. So, if gays have their beloved persons, why do not they have a chance to spend their lifetime together? The development of the community and the society depends on all members of the society. Gay couples have the same rights as all other members of the society. Unfortunately, very often these people are prevented from children upbringing or even being married. Still, we have a hope that there is an essential shift towards the gay rights for marriage acknowledgement throughout the country. If to consider the second point of the paper, which is based on Laura Kipnis appeal for the society to provide all human beings with an opportunity to get married, it is the only way to hold beloved hearts together and to establish a kind of a societal bound between them. Gays s hould be treated equally and there is no need to focus our attention on their sexual or intimate preferences. Kipnis underlines that contemporaries should focus their attention on the

Corporate Social Responsibility in event management in the 21 century Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility in event management in the 21 century - Essay Example It plays a crucial role in shaping an organization’s reputation, to either praiseworthy or poor. This depends with how it aligns its objectives in line with that of the stakeholders, especially customers. Corporate social responsibility of event planning in the 21st century aims at satisfying those around even if it is at the expense of the company. This is because the stakeholders are the backbone of any company. Failure to treat the stakeholders in a fair way may lead to failure of the business. One of the ways that corporate social responsibility gets attained in an organization is through public relations (Yeoman et al 2004, 29). Public relation assists the business in achieving corporate social responsibility by means of monitoring the business environment. Public relations make it possible for an outside –in approach to reflect on the things that make the organization favored and a decent picture in the eyes of the stakeholders. It reflects on the expectations and standards that the community has about the organization. Event planning is a role that mostly requires direct interaction with the stakeholders and hence a strong relationship with them gets to be always preferred. ... , develop an event design, search for the vent’s site, arrange for food, decor, as well as entertainment, plan for transportation, send invitations, arranges for needed accommodation, supervision of an event and event evaluation. It involves brand intricacies by identifying target customers, logistics planning, as well as coordinating the procedural aspects. These events impact the community in a variety of ways. Event management tool is used as a marketing strategy tool that for communication. The events promote communication with the stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility for event planning in the 21st century concentrates on minding about the event’s impact on the environment, economic as well as social matters. Event management CSR incorporates sustainability both socially and environmentally. The event management team works at making responsible decisions that will not have a negative impact on the stakeholders. The organization plans, organizes implements t he vent with the community in mind. Event management and planning should always involve CSR in events to improve the sustainability of the event management organization. CSR programs always do a lot in creating a compelling legacy in the community. Event management managers should have always assume responsibilities of the work seriously, especially commitment to stakeholders. Particular interest is taken in the conservation and restitution of the global environment (Werther & Chandler 2005, 54). Corporate social responsibility for event management in the 21st century seeks to reduce the ecological impact of organized events by reducing emissions and energy and raw materials consumption. Corporate social responsibility of event planning in the 21st century focuses on three principal categories of

By joining the European Union, the UK's doctrine of Parliamentary Essay

By joining the European Union, the UK's doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty has been considerably limited and changed, Discu - Essay Example The establishment of the European Union has weakened the traditional supremacy of the Parliament and affecting greatly the power sharing within the country. The current view of the powers of the Parliament is very different from the one that Dicey was talking about. Apart from the European Union, factors relating to the Human Rights Act of 1998 as well as the developments in the common law have greatly hampered the authority of the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary supremacy. The battle of supremacy has seen the parliament lose in some cases that were initially under its jurisdiction. In a case involving the oil giant, Trafigura and The Guardian newspaper in 2009, there was absolute non-adherence to the Bill of Rights as stipulated in the 1689 provision. The company was able to have the freedom of expression on parliamentary debates restricted to for several media platforms, The Guardian being one of them. This issue presented a test for parliamentary supremacy and its shakiness in the current forms. The fact that they were bent by a private organization brings situations where it is likely that they can bend several rules for specific interests courtesy of the provisions of the European Union Law. ... Another case that demonstrates the authority of the European Union over the United Kingdom Parliament was the one involving Van Gend En Loos3. The court ruled that â€Å"the member States have limited their sovereign rights, and albeit within limited fields, have created a body of law which binds both nationals and themselves†. This means that the country’s systems are inferior to those of the ones by the European Union. In its actual terms, the ruling provides that there is no law among the member sates that is capable of surpassing that of the European Union, the same applies to the institutions of the Union as opposed to those of the regional block. The law is becoming superior in diverse ways with several in-country as well as regional cases being given the European Union interpretation of the law. The European Community Act is a very important legal tool as far as the supremacy of the European Union is concerned. Passed in 1972, the law in section 2 has a provision requiring that all the preexisting statutes and the ones to be enacted must and should abide by the European Union Law, a situation that binds the United Kingdom Parliament to adherence with the directives of the law. This means that the Diceyian view of the supremacy of the Parliament is completely eroded, apart from being challenged by the successive parliaments; an Act of Parliament can be challenged by the European Law effectively. Section 3 of the 1972 Act provides that the decisions of the European Union Court of Justice binds all the tribunals and courts, this includes the United Kingdom’s parliament. Other treaties have been enacted crippling further the role of the United States Parliament, the most recent is the Treaty

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Leadership - Essay Example Employee two can be suggested to hold some degree of coercive power. Since employee 2 is the only person who has the knowledge and expertise in drafting financial statements, he is in a position to exert some form of coercive influence. This is because such attributes are highly important for the company. It can be witnessed from the scenario that he has negotiated more leniency from his managers to work a much compressed week than others. Reward Power – this power base rests on the idea of getting rewarded for work performed. Employee 1 seems to be completely in the influence of reward power. He seems really dedicated in his work, comes in on weekends and sits late having the impression that in doing so he will be awarded bonuses and his long deserving holidays. Reward power is completely opposite of coercive power and is persuading an individual to fulfill the wishes of his superiors to get rewarded in return. Legitimate Power – This is a much broader term used in the context of power. Legitimacy of power is dependent on an individual’s structural position in an organization. Again in relation to the scenario, such power does not rest with any of the three employees. Such power can only be recognized with individuals holding positions such as CEO or President of a Bank or a Captain in Army. In context of the scenario none of the 3 concerned employees seem to command a legitimate power. In case of employee 2 and 3, legitimacy of power does not exists at all. Because neither have any position in the company which would create their legitimate power over others. Employee 1 has over 12 years of working experience, but has not reached a structural position to create his own legitimate power base. Apart from the three employees discussed above, there are two departmental managers mentioned in the case, who might be able to implement some sort of

Corporate Social Responsibility in event management in the 21 century Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility in event management in the 21 century - Essay Example It plays a crucial role in shaping an organization’s reputation, to either praiseworthy or poor. This depends with how it aligns its objectives in line with that of the stakeholders, especially customers. Corporate social responsibility of event planning in the 21st century aims at satisfying those around even if it is at the expense of the company. This is because the stakeholders are the backbone of any company. Failure to treat the stakeholders in a fair way may lead to failure of the business. One of the ways that corporate social responsibility gets attained in an organization is through public relations (Yeoman et al 2004, 29). Public relation assists the business in achieving corporate social responsibility by means of monitoring the business environment. Public relations make it possible for an outside –in approach to reflect on the things that make the organization favored and a decent picture in the eyes of the stakeholders. It reflects on the expectations and standards that the community has about the organization. Event planning is a role that mostly requires direct interaction with the stakeholders and hence a strong relationship with them gets to be always preferred. ... , develop an event design, search for the vent’s site, arrange for food, decor, as well as entertainment, plan for transportation, send invitations, arranges for needed accommodation, supervision of an event and event evaluation. It involves brand intricacies by identifying target customers, logistics planning, as well as coordinating the procedural aspects. These events impact the community in a variety of ways. Event management tool is used as a marketing strategy tool that for communication. The events promote communication with the stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility for event planning in the 21st century concentrates on minding about the event’s impact on the environment, economic as well as social matters. Event management CSR incorporates sustainability both socially and environmentally. The event management team works at making responsible decisions that will not have a negative impact on the stakeholders. The organization plans, organizes implements t he vent with the community in mind. Event management and planning should always involve CSR in events to improve the sustainability of the event management organization. CSR programs always do a lot in creating a compelling legacy in the community. Event management managers should have always assume responsibilities of the work seriously, especially commitment to stakeholders. Particular interest is taken in the conservation and restitution of the global environment (Werther & Chandler 2005, 54). Corporate social responsibility for event management in the 21st century seeks to reduce the ecological impact of organized events by reducing emissions and energy and raw materials consumption. Corporate social responsibility of event planning in the 21st century focuses on three principal categories of

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 23

Leadership - Essay Example Employee two can be suggested to hold some degree of coercive power. Since employee 2 is the only person who has the knowledge and expertise in drafting financial statements, he is in a position to exert some form of coercive influence. This is because such attributes are highly important for the company. It can be witnessed from the scenario that he has negotiated more leniency from his managers to work a much compressed week than others. Reward Power – this power base rests on the idea of getting rewarded for work performed. Employee 1 seems to be completely in the influence of reward power. He seems really dedicated in his work, comes in on weekends and sits late having the impression that in doing so he will be awarded bonuses and his long deserving holidays. Reward power is completely opposite of coercive power and is persuading an individual to fulfill the wishes of his superiors to get rewarded in return. Legitimate Power – This is a much broader term used in the context of power. Legitimacy of power is dependent on an individual’s structural position in an organization. Again in relation to the scenario, such power does not rest with any of the three employees. Such power can only be recognized with individuals holding positions such as CEO or President of a Bank or a Captain in Army. In context of the scenario none of the 3 concerned employees seem to command a legitimate power. In case of employee 2 and 3, legitimacy of power does not exists at all. Because neither have any position in the company which would create their legitimate power over others. Employee 1 has over 12 years of working experience, but has not reached a structural position to create his own legitimate power base. Apart from the three employees discussed above, there are two departmental managers mentioned in the case, who might be able to implement some sort of

Analysis of Challenges in International Management Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Challenges in International Management Essay Analysis of Challenges in International Management† Abstract The following essay analysis the challenges in International Management with particular regard to the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international business as it is the must difficult to deal with and being essential for successful results in a wide range of global management tasks nowadays and in the future. Introduction Today successful international management requires more than a lot of frequent flyer miles or seasoned expatriate managers. But what are those exclusive challenges of international management in today’s world? The importance of international management is constantly increasing, as we exist in a world where globalisation is affecting the traditional borders in a broad range of areas. †¢Trade and investment, †¢Economic alliances, †¢The international stage players, and †¢The work environment are changing rapidly, being supported by the increasing sophistication and lower cost of information technology. World trade and investments are growing fast (the volume of world trade among countries has grown at an average rate over 8% since 2005 (WTO 2008)), linking the economies and creating opportunities and threats. New, strong and forced competitors are coming from developing nations in Asia and the transitioning economies of Eastern Europe. Furthermore, the constantly rising level of foreign direct investment also has a globalising effect (Thomas 2002). Moreover, the emergence of the free-trade areas drastically decreased traditional economic boundaries. So do the three largest groups, the EU, the NAFTA, and the APEC, account for nearly half of the world’s trade (Cullen 2002) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) now has 140 member-nations, aiming to reduce tariffs and liberalize trade. But globalization also affects the work environments within organizations. Changes involve cutbacks, team-based management movements and privatization. For instance, there can be factory closings, as Nokia closing their German plant in Bochum moving to Romania, because of cheaper labour. All in all, as one key consequence of globalisation, international managers nowadays have to face a more dynamic, complex, competitive and uncertain environment and need skills (as a global mindset or the ability to work with people from diverse background) not considered necessary for domestic-only managers. The environment of international management can be divided into †¢economic, †¢legal, †¢political, and †¢cultural factors (Thomas 2002). So for making decisions it is essential to understand the economic strategies of the countries in or with one wants to conduct business with, because level of economic development and quality of life differs extremely worldwide. Furthermore, there are various national sovereign laws and regulations existing in the world which have to be observed and made allowance for. And in addition, there are several varieties of political systems (e. g. , theocratic totalitarianism in Saudi Arabia), containing different levels of political risks which have to be managed. For instance, decision makers have to able to estimate the degree of risk associated with a government’s involvements in business affairs depending on characteristics of their company. All these factors present impressive challenges multinational management has to face. However, the management challenge of culture and its effects on business practices and organizations is one of the most difficult to deal with. As conducting business with people from other cultures will never be easy you have to understand how culture affects management and organizations. â€Å"Culture† is a concept borrowed from cultural anthropology and there are numerous and subtle different definitions. As each definition has limitations focussing on international management the following description of Geert Hofstede seems very helpful. He defines the culture of any society as comprising shared values, understandings, assumptions and goals learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations (Hofstede 2008). Culture is something shared by members of a particular group, differentiates humans from other groups, is transmitted through the process of learning and adapts to external and internal environments and relationships. The international businessperson needs to be aware of three levels of cultures that may influence multinational operations. These include national culture, business culture, and organisational cultures (Cullen 2002). National culture can be described as the dominant culture within the political borders of a nation-state. But one has to be aware that multiple cultures can exist within political boundaries and they do not necessarily reflect cultural borders. For instance, Canada being home to Anglophones and Francophones. Furthermore, even relatively homogenous cultures can have diverse subcultures, including cultural differences which are affecting the international business. Nevertheless, as most business is conducted within the political borders of a state and nations can be defined as political unities, varying in governmental, legal, educational, institutional and labour systems, influencing the way people interact with their environment (Thomas 2002), national culture has the greatest effect on international business being probably the most logic starting point trying to understand the cultural environment. Business culture, reflecting the national culture, influences all aspects of work and organizational life (e. g. , motivating staff, negotiating with business partners, etc. and knowing it’s basic requirements (e. g. , what to wear to business meetings, business etiquette is more formal in Germany than in the U. S. with conservative dark business suits, etc. ) is essential for the international manager. Moreover, especially in the last few years, people realized that the â€Å"culture†-concept also holds for individual organizations. So may differences in organizational culture may be one reason why the merger of two otherwise successful companies failed. It is important to evaluate the influence of organizational rules, norms and procedures to understand the causes of behaviour in organizations. With shared behaviours, conditional relationship, being socialized into and partly involved in it, etc. organizational culture differs in construction and elements of national culture. Even so understanding these cultural factors is fundamental for international managers conducting international business, they have to be aware that â€Å"cultures† can just offer wide guidelines for behaviour, as for instance organizational cultures differ within any national context and individuals vary in each culture level. One cannot predict exactly how each person acts, feels, thinks, etc. Nonetheless, broad generalization about a culture provides a level of analysis from which to begin to understand the cultural environment and the complexities of cultural differences, because management functions such as planning, organizing, leading, and controlling in a global economy have to account for them. As international managers have to face various cultural challenges testing their management abilities they must be able to unpack the culture concept. Therefore the basic concepts of cultural dimensions can help them understand how two or more cultures might be different. An essential implication of these frameworks referring to international management and culture is that cultural interpretation and adaptation are a prerequisite to the comparative understanding of international management practice (Morden 1995). The following sections describe two popular models. Hofstede’s Culture Model This Framework, created by dutch scientist Geert Hofstede and based on a research over 11600 people in 50 countries (starting with 39 IBM subsiadiaries worldwide), tries to evaluate how basic values underlay organizational behaviour. National differences are investigated by five dimensions of basic cultural values: 1. Power distance 2. Uncertainty avoidance 3. Individualism 4. Masculinity and 5. Long-term orientation (Hofstede 2008). 1. This first value dimension refers to how cultures deal with inequality and tries to postion the inequality acceptance level by unequal power distribution society members. In countries with a high power distance acceptance (e. g. , such as Mexico), people respect and hardly ever bypass formal hierarchy positions (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 2. The second value dimension concerns about the degree humans in a society are threatened by uncertain situations. The social system of a higher uncertainty avoidance society is dominated by regulations and rules, predictabilties and orders and people tend to be suspicious of change, whereas people from lower levels of uncertainty avoidance societies (for instance, countries such as Denmark). tend to be less formal, take higher business risks and plan and structure less 3. Individualism refers to the affinity to primarily take care of oneself and one’s direct family, and then to the rest of society (with the U. S. being a good example) (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008). 4. The fourth dimension of â€Å"masculinity† concerns about the ranking of tradionally â€Å"masculine† values in a society, such as less concerning for others, materialism and assertiveness, whereas â€Å"feminity† on the other side emphasises the quality of life and relationships. 5. Long-term orientation cultures are insistent and saving (e. g. the culture of China) and short-term orientation is more self-centered, money-oriented and more social. All these factors are inter-reliant and interactive in their effects. So shows the Anglo-Dutch example Unilever the practicability of multinational enterprises where the power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and individualism values are similar; and where the masculine achievement orientation of the British complements the people orientation of the Dutch (Morden 1995). All in all, so there is a lot of criticism (for instance, the time-dependence of the results, the non-exhaustive investigation of only one multinational US company, etc. to these findings and the model of Hofstede, it is still a very valuable and useful â€Å"gift† for understanding culture and culture-based behavior. Trompenaars’ Culture Model The model created by Fons Trompenaars its also based on the researched of value dimensions. He studied the behavoiur of 15000 managers, representing 47 national cultures (Hampden-Turner 2008). Five of the seven dimensions of his model deal with the challenges of h ow people relate to each other: 1. Universalism versus particularism 2. Neutral versus affective 3. Specific versus diffuse . Achievement versus ascription 5. Time as sequence versus synchronisation The two final dimensions deal with how a culture manages time and how it deals with nature. They include: 6. The society-orientation to the past, present, or future and 7. â€Å"Control of† versus â€Å"accommodation with† nature 1. The value of univerlism refers to the application to systems and rules objectively, without taking consideration to personal circumstances, whereas the particularism culture (e. g. in countries as Spain) is more subjective and focusses more on relationships. 2. The second, the neutral-versus-affective, value dimension refers on the emotional orientation of relationships (such as expressing your feelings and emotions more like, for example, the Portugese). 3. In Addition the specific-versus-diffus dimension investigates if people from a special culture tend to be more or less specific or diffuse in their relationships (for example, Germans try to separate work and personal issues). 4. In the achievement-versus-ascription dimension, it is asked: †What is the source of power and status in society? † (Elizabeth M. Christopher 2008) So is for instance, in an achievement refering culture, the â€Å"status† of a person mainly based on it’s individual achievement (such as job performance, etc. ). 5. â€Å"Time as sequence† orientated cultures separate events in time (â€Å"step-by-step†), whereas â€Å"time as synchronisation†-orientated indiviuals manage events in parallel. (For example, if their business partners are not sharp on time, Germans, coming from a â€Å"time-as-sequence† orientated culture, may consider it an insultation). 6. This value dimension is about past versus future orientations. 7. Moreover, this dimension refers to the extent to which individuals feel that they themselves are the primary influence on their lives. Using this framework trying to understand some culture-basics some interesting patterns may emerge. Altough, being recognised for their validity (the results of these both major studies have some significant parallels, even so they were carried out in different times using different methods and examples), these concepts of cultural value orientation proposed by Hofstede and Tropmenaar can only give a basic framework for the analysis of cultural differences. They are utensils to help understand a culture and adjusting business practices to diverse cultural environments. They are for instance, a prerequisite to the successful new-market country entry, whether by setting up licensing or new subsidiaries, joint ventures, mergers or for the establishment of efficient programmes of international HR development (Kay 1993). But international managers have to realise that the understanding of another culture is a inexhaustible learning process. They will have to practice for their international work with or in other countries by studiying all that they can about the country, including more than just the business etiquette. Understanding the national culture builds just the foundation. As you seldom can get behind the front stage of culture without speaking the national language onother basic instrument is learning the language. But the challenge of â€Å"culture† in international management takes such much more than this. International managers have to broaden their understanding of cultural differences and to learn to seek advantage in differences. Understanding the culture is just a basis for the diverse international management tasks, as appropriate cross-cultural communication (using appropiate communication styles), effective and positive motivating and leadership in international organisations and across cultures, successful negotiation with international business partners and making ethically and socially responsible decisions. Conclusion The environment of international management can be divided into economic, legal, political, and cultural factors, with â€Å"culture† being the most challenging and most difficult to deal with, influencing a broad range of management tasks. Providing oneself with the necessary knowlegde and understanding of the national culture of the country or the people one is conducting business with is essential and builds just the foundation for the successful complementation of global management tasks, such as for instance leadership in multinational organisations (where you have to have understanding of all three levels of culture; national, business and organisational culture, being different and influencing each other).

Concepts of Peace

Concepts of Peace Peace: A Theoretical Framework Miss Ritamoni Gogoi (Abstract: The study of peace has got immense significance in the various literature of political science. But there is no commonality in such understanding due to diversity of the political context where peace is defined and perspective adopted to define peace. This paper attempts to have a theoretical understanding of peace by taking into account various nuances. Besides, an attempt has been made to give a historical trajectory of the understanding of peace. Key Word: Peace) There are various definitions of peace depending on the context of its conceptualization and perspective adopted to define it. It is essential to take into the account the socio political context to have proper understanding of the concept of peace. According to Fedenico Mayor, former director general of the UNESCO, â€Å"Instead of absence of war, it (peace) is increasingly seen as a dynamic, participative, long term process, based on universal values and everyday practice, at all levels the family the school, the community as well as the nation†(Serto, 2003). According to Jawaharlal Nehru, â€Å"Peace is not a relationship of nations. It is a condition of mind brought about by the serenity of soul. Peace is not merely the absence of war. It is also a state of mind lasting peace can come only through peaceful people†(Dutta and Bhuyan, 2008, p 15). British playwright Dorothy L Sayers said, â€Å"Never thinks wars are irrational catastrophes; they happen when wrong ways of thinking and living bring about intolerable situations†(L.Dorothy, 1947). According to Dr. Frank Buchman â€Å"peace is not just a beautiful idea. It means people becoming radically different. The thinking here is futuristic and there is scope for everyone to hang† (Buchman, 1947). Thus, the above definitions of peace signify the meaning of peace as freedom from disturbance, absence of tension and presence of quietness, calmness, tranquility, justice and brotherhood. Peace can come only through peaceful people. Peace is not just a beautiful idea; it is dynamic and long term process based on universal values. It can be practiced every day, at all levels of our life. According to Kanti Bajpai, the concept of peace can be defined on the basis of another three different perspectives. â€Å"Firstly, peace as the mere absence of war, that is a hegemonic of deterrent peace, secondly peace as functional and economic interaction, what could be called a transactional peace and peace as a social condition in which accommodation rather than force mediate change†(Samaddar, 2004, 38-53). The meaning of peace varied in differed period in history. For example â€Å"The Roman poet Tacitus spoke of making a desert and calling it ‘peace’ an unwanted place of sterility and emptiness. Similarly, although everyone desires â€Å"peace of mind†, the temporary â€Å"peace† that comes from drug based with drawl from social reality, the peacefulness of sleep, or the undesired â€Å"peace of a coma or even of death may not seen so desirable† (Barash and Webel, 2002, p 4). The concept of peace in eastern world claims that â€Å"peace may be the most longed for human condition. The Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu founder of Taoism and author of Tao De Ching, emphasized that military force is not the ‘Tao or way for human being to follow† (Ibid. p4). His conception of peace denotes that peace is not an ultimate human goal and social harmony cannot bring peace. Instead of this type of views, he valued obedience and order as virtues of peace. Gandhi’s vision of peace is different from other thinkers in many aspects. According to Gandhi, peace implies a state of positive and constructive world order where every individual live in co-operation and mutual aid. Peace is a cementing force for the society and the world. Gandhi viewed that truth is more important than peace and peace can be achieved only through truthful means. His vision of peace is based on his philosophy of life that is mutual good will and friendship among all the people. Now, we hear or read so much about peace and peace are being developed on global scales under the banner of peace keeping operations of the countries. The current wars, violence and conflict situation of the world force us to offer alternative thinking about peace. Today peace is used as a defense of certain security plans and rationalities. In this context we can refers to peace as a social justice mainly concerned with resolving the problem of poverty, unequal access to resources etc. Peace is governed by global rationalities of security that is consistent with particular kind of peace efforts such as â€Å"global peace programmes, institutional capacity training plans, information sharing and environmental sustainability schemes. This kind of peace efforts has inscribed as the future focused character of international peace program and initiatives† (IIcan and Philips, 2006, 59-60). The concept of peace is not merely stands as opposition to warfare or violent conflict; it is a metaphor for security and used to act on the security of a group or population. Thus the concept of peace is governed by various rationalities of security. At present there are mainly two types of interpretation of the meaning of peace-negative peace and positive peace. Negative peace is described as an absence of manifest violence such as war which could be realized through negotiation or mediation rather than resorting to the physical force. Negative peace simply denotes a condition in which no active organized military violence can take place. The term positive peace was invented in the mid- 1960s by John Galtung, a Norwegian peace researcher. The concept of positive peace is based on a broader understanding of social condition which implies presence of certain number of essential factors in the society. This means making available of those conditions of peace which are necessary for living a peaceful life. In the positive connotation of peace, peace is more than the absence of violence; it is the presence of social justice through equal opportunity and fair distribution of power and resources, equal protection and impartial enforcement of law. The negative conception of peace addresses the immediate symptoms conditions of war and the use and effects of force and weapon, while positive peace involves the elimination of the root causes of war, violence and injustice. It also involves, conscious efforts to build a society reflecting these commitments. On the other hand negative peace is consistent with structural violence. I n last few years, the meaning of violence is changed and new meanings arise. This new focus of violence is structural violence. Structural violence implies those injuries or exploitative characters which are inbuilt in the structure itself. It generally refers to societal structure, i.e., structure of society, structure of a society may be oppressive and exploitative and also a source of violence. Structural violence is more significant because it happens in a continuous manner. Thus structural violence is a serious form of social oppression. Positive peace signifies removal of such structural violence. Thus negative concept of peace is different from positive conception of peace. While the negative peace denotes narrow understanding of peace, positive concept of peace is a broader understanding of peace. Although, there is difference between negative peace and positive peace, both imply the striving for structural stability (Barash and Webel, 2002, 6-7). In the present context, more than the state some other actors and process are seen to be actively involved in the process of peace making. For instance, number of international organizations are today playing very significant role in the peace making process. With the means of global flows of capital, images, ideas and practices of governance; the sources of authority on peace have expanded from nation-state to international organization and institutes such as: Amnesty international govern peace, Oxfam International, the International institute of peace education, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNESCO. In an effort to promote peace â€Å"the United Nation, Agenda for peace, initiated in 1992 under the former UN secretary General Butros Ghali, ex-compassed diverse peace initiatives that attempted to shape actions, processes and outcome in specific direction by linking peace developm ent and democracy†( IIcan and Philips, 2006, 59-60). Similarly we can mention the UNESCO’s peace effort, which is implemented to promote education for peace, human rights, democracy, international understanding and tolerance. In 1945, UNESCO adopted its own constitution where it stated its purposes. The basic purpose of the organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture. UNESCO’s culture of peace program grows a ‘global movement of peace when it introduced their proposal for an international Decade for a culture of peace in 2000. The current peace programme of UNESCO reflects a new era of cultural engineering in the name of peace and security. The basic intention of UNESCO’s culture of peace program was to building of international peace through â€Å"global effort†. Thus culture of peace implies a global effort to change people thinking and action towards peace. Finally it can be argued that UNESCO culture of peac e initiative mobilize the global population into the new mentalities of peace and security through an emphasis on investing in democratic institution by training children as the future peaceful generation and facilitating women’s involvement in peace proportion (ibid., 59-60). At present stage of human development, a wide variety of doctrines and organization expose various ways of achieving peace. In this context, peace movement is considered as source of popular opposition to war and to militarism as they are more traditionally identified (Goldstain, 2005, 261). â€Å"In addition to mass destruction, common tactics of peace movement include getting antiwar movements into the media, participating in civil disobedience and occasionally organizing consumer boycott†(ibid., 261). Peace movements participate in election and lobbying like other interest groups. It also includes the draft government buildings, taxes, and nuclear test sites and tries to educate the public by spreading information about a war or arms peace. As peace process evolve, a wide variety of documents are produced that can be termed ‘peace agreement’. Though there is no agreed definition of the term ‘peace agreement’, we use the term to signify the formal agreement aimed at ending violent conflict. The agreement provides space for civil society involvement in the implementation of a specific peace agreement. The terms of the agreements sometimes used variously which protect and develop the civil society’s role in the provision of humanitarian relief. â€Å"In some agreement, the focus is on ensuring physical protection of humanitarian relief operations, rather than establishing new forms of civil involvement in such operation in Sierra Leone, the 1999 ceasefire agreement(s) guaranteed safe and unhindered accuse to humanitarian organization†(Bell and Rourke, 2007, 375-376).† The role of civil society in some peace agreement chiefly associated with the human right monitoring. Peace agr eement can provide the civil society organization to monitor or strengthen human rights. The new human rights commission of Liberia was result of comprehensive peace agreement signed in 2003. Thus, the involvement of civil society in the peace agreement mainly provides humanitarian assistance. As a civic organization it can undermine the intended role of civil society as peace promoting (Bell, 2006, 375-376). The peace agreement can usefully be classified into three main types which tend to emerge at different stage of a conflict: renegotiation agreement, Framework/ substantive agreement and Implementation/ Renegotiation agreement (Ibid., 376). The pre negotiation stages of peace process are designed to resolve the fundamental issues in the conflict often termed ‘talk about talk’. â€Å"The pre negotiation stage tends to focus on who is going to negotiate and with what status, raising issues such as the return of negotiations from eviler or their release from prison, safeguards as to future physical integrity and freedom from imprisonment and limits on how the war may be waged while negotiation takes place† (Ibid.,376). Substantive or framework agreement begins to provide a framework to address the major causes of conflict. It aimed at sustaining cease fire to stop the violence more permanently. Substantive agreement are linking with new constitutional structure for addressing governance, elections and legal and human rights institution to end military violence. And lastly implementation agreement develops aspect of the framework to bring new negotiation and include all the parties to the framework of agreement. In case of uneven or nonexistent implementation, implemented agreement can effectively involve renegotiation and new agreement. Notably it is important that the pre negotiation, implementation agreement, substantive/ framework agreement constitute peace agreement per excellence (Ibid., 376). The above discussion suggests that today it is paramount important to redefine the peace not merely as the absence of violent conflict but as the positive and creative process of building sustainable societies. Peace and development are two sides of the same coin. When there is peace development can move much foster. Thus there is need of peace in the society for the overall socio-economic development of the society. During the last few years, there has been a lot of talking and discussion on peace and to demands from various quarters to bring peace into the state. But the history of peace studies proves that although most people claim to be in favour of peace, the natural preference and interest for peace have been negligible. The majority seems to be most interested in war. â€Å"At present all too many people find peace boring, and war exciting. When war is mentioned on the daily newscasts, people pick up their cars, when peace is mentioned people are more likely yawn† (Barash and Webel,2002, 29). It is also found that the struggle from peace is much more difficult than challenge of war. It is ultimately a question of establishing justice rather than resolving conflict. â€Å"Thus there is need to prepare for taking peace as peace, for approaching it from the window of civil society culture, identities and differences (Dutta Hazarika, 2012, 12). The need of the peace in the multi cultu ral society like India is immense as it is essential for a just society that provides justifiable rights to all segments of the society. References: Barash David P and Charles P Webel, (Edit), 2002, Peace and Conflict Studies, New Delhi: Sage Publication. Bell Christine, Catherine O Rourke, 2007, The Peoples Peace? Peace agreements civil society and participatory democracy in International Political Science Review, Vol.28, No.3, pp. 375-76. Bell, Christine, 2006, Peace Agreement: Their Nature and Legal Status in American Journal of International Law, Vol.100, No.2, pp.375-76. Buchman, Frank, 1947, Remarking the world, London: Glanford Press. Dutta Anuradha and Ranta Bhuyan, (Edit) 2008, Genesis of Conflict and peace: Understanding Northeast India (Vol 1), New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House, p 15. Dutta Hazarika, Sujata (Edit), 2008, Peace in Dialogue: Universals and specific reflection of North East India, New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House. Goldstain, Joshua S, 2005, International Relation, New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley (India) Pvt Limited. IIcan Suzan and Lynne Philips, 2006, Governing Peace: Global Rationalities of Security and UNESCO’s Culture of Peace Campaign, Anthropologica, Vol.48, No.1, pp.59-60. L. Dorothy Sayers, 1947, Creed or Chaos, London:Methuen. Leban Serto, 2003, Peace Education Nagaland Baptitst Church Council (NBCC), Seminar Paper. Ranabir, Samaddar (Edit), 2004, Peace Studies: An introduction to the Concept, Scope and Theses (Vol 1), New Delhi: Sage Publication, pp.38-53.

Lasers :: essays research papers

The laser is a device that produces a beam of light. The beam is produced by a process known as stimulated emission, and the word “laser'; is an acronym for the phrase “light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.'; Lasers amplify light and produce coherent light beams. A light beam is coherent when its waves or photons are in step with one another. Laser light can be made extremely intense, highly directional, and very pure in color. BASIC PRINCIPLES   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Light can be characterized both by its frequency, or number of wave crests passing a given point per second, and by its wavelength. Different wavelengths of light are seen as different colors. Like radio waves, light can also carry information. The information in the beam varies in the frequency or shape of the light wave. Because light waves are of much higher frequencies than radio waves, the have a higher information carrying capacity. In beams of light,individual photon waves are not moving along together because they are not being emitted at the same instant but instead in random short bursts. Such beams are called incoherent.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The process for laser action, was first proposed by Albert Einstein in 1917. The working principles of lasers were outlined by the American physicists Arthur Leonard Schawlow and Charles Hard Townes in their 1958 patent application. The patent was granted but was later challenged by the American physicist and engineer Gordon Gould. In 1960 the American physicist Theodore Maiman observed the first laser action in solid ruby. HOW A LASER WORKS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A laser is made up of several basic components. One is called active medium, which consists of atoms of a gas, molecules in a liquid, ions in a crystal, or any of several other possibilities. Another component consists of some method of introducing energy into the active medium, such as a flash lamp. The third basic component is a pair of mirrors placed on either side of the active meduim, one of which transmits part of the radiation that strikes it. Atoms initially in a lower state are raised to the upper state by energy from a flash lamp or some other pumping source. Some of these atoms emit light in random directions. Light traveling vertical to the mirrors stays within the active medium long enough to stimulate emission from other atoms. Light traveling in other directions are soon lost. Some light reaching the output mirror is transmitted to form the laser beam, some is reflected back through the medium to continue the stimulated-emission process.

Human Dignity in A Lesson Before Dying Essay -- Ernest J. Gaines

Human Dignity in A Lesson Before Dying    Grant and Jefferson are on a journey. Though they have vastly different educational backgrounds, their commonality of being black men who have lost hope brings them together in the search for the meaning of their lives. In the 1940’s small Cajun town of Bayonne, Louisiana, blacks may have legally been emancipated, but they were still enslaved by the antebellum myth of the place of black people in society. Customs established during the years of slavery negated the laws meant to give black people equal rights and the chains of tradition prevailed leaving both Grant and Jefferson trapped in mental slavery in their communities. The struggles of Grant and Jefferson share a common theme, man’s search for meaning. Grant has the advantage of a college education, and while that may have provided some enlightenment, he remains in the same crossroads as Jefferson. Grant sees that regardless of what he does, the black students he teaches continue in the same jobs, the same poverty and same slave-like positions as their ancestors. Grant has no hope of making a difference and sees his life as meaningless. Though Jefferson’s conflict is more primal, it is the same as Grant’s struggle. Jefferson is searching for the most basic identity, whether he is man or animal. It is this conflict of meaning and identity that bring Grant and Jefferson together. In this book, Ernest J. Gaines presents three views to determine manhood: law, education and religion. Jefferson has been convicted of a crime, and though he did not commit it, he is sentenced to death as a "hog" a word that denies any sense of worth or fragment of dignity he may have possessed in a world ruled by oppressive white bigots. Jefferson is at an even greater loss as he has no education and after the conviction he doubts that God can even exist in a world that would send an innocent man to his death. It is clear that Jefferson does not believe he has any value. " ‘I’m an old hog. Just an old hog they fattening up to kill for Christmas’ " (83). Though Grant may have had some advantages compared with Jefferson, his position in life was not significantly better than Jefferson’s. Grant knows that if he had been the black man sitting in the courtroom, he too would have been convicted. In his powerful opening to the novel, Grant says, "I was not there yet I was there... ...rong tell them im a man" (234). Jefferson died with dignity and Grant returned to Bayonne believing he could make a difference. It is not clear that religion, a belief in God, made the difference for either of them. It is clear that as they struggled with the issue of a higher power, they did discover that the meaning of their lives was not attached to the white man’s beliefs and myths, but rather came from inside themselves. To the end, they both struggled with whether or not there was a God. As they end their journey together, Jefferson is at peace and becomes a hero in his community. Though Grant cannot be a hero, he does find his place and returns to the schoolhouse with new hope and a vision for making a difference, if not for himself, for his students. He doubts himself at times, but he gains determination for his students. "Yet they must believe. They must believe, if only to free the mind, if not the body. Only when the mind is free has the body a chance to be free. Yes, they must believe. They must believe. Because I know what it means to be a slave. I am a slave" (Gaines 251) Works Cited Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.

Brain Imaging

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a condition characterized by recurrent intrusive, often repugnant, and always anxiety-ridden thoughts and images and by sets of ritualized behaviors performed compulsively by the sufferer in an attempt to allay the anxiety. The compulsive behaviors typically provide little relief, however, and the sufferer remains relegated to an anxious and painful daily experience.Thus, the patient who drives over the same speed bump each morning may find it impossible to relieve oneself of the concern that one may have, on a particular morning, driven over a pedestrian instead, and one is compelled to circle the block in a ritualized fashion searching for a crushed body in the street. While the sufferer is able to acknowledge the perverse and senseless nature of the rituals, this insight alone fails to relieve the experience of helplessness (Pauls et al. , 1995).As has been true of most psychiatric disorders, traditional etiologic explanations have been based on psychoanalytic findings and constructs. Formulations of the illness based on cognitive processing models represent a more recent development. Still more recently, a significant reconceptualization of obsessive-compulsive symptomatology has followed the development of modern functional imaging technologies, and a biologically-oriented and brain-centered view of OCD has emerged in light of the substantial findings from the last decades.The most popular brain theory to date explains the pathogenesis of OCD as an imbalance in the action of a pair of interrelated neural circuits which, under normal circumstances, maintain one another in a state of functionally balanced tone. It may be parenthetically added that, to the extent these brain data are themselves understood, it has become possible to evaluate psychological theories of OCD in functional terms (Robinson et al. , 1991). The neurobiology of OCD has been a subject of research interest for several decades, with the disorder havi ng become increasingly formulated as a neuropsychiatric illness.Modern neuropsychiatric hypotheses have been guided by data having its origins in data derived from the direct study of OCD patients using newly developed non-invasive brain imaging techniques. Significant findings from this area of inquiry are summarized in the following pages. Background to OCD OCD symptomatology has been reported among patients with closed head trauma to the basal gangliar structures and among those with basal ganglia lesions demonstrable subsequent to carbon monoxide poisoning and to wasp sting (McKeon, 1984).Symptoms have additionally presented as a clinical feature both of striatal necrosis and frontal lobe lesion (Siebyl et al, 1989). Thus, the initial background of data around OCD has implicated the basal gangliar structures, particularly the striatum, and, to a lesser extent, the frontal lobe. Imaging studies of the living brain are generally divisible into two distinct categories, those repres enting morphologic or structural abnormality, on the one hand, and those representing disturbance of function at the cellular or metabolic levels, possibly with only very small or wholly undetectable changes in morphology, on the other.The distinction is important: while investigation at the level of structure and morphology will reveal atrophic change or gross pathology (eg. , tumor, trauma, etc. ,) investigation at the metabolic level provides a window directly into what has been termed, in traditional discourse, â€Å"functional mental illness. † That is, structures which have retained their morphologic integrity may nonetheless be shown to be functioning in metabolically hyperactive or hypoactive state relative to normal. In the interest of maintaining this important distinction, studies deriving from the two imaging modality groups are reviewed here separately.Structural brain imaging studies Luxenberg, Swedo, Flament et al. (1989) used quantitative Computed Tomography ( qCT) to analyze the morphologic volumes of various brain structures believed key in OCD. Clinical subjects with childhood-onset OCD were selected on the basis of active and unabated symptomatology of at least one year during their illness. While depressive symptomatology with onset after obsessional illness was not an exclusion criterion, none of the patients was depressed at the time of the qCT examination.The researchers found that mean caudate nucleus volume in the patients was significantly less than that of control subjects. No other significant brain abnormalities were found. Behar, Rapoport and Berg, et al (1984), report on the administration of CT scans and neuropsychological test measures to 16 adolescents with OCD and 16 matched controls. Patients were found to have significantly increased ventricular size (relative to whole-brain volume) and to show spatial-perceptual deficits on the Money Road Map Test of Directional Sense.The Money Map Test uses a simulated street map w ith a route indicated by a dotted line. The subject traverses the route and indicates a right or left turn at each choice point. Near the midpoint of the examination the subject is required to mentally rotate himself in order to reverse his own right-left reference. Patients with frontal lobe lesions have been reported to do poorly on this task. Subjects' ventricular size and neuropsychological test findings were not significantly correlated, however, and the researchers suggest that significant co-morbidity within the patient sample led to unexpected results.In fact, the patient sample had been selected on the basis of its extraordinary psychiatric symptomatology: â€Å"It is possible that (the OCD subjects) are atypical in that adult patients commonly report being able to conceal their symptoms after clear onset in childhood† (Behar, Rapoport and Berg, et al. , 1984, p. 365). The results of the Behar study are also inconsistent with those of Insel and associates (1983), who report neither ventricular enlargement on CT brain imaging nor significant neuropsychological deficits on the Halstead-Reitan battery of neuropsychological tests in 18 adult OCD sufferers.Confirmation for ventricular enlargement is likewise not observed in the present majority of structural brain studies. Garber, Ananth, Chiu, and colleagues (1988) performed Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans on 32 patients meeting the DSM-III criteria for OCD in an investigation of the caudate and ventricular findings. Subjects were judged free of psychopathology other than OCD on the basis of psychiatric testing and evaluation, and severity of OCD symptoms was rated at the time of MRI by means of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale.MRI creates highly detailed anatomical images using radiofrequency resonance signals elicited from the hydrogen atoms of tissue under study. The technique produces structural images which are in many respects (eg. , spatial resolution) quite superior to those provided by CT (Garber et al. , 1988). Further, a technical routine known as â€Å"spin-lattice relaxation time† (or Tl), in which a summary measurement of the time required for protons excited within host molecules to relax to baseline is taken as a direct measurement of the mobility of water protons in membranes and fluids.In the study with OCD patients, Behar and colleagues discovered significantly lengthier corrected Tl values for clinical subjects relative to controls in the lenticular nuclei and the right frontal lobes white matter. Because of the high degree of heterogeneity in both samples, subgroups within the clinical sample were developed on the basis of family history and medication status and analyzed against one another. No between group differences were noted based on medication status.Patients with family histories of OCD differed from those with no such histories in the anterior cingulum, showing significantly briefer Tl values. No gross structural differenc es were specific to the OCD group. Garber and colleagues (1988) ascribe the altered Tl include to subtle atrophy in the right frontal cortex or diminished blood flow to this region, corresponding to a decline in frontal cortical metabolism. Involvement is also suggested on the parts of the cingulate gyms and lenticular nuclei.These areas are components of frontal-limbic pathways that may mediate the symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder; surgical alteration of the relationships among structures within these pathways have produced symptomatic improvements. Moreover, the authors propose that hereditary influences on the illness may be most directly expressed in the cingulate region. The implication of the frontal lobes and cingulate gyms in OCD suggests abnormalities in cortical-striatal-thalamic-cortical circuits.Robinson, Wu, and Munne et al. (1995) used MRI in a structural volumetric analysis of selected brain regions within or adjacent to these circuits in 26 patients with OCD (DSM-VI-R criteria). While subjects were screened for a number of exclusionary criteria, co-morbidity with depression was not among these. Twenty-six screened normal control subjects were matched to the OCD patients. In results which directly contradict those of Scarone, Colombo, and Ambruzzese, et al.(1992), in which right caudate nucleus size was found by MRI to be increased in patients with OCD, Robinson and colleagues report a significantly diminished morphometic volume for the caudate nuclei bilaterally. These findings are consistent with those of Luxenberg et al. (1988), described above, in which morphometric analysis by CT indicated significantly reduced caudate nucleus volume in patients with OCD. Study by Alyward, Schwartz, and Machlin et al. (1991) report no statistically significant differences between OCD and normal subjects on MRI studies of caudate volume.Their report demonstrates a direct correlation in patients with OCD between the putamen volume and the Global Seve rity of psychopathology score developed by the National Institute of Mental Health as well as between the caudate volume and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale score, but found no correlations with the Y-BOCS total score or with the obsessions or compulsions subscore on this instrument. Curiously, however, division of the patients with OCD into subgroups based on a history of depression did not demonstrate a significant difference.Imaging measures were similar between subjects with and without medication histories. There was no evidence of ventricular enlargement in patients with OCD. As a group, studies of brain morphology and structure have returned substantially inconsistent findings in OCD; particularly differing are reports on the caudate nucleus and striatal region. Different study methods and small sample sizes may account partially for these discrepant findings and represent problems which must ultimately be overcome before a valid consensus can be reached.The significant prevalence of OCD symptomatology within neurologic populations and its high co-morbidity with depression contribute to the potential for heterogeneity in OCD samples (Pauls, 1995). The Alyward finding of increased caudate volume in OCD subjects with higher depression scale scores, but not among OCD subjects at large, not only reveals the heterogeneity of the disorder but illustrates the necessity of rigorously defining sample parameters before meaningful comparison and replication may be undertaken.Such rigor has not yet been sufficiently applied in structural imaging studies. Notwithstanding these issues, the question of a chronic degenerative process with resultant caudate diminution over time is suggested by certain of the data, in particular light of the fact that most of the OCD patients studied by the Robinson and Luxenberg groups were longtime sufferers. Longitudinal follow-up studies would be needed to determine whether caudate volume changes in OCD are progressive.Additiona lly, because structural brain imaging modalities are sensitive only to pathology which has resulted in physical change in tissue, they omit consideration of metabolic or functional change. The following section offers a discussion of imaging findings based on functional processes of the brain; modalities of this type substantially enlarge the data available from structural imaging alone. Functional brain imaging studiesFunctional brain imaging refers collectively to that set of techniques used to derive images reflecting biochemical, physiologic, or electrical properties of the central nervous system (Devous, 1995). The most developed of these techniques have in common the registration of such data in digitized maps which thus represent visually to the diagnostician or researcher the relative metabolic activations among brain structures of interest (provided that the dimensions of these lay within the spatial resolution capability of the particular technique).The maps can typically be rendered in any standard anatomical plane for the sake of further clarifying these metabolic relationships. Positron Emission Tomography (PET), so named for the species of radioactive decay on which it depends, and the more economical and widely available modality of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) each registers in a digitized functional map relative regional metabolic activations for any given brain state (eg. , under challenge, during active symptomatology, at rest, and so forth).SPECT maps the distribution of a radioactively labeled pharmaceutical administered intravenously administered to a subject and typically designed to integrate itself into brain blood flow processes in a manner correspondent to the relative activations of the latter (Devous, 1995). The emission of gamma radiation from the agent after it has been allowed to incorporate itself into brain tissue enables the subsequent mapping of blood perfusion densities across cortical regions with the use of SPECT imaging hardware.Blood flow and metabolism are tightly coupled within the brain under most normal and pathologic circumstances, and therefore inferences about neurometabolism are accurately informed by measures of relative blood flow (Devous, 1995). One of the more popular radiopharmaceuticals for such blood flow mapping is referred to generically as â€Å"HMPAO,† an acronym for the chemical structure of the agent. Bound to this chemical structure is the radioactive element Technetium-99m, which is favored as an imaging isotope because of its half-life and energy characteristics (Devous, 1995).Two facts of brain function are pertinent to any review of imaging studies in this area. The first of these requires the reader to keep in mind that an activated cortical region may be inhibitory or excitatory. In the basal ganglia system, for example, excitatory and inhibitory input sf contribute mutually to a functionally balanced neural tone. The second fact is closely related: A system which lies efferent to the hypermetabolic one will correspond to the nature of this input: Inhibitory or excitatory.Notwithstanding the complexities connected to image interpretation, the functional modalities have permitted the development of a more conclusive body of evidence regarding brain function in OCD than has been the case with structural imaging modalities. A consensus has emerged around increased activity in the right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Less agreement exists with respect to the role of the striatum and associated basal gangliar structures. Rubin, Villanueva-Meyer, and Ananth et al.(1995) studied ten adult male patients with OCD and ten age-matched adult male normal controls using SPECT Patients with OCD had significantly increased uptake of the metabolic tracer radionuclide in the high dorsal parietal cortex bilaterally, in the left posterofrontal cortex, and in the orbital frontal cortex bilaterally The patients also had significantly reduced t racer uptake in the head of the caudate nucleus bilaterally, but not in the putamen or thalamus, consistent with the hypothesized reduction of caudate nucleus activity in OCD. Baxter, Schwartz, Maziotta et al.(1992) reports findings which conflict with those of Rubin and co-workers on the activation of the caudate nuclei. In the Baxter study, ten non-depressed OCD patients were compared with ten age- and gender-matched normals using PET scans. Subjects were screened for current co-morbidity with major depression, bipolar disorder, cyclothymic disorder and dysthymia. All but two subjects had suffered from depressive disorders in the past. Comparison of the scans indicated that patients with OCD had significantly higher overall glucose metabolic rate values than normal controls.Orbital gyri were significantly higher in metabolic activation bilaterally, as were the bilateral heads of the caudate nuclei. As described, Rubin et al. (1995) report diminished metabolic activity in the head of the caudate nuclei bilaterally. Machlin, Harris, and Pearlson, el al. (1991) found elevated blood flow in the prefrontal cortex and cingulate (termed the medial-frontal region) in ten OCD patients studied with SPECT relative to a matched sample of eight normals.Several other well-conceived functional imaging studies implicate the structures of both the Papez circuit and Modell's hypothesized fronto-striatal-pallido-thalamic-frontal loop. Swedo et al. (1989) compared 18 OCD patients and 18 normals using PET, and while no whole-brain glucose metabolic differences were found between groups, the left orbitofrontal, right sensorimotor, and bilateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions were notably higher in adults with childhood-onset OCD. Within this group, a positive correlation emerged between glucose uptake in the prefrontal and orbitofrontal regions and state measures of anxiety.In addition, responders to treatment with clomipramine were distinguishable from non-responders on the basis of regional changes in the right cingulate and right orbitofrontal regions, with response failures evincing significantly higher pre-therapy activations. Baxter et al. (1992), in a series of studies with a total of 24 adult patients with OCD, found increased FDG uptake in the cerebral hemispheres overall, and in the orbital gyri and caudate nuclei in the OCD group as compared to normal controls.Rubin, et al (1995) used SPECT imaging and found elevated uptake in the dorsal parietal cortex bilaterally, the left posterofrontal cortex and the OFC bilaterally. The group also found decreased uptake in the heads of the caudate nuclei bilaterally. Two paired comparisons have been made of OCD subjects before and after symptom aggravation. Rauch et al. (1994) used oxygen-15 labeled carbon dioxide PET to study individually tailored provocative stimuli in order to provoke symptoms in eight patients with OCD.Paired comparisons pre- and post-challenge yielded an increase in regional Cerebral Blood Flow (rCBF) in the right caudate nucleus, left anterior cingulate cortex, and also bilaterally in the OFC subsequent to challenge. McGuire et al. (1992) studied four OCD patients during actual exposure to contaminants in a pattern tailored individually to produce successively greater degrees of anxiety. rCBF was found to increase in the OFC, neostriatum. globus pallidus, and thalamus in relation to the urge to perform compulsive movements.These two paired comparisons of patients pre- and post-challenge provide a unique opportunity to examine differences between a resting and an obsessional state in the same patient during a brief period. Further, such an examination sheds light on the manner in which inconsistencies among functional imaging studies may be due to variations in the mental state of obsessional patients at the time of the imaging studies. While the architecture of the anxiety challenge varies considerably between the Rauch and McGuire protocols, it remain s nonetheless somewhat disappointing that more consistent findings are not elicited in the paired comparisons.In these studies, as in the literature more generally, substantial disagreement exists on the response of the cingulate cortex and caudate nuclei. It is noteworthy, however, that the two paired challenge studies concur with respect to the hyperactivated state of the OFC. It is on the issue of striatal, specifically caudate, activation and morphology that most disagreement exists across both the structural and functional brain imaging studies. It is possible to speculate on the cause of this inconsistency: Caudate metabolism may be a state, rather than a trait, marker in OCD.It may also be that pathology in this region is progressive: Subjects with damaged striatal mechanisms may, for instance, manifest a hypermetabolic condition in the region for some lengthy period before an atrophic process ultimately begins and results in the opposite finding, hypometabolism and volumetri c diminution over a period of time. Uniformity across subject samples in terms both of length and history of illness and co-morbidity with other pathology is therefore essential to further investigation of this region in OCD. ConclusionThe two categories of imaging study at times assume roles along a continuum of pathological severity or etiology. For example, a degenerative change in tissue density or overall size and shape may have developed only after a lengthy period of metabolic dysregulation. An imaging technique sensitive only to morphology would pick up such pathology only at a relatively late stage in its development. Early changes, those occurring at the metabolic level, would be visualized only by means of a functional imaging technique. On the issue of orbital and frontal activation there exists substantial agreement.Although a great deal of data implicates these structures, it is not yet possible to demonstrate which specific obsessive-compulsive symptoms are related to the observed abnormalities in these neuroanatomic regions or what specific role the region plays in the neuropsychology of the illness. References Alyward E. H, Schwartz J, Machlin S, Pearison G. D. (1991). Bicaudate ratio as a measure of caudate volume on MR images. American Journal ofNeuroradiology, 12, 1217-1222. Baxter L. R. , Schwartz J. M. , Bergman K. S. , Szuba M. P. , Guze B. H. , Mazziotta J C , Alazraki A, Selin C. E. , Phelps ME (1992).Caudate glucose metabolic rate changes with both drug and behavior therapy for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 49, 681-689. Behar D, Rapoport J. L. , Berg C. J. , Denckla MB, Mann L, Cox C , Fedio P. , Zahn T, Wolfman M. G (1984). Computerized tomography and neuropsychological test measures in adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 363-368. Devous M. D. , (1995). Instrumentation, radiopharmaceuticals, and technical factors. In: Van Heertum R. L. , Tikoftky R. S. (eds. ) Cerebral SPECTImaging. New York, NY: Raven Press, Ltd.1995. Garber H. J. , Weilburg J. B. , Buonanno F. S. (1988). Use of magnetic resonance imaging in psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 164-171. Insel T. R. , Donnelly E. F. , Lalakea ML, Alterman IS, Murphy D. L (1983). Neuropsychological studies of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Biological Psychiatry, 18, 741-751. Luxenberg J. S. , Swedo S. E. , Flament M. F. , Friedland R. P. , Rapoport JR. , Rapoport S. I. (1988). Neuroanatomical abnormalities in obsessive-compulsive disorder detected with quantitative X-ray computed tomography. American Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 1089-1093.Machlin S. R. , Harris G. J. , Pearlson CD. , Hoehn-Sanc R, Jeffery P. , Camargo E. E. (1991). Elevated medial-frontal cerebral blood flow in obsessive-compulsive patients: ASPECT study. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148, 1240-1242. McGuire P. K. , Bench C. J. , Frith CD, Marks I. M. , Frackowiak R. S. J. , Dolan R. J. ( 1994). Functional anatomy of obsessive compulsive phenomena. British Journal of Psychiatry, 164, 459-468. McKeon J. , McGuffin P. , Robinson P. (1984). Obsessive-compulsive neurosis following head injury: A Report of four cases. British Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 190-192.Pauls D. L. , Alsobrook J. P. , Goodman W, Rasmussen S. , Leckman J. F. (1995). A family study of obsessive-compulsive disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 152, 76-84. Rauch S. L. , Jenicke MA, Alpert N. M. , Baer L, Breiter H. C. , Savage C. R. , Fischman A. J. (1994). Regional cerebral blood flow measured during symptom provocation in obsessive compulsive disorder using oxygen-15-labeled carbon dioxide and positron emission tomography. Archives of General Psychiatry, 51, 62-70. Robinson D. , Wu H. , Munne R. A. , Ashtari M. , Alvir J. M. J. , Lemer G. , Koreen A. , Cole K, Bogerts B.(1995). Reduced caudate nucleus volume in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52, 393-398. Rubin R. T. , Ananth J, Vilianueva-Meyer J. , Trajmar PC, Mena I. (1995). Regional Xenon-133 cerebral blood flow and cerebral Tc-99m-HMPAO uptake in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder before and during treatment. Biological Psychiatry, 38, 429-437. Scarone S. , Colombo C, Ambruzzese L. S. , Ronchi P. , Locatelli M , Smeraldi S. G. , ScottiG. (1992). Increased right caudate nucleus size in obsessive-compulsive disorder: Detection with magnetic resonance imaging.Psychiatry and Research Neuroimaging, 45, 115-121. Seibyl, J. P. , Krystal J. H. , Goodman W. K. (1989). Obsessive-compulsive symptoms in a patient with a right frontal lobe lesion: Response to lithium augmentation of trancypromine. Neuropsychiatry. Neuropsychology and Behavioral Neurology, 1, 295-299. Swedo S. E. , Rapoport J. L. , Cheslow D. L. , Leonard H. L. , Ayoub E. M. , Hosier D. M. , Wald E. R. (1989). High prevalence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms in patients with Sydenham's chorea. American Journal of Psychiatry, 146, 246-249.