Swing Set free essay sample

An English teacher once diagnosed me with Tortured Writer’s Syndrome (TWS). In spite of hyper-scrutiny over every letter of every word, despite an alleged eternity restructuring sentences and paragraphs, and regardless of receiving a high grade on compositions, I am never satisfied with my work. While I acknowledge this compulsion in my writing, I do not embrace TWS. To me, this restlessness is entirely a side effect of my super powers. I acquired them when my dad set in place the last pole of the swing set. Suddenly, I could do anything I willed. I was a CIA agent descending grime-covered sewers to escape my pursuers where others possibly may have seen a child strident down a slide. If that were true, one without similar prowess witnessed only the flailing legs of an adolescent on monkey bars, blind to me dangling high on luscious thrush of jungle vines to tire a lion below. We will write a custom essay sample on Swing Set or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I found that, even away from the swing set, I could spark life into fabrications with crayons and markers. In school, I feared its austerity, the switch from Crayola to Ticonderoga, would purge my capacity to imagine. Rather, words, with their infinite combinations and connotations, offered a depth previously absent within fleeting swing set adventures and stagnant pictures. It could be assured others could see the extent of my abilities due to the concrete character of writing. They could vividly travel back in time with me to visit old birthdays and road trips. But writing was also so welcome to the prior brevity and tangents of my imagination in which one idea would spawn a multitude of others. Words presented a superfluous flow of imaginations. The potential of what I could do had been uncapped, but as with any man with budding powers, I quickly found a nemesis—the wicked nature of time, of deadlines, forever denying me of fully bringing life to thoughts with words. On the swing set, I had lived several exploits within minutes, but it was necessary digressions were made foreign to my abilities to vivify ideas on the graphite-paper medium. The more I wrote, the fewer and sparser visits to the swing set became; when I did go, I could merely swing or climb the ladder, the childlike quality to my powers had largely subsided. I now feel relatively powerless via swing sets and color. Just as sure as pictures are now static, and swinging and traversing monkey bars does not translate into some grandiose feat, the future is tenacious to meetings with punctuality. Even if the showcase of my abilities now succumbs to the greater power of time, the years away from the swing set illuminate the aptitude of my powers to change. Right now my imagination may take me anywhere with my words, but battles with the treacherous likes of the beast, AP Physics, and the conquest of planet Calculus show it will continue to take various forms with many unique and welcome challenges.

How Organizational Changes Affect Employees Within An Organization

How Organizational Changes Affect Employees Within An Organization Introduction Research Background An organizational change can be described as a systematic approach to transitioning organizations, team members and individuals from the prevailing state to a desired future state (Lewis, 2011).Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on How Organizational Changes Affect Employees Within An Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is a process within an organization that aims at assisting stakeholders to accept changes in their organizations or individuals affiliated with the organizations. The need for organizational change has been necessitated by the increasing market pressures (Lewis, 2011). In this regard, companies are often effecting changes so as to remain competitive in the market. Organizational changes can be done in numerous ways. They may entail realigning organizational goals and objectives, changes in budgets, reducing or increasing the number of employees in a project or within a department (Lewis, 2011). Organizational change management process requires some fundamental structures and tools to effectively control any form of organizational change (Lewis, 2011). In this case, the main objective is to capitalize on the benefits and curtail consequences for employees; besides, care is taken to guarantee that the process does not cause disruptions. Even though this is the case, organizational changes can have direct effects on all departments from junior to senior employees within an organization (Lewis, 2011).Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Therefore, irrespective of the nature of change to be effected, the crucial aspect is an organization’s ability to win the buy-in of its employees in relation to the change (Lewis, 2011). Change is an unavoidable fact of any corporate organization; it also generally permeates in the society, thereby affecting everyone and every corporate organization. Therefore, the operations and structures of corporate organizations must have the capability of responding to change. The need to respond to change is brought about by changes in economic conditions, government involvement, limited resources and tight competitions among business entities (Lewis, 2011). Even though organizational changes are never deliberately intended to negatively affect employees, many employees still find themselves disadvantaged. Problem Statement Employees have been the main victims of organizational changes (Patterson, 2012; Allcorn, 2005). When employees are not well prepared and involved in an organizational change process, they are likely to be negatively affected by the change (Russel McGovern, 2012). Besides, failing to secure employees’ buy-in can prove to be disastrous to an organization’s change process (Bogardus, 2009). In this regard, many organizations do not pay at tention to how changes may affect employees on an individual basis. This is one of the reasons many organizations do not realize successful change processes. It is often important for an organization to find appropriate ways to involve its employees during the planning and execution of changes.Advertising We will write a custom proposal sample on How Organizational Changes Affect Employees Within An Organization specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, many organizations fail to do this, the consequence of which is the inability to realize how the changes affect employees commitment, behaviors and attitudes. The following are the list of problems and related sub-problems: The main problem is: How do changes in banks affect employees at individual levels? The related sub-problems are: How do bank employees perceive organizational changes with respect to their job specification? How do bank employees cope with the effects of organi zational changes? How are bank employees prepared for planned organizational changes? How do planned organizational changes impact staff turnover? Research Objectives and the Scope of the Research The research study has the following objectives: To explore how changes affect bank employees at personal levels. To evaluate employee’s perceptions of organizational changes in regards to their work specifications. To examine how bank employees cope with organizational changes. To investigate the way bank employees are prepared for organizational changes. To find out how organizational changes affect staff turnover. With respect to scope, the study will focus on how organizational changes affect employees within an organization. Besides, the research will be confined to the banking industry whereby employees of different banks will be surveyed and interviewed. Since there are numerous banks within the country, and owing to the limited time, the research will only consider survey ing and interviewing employees from only a few selected banks. Besides, it is worth pointing out that the data will be gathered qualitatively and then coded for analysis. The instruments of data collection will only be two: structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires. The study will only be done for the purposes of academics. In this case, there will be no need to conduct a large-scale research study.Advertising Looking for proposal on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Literature Review There exist many research and literature materials on the effects of organizational changes on employees. Various scholars have examined the effects with respect to different aspects of employees’ working environments. Indeed, a study by Biron, Karanika-Murray and Cooper (2012) acknowledge the fact that there is a growing interest in cascading change through the hierarchical levels in corporate organizations and finally to individual employees. This implies that interventions at organizational levels often have different effects on different departments and individuals. Another study by Saksvik (2009) has stressed out the significance of an individual employee’s perception and participation in an organizational change process. Saksvik (2009) argues that the success of an organizational change process greatly depends on the degree to which employees are involved and how they perceive organizational change processes. However, the study does not address how the changes impact individual employees. This implies that the scope of the study did not capture how employees were individually impacted by changes in the organizations they worked for. This provides a gap that this study seeks to seal through a survey and interviews. Hansson, Vingard, Arnetz and Anderzen (2008) conducted a controlled study to examine the impact of organizational change on workers’ job satisfaction, exhaustion from work and self-reported health conditions. The study was divided into two groups: one group of individuals affected by organizational changes and another one as a reference group of individuals not affected by the changes. The outcome of the study pointed out to the fact that there was the importance of taking into account the interest of individual employees’ plight during the planning process of organizational changes. However, the study only dealt with the consequences of change on workers in relation to only a few selected aspects. It did not provide a holistic approach to the study of the effects, hence its limited scope. In this regard, this study will widen the scope and look at the effects of organizational changes on an employee in a holistic manner. Many different researchers contend that an organizational change is typically activated by a relevant environmental change that, once acknowledged by a corporate organization, results in an unintentionally generated response (Lewis, 2011; Contento, 2010). The implication of this is that changes within an organization are intended to transform crucial organizational variables that further have effects on the stakeholders of the organization and job-related behaviors, especially employees. Other scholars also describe change as an empirical observation of differences in a state or form over a period of time within an organizational entity (Antoniou Cooper, 2005; Singh, 2009). According to their perception, the entity may be a service or product, work group or an individual’s job (Antoniou Cooper, 2005; Singh, 2009). This means that an organizational change can be perceived as a critical event, which can prospectively evoke stress reactions and other forms of negative consequences in workers. Moreover, employees normally face unique sets of workplace stress factors emanating from a changing work environment, which may be stressful for employees. However, it is important to note that workplace stresses are not only brought about by organizational changes. Even though this is partly true, the scholars failed to acknowledge other variant factors that result in stress among employees. In this regard, Barling, Kelloway and Frone (2005) argue that sources of workplace stresses may include the position held, workload and time spend working. In this respect, a further study is necessary to determine whether or not an organizational change results in stresses for employees and how employees cope with such a situation. This proves that the argument by Antoniou and Cooper (2005) and Signh (2009) were biased; their studies did not take into consideration other factors that, apart from organizational changes, may result in workplace stresses. Joseph and Chacko (2010) argue that corporate organizations exist in a dynamic and changing environment. They further state that most of the corporate organizations undergo extensive changes as resources increasingly become scarce; the implication of this is that employees are required to do more with limited resources. In this case, Joseph and Chacko (2010) reveal that any change will have definite effects on individual employees. The consequence of these effects may be negative in terms of economic and social life of each employee. These, in turn, influence the employees’ behaviors, beliefs and attitudes. The bulk of research studies that have been conducted on organizational change only focused on an organizational perspective while ignoring an individual angle (Packard, 2 013; Peacock, 2008). Such research studies seem to either evaluate an organization’s strategic adaptation or environmental changes (Malm, 2008). Consequently, researchers have clearly neglected the attitudes and behaviors of employees charged with the implementation of planned changes; it is noteworthy of the fact that these employees are very important to the success of an organization’s change process (Wittig, 2012; Jimmieson White, 2011). Hence, most scholars have created a reasonable understanding of how corporate organizations take care of their environment and how particular contextual variables actually impact the achievement of specific organizational changes (Alkhaffaf, 2011). However, the scholars have done less with regards to how individual employees perceive changes taking place within a corporate organization. Moreover, the scholars have also failed to examine how such perceptions are impacted or influenced by particular organizational changes and their ultimate response to the changes. Therefore, this research study seeks to add to the little that is known about the impact of organizational changes on individual employees. Other studies show that employees’ opposition is the greatest obstacle to the implementation of organizational changes (Mittal, 2012; Pasmore, 2010). Workers create opposition to change since they have no other options but to acquire new talents that are relevant to the changes being prompted. The research studies show that employees have never disagreed with the necessity for change; they only experience what is known as the fear of the unknown and the capability of adapting to the new changes. Vividly, these studies succeeded in finding out the reasons employees resist organizational changes; however, they failed to precisely establish how the changes impacted the employees thereby making them resist the changes. This is also a significant gap that this research will seek through a logically designed st udy. Dean (2008) argues that despite the fact that organizational changes affect employees, effective and efficient change management is able to streamline the processes of change and minimize the negative effects on employees. He further posits that when an organizational change is appropriately managed, employees are able to understand the benefits of a suggested change and hence accept it. However, it is important to note that some changes may end up still having negative effects on employees even if they are to be appropriately managed. For instance, it has been noted that employees can only be motivated to participate in a change process if he or she is sure of getting expected returns on personal input. However, where a change process directly targets employees, especially in relation to salary reductions and layoffs, they are likely to be negatively affected, irrespective of whether the change process is well managed or not. Therefore, the argument by the Dean (2008) that an appropriate management of a change process motivates employees to support the change is generalist in nature and does not reflect the reality. The researcher should have noted that there are intervening or moderating factors that must come into play during a change process to determine whether an employee is willing to support the change or decline to do so. Another study highlightes the fact that some organizational changes that fill the work environment with uncertainty result in low work morale among workers (Harrington, 2011). Consequently, most of them become cautious when it comes to taking risks; in this case, job performance and productivity go down and the employees become emotionally withdrawn from work. The study additionally reveals that when a corporate organization undergoes an organizational change, such as a merger or acquisition, downsizing and departmental restructuring, it is likely to make workers have the feelings of uncertainty, insecurity, stress and fretfulne ss. It is important to note that this study will have a theoretical underpinning, which is drawn from the motivation theory (Foster, 2007). Some researchers have noted that motivation forces are mostly described as those forces that encourage and sustain human behavior over a given period of time (Ryan, 2012; Held, 2006). In relation to this, the main objective of organizational change efforts is to make employees sustain certain behaviors that enhance and support the organizational changes over a desired period of time; generating commitment is a significant part of the organizational change process. It is noted that a successful implementation of a change process and working with motivated employees are crucial to the sustenance of an organization’s competitiveness (Ryan, 2012; Held, 2006). Therefore, the most appropriate theory on which this study will be grounded is equity theory. Equity Theory was proposed by Adams (Msoroka, 2012). The theory proposes that people view th eir world in the form of comparative inputs and outputs. In this case, they calculate what they invest in their job and the benefit they get out of it (Msoroka, 2012). They then make a comparison between their input and beneficial outcomes, on the one hand, and those of their peers, on the other hand (Msoroka, 2012). After this, they develop a ratio of comparison. If their input/outcome ratios are identical to those of their peers, there is unlikely to be tension. However, any noted difference may result in tensions that may negatively impact organizational change processes (Msoroka, 2012). This is thus a social exchange process in which employees expect benefits that are commensurate with their input during work (Msoroka, 2012). The variables that entail the social exchange in the context of an organizational change include resistance to change, commitment to a process of change and justice (Msoroka, 2012). Justice, in this case, is a measure of how an employee may perceive some ou tcomes he or she gets from the organization following his or her input during the change processes (Msoroka, 2012). According to Adam’s theory of motivation, if an employee perceives that he or she has not been treated justly, then he or she is likely to have a negative attitude and behavior towards working in the organization (Msoroka, 2012). Therefore, the Equity Theory can help in understanding how organizational changes affect employees at personal levels. Theoretical Framework This research study will be guided by a theoretical framework. There will be two main forms of variables: independent variables and dependent variables. In a research study, the independent variables are the influencing or cause variables that lead to specific resultant outcomes (Wood Ross-Kerr, 2010). Dependent variables can be described as the principle variables in a research study. They can be defined as the outcomes that a researcher wants to predict by manipulating or causing change in the i ndependent variables (Babbie, 2011; Kothari, 2008). Thus, a researcher’s main aim is to establish the interplay between the independent and the dependent variables. There are also other variables that play a significant role in a research process. These are known as moderator variables. Moderator variables are those variables that have strong contingent effects on the relationship between the independent and the dependent variables (Sekaran Bougie, 2010). It is important to note that the independent variables will be considered to be the organizational changes that take place within the banks that will be studied. The independent variables will be the effects resulting due to independent variables; the dependent variables will therefore, entail the effects the organizational changes have on the employees of the banks that will be studied. It is also important to note that there will be intervening or moderator variables which will determine the type of effects organizational changes will have on employees. The following represents a diagram of a theoretical framework for the study: The main hypotheses for study include: Organizational changes negatively affect the attitudes of employees when they are not involved in the change process. Poor planning and implementation of organizational changes reduce employees’ job performances. The type of leadership enforced during organizational change processes within an organization impacts the beliefs and behaviors of employees. Proposed Research Methodology Research Methodology The study will utilize a qualitative method. A qualitative research is a method of inquiry that is used to gather information related to a deeper understanding of human behaviors. Besides, this method of research study allows personal ideas, thoughts and concepts to be integrated into research findings. A qualitative research method provides very rich explanations of issues that the use of a quantitative research method cannot a llow (Merriam, 2009; Creswell, 2012). Importantly, a qualitative research method yields information about people’s real experiences, feelings, opinions and knowledge (Flick, 2009). Therefore, having considered the type of data required to achieve the objectives of this research study, a qualitative research method is considered to be the most appropriate. Furthermore, the setting of the study will be in the form of a survey research and structured interviews. A survey research is usually utilized to evaluate beliefs, views and sentiments of individuals or subjects being studied. The use of survey research enables a researcher to analyze individuals’ behaviors that cannot be analyzed through other settings, like experimental settings (Andres, 2012). Besides, the study process will also take place in an interview setting. Interviews will be helpful to the researcher in terms of creating an affinity with the participants, hence permitting the collection of adequate inform ation. The survey process will involve identifying respondents in different banks. The questionnaires will then be taken to each bank for the respondents to complete. This approach will be taken because it may be difficult to gather all respondents together in the study process due to their tight schedules at the banks and the possibility of some of them failing to turn up for the study. With respect to the structured interviews, the study will also be conducted in each bank. The interviewees will be asked in advance to spare a portion of their time to participate in the interviews. Each of the interviewees will then be interviewed for not more than 10 minutes. Data Collection Methods During the process of data collection, a triangulated approach will be used. With respect to this, open ended questionnaires and structured interviews will be utilized as instruments of data collection. It is worth noting that a triangulated method of data collection combines a range of data collection techniques that ensure sufficient information is gathered for a study (Samsonowa, 2011). With triangulation, the levels of threats to internal validity are detected and dealt with promptly. This, therefore, results in a stronger research design and more reliable and valid research findings or outcomes (Nykiel, 2007). A sample of respondents will be selected from 8 banks. In this case, a simple random sampling method will be used to recruit 5 respondents from each bank. Thus, in total, there will be 40 respondents for this research study. It is important to note that there is a possibility of some respondents failing to turn up for the study. In this regard, they will still be replaced through a simple random sampling. Simple random sampling is preferred as the most appropriate sampling technique due to a number of reasons. First, the use of a random sampling technique allows every item within a population to have an equal chance of being selected for inclusion in a research study ( Antonisamy, 2010). In cases where a population is homogenous, a simple random sampling can guarantee representativeness within a research study. This implies that there is a high possibility of having a population under study to be sufficiently represented in a research study (Fink, 2006). In addition, a random sampling technique is one of the easiest approaches to selecting sample populations; it is time saving and a cheaper means in terms of cost. During the sampling process, research ethics will be observed. No individual will be coerced to participate in the study. Instead, every participant will be allowed to pull out of the study at his or her own will. Moreover, no form of deception will be used to enlist the participation of respondents. The triangulated instruments of data collection, as earlier mentioned, include structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires.Considering the context of this research study, structured interviews will be crucial to the study since they are usually more efficient than other forms of data collection (Hersen, 2011). Furthermore, the use of structured interviews enables a researcher to administer similar questions in a similar order, thereby ensuring standard responses from respondents (Hersen, 2011). The choice of open-ended questionnaires has also been informed by numerous factors. One of the reasons is that open-ended questionnaires allow respondents to answer questions by providing information according to their own perceptions (Kumar, 2005). Besides, during the study process, respondents are often free to provide as much information as they are able because they are not limited as in the case when they are to answer closed questionnaires (Kumar, 2005). Moreover, another advantage of using open-ended questionnaires is that they enable a researcher to collect accurate data. This happens in two ways. First, it is unlikely that respondents will forget responses they have to provide if they are allowed to respond free ly. Second, open-ended questionnaires ensure that respondents read and understand the questions before giving their response, unlike in closed-questionnaires where a respondent may simply disregard questions and end up providing wrong responses (Kumar, 2005). This happens when respondents are given very many questions with numerous options to choose from. During the data collection process, the respondents will be assured of the fact that the information they will provide on the questionnaires will be kept confidential and that their identities will also be kept confidential. Moreover, the opinion of every participant will be respected. Furthermore, the researcher will respect the time of the respondents, especially during interview sessions. This will be important in terms of gaining their trust and future cooperation. The data analysis process will involve inspection, transformation and cleaning with the aim of highlighting important and useful information. After the foregoing pro cess, the data will be coded. Coding is termed as an explanatory technique that is used to consolidate the data in a methodical fashion and provide a way to present the clarification of the data into specific quantitative techniques. With respect to this, the data will be categorized into themes. The themes of the data will then be coded and entered into a computer system where it will be analyzed through a data analysis program known as SPSS. The statistical techniques to be used include frequencies, chi-square, percentages and other central tendencies. References Alkhaffaf, M. (2011). The Impact of Empowering Employees on Organizational Development: A Case Study of Jordan ICT Sector. Journal of US-China Public Administration, 8(7), 800-820. Allcorn, S. (2005). Organizational Dynamics and Intervention: Tools for Changing the Workplace. New York, US: M.E. Sharpe. Andres, L. (2012). Designing and Doing Survey Research. London, UK: SAGE. Antoniou, A., Cooper, C. (2005). Research Comp anion to Organizational Health Psychology. New York, US: Edward Elgar Publishing. Antonisamy, B. (2010). Biostats: Prin App. New Delhi, India: Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Babbie, E. R. (2011). The Basics of Social Research. London, UK: Cengage Learning. Barling, J., Kelloway, E., Frone, M. (2005). Handbook of Work Stress. London, UK: SAGE. Biron, C., Karanika-Murray, M., Cooper, C. (2012). Organizational Interventions. New York, US: Routledge. Bogardus, A. (2009). PHR/SPHR Professional in Human Resources Certification Study Guide. Winchester, Hampshire: John Wiley Sons. Contento, I. (2010). Nutrition Education: Linking Research, Theory, and Practice. New York, US: Jones Bartlett Learning. Creswell, J. W. (2012). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches. London, UK: SAGE Publications. Dean, R. (2008). Leadership Communications and Organizational Change: A Case Study of the Effect of Leadership Communications in Shaping Employee Perceptions of Chang e Efforts at Two Nuclear Power Facilities. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest. Fink, A. (2006). How to Conduct Surveys: A Step-by-Step Guide. London, UK: SAGE. Flick, U. (2009). An Introduction to Qualitative Research. London: SAGE. Foster, R. (2007). Individual Resistance, Organizational Justice, and Employee Commitment to Planned Organizational Change. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest. Hansson, A., Vingard, E., Arnetz, B., Anderzen, I. (2008). Organizational Change, Health, and Sick Leave among Health Care Employees: A Longitudinal Study Measuring Stress Markers, Individual, and Work Site Factors. Work Stress, 22(1), 68-85. Harrington, J. H. (2011). Streamlined Process Improvement. New York, US: McGraw Hill Professional. Held, D. (2006). Models of Democracy. Cambridge, UK: Stanford University Press. Hersen, M. (2011). Clinicians Handbook of Adult Behavioral Assessment. San Diego, California: Gulf Professional Publishing. Jimmieson, N., White, K. M. (2011). Predicting Employee Intentions to Support Organizational Change: An Examination of Identification Processes during a Re-Brand. British Journal of Social Psychology, 55(2), 330-350. Joseph, B., Chacko, R. (2010). Effects of Organizational Change on Managerial Trust in the Context of Employee Buyout in India. Journal of Military Medicine, 13(3), 170-180. Kothari, C. R. (2008). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques. New Delhi, India: New Age International. Kumar, R. (2005). Research Methodology: A Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners. London, UK: SAGE. Lewis, L. (2011). Organizational Change: Creating Change through Strategic Communication. Winchester: Hampshire: John Wiley Sons. Malm, J. R. (2008). Six Community College Presidents: Organizational Pressures, Change Processes and Approaches to Leadership. Community College Journal of Research Practice, 32(8), 610-619. Merriam, S. (2009). Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. Winchester, Hampshire: John Wiley Sons. Mittal, S. (2012). Managing Employ ee Resistance to Change: A Comparative Study of Indian Organizations and MNCs in Delhi-NCR Region. Researchers World: Journal of Arts, Science Commerce, 3(4), 60-79. Msoroka, M. (2012). Motivating Workers in Educational Institutions: Adams Equity and Maslows Need Hierarchy Theoretical Implications. Munich, Germany: GRIN Verlag. Nickel, R. (2007). Handbook of Marketing Research Methodologies for Hospitality and Tourism. New York, US: Routledge. Packard, T. (2013). Organizational Change: A Conceptual Framework to Advance the Evidence Base. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(1), 70-100. Pasmore, W. (2010). Research in Organizational Change and Development. New York, US: Emerald Group Publishing. Patterson, J. (2012). Coming Even Cleaner About Organizational Change. Lanham, Maryland: RL Education. Peacock, D. (2008). Weaving the Web into Organizational Life: Organizational Change and the World Wide Web in Cultural Heritage Organizations. Journal of Arts Management, Law Society. 38(1), 87-99. Russel, D., McGovern, M. (2012). A New Brand of Expertise. New York, US: Routledge. Ryan, R. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation. New York, US: Oxford University Press. Saksvik, P. (2009). Prerequisites for Healthy Organizational Change. Trondheim, Norway: Bentham Science Publishers. Samsonowa, T. (2011). Industrial Research Performance Management. New York, US: Springer. Sekaran, U., Bougie, R. (2010). Research Methods for Business: A Skill Building Approach. Winchester, Hampshire: John Wiley Sons. Singh, K. (2009). Organizational Change Development. New Delhi, India: Excel Books India. Wittig, C. (2012). Employees’ Reactions to Organizational Change. OD Practitioner, 44(2), 20-37. Wood, M., Ross-Kerr, J. C. (2010). Basic Steps in Planning Nursing Research: From Question to Proposal. New York, US: Jones Bartlett Learning.

3 Cases of Mixed Metaphors

3 Cases of Mixed Metaphors 3 Cases of Mixed Metaphors 3 Cases of Mixed Metaphors By Mark Nichol Efforts to describe something idiomatically with the use of metaphor- a word or phrase that figuratively provides an analogy- more than once in a sentence will likely distractingly interfere with reading comprehension, so avoid using more than one metaphor in a sentence, or at least ensure that they are complementary. Discussions after each example in this post explain the difficulty of using two metaphors, and revisions suggest a solution. 1. What you hear symbolizes something ominous- impending danger lurking just beneath the surface, which has been hanging over our heads in recent years. The metaphors in this sentence come at the reader from both directions, with an allusion to subterranean peril and an indirect reference to the anecdote of the sword of Damocles, in which a king suspends a sword over a courtier’s head by a single hair to teach the man a lesson about the peril of being in a position of power. To avoid this discordance, the metaphors should be consistent in imagery: â€Å"What you hear symbolizes something ominous- impending danger lurking just beneath the surface, which has percolating in recent years.† (Percolating is also a metaphor, but such one-word analogies embedded in our language do not distract as easily as more vivid imagery, and the verb is concordant with the preceding metaphor.) 2. These actions resulted in a significant redirection of market focus and gave the firms a ringside seat when the proverbial music stopped. â€Å"A ringside seat† refers to achieving a privileged position (literally, a front-row seat at a boxing match), and the phrase about music alludes to surviving a round of the game of musical chairs, in which competitors circle a group of chairs that numbers one less than the number of participants and vie to obtain a seat when music that is briefly played suddenly ceases, causing one person to be disqualified in each round. Although both metaphors deal, in a sense, with attainment of privilege, the contexts are different, and one is best abandoned in favor of the other: â€Å"These actions resulted in a significant redirection of market focus and gave the firms a ringside seat when that shift occurred.† 3. The same division within the party that derailed healthcare reform could also rear its head with respect to tax reform.   The reference to figurative derailment is at odds with the clichà ©d metaphor of a threatening creature preparing to strike. Again, sacrifice one metaphor for another (preferably, replacing the clichà © with a straightforward verb): â€Å"The same division within the party that derailed healthcare reform could also occur with respect to tax reform.† (An attempt to match the derailment reference with another train-related metaphor will only call attention to the symmetry at the expense of the point of the sentence.) 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 General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund Phrases75 Idioms and Expressions That Include â€Å"Break†What is an Anagram?

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and the Sino-Soviet Split Essay

The Second Taiwan Strait Crisis and the Sino-Soviet Split - Essay Example The present research has identified that during the period from 1924-1927, China and the USSR suffered under poorly managed governments. After 1945, Stalin demonstrated a residual resistance to lending aid to the Chinese Communists.   However, with China’s establishment of the Chinese People’s Republic and the rise of Communism in China, both nations found a way to iron out their differences and to work together in solidarity. By the 1950s the common belief among the international community was that communist China and the USSR were impenetrable allies engaged in a common goal to ensure that Communism was a major influence on the world. There was more than enough evidence to support this perception. Under Mao Tse-tung’s leadership, China formally aligned itself with the USSR. When the Communist in North Korea invaded the Republic of Korea, China intervened and the USSR lent military aid. Regardless, by the 1960s, the Sino-Soviet Alliance was practically shatter ed as their respective ideologies and policies were increasingly at odds. The office of the US Central Intelligence Agency reported to the US’s administrators in February 1962 that: Sino-Soviet relations are in a critical phase just short of an acknowledged and definitive split. There is no longer much of a fundamental resolution of differences. In our view, the chances that such a split can be avoided in 1962 are no better than ever. There are a number of theories put forth by historians and political scientists attempting to understand the driving force splitting the union between the world’s two largest Communist states. Athwal argues that the US’ â€Å"nuclear superiority† put increasing pressures on Sino-Soviet relations and policies by first influencing China to obtain nuclear weapons and by forcing the Soviets to look to the West in a more amicable way. Moreover, both China and the Soviet Union had different perceptions of the US threat which creat ed additional tensions between the USSR and China. In addition, the US policies toward the Chinese Communist Party and the US sponsorship of CENTO and SEATO and its presence in South Asia placed continuing pressure on Sino-Soviet relations contributing to the split.

Public Health Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Health Reform - Research Paper Example The primary objective of the healthcare reforms is to render excellence and affordable medical attention to all the citizens of the U.S. (Kronenfeld & Kronenfeld, 2004). The public health reforms have been put underway. The government has come up with strategies and approaches to warrant that all citizens profit from the medical access. Previously, it was optional for anyone to buy healthcare insurance policy. But since the passage of the healthcare reform bill into law, all members of the public are required to purchase medical insurance policy. This process is referred to as the individual mandate. The government has placed a deadline by which all citizens should have purchased an insurance policy (Kronenfeld & Kronenfeld, 2004). The Affordable Care Act is a portion of the healthcare reform law that was put in place aimed at reducing the cost of healthcare. The act aims at expanding medical coverage to all citizens of the U.S at the lowest costs possible. The act has clauses that hold insurance of its clients. The act also avails citizens with options on whether to choose private health insurance or the public health insurance. Quality of healthcare at the lowest costs is also a major factor that was included in the act. This act advocates for healthcare equality throughout the United States. The act consists of two separate pieces of legislation. These include the Healthcare and Affordable Care Act and Education Reconciliation Act and the Patient Protection. The Healthcare and Education Reconciliation Act aims at educating the public on the best ways of staying a healthy life. The Act has initiated policies and programs that will ensure that citizens will be educated and informed on how to counter some disorders such as diabetes and cancer. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act aims at protecting the needs and rights of all patients, regardless of their social status (Kronenfeld & Kronenfeld, 2004). It has policies that aim at healthcare

Precepts of Ptah Essay Example for Free

Precepts of Ptah Essay Traditionally, Ptah is the creator and god of Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt. Historically, the mythological figure is much more. *** One of the most important gods of ancient Egypt was Ptah of Memphis, a creator god and a director of human destinies. Mrs. Holmbergs study is essentially a reference book based on ancient textual sources and is primarily directed toward the Egyptologist. In the last chapter Mrs. Holmberg wrestles with the origin of the belief in Ptah and exposes the current Egyptological perplexity about the origins of the worship of their historical gods. One leading theory is the notion that the Egyptians from the beginning recognized a supreme being under various names in different places. This being was the one primeval god, the creator god, and the continuing ruler of men and the other gods. In its extreme expression this view is a sort of practical monotheism, since the more important gods are brought together under one theological heading and the lesser gods are made clearly subordinate. The opposing theory is geopolitically evolutionary. This view would argue that the most primitive deities were countless local gods who were gradually reduced in number by the enlarging of political units through conquest and assimilation. As the Egyptian nation emerged, the more successful of these local gods became cosmic forces-in part through political elevation of one cult-center over others, in part through a process of syncretism, and in part through mans attempt to answer the questions of his cosmological and cosmogonic speculation. Mrs. Holmberg tends to hesitate between these two theories, and in the present state of our ignorance about prehistoric origins one can hardly blame her. 1 PTAH – HOTEP Ptah-Hotep a was well – known Egyptian sage (sage of Ptah, per se) that dates from around 2200 BCE. He may even have enjoyed a celebrity status. Whatever his fame, he was an advisor to the King and would have been viewed as a very high ranking official.A collection of precepts is attributed to him, although scholars debate the actual author (and dating) of the document. 1 The God Ptah by Maj Sandman Holmberg Review by: John A. Wilson The Journal of Religion , Vol. 28, No. 3 (Jul., 1948), p. 229 Published by: The University of Chicago Press CP 1 Ancient History Sourcebook: The Precepts of Ptah-Hotep, c. 2200 BCE Precepts of the prefect, the lord Ptah-hotep, under the Majesty of the King of the South and North, Assa, living eternally forever. The prefect, the feudal lord Ptah-hotep, says: O Ptah with the two crocodiles, my lord, the progress of age changes into senility. Decay falls upon man and decline takes the place of youth. A vexation weighs upon him every day; sight fails, the ear becomes deaf; his strength dissolves without ceasing. The mouth is silent, speech fails him; the mind decays, remembering not the day before. The whole body suffers. That which is good becomes evil; taste completely disappears. Old age makes a man altogether miserable; the nose is stopped up, breathing no more from exhaustion. Standing or sitting there is here a condition of . . . Who will cause me to have authority to speak, that I may declare to him the words of those who have heard the counsels of former days? And the counsels heard of the gods, who will give me authority to declare them? Cause that it be so and that evil be removed from those that are enlightened; send the double . . . The majesty of this god says: Instruct him in the sayings of former days. It is this which constitutes the merit of the children of the great. All that which makes the soul equal penetrates him who hears it, and that which it says produces no satiety. Beginning of the arrangement of the good sayings, spoken by the noble lord, the divine father, beloved of Ptah, the son of the king, the first-born of his race, the prefect and feudal lord Ptah- hotep, so as to instruct the ignorant in the knowledge of the arguments of the good sayings. It is profitable for him who hears them, it is a loss to him who shall transgress them. He says to his son: Be not arrogant because of that which you know; deal with the ignorant as with the learned; for the barriers of art are not closed, no artist being in possession of the perfection to which he should aspire. But good words are more difficult to find than the emerald, for it is by slaves that that is discovered among the rocks of pegmatite. If you find a disputant while he is hot, and if he is superior to you in ability, l ower the hands, bend the back, do not get into a passion with him. As he will not let you destroy his words, it is utterly wrong to interrupt him; that proclaims that you are incapable of keeping yourself calm, when you are contradicted. If then you have to do with a disputant while he is hot,  imitate one who does not stir. You have the advantage over him if you keep silence when he is uttering evil words. The better of the two is he who is impassive, say the bystanders, and you are right in the opinion of the great. 2 If you find a disputant while he is hot, do not despise him because you are not of the same opinion. Be not angry against him when he is wrong; away with such a thing. He fights against himself; require him not further to flatter your feelings. Do not amuse yourself with the spectacle which you have before you; it is odious, it is mean, it is the part of a despicable soul so to do. As soon as you let yourself be moved by your feelings, combat this desire as a thing that is reproved by the great. If you have, as leader, to decide on the conduct of a great number of men, seek the most perfect manner of doing so that your own conduct may be without reproach. Justice is great, invariable, and assured; it has not been disturbed since the age of Ptah. To throw obstacles in the way of the laws is to open the way before violence. Shall that which is below gain the upper hand, if the unjust does not attain to the place of justice? Even he who says: I take for myself, of my own free-will; but says not: I take by virtue of my authority. The limitations of justice are invariable; such is the instruction which every man receives from his father. Inspire not men with fear, else Ptah will fight against you in the same manner. If any one asserts that he lives by such means, Ptah will take away the bread from his mouth; if any one asserts that he enriches himself thereby, Ptah says: I may take those riches to myself. If any one asserts that he beats others, Ptah will end by reducing him to impotence. Let no one inspire men with fear; this is the will of Ptah. Let one provide sustenance for them in the lap of peace; it will then be that they will freely give what has been torn from them by terror. If you are among the persons seated at meat in the house of a greater man than yourself, take that which he gives you, bowing to the ground. Regard that which is placed before you, but point not at it; regard it not frequently; he is a blameworthy person who departs from this rule. Speak not to the great man more than he requires, for one knows not what may be displeasing to him. Speak when he invites you and your worth will be pleasing. As for the great man who has plenty of means of existence, his  conduct is as he himself wishes. He does that which pleases him; if he desires to repose, he realizes his intention. The great man stretching forth his hand does that to which other men do not attain. But as the means of existence are under the will of Ptah, one can not rebel against it. If you are one of those who bring the messages of one great man to another, conform yourself exactly to that wherewith he has charged you; perform for him the commission as he has enjoined you. Beware of altering in speaking the offensive words which one great person addresses to another; he who perverts the trustfulness of his way, in order to repeat only what produces pleasure in the words of every man, great or small, is a detestable person. If you are a farmer, gather the crops in the field which the great Ptah has given you, do not boast in the house of your neighbors; it is better to make oneself dreaded by ones deeds. As for him who, master of his own way of acting, being all-powerful, seizes the goods of others like a crocodile in the midst even of watchment, his children are an object of malediction, of scorn, and of hatred on account of it, while his father is grievously distressed, and as for the mother 3  who has borne him, happy is another rather than herself. But a ma n becomes a god when he is chief of a tribe which has confidence in following him. If you abase yourself in obeying a superior, your conduct is entirely good before Ptah. Knowing who you ought to obey and who you ought to command, do not lift up your heart against him. As you know that in him is authority, be respectful toward him as belonging to him. Wealth comes only at Ptahs own good-will, and his caprice only is the law; as for him who . . Ptah, who has created his superiority, turns himself from him and he is overthrown. Be active during the time of your existence, do no more than is commanded. Do not spoil the time of your activity; he is a blameworthy person who makes a bad use of his moments. Do not lose the daily opportunity of increasing that which your house possesses. Activity produces riches, and riches do not endure when it slackens. If you are a wise man, bring up a son who shall be pleasing to Ptah. If he conforms his conduct to your way and occupies himself with your affairs as is right, do to him all the good you can; he is your son, a person attached to you whom your own self has begotten. Separate not your heart from him. But if he conducts himself ill and transgresses  your wish, if he rejects all counsel, if his mouth goes according to the evil word, strike him on the mouth in return. Give orders without hesitation to those who do wrong, to him whose temper is turbulent; and he will not deviate from the straight path, and there will be no obstacle to interrupt the way. If you are employed in the larit, stand or sit rather than walk about. Lay down rules for yourself from the first: not to absent yourself even when weariness overtakes you. Keep an eye on him who enters announcing that what he asks is secret; what is entrusted to you is above appreciation, and all contrary argument is a matter to be rejected. He is a god who penetrates into a place where no relaxation of the rules is made for the privileged. If you are with people who display for you an extreme affection, saying: Aspiration of my heart, aspiration of my heart, where there is no remedy! That which is said in your heart, let it be realized by springing up spontaneously. Sovereign master, I give myself to your opinion. Your name is approved without speaking. Your body is full of vigor, your face is above your neighbors. If then you are accustomed to this excess of flattery, and there be an obstacle to you in your desires, then your impulse is to obey your passion. But he who . . . according to his caprice, his soul is . . ., his body is . . . While the man who is master of his soul is superior to those whom Ptah has loaded with his gifts; the man who obeys his passion is under the power of his wife. Declare your line of conduct without reticence; give your opinion in the council of your lord; while there are people who turn back upon their own words when they speak, so as not to offend him who has put forward a statement, and answer not in this fashion: He is the great man who will recognize the error of another; and when he shall raise his voice to oppose the other about it he will keep silence after what I have said. 4 If you are a leader, setting forward your plans according to that which you decide, perform perfect actions which posterity may remember, without letting the words prevail with you which multiply flattery, which excite pride and produce vanity. If you are a leader of peace, listen to the discourse of the petitioner. Be not abrupt with him; that would trouble him. Say not to him: You have already recounted this. Indulgence will encourage him to accomplish the object of his coming. As for being abrupt with the complainant because he described what passed when the injury was done, instead of complaining of the injury itself let it not be! The way to obtain a clear explanation is to listen with kindness. If you desire to excite respect within the house you enter, for example the house of a superior, a friend, or any person of consideration, in short everywhere where you enter, keep yourself from making advances to a woman, for there is nothing good in so doing. There is no prudence in taking part in it, and thousands of men destroy themselves in order to enjoy a moment, brief as a dream, while they gain death, so as to know it. It is a villainous intention, that of a man who thus excites himself; if he goes on to carry it out, his mind abandons him. For as for him who is without repugnance for such an act, there is no good sense at all in him. If you desire that your conduct should be good and preserved from all evil, keep yourself from every attack of bad humor. It is a fatal malady which leads to discord, and there is no longer any existence for him who gives way to it. For it introduces discord between fathers and mothers, as well as between brothers and sisters; it causes the wife and the husband to hate each other; it contains all kinds of wickedness, it embodies all kinds of wrong. When a man has established his just equilibrium and walks in this path, there where he makes his dwelling, there is no room for bad humor. Be not of an irr itable temper as regards that which happens at your side; grumble not over your own affairs. Be not of an irritable temper in regard to your neighbors; better is a compliment to that which displeases than rudeness. It is wrong to get into a passion with ones neighbors, to be no longer master of ones words. When there is only a little irritation, one creates for oneself an affliction for the time when one will again be cool. If you are wise, look after your house; love your wife without alloy. Fill her stomach, clothe her back; these are the cares to be bestowed on her person. Caress her, fulfil her desires during the time of her existence; it is a kindness which does honor to its possessor. Be not brutal; tact will influence her better than violence; her . . . behold to what she aspires, at what she aims, what she regards. It is that which fixes her in your house; if you repel her, it is an abyss. Open your arms for her, respond to her arms; call her, display to her your love. Treat your dependents well, in so far as it belongs to you to do so; and it belongs to those whom P tah has favored. If any one fails in treating his dependents well it is said: He is  a person . . . As we do not know the events which may happen tomorrow, he is a wise person by whom one is well treated. When there comes the necessity of showing zeal, it will then be the 5 dependents themselves who say: Come on, come on, if good treatment has not quitted the place; if it has quitted it, the dependents are defaulters. Do not repeat any extravagance of language; do not listen to it; it is a thing which has escaped from a hasty mouth. If it is repeated, look, without hearing it, toward the earth; say nothing in regard to it. Cause him who speaks to you to know what is just, even him who provokes to injustice; cause that which is just to be done, cause it to triumph. As for that which is hateful according to the law, condemn it by unveiling it. If you are a wise man, sitting in the council of your lord, direct your thought toward that which is wise. Be silent rather than scatter your words. When you speak, know that which can be brought against you. To speak in the council is an art, and speech is criticized more than any other labor; it is contradiction which puts it to the proof. If you are powerful, respect knowledge and calmness of language. Command only to direct; to be absolute is to run into evil. Let not your heart be haughty, neither let it be mean. Do not let your orders remain unsaid and cause your answers to penetrate; but speak without heat, assume a serious countenance. As for the vivacity of an ardent heart, temper it; the gentle man penetrates all obstacles. He who agitates himself all the day long has not a good moment; and he who amuses himself all the day long keeps not his fortune. Aim at fulness like pilots; once one is seated another works, and seeks to obey ones orders. Disturb not a great man; weaken not the attention of him who is occupied. His care is to embrace his task, and he strips his person through the love which he puts into it. That transports men to Ptah, even the love for the work which they accomplish. Compose then your face even in trouble, that peace may be with you, when agitation is with . . .These are the people who suc ceed in what they desire. Teach others to render homage to a great man. If you gather the crop for him among men, cause it to return fully to its owner, at whose hands is your subsistence. But the gift of affection is worth more than the provisions with which your back is covered. For that which the great man receives from you will enable your house to live, without speaking  of the maintenance you enjoy, which you desire to preserve; it is thereby that he extends a beneficent hand, and that in your home good things are added to good things. Let your love pass into the heart of those who love you; cause those about you to be loving and obedient. If you are a son of the guardians deputed to watch over the public tranquillity, execute your commission without knowing its meaning, and speak with firmness. Substitute not for that which the instructor has said what you believe to be his intention; the great use words as it suits them. Your part is to transmit rather than to comment upon. If you are annoyed at a thing, if you are tormented by someone who is a cting within his right, get out of his sight, and remember him no more when he has ceased to address you. 6 If you have become great after having been little, if you have become rich after having been poor, when you are at the head of the city, know how not to take advantage of the fact that you have reached the first rank, harden not your heart because of your elevation; you are become only the administrator, the prefect, of the provisions which belong to Ptah. Put not behind you the neighbor who is like you; be unto him as a companion. Bend your back before your superior. You are attached to the palace of the king; your house is established in its fortune, and your profits are as is fitting. Yet a man is annoyed at having an authority above himself, and passes the period of life in being vexed thereat. Although that hurts not your . . . Do not plunder the house of your neighbors, seize not by force the goods which are beside you. Exclaim not then against that which you hear, and do not feel humiliated. It is necessary to reflect when one is hindered by it that the pressure of authority i s felt also by ones neighbor. Do not make . . . you know that there are obstacles to the water which comes to its hinder part, and that there is no trickling of that which is in its bosom. Let it not . . . after having corrupted his heart. If you aim at polished manners, call not him whom you accost. Converse with him especially in such a way as not to annoy him. Enter on a discussion with him only after having left him time to saturate his mind with the subject of the conversation. If he lets his ignorance display itself, and if he gives you all opportunity to disgrace him, treat him with courtesy rather; proceed not to drive him into a corner; do not . . . the word to him; answer not in a  crushing manner; crush him not; worry him not; in order that in his turn he may not return to the subject, but depart to the profit of your conversation. Let your countenance be cheerful during the time of your existence. When we see one departing from the storehouse who has entered in order to bring his share of provision, with his face contracted, it shows that his stomach is empty and that authority is offensive to him. Let not that happen to you; it is . . . Know those who are faithful to you when you are in low estate. Your merit then is worth more than those who did you honor. His . . ., behold that which a man possesses completely. That is of more importance than his high rank; for this is a matter which passes from one to another. The merit of ones son is advantageous to the father, and that which he really is, is worth more than the remembrance of his fathers rank. Distinguish the superintendent who directs from the workman, for manual labor is little elevated; the inaction of the hands is honorable. If a man is not in the evil way, that which places him there is the want of subordination to authority. If you take a wife, do not . . . Let her be more contented than any of her fellow-citizens. She will be attached to you doubly, if her chain is pleasant. Do not repel her; grant that which pleases her; it is to her contentment that she appreciates your work. 7 If you hear those things which I have said to you, your wisdom will be fully advanced. Although they are the means which are suitable for arriving at the maat, and it is that which makes them precious, their memory would recede from the mouth of men. But thanks to the beauty of their arrangement in rhythm all their words will now be carried without alteration over this earth eternally. That will create a canvass to be embellished, whereof the great will speak, in order to instruct men in its sayings. After having listened to them the pupil will become a master, even he who shall have properly listened to the sayings because he shall have heard them. Let him win success by placing himself in the first rank; that is for him a position perfect and durable, and he has nothing further to desire forever. By knowledge his path is assured, and he is made happy by it on the earth. The wise man is satiated by knowledge; he is a great man through his own merits. His tongue is in accord with his mind; just are his lips when he speaks, his eyes when he gazes, his ears when he hears. The advantage of his son is to  do that which is just without deceiving himself. To attend therefore profits the son of him who has attended. To attend is the result of the fact that one has attended. A teachable auditor is formed, because I have attended. Good when he has attended, good when he speaks, he who has attended has profited, and it is profitable to attend to him who has attended. To attend is worth more than anything else, for it produces love, the good thing that is twice good. The son who accepts the instruction of his father will grow old on that account. What Ptah loves is that one should attend; if one attends not, it is abhorrent to Ptah. The heart makes itself its own master when it attends and when it does not attend; but if it attends, then his heart is a beneficent master to a man. In attending to instruction, a man loves what he attends to, and to do that which is prescribed is pleasant. When a son attends to his father, it is a twofold joy for both; when wise things are prescribed to him, the son is gentle toward his master. Attending to him who has attended when such things have been prescribed to him, he engraves upon his heart that which is approved by his father; and the recollection of it is preserved in th e mouth of the living who exist upon this earth. When a son receives the instruction of his father there is no error in all his plans. Train your son to be a teachable man whose wisdom is agreeable to the great. Let him direct his mouth according to that which has been said to him; in the docility of a son is discovered his wisdom. His conduct is perfect while error carries away the unteachable. Tomorrow knowledge will support him, while the ignorant will be destroyed. As for the man without experience who listens not, he effects nothing whatsoever. He sees knowledge in ignorance, profit in loss; he commits all kinds of error, always accordingly choosing the contrary of what is praiseworthy. He lives on that which is mortal, in this fashion. His food is evil words, whereat he is filled with astonishment. That which the great know to be mortal he lives upon every day, flying from that which would be profitable to him, because of the multitude of errors which present themselves before him every day. A son who attends is like a follower of Horus; he is happy after having attended. He becomes great, he arrives at dignity, he gives the same lesson to his children. Let none innovate upon the precepts of his father; let the same precepts form his lessons to his children. Verily, will his 8  children say to him, to a ccomplish what you say works marvels. Cause therefore that to flourish which is just, in order to nourish your children with it. If the teachers allow themselves to be led toward evil principles, verily the people who understand them not will speak accordingly, and that being said to those who are docile they will act accordingly. Then all the world considers them as masters and they inspire confidence in the public; but their glory endures not so long as would please them. Take not away then a word from the ancient teaching, and add not one; put not one thing in place of another; beware of uncovering the rebellious ideas which arise in you; but teach according to the words of the wise. Attend if you wish to dwell in the mouth of those who shall attend to your words, when you have entered upon the office of master, that your words may be upon our lips . . . and that there may be a chair from which to deliver your arguments. Let your thoughts be abundant, but let your mouth be under restraint, and you shall argue with the great. Put yourself in unison with the ways of your master; cause him to say: He is my son, so that those who shall hear it shall say Praise be to her who has borne him to him! Apply yourself while you speak; speak only of perfect things; and let the great who shall hear you say: Twice good is that which issues from his mouth! Do that which your master bids you. Twice good is the precept of his father, from whom he has issued, from his flesh. What he tells us, let it be fixed in our heart; to satisfy him greatly let us do for him more than he has prescribed. Verily a good son is one of the gifts of Ptah, a son who does even better than he has been told to do. For his master he does what is satisfactory, putting himself with all his heart on the part of right. So I shall bring it about that your body shall be healthful, that the Pharaoh shall be satisfied with you in all circumstances and that you shall obtain years of life without default. It has caused me on earth to obtain one hundred and ten years of life, along with the gift of the favor of the Pharoah among the first of those whom their works have ennobled, satisfying the Pharoah in a place of dignity. It is finished, from its beginning to its end, according to that which is found in writing. Source: From: Charles F. Horne, The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East (New York: Parke, Austin, Lipscomb, 1917), Vol. II: Egypt, pp. 62-78. Scanned by: J. S. Arkenberg, Dept. of History, Cal. State Fullerton This text is part of the Internet Ancient History Sourcebook. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. 9 Unless otherwise indicated the specific electronic form of the document is copyright. Permission is granted for electronic copying, distribution in print form for educational purposes and personal use. No representation is made about texts which are linked off-site, although in most cases these are also public domain. If you do reduplicate the document, indicate the source. No permission is granted for commercial use.  © Paul Halsall May 1998

Michael Ondaatjes Relationship with his Father in his Work, Running in

Michael Ondaatje's Relationship with his Father in his Work, Running in the Family The jacket description embossed on the back cover of the Vintage publication of Michael Ondaatje's Running in the Family gives the reader a false sense of what the book is about. To some it is a "lyrical and witty" tale of "broken engagements, and drunken suicide attempts," and to some it may be "an inspired marriage of travel narrative and family memoir" (jacket). The front cover, however, provides the most valuable information about the book. It is a detail from Paul Gauguin painting of a man walking through a tamed arboreal area. A scene from a tropical countryside the colors are bright and vibrant; off to the left side is a small hut. Gaugiun was a post-Impressionistic painter who stressed feeling over realism; it was the sole intent of the artist to catch the emotion of the moment. Thus, emotion appears to be the driving force of Running in the Family. The book is a series of anecdotes and "gesture[s]" as Ondaatje labels his construction of plot (206). Ondaatje records events as they are told to him, exaggerated by the storytellers and distorted by time, and further transformed through his transcription good. Interestingly, it is his father, Mervyn Ondaatje, and not Michael Ondaatje himself, who captures most of the attention in Running in the Family. Of this, literary critic and professor Winfried Siemerling states, "the connection between the self and the other is directly patronymic in Running in the Family †¦ the book can be read as a biography. Representing the story of Mervyn Ondaatje through the eyes of his son Michael, however, the biography is, at the same time, autobiography." Ref This a convention which mayead the reader to surm... ...needed to find him in one form or another" (Jewinski, 13). Ondaatje's avoidance of explanation is renown, as Douglas Barbour offers in his critical essay of Running in the Family, " rather than explanation, Ondaatje's texts seek to create a sensual and emotional awareness of the other's living" (packet 124). But what Ondaatje doesn't explicitly express, he weaves into his text, creating that "sensual and emotional awareness," allowing his readers to step into the life of his father, and along with Ondaatje, forgive. Works Cited Barbour, Douglass. "From: 'Michael Ondaatje'." Waddington Packet, 2001. Jewinski, Ed. Michael Ondaatje: Express Yourself Beautifully. Toronto ECW Press, 1994. Ondaatje, Michael. Running in the Family. Vintage Books, New York, 1993. Siemerling, Winfried. Discoveries of the Other. Toronto, University of Toronto Press Inc., 1994.

Theory Observation Distinction

Is there a genuine distinction between observable and unobservable entities? Why does it matter? How, and why, might one distinguish between theoretical and observational statements in science? I have decided to tackle both these questions because they feed into and relate to one another. They emphasize different aspects of a prevalent debate, all aspects of which I wish to touch on. Whether the question of a distinction between observable vs unobservable entities is synonymous to the question of a distinction between theoretical vs non-theoretical statements is itself a matter of debate.Quine advocates semantic ascent, the shift in which the language we use to refer to the world becomes something we talk about in its own right. Semantic ascent is a shift from questions about objects to questions about words or statements. He says we should ‘drop the talk of observation and talk instead of observation sentences, the sentences that are said to report observations’ (The ro ots of Reference). So obviously Quine thinks the two questions are equivalent. They have often been treated as equivalent questions, or at least not distinguished too carefully.I agree with Van Fraassen that we should at least note and respect the differences between the two ways of talking about what might be the same issue, and not make the category mistake of talking about theoretical entities, just for clarities sake. At any event Paul M Churchland disagrees with Quine that the two debates are parallel , He says â€Å"we agree (Churchland and Van Fraassen) that the observable/unobservable distinction is entirely distinct from the nontheoretical/theoretical distinction†.This disagreement / confusion as to the very terrain, layout of the questions of the debate, arises because there is the ordinary language question of how do we naturally apply the terms ‘observed’ and ‘observation’, as well as the question of whether a principled O/T distinction c an or should be drawn; as Gerry Fodor’s Granny says: â€Å"True there is an epistemologically important distinction, that it’s reasonable to call ‘the’ observation inference distinction, and that is theory relative.And, also true, it is this theory-relative distinction that scientists usually use the terms ’observed’ and ‘inferred’ to mark. But that is quite compatible with there being another distinction, which it is also reasonable to call ‘the’ observation /inference distinction which is also of central significance to the philosophy of science, and which is not theory relative. † It is this second principled O/T distinction that I will focus on as opposed to the ordinary language distinction, I do not think ordinary language arguments bear on the question of whether there is or should be a principled distinction.Although examining what inclines us one way or another in ordinary language usage may clarify f actors that also influence us in an overall distinction, such as naturalness, entrenchment, flexibility and plasticity. After semantic ascent the question of whether there is an O/T dichotomy becomes one of whether all observation reports presuppose some theory. This slightly ignores the question of the ontological status of the entities, whether observed or unobserved, but this will come up when I tackle the subsidiary part of each question the â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction presents itself? I think the strategy of semantic ascent is useful and justified since the debate takes place in at least two domains, the perceptual/cognitive (internal) and the observational/inferential (public)â€Å"The strategy of semantic ascent is that it carries the discussion into a domain where both parties are better agreed on the objects (viz. , words) and on the main terms connecting them. Words, or their inscriptions, unlike po ints, miles, classes and the rest, are tangible objects of the size so popular in the marketplace, where men of unlike conceptual schemes communicate at their best.The strategy is one of ascending to a common part of two fundamentally disparate conceptual schemes, the better to discuss the disparate foundations. No wonder it helps in philosophy. † Quine word and object. But it is a bit confusing and difficult to translate debates or points between the two, and certain debates are clearer at the ground level rather than the meta-level. There are three classes of arguments that bear on the T/O distinction: 1. Meaning holism arguments. Which tend to work against the distinction 2.Ordinary language arguments. Which tend to work for the distinction 3. Psychological arguments. Which can work for or against As well as a specific argument by Grover Maxwell from the continuity of observation with inference which works against the T/O distinction. There are two extant modes for making t he theory observation distinction – Fodor’s and Van Fraassen’s. Fodor defends the distinction against the implication from cognitive science that perception is continuous with cognition. VanFraassen defends the distinction against Maxwell’s challenge that it is impossible to draw the line between what is observable and what is only detectable in some more roundabout way. Fodor and Van Fraassen have different reasons for drawing a distinction, Fodor, to defend realism, Van Fraassen to attack realism, strangely enough. Fodor to defend realism against Kuhnian relativism, and Van Fraassen to defend constructive empiricism, a form of anti-realism, against incoherence, and so pit it against realism.As Andre Kukla notes â€Å"It is not surprising that a realist and an anti-realist should agree on something; but it is curious that van Fraassens and Fodor’s defenses of the theory-observation distinction play diametrically opposite roles in their philosophi cal agenda’s. † Andre Kukla the theory observation distinction. But should we be driven by a philosophical agenda in debating a question? Or should we resolve the question and then decide on a position which accords with our answer? Shouldn’t we be neutral when we make philosophical decisions?Unfortunately in philosophy there is so little ‘evidence’ making up your mind is more a matter of achieving coherence, it is legitimate to allow justification to flow in all directions. The question of whether there is a T/O distinction is relevant to the debate between realists anti-realists and relativists in the following manner. So far as realists debate with anti-realists is concerned, the T/O distinction is optional for realists. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by making it unravel.They have everything to gain, because the constructive empiricist position is incoherent without a T/O distinction. But so far as realists debate with relativis ts goes, realists have conversely everything to gain and nothing to lose by defending a distinction, they would defeat relativists. Kuhnain Relativism requires the lack of a theory neutral language with which to adjudicate our differences, so we get incommensurability, incommensurability leads to the irrationality of theory choice thus we get relativism. But realists cannot have an easy victory against both parties.I suggest that the realist denies the T/O distinction and so wins against the constructive empiricist. The lack of a T/O distinction does not entail relativism; a theory laden observation can still test a theory. To return to the question of whether we should be driven by a philosophical agenda in deciding a point, it must be remembered that we are concerning ourself with the question of whether there is a significant or principled O/T distinction. Its significance comes from its position within a larger debate.Frankly, everyone can admit there is some sort of distinction or difference between direct and indirect observation, the question really is how significant the difference is, whether a distinction can be drawn at a position significant enough to support any theory, the significance depends on the work it is made to do by larger theories. Paul M. churchland defines his scientific realism as a realism entirely in terms of his attitude towards the T/O distinction. He believes any attempt to draw the distinction, particularly Van Fraassen’s, is arbitrary.By any skepticism â€Å"our observational ontology is rendered exactly as dubious as our non-observational ontology† He is not an orthodox scientific realist; he is skeptical about the overall truth of our beliefs, the reference of scientific terms, and the convergence of theory towards truth. But he is skeptical about the success of all our theories, cognition at large, from a low to a high level not just scientific theories, and thus does not distinguish between the integrity of o bservables and the integrity of unobservables. He states that â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition†.Although churchland has exactly the same attitude to observables and unobservables, a cautious skeptical attitude, relative to his peers he has a slightly pro attitude to unobsevables, and a negative attitude to observables. This pro – attitude to the unobservables of science makes him a realist and his slightly negative attitude to the observables of everyday life make him a scientific realist â€Å"the function of science, therefore, is to provide us with a superior and (in the long run) perhaps profoundly different conception of the world, even at the perceptual level†.I agree with Churchland as to the theoretical character of perceptual judgments, I agree that â€Å"perception consists in the conceptual exploitation of the natural information contained in our sensations or sensory statesâ⠂¬  . Having done part of a module on â€Å"the brain as a statistician† I know that our perceptual judgments are statistical decision problems akin to gambling or any decision based on uncertain evidence.Because inputs are noisy – the external world and inefficient transduction creates noise- the question of whether a signal is present or not will reflect the relative probability that a signal is drawn from distribution A(noise only) or distribution B(signal + noise). Biasing factors are the probability of occurrence of a member of each category, information on which is drawn from memory. Perceptual decisions rely on perception and memory, or evidence and prior knowledge, prior knowledge being essentially a theory about the world.However I disagree with Paul Churchland as to the possibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other than the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’ For one, I donâ⠂¬â„¢t think we learn our common sense theory rather it is built into our genetics. I do not think we are nearly as plastic as he makes out, on this point I go with Gerry Fodor, perception and cognition are not continuous, and perception can never make judgments in terms of grand theories which we can barely conceive. The boundary between what can be observed and what must be inferred is largely determined by fixed architectural features of an organisms sensory / perceptual psychology† Gerry Fodor Observation Reconsidered. Paul Churchland directly contradicts this saying â€Å"our current modes of conceptual exploitation (perception) are rooted, in substantial measure, not in the nature of our perceptual environment, nor in the innate features of our psychology, but rather in the structure and content of our common language†.How plastic the brain may be is an empirical point, and I think Gerry Fodor wins the debate with his analysis of the muller-lyer illusion. Fodor sa ys the robustness of the muller lyer illusion attests to the imperviousness of perception by cognition. There are both perceptual plasiticities and implasticities. Kuhn was impressed by the plasticities, but it is time to dwell more on the implasticities. â€Å"To the best of my knowledge, all the standard perceptual illusions exhibit this curious refractory character :knowing they are illusions doesn’t make them go away† However I don’t think Fodor is being entirely empirically accurate.Some illusions such as the concave – convex illusion, in which heavily shaded circles appear as concave when the shadow is at the top of the circle, and convex when the shadow is at the bottom of the circle, which occurs because we have a strong prior belief / prior assumption that light falls from above, can be reversed or at least nullified if you really try. The famous duck rabbit can definitely be flipped at will. And the old hag, young girl illusion, personally I can never see the old hag unless it is explained to e, then I can. But anyway Fodor makes his point, we cannot always see just what we want to see or think we should see. I agree with Gerry Fodor that perception is fairly modular, and is not (probably) affected (much) by conscious explicit knowledge. Certainly the muller lyer illusion is fairly robust And I think far too much is made of the duck rabbit illusion – Kuhn says â€Å"it is as elementary prototypes for these transformations of the scientists world view that the familiar demonstrations of a switch in gestalt prove so suggestive†.But I do not think they are anything more than just that – suggestive – because a scientist, does not, cannot form an image or representation of quarks and leptons in any way analogous to a duck or a rabbit, so this image cannot ‘flip’. Paul Churchland seems to think we can form such images, but personally I cannot. I see the western sky redden as the sun sets not â€Å"the wavelength distribution of incoming solar radiation shift towards the longer wavelengths†.However I would say our inability to alter our perception does not damage churchland’s essential point which was that perception relies on theory, implicit theory. A very entrenched embedded theory, but theory all the same. Churchland thinks the distinction between the theoretical and the non-theoretical is just a distinction between freshly minted theory and thoroughly thumb-worn theory whose ‘cultural assimilation is complete’.I think some ‘thumb-worn theory’ is actually entrenched in our biology. But maybe individual differences come into play here, maybe some people are more plastic than others, or innately sensitive to some aspects of reality than others, maybe our biology is not universal. Paul Churchland says that the person with perfect pitch is not a physiological freak but a practiced observer. But I think it most likely that there is something unique about them.Maybe I am closed minded in the sort of visualization Churchland encourages, maybe that’s just me, I had no luck with seeing in the fourth dimension even after reading ‘Flatland’ and ‘speculations on the fourth dimension’ whereas other people (the authors) claim to have, still I’m a bit skeptical. Paul Churland’s thought experiments where he gets us to imagine various other beings, with radically different physiology, beings that can visually see infra-red heat for example, raises the idea of the possibility of other sensory modalities.And although we cannot communicate with them, so they are not part of our epistemic community, there are animals on our planet who presumably sense different things to us, such as bats and dolphins. Van Fraassen insists that is ‘observable’ must be observable to us unassisted, and as we currently are, an anthropocentric conception; â€Å"the limitations to whi ch the ‘able’ in observable refers are our limitations qua human beings. † It could be argued that Van Fraassens anthropocentric conception of the observable is not just anthropocentric, but parochial.Alternatively it could be argued that van fraassen draws the line arbitrarily: according to Van Fraassen we can observe planets using a telescope, but we cannot observe viruses using a microscope, because planets are something we could observe without any augmentation of the senses, where we close enough to them, and indeed some of them we can observe from earth, our natural position, (venus) whereas under normal conditions viruses cannot be seen.I do not agree with this objection to Van Fraassen, I think where he draws the line is one natural place to draw it if it has to be drawn, but it is just that I don’t agree with him that the drawing of the line here is very significant. I am a realist and I believe unobservables are generally as real as observables. F rom his drawing of the line, van Fraassen only believes in observables.Fodor lightly passes over the fact that â€Å"perceptual analyses are undetermined by sensory arrays† and are only resolved by Bayesian reasoning from previous evidence / experience, and that â€Å"the appeal to background theory is inherent to the process of perceptual analysis† Fodor Observaiton reconsidered. I think this fact is indisputable, and it is in this respect that perception and cognition are similar as Paul churchland maintains, both are theories and â€Å"global excellence of theory is the ultimate measure of truth and ontology at all levels of cognition† .The impossibility of our being trained to make systematic perceptual judgments in terms of theories other that the common sense theory we ‘learnt at our mothers knee’, the implasticity of actual human perception, is irrelevant in drawing a theory observation distinction, both perception and cognition are theory de pendent. But Granted as Fodor points out against Kuhn scientific knowledge doesn’t actually percolate down to affect the perceptual. Kuhnian perceptual theory loading does not occur. There is some natural barrier. Is this barrier the location of the O/T distinction? I think it probably is if there is one.It is significant, but not significant for the anti-realist, it does not decide our ontology. It is significant in the realists fight with relativism since observations are theory laden, but are not necessarily laden with the high level theories that they must adjudicate between. So perceptions are laden with perceptual theory, but not laden with quantum theory. Fodor makes the O/T distinction in such a way that it is significant for realists against relativism, but not significant for anti-realists. â€Å"Fodor isn’t looking for a notion of observationality that underwrites our granting epistemic privilege to observation statements.He’s looking for a notion th at will ward off the incommensurability arguments. And for that purpose anything that produces consensus will do† Andre Kukla The theory observation distinction. Now to explicitly tackle the questions, â€Å"why make a distinction, for what purpose? †or â€Å"why does it matter if a distinction does or does not present itself? †. I have already touched on the answer to these questions when outlining the role of the distinction (or lack of) in larger debates between anti-realists, and relativists.The question of the O/T distinction has epistemological significance; it concerns the epistemic bearing of observational evidence on theories it is used to evaluate. This is part of the debate between realists and relativists. The relativists holding that observation is an inadequate basis for choosing between rival theories, the realists claiming it is an adequate basis, or there is at least something which is an adequate basis. Observational evidence also plays importan t and philosophically interesting roles in other areas including scientific discovery and the application of scientific theories to practical problems.But we will concentrate on theory testing. It seems that if all observations are theory laden then there is no objective bedrock against which to test and justify theory. The classic or common view of science is that scientific knowledge is derived from the ‘facts’ or observations. Two schools of thought that involve attempts to formalize this common view of science are the empiricists and the positivists. An extreme interpretation of the claim that science is derived from the facts implies that the facts must first be established, and subsequently a theory built to fit them.This is the baconian method building a case from the ground up. This is not how science actually proceeds. â€Å"our search for relevant facts needs to be guided by our current state of knowledge, which tells us for example that measuring the ozone c oncentration at various locations in the atmosphere yields relevant facts whereas measuring the average hair length of the youths in Sydney does not† A F chalmers What is this thing called Science?. But the fact that science is guided by paradigms does not support kuhnian relativism.Kuhnian relativism can only be established if incommensurability is, that is if high level theory-loading of observation were established. As I have already argued along with Fodor, observation may be loaded with low level perceptual theory but not with high level conscious and elaborate theory. Proponents of competing theories often produce impressively similar observational data, this indicates perceptual theory loading is not that great. If science were blinded by paradigms that would be a different matter. Against semantic theory loading; Often observations reported non-linguistically, pictorially with tables of numbers etc.Late 20th century philosophers may have exaggerated the influence of se mantic loading because they thought of theory testing in terms of inferential relations between observational and theoretical sentences. Against Salience or attentional loading – scientists under different paradigms attend to different things. Yes, but doesn’t always happen. And scientists may appreciate the significance of data that is brought to their attention that had not been noticed. Attentional loading is not inevitable and not irredeemable. So observation is and adequate basis for adjudicating between theories (unless the theories are underdetermined by data).In conclusion I would say there is no absolute T/O distinction, but there is enough of a difference, enough bottom up flow of justification, to defeat relativism. A. F. chalmers: what is this thing called science? Paul M Churchland: Scientific realism and the plasticity of the mind Paul M churchland: The ontological status of obsservables: In praise of superempirical virtues Gerry Fodor: observation recons idered Andre Kukla: the theory observation distinction W. V. O Quine: Word and Object Bas Van Fraassen: the scientific image

Contact Sports

Introduction: According to the oxford dictionary a â€Å"Contact sport† is a sport in which participants necessarily come into bodily contact with one another, this includes football, rugby, hockey and la cross. Children and parents must be warned of the mental, physical and social risk factors that are associated with contact sports before being able to participate in them, doing so will lead to less children taking unnecessary risk. One factor that parents should be aware of is the increased risk and occurrence of injuries in children at such a young age.Many injuries such as concussions go unnoticed therefore prolonging and escalating the severity of injuries, in some cases leading to death. For example, second impact syndrome occurs when an athlete returns to a sport too early after suffering from an initial concussion and obtains another concussion shortly after. This often causes fatal effects. Several concussions go undetected because of the difficulty in diagnosing whe ther one is present or has fully healed.Although death from a sports injury is rare, the leading cause of death from a sports-related injury is a brain injury. According to stats Canada about 4. 27 million Canadian aged 12 or older suffered an injury sever enough to limit their usual activities in 2009-2010. (MAYBE CHANGE IT TO A CONTACT SPORT STAT) In more recent years there has been a discovery associated with multiple concussions known as CTE. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by cumulative, long term neurological consequences of repetitive concussions and hits to the brain.This causes cognitive and neuropsychiatric impairment which include depression, suicide attempts, insomnia, paranoia, and impaired memory. Another issue that parents needs to be aware of is the increase in violence and aggression that is common in contact sports. Children are often rewarded for being aggressive which can lead to aggression and violence off the playing field. It makes it difficult f or children to draw the line between what is acceptable aggression and unacceptable and may lead to violent behavior.According to a study found results strongly suggest that participation in powered sports actually leads to an increase of enhancement of anti social involvement in the form of elevated level of violence(Participation in power sports and antisocial involvement in preadolescent and adolescent boys. Research Center for Health Promotion (HEMIL), University of Bergen, Norway) . So not only does this lead to children being violent in day to day life but also being dangerously violent in sports adding to an increase in injuries.The glorification of violence and aggression in sports leads to kids focusing more to use their bodies rather than skill in the game, In a Dutch population-based study on 1818 school children aged 8 to 17 years showed that Over a period of 7 months, 399 sports injuries were reported in 324 youngsters. The most common types of injuries were contusions (43%) and sprains (21 %). Medical attention was needed in 25% of all cases. This is problematic because it puts children at an unfair playing field and reduces enjoyment of the game for smaller and non athletic children.In addition coaches may unknowingly promote stereotypes such as homophobia and gender roles. It seems to be more amplified in contact sports where aggression is considered to be a more masculine trait. This can severely affect the child’s ideas and concepts during the prime learning age. Discourse surrounding contact sports coming from coaches, even parents and fan tends to encourage the common stereotypes and leads violent behavior this view is supported by an article called (THE SPORT BEHAVIOUR OF CHILDREN PARENTS AND COACHES THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY by david light shields uni of missouri , st. ouis ). Overall there are several factors that children are exposed to during contact sports that can lead to mental, physical and social risk factors. Many of these issues are unknown and unclear to parents and its our job to warn them. These factors not only harm the children themselves, it can also be detrimental to their growing process and even friends and families associated with them