Human Values and Ethics in the Workplace

Human Values and Ethics in the Workplace Improving Leadership and Performance in the Water Education, Supply and Sanitation Sectors RESOURCE PAPER Teaching Managers Human Values â€Å"Human Values and Ethics in the Workplace† is a capacity-building initiative developed in a collaborative effort between the Global Dharma Center (GDC) and UN-HABITAT, within the framework of the Human Values Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Education (HVWSHE) Initiative of the Water for African/Asian Cities Programmes. The purpose of the capacity-building is to improve leadership and performance in every aspect of the water education and water supply and sanitation sectors, and to help bring about a new ethic in water use and management.  © 2005 UN-HABITAT and Global Dharma Center For more information: www. globaldharma. org/hvew. htm 2 Teaching Managers Human Values by B. Gustavsson, School of Business, Stockholm University, Sweden; A. N. Tripathi, Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, India; G. P. Rao, Department of Management Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, India. Abstract The authors are convinced of the necessity in a human dimension in managerial decisionmaking. The problem is to define values in a human context. We have suggested a framework for understanding the origins and scope of human values. We trace values to theistic, humanistic and empirical origins, and connect these to individual, sociological and ecological levels of application. We have illustrated our framework with a case study of a systematic approach to teach human values to managers in India. While this approach is mainly using a theistic approach, we recommend that other approaches to values can be included in courses teaching human values to managers. Human values are necessary in today's management. Business is no longer confined to a national state but is really borderless. Hence business from the international viewpoint, cannot be regulated by governments unless international agreements can be reached. In this â€Å"lawless land† the responsibility of the executive is greater than ever. Which values does s/he promote in her/his actions and decisions? Which responsibility does s/he take? Only towards the bottom line or also towards the growth of mankind? On a national level we find similar concerns with ethics and values in management. Being a generator and facilitator of human material wealth, does her/his responsibility towards human values end there? We do believe that the manager of today has a wider responsibility than that. We believe that it is in the interest of the managers themselves to have a heightened awareness of the values of humankind and also to promote them. I. Human values: what are they? Like most basic areas of human knowledge and experience, the concept of human values defies definitions. Yet it can be instinctively felt, cognitively grasped, discussed as a shareable experience, and thus made a valid area of enquiry. This enquiry is a major under-current of the wisdom literature of all the ancient civilisations and of the later day philosophers, scholars and great leaders of social and political movements. The profusion of ideas, divergent approaches and intermixing of several strands of thought make the effort of conceptualising human values a daunting task for modern scholarship. However, for a clearer understanding of the scope, significance and interrelationship of these ideas it is necessary to have a conceptual framework for classifying them. In the following paragraphs we make a humble attempt at this difficult academic endeavour. Classical literature does not make a distinction between values and human values. Perhaps there was no need for it then. Philosophical ideas on value enquiry were directed towards finding the nature, meaning and purpose of human existence. In the present century search for a theory of values has become a separate branch of modern philosophy and has been called axiology. Although the different realms of this value enquiry cover all areas of human concern like ethics, religion, art, science, social science, law etc. , no separate or special significance is attached to the term human values. One main approach to this classical value enquiry we would like to call the ideal-normative approach. In the Western tradition it is represented by Plato's formulation of the absolute values of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. They are conceived as having independent existence of their own and are 3 used as ideal norms for value judgement at the relative level of human existence. In the Indian tradition absolute values are related to the absolute reality whose nature is described as Sat,Chit and Anand. Attainment of a state of eternal bliss by the realisation of identity of the individual self with the universal Self of this absolute reality is the highest and ultimate object of human striving. Closely related to this absolutist perception is the theistic view which may be called a sub-group of the idealistic-normative approach. It is based on a metaphysical belief system which accepts the reality of a divine cosmic order and faith in the authority of a creator God who is also the upholder of all values. The basis of all ethical, social and other human values is sought in the enduring truths, either revealed or obtained through super conscious insights of sages, contained in the sacred religious literature. Although differing in their belief systems, rituals and customs, the great world religions have a large area of agreement on the basic moral values, conceptions of personal virtues and social group behaviour based on humanistic values of love, brotherhood, caring and sharing. Many leaders of the Indian renaissance, e. g. Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi, were inspired by the absolutist-theistic value system and used it as the basis for their efforts towards the spiritual, social and political rejuvenation of the Indian society. In recent times the term ‘human values' has been used for this theistic approach to value system (Chakraborty, 1995a,b; Swami Ranganathanand, 1991). This is perhaps because of the need to highlight the universal humanistic aspects of this value approach, as against the merely speculative, mystical, or life-denying ascetic aspects. In the modern interpretation of theistic value approach the authors have shown its relevance and significance to the managers and other professionals. Another reason for the use of adjective ‘human' before these values may be to distinguish this value approach from the modern, so-called scientific, approach to human phenomena and associated values. Interpreted in its narrow sense this scientific approach robs man of the dignity of his divine association, his spiritual nature and reduces him to a biological organism of a random collection of atoms. It denies any meaning and purpose to life and rejects all considerations of faith, belief, feeling and intuitive religious perceptions. This mechanistic, deterministic interpretation makes man merely a malleable automaton, to be ‘programmed' to meet the demands of the existing socio-technological order, through manipulation of his lower order needs and desires. In the second sub-group of the idealistic-normative approach to human values we would like to place all the different strands of humanistic thoughts, ranging from love and compassion of Buddha to the radical humanism of Marx. Included in this sub-group are the ideas of humanists having varying degrees of theistic, non-theistic and atheistic leanings but attaching prime importance to man and to human values. As Fromm (1981, p. 148) points out â€Å"There is a remarkable kinship in the ideas of the Buddha, Eckhart, Marx, and Schweitzer: their radical demand for giving up the having orientation; their insistence on complete independence; their metaphysical skepticism; their godless religiosity, and their demand for social activity in the spirit of care and human solidarity† (emphasis added). These humanist ideas and movements developed as protests against oppressive constraints on human spirit of freedom, creativity and dignity, imposed by religious dogmas or by dehumanising social or technological orders at their day. They developed a new ethics of man based on interconnectedness of humankind, love and respect for life, the joy of sharing and caring, and the faith in man to shape his own destiny. They find deep reflections in the literary traditions of both the East and the West over the last few centuries (Bharati, 1990), and gave rise to different kinds of social and political theories, like liberalism and socialism, for the betterment of humankind, particularly of the oppressed and the exploited. In recent times it has led to the declaration of Universal Human Rights by the United Nations. The term human values has generally been understood in this context of humanistic thoughts. The second main approach to human values we would like to call the empirical-purposive approach adopted by modern psychologists and other social scientists like Rokeach (1973), Schwartz (1994) 4 and Mukherjee (1965). It views the of values as a distinct component of the total human personality, which guide or affect attitude and behaviour of the individual and social groups. In Schwartz's view values are â€Å"responses to three universal requirements with which all individuals and societies must cope: needs of individual biological organisms, requisites of coordinated social interaction and requirements for smooth functioning and survival of groups† (Schwartz, 1994, p. 21). This approach is non-normative and is not based on any religious, philosophical system of ideas or world view, nor on any social-political ideology. Identification of values, their classification, and search for interrelationships between them is based on empirical methods of observation, attitude surveys, statistical validation techniques etc. Conceptualisation of human values based on the findings of empirical research is fast becoming a distinct area of social science research. These empirical studies and researches on human values are not merely idealistic or intellectual exercises. They are purposive in the sense that the knowledge gained by them is sought to be utilised for practical purposes in diverse areas like, management science (leadership and team building, human resource development etc. , socio-political policy decisions (welfare programmes, race relations, positive action programmes for minorities, population control programmes, environmental policy etc. ). Hence the use of the term purposive in the descriptive title 'empirical-purposive' for this approach to human values. Another way of classifying the different approaches to human values could be in terms of the level of aggregation they focus their attention on. These levels may be called the individual, the sociological and the ecological. The first level focuses on the individual human being, taken as an independent entity. Some illustrative value terms referring to this level are survival values, character, personal virtues, aesthetic appreciation, human rights, salvation, self-realization, etc. At the second level individual values are subordinated to the sociological values. It is concerned with operation of values at the collective level of human society and includes values associated with family and other social institutions and professions; caring nd sharing, sense of social responsibility, social and economic justice, sarvodaya, values of humanity and human interconnectedness, etc. Similarly the ecological level subordinates the first two and consists of values from the standpoint of human beings as a part of the total ecological system. In the reports commissioned by the Club of Rome there is a concern for developing a â€Å"new world consciousness†¦ , a new ethic in the use of material resources, a new attitude towards nature, based on harmony rather than on conquest †¦ sense of identification with future generations† (Mesaroric, M. D. and Pestel, E. , 1974, p. 148) to avoid global catastrophe caused by unrestrained economic growth. â€Å"For the first time a demand is being made for an ethical change, not as a consequence of ethical belief but as the rational consequence of economic analysis† (Fromm, 1988, p. 149). Human values perceptions from this perspective focus on the inter-dependency of human beings and nature and include expressive terms like respect for and harmony with nature, concept of Mother Earth, sustainability, conservation etc. We thus arrive at a two-dimensional matrix for the classification of human values concepts. One dimension of this matrix consists of the different approaches and the other of the three levels of aggregation, shown as the horizontal and the vertical columns of the table below. Approach Level Individual Sociological Ecological Table 1: Two-dimensional classification framework of human values IDEAL-NORMATIVE Theistic Humanistic x x x EMPIRICALPURPOSIVE x x x 5 It needs to be emphasised that the categories in this proposed classification scheme are far from being exclusive. In fact they very much overlap. For example many of the humanistic approaches have theistic foundations and many items of the empirical approach are reformulations of the idealistic approach. What is being implied in the classification is the identification of the main emphasis or main focus of the approach. The entries in the matrix indicate what we consider to be the main level(s) of aggregation which a particular approach focuses on. In our view the theistic approach focuses mainly on the individual level in its quest for making a â€Å"good† man, whereas the humanistic approach is concerned with both the â€Å"good† man and the â€Å"good† society. This is not to deny the sociological and ecological concerns of the theistic approach; however we feel that these concerns are secondary to that for the individual. On the other hand the different empirical approaches together cover all the three, individual, social and ecological levels. The progression in the above matrix, both in the vertical and the horizontal directions, has a chronological order. The earliest human value perceptions were related to the individual level. The growing complexities and tensions of the human societies enlarged the scope to include the sociological considerations as its second focus. And the disastrous impact of the rapid technological developments, coupled with the population explosion, of the present century has made ecological concern as the third focus. Once again this chronological flow has no exclusivity. The philosophical speculations and beliefs of the earliest civilisations, including the aboriginal civilisations in existence today, have remarkable sensitivity and insights about the nature and man's relation to it. However it is only in the recent times that the theme has acquired an urgency to prompt development of a concerted approach to human values in relation to ecology. Similarly many of the later day humanistic values have been traced to the earliest Upanishadic idealistic-theistic views on life and its value (Devaraj, 1988). Yet there is a general chronological flow from the absolutist, theistic view of human values to the humanist view and finally to the present day empirical view. II. Can human values be taught? The question of interest to us is if human values can be taught to modern managers in any systematic way and, if so, to what effectiveness. S. K. Chakraborty, Management Centre for Human Values, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, has since 1983 been giving workshops on the theme â€Å"Human Values† on an in-house basis in many companies and as open workshops for managers from different companies and academics, mainly from India, but also from abroad. The impetus for this development is said to have come from managers at various management development programmes given at Indian Institute of Management in Calcutta, asking for Indian insights that could be valuable for organizations and management. The objective of the workshops is to enhance in course participants the sensitivity to and sustenance of the value-system, which Chakraborty has distilled from what he calls â€Å"the Indian ethos†, based on studies of Buddhist, Vedantic and Yogic literature together with Indian epics and Pauranic literature. It is claimed that Indian values are found in the deep-structure of the Indian psyche, as reflected in these sources. The basic idea is purification of the mind, partly through a mind-stilling technique, and partly through practice of nourishing noble thoughts (e. g. compassion, friendliness, humbleness), and rejecting wicked ones (e. . greed, jealousy, arrogance). Such practice will reveal the â€Å"divine†, or â€Å"higher self†, within the individual and s/he will be able to perceive the same in others. The goal is that in a management setting these practices will have repercussions on business life, more specifically in respect of the individual, improve d cooperation, non-attachment to the selfish rewards of the work, increased creativity, service to the customer, improved quality, creating an ethico-moral soundness, cultivating self-discipline and self-restraint, and enhancing generosity (Chakraborty, 1991, pp. 9-20). 6 The content of the workshops varies according to the duration. There are three modules, the first one lasting three days and the next two lasting two days each. Each module elaborates on different principles. Module I, also called the â€Å"foundational module†, develops the basic concepts and practices. It is argued that managerial effectiveness is dependent on a sound values system, undergirding the superstructure of skills, which in turn emanates from a pure mind. The factors influencing a pure mind are discussed in terms of higher and lower self, disidentification and reidentification with the latter and the former respectively, the guna, karma, samskaras, nishkam karma and other theories. The first steps of the mind-stilling technique relating to these principles are given at this stage. Module II focuses on leadership and teamwork and elaborates on a number of principles from the Vedantic and Buddhist literature connected to the theme. Additional steps in the mind-stilling techinque are also introduced. Module III covers the topics stress, counselling and communication. The main issue here is to identify with one's innermost self, which is ananda, as the basic remedy for stress-generating influences. A few more steps are included in the mind-stilling process in this module. These modules can be taken separately or jointly. In the annual workshop at the Management Centre for Human Values all three modules are offered integrally. The workshops are promoted directly and indirectly: directly through mailing of pamphlets to selected companies, and indirectly through the network of previous course participants on the workshops. Initiatives to the in-house workshops can come from top management, HRD (personell) department, open workshop participants who want to bring in the workshop to the company, persons who have come in contact with Chakraborty's ideas, etc. The participation in the workshops are mostly on a voluntary basis, whereas there could be occasions when managers have been asked by the CEO or someone high up to attend the workshops. Following our categorization of human values above, these workshops would fall into the â€Å"idealnormative† approach, with theistic leanings. The source of the values taught at the workshops are derived from the sacred texts of Indian wisdom literature, and the values are claimed to have an eternal and universal character to a great extent. It is normative in the sense that the values are something people ought to have from the ideal perspective, not accepting certain values, or disvalues, just because people are having them. The basic foundation of values is taken to be divine, implying a theistic approach, whereas the humanistic elements are found in caring values, concern for others, love and compassion. The level of focus is mainly on the individual in terms of personal virtues. It is stated that in order to change the environment we must start with ourselves. Thus, more aggregated human levels (organizational, political, societal, ecological, global) are not neglected, but the starting point is the individual. III. Participant responses The participants are asked to submit on the last day of the workshop plans of action which they would like to implement in the six months to follow. We have such plans of actions from a total of 208 participants who attended seven in-house workshops and one Annual International Workshop, held between August 1995 and February 1996, as per the following particulars: 7 Serial No. 1 2 Workshop Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) Tata Engineering and Locomotive Limited (TELCO I) Bokaro Steel Plant (BSP) Ordnance Factory Ambajhari (OFAJ) Tata Engineering and Locomotive Limited (TELCO II) Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Indian Farmers and Fertilisers Company Limited ( IFFCO ) TOTAL No of participants 22 32 4 5 23 17 23 6 7 17 32 166 42 208 8 Annual International Workshop ( IIMC ) GRAND TOTAL Table 2: Workshops examined TISCO and TELCO belong to the well established and highly reputed Tata Group of Companies in India, while the others are leading public sector undertakings / government organisations. Managers belonging to senior and middle management cadre normally participate in these in-house workshops. The rank during the workshop s can vary; some are pure peer-groups and at some there can be a superior-subordinate relationship during the same workshop. The annual international workshop, on the other hand, attracts top and senior practitioners, owner-managers, academia, consultants, and government officials from India and abroad. The respondents whose plans of action would be analysed thus represent a cross section of highly educated,motivated and successful persons in their chosen spheres of activity. The responses/ data which constitute their plans of action, however, have certain built in limitations : 1. We can only make inferences from the immediate time at the end of the workshop; 2. We can only study the managers' responses to, and expectations of human values, not how they are reflected in their behaviour; 3. We do not know whether there has occured any changes in the managers' attitudes towards human values, as we don't have data from them prior to the workshop; 4. We do not know how honest their attitudes are due to perceived group pressure from peers, super/subordinates, from the course leader, desire to give a good (or bad) impression or other possible factors. 5. The answers are given spontaneously without forewarning and therefore may not be well thought out ideas. 8 The analysis of the plans of action meant to understand the intentions of the participants, and make inferences from their statements the extent to which these workshops have influenced human values in managers. The intended actions are analysed with reference to (a) the contents of the workshop, and (b) the purpose of, and the direction in, which they want to make use of the contents, inputs, knowledge and skills they have learnt from the workshops. A) Content Analysis A content analysis of the responses shows that the most frequent item figuring in almost all of the course participants' plan of action is the resolve to practice the mind-stilling and breathing exercises taught in the course as an essential experiential practice for Chitta-Shuddhi and for communion with the higher Self. Its enthusiastic reception may have also been prompted by the urgent need for maintaining a calm mind in the tension ridden life of practicing managers. The next most common resolve relates to the practice of a cluster of values and value-principles emphasised in the course. It includes, (i) cultivation of values related to higher self and suppression of disvalues associated with lower self, (ii) practice of nishkam karma (self-less action) in work-life as well as personal life, (iii) practice of giving model of life based on the concept of five fold debts (deva rin, rishi rin, pitririn, nri rin, and bhuta rin) (iv) cultivation of satwaguna over rajoguna, and (v) introspection to examine, and to rearrange one's career goals, life styles, attitudes and value systems in the light of the above noted paradigm of higher values. Some responses indicate a desire to propagate and share the ideas learnt in the course with members of the family as well as members of the work-group. A smaller number of responses show the desire to learn more about these ideas by reading the sacred wisdom literature of India, like Gita, Upanishhads, writings of Vivekanand, etc. One can conclude from this content analysis that the value concepts of Indian psycho-spiritual tradition have been well received. They have had a positive impact on the participants as indicated by their resolve to internalise them and to use them as a basis for self-development. B) Purpose/Direction Analysis A perusal of the plans of action indicated that the purpose of the participants was to apply the knowledge gained by them for development of the self, members of his/her workgroup, viz, superiors, colleagues, and subordinates, and of his/her family members and friends. They also wanted to transmit or communicate the knowledge they gained to the members of their workgroup, family and friends. The purpose thus was three-fold (development of self, workgroup members, and of family and friends): and, the direction two-fold (toward workgroup members, and toward his/her family and friends). Juxtaposing the purpose and direction, a table is prepared containing relevent particulars and percentage analysis. 9 WORKSHOP NO. OF PRTICIPANTS WITH MAJOR FOCUS ON SELF DEVEL. OTHERS TOTAL NO. OF PLANS OF ACTION FOCUSING ON SELF OTHER PERSONS DEVEL. IN OUTSIDE ORG. 5 85 (75%) 89 (96%) 92 (80%) 29 (66%) 61 (90%) 37 (54%) 147 (96%) 540 (82%) 215 (87%) 755 (84%) 6 14 (12%) 3 (3%) 18 (16%) 11 (25%) 4 (6%) 25 (37%) 4 (2. 5%) 79 (12%) 21 (9%) 100 (11%) 7 15 (13%) 1 (1%) 5 (4%) 4 (9%) 3 (4%) 6 (9%) 2 (1. 5%) 36 (6%) 11 (4%) 47 (5%) TOTAL PLAN TO COMMUNICATE KNOWLEDGE TO OTHERS WITHIN ORGAN. 15 (52%) 2 (67%) 11 (48%) 7 (29%) 1 (100%) 15 (88%) 5 (63%) 56 (53%) 5 (38%) 61 (52%) OUTSIDE ORG. 10 14 (48%) 1 (33%) 12 (52%) 17 (71%) nil 2 (12%) 3 (37%) 49 (47%) 8 (62%) 57 (48%) TOTAL 1 1. TISCO (N=22) 2. TELCO (N=32) 3. BS P (N=23) 4. OFAJ (N=17) 5. TELCO (N=23) 6. HAL (N=17) 7. IFFCO (N=32) TOTAL 8. MCHV (N=42) GRAND TOTAL 2 11 (50%) 28 (87%) 11 (48%) 4 (24%) 18 (78%) 4 (24%) 31 (97%) 107 (65%) 37 (88%) 144 (69%) 3 11 (50%) 4 (13%) 12 (52%) 13 (76%) 5 (22%) 13 (76%) 1 (3%) 59 (35%) 5 (12%) 64 (31%) 4 22 32 23 17 23 17 32 166 42 208 8 114 93 115 44 68 68 153 655 247 902 11 29 3 23 24 1 17 8 105 13 118 Table 3: Analysis of plans of action from course participants on workshops for human values As stated, two values (percentages) have been calculated, viz. number of participants with 50% or more plans aimed at self-development; and, number of plans aiming at self-development as a percentage of total number. of plans. For example, in the first workshop included in the table (TISCO, N=22), 50% of participants had their plans aimed at self-development (column 2), while 75% of the total number of plans discernible from the statement of the participants of the workshop were meant for self-development (column 5). The most forceful and consistent finding from above relates to the self in terms of both the number of participants focussing on themselves, and also the number of plans made for their own development. In all, 69% of participants had 50% or more of their plans aimed at self-development (column 2) and 84% of the plans of actions envisaged related to self -development (column. 5) such as those discussed under the content analysis. The first three workshops in the first category, viz. the percentage of participants with focus on self, are IFFCO (97%), IIMC (88%) and TELCO-I (87%). TELCO-II, IFFCO, and TELCO-I workshops occupy the top three positions with 96, 96 and 90 percentages respectively in the second category, viz. the percentage of plans aimed at self-development. The remaining three workshops have corresponding percentages as follows: BSP (48% of participants, and 80% of plans being selforiented), OFAJ (24 and 66), and HAL (24 and 54). Even in the case of OFAJ and HAL workshops which have lowest percentage of participants with 24 each, also have more than 50 percent plans each (66 and 54%) aimed at self-development. It thus appears that self-orientation in terms of the percentages of participants and of plans of action cuts across, and permeates, all the eight workshops covered. The other finding deserving attention relates to the desire of the participants to use their knowledge gained through the workshops for the development of their workgroup members, i. e. superiors, 10 colleagues and subordinates of the participants. On the whole, 31% of participants had their plans primarily aimed at the deveopment of their workgroup members (column 3). Eleven percent of the plans of action were aimed at such development (column 6). However, the public sector organizations, OFAJ, HAL and BSP, show significantly higher interest in their workgroup members. This can bee seen in both the number of participants with major focus in their plans on others (76, 76 and 52 % respectively, column 3), and in the number of plans of action focusing on others persons in the organization (37, 25 and 16 %, column 6). The inferences are that the public sector managers perceive -as compared to their counterparts in private sector – higher need for training of others and lower need for themselves. This difference may be indicative of a different organizational behaviour and social thinking in these organizations with respect to individual and group focus. It may indicate that the managers in the governmental organizations consider themselves less needy in development than their subordinates (â€Å"I'm OK but you're not†). Or it may indicate a sincere concern of the managers in the governmental sector for their fellowmen. Such difference in organizational behaviour could stem from factors connected to the difference in ownership influencing the organizational culture. However, the responses in our data are too inconclusive for us to make any definite conclusion on this point. IV. Our conclusions Chakraborty's innovative approach to value education for practising managers is impressive. He has culled out selected psycho-spiritual values from the traditional wisdom literature of India, suitably reinterpreted them and woven them together to form a coherent theory of human values. This theory is then utilised to explain the problems and tensions of both personal and work life of modern professionals and to indicate the way for a better quality of life. That this approach finds deep resonance in the hearts and minds of Indian managers is evident from our observations of the course participants' enthusiastic, and at times deeply moving, articulations at the conclusion of the workshops. At the beginning of section II we raised the question whether human values can be taught and with what degree of effectiveness. Judging from the course participants responses, Chakraborty's approach seems to have met with mostly deep appreciation. Such response undoubtably provides a fertile soil for reexamining and developing one's human values. To that extent it is evident that the workshops have been effective in influencing the human values of the course participants. However, it is difficult to reach any conclusion as to what extent the course objectives have been interiorised by the course participants and the general learning effects of the workshops in the daily lives of the participants. What are the effects in the managers' work and family lives, and do their decisions reflect an increased awareness of human values? Neither can we draw any conclusions about the duration of the effects, i. e. whether it will last for a day or week and then vanish, or if the effects are stable and enduring. It is also evident from the responses and the stated objectives of the course that the main focus is on the self; self-awareness, self-analysis and self-development. It is consistent with the view that the individual is the cornerstone of all changes and transformations at the organizational as well as the societal levels. While the necessity of this self-development as a precondition for the value transformation in society may not be in doubt, the emphasis on it may convey the message that it is also sufficient for all the value problems of today's living. At the organizational level the difficulty may be posed in terms of two distinct, though related, categories of intra-personal and inter-personal values. The latter are of vital significance to managers' organizational role of a team leader, a change agent or a member of a work group. A heightened sensitivity to personal virtues, which is very effective t the intra-personal level, in itself may not be sufficient for values needed for effectiveness at the inter-personal level. Additional emphasis on humanistic values like human warmth, friendliness, acceptance of the other person as s/he is, trust, 11 empathy etc. , may help bring about a better value balance. As indicated in our study, the emphasis on the inter- and intra-personal levels, as also th e extent to which other approaches to human values should be emphasized, may have to be adjusted depending on the type of organization that is approached. The manager significantly affects, and is affected by, the value culture of the society, through the mediating agency of organizations and other social institutions. Proper appreciation of this value dynamics requires understanding, and interiorisation, of the operation of human values at the societal and ecological levels of our categorization. It is not clear as to what extent values at these levels can be developed and nourished through the present structure and approach of the human value workshops. An evaluation of the impact of the workshops, including long-term effects and effects on different levels of human values, may help clarify the position and lead to suggestions for expansions and alterations in the course contents as well as the methodology of the workshops. References Bharati, D. (1990). Mnav Mulya Aur Shitya (in Hindi; transl. : â€Å"Human Values and Literature†) Delhi, Bhartiya Jnanpith. Chakraborty, S. K. (1991). Management by Values. Delhi: Oxford University Books. Chakraborty, S. K. (1995a). Human Values for Managers. Delhi: Wheeler Publishing Co. Chakraborty, S. K. (1995b). Ethics in Management. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Devaraj, N. K. (1988). Humanism in Indian Thought. Delhi: Indus Publishing Co. Fromm, E. (1981). To Have or To Be. New York: Bantam Books. Mesaroric, M. D. and Pestel, E. (1974). Mankind at the Turning Point. New York: E. P. Dutton, quoted from Fromm, 1988, p. 148. Mukherjee, R. (1965). The Social Structure of Values. Delhi: S. Chand. Rokeach, M. (1973). The Nature of Human Values. New York: Free Press. Schwartz, S. H. (1994). â€Å"Are there universal aspects in the structure and conduct of human values? † Journal of Social Issues, 50, no. 4, 19-45. Swami Ranganathanand (1991). Human Values in Management. Delhi: Bharati Vidya Bhavan. Notes 1. The authors are grateful to professor S. K. Chakraborty, convenor of the Management Center for Human Values, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, India, for his collaboration, support and comments on this paper.  © Gustavsson, Tripathi & Rao 1996. No part of this work may be reprinted in any form, physical, electronic, or otherwise, without written consent from the author. About the authors B. Gustavsson graduated (civ. ek. ) 1975 from School of Business, Stockholm University, Sweden, and received his Ph. D. (Ekon. r. ) there in 1992. He is presently working as assistant professor at School of Business, Stockholm University. His latest project is a study on values transition in Indian management. A. N. Tripathi is a professor of electrical engineering at the Intstitute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University, India. He obtained his B. Sc engg (electrical) from Banaras Hindu University in 1 960, M. Tech (control systems) from Indian Institute of Technology, Karaghpur in 1965, and Ph. D. from University of Wales in 1971. He is presently working on a project called â€Å"Human Values in the Engineering Profession†. G. P. Rao is senior professor and head of the Department of Management Studies, Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India. He has an M. A. in economics and postgraduate Diploma in Management 12 (PGDM) from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC). He has recently finalized a project called â€Å"Human Values in Industrial Organizations: A Feminine Perspective†. . 13 United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) P. O. Box 30030, Nairobi, KENYA www. unhabitat. org www. unwac. org Tel: +254-20-623060 Fax: +254-20-623588 Global Dharma Center (GDC) Dallas, Texas 75240 USA www. globaldharma. org Tel/Fax: +1-646-514-8260 14

Utilization of GIS in Tourism

Utilization of GIS in Tourism BY Raymondville Abstract Currently, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is becoming to be known as one of those most valuable analytical tools for managing, displaying large volumes of data and decision making that pertinent to regional planning activities or local Infrastructure constructions (Giles, 2003). Nevertheless, compared with the success GIS technology gained in other fields, the utilization of GIS applications in tourism field is small and with slow growth.From an engineer's perspective, adoption of GIS technology brings benefits to the sustainable tourism in numbers of ways, including election making under the context of huge volume of Information, estimation of travel time, monitoring the traffic situation, and also evaluating the planning phase as well. From a different angle, successful GIS establishment can efficiently assist tourists to achieve satisfaction and affectively make local economic promotion.Introduction GIS technology refers to â€Å"a geographic information system integrates hardware, software, and data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information† (SERIES official website). This remarkable imputer-based set of tools enables people are used for collecting, storing, retrieving, mapping, analyzing, transforming and displaying spatial and non-spatial data from geographic world for a particular set of purposes that varies for each discipline (Gabbier. 2005).GIS in Tourism The generic capableness of GIS Indicate that this technology has tremendous potential in tourism in the visualization term, but its applications are limited in tourism field due to lack of general database of those visitors. For instance, GIS is unable to Illustrate the origin and destination of visitors. What is more, it cannot predict the resists' expenditure patterns, motivation of travel, transportation selection, etc. In order to pursue a further investigation, Bearer a nd Elliot-White categorized functionalities of GIS.The table 1 demonstrated below is the generic capabilities of a GIS (Batter and Elliot-White, 1999). Table 1 capabilities of a GIS Functional capabilities of a GIS GIS Basic Questions Tourism Applications Data entry , Storage and manipulation Location What is at? Tourism Resource Inventories Map production Condition Where Is it? Identify most suitable locations for Database Integration and management Trend What has changed? Measure ours impacts Data queries and searches Routing Which is the best route?Visitor management/flows Spatial analysis Pattern What is the pattern Analyze Assess potential impacts of tourism development Decision support Source: Bearer and Elliot-White 1999, p. 159 Both GIS and tourism are sharing the common boundaries and disciplines such as the geography of particular area, urban development, environmental analysis and traffic study. This characteristic determines the usage of GIS provides information to land managers or stockholders to analyze the risks and opportunities associated the growing tourism industry.For example, whether the increasing visitors in a particular land would put local biodiversity and water source to risk or create enormous number of Job opportunities? The following table indicates common tourism-related issues and GIS application (Elliott-White, 1999). Table 2 Common tourism-related issues and GIS application Problem GIS Application Benchmark/database Systematic inventory of tourism resources Environmental management Facilitating monitoring of specific indicators Conflicts Mapping recreational conflicts; recreation-wildlife; user conflict Tourism behavior Wilderness perceptionsCarrying capacity Identify suitable locations for tourism/ recreation development Prediction Simulating and modeling spatial outcomes of proposed tourism development Data integration Integrating socio-economic and environmental datasets within a given spatial unit Development control and di rection Decision support systems Source: Bearer and Elliot-White 1999, p. 162 These two tables from Bearer and Elliot-White apparently reveal the benefits by utilizing GIS technology through tourism field.These advantages include improving land management with accurate data and spatial attributes, easing the conflicts, hanging the information over time and decision making. Mapping Different from the traditional paper mapping that only considering the surface look of the world, GIS mapping is far more complicated. One distinct difference is that all ego-information, such as land and other spatial characteristics have to be presented in one map.It allows the combination of tourists attributes such as objective types, categories of hotels and stations names and the postcodes; or the near nesses, distance, object locations with a designated rectangular map area Avionic, 2008). Such spatial feature information can be respectively presented by different layers ND then be amalgamated and f inally becomes a digital map. It enables mapped can analyze layers separately when using this map. In these cases, the map contributes to simplify planning and management in tourism due to it specifies detailed components of the particular area.Figure 1 presented below is the example of layers for tourism industry what clearly shows people the constitution of a digital map Tourism using GIS in China An outstanding example from China that has been mature in this GIS tourism field is Hough city, what is located in the south east part in China. Hough city has a omelet digital-framed categorical platform with multiple applications in numerous aspects such as land monitoring, real estate managing, traffic monitoring, etc.Figure 2 below shows the general interface of the digital platform. Categorical tourism system is one of the subset under the entire digital system and it operates on two main elements: spatial and attribute data. Visitors can access this program using their phones and c omputer or those particular devices provided by hotels, and enter their starting point and destination and coordinate an optimal route for their trip.This program also has implicit geographical references like lace's name, address, postcode, and road name and road number on it. Moreover, there are evaluations and comments given by former visitors showing up since visitors select the restaurants or hotels on the map. With this categorical tourism map, the numbers of visitors of Hough City gained an obvious increase. Visitors appreciated the convenience this technology has brought to them in optimizing the tourism planning.And because of this program, the traffic burden is mitigated during the peak period of tourism. Sustainability of GIS Tourism Unregulated tourism is generally regarded as an environmental unfriendly activity u to an excessive intensity and it consuming nonrenewable resources (Passbook, 2008). Depends on the seasonality of tourism, the negative elements influence nat ural, cultural, social and economic environment involve emission from transportation, erosion by building roads connecting landmarks, damages of local natural biodiversity.However, with GIS technology, engineers and experts can analyze the land then come up with better strategically management planning, and gradually minimize the negative impact brought by unregulated tourism. Conclusion As tourism is constituted by numerous complex activities, and all involved in terms of trial, cultural, social and economic environmental demands, thus a powerful tool is really necessary for its sustainability.GIS technology is proven to be one of the successful results for land management and decision making so far. The GIS has visual presentation of tourism data Avionic, 2008). Apart of this, from an engineer's perspective, the spatial and non-spatial data contained by digital map dramatically contribute to effectively managing the land, easing the conflicts and risk, promoting the sustainability of tourism. Hereby, GIS technology utilization need to be proposed and extended in tourism field.

Mike

The short story â€Å"A New Leaf† by F. Scott Fitzgerald rang many alarms for me the first being I found myself completely stumped in the matter of which form of fiction this specific piece was written. I personally found it highly entertaining like that of commercial fiction yet I can definitely see the potential message behind the story to get a meaningful lesson across. â€Å"A New Leaf† is so entertaining for me because it is literally one of the pieces you can see in your head as you are reading it.My personal favorite moment was envisioning just how Julia felt as she went dancing in the evenings with Mr. Ragland. I picture it as something magical like every moment she is with him the rest of the world melts away. She is completely content with a night just enveloped in Ragland’s arms all the while he fights the temptation of having another drink in her presence. I think the overall tone of the story could be taken as literal fiction.The main message being p atience is a virtue or sometimes it can be better to let someone hold on to a small glimmer of hope for the common good than to crush their spirits with the absolute truth. I personally believe sometimes it is greater to let someone believe a small lie than to kill their belief in their own ability to find hope. Phil is the main demonstrator of both of my points. In the story he waits for Julia obviously loving her throughout the whole story. He lets her make her own decision to stay with Dick in the beginning of the story although it was against his will and better judgment.Later in the story he comes back into the story not to hurt Julia with the knowledge of Dick’s shortcomings and foolery but as a friend with a warning. Through all of this Paul shows great restraint and immense love for Julia; he waits for the time to be right to confront Paul in a private fashion. Finally knowing all of Dick’s dirty secrets after his death Paul still refuses to tell Julia she was wrong about Dick all along. He did not take away joyful feelings that Julia felt about Dick dying trying to change his lifestyle even though he knew the real truth all along. Mike The short story â€Å"A New Leaf† by F. Scott Fitzgerald rang many alarms for me the first being I found myself completely stumped in the matter of which form of fiction this specific piece was written. I personally found it highly entertaining like that of commercial fiction yet I can definitely see the potential message behind the story to get a meaningful lesson across. â€Å"A New Leaf† is so entertaining for me because it is literally one of the pieces you can see in your head as you are reading it.My personal favorite moment was envisioning just how Julia felt as she went dancing in the evenings with Mr. Ragland. I picture it as something magical like every moment she is with him the rest of the world melts away. She is completely content with a night just enveloped in Ragland’s arms all the while he fights the temptation of having another drink in her presence. I think the overall tone of the story could be taken as literal fiction.The main message being p atience is a virtue or sometimes it can be better to let someone hold on to a small glimmer of hope for the common good than to crush their spirits with the absolute truth. I personally believe sometimes it is greater to let someone believe a small lie than to kill their belief in their own ability to find hope. Phil is the main demonstrator of both of my points. In the story he waits for Julia obviously loving her throughout the whole story. He lets her make her own decision to stay with Dick in the beginning of the story although it was against his will and better judgment.Later in the story he comes back into the story not to hurt Julia with the knowledge of Dick’s shortcomings and foolery but as a friend with a warning. Through all of this Paul shows great restraint and immense love for Julia; he waits for the time to be right to confront Paul in a private fashion. Finally knowing all of Dick’s dirty secrets after his death Paul still refuses to tell Julia she was wrong about Dick all along. He did not take away joyful feelings that Julia felt about Dick dying trying to change his lifestyle even though he knew the real truth all along.

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Human Resource Management - Essay Example 7 Diversity and Employee Retention †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Legal and ethical issues specific to strategic talent management †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 Diversity issue at Cityside Financial Service- Case Summary †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9 The legal issue †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 Ethical Issue †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 Managing the legal and ethical issues of Diversity †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 References †¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 Introduction Successful management especially in today’s increasingly diverse workforce is one of the most important global challenges that human resource management and corporate leaders face. Immigration, employees’ migration and gender, class, religious and ethnic differences continue to dramatically impact the composition of workforce and hence corporate managers are unable to fully comprehend its dynamics and unleash the potential that is embedded in a multicultural working environment. Human capital for no doubt is the most valuable and powerful assets of an organization. Effectively managing the human resources is therefore extremely critical to the success of a firm to help it gain competitive advantages and achieve all other organizational goals. Managing diversity and business-success ar e closely related because, when diversity in an organization can be effectively managed, the outcome will be that the workforce will be very productive, highly satisfied, extremely happier of the working environment. Many of the large multinational companies depend on different types of staffing like ethnocentric, geo-centric and polycentric and all these approaches in turn create more diverse workforce making it harder to effectively manage it. This research paper explains general impacts of diversity on human resources management and organizational development. This paper will detail some specific issues that diversity in an organization can pose for hiring, management, retention and development etc and described legal as well as ethical issues in relation to the strategic talent management at City-side Financial Services. Managing Diversity There have been greater efforts to implement various programs and activities to be used in organizations as part of diversity management. Man aging diversity actually constitutes most important area of global corporate efforts and it can be considered as relatively new organizational paradigm. It encompasses innovative thoughts, evolution and knowledge that management can integrate and incorporate these elements for a better practice of diversity management (Ozbilgin and Syed 2010, p. 1). As Ciscio (2002, p. 121) stressed, managing diversity is establishing and developing a heterogeneous workforce so that employees’ potential can be performed in an equitable work environment, and a member or group of members gain no advantage or disadvantage over others. More specifically, people in an organization may belong to very different age, gender, class, religion, ethnicity, education, culture and social background. Human resource managers are expected to manage them all in equal consideration, as no one among them gains advantage over others. Managing diversity thus ensure equitable work-environment for all its people. Di versity

Stress Topic Research Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress Topic Research Paper - Essay Example Other heightened risks of developing diseases of the endocrine system such as Type 2 Diabetes can be increased with moderate weight gain, but being obese quadruples an individual’s chances of becoming diabetic. Certain cancers, such as endometrial and colon cancer are also more prevalent in individuals that are obese as opposed to individuals that are found to be within the healthy range on the BMI scale. A non-medical outcome of obesity is a greater prevalence of diminished self-esteem and negative body image among obese individuals. This psycho-social consequence, while not directly relating to mortality, does indicate that individuals that are obese have less satisfying life socially and emotionally in many instances. It could be said that obesity is an individual problem, not one for society to worry about. The solution is simply for individuals to gains some self-control, to eat less and exercise more. Others would argue and say that obesity is a societal issue. Billions of dollars are spent on treating illnesses each year that are exacerbated by obesity. Millions of hours are lost in productivity to employers because of these illnesses. Add to this the tax money spent caring for low income obese individuals and the many lost opportunities for pleasure obese individuals pass up due to their condition, and you could say that the costs of obesity to individuals as well as society are staggering. Millions of dollars are spent each year by governmental and concerned organizations on health and nutrition education. The belief is that if we can educate individuals about correct nutrition and exercise, the obesity will lessen and we will have fewer illnesses concerned with this disorder. Despite these well intentioned efforts, obesity rates continue to rise, not only in America, but in other industrialized nations as well. Obviously something is missing from the equation that doctors believe causes

Histology Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Histology - Case Study Example However, the epithelium does not contain any blood vessels. The native parenchyma has bloods in contrast to the invasive melanocytes tissue. The melanoma cells exhibits the features by rapid regeneration forming a pattern beneath the epithelium. The invasive tissue such as the carcinoma grow and break out of the bronchi structures and are not confined in the within the required acini structure of the lung, which possess a great danger as they can migrate to other human body parts or metastasize. The lung parenchyma is curbed within the bronchi structure and only grows and regenerates within the confined region of the bronchi. The characteristics of invasive tissue to grow out of the bronchi bock the airways hence are responsible for the tumor as they invade the adjoining tissue. Invasive tissue cause stellate arrangement of the cells in a spiral structure compared to the lung parenchyma tissue compactly arranged in rows. The case of the Caucasian woman in the case study requires more aspects in determining the cause of solitary lung metastasis after five years since the surgery of primary melanoma of the oesophagus Lung. Schueller and Herold spiral explains how the hamatogeneous spread is frequently found in tumors with venous drainage that is direct into the lung, which includes melanoma, testes, neck and head, adrenals, and osteosarcoma malignancies (126). The differential diagnosis of the lung metastases from this source indicates that patients initially known to have melanoma are frequently exposed solitary pulmonary nodule development later in life. Casciato affirms that the resection of a solitary Lung metastases in patients who fulfill the criteria of having history of Primary melanoma of the oesophagus (598). Keshamouni, Arenberg, and Kalemkerian emphasize on the question whether a tumor is primary or metastatic is of great significance for the

TV Character Evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

TV Character Evaluation - Essay Example The ego operates as a psychic mechanism that is partially conscious partly preconscious. It controls pour thinking, reasoning, judging and evaluating functions. The super ego functions like a moral controller that is not present at birth. Because, children do whatever which is pleasurable to them. Super ego controls ego’s activities as well (Morris and Maisto, 2002, p 419-420). Morris and Maisto (2002) stated that Carl Jung’s analytical psychology concept agrees with some of the tenets of Freud’s theory, but, it is still different in many other ways. According to Carl Jung’s most original concept Collective Unconscious, the memories and behavior pattern are inherited from past generations and hence it is shared by all humans (p.424). Carl Jung’s theory emphasizes that human mind creates a common set of concepts or ‘archetypes’ like ‘mother’ and ‘hero’ and these have almost same images throughout human minds and these appear in our mind as typical mental or mythical images. He recognized people as either extroverts who concern the external worlds or introverts who concern more about their own private worlds. He also divided people as rational individuals who regulate their things by thinking and feeling and irrational individuals who do things based on their perceptions (Morris and Maisto, 2005, p 424-425). Carl Roger theorized that people develop their personalities in a positive service goal. Carl Roger identified ‘self actualizing tendency’ which is the tendency of human mind to become the best of what ever a particular person’s innate capacities born with. He argued that self actualization characterizes animals and plants as well (Morris and Maisto, 2002, p 424-425). According to him, when one’s self actualization is fully matched with innate capacities, he is fully functioning person. People tend to become fully functioning when they are more likely to be treated with

Talking about the poem Let America be America Again, The New Colossus, Essay

Talking about the poem Let America be America Again, The New Colossus, and the novel Enrique's Journey - Essay Example According toHughes, the author, he is not just representing the plight of most of the African Americans, but also the minority groups the economically disadvantaged folks I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land † (6). Besides showing open criticism to the unfair American life, the poem illustrates a ray of hope that is yet to come in the yet to be achieved American dream, â€Å"†¦America never was America to me, and yet I swear this oath-America will be† (Hughes 8). This poem has been an important agenda in most of America’s discussion about the American dream and how it can be redrafted so that all American people enjoy the treasures of their land. According to the poem, in as much as there have not been successful strategies in the achievement of this dream, a great hope hangs in the air over the probability that at one point in time, this dream will be achieved. The author of the poem makes a declaration that America has to be left to itself; here, he emphasizes that the dream that once was a promise by the country should be left to come by, especially for the pioneer of the land, who decided to seek a home in a place that he could be free. The author notes that, â€Å"America was never America to me† (Hughes8).In his perspective, America is expected to go back and become the great dream according to the way the dreamers put it, â€Å"great string land of love† (Hughes 6). In achieving its dream the way the dreamers wanted the land to be, the author wishes that America can be a home for all people. He notes that the country should not have people that are tyrants and kings or those that have to crush other people in their journey to greatness. The author emphasizes in the repetition that, â€Å"It never was America to me† (Hughes 4). In his assertion, the author of this poem wishes that America embodied

Globalization at General Electric Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Globalization at General Electric - Essay Example However, the company’s management is determined to increase the company’s annual revenue by venturing into the international market. The CEO of the company is considering different marketing options that the company can launch its products. Currently the CEO is considering Latin American market and the European markets. If the company launches its products through these markets, it will encounter current market situations as its major problem. For instance, the European market was the worst hit by the international financial crisis. On the other hand, the Latin American market is a developing economy that has not yet reached its stability. This indicates that if the company ventures into either of the markets, it will encounter the current problems experienced in the market. In addition, the products of the company may not fit appropriately in the proposed market. The international market condition and economic forces (Hirschey, 2009) bind the choice for appropriate mar ket. For instance, the company is facing stiff competition arising from the rapid expansion of Chinese and Indian economies. Currently the Asian economies are at their peak and, therefore they have high demand for infrastructures products. On the other hand, the European markets have reached their levels of stability thus making lifestyle commodities the main trade items. Balancing the needs of every economy is the main problem been experienced in the company. GE has aggressively invested in international expansion due to its needs revenue sustainability and market requirements. In addition, the company is targeting to increase its customer base and benefit of large-scale operations. For the company to reach its revenue targets, it requires exploiting the opportunities in the international market as an element of sustainable growth. Although America has a vast economy, the company is willing and ready to face challenges that are related to the international market. Currently the company has

Introduction to management enquiry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Introduction to management enquiry - Essay Example Although there are no large-scale changes taking place practically. Just three universities are going to charge less than maximum. Many standard universities still feel that teaching undergraduates is not profitable. The other reason universities hesitate to accept that all institutions and degrees are of equal standard, they fear that their credibility may get damaged. Thus one can feel relieved that just few institutions are going to adopt the new system. Bradford University is planning to give scholarship to computer science students, and the number of students would be reduced on the basis of grades. Poorly performing students would have to choose less important courses. The standard universities are still stuck up in managing the cost of teaching undergraduates. Yet the most acceptable way is to use research money and get finances from over seas students. The result is universities are planning to accommodate more foreigners by reducing the number of home students. This implementation of new system would be difficult because of low cap on fees. Expansion of popular courses would also be an option when extra students are taught at lower expenses. Universities should recruit right number of students because drastic increase or decrease would be unprofitable for them. If the university increases the number then it would lose government funding and also it would be fined. Let us see how it goes. The government 's target of bringing 50% of youngsters to universities by 2010 will not be achieved too. The government must have to ignore those universities that are expanding popular courses if the planned number is to be achieved. The implementation of this new system may bring some ridiculous situation to the over all scenario of the whole education system. It may look like chain of super store offering various incentives for their clearance sale or for increasing the revenues. It seems that all these binding conditions will not be successful, it will make universities like half-markets and it would be very difficult to manage. Critique The article paints a very bleak picture of the whole scenario. Although it contains some valid points but still there are some positive aspects of the Education bill 2004. The authority gained by universities for fixing tuition fees up to 3000 would give a much-needed fiscal width to universities. It is true that government funding has dropped but the gap created by this reduction could be fulfilled by the increase in the fee. It is also correct that the gap was financed from research and maintenance funds, but it had slowed down much needed research work. That retarded research will also get a boost from the income gained by the universities by increasing the tuition fee. The writer admits this fact that the students are real beneficiaries and they should pay more, so the academics may also get reasonable ruminations. The fear of rise elitism indicated by writer can be ignored keeping in view other benefits of this new system. Baroness Diana Warwick, chief executive of Universities UK said that the passage of this bill was essential, in her view, for the future health and strength of universities. She

Science , Magic and Witchcraft Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Science , Magic and Witchcraft - Essay Example There are several common or specific elements of a religion: the human being is closely overseen by the divinity, God knows all the good and bad deeds and in the end He awards or not the man, the Judgment day, the revival of the deaths, the belief in some saints,(Christianity, Islamism, Judaism), the caste system, the reincarnation(Hinduism), the holiness of man or woman and of all the world around us(Animism) .These rules or convictions may have a different echo in a man's mind. He may try to follow this set of laws , to make only good around him or he may be rebellious, he may seek to live after his conventions, and maybe in the end he will leave the respective religious system. The other extreme is when a believer might wait only the help of the saints , without acting by himself. In this case we talk about a false goal in life. There are cases when a belief in something or someone is misinterpreted and it leads to conflicts between societies(for example the terrorist attacks or t he interference of different countries in the political, religious, administrative systems of the other ones). Hinduism is perhaps the system that affects most an individual or the society. In this case the developing may be impossible to achieve. This belief has in its center the caste system and the reincarnation. So, an adept of this religion may struggle to do only good deeds, to raise , spiritually speaking , but he will always have the stigmata of his caste, which is the most important characteristic of a person. This type of belief affects a lot the society( people are not free to live according to their powers, marriages are arranged etc.) Animism declares that the human possesses soul that has life apart the body, before and after the death(the souls leave the human body during dreams or raise to heavens after death). Hindus believe that souls move up and down, and that they are stratified in a hierarchy. Ghosts are said to be the souls that haunts the livings. Ghosts have semi-corporal forms or may take different appearances. Imbedded, these definitions show the difference between a soul and a ghost. The latter is the unhappy or the unsatisfied soul that cannot leave this world and it is haunting between the spiritual and the material world. Souls transform into ghosts especially when a human being is murdered or suffers an injustice. The ghost is the restless soul that seeks to make justice after the death. The major religious systems have in their center the divinity seen as a male: Judaism and Christianity praise God and Jesus and Islamism pays tribute to Allah and Mohammad. These are monotheistic religions. Animism and Hinduism are polytheistic religions with god or goddesses. In the case of the monotheistic ones it is important to see how man and woman are treated. In the case of Muslims is known the fact that they treat woman in a negative way. On the paper she has many rights, but in practice much of those rights are forgotten. So, she has the to a career , but in many cases she stays home with the children or if she has a job she is attentively supervised by a relative. She must not have relations with other men or dress provocatively. If they divorce their husband takes the children(this is a very controversial thing, because this is seen by other cultures as a way of manipulating women). Of course some of these rules are found in other religions , but here are more severe and w ith real punishes. The Christianity also says

Why Is Farming Important Essay Example for Free

Why Is Farming Important Essay Good day students of Seminole Central High school. I am Mr. Lester Johnson , the proud owner of the Everland farm located on Johnson Road right here on the island of Long Island. I firstly became involved in farming when my parents and grandparents would take me to our farm on most weekends to help out by doing various duties which included collecting the chicken eggs, milking the cows, and feeding all the animals. I eventually came to realize that farming was the perfect source to support myself and my family but over the years it has grown to more than just that. As a farmer I have been able to not only aid in the accommodation of the key necessities for the residents of the Bahamas but I have also subsidized to the deterioration of the five million dollar import deficit (reported by The Guardian in 2012). I have so for been a farmer for the past twelve years and in this business owned a commercial farm. Commercial farming is farming that provides products for sale and subsistence farming provides enough food for the farmer and his family but not enough for sale (both derived from Dictionary.com). In order to become a farmer the land in which you plan to grow on must first be acquired, the products that you plan on rearing whether it is livestock or crops, workers and machinery must also be in place. Farming has facilitated the job market of the Bahamas as it is able to hire individuals such as Naturalist, Food Chemist, Food Technician and Irrigation Engineer. As a mean to support farmers with the many expenses the government has provided them with some incentives these include the exemption from customs duty on specific items and the reduction of duty on specific items, the store credit program, small business loans and the exemptions of water use charges. An incentive is something that motivates or encourages someone to do something (stated by Oxford Dictionary). One of the premier initiatives provided by the government was the exemption and reduction on the Bahamas custom duty for specific items, this was an incentive put in place to let farmers pay little to no money on imported materials, machinery and requirements needed for quality crops and livestock. An exemption is the process of freeing or state of being free from an obligation or liability imposed on others (Dictionary.com). The exemption of customs duty would assist farmers in numerous ways, customs duty is a payment levied on the import, export, manufactured or sale goods (Oxford Dictionary). By being concluded from such a charge we farmers will not only be able to hire more adept experienced workers such as much needed agronomist but also use money not spent on the expenditure of their farms. We are given incentives on products such as hatching eggs and livestock and cattle which would exert or give other farmers the opportunity to venture into different crops. Farmers do not have to deal with various charges on farm equipment and machinery such as harvesters, materials used for the construction of green houses and feeding systems as the immunity lowers the cost on imported machinery. This has reinforced the government by causing them not to target so much on import and export bills because farmers like me would be able to have more of the crops that we used than to waste money on importing which will result in a lower cost on crops, allowing the money to continuously be pumped back into the economy. The exemption of customs duty on varied items for local farmers will not only assist in boosting the Bahamian economy but the farming industry as well. The government has then accommodated the initiative of stores on the credit program like farm and fish stores, farming input such as seed and fertilizer which concedes farmers to be paid prior to the crops being produced. They are given a credit of out of a certain lump sum of money for every acre of land that they own. The credit system is a system which allows workers to be paid before their work begins (Dictionary.com).The farmer would use this money to aid the outlying cultivation and development of his farm, as did I quiet some years ago. To be eligible for such a program a farmer must be a resident of the Bahamas and they must fill out an application at the Ministry of Agriculture. This initiative has assisted me as a farmer because the advances given to me can go towards the prosperity of my farm like crops, seeds, machinery and it also assists with the salary of my workers. It may also support other farmers as well as those in the future because it allows them to understand that they will be aided in the effort of marketing their farms. Farmers have endured difficulties in apprehending a start-up capital for their businesses. Small business loans are one of the other initiatives that the government has put in place to optimize the growth for these small businesses, as farmers are provided with small business loans. A business loan is a bank loan granted for the use of a business (Dictionary.com). These business loans have assisted farmers in a profuse amount of ways which includes start-up capital to help advocate a healthy business start, this in itself will get farmers on the right track. At this point they will be able to start bringing forth crops and livestock for sale, shaping it to be much easier for farmers to pay off their loans. They can then buy materials such as freezer units and make marketing investments where as they can magnify the chances of their products being sold to local and foreign investors. This initiative has helped me because I was able to make a much needed expansions to my farm which allowed me to hire more laborers therefore contributing to a growing economy. The money for labor can also contributed to by these business loans. Small business loans have been helpful and will continue to strengthen our economy and upcoming farmers. The last initiative that I will speak about is the government exempting farmers of a water use charge this simply means that I do not have a water bill to pay on my farm. A charge is the amount of money asked for something that is for sale or available as a result of payment (Encarta Dictionary). This by itself has assisted me and farmers alike exceptionally because we no longer have to confine the amount of water we use on our crops or give to our animals. This allows farmers to put in place more irrigation systems due to the fact that they would no longer have sparing water bills to worry about and now have a more suitable opportunity to focus more on the farm work. This can also chip in to manage crops as the soil is treated better regard and thus will result in the better the quality of the crops. This can administer jobs because crops will be produced in a shorter time period. I have indubitably benefited from this in numerous ways, one being that I appreciated that most of my laborers no longer have to be limited to one job or duty, but I can place them in different work areas. The exemption has assisted farmers enormously over the years and will pursue to do so in the future to aid aspiring farmers.

Physical activity for children

Physical activity for children Phisical activity for children Outcome 1 Introduction This report provides information about the key benefits of physical activity for children in two categories of age 2-6 and 6-11 years old. This report will present of areas of development of the above age stages, which contained: physical, intellectual, skill, and psychological/social/emotional. Physical development is a process that begins in the human childhood and lasts until late adolescents focuses on the ability of gross and fine motor, and maturation. Physical development involves developing control over the body, especially the muscles and motor coordination. Intellectual development is best defined as the childs ability to think and understand the world. The way in which the child takes and processes information related to carers and experiencing the effects of the world in all areas of development. Skill development Stages of Development Children Aged 2-6 Physical changes Physical development of children of preschool age is slower and more stable than in infancy, however remains dramatic. Some important factors affecting the physical development during the preschool include changes in the childs brain, gross and fine motor skills and health. Toddlers soon acquire the leaner, more athletic look associated with childhood, as the children around age 3 begin to lose their baby fat. The childs body and legs grow longer and make your abdominal muscles, tightening the abdominal appearance. However, even at this early stage of children life, boys have more muscle mass than girls. From age 2 to 6 physical proportions continue to change, as their heads are getting smaller, but they are still larger than the school childrens. Also, head proportion from large is changing to the body even out, what have an impact on the balance but that improve coordination. The using of energy system is less efficient than adults, what can be notices during exercise that the children breath heavier, sweats more and also heart rate is faster than the adults. The hot or cold environment has a much bigger impact than on adults too. As they are suffer more from overheating, becoming too cold, but also dehydrating. The energy system is affected by not fully developed aerobic system, as the oxygen can be supply a fraction of required by the working muscles. Young children are not able to exercise in high intensity, because their anaerobic system is still not fully developed. Intellectual development At this stage, babies eventually enable to cope with separation from parents. Language develops as children grow into toddlers and their world expands. Symbolic understanding and appear pretend play skills there. Children begin to work on their experience, such as feeding a doll or a car. In the preschool years, children expand their understanding of pre-academic skills. They learn to identify colours, shapes, numbers, and letters. They also begin to demonstrate phonemic awareness. Some children may even begin to read familiar sight words as they reach age five. Pre-schoolers also develop more elaborate symbolic and cooperative play. For example, peers work together to act out a theme such as playing house, with each player having a defined role. Skill development Motor skills are physical abilities or capacities. Gross motor skills involves the use of large body movements, and this includes running, jumping, jumping, turning, jumping, throwing, balancing and dance. Fine motor skills, which include drawing, writing, and tying shoelaces, involve the use of small bodily movement Motor fine skills involves the use of a small body movements, such as drawing, writing, and tying shoelaces, involve the use of a small body movements. Both above skills are develop and are refined in early childhood, but the motor skills develop more slowly in preschool. The comparison of the running abilities of a 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ old and a 6à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ old, will show the limited running skills of the 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ old. But when compare the trying shoelaces of 2 and 6 year old the difference will be even more striking. The 2à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ yearà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ old has difficulty grasping the concept before ever attempting or completing the task. Physical activity For this age group, any physical activity is indicated, i.e. including both forms of light physical exercises, as well as, more vibrant and energetic suggestions. Providing children with adequate physical activity and game play is an important step to developing their physical fitness, which not only promotes the health of young children but significantly enhances their psychological development and social skills in the long run. It is evident that physical activity is essential to the whole-person development of young children. For young children, the amount of physical activity is more important than the intensity. Physical activity can enhance the development of young children’s gross motor and fine motor skills, and to foster their good health habits and self-care ability. Therefore, physical activity of any intensity level should be covered, e.g. daily activities of light intensity such as slow walking and packing school bags, activities of moderate intensity such as cycl ing, stair climbing or engaging in teacher-led large-muscle activity sessions, and even activities of vigorous intensity such as chasing and running around, dancing, swimming etc. engaged after school. Of course, activity of a higher intensity can enhance cardio-respiratory fitness and stimulate bone growth; it can also enhance their development of physical fitness and motor skills. For the maximum health benefit of young children, teachers can consider administering a suitable amount of higher intensity activity. As younger children’s leaders, teachers should give them ample opportunities to experience different kinds of physical activities within a safe environment. This is to train the young children’s fundamental motor skills, which are essential for them to cope with daily needs. Children may acquire better physical fitness and movement skills for participation in various sports activities in the future. Stages of Development Children Aged 6-11 Physical changes Children aged 6-11 experience many of physical changes occurring in their bodies. The coordination of arms and legs increases, also ability for use their fingers and hand in such things as crafts and writing improves. Furthermore, can be noticed the growth in interest in games with rules and organised sports. Intellectual development Skill development Physical activity References LAM, P Y, 2011. Phisical Actvity. Phisical Actvity for Children Aged 2-6, [Online]. Available at: http://www.startsmart.gov.hk/files/pdf/02052012_physical-Eng-d.pdf [Accessed 13 March 2015]. Physical Development: Age 2–6.[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/psychology/development-psychology/physical-cognitive-development-age-26/physical-development-age-26. [Accessed 13 March 2015]. Babies and Young Children: Diploma in Child Care and Education Jo Brewster, Pauline Jones Google Books. 2015. [ONLINE] Available at: https://books.google.co.uk [Accessed 14 March 2015]. Appendixes Table 1 Benefits of physical activity for young children Table 2 Physiological signs and examples of physical activity by intensities

An Analysis Of Dantes Inferno English Literature Essay

An Analysis Of Dantes Inferno English Literature Essay Dantes Inferno represents a microcosm of society; that is, laymen, clergy, lovers, wagers of war, politicians, and scholars are all collected into one place and punished for their worst and most human attributes. Hell, despite its otherworldly appearance and brutal, ugly nature, is somewhat humanized by the fact that those who are punished come from every country (Dante 3.123) and every walk of life, regardless of age, race, sex, or creed. While Dante Alighieri did not invent the idea of Hell as a place of punishment for the wayward and sinful souls in the afterlife, he did create the most powerful and enduring (Raffa 1) imagining of a concept which has received significant attention in biblical, classical, and medieval works. Dantes Divine Comedy was written sometime between 1308 and 1321 and is considered the supreme work of Italian literature (Norwich 27). It is an epic poem divided into three separate sections: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, respec tively. The personal element of the journey through Hell in Dantes Inferno literally explores the descent of one man into sin; through the use of poetic justice, both contemporary and historical figures, and mythological figures, Dante crafts an immediate and enthralling work dealing with the nature of sin and its place in society. The concept of poetic justice is famously explored in Inferno, where it is put to dramatic effect devising appropriate torments for each particular sin (Raffa 3). From Limbo to Treachery, Dante catalogues and documents the punishment of sinners both infamous and beloved, famous and unknown. In every case, the punishment fits the crime in a twisted and malignant fashion after all, the poem does discuss the realm of Satan, the Christian embodiment of evil. The nine circles of Hell described in Inferno are as follows: Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Avarice and Prodigality, Wrath and Sullenness, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. These nine circles are based off of the idea of the Seven Deadly Sins, with some additions such as Limbo created by Dante. The poem begins with Dante lost in a dark wood, assailed by three beasts he cannot evade, and unable to move straight along (Dante 1.18) the road to salvation, represented by a mountain. A lion, a leopard, and a she-wolf symbolizing pride, envy, and avarice, respectively block Dantes path to the top of the mountain, forcing him to descend into the depths of Hell with Virgil. The entire journey documented in the Divine Comedy is an allegory for mans fall into sin before achieving redemption (represented by Purgatorio) and eventually salvation (represented by Paradiso). Before Dante even enters the gates of Hell, he is introduced to his guide for the first two realms of the afterlife, Inferno and Paradiso. For this role, Dante chose Virgil (70-19 BCE), who lived under the rule of Julius Caesar and later Augustus during Romes transition from a republic into an empire, and is most famous for the Aeneid. Two episodes in Virgils work were of particular interest to Dante. Book IV tells the tale of Aeneas and Dido, the queen of Carthage, who kills herself when Aeneas abandons her to continue his journey and [found] a new civilization in Italy (Raffa 8). Book VI recounts Aeneas journey into Hades to meet the shade of his father and learn of future events in his journey. Many elements in the Aeneid are present in heavily modified form in Dantes Inferno. Many of Dantes mythological elements are based on Book VI of Virgils Aeneid, which recounts Aeneas visit to the underworld. Virgil imbued his version of the underworld with a fluid, dreamlike atmosphere (5), while Dante instead strives for greater realism, providing sharply drawn and tangible figures. After passing through the gateway to hell, marked ominously with the words ABANDON EVERY HOPE, WHO ENTER HERE (Dante 3.9), Dante and Virgil witness a realm of miserable people who lived without disgrace and without praise (3.17-35) on the periphery of the Inferno. In this realm, the two poets encounter the souls of those who lived such undistinguished and cowardly lives that they have been cast out by Heaven and refused entry by Hell. These souls are forced to race after a banner which never comes to a stop, and are stung repeatedly by flies and wasps, their blood and tears nourishing the sickening worms (3.69) at their feet. The punishment for these cowardly souls is clear; just as in life they refused to be decisive and act, they now are barred from both eternal paradise and eternal damnation, and chase down a waving banner which they will never be able to reach. Next, Dante and Virgil meet Charon, Hells boatman. In the Aeneid, Charon is the pilot of the vessel that transports shades of the dead across the waters into the underworld. In both works, he is an irritable old man with hair white with years (3.83) who objects to taking a living man (Aeneas, Dante) into the realm of the dead. In each case, the protagonists guide (the Sybil, Virgil) provides Charon the proper credentials, and their journey continues. In Limbo, the guiltless damned, noble non-Christian souls, and those who lived before the time of Christianity are punished. The idea of a place for souls who did not sin; and yet lacked baptism (4.34-35) existed in Christian theology prior to Dante, but his vision is more generous than most. Dante includes unbaptized babies, as well as notable non-Christian adults in his version of Limbo, which bears a resemblance to the Asphodel Meadows, a section of the Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death. Dante suggests that those in Limbo are being punished for their ignorance of God by being forced to spend the afterlife in a deficient form of Heaven; while certainly not as hellish as the other circles, Limbo is by no means a paradise. Dante encounters the classical poets Homer (eighth or ninth century BCE), Horace (65-8 BCE), Ovid (43 BCE -17 CE), and Lucan (39-65 CE), who welcome back their comrade Virgil and honour Dante and one of their own (Dante 4.79-102). Philosophers Socrates and Aristotle also make appearances in Limbo as the shades of men renowned for their outstanding intellectual achievements. Socrates (born ca. 470 BCE in Athens) was a legendary teacher known for the rigorous method of questioning that characterizes the dialogues of Plato (ca. 428-ca. 347 BCE), who also appears. In addition, one notable non-Christian soul finds himself in Limbo, separated from the rest: Saladin, the distinguished military leader and Egyptian sultan who fought against the crusading armies of Europe yet was admired even by his enemies for his chivalry and magnanimity. Dantes implication is that all virtuous non-Christians find themselves in Limbo. The Lustful are punished in the second circle by being blown about by a hellish hurricane, which never rests wheeling and pounding (5.31-33). Lust, for many of the inhabitants of this circle, led to the sin of adultery and in the cases of Dido, Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, and others a violent death. The violent winds are symbolic of lust, and represent the power it holds in affairs of blind passion and physical love. Lust contains the shades of many famous lovers: Semiramis, Dido, Paris, Achilles, and Tristan, among others. Semiramis was a powerful Assyrian queen alleged to ave been so perverse that she even made incest a legal practice (Raffa 27); Dido, queen of Carthage and widow of Sychaeus, committed suicide after her lover Aeneas abandoned her (Virgil IV); Paris later died during the Trojan war; Achilles was the most formidable (Raffa 27) Greek hero in the war against the Trojans, who was killed by Paris (according to medieval accounts); finally, Tristan was the nephew of king Mark of Cornwall who fell in love in Iseult (Marks fiancee) and was killed by Marks poisoned arrow. Minos, the one who judges and assigns (Dante 5.6) the souls during their descent into Hell, is an amalgam of figures from classical sources, completed with several personal touches from Dante. He is a combination of two figures of the same name, one the grandfather of the other, both rulers of Crete. The elder Minos was admired for his wisdom and the laws of his kingdom. The second Minos imposed a harsh penalty on the Athenians (who had killed his son Androgeos), demanding an annual tribute of fourteen youths (seven boys and seven girls), who were sacrificed to the Minotaur, which appears later in Inferno. Minos long tail which he wraps around himself, that marks the sinners level (Dante 5.11-12) is Dantes invention. Gluttony is punished in the third circle. The souls of the damned lie in a vile, grimy slush brought about by cold, unending, heavy, and accursed rain (6.7-8). These former gluttons lie sightless and heedless of their neighbours, symbolizing their cold, selfish, and empty pursuit of hedonism and empty sensuality. The slush, representative of overindulgence and sensuality, serves to cut one off from both the outside world and from Gods deliverance. Gluttonous individuals of note include a Florentine contemporary of Dantes, identified as Ciacco ( pig in Italian). Ciacco speaks to Dante regarding the political conflict in the city of Florence between two rival parties, the White and Black Guelphs, and predicts the defeat of the White Guelphs, Dantes party. This event did indeed occur, and would lead to Dantes own exile in 1302. As the poem is set in the year 1300, before Dantes exile, he uses the events of his own life to illustrate the unique ability of shades in Inferno to predict the future, a theme which is returned to later in the poem. Cerberus, guardian of Gluttony, is similar to the beast of Greek mythology. In the Aeneid, Virgil describes Cerberus the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to the classical underworld as loud, huge, and terrifying. Dantes Cerberus displays similar canine qualities: his three throats produce a deafening bark, and he eagerly devours the fistful of dirt Virgil throws into his mouths like a dog intent on its meal. Cerberus bloodred (6.16) eyes, greasy, black (6.16) beard, and large gut link him to the gluttonous spirits whom he tears, flays, and rends (6.18) with his clawed hands. The Avaricious and the Prodigal are punished together in the fourth circle. Avarice, or greed, is one of the inequities that most incurs Dantes scorn and wrath (Raffa 37). Prodigality is defined as the opposite of Avarice; that is, the trait of excessive spending. Both groups are forced to eternally joust with one another, using cumbersome stone weights as weapons. They call out to each other: Why do you hoard? Why do you squander? (Dante 7.30). Here Dante describes the punishment of both extremes, criticizing excessive desire for and against the possession of material goods using the classical principle of moderation. In the fifth circle, the Wrathful and the Sullen are punished. The wrathful fight each other eternally on the surface of the river Styx, which runs darker than deep purple (7.103), while the sullen lie gurgling beneath the water. Dante describes how the Wrathful combat one another: [They] struck each other not with hands alone, but with their heads and chests and with their feet, and tore each other piecemeal with their teeth (7.112-114). The wrathful are damned to eternally struggle and fight without direction or purpose, while the sullen have withdrawn into a black sulkiness from which they can find joy in neither God nor life. In the fifth circle, Filippo Argenti, a prominent Florentine and a Black Guelph, calls to Dante. A hotheaded character (Raffa 40), little is known regarding Filippo except what transpires in Inferno. He quarrels with Dante, lays his hands upon the boat the poets travel on, and is eventually torn apart by his wrathful cohorts. The two men were political opponents, but Dantes behaviour towards Filippo indicates a more personal grievance. Perhaps he had humiliated Dante in life, or had taken some part of Dantes property after his exile from the city. Phlegyas is the solitary boatman (Dante 8.17) who transports Dante and Virgil in his boat across the Styx, the circle of the wrathful and sullen. He was known in Greek mythology for his impetuous behaviour; in a fit of rage, Phlegyas set fire to the temple of Apollo because the god had raped his daughter Apollo promptly slew him in response. Phlegyas appears in Virgils underworld as an admonition against showing contempt for the gods (Virgil 6.618-620), a role which he reprises in Inferno. Between the fifth and sixth circles lie the walls of Dis, the fortressed city of Lower Hell (Raffa 39). The fallen angels who guard the gates of Dis refuse entry to the two poets, requiring the arrival of a messenger from Heaven to open the gate for them. Dante designates all of Lower Hell circles six through nine, where the most serious of sins are punished as the walled city of Dis, with its grave citizens, its great battalions (Dante 8.69). The first five circles, which exist outside of Dis, are collectively known as Upper Hell, as they are where the lesser sins are punished. With the appearance of the three infernal (9.38) Furies, who threaten to call on Medusa, Virgils credibility and Dantes survival appear to be at risk. Furies were often invoked in Virgils classical world to exact revenge on behalf of offended mortal and gods. Medusas hair was turned into snakes by an angry Minerva after Medusa made love with Neptune in the goddesss temple, and became too horrifying to look at without being turned to stone. Dante describes Medusa as the Queen of never-ending lamentation (9.44). The Furies names evil thought (Allecto), evil words (Tisiphone), and evil deeds (Magaera) (9.45-48) describe the three manifestations of sin, which can turn people to stone by making them obstinate cultivators of earthly things (Raffa 41). Heretics are punished inside the walls of Dis, in a spreading plain of lamentation and atrocious pain (Dante 9.110-111) resembling a cemetery. The sixth circle contains souls trapped and enclosed in fiery tombs for failing to believe in God and the afterlife. Since they did not believe in Hell, the Heretics are punished by being sealed away from it in the most unpleasant possible way inside a flaming sepulchre. Among the tombstones of the sixth circle, Dante encounters more Italian contemporaries. A pair of Epicurian Florentines are disocvered sharing a tomb: Farinata degli Uberti, a Ghibelline; and Cavalcante de Cavalcanti, a fellow Guelph and the father of Guido Cavalcanti, Dantes fellow poet and closest friend. Farinata is an imposing figure, rising out of his inflamed sepulchre from the waist up and seeming to have great contempt for Hell (10.31-36). As the leader of the Ghibellines, Farinata was an enemy to the Guelphs, the party of Dantes ancestors. Farinata declares that his colleagues would have annihilated Florence (10.92), had he not interceded forcefully, an act which has earned him Dantes respect. Cavalcante was an enemy to the Ghibellines, like Dante, and married his son Guido to Farinatas daughter in order to foster peace between the two parties. Dantes best friend, Guido Cavalcanti, was a poet who held the philosophical belief that love is a dark force which leads only to mis ery and death. Therefore, Cavalcantes appearance in Hell might be more a matter of guilt by association to his sons worldview than any kind of reflection on himself. The Minotaur is the guardian and mythological symbol for the seventh circle, Violence. At the sight of Dante and Virgil, the minotaur reacts like one whom fury devastates within (12.15), and his frenzied bucking allows the travellers to proceed unharmed. The Minotaur is a physical manifestation of violence in Inferno: almost every part of the Minotaurs story, from its creation to its demise, contains some form of violence (Raffa 55). The sinners in the seventh circle are divided into three groups: the violent against people and property, the violent against themselves, and the violent against God and nature (Dante 11.28-33). The first group comprised of assassins and murderers, among others are immersed in Phlegethon, a bloodred, boiling (12.101) river of blood and fire, up to a level commensurate with their sins (12.73-75). Because they committed such acts of bloodshed and destruction in their lives, they are punished by being immersed in a river of that which they have spilt. The second group the suicides are transformed into knotted, gnarled (13.5) thorny bushes and trees, which are fed upon by Harpies. These souls have given away their physical bodies through suicide, and are forced to maintain treelike forms. These suffering trees cannot speak until Dante accidentally injures one and causes it to bleed. Dante uses the soul-trees as a metaphor for the state of mind which leads to self-harm and suicide. Finall y, the third group blasphemers and sodomites reside in a desert of sand, fire and brimstone falling from the sky. The blasphemers lie down upon the sand, the usurers recline, and the sodomites wander seemingly aimlessly in huddling groups, all while being burned by distended flakes of fire (14.28-29). This symbolizes how those who act violently against God and that which God has provided are perpetually unable to find peace and comfort in their lives. Among those immersed in Phlegethon is Alexander the Great, submerged up to his eyebrows in blood. He suffers for his reputation as a cruel, bloodthirsty man who inflicted great harm upon the world and its peoples. In the forest of suicides, Dante hears the tale of Pier delle Vigne, who killed himself after falling out of favour with Emperor Frederick II (Dante 13.64-69). Dante encounters his mentor, Brunetto Latini, among the sodomites. Surprised and touched by this encounter, Dante shows Brunetto great respect and admiration, thus refuting suggestions that the poet Dante placed only his enemies in Hell (15.43-45). The Centaurs are men from the waist up with the lower bodies of horses (Raffa 55) who guard the river Phlegethon. Thousands of centaurs patrol the bank of the river, using bows and arrows to keep damned souls submerged. In classical mythology, Centaurs are best known for their uncouth, violent behaviour. Chiron, leader of the Centaurs, enjoyed a favourable reputation as the sage tutor of both Hercules and Achilles. Pholus and Nessus the Centaurs assigned to escort Dante and Virgil have fully earned their negative reputations, however: Pholus who Virgil describes as full of rage (Dante 12.72) had been killed when a fight broke out during a wedding after he and his fellow centaurs attempted to carry off the bride and several other girls, and Nessus was killed by Hercules with a poison arrow for attempting to rape the heros wife, Deinira, after Hercules entrusted him with carrying her across a river (12.67-69). The penultimate circle as well as the most detailed is Fraud, which Dante describes as a place in Hell made all of stone the colour of crude iron (18.1-2). This circle is divided up into ten smaller pockets: panderers and seducers, flatterers, simonists, sorcerers, barrators, hypocrites, thieves, fraudulent advisers and evil councillors, sowers of discord, and falsifiers. Panderers (pimps) and seducers march eternally in opposite directions, lashed cruelly (18.36) by demons. Just as they used passion and seduction to bend others to their will, they are now themselves driven by hellish demons. Flatterers exploited other people using language, therefore, they are plunged in excrement (18.113), representing the false words they produced. Simonists payed for positions of power within the Catholic Church, and are placed upside-down into holes in the floor, with both soles [of their feet] on fire (9.25). The holes into which their heads are planted resemble baptismal fonts, used in several religious rituals a constant reminder of the corrupt nature of their former positions in the church. Sorcerers, astrologers, and false prophets have had their heads twisted toward their haunches (20.13) so that they can not see what is ahead of them. This symbolizes the twisted nature of magic in general specifically, it refers to the use of forbidden means to see into the future. Dante felt particularly unforgiving towards politicians after his exile from Florence, thus, corrupt politicians (barrators) are immersed in a stew of sticky pitch (21.8). Their punishment represents the sticky fingers, corrupt deals, and dark secrets inherent in positions of political power. The hypocrites listlessly walk with lagging steps, in circles, with features tired and defeated (23.59-60), wearing leaden cloaks, representing the falsity behind the appearance of their actions. This falsity literally weighs these souls down and renders any sort of progress impossible. The thieves are pursued and at tacked by lizards and snakes, their bites causing them to undergo various transformations (24-25). Just as they stole in life, their very human identity becomes subject to theft in Hell. Fraudulent advisers and evil councillors are encased within individual pyres. These individuals did not give false advice out of ignorance; rather, Dante refers to rhetoric [used] by talented people for insidious ends (Raffa 99). In life, they caused those whom they advised to do ill without dirtying their own hands now they are punished alone in their fires. The sowers of discord are hacked apart, their bodies dividing as in life they caused division among others. Their wounds are quickly healed, only to have themselves hacked apart again (Dante 28.139-142). Dante considers falsifiers (alchemists, counterfeiters, perjurers, and impersonators) a disease upon society, and their corrupting influence is reflected in their diseased bodies and minds (Raffa 99) in the tenth pouch. In the eighth circle, Dante meets a number of notably fraudulent individuals. Venedico Caccianemico, who sold his own sister to the Marchese dEste, is recognized among the pimps in the first pouch, despite his attempts to avoid detection (Dante 18.40-60). In the fifth ditch, the thief Vanni Fucci is burnt to ashes before being reincarnated; Agnel blends together with a reptilian Cianfa; and Buoso exchanges forms with Francesco. Vanni Fucci was a black Guelph from Pistoia, a town not far from rival Florence; Dante says he knew Vanni as a man of blood and anger (Dante 24.129). Agnel is thought to be Agnello Dei Brunelleschi, a man who joined the white Guelphs Dante s party but then switched to the black faction when they came to power. Both he and Cianfa are renowned for their thievery. Buoso stole while serving in public office, then arranged for Francesco de Cavalcanti to take over and steal on his behalf. In the eighth pit, Ulysses and Diomedes are condemned for the deception of the Trojan Horse, luring Achilles into the war effort, and stealing a statue of Athena from Troy (26.58-63). Dante encounters the schismatic prophet Muhammad; the poet views Islam as an off-shoot from Christianity, and similarly condemns Ali, Muhammads son-in-law, for the schism between Sunni and Shiite Muslims (28.22-33). The Malebranche ( Evil claws in Italian) are the devils of the fifth pocket of circle eight who bring to Hell the shades of corrupt political officials and employees. They are agile, smart, and fierce (Raffa 77), they are armed with long hooks, which they use to keep the shades under the surface of the black pitch (Dante 21.55-57). It is likely that the names Dante coined for individual demons ( Bad Dog, Sneering Dragon, Curly Beard, etc.) are based on actual family names of civic leaders in Florence and the surrounding towns. The Giants physically connect circles eight and nine: standing on the floor of circle nine, they tower over the inner ledge of circle eight with the upper halve of their immense bodies. They are archetypal examples of defiant rebels: Nimrod, who attempted to build the Tower of Babel before it was knocked down by God and his people were scattered; Ephialtes, who fought against Jove and the other Olympian gods; and Antaeus, whose relationship with the titans who stormed Mt. Olympus damned him, despite the fact that he was born after his brothers had waged war against the gods. Nimrod has been punished by being forced to speak an incomprehensible language; that is, his language is as strange to others as theirs is to him. Ephialtes, like the rest of the titans who challenged the gods, is immobilized with heavy chains. Antaeus is not given any exceptional punishment, for he is only guilty by association. It is Antaeus who assists Virgil and Dante by lowering them down to the ninth circle , after being enticed by Virgil with the prospect of eternal fame upon Dantes return to the world (31.115-129). The final circle is Treachery, a frozen lake at the centre of Hell, which is divided into four Rounds: Ca?na, Antenora, Ptolomaea, and Judecca. In Ca?na, traitors to their kindred are immersed in ice up to their faces. In Antenora, traitors to political entities are located similarly in the ice. In Ptolomaea, traitors to their guests are punished, lying on their backs in the ice, with only their faces uncovered. In Judecca, the traitors to their lords and benefactors are completely encapsulated in ice, distorted in pain. In the first round of Treachery, Dante encounters Mordred, who attacked his uncle King Arthur and was pierced mortally by Arthurs lance (Dante 32.61-62). In the second round, Count Ugolino pauses from his ceaseless assault upon the head of his rival, Archbishop Ruggieri, to tell Dante how Ruggieri imprisoned and killed him with his children. This story, the longest single episode related by a damned soul in Inferno, serves as Dantes final dramatic representation of mankinds capacity for evil and cruelty. Fra Alberigo, who had his brother killed at a banquet, explains a key conceit of Dantes Inferno: sometimes, a soul falls into Hell before they have actually died. Their earthly bodies are possessed by demons, so what appears to be a walking, living man is actually beyond the point of repentance (33.134-147). Finally, Lucifer the emperor of the despondent kingdom (34.28) lies at the centre of the Inferno. As ugly as he once was beautiful (34.34-36), Lucifer is a wretched contrast with his limited autonomy and mobility. Lucifers three faces (black, yellow, and red) parody the doctrine of the Holy Trinity: three persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) in one divine nature the Divine Power, Highest Wisdom, and Primal Love which also created the gates of Hell, and, by extension, the entire realm of eternal damnation. His flapping wings generate the wind that keeps lake at the centre of Hell frozen, while his three mouths chew on the shade-bodies of the three archtraitors Judas, Brutus, and Cassius the gore mixing with tears gushing out of his three sets of eyes (34.53-57). Dantes Inferno heralded a revolution in Christian theology through its innovative use of poetic justice, historical and contemporary figures, and classical mythology. By combining these disparate elements into a single, cohesive poem, Dante effectively changed the way the Western world imagined the afterlife and Hell in particular. By focusing on the details of the scenes and the identities of those whom the fictional Dante converses with, Inferno illustrates a horrifyingly real and immediate vision of Hell, one which has persisted at least in some part to this day. By focusing on the personal journey of one man through the afterlife, the focus of the narrative is shifted onto the reader, who can easily identify with Dante as the first-person narrator. While the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Divine Comedy Dantes exile from Florence, his fall from political grace, and his eventual death soon after the completion of his magnum opus are rather tragic, they all contribute to Dantes work in a way which colours the text and gives it a personality and passion which is still felt to this day. For seven hundred years, Inferno has elicited strong responses from its readers from fascination to revulsion and everything in between (Raffa 5). Regardless as to the readership, the response to Inferno has been, and will continue to be, anything but apathetic.