In the Devil’s Snare Book Report

Elliot, J. H. , Imperial Spain: 1469-1716. London: Penguin Books, 1963. 423pgs. In Imperial Spain, J. H. Elliot examines the history of early modern Spain from the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, to the reformation of the Spanish government by the first member of the Bourbon dynasty. According to the author, at the start of the 15th century, Spain was internally weak, hopelessly divided and isolated from the continent by the Pyrenees.Yet, by 1492, Spanish society experienced a tremendous transformation which allowed Isabella and Ferdinand to unify the country, secure the largest transoceanic empire the world has ever known, and for a few decades become the strongest nation in all of Europe. Unfortunately, Elliot asserts, whatever dynamism animated this miraculous ascendancy did not last very long and Spain became once again a second or third-rate nation.The personal rule of the Catholic Monarchs, Elliot argues, is what made Spain a dominant world power; when t he Habsburg dynasty ascended to the throne, their cosmopolitan imperialism led them to neglect the nation that Isabella and Ferdinand had begun to create and led to the decline of Spanish power at home and abroad. The book presents the information chronologically and topically. The first four chapters deal with the geographical, social and political changes that took place during the reign of Isabella and Ferdinand. Chapters five through ten analyze the Habsburg dynasty's role in the undermining of the Spanish Empire.The extensive bibliography includes a topical section and several bibliographical essays. Six maps and five tables round out the work. In Chapter One entitled â€Å"The Union of Crowns† Elliot contends that the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon on 19 October 1469 made the idea of Spain an established fact. Even though there were still large sections of present-day Spain outside of the monarchs' control, the union of Castile and Aragon create d a situation in which the total unification of the peninsula could not be far off.While the marriage did not technically consolidate Aragon and Castile into one political entity, the author continues, the close relationship between Isabella and Ferdinand assured that they would act in concert for the betterment of their peoples. It was in this context, Elliot goes on to say in Chapter Two titled â€Å"Reconquest and Conquest,† that the Catholic Monarchs undertook the first step towards empire: the ReconquistaC the final elimination of the Moorish kingdom of Granada.Once the Reconquista was accomplished, the author avers, the monarchs could turn their attention to other matters. These included the consolidation of monarchical power in Castile, the financing of the Columbus expedition, the establishment of the New World empire when the expedition proved successful, and the hammering out of a favorable understanding with the Catholic Church. In Chapter Three, â€Å"The Orderin g of Spain† Elliot continues by stating that Castile was to be the base for the Spanish empire.Not only was Castile the larger and more populous of the two kingdoms, its political situation allowed for a consolidation of monarchical power that was not possible in Aragon. The Cortes (parliaments) and medieval fueros (far reaching privileges) of the towns and other organizations of Castile were not as strong or as well established as in Aragon and could be more easily circumvented or ignored. With the reorganization of the Council of Castile in 1480, the author asserts, Isabella had gathered not only the executive but the judicial power of the kingdom into her hands.Once the Reconquista was finalized in 1492, Granada and its resources fell under the jurisdiction of Castile. In addition, Isabella and Castile, Elliot explains, solely financed the Columbus expedition and when the Grand Admiral proved successful, the new territories were administered by the Council of Castile. This meant that the fabulous wealth of the Indies was to further solidify the monarch's position in Castile. Aragon, the author states, was mostly left out of the affairs of empire and it turned its attention to its Mediterranean possessions.While it is true that Ferdinand interfered little with Isabella's handling of Castilian affairs, Elliot asserts in Chapter Four (â€Å"The Imperial Destiny†) that certain key issues were handled jointly by the monarchs. This was evident in the concessions that they were able to extract from the Vatican. Patronato Real, or the right of presentation to all ecclesiastical benefices in the Kingdom of Granada was granted to the sovereigns of Spain by Pope Innocent VIII while the Reconquista was still ongoing. Eventually, the author goes on to say, this right would be extended to all Spanish domains. This gave the rulers of Spain almost omplete control of the Catholic Church in their territories and in time, the clergy would become the most efficien t of bureaucrats and administrators of the Spanish empire. Chapter Five is entitled â€Å"The Government and the Economy of the Reign of Charles V† and in it Elliot argues that after Ferdinand's death in 1516, his successor Charles I of Spain, V of the Holy Roman Empire, inherited a thriving, pacified, quasi-united kingdom that had access to the incredible wealth of the Americas. The problem, the author suggests, was that Charles and his successors did not fully understand the complexity of the Spanish system they inherited.Instead of cultivating the emerging nationalism of the Spanish, the Habsburgs pursued an imperial policy that ultimately destroyed the empire. Charles' most grievous mistake, according to Elliot, was his absenteeism. Charles was king of Spain for nearly forty years, but he barely spent sixteen in the peninsula. Ferdinand and Isabella, the author postulates, had been personal monarchs always before their people. Charles' absences made this impossible; the p eople were unhappy with this situation and Charles never became truly Spanish.Chapter Six, â€Å"Race and Religion† describes how Charles' continent- wide affairs generated a sense of instability and neglect in Spain. These continental affairs, the author adds, demanded readjustments, fiscal, social and administrative within SpainC what were her obligations to other parts of the Empire? Charles I, Elliot says, was forever embroiled in some conflictC the struggle with France in the 1520s, the offensive and defensive operations against the Turks in the 1530s, 1540s and 1550s, and the impossible task of destroying heresy once the Counterreformation was launchedC that strained the Imperial purse.Spain was induced to contribute heavily, the author states, though bankruptcy never materialized during Charles' reign. Chapter Seven (â€Å"One Monarch, One Empire, and One Sword†) and Chapter Eight (â€Å"Splendour and Misery†) deal with the reign of Phillip II. Not being able to crush the Lutheran heresy, Charles abdicated in favor of his son Philip II in 1566. Philip, who inherited only Spain and the Netherlands, was able to remain in the peninsula, but the author argues, he chose to pursue a disastrous imperial policy like his father. Philip turned his attention away from building a strong Spanish nation and in his capacity as defender of theCatholic faith he insisted in conducting a series of ruinous campaigns against the infidels and the heretics, the Ottoman Turks and the English. By 1575, the author continues, the treasury was so empty that Philip was obliged to declare a moratorium on loan payments. Then, the costly Spanish Armada, probably Philip's most important contribution to Habsburg Spain, was permanently crippled in 1588. Elliot maintains that even though materially the defeat of the Armada was not so exorbitant that it could not be made up, the psychological impact was nevertheless great.It showed, the author argues, the collapse of S panish policy in northern Europe. In 1598, the year of Philip's death, Elliot asserts, the treasury was depleted and the nation was exhausted. The final two chapters (â€Å"Revival and Disaster† and â€Å"Epitaph on Empire†) discuss the three remaining Habsburg kings, Philip III (1598-1621), Philip IV (1621-1665), and Charles II (1665-1700) and how they were forced to face the reality of the defeat of Spain. According to Elliot, the last three Habsburg kings lacked the material resources, had no capable ministers, viceroys and other officials.This situation, the author speculates, was due in part to the â€Å"closed† nature of the Spanish social and educational systems of the 17th century both of which failed to produce innovative political leaders. Charles II failed to produce an heir and through international machinations, Philip Duke of Anjou was proclaimed King Philip V in April 1701. Once the War of Spanish Succession was concluded and the Bourbon right to the throne formalized by the Treaty of Utrecht, the new king quickly divested himself of the Netherlands, the Spanish Italian possessions, introduced the intendant system and in 1716 broke Aragon's independence.Spain was finally centralized and Castilianized, but according to Elliot, it came too late. Castilian economic and cultural hegemony were a thing of the past and its backwardness was thrust upon the more advanced peripheral areas. Elliot’s book explains Spanish political and military affairs between 1469 and 1716 in great detail. It is not necessary to be an expert on Spanish history to fully understand the inner workings of the Spanish monarchy as it truggled to centralize the nation and defend Catholicism during the Reformation after reading this book. This book is also useful for those who want to better understand the imperial government of the Spanish colonies. The information presented in this book provides a chronological basis for creating a historical fictiona l character between 1600 and 1640—especially if the character is involved in politics. The book would not be suitable for those interested in the cultural, intellectual or social history of Spain during this period.

Health Care Communication Methods Essay

Customer Service also known as communication, now days almost always involves several people, especially when it involves an elderly loved one. Having an elderly family member is a very sensitive topic believe it or not and although very common is still something that most still do not know how to deal with and do not quite understand. It is hard to have to face that fact that your Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, and sometimes siblings are faced with life threatening illnesses such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia and have forgotten who you are along with a host of other things. As an administrator of a Nursing Home you could be faced with many different situations and because patients in a nursing home are sometimes unable to understand or communicate on their own, it is important to have ways to get in contact with several different family members in the event of an emergency. Family members of these elderly patients still have lives of their own and may live in different states or countries even and then in the worst case, you have some patients in Nursing Homes who do not have family members at all. Most of the time there will be a social worker who is responsible for the wellbeing of these patients in this type of situation. There is an enormous misunderstanding of the role of communication services in healthcare. Nursing home administrators act as the patient’s liaison between staff and doctors, in the event that a Nursing Home receives notification that the organization is being purchased by a national group, and because of new policies to be implemented, many of the patients will be displaced, it is important to know the way to communicate with each individuals family members. Residents have rights and these rights being violated can cause serious issues with the law. Below is a short list of patients’ rights when concerning unfair transfer or discharge. Protection against Unfair Transfer or Discharge: You can’t be sent to another nursing home, or made to leave the nursing home, unless any of the  following are true: It is necessary for the welfare, health, or safety of you or others. Your health has declined to the point that the nursing home can’t meet your care needs. Your health has improved to the point that nursing home care is no longer necessary. The nursing home hasn’t been paid for services you received. The nursing home closes In this scenario it is important that you inform the residents that they are being displaced and that they need to approve the release of their medical information. The best way to do this, since it is concerning medical records, would be privately. HIPAA protects the privacy of individually identifiable health information and if violated you could face jail time and hefty fines so you should use the best communication method that fits the scenario. The best method of communication I thought would be best for this scenario was traditional and electronic communication because they both have some convenience to the residents. The right amount of information and the right information is needed to explain to family members and patients what is happening to this facility. Finding the right laws and rights is what needs to happen to make sure the company is not in violation of that patient. Finding the best way to communicate with each patient and their family is most important when it com es to getting the message across professionally without seeming to disregard their personal concerns. There are advantages and disadvantages of using social media, traditional, and electronic communication .Traditional, the oldest of the three some of the many advantages that tradition communication has is that you are person with the person you are communicating with, which is better because you are getting an immediate reply to whatever it is that you are trying to get. There’s a feeling of community because you’re better able to socialize and interact with one another. We quickly build a bond that sets the foundation for trust and ultimately, lasting business relationships. There are so many different issues that have to be considered when communicating with patients and their family members, in this scenario most likely there will need to be some convincing that this is best for the patient/ their loved ones. Displacing them does not have to be a â€Å"bad thing† it all depends on how it is presented to them and their reaction to the initial breaking of the news. It is important that the administrator has found a new facility that offers everything that the patients(s) will need to accommodate them completely. Communication is a part of the process to better the patient’s life and once the patient and/or their family is on board then you pretty much have â€Å"tackled the mountain†. â€Å"Forcing information on people when they are too distraught to understand it or accept it (over informing) may only heighten their stress. Philip Muskin(1998) calls this â€Å"truth dumping† and warns people against it. Health-related Information can be confusing and frightening.† It is best to not provide unnecessary information to the patients and family members, just enough for them to understand completely. (Communication About Health Pg. 196) Being and Administrator means being able to communicate effectively with your patients no matter their mental and health condition and being able to communicate with their family members too. It is important to not â€Å"over-do† anything when communicating because it could cause a reaction you don’t want to deal with. There are different ways of communicating messages and different tones and as an Administrator in this particular scenario it is important to know what tone of communication to use when letting the patients and their family members know what is going on. It is a good idea to know where the patient will be transferred to and to have a brochure and good information on where the patient is going so that maybe the family member and the patients will be comfortable about the big news. References: 1. Journal Article . (2014, Fall). People living with dementia: components of communication, (Pg.1). 2. . (2005). Communicating About Health Current Issues And Perspectives. Retrieved from, HCS/320 Health Care Communication Strategies website.

Critical Period and Language Acquisition Essay

Part of the reason why Genie’s case fascinated psychologists and linguists so deeply was that it presented a unique opportunity to study a hotly contested debate about language development. Nativists believe that the capacity for language is innate, while empiricists suggest that it is environmental variables that play a key role. Essentially, it boils down to the age-old nature versus nurture debate. Do genetics or environment play a greater role in the development of language? Nativist Noam Chomsky suggested that the acquisition of language could not be fully explained by learning alone. Instead, he proposed that children are born with a language acquisition device (LAD), an innate ability to understand the principles of language. Once exposed to language, the LAD allows children to learn the language at a remarkable pace. Linguist Eric Lenneberg suggests that like many other human behaviors, the ability to acquire language is subject to what are known as critical periods. A critical period is a limited span of time during which an organism is sensitive to external stimuli and capable of acquiring certain skills. According to Lenneberg, the critical period for language acquisition lasts until around age 12. After the onset of puberty, he argued, the organization of the brain becomes set and no longer able to learn and utilize language in a fully functional manner. Genie’s case presented researchers with a unique opportunity. If given an enriched learning environment, could she overcome her deprived childhood and learn language even though she had missed the critical period? If she could, it would suggest that the critical period hypothesis of language development was wrong. If she could not, it would indicate that Lenneberg’s theory was correct. Genie’s Language Progress Despite scoring at the level of a one-year-old upon her initial assessment, Genie quickly began adding new words to her vocabulary. She started by learning single words and eventually began putting two words together much the way young children do. Curtiss began to feel that Genie would be fully capable of acquiring language. After a year of treatment, she even started putting three words together occasionally. In children going through normal language development, this stage is followed by what is known as a language explosion. Children rapidly acquire new words and begin putting them together in novel ways. Unfortunately, this never happened for Genie. Her language abilities remained stuck at this stage and she appeared unable to apply grammatical rules and use language in a meaningful way. At this point, her progress leveled off and her acquisition of new language halted. While Genie was able to learn some language after puberty, her inability to use grammar (which Chomsky suggests is what separates human language from animal communication) offers evidence for the critical period hypothesis. Of course, Genie’s case is not so simple. Not only did she miss the critical period for learning language, she was also horrifically abused. She was malnourished and deprived of cognitive stimulation for most of her childhood. Researchers were also never able to fully determine if Genie suffered from pre-existing cognitive deficits. As an infant, a pediatrician had identified her as having some type of mental delay. So researchers were left to wonder whether Genie had suffered from cognitive deficits caused by her years of abuse or if she had been born with some degree of mental retardation.

Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Literature - Essay Example However, the real test of creativity and brilliance comes when a person shows creative abilities while remaining in the boundaries of conventions and rules which are set forth for the medium being used. Making things different is not breaking conventions since a broken convention is nothing more than ignoring a long standing rule. Creativity can be reflected in the application of the same rule in a different way going as far as altering rules to produce something which is beautiful because it is imperfect. For example, Shakespeare used the words, ‘most unkindest cut’ which is a grammatically incorrect phase but certainly shows the emotion and feelings of the characters in Caesar. It goes against the conventions of writing but this makes the phrase stand out from many others. In fact, this is not the only time Shakespeare broke away from conventional writing and produced something which has stood the test of time as an example of a masterpiece. For instance, some sonnets of Shakespeare go against several rules followed by sonnet writers in the Jacobean era even though Shakespeare himself was responsible for creating many conventions followed in the same times. His work, Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day is a perfect example of a conventional sonnet by Shakespeare. The sonnet has four stanzas with three quatrains, the final couplet is composed in iambic pentameter and the rhyme scheme is perfect as abab cdcd efef gg. In fact, the system used for such sonnets have come to be known as the system for Shakespearean sonnets (Wikipedia, 2006). It is commonly accepted as one of Shakespeare’s most beautiful sonnets because it does not break any conventions but comes out as a very creative and different effort from the rest of the poetry by the bard. Shakespeare does not always play by the rules set out by him and can offer variations and changes depending on how he wishes. In a few other sonnets, there are significant departures made from

Current campus events film review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Current campus events film review - Essay Example However, in the film there are genuinely different planets and viewpoints on life in India that impart one agonizing thing in like manner: All the ladies are bound in by the patriarchal society in which they are raised (Pahuja, 2012). In this documentary, the author’s aim was to compose a film that will focus on two opposite worlds with voices of defendants and opposition. Therefore, to be clear, this isnt an issue restricted to India particularly or South Asia by and large. The author reveals that sex imbalance is an issue that compasses the globe and exists in our own lawns as well (Goodhart, 2009). As a report by the United Nations closed, no general public treats its ladies and in addition its men. The young ladies in the film, Ankita, Pooja, and even Prachi, are profoundly insightful ladies. Its hard to watch and know how high they could take off were their wings not cut, their destinies viably fixed. The director of this film, is tackling the obligation of imparting our stories and talking our truths. Whatever our race, confidence, or sex, we must claim our stories, uncover our truths and discuss what harms (Brysk, 2013). Yes, looking past the excellent bangles and benarsee saris can be uncomfortable , however concealing the injuries just makes them putrefy. Its just through open dialog that we can recuperate (Pahuja 2012). The best thing about this narrative is, it never takes sides and dependably has a non-judgmental tone. We can settle on our decisions, which one do we help and in all honesty theres a greater amount of negative in both stories. In fact the way portrayal is carried out, there are spots where you can attract parallels to both worlds. Just positives I see are, in excellence challenge, the young ladies have an opportunity to get popular and get acclaim, in addition to fruitful life. A life of equal human rights

History of american stock car racing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of american stock car racing - Essay Example In fact, the sport started off with extremely inauspicious beginnings, and only later evolved into the multi-billion dollar enterprise of the 21st century. This essay examines the history of American stock car racing and considers the factors that contributed to its evolution from an event associated with bootlegging to one of the most watched sports in the United States. Although stock car racing is more popular today the ever it can be traced back to inauspicious beginnings during the 1920s. From 1920 to 1933 the Prohibition Period made it illegal to produce, sell, and drink liquor, so a prosperous bootlegging industry developed. Many people called bootleggers would illegally run whiskey to market places often racing at high speeds to outrun the police. In an effort to increase their efficiency and limit their chances of being apprehended bootleggers began to develop enhanced, or ‘souped-up’, engines and suspensions for the cars they drove. As the faster vehicle greatly increased the chances of evading the United States Department of Justice these drivers were termed ‘moonshine runners’.1 David â€Å"Turbo† Thompson, an associate professor at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, who also raced stock cars stated, â€Å"Runners built their reputations by outsmarting and outdriving the law.†2 As much of the alcohol w as produced in the Appalachian region this primarily became a southern activity. In 1933, when the prohibition ended, stock car racing was becoming very popular. After Prohibition was repealed a great deal of the runners’ business halted, but soon many regions developed an affinity for moonshine alcohol. Moonshine running soon became a recreational activity and races along dirt roads and similar tracks began occurring throughout the southern states, most notably the Wilkes County region of North Carolina. The cars continued to improve and eventually races on Sundays were organized. A number of moonshine runners gained great acclaim,

Harley Davidson Branding Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Harley Davidson Branding - Essay Example Within this spectrum of understanding, a product’s brand is understood as a dynamic entity constituted by consumer and community engagement. Further considerations examine the economic and identity-forming elements of brand design. This research specifically considers the community-branding and identity-branding models as they are implemented by and exemplified in the Harley Davidson motorcycle company. Analysis Background Harley Davidson is today recognized as one of the preeminent American brands. Fig. 1 below depicts the Harley Davidson logo. While Harley Davidson is a vibrant 21st Fig. 1 Harley Davidson Logo century organization, the company began in the first decade of the 20th century. William Harley and Arthur Davidson founded the organization in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903 (Mitchel 2007, p. 5). The organization’s first productions were not motorcycles, but engines that were featured for sale in a variety of magazines. During the first decade of their existence they experienced gradual growth through the establishment of a variety of factories in addition to the development of full motorcycles. By 1914 the organization had surpassed their primary rival Indian and would dominate motorcycle for many years, as production numbers increased to 16,284 machines annually (Mitchel 2007, p. 30). By 1920 the organization was the largest motorcycle manufacturer in the world and has expanded their operation to over 67 countries (Mitchel 2007, p. 32). The organization was one of the two major motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression. Still, it wasn’t until World War II that the company began producing pre-depression levels of motorcycles, as they began providing the military (Mitchel 2007, p. 35). In 1969 American Machine and Foundry (AMF) purchased the organization. Following the purchase the organization faced increasing competition from Japanese manufacturers (Mitchel 2007). In the early 1980s the organization was sold again to Vaughnn Beals and Willie G. Davidson (Mitchel 2007, p. 114). Upon assuming control of the organization, the direction was changed to reflect more retro principles; by 1990 they had again regained control of the heavyweight motorcycle market in the United States. While the organization has survived tremendous social and cultural upheaval both within the organization and the broader business climate, to a large degree the product designs of the company maintained relative consistency. In terms of product design, the organization is highly unique in its motorcycle productions. In these regards, the motorcycles generally weigh more than traditional motorcycles and are accompanied with loud and distinctive exhaust and design; in 1994 the organization even attempted to attain a patent for its motorcycle sound, yet was ultimately rebuffed in its efforts. In terms of specific design elements, the current Harley Davidson motorcycles reflect that classic designs that were produced during the early parts of the 20th century (Mitchel 2007). Indeed, the organization’s efforts to develop product differentiation have generally experienced failure over the past decades. Some of the most notable elements related to modern incarnations of Harley Davidson have been the cultural elements related

The Benefits of Information and Communication Technology in Henrich Dissertation

The Benefits of Information and Communication Technology in Henrich International Associates (HIA) A Small and Medium Enterprise - Dissertation Example In addition, the aim also assessed how ICT can foster knowledge transfer within HIA. The study made it evident that ICT act as a tool that has the ability to offer competitive advantage to a firm. It has been found that ICT also provides several advantages to a firm. Some of the obvious ones are increased the communication system, reduced the cost of communication, allowed retrieval of vast information and facilitated centralized control. Apart from that ICT also help companies to transfer knowledge within the organization. The primary research portrayed that the employees of HIA have a positive outlook towards this subject. The business will be also benefitted by the implementation of ICT as it can also acts as a marketing tool. The company is therefore recommended to implement ICT into their system of operation and capitalize on most of the opportunities provided by ICT. Table of Contents CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION 5 1.1 Background of the Study 5 1.2 Purpose of the Study 5 1.3 Overview of Henrich International Associates (HIA) 5 1.4 Aims and Objectives 6 1.5 Research Questions 6 CHAPTER II – LITERATURE REVIEW 7 2.1 Defining Key Concepts 7 2.2 ICT in Business to Business Planning 8 2.3 ICT as a Tool to Gain Competitive Advantage 10 2.4 Disadvantages of ICT 11 2.6 ICT in SME and Large Organizations 13 2.7 Perception of Employees about ICT 14 2.8 Impact of ICT on Employees 15 CHAPTER III – RESEARCH DESIGN 16 3.1 Research Philosophy 16 3.1.1 Positivism 16 3.1.2 Interpretivism 17 3.2 Research Approach 17 3.2.1 Deductive Approach 17 3.2.2 Inductive Approach 18 3.3 Research Strategy 18 3.4 Type of Study 20 3.4.1 Qualitative Study 20 3.4.2 Quantitative Study 20 3.5Time horizons 21 3.5.1 Longitudinal Perspective 21 3.5.2 Cross Sectional Perspective 21 3.6 Data Collection and Sampling 21 3.6.1 Questionnaire 21 3.6.2 Focus Group Interview 22 CHAPTER IV 23 4.1Findings and Analysis of the Questionnaire 23 4.2Findings and Analysis of Focus Group Intervie w 25 CHAPTER V – Conclusion and Recommendation 27 5.1 Conclusion 27 5.2 Recommendations 27 REFERENCES 28 APENDIX 32 Appendix I - Questionnaire (For the Employees) 32 Appendix II - Semi Structured Interview (For the Executives) 33 CHAPTER I – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Study The last few decades have witnessed an ‘insurgency’ in the growth of global economy. However, everyone did not have the opportunity to experience this revolution of growth. Around 65 % of the global population, still lives on $4 per day (Kramer, Jenkins and Katz, 2007). The scenario further worsened with the lack of opportunities to carry out developmental activities. The business community in this context has a major role to play and has the capability to create these opportunities. The information and communication technology (ICT) has been a powerful tool as well as acted as a catalyst to address the interest and needs of low income groups of the developing countries. In the last 20 years, the role of ICT in expanding economic opportunities and providing competitive advantages to a firm has been highly acknowledged by experts from every sector of business (Butcher, 2011). Information and Communication technology (ICT) is technology used for improving the efficiency of the operation of an organization (OECD, 2005). It is often regarded as a technology used for retrieving and processing information. ICT not only plays crucial roles in organizations,

Case study of Tata Cross Culture analysis Essay

Case study of Tata Cross Culture analysis - Essay Example Since being advertised in strongly positive terms as cheapest car of the world, it has been the idle gossip around the world (Stokes, Wilson, & Mador, 2010). Significant people of large organisations have been driving in by numbers only to take a look at the most outstanding work of creative engineering in the shape of â€Å"Tata Nano.† Nano is a new form of cars of this century which represents a philosophy of an investor who deliberately decided to go against the prevailing wisdom of other investors of lighter, smaller, cheaper and signify a new age in cheap private transportation and with a possibility of becoming actual, "worldwide deadlock." The word "Nano" is derived from the Greek word ‘Nanos’ which means "small" in the Indic language spoken by the people of India who live in Gujarat in western India which is also the language of the Tata Group’s founders (Stokes, Wilson, & Mador, 2010). In 2003, under the Chairmanship of Mr. Ratan Tata, the project to manufacture a car while keeping the price to one Lac rupees was started. The main aim of this â€Å"Tata Nano plan† was the demand and requirement of many families of India who could not afford 4 wheel cars instead utilized Motorbikes and bicycles for the purpose, and was grounded on the successful project of low cost four wheeled â€Å"Ace truck† by the company in May 2005 (Boone & Kurtz, 2011). Company’s Profile In 1945, Tata Motors was established. ... Among the 3 best companies in the segment of a vehicle carrying passengers, Tata Motors is also included. Tata Motors has manufactured several outstanding cars in utility, compact and medium-size segment. It furnishes its services and products on a worldwide ground. Within India it offers 5 different categories of services and products namely trucks, commercial passenger carriers, passenger cars, defence vehicles, and utility vehicles. Why Tata Nano Is Important The Chairman of Tata Group perceived the thought behind the Tata Nano, when he saw a four member family was travelling via motor scooter in rain. At that time the idea of Nano came in his mind and he desired to manufacture an automobile that could be safe, affordable and could be used in all weather condition (Byron, 2008). (Byron, 2008) This desire of Mr. Ratan Tata emerged as the most inspirational plan of Tata motors till time when the Chairman of Tata Group Mr Ratan Tata stated his thought of Tata Nano to Mr. Ravi Kant, h is managing director. From his managing experience Mr. Ravi Kant had discovered that citizens desire to shift from 2 wheelers vehicle to 4 wheelers vehicles but they have not got enough money for it. Automobile industry of India has an average growth rate of twelve percent for the past decade. Despite that this industry sold only 1.3 million vehicles for passengers in the financial year ending on March 2006. This shows that a billion of peoples of India purchase approximately the equal quantity of cars in a year as three hundred million peoples of US purchase in a period of month. However, this situation could be changed only when the cost of 4 wheels vehicle could be lowered to the extent that

Internet Research Essay Example for Free

Internet Research Essay 1. In 1998, Carl P. Schmertmann, Adansi A. Amankwaa, and Robert D. Long wrote an article in an academic journal called â€Å"Three Strikes and You’re Out: Demographic Analysis of Mandatory Prison Sentencing. † Please write out the third sentence of the article. Popularly known as â€Å"Three Strikes and You’re Out† (3X), these new rules mandate long sentences without parole for those convicted of a third or higher-order felony. Source: JSTOR, Demography, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Nov. , 1998), pp. 445-463 2. The Washington Post publishes â€Å"D. C. Animal Watch,† which reports animal cases received by the Washington Humane Society and the D. C. Animal Control Division. According to the September 4, 2003, edition of â€Å"D. C. Animal Watch,† what happened at Bangor St. SE, 1400 block? A woman reported that a male acquaintance had tied her cat with a rope so it could not jump onto a baby’s bed. She said the cat was choking and she was afraid to untie the rope. When a Humane Society officer arrived, the cat had been untied. Source: The Washington Post, September 4, 2003 edition of â€Å"D. C. Animal Watch† 3. On Feb. 18, 1987, Anne C. Roark wrote an article in The Los Angeles Times about Donald Foster’s claim to have identified a poem as one of Shakespeare’s. What’s the name of the article? And, according to the article, where does Foster teach? Article name: â€Å"Bards Sonnets A Mystery at Long Last Resolved? † Foster taught at Vassar Source: Los Angeles Times, February, 18, 1987 4. What is the call number for Giovanni Boccaccio’s book called Decameron? (Please choose the 1986 circulating copy) FIC BOCCACCIO, G. 5. What is the call number for Milan Kundera’s book The Unbearable Lightness of Being? (Please choose the 1984 entry. ) FIC KUNDERA, M. 6. What is the call number for the Guinness World Records? (Choose the most recent edition. ) 031. 02 M257 7. How many people live in the Marshall Islands? (Your information must be current—nothing before 2003. ) You might try NVCC’s â€Å"Best of the Web,† which will link to the recently-updated CIA World Factbook. 61,815 (July 2007 est. ) Source: CIA World Fact Book, https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rm. html 8. Julian Bond is a faculty member in the History Department at the University of Virginia. Where and when did he receive his Bachelor’s degree? Morehouse, 1971 Source: University of Virginia website: http://www. virginia. edu/history/faculty/bond. html 9. On July 17, 2003, the National Highway and Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its highway fatality statistics (in the form of a press release). According to the NHTSA, how many fatalities were alcohol-related in 2002? You must locate the report itself. 41 percent of the total with 17, 419 deaths Source: Press Releases, NHTSA website: http://www. nhtsa. dot. gov/portal/site/nhtsa/template. MAXIMIZE/menuitem. f2217bee37fb302f6d7c121046108a0c/? javax. portlet. tpst=1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_ws_MXjavax. portlet. prp_1e51531b2220b0f8ea14201046108a0c_viewID=detail_viewitemID=979ffd08cccaff00VgnVCM1000002c567798RCRDpressReleaseYearSelect=2003 10. According the American Kennel Club, what should a Mastiff’s temperament be like? (Copy and paste the entire description. ) A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and docility. Dignity, rather than gaiety, is the Mastiffs correct demeanor. Judges should not condone shyness or viciousness. Conversely, judges should also beware of putting a premium on showiness. Works Cited â€Å"Marshall Islands†. Retrieved November 2, 2007 from the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book website: https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/rm. html. Roark, Anne C. (1987, February 18). Bard’s Sonnets A Mystery at Long Last Resolved?. Los Angeles Times, p. Metro Desk 1. Schmertmann, Carl P. , Amankwaa, Adansi A. and Long, Robert D. (November, 1998). Three Strikes and Youre Out: Demographic Analysis of Mandatory Prison Sentencing. Demography, 35:4, 445-463. Research Facts Find the answers to the following questions. For each item, list the answer and the source that you used to find it (no need to provide a full Works Cited entry). Then, in one or two sentences, explain how reliable you think that source is. Since you will probably use Internet-based sources, consider how objective, current, and credible each site is. For this exercise, you do not need to choose high-quality sites; you simply need to explain why you believe each site is or isn’t reliable. 1. What country has the smallest population? Vatican City, population 920 Source: World Atlas web site: http://worldatlas. com/aatlas/populations/ctypopls. htm The site is run by Graphic Maps, dba the Woolwine-Moen Group and while they claim to be as accurate as possible, they do admit there is a margin of error. Most likely, the statistics presented are accurate. 2. What country has the lowest literacy rate? What about the highest? Lowest is Burkina Faso, highest is Cameroon, United Republic. Source: SIL International website: http://www.sil.org/lingualinks/literacy/PrepareForALiteracyProgram/CountriesWithTheLowestRatesOfL.htm

The Differences of Education between China and America

The Differences of Education between China and America After the human society has formed, a great enterprise was born. Different regions and cultures made different ways of education. Besides, competition has launched on a global scale. International competition is actually the competition of intelligence and talents which need education to boost. China and America have the extremely influence to the international society, and they have received the universal attention. China has had significant change since the founding of the nation in all respects. As well, America also has changed enormously since 1949 to 2010. With this background, many countries are trying on introspection of education, cross adoption and fusion. We can hardly ask ourselves that: can our current education system go along with the increasingly  fierce  international  competition. What actually the differences of education between China and America are? The people are well educated not only by teacher but also by parents. Chinese education and American educati on have their own strong points. Apparently, the paper doesnt mean to deny American education or Chinese education. Through the comparison, this paper puts forward some implications that suit for Chinese education. Nowadays the society is developing fast. Comparing between different countries can make us have a clear opinion about what we should improve. It is essential for our Chinese to adopt some good education methods from other countries. It helps to educate our child to be a person with high IQ and EQ. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚  The Definition of Education Education is the entire process which raise newborn generation prepares to be engaged in social life, and is also the key link which the experience of human can be inherited and developed; mainly refer to the raising process of children of school age and the youth. Broadly, everything that promotes peoples knowledge and the skill, affects peoples personal character can be called education. In a limited sense, education refers chiefly to school education whose meaning is that the educator exerts their influence on body and mind of the educated to train them into the people which a certain society needs. The basis problems of education are what kinds of talents we should raise and how to do. On this fundamental issue, different education value cause different training aim and different teaching mode. China and Americas education values are different. In the raising of humans specific request, there also exist big differences. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¡ The Causes of Educations Differences between China and America Why these two kinds of education have so many differences? To sum up, the causes of different education are: 2.1The Different History Backgrounds It is known that American is an emigrant country whose people mostly come from Europe, just like a big melting pot with a short history and has less old culture. It is affected by multi-value and multi-culture. So compared with Chinese people, they own more adventure spirit and creation sprits. However, China had a long history which can be traced back to 5000 years ago. At the same time, it is bounded by much old culture and affected by feudal farmers idea. Its culture value is conservative. Chinese people are educated to be fictile followers, and lack of an environment to get new ideas on the whole. 2.2 The Different Economic Patterns American commodity economy is highly developed and the productive force is advanced. One can get jobs in many ways. The pressures of living are smaller than Chinese. In China, there are many kinds of jobs for Americans to choose. In Americans opinions, anyone can get others respect, no matter what his job is. Besides, commodity economy is changing all the time; jobs are changing at the same time. By contrast, China is a developing country. The pressure of living is great. One person may do only one job in his whole life, so Chinese always put all their happiness on a job. They think having a stable job is fortunate. 2.3 The Different Traditional Cultures The different traditional culture is the main reason for differences in education between China and America. Chinese emphasis the team sprit and comprehensive abilities of a child, they attach more attention to the behavior of normalization and self condition, they against the independent consciousness, the parents tell their children that they should take part in the group to adapt the society. In America culture, they emphasis people foremost and attach weight to individual potential and creativity. Chinese pay more attention to general character while Americans attach attention to personality. In chinas traditional culture ¼Ã…’the first educator is parent. The Chinese parents regard their children as their own private property. Therefore, the parents have a high opinion of shaping the childs personality, affects the childs personal construction. They pay attention to their own dream, has neglected the childs habit and happiness, so it lead the child to be in the passive situation, ignore the childs individual existence. Whereas, the American civilization takes the child as the main subject, think highly of individual, emphasizes equality, and respects the individual right. The western parents regard the child as an equal member in the family not a child, have the right to offer suggestion, respect the childs personality and dignity, they let the child think freely and choose independently. They respect the childs self-respect and advocate childs instinct development. In America education, the parents are not just childs parents, but his friends.   2.4 Different Ways of Thinking à £Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€š ¬ Americans encourage rationalism while Chinese encourage affection. America education praise rationalism highly. Most of American parents consider the responsibility of raising a child the same as the responsibility to the society. They stand not only in an individual position but the social position. Chinese parents consider the children as their own private property. From this point of view, we can understand why more Chinese parents expect their children to be talents than American parents do. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢ The Comparison of Chinese Education and American Education 3.1 Examination-oriented vs. Quality-oriented American education can be called quality-oriented education which tells the students that studying is their own matter, cares more about how students use knowledge in the society and they give students chances to decide what they want to learn, so the students in America are initiative, nimble and happy. Compared with American education, Chinese style of education is quite different. Chinese education is called exam-oriented education which the educators always formulate many kinds of rule beforehand to impose restrictions on what to do, how much one should learn, when to learn and so on. Chinese students have nothing to do but follow. Chinese students regard the study utility and all go for high scores not enjoying the process of success. They look at the study as their parents and teachers matter, and study is only the method which helps them win promotion and earn money to live rich life. So the Chinese students are passive, compelled and dogma. Chinese education is for basic educ ation; their knowledge is profound but far away from the application of daily life. American education is for the students creativity and ability, so in America, a white-collar doesnt know how much 10 plus 6 is is not shameful. They believe that training childrens creative thinking when the children are young is fundamental. But China is completely contradicted. They lay too much stress on foundation education and neglect the training of creative thinking. So American students have low score but high energy, Chinas student have high-grades but low ability. In fortune 500 companies dont want to employ Chinese student, to them, Chinese education raise only servants of knowledge and cant called as nurture the human, on the contrary, American education nurtures the master of knowledge. The test of America is always open book exam, and the students can be hand in the paper in a week. The answer is not one and only.   Chinese schools are exam-oriented which is strict, the result of whic h is one and only. Even though, we are trying a lot to improve our schools to quality-oriented education, the Chinese education is still essentially exam-oriented education. But Americans say that they are learning from us to prepare their students for exams. Maybe, the two extremes of education are going together. 3.2 Teacher-centered vs. Student-centered In China, the teacher is superior while the American teacher is friendly approachable person, even the professor in university carries little weight in class, and everybody is equal. American refuses to accept any authority. Chinese students put blind faith in their teacher. American teachers are always have a great passion and humorous. On the contrary, most Chinese teachers are stern throughout the class. Chinese educations purpose is to teach students to have no question, but American educations aim is teaching students to find questions, ask questions, and solve question. Chinese usually show a child how to do something, or teach by holding their hands and give great priority to train skills at their early age rather than foster creativity. The Chinese parents want to see their children be succeeding in life, insist on private tuition for them and in some cases, for almost every subject. Many parents believe that additional educational activities have many advantages. By extra studies, their children are able to grasp many kinds of practical skills and knowledge, which will put them in a high position in the future job markets when they grow up. Many parents hope that their children become a rich man when they grow up, because these rich people are regarded as the symbol of success and can win respect of others. As an instance, a Yale law school professor, Amy Chua s current book, Battle Hymn of Tiger Mother, which gives society plenty to d ebate about raising kids, was proved to be a high-pitched debate about Chinese education and American education which is superior. She said that she believe that her daughters can be the best student, academic achievement reflect successful parenting education, and that if they didnt stand out in school then there was a problem in her parenting. So she made ten cast-iron rules for her two daughters, such as never allowed to have a play date, never be in school play, never watch TV or play computer games and so on. So in China, the education is teacher-centered, but in America, it is student-centered. When we talk of teaching methods, American teachers barely specify content. On the other hand, Chinese teachers, pay more attention to the content. The only work the student should do is to listen. American teachers have a great passion and are always humorous. On the contrary, most Chinese teachers are always grave throughout the class. 3.3 Different Approaches to Learning: Memory-based vs. Understanding-based Most of China  students have been taught that they should have the good attitude of studying towards goals. They must remember the knowledge the teacher taught. When the children are 3 or 4 years old, most of Chinese parents start teaching children the simple calculating skill and writing their own names and also the family members names. Almost every Chinese have the memory of being obliged to repetition Chinese ancient poems in their childhood. So the Chinese education is memory-based. In America, people more value childrens ability  of practical  application. They just need understanding the knowledge and can use it. To sum up, Chinese Education System and American Education System have their own advantages and disadvantages. Chinese think highly of foundational knowledge whereas Western pay more attention on creativeness. If we could join two systems together, there is going be more Chinese performers on the 21st century stage. 3.4 Expectation on Children In China, there is an idiom which is à ¦Ã…“†ºÃƒ ¥Ã‚ ­Ã‚ Ãƒ ¦Ã‹â€ Ã‚ Ãƒ ©Ã‚ ¾Ã¢â€ž ¢. It means that the parents hope their children have a bright future whether they are happy or not. But in America, the American parents only want their children to have a happy life and to be a useful person to the society. Education  in  China  makes children dependent while the  western  one makes children independent. When Chinese teach their babies to walk, they always hold their babies hands until they can walk and stand. So when we face difficult, we would think of finding someone to help us firstly, not to solve it by ourselves. But American parents always watch their babies standing up and falling down again and again, leaving their babies crying aloud, and never come to help. So American students are more independent, when there is a Chinese student and an American student, American students will tell their parents: I have enough money to have a trip. Whereas Chinese will say: dad and mom, I want to travel, please give me some money. American people pay more attention to childrens originality and independence more than the Chinese do. And they think self-reliance is a principal value of child. They also think that creativity should be acquired early. On the other hand, skills can be picked up later; American parents think much of developing their childrens creativity which I think is more important than Chinese parents teaching their children by their hand. Teaching by hand is to make children have less ingenuity. America, they teach children that they should depend on themselves for correct solutions to problems. Besides, they put more emphasis on promote creativity in children. Americans let their children solve the problem by themselves. For instance, they let the children know the value of labor, repair the motorcycle themselves at an early age, in China, that work is seen as the adults work. In the American  family, children can call their parents name just like adult and friend, and the children can expre ss their views  and participate in  family  discussions which in china, parents decision is more important. The children can determine things themselves  and parents wont intervene their children if they do not have legitimate reasons. They tend to give their children opportunities to learn  and  correct by themselves, if they did in a wrong way, the parents would advice them in a  euphemistic  way. This independent personality makes their children have more individual abilities  and  efforts. By comparison, we cant say which is better, because every coin has two sides. Everything may be different in different places. We live on the same earth, but the differences of family education are so great that it demand us to do some research and we can get something useful from American education to consummate our family education system. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ £ The Comparison of the Educations Aim and Results between China and America 4.1 The Comparison of the Aims of Education Now people become more and more realize the importance and significance of education. Educations aims determine what kind of people they educated will be. So the aims of education are the nucleus, which is the primary reason of the different education between Chinese and American. Once the aim is constructed, education contents and material must be formulated according to the aims. To train the child into a social man is American educations aims which make students can deal with all kinds of problems and independent ability. To accomplish it is not a high expectation. Social man is not an implementable idea, and easy to achieve. So American parents have an easeful attitude to educate their children. They are good at finding out the strong suit of their children. And also the children can find their passion and value from education. They can experience the joy of studying. As a matter of fact, this kind of education can get good results. Lets see the process of growth of American children. When they are still a baby, they sleep in their own room; When they should learn walk, they learn it by themselves, they seldom ask parents for help; When they grow up, they should clean the rooms by themselves; They do what they can do to earn money from childhood. For example, they do house cleaning, be a delivery boy; when they go to senior middle school or university, they do part-time jobs to make money for tuition. By comparison, Chinese educations aim is to train children into talents. A glorious future means to get an ideal job and to live a rich. First, this aim is high and utility. It is hard to make it come true, because having a glorious future is not an easy work. Because of the aim, Chinese parents especially care for childrens achievements in study. Their only requirement is that their children can turn all the attentions on their study. Nevertheless, they ignore their childrens extraordinary abilities, damage their ability to innovate and imaginations. It turns out that parents would kill the talents of the children. Although, Chinese children study very hard and get good achievements, they lack of abilities to cater to this society. Sometimes, parents hope would be all over. For example, the Australia-Chinese, WeiLi, who is a high flier in music field, a month ago, he killed his mother, and then he left Australia by international flight. His father is a businessman, and his mother is a housewife, so her main work is keeping WeiLi at hard study and requires his son do everything successfully. WeiLi couldnt bear the pressure, so killed his mother. This is a tragedy. The aim of education is not only making children know something but also making them can do something. Based on the common sense of world, student should have the courage to question the authority and raise their own opinions. If some people disagree each other in some respects, they can discuss it with each other until they can have a single voice. We know that two heads are better than one, and all of them could hold their own opinions but all of them could better understand the problem. By this mean, students develop their critical spirit and cater to the development of the society. 4.2 The Comparison of the Educations Results between China and America Different results of education are due to different aims, methods and concepts, the educational result show some obvious different. Generally speaking, American children show us their distinguishing characters when they are in young age. For example, they have very strong ability of independence; they dont depend on their parents after 18 years old. The bulk of them will do some part-time job to earn their own bread. They can keep a cool head when they face troubles. They have the ability to adapting the society and can get on well with other people easily. Because they are independent from family when they are 18 and have experience from their work, they have more courage and confidence. Although Chinese students schoolwork is better than American students, they cant live well independently without the support of their parents. In short, the prominent characteristics of American children are their great capacity and the adaption to the society. Although, Chinese children, teenagers, even university students, who get great achievements in their studies and receive satisfaction, they do things in passive ways, such as timid, relying on other people, lacking of the ability to adapting the environment and get along well with other people. Even worse, with poor independent viability, they cant deal with money in a proper way. In short, they are lack of the sympathy and only want other people to care about them and the ability to help others. Supposing that if a person only cares about himself, what responsibilities can he take for the society? Chinese parents hope their children study hard in the school instead of taking part in the changing society. Nowadays, what kind of the education fits for the society? The future of a nation depends on the young generation. Nations development needs mans creativity, activity, knowledge and talent. As the civilization develops, more and more people need to pay attention to the education of the ability to do all kinds of things and humanity. So todays society needs active talents and all-round. Obviously, American education can bring a child full of creativity and ability; in modern society, parents attach more attention to education in American the same as those in China. By comparison, Chinese family education only can produce a talent, who is good at studying and never against the rules. It is the result of examination-oriented education, which not only do harm to childrens body but also the mind. So Chinese education needs a reform immediately. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¤ Implications for Teaching and Learning In my opinion, on the one hand, we need inherit and develop the fine educational tradition of ancient China; on the other hand, we need grasp the essence from American education, and promote the reforming of Chinese education. 5.1 Education Aims: Turn Talent Education into Human Education. Through the comparison, we can find that American family educations aim is more fitting the progress of the society than Chinas. In the meantime, it can produce more persons with creative ability. That cant be denying. In Chinese exam-oriented education, we mislead and kill a lot of talents. Generally speaking, a persons comprehensive capacity becomes more and more important as the developing of social productive force, the society competition becomes more and more violently. 5.2 Education Contents: Turn One-sided Family Education into All-round Family Education. In China, the aim of education is to pass knowledge to the next generation. Because of the wrong purpose, they trained a large number of students with high score but low ability. This kind of education will make childrens quality development unbalanced, so that it cant fit for this dynamic society. After setting up human education as our educations aim, we should improve childrens comprehensive quality. We should turn one-sided education into all-round education to improve the comprehensive quality of children,. 5.3 To Turn Knowledge Education into Capability Education In todays society, as development of modern science and technology, people have put training ability in a core position than teaching knowledge. Its goal is to improve every aspect of quality which a person needs and fit the requirements of the societys development. Education demands the parents and teacher not only to give children knowledge, food and money, but the skills to get them. Parents should teach the children playing, working and communicating which are the abilities a person should have in modern society. Chinese should turn knowledge-education into capability-education. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¥ Conclusion The education is a cultural phenomenon which can reflect a nations culture connotation. Chinese and the American education each have its own advantages. To make up for ones deficiency, one should learn from others strong points, pick up good idea from the other, and push forward the educational modernization immediately. China should turn talent education into human education, turn restrained education into loose and comfortable education, and use scientific mode of education to boot the reforms of education. If we can follow these changing, Chinese education will go to a rosy future. American also can get something they lack of from our education. Every child grows up under his parents and teachers educate, so childrens destinies are closely related to education. For the children, for the family, for the society, we should change our wrong way of education. America and China are two great nations. One is the largest developed country and the other is the largest developing country. More and more Chinese people go to the America to study further or advanced knowledge, or just having visits. And more and more American people come to China for jobs and joys. Cultural exchanges have played an important role in friendship and promoting mutual understanding between the two countries.

The Importance Of The Holy Spirit Theology Religion Essay

The Importance Of The Holy Spirit Theology Religion Essay The third Personality of the Godhead is referred to as the Holy Spirit. Accordingly, there is no specific name that is assigned to the Holy Spirit regarding Biblical knowledge, but the Holy Spirit is inseparable to the God the Father and the Son hence, in unison with Holy trinity. Indeed, there are diverse referrals and works that the Holy Spirit is recognized at specific allusions in the Bible. These comprise; the Holy Ghost, Sprit of Truth, The Spirit of The LORD, The Spirit of Christ, The Comforter and many more that affirms the indivisibility of the Holy Trinity. This paper will critically analyze the works and significance of the Holy Spirit in relation to man. Individual relations to the Holy Spirit There is need for every individual Christian to understand the importance of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. Many Christians view the Holy Spirits existence and works as just an occurrence that was left to the past and may not be present in contemporary world. Conversely, in the book of Acts, it is evidently presented that the Holy Spirit was initially granted to the disciples, later transferred to the early Jewish believers and ultimately to the Gentiles. It is in faith that all those who believe posses the Holy Spirit that reside in them. But not all those who believe grant the Spirit to shape their lives. Indeed, we are powered to be filled with the Spirit but this depends on how one live within Gods proper directions. Paul gives a precise case where a believer should not be drunk with alcohol. A sense of great peace is attained when one is filled with Holy Spirit and since the Holy Spirit is so imperative, we are informed to not quench or grieve the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonia ns 5:19; Ephesians 4:30). For instance, when we intentionally sin, we cease walking with the Spirit and at the same time our conscience affirms that; we mislay the tranquility of moving with the Spirit. A case in point when losing peace is derived from David where he realized loss of peace in him. David sinned by committing infidelity with Bathsheba. He sensed and beseeched God to help him by not withdrawing the Holy Spirit away from him. Actually, confessions affirm that if we have identified our sins and agreed to repent; this puts us back on track with the Holy Spirit through fellowship (Iverson: 4). Sin of any kind will diminish joy of the Holy Spirit and consequently, one will be enslaved to the sin. Being involved in spiritual endeavors like giving thanks to God, reciting Psalms, singing spiritual songs and hymns will enable one to be filled with the Spirit. Therefore, being filled entails setting our mentality on divine possessions (Deem Rich: 1). The Importance of the Holy Spirit Upon His daily teachings, Jesus at one time pointed out the utmost importance of the Holy Spirit. He said blasphemy against Him (Jesus) shall be forgiven but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, will never be absolved at present and in days to come (Matthew 12:3). The connotation of blasphemy could be speaking ill of something or personality that is far beyond your powers Indeed, this has chilling moments to all believers and maybe few Christians who are talented could get the meaning and great importance of this fact. Accordingly, the Holy Spirit empowers Christians to carry out faithful acts that are far beyond any physical abilities. One may imagine that after all the guidance and help the Holy Spirit gives individuals, you turn against it and speak badly of the Spirit. Among the splendors of the Christian faith, is the prominence that the Bible puts on the extent of Gods exoneration. This is obvious to every man, but the forgiveness of God has a perimeter. And this actually is the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Cheng: 1). Empowerment of the Holy Spirit Every teaching of Christ points great empowerments of the Holy Spirit to each Christian. The Lord said that The gift of the Holy Spirit shall follow the believers wherever they go. The significance of this directive points out the spiritual combat between Gods people and the Satan. The moment one becomes a Christian, the warfare begins with the satanic forces. Since Satan is the master of destruction, death sickness, deceit and tribulations, only the Blood of Christ triumphs upon these. The Empowerment of the Holy Spirit in unison with the Blood of Christ, makes every Christian feel protected and keeps the enemy at bay all the times so long as ones lives according to the Gods morals (Iverson: 18). Conversely, a lot has not been implicit in regards to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Mark: 16, 16-20, it is clear that whoever is baptized is indeed saved and shall not receive condemnation. They shall not be hurt by deadly poisons; they shall touch the sick and will get well. Among these confirmations, God is proving to be present with every individual believer in the existence of the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit is not a reserve for specific Christians; be it preachers, Church ministers, Evangelists, but it is for every believer that freely capitulates every minute in compliance and conformity to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has different gift to diverse individuals that may comprise, wisdom gift, Knowledge, prophecy, tongues among others (Iverson: 79). By fruits of the Holy Spirit and Gods power, we are facilitated to demonstrate love, joy peace, kindness, self-control among others that are associated with the goodness of the Holy Spirit (Flanders Fred:1). Conclusion The Holy Spirit as the universal teacher guides every Christian in their daily lives. Through baptism Christians are redeemed by the power of the Spirit. This is the Wisdom provider that warns of every bad path that one may get into. The Holy Spirit is the great protector from wickedness and the true partner that Jesus ever promised to believers. Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the omnipotent personality that lives within Christian believers and the factual director, provider that was promised to disciples and everyone else that believes. The Holy Spirit is ever present and every Christian should embrace the existence. There are moral values that a believer must possess and practice in daily life to sequentially abide by the norms of the Holy Spirit. Negative conducts that may not go well with the Holy Spirit are discouraged, since according to the scriptures our bodies act as the temple of Christ and at all times should be in sanctity. Gods clemency is perpetually great. Accordingly, God never acquires any delight in the demise of the sinful. He favors sympathy to judgment, but when an individual hardens his heart continually against His will; disregarding the influence of his conscience, this person will attain a point of no coming back. And in regards to that, permanent spiritual desertion may occur, hence proclaiming Gods abandonment.

Faulkners Light in August - The Measure of a Man :: Light August Essays

"Light in August": The Measure of a Man  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most influential people in the world during the past two thousand years may be surprising to some people. He is the center of controversy after controversy; nations have risen and fallen because of his name. Year after year, men and women are persecuted and killed because of their devotion to a man who walked this earth before any of them can even trace their ancestry, Jesus Christ. One might say that Joe Christmas, William Faulkner's unforgettable version of a rebel without a cause, is the complete opposite of Jesus. Yet the main character of Faulkner's 1932 book "Light in August" is not that different from God's Son. There are many similarities and differences between Jesus Christ and Joe Christmas. A major difference between Joe Christmas and Jesus is the character of each man. Joe Christmas has been walking along a path filled with debauchery since a very tender age. When he is five years old, he is caught eating toothpaste in a closet while two employees at the orphanage where he lives make love. While this is not his fault, he is still indirectly punished for it, by being sent away to live with the McEachern's. His adopted parents are strict Presbyterians, and Joe literally has the Bible beaten into him by his stern stepfather. By the time he is a teenager, he cannot stand being forced to have religion, so he frequently sneaks away from his adoptive family's house in the middle of the night. One fateful night, he goes to go to a dance with a prostitute, and ends up killing his stepfather, who has chased him to the school where the dance is being held. From then on, Joe is his own person, going wherever the wind takes him. Jesus, on the other hand, has been holy and perfect s ince the day He was born. He is the "son of the Most High God." (Luke 8:28, NIV) He has never done anything that is not morally right, or let himself be blown around by life's breezes. Faulkner probably made this change because he understood a lot about human nature. He knows that someone perfect would be incapable of committing murder. It is difficult to believe that Jesus would murder anyone, be it his adopted father Joseph or even someone who threatened to kill him first. Faulkner's Light in August - The Measure of a Man :: Light August Essays "Light in August": The Measure of a Man  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the most influential people in the world during the past two thousand years may be surprising to some people. He is the center of controversy after controversy; nations have risen and fallen because of his name. Year after year, men and women are persecuted and killed because of their devotion to a man who walked this earth before any of them can even trace their ancestry, Jesus Christ. One might say that Joe Christmas, William Faulkner's unforgettable version of a rebel without a cause, is the complete opposite of Jesus. Yet the main character of Faulkner's 1932 book "Light in August" is not that different from God's Son. There are many similarities and differences between Jesus Christ and Joe Christmas. A major difference between Joe Christmas and Jesus is the character of each man. Joe Christmas has been walking along a path filled with debauchery since a very tender age. When he is five years old, he is caught eating toothpaste in a closet while two employees at the orphanage where he lives make love. While this is not his fault, he is still indirectly punished for it, by being sent away to live with the McEachern's. His adopted parents are strict Presbyterians, and Joe literally has the Bible beaten into him by his stern stepfather. By the time he is a teenager, he cannot stand being forced to have religion, so he frequently sneaks away from his adoptive family's house in the middle of the night. One fateful night, he goes to go to a dance with a prostitute, and ends up killing his stepfather, who has chased him to the school where the dance is being held. From then on, Joe is his own person, going wherever the wind takes him. Jesus, on the other hand, has been holy and perfect s ince the day He was born. He is the "son of the Most High God." (Luke 8:28, NIV) He has never done anything that is not morally right, or let himself be blown around by life's breezes. Faulkner probably made this change because he understood a lot about human nature. He knows that someone perfect would be incapable of committing murder. It is difficult to believe that Jesus would murder anyone, be it his adopted father Joseph or even someone who threatened to kill him first.

The Ill-Posed Executive Essays -- Economy Economics Business Essays

The Ill-Posed Executive "The nineteenth-century legal scholar Schultes described public trust rights as 'unalienable.' He explained that 'things which relate to the public good cannot be given, sold, or transferred by the King to another person'" (Cronin and Kennedy 142). More specifically, the "things" Schultes refers to are property common to all citizens of the world including, but by no means limited to, the air, the land, and the water. While the vast majority of humankind would agree in principle with Schultes's concerns, regulations on the use of particular natural bodies understood as public property are no longer strongly enforced. Upholding such rules is simply no longer a conscious priority among busy people. Most of us are concerned with our immediate self-interest both economically and politically, and we tend to ignore long-term environmental injustices unless those infringements affect us directly. Although we are quick to identify and criticize irresponsibility on the parts of violators, our concern rarely compels us to retaliate against wrongdoers and correct the wrongs. Our neglect is being made apparent to us in essays regarding environmental issues. Nearly every author has an opinion on the environmental malpractice of corporations and their representatives, but even these critics fail to offer a strategy for curbing the negligence of business firms. This failure encourages an attitude of hopelessness among the environmentally concerned members of society and reminds us that a long overdue effort to uncover answers is in order. We need go no further than the source of the problem to find a workable solution: Corporations must hold themselves responsible to the public trust. Regardless of the greater p... ...ublic trust will be violated. Works Cited Cronin, John and Robert Kennedy. "King John to General Electric." The Riverkeepers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Friedman, Milton. "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits." Cases and Readings in Markets, Ethics and Law. Ed. Bruce S. Buchanan, Robert Boyd Lamb, and Roy C. Smith. Needham Heights: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Hoy, Pat C. "Leadership." Sewanee Review. Vol. C, Num. 3. Summer 1992. Machiavelli, Niccolo. "The Qualities of a Prince." A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1998. Reich, Robert B. "A Shareholder, And a Citizen." The New York Times. 5 November 1999. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "Wal-Mart Reports Record Sales and Earnings for Quarter and Year." 15 February 2000 <http:// www.walmartstores.com/newsstand/ archive/prf_000215_1999_4thqtr. shtml>. The Ill-Posed Executive Essays -- Economy Economics Business Essays The Ill-Posed Executive "The nineteenth-century legal scholar Schultes described public trust rights as 'unalienable.' He explained that 'things which relate to the public good cannot be given, sold, or transferred by the King to another person'" (Cronin and Kennedy 142). More specifically, the "things" Schultes refers to are property common to all citizens of the world including, but by no means limited to, the air, the land, and the water. While the vast majority of humankind would agree in principle with Schultes's concerns, regulations on the use of particular natural bodies understood as public property are no longer strongly enforced. Upholding such rules is simply no longer a conscious priority among busy people. Most of us are concerned with our immediate self-interest both economically and politically, and we tend to ignore long-term environmental injustices unless those infringements affect us directly. Although we are quick to identify and criticize irresponsibility on the parts of violators, our concern rarely compels us to retaliate against wrongdoers and correct the wrongs. Our neglect is being made apparent to us in essays regarding environmental issues. Nearly every author has an opinion on the environmental malpractice of corporations and their representatives, but even these critics fail to offer a strategy for curbing the negligence of business firms. This failure encourages an attitude of hopelessness among the environmentally concerned members of society and reminds us that a long overdue effort to uncover answers is in order. We need go no further than the source of the problem to find a workable solution: Corporations must hold themselves responsible to the public trust. Regardless of the greater p... ...ublic trust will be violated. Works Cited Cronin, John and Robert Kennedy. "King John to General Electric." The Riverkeepers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. Friedman, Milton. "The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits." Cases and Readings in Markets, Ethics and Law. Ed. Bruce S. Buchanan, Robert Boyd Lamb, and Roy C. Smith. Needham Heights: Simon & Schuster, 1994. Hoy, Pat C. "Leadership." Sewanee Review. Vol. C, Num. 3. Summer 1992. Machiavelli, Niccolo. "The Qualities of a Prince." A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford, 1998. Reich, Robert B. "A Shareholder, And a Citizen." The New York Times. 5 November 1999. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. "Wal-Mart Reports Record Sales and Earnings for Quarter and Year." 15 February 2000 <http:// www.walmartstores.com/newsstand/ archive/prf_000215_1999_4thqtr. shtml>.

Baby Boomers

Alexi Seely Professor Beauchene English 102 4 December 2012 Argument Response Essay In the article Blue Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic to College Sander’s makes that argument that the baby boomers of our time are still eligible to work, and are very willing to try new ways of achieving the education to start different forms of work. Most of the baby boomer generation had gone straight to hard labor jobs to help bring home money for their families, and now that they are older the labor is straining on their bodies (Sanders 3).While they may be older, they are still capable of learning how to use new technology and expanding their minds (Sanders 27). Sanders discusses that college is no longer a place for young adults to attend once out of high school, but rather a place for anyone to receive high education in order to attain a job. Some of the older Americans are choosing to go back to college. Mr Hill says, â€Å"I want a job sitting down, at the computer, in the cubicle†¦after being out in the field for so many years, I would like a sit-down job. Mr. Hill had decided that after working in the cold for so long, he thought that he deserved to make good money while not doing much physical labor (Sanders 24). After being a part of a great things or helping their country, some of the baby boomers believed that they deserve to live a cushy life. To a different extent, older Americans have to continue college as a matter of necessity. In paragraph 30 Mr.Ronan states, â€Å"They do not have the luxury nor the interest in going back to college for two or three years, they need something quick†¦ † This statement tells readers that older Americans do not have the luxury to go back to college because unlike younger Americans, they have bills to pay. Some of the baby boomers are continuing college for a job because the hard labor of their old career has left their bodies withered (Sanders 3).However, just because their bodies are incapable of hard work, does not mean that their minds are. When these older students come to college, they bring their values with them. In today’s society, people believe that college is just something that mostly everyone must go to after high school as a part of their path in life; and some take it for granted. The older Americans, or baby boomers, did not have the opportunities to go to college like we do.To them, college is a wonderful experience to learn the things needed to go into their field of work or even just to further their own knowledge. Baby boomers realize the value of a good education and what it can bring for their careers (Sanders 31). They are simply merging their work ethic from hard labor jobs, to studying just as hard in the class room. Works  Cited Sanders, Libby. â€Å"Blue-Collar Boomers Take Work Ethic  to College. †Ã‚  Everything's an Argument  5 (2010): 949-53. Web.

Are Gmos Good for Our Health Essay

So, its been a long day, your exhausted, really hungry, and don’t think too much about what you want to eat. You just know that you will go for anything tasty that is fast and easy to make. Choosing what we we want to eat in this way should be familiar to all of us, its the American way: We want it and we want it now, and it always has to be better, faster, and last longer. Due to our forever growing population this demand only gets stronger and stronger; alas our creation of genetically modified organisms. The dominating corporate in charge called Monsanto promised to create this ‘miracle’ food that will feed countries around the world, last longer, and make our diets healthier. After finding out that these genetically modified foods can cause health problems and aren’t provided enough for the malnourished, third world countries, can we really say that the creation of GMOs are living up to what Monsanto is telling us? One of the main defenses for GMOs is to help out third world countries; places where starvation and malnutrition hit the hardest. An article for Times magazine titled Grains of Hope illustrates all the excitement and hope that GMOs will solve world hunger. Reporting that the new GM strain in rice creates a new species of rice called Golden Rice. â€Å"This new rice produces beta-carotene, which the human body converts into Vitamin A. † â€Å" Nearly a million children die every year because they are weakened by Vitamin A deficiency and an additional 350,000 go blind† (Robbins, 2012, pg 1). You would think that this golden rice would be the answer to all malnutrition problems, but unfortunately it is not. According to a New York Times article titled Can GMOs Help End world Hunger? , â€Å"golden rice will not grow in the kinds of soil that it must to feed the hungry. To grow properly, it requires heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides. For the poor, developing countries it is unaffordable. Plus the heavy amounts of pesticides could travel into the bloodstreams of people and make them resistant to essential antibiotics. Research shows that â€Å"an eleven year old boy would have to eat twenty-seven bowls of golden rice a day in order to satisfy his minimum requirement for the vitamin† (Robbins, 2012, pg 2). The Monsanto Corporation and other biotechnology companies have invested billions of dollars to gain control over what we eat. Their main goal is not to feed the world but to retrieve maximum profit. Part of how their doing so is by ‘monopolizing’ farmers. They do so by creating a Technology Protection System. This system creates â€Å"terminator seeds. †These seeds are altered so that they are sterile. Meaning that after the crop grows, it will not produce more seeds for farmers to harvest and grow next season. Instead, they have to buy more seeds over and over again. Due to the corporate patenting and monopolization of GM seeds, farmers also have to use excessive amounts of chemicals on their crops. â€Å"It is frequently argued that the high debt incurred by Indian farmers and resultant farmer suicides (over 250,000 since 1997) have largely resulted from the need to purchase costly pesticides and expensive seeds each year because they contain a ‘terminator’ gene† (Todhunter,2012). In the earlier times of GMOs, many farmers couldn’t wait to try out these products because the World Health Organization came out and said that they benefited agriculture productivity, human health and revived infertile crops. The World Health Organization stated in their article, Weighing in the GMO Arguments: For, â€Å"Genetically engineered resistance to pests and diseases could greatly reduce the chemicals needed for crop protection. Farmers are already growing maize cotton and potatoes that no longer have to be sprayed with bacterial insecticide. They also included that removing lignin found in trees will get rid of toxic chemicals in paper and wood made products, being healthier for people and the environment. WHO also goes on to add that â€Å"Genetic modification to become more tolerant of salt [found in infertile soil] and drought. † An article I found to support these findings called GM crops ‘aid plant neighbours’ talks about a study done in ch ina where they modified strains of cotton DNA so that the crops could make their own insecticide and solve pest problems. The results were positive, the insecticide Bacillus Thuringiensis, caused a reduction in the use of insecticide because it got rid of the cotton bollworm, a major pest to cotton. The newly engineered cotton also created greater biodiversity by attracting more lady bugs, causing the population of aphids, another cotton pest, to decrease. In the article, an advocate for organic farming shares that she agrees with the modified cotton because â€Å"organic farmers avoid pesticides by using natural processes to encourage beneficial predators. Getting rid of pests by introducing predators and reducing the use of pesticides is very similar to organic processes. † The new pest resistant crop may have been beneficial for a little while but as time went on they are began to build up in our bloodstreams. A recent study done by researchers from the University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec, Canada found that ninety-three percent of maternal blood and eighty percent of fetal cord blood test positive for the Bt toxin Cry1ab, Proving that transgenic materials are not effectively broken down and eliminated during digestion. Another harmful chemical 3-MMPA, showed up in 100 percent of pregnant women’s bloodstreams. The chemical 3-MMPA is produced when our bodies metabolize gluphosinate, also found in GMOs. A study done in Europe found that gluphosinate can cause cancer, DNA damaged, and reproductive toxicity. Another recent study done by European researchers found that after feeding rats a diet of GM corn through out their lifetime have developed tumors all over their body and died prematurely. One thing Monsanto might try to tell you is that there are no long term affects to genetically modified products. Truth is, over years and years of Americans eating meat been changed overtime so that it is plumper and lasts longer has caused a growing epidemic that especially effects children. The additives we have been consuming were designed to have longer shelf lives, but the chemicals added also mimic human hormones that have estrogenic qualities and anabolic steroids. Because of these increased uses in poultry production children are starting puberty earlier and earlier. The article, Additives and Hormones in Our Food: A Growing Epidemic that effects Our Children, Includes a table showing how the trend of the onset age for puberty decreasing; showing that in 1970 the onset age for puberty was 12. 6 years old. In 2000, that number decreased to 9. 8 years old. Another growing the epidemic that is not only effecting America’s children but America as a whole is obesity. And guess what, chemicals added to our food are linked to that too. Based off of what Stephen Perrine, author of New American Diet, â€Å"We have all sorts of chemicals put into our newly, genetically engineered foods. † The Pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones that make our food more resistant to diseases and environmental stress contain obesogens. According to Perrine, â€Å"obesogens can cause heart disease,diabetes,obesity and high cholesterol. Most of the obesogens come from pesticides, non-organic produce, and GM corn-fed beef and chicken. For many years, GMOs seemed to be a great idea because they benefited agriculture productivity, human health and revived infertile crops. The whole intention for the creation of GMOs are great, they have proven to last longer and get rid of major pests and all but the fact that these modified organisms have caused major health problems to our people and haven’t benefited our poorer countries as they were suppose to, the invention of genetically modified organisms have done more bad than good. With that, people should be more careful about what they choose to eat. So, the next time you head out to go grocery shopping, look for labels for 100 percent organic foods, or go to the farmer’s market where everything is locally grown.

Perpetual holiday is a good working definition of hell Essay

Every now and then everybody needs a little holiday, time to themselves. After a long period of working, sunny beaches, snowy mountain peaches or a quiet house by a river together with your family may seem to be as close to paradise as possible. Many would dream of a â€Å"never ending holiday† where all you have to do is what you feel like to, but not all fairytales end well. To begin with, in a world where everybody sits around doing nothing, enjoying their life the end would be imminent and quick. A â€Å"global holiday† would mean a sudden stop of production, resources would be consumed in a matter of days or weeks whereas it takes a longer time for them to be produced and even an immediate comeback would generate a great loss. Secondly, during holiday many tend to loosen up, take things less seriously and usually forget the knowledge they have accumulated during the lifetime. This results in not using your brain properly and within some generations information would be lost and progression stagnated. Nonetheless, on the other hand being in a perpetual holiday may positive. There wouldn`t exist any more stress, worries, rush, responsibilities. People would live longer and happier. The only worry we would have would be how to make us and the others around us more fortunate. We would have time for all our hobbies; we could fulfil the gaps in our social life. Taking these points into consideration, I would say that many of us would be ready to give up their career for a peaceful life but too few think about the consequences of such a choice.

Do you like chocolate?

â€Å"Do you like chocolate? † If asked, most people would smile and say, â€Å"of course I do. † But if that same person asked if you thought chocolate was a good for your health, even beneficial, you’d probably have some doubts. For those doubters: Think again. Evidence has lead scientists and health-specialists around the world to agree that chocolate can be beneficial to your health. Dark chocolate has gotten a bad rap, almost since the late 1800’s when a man named Hershey began an empire lacking the true essence of chocolate. Today, when people consider cardiovascular strength and fitness, chocolate is probably one of the last things they’d add to a health-conscious diet regimen. Then, if we pair dark chocolate consumption with empowering the heart, people would be waiting for the punch line. Dark chocolate and a good healthy heart can, in fact, be allies. But there are some rules and guidelines that must be followed. Christopher Columbus, during his ship-going years, made a stop off the Honduras coast and discovered that natives had a strange almond-like nut. It was a cacao bean, the heart of what chocolate is. Chocolate, specifically dark chocolate, has received kudos from scientific research. Researchers correlate dark chocolate to a component of a healthy diet. When we enter the dessert and snack world of chocolate, there is potential for danger, even harm. The mass-production of Hershey’s and other chocolate companies have belittled the essence of pure chocolate of Belgium. Many people are more likely to agree with the old adage that says, â€Å"Beware, chocolate is not good for you. Thus, there is some truth to this statement. Archeologists say that Olmecs, which is now Mexico, were a people who drank chocolate a thousand years before Christ. The Mayans, a very cultured race, were the first to create a sacred drink of cacao. The Mayans roasted and powdered the beans. They mixed it with chiles, herbs, and wild honey to produce a special beverage. The cacao drink was regarded as one of the most special drinks of the Mayan race, being saved for times of tribute. With all this historical strength behind cacao and chocolate, we can see that there is power in chocolate. Today, there are many types of chocolate, so the benefits depend almost entirely on what kind of chocolate that you choose to eat. Dark-chocolate-research has found evidence that it can help in building in a better heart and strengthening the cardiovascular system. Dr. Joseph Mercola, author of Total Health Program, was very skeptical when he first began to look at chocolate as a healthy snack. This skepticism might be most people’s initial reaction because it’s been ingrained into our minds from a very young age that although chocolate tastes great it’s not good for you. To further Dr. Mercola’s skepticism, he found out that the basis of his secondary research came from a chocolate company. Dr. Mercola was concerned that this chocolate company was biased and merely attempting to reach consumers with a marketing technique to increase sales. The conflict of interest was too obvious. But his skepticism was soon diminished when he looked at some astounding scientific proof. In just the past seven years, there have been more and more independent confirmations that dark chocolate truly has health benefits. These confirmations, according to Dr. Mercola, appeared to establish a framework for strengthening the fact that there indeed are health rewards from eating small amounts of flavonoid-rich dark chocolate. Careful reflection and study of the birth of chocolate helps to clear the picture a bit further. Chocolate, as I mentioned, stems from the cacao bean. Trying to ingest pure cacao lead you spit it out due to its bitterness. The cacao, however, is a key ingredient surrounding dark chocolate’s health benefits. The missing ingredient of course is sugar. Sugar needs to be filtered in before chocolate can be regarded as such a luxury dessert that it’s matured into for society. There are hidden drawbacks to chocolate that must be remembered. For one, when shopping for dark chocolate keep in mind that many of the popular, processed brands readily available in markets and grocery stores are often contaminated with large amounts of lead. You must be wary of those Hershey’s bars. Just as in most undertakings in life, moderation is the key. Dark chocolate consumption, when ingested in small amounts can actually be very good for you. Dr. Mercola wrote, â€Å"It is important to keep in mind, however, that you can derive a majority of the benefits chocolate provides (via flavonols) by consuming fruits like blueberries, apples and grapes, and most all vegetables, including broccoli, greens and onions. This is obviously a method Dr. Mercola would prefer most people utilize instead of chocolate. It’s been ingrained in our heads since infancy to â€Å"eat your vegetables. † It’s easy to see why Mercola counters his discussion regarding chocolate-health by promoting—as an aside—that you eat your vegetables, too. This is a wise promotion—especially for a doctor wanting to maintain his reputation for the mass public and his patients. However, a bowl of broccoli doesn’t have the same rewards as a little dark-chocolate-sugar-boost every once in a while, particularly when you realize it is good for your heart. As I mentioned, when we consider dark chocolate as a moderating alternative, vegetables are boring—at least to the chocolate lover. Just remember, too much chocolate tips the scales toward disaster. So, if chocolate is something that makes you salivate then remember to follow some of these common sense rules: 1. Eat only dark chocolate—or organic, if you want to really streamline the healthy components of chocolate consumption. 2. Organic chocolate carries specific antioxidants that can shield the body from oxidative stress. 3. Do not eat chocolate if you are battling serious disease or ailments. According to scientific data, the Kuna Indians of Panama eat three to four cups of flavanol-rich cocoa daily. The main ingredient, epicatechin, is responsible for offering vascular health benefits to the Kuna Indians. When they drank certain cocoa—another favored past-time of civilized nations around the world—they received higher levels of nitric oxide, where the flavanol was absorbed into the bloodstream. Lead contamination can be found in processed chocolate—sometimes extremely high quantities of lead. The concern of lead contaminants in chocolate is not new. There was great concern, in the past, over processed cocoa plants being contaminated by leaded gasoline. The source of additional contamination is unknown. It might have come during the shipping process or somewhere along the manufacturing lines in chocolate plants. As scary as it sounds, there is some evidence that points out that high blood-lead levels in children can result in learning disabilities, damage to a child’s brain processing, and loss of some memory skills. To counter this grave concern, further chocolate studies performed in two reputable scientific journals say dark chocolate is good for you, NOT white or milk or processed chocolate. Along with flavanol, there is evidence of other benefits. For one, flavonoids can raise levels of HDL cholesterol. This is beneficial cholesterol. It also acts as an antioxidant which protects human cells from free-radicals. It’s these very radicals that can lead to aging, heart disease, and certain cancers. Plant phenol is another substance that can help individuals out by lowering blood pressure. The location of where chocolate is made is another important consideration. Chocolates that are made in Europe tend to be richer in cocoa phenols in comparison with cocoa in the United States. The United States, unfortunately, since the early 1900’s chose to focus on mass production and not on getting the most of this luxurious cacao bean. Now that you’ve got a glimpse of the health benefits of dark chocolate, it’s important to remember this: Nothing is simple about good chocolate and you won’t find it in most drug stores. In fact, if you ask some chocolate connoisseurs about it, they’ll tell you that the term good chocolate was derived from palet or, which, when translated means â€Å"pillow of gold. † David Lebovitz, a pastry chef and chocolate connoisseur, is another fierce advocate for the fancy final product of unprocessed dark chocolate. He has developed some recipes such as an easy-to-prepare Red-Wine and Apple Tart? David offers over 100 recipes to tantalize the taste buds while keeping health at the forefront front of your dietary plans. In closing, it’s important to remember that good dark chocolate is available all over the world. Many European pastry chefs claim it is their art—and there is a lot of presence in Europe—but there isn’t a code set to be cracked by the nationalities of Europe. It is a world-wide consumable. You just have to do a little research to find the true chocolate where you live. Also remember that the benefits of chocolate come from using common sense and following these simple guidelines: 1. Eat only dark chocolate; 2. Eat chocolate in moderation; 3 do not eat processed chocolate. Share this information with friends and loved ones as you add this delectable sweet to your health-conscious diet.