Exchange risk Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Exchange risk - Research Paper Example Foreign exchange rates have an impact on the economic society as discussed. Low exchange rates are a signal to the recession economic period and consequent political instability. Conversely, substantial rates of exchange are a sign of stable commercial conditions for a country. The exchange rates directly affect the international trade. For instance, low exchange rate support activities like tourism and exports in the economy (Howell & PRS Group, 2011). At this point, domestic goods become inexpensive for the foreign buyers. Additionally, foreign currency rates have an effect on investment funds that either move in or out of an economy. The countries that have fluctuating currency are less attractive to investors from overseas. This because all investors are assumed to be risk averse and, therefore, like returns and dislike losses. At this time, foreigners liquidate their real estates, stocks, and bonds just because such derivatives are losing purchasing power to rival investments in other countries. Foreign investors prefer making financial investments when they think that price in them will be conserved as international profits are ultimately converted back to their domestic currency. The foreign exchange rate leads to an economic growth: it is true that the higher the price of the net exports, the higher the nation Gross domestic product. The country’s GDP is given as C+I+G+(X-M) Where C = consumer spending, C= capital, I= investment by the businesses and households, G= government spending and (X-M) = net exports.

Save girl Essay Example for Free

Save girl Essay Nearly half of India’s children are girls. However, the girl child is considered a lesser child in our society. Irrespective of class, caste and economic conditions, she is discriminated against and neglected at all the levels. This result in the denial of basic services required for her survival, welfare and development. The girl child is perceived as a burden to be passed on to another family. Her contribution in the household economy is not acknowledged. Various factors contribute towards the increase of offences/crime against women, including dowry deaths, rape, and eve-teasing, etc. The girl child has to be brought up with utmost care and regard by instilling in her the sense of pride and responsibility of nurturing the future generation. Faster development can only be possible by the human resources development. Therefore, our ultimate aim should be improving the lot of the girl child. I sincerely believe that those who do not respect the girl child. Nearly half of India’s children are girls. However, the girl child is considered a lesser child in our society. Irrespective of class, caste and economic conditions, she is discriminated against and neglected at all the levels. This result in the denial of basic services required for her survival, welfare and development. The girl child is perceived as a burden to be passed on to another family. Her contribution in the household economy is not acknowledged. Various factors contribute towards the increase of offences/crime against women, including dowry deaths, rape, and eve-teasing, etc. The girl child has to be brought up with utmost care and regard by instilling in her the sense of pride and responsibility of nurturing the future generation. Faster development can only be possible by the human resources development. Therefore, our ultimate aim should be improving the lot of the girl child. I sincerely believe that those who do not respect the girl childNearly half of India’s children are girls. However, the girl child is considered a lesser child in our society. Irrespective of class, caste and economic conditions, she is discriminated against and neglected at all the levels. This result in the denial of basic services required for her survival, welfare and development. The girl child is perceived as a burden to be passed on to another family. Her contribution in the household economy is not acknowledged. Various factors contribute towards the increase of offences/crime against women, including dowry deaths, rape, and eve-teasing, etc. The girl child has to be brought up with utmost care and regard by instilling in her the sense of pride and responsibility of nurturing the future generation. Faster development can only be possible by the human resources development. Therefore, our ultimate aim should be improving the lot of the girl child. I sincerely believe that those who do not respect the girl child

Edgar Allen Poe :: essays research papers

In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum'; and “The Masque of the Red Death';, the author uses different symbolism to illustrate the image of death. In both of these stories, death is the final result of a punishment, the end of a human’s life. However, in the first story, Poe shows us that there exists something in human ‘s life that is more terrible than death. And in the second story, Poe tells us that death is inevitable and it is useless if you try to escape it. From the beginning of “The Pit and the Pendulum';, Poe starts to show us the desperation and the terror the narrator feels in the prison. He is alone and lost, he can’t see anything and hear any voice. It makes him feel hopeless and scared. The complete dark pit where the Inquisition shuts the narrator up creates an atmosphere of death and fear. The fact that the pit is an abyss makes the readers think of death. In addition, the ceiling of the prison where a huge pendulum with a scythe hangs shows that the narrator’s life is in danger. The image of death becomes clearer when the narrator finds out that the pendulum is in motion. “But what mainly disturbed me was the idea that it had perceptibly descended. I now observed- with what horror it is needless to say- that its neither extremity was formed of a crescent…';(68). Death becomes impossible to prevent in this case. Especially when the pendulum keeps going down. As Poe describes, “Down- still unc easingly- still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration…';(70) However, when we all wait to see the end, the narrator is saved by the rats. This unexpected change gives us a message that life is full of unexpected and we can never lose hope. But a more unimaginable thing happens right after the escape from the pendulum. The prison (the pit) becomes hot like a heated iron. Moreover, “ a richer tint of crimson diffused itself over the pictured horrors of blood'; (72) Here, we can make a connection between blood and death easily. Once again, the narrator ‘s life is in menace. Fortunately, the narrator is saved at the last minute, but the terror and the fear he feels during that period seems more terrific than death. In fact, Poe shows us compare to the affliction the narrator suffers in the pit, death becomes a relief. Edgar Allen Poe :: essays research papers In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum'; and “The Masque of the Red Death';, the author uses different symbolism to illustrate the image of death. In both of these stories, death is the final result of a punishment, the end of a human’s life. However, in the first story, Poe shows us that there exists something in human ‘s life that is more terrible than death. And in the second story, Poe tells us that death is inevitable and it is useless if you try to escape it. From the beginning of “The Pit and the Pendulum';, Poe starts to show us the desperation and the terror the narrator feels in the prison. He is alone and lost, he can’t see anything and hear any voice. It makes him feel hopeless and scared. The complete dark pit where the Inquisition shuts the narrator up creates an atmosphere of death and fear. The fact that the pit is an abyss makes the readers think of death. In addition, the ceiling of the prison where a huge pendulum with a scythe hangs shows that the narrator’s life is in danger. The image of death becomes clearer when the narrator finds out that the pendulum is in motion. “But what mainly disturbed me was the idea that it had perceptibly descended. I now observed- with what horror it is needless to say- that its neither extremity was formed of a crescent…';(68). Death becomes impossible to prevent in this case. Especially when the pendulum keeps going down. As Poe describes, “Down- still unc easingly- still inevitably down! I gasped and struggled at each vibration…';(70) However, when we all wait to see the end, the narrator is saved by the rats. This unexpected change gives us a message that life is full of unexpected and we can never lose hope. But a more unimaginable thing happens right after the escape from the pendulum. The prison (the pit) becomes hot like a heated iron. Moreover, “ a richer tint of crimson diffused itself over the pictured horrors of blood'; (72) Here, we can make a connection between blood and death easily. Once again, the narrator ‘s life is in menace. Fortunately, the narrator is saved at the last minute, but the terror and the fear he feels during that period seems more terrific than death. In fact, Poe shows us compare to the affliction the narrator suffers in the pit, death becomes a relief.

“Anthem For A Doomed Youth” By Wilfred Owen Essay

â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth† is an elegy in which Wilfred Owen conveys his heart felt sadness and disgust for the loss of life in World War I. This poem shatters the fantasized images of war by juxtaposing the opposite worlds of reality and the romanticized rhetoric that distorts it. He writes about the true experience of military death, and effectively expresses these powerful sentiments in only fourteen lines by use of a somewhat violent imagery that is compounded by the constant comparison of reality to myth. The poem is intriguingly entitled, â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth.† Beginning with the title, Owen places his words into a context that contrasts with his message. An anthem is usually a patriotic song of a group of people, country, or nation as a means to honor it, such as in the National Anthem. An anthem is a song that is supposed to conjure up feelings of chauvinism, and love for one’s country or group. Here in America, our National Anthem especially reminds us of the soldier, who is constantly juxtaposed with the image of the† Star Spangled Banner†. The National Anthem is thought to be something that is synonymous with praise for one’s country and support of its troops. For Owen to name his poem â€Å"Anthem for Doomed Youth† implies that those Doomed Youth have no other anthem to honor them. Owen is saying that the experience of the dying youth is not the one that is conveyed in the National Anthem. His argument is that his poem expresses the true sentiment of the dying youth of war. In the first sentence, Owen begins describing what he views as the authentic image of war by use of an eye-catching analogy. This analogy postulates that the youth who are being massacred are dying like cattle. This is such a striking phrase because cattle live and die the worst of lives. Cattle are bred only for mass slaughter, and death is inevitable for them. They are kept in confined places, often surrounded by fences and barbed wire. Cattle are also considered to have no purpose in life except to serve and nourish others. It is clear that this comparison of dying soldiers to cattle is not a flattering one, and it is a comparison that would not be given by an advocate of war. It is in direct opposition to the description of valor and  honor that comes forward from the romanticized description of soldiers. Owen places this striking analogy at the end of a rhetorical question that he himself answers in the next few lines. The question that Owen asks is, â€Å"What passing bells for these who die as cattle?† The passing bells refer to the bells that are tolled after someone’s death to announce that death to the world. Owen says that unlike a funeral procession the only things that announce the death of these soldiers are the sounds of the instruments that killed them. He answers his opening question by saying that the only bells that are tolled are the indelible sounds of war and death. When describing those sounds of war, Owen projects upon the reader the evil pastimes of war through words like â€Å"monstrous,† â€Å"anger,† and â€Å"rattle.† These are words that give the reader a taste of fear, and a sense of echoing loneliness. The second stanza continues in its comparing of the sounds and images of a funeral procession to the sounds and images of a battlefield. He uses vivid words to show the harshness of war in this stanza just as he did in the first stanza. However, in the second stanza, Owen focuses on imagery of sadness and remorse rather than evil and horror. Owen seems to be sequentially describing the problems with the war in the first eight lines. First, he ingrains on the reader the sights and sounds of the battlefield. Then, he expresses the after effects of sorrow and sadness. For example, the second stanza contains the words â€Å"mourning,† â€Å"wailing,† â€Å"bugles,† â€Å"sad,† and â€Å"shires,† all signs and descriptions of remorse. The concluding sestet brakes off greatly from the rest of the poem. The first two stanzas use heavy imagery to illustrate the horrors of war, and the loneliness that accompanies it. The stanzas lament over the fact that the soldiers die a death of vanity, and are not remembered. The words that are used are very harsh and acidic in that they leave the reader with a feeling of the bloodshed and loss. The last stanza is more melancholy and reflective in its words than the previous two. And unlike the first two stanzas, the question that introduces them is answered in a way that leaves the reader with some type of solace. This feeling of hope in the sestet is culminated  in the last lines of the stanza, showing that the boys will be remembered by some. Owen’s sobering imagery is greatly empowered through his juxtaposition of conflicting ideas of war. Another example of this is his formatting the poem into a sonnet. Sonnets are normally written about themes of love and romance. Owen wrote about death and disenfranchisement. The use of the word â€Å"anthem† in the title adds to this style as well. An anthem is usually a superficial, upbeat, sappy song. This anthem is sad, gloomy, and somber. This usage of irony gives the poem a shocking effect by packaging the text of the poem in the form of a sonnet and anthem while the poem has a message that is antithetical to those two genres. This seemingly paradoxical approach makes the reader feel the power of Owen’s concepts because those concepts are so strongly contrasted by conflicting images.

Effect of Vampires on Society

When you hear the word vampire you probably think of today’s modern charters, from Twilight or True Blood. According to the article â€Å"Blood Ties, The vampire Lover† By Helen T. Bailie, Today’s vampires make up book 53% of today’s book sells. Vampires in today’s image have become creatures of lust, the dream man of teenage girls all over the world. Before pop culture took over vampires in stories, were monsters of horror. Pre-dating today’s pop culture fad, vampires were used to explain things that people didn’t understand, something scary and unknown. So what has caused all theses changes in vampire stories over time?Changing them from feared unknown demons to every teens heartthrob. To find out where the change came from we’ll look at what the original vampires were thought to be and the legends associated with them/ Then Ill review the early stories of vampires followed by the examination of stories from today’s pop culture. Finalizing where the shift came from. Following up with the impact that the impact that these stories could be having on society today. * * Vampires date back to practically the dawn of time. But the vampires that originated were thought to be a type of blood- sucking corpse.The first vampire â€Å"sightings† were by the Slavic community back during the middle ages according to an article titled â€Å"Was the vampire of the eighteenth century a unique type of dead corpse† written by G. David Keyworth an article about the early legends of vampires. Vampires were originally thought to be created by all kinds of different ways, like women that didn’t want to be housewives, or that wanted to do other things rather than cooking, cleaning and tending to the children were often thought to be under the spell of a powerful vampire.The Slavic people believed that vampires were made from improper burials, being born out of wedlock, or just being born on a certain day. While the Romanian people caught onto the vampire trend quickly after the Slavic, Romanians thought vampires were made from women that didn’t eat salt during the pregnancy, and even being the 7th child in the family of the same gender. The ways that vampires were made may seem odd to you and I but they were things that in the early days of the middle ages were considered wrong or different from the norms.Today’s science helps explains most of the things that were thought to be considered the marking of a vampire to be invalid. For example believed that swelling or discoloration of the body after deaths were signs that the deceased was going to come back as a vampire. We now know that the rigor mortis sets in and causes most things post mortem that were thought to be signs of vampirism in the middle ages. * The people of these communities did their best to keep new vampires from rising out of the ground.They tried to keep animals from crossing over the graves, ens uring a proper burial and placing a ton of boulders and rocks on the graves to keep the corpse firmly in the ground. There has even been pre-staking the person through the heart and then staking them into the ground. Try as they may their preventive measures didn’t always work and there was distinct evidence for a vampire being around. Most of these early communities had the same clues that a vampire was running amuck.When livestock disappeared or turned up dead, blood on the mouth of the body, the body being swelled up holes in the ground, and also vampires didn’t eat the garlic given out during church ceremonies. Killing vampires in the early days was pretty straightforward, drive a steak through its heart, shoot it through the coffin or shove garlic into its mouth. From this of course emerged men that could be hired to track down and kill the vampires through out the town, everything from church priest to an actual vampire hunter, what we would now relate to as some one that was like Van Helsing.How easily vampires were killed in the stories of the middle ages aren’t really explained but considering the need for vampire hunters, I think it would be safe to say it wasn’t easy. Though Romania was were the original vampire stories begun, vampires apparently thrived in England during the middle ages. (Keyworth 243). Most deaths did occur because of being around old corpses but generally because of the diseases that they carried. An anonymous monk at Byland Abbey wrote majority of the stories of vampires.The monks and high relgious leaders of these towns came up with these legends because they believed in vampires, but they also used them to control the people of their town. By doing the right thing during life you could prevent yourself from becoming a vampire in the afterlife. So basically the religious leaders played on the fears of the towns people to keep them in church and keep them in line. One of the more famous stories of this time was of two brothers that fell down dead one day and were buried only to be seen later that night walking through the own. (Keyworth 245). These stories spread and eventually the whole world was on vampire alert. These stories continued well on into the 1900’s eventually dying off slowly as the scientist learned more about humans, the body and how it worked. The first shift in these stories was from the tales of monks to an actual novel written by Bram Stocker. Dracula, a story still talked abut today, Dracula was really the introductory novel to bring vampires into fiction works.The story of a man that travels to buy property in Transylvania from Count Dracula, realizing shortly after getting to the castle that he is a prisoner and the Count has supernatural powers. Slowly the jonathans fiances, friend is converted into a vampire, she is sleeping walking and frequently has strange marks on her neck, Van Helsing is called into help but inevitably fails, the friend and Jo nathan’s wife are both eventually converted. (Spark notes/ count Dracula).Dracula was a big step he really brought in the fear of the unknown and represents the fixation on youth. Dracula’s first film in the United States dates back to 1931 where the foreign aspect was centralized on, really making him seem like an outsider, from there the next change in Dracula came about in the 1970’s where we were introduced to the genre of vampire stories told by the vampire, allowing the audience to feel his alienation, to almost feel sorry for him and even though he was evil to feel an almost compassion for him.The final shift in the Dracula movies came in 1992, where Dracula was cast as a love struck monster making him even more human, more relatable but on the downside easier to defeat, making him a typical Hollywood character instead of the monster that he began in the late 1800’s After the 1970’s rendition of Dracula there was another book that came out t hat really kept the trend going of the relatable vampires.Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire, along with having the emotional vampires that were alienated from society, these vampires were fully capable of feelings, something that before the 70’s really wasn’t thought of, her vampires feel guilty, they have fears, hopes dreams and of course infinite sadness. During this time is also when gender roles really started to be challenged, vampires could now be women. Sometimes the most powerful vampires were in fact women.Women not playing victim but being the same as their male counter parts took a big shift in most of the vampire novels and stories. The seventies were really a time of change for the vampire stories. The Vampires that were introduced in Interview with a Vampire brought the first real sense of sexuality, it had been in stories before but it wasn’t mainstream, but erotic sexuality between the vampires and their victims that of course were usua lly women became a huge part of these stories and the ones that would come after.But it also introduced homoeroticism, something that was completely taboo, and put a new hot flare into the vampire scene. Sexuality continued to be played up in following books and stories from the subtle cues in Interview with a Vampire to the â€Å"monsterized aggressive female sexuality to the lesbian vampires f of Great Britain’s Hammer studio† (Weinstock 4) from this to the BDSM and polygamy of the Anita Blake series. Sex both same and different sex became a huge part of the vampires identity in today’s pop culture all starting here.If the monks that wrote the horror stories of what they thought were real vampires during the middle ages heard the stories of today, they would probably start flinging holy water while laughing at what society had come to think of the monsters that had plagued their cites. Vampires, which started out as a way to control the city, keep people in li ne, and to explain the unexplainable. Now you look at Vampires like Edward Cullen, Bill Compton or Stefan and Damon Salvatore, even Selene, which are all vampires and major heart throbs of today.Everywhere you turn there seems to be another vampire coming out and a huge teenage fan base to follow. The vampires in all of these stories bring a different light to the traditional vampire story, the most famous and noticeable being the vampires of Twilight that sparkle in the sunlight instead of bursting into flames. The characters in these stories are all part of what is described as the emotional vampire, An emotional vampire is defined is a vampire that has turned from his monster tendencies and has started trying to follow human morals and are fighting the struggle. Unknown par 36). This new generation of vampires was created by women for women, according to the article â€Å"Fearless Vampire Kissers† about the vampires in today’s most popular books and shows, by Bernar d Beck. Beck goes on to explain that vampire movies have more or less becomes â€Å"chick flicks†. In the article â€Å"Vampires, Vampires Everywhere† Jeffery Andrew Weinstock explains the main principles of today’s vampire stories, the first being that they are always about sex, vampires represent a tabooed sexuality, simply vampires are naughty.Another part of vampire stories is that vampires themselves are more interesting than the humans that surround them, some how even though they are the undead vampires are more alive than the humans that are around them. â€Å"Vampires are imperial, selfish, domineering and intensely physical, lurking beneath the human facade is pure animalistic energy† (Weinstock 4). It’s this energy that usually draws the reader to the vampire of the story.The third main part of any vampire story is that the vampire comes back, weather its because the vampire dies by stake through the heart or the vampire leaving on his o wn accord for the safety of the humans around them, they always come back, they return because the humans refuse to let them die, refusing to let go. Some stories use voodoo to get them back from the dead, or in twilight Bella simply jumps off a cliff to get her vampires to come back, I wouldn’t always root for the attempted suicide path, it may not be as effective and have some bad consequences.One of the last pieces of the vampire puzzle is that the vampires are always considered outsiders, or â€Å"other†. Different articles have different theories on what vampires may represent as outsiders weather its coming out of the coffin being like coming out of the closet, so the vampires represent the fear of homosexuality in our society or weather it represents race or even weather it’s a representation of how we just cant seem to escape the gender roles that have been in place for thousands of years.The simple fact is that the vampire is an outsider in the communit y that it is in. Maybe this to is part of the allure that draws the females of this generation into these stories, that they are outsiders and the maternal instinct to take care of all things make the female in the stories feel such sympathy in the book, or story that they are in. But how did we get from point A the terrifying animated corpses to point B of the sparkling lover vampire? The answer is really pretty simple Vampires are a malleable monster that have become what society has made them.As a society we no longer fear what the people of the middle ages feared, because we have cleared things up through science and technological advances, and our higher reasoning that vampires don’t actually exist, so we have turned them more or less into fairy tale creatures. Making them as cute and cuddly as a teddy bear in most cases. These stories focus on love that is worth dying for because today most people have a deep inner fear of never finding that kind of love. Paired with th is is the fear of getting old or at least looking like you are getting old, the vampires stories in pop culture coddle those fears.The article â€Å"Meme of the Year: Loving the Undead† states that Vampires are the most relatable among the sci-fi, fiction and fantasy characters. Also most vampires in pop culture are wealthy and devastatingly handsome which plays off two things that have become very important in today’s society, money and good looks will get you pretty much anywhere, pick up and news magazine and this will be confirmed. The worlds in Twilight and True Blood are centered around mystery and deception, love and sex, (Unknown2, par 2) The reason that the vampire stories have shifted so much over the course of history is because humans themselves have changed.Vampires have evolved into what humans want them to be, because they can easily look human and attempt to mesh into our world it brings us to these characters that are full of mysterious and speak to th e side in most women that want a bad boy that’s good to them. The books of Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries are flying off the shelves at bookstores and keeping an insane amount of viewers for their movies, or shows.Adults and teenagers both flocking to these new emotional vampires, now a large part of this is no doubt because of the looks of the men and women cast in these stories. But the shift in vampire stories has left a genre that doesn’t have women in their typical role in the kitchen or doing female dominated jobs. But the Females in these stories are falling for the male leads in almost an unhealthy way becoming pretty much dependent on the â€Å"men† in their lives to keep them emotionally stable.It makes you wonder how this could be psychologically affecting the minds of tweens and teens that are obsessed with these stories. The main offender of this is the book and movie phenomenon Twilight, and the â€Å"perfect† boyfriend Edward Cull en. Though there aren’t enough studies to show the exact effect that literature and movies have on the brain, scientist do know that they have and effect on the mind according to the journal â€Å"A Boy Friend to Die For† by Debra Merskin about Edward Cullen being a compensated psychopath.The point of her article is to prove that Edward Cullen is a compensated psychopath (CP). A compensated psychopath is someone that in innately psychopathic and on the higher end of it but has learned to function in society. In the book Bella becomes completely dependent on Edward willing to almost kill herself to just hear a hallucination, and is willing to give up humanity just to be with him.Edward is controlling and manipulating of Bella, doing what he thinks is best for her to stay safe but usually just hurting her more in the process. Edward tells her who she can be friends with and when she can hang out with them. He tries to keep her from her best friend because he doesnâ€℠¢t approve. Edward also twist the truth when he speaks to Bella telling her only what she needs to know and leaving the rest out, often not even bothering to tell her what's going on at all and Bella just keeps following him.Edward has so many of the traits in a classic case of compensated psychopath, he doesn’t have a real since of morality, psychopaths also don’t have the ability to feel real love, though Edward says he loves Bella the only thing pouring through the novel is the sexual tension, Edward realizes that the instant gratification of drinking Bella’s blood would kill her and there would be nothing left for him to gain, this is stereotypical for CP, finding that you have to wait for your prey. (Merskin 155)All in all, Edward could be a great â€Å"man† for Bella but he has so many of the traits the psychiatrist would relate to having CP that it’s a little hard to imagine. The Vampire is the bad boy of the paranormal world (Merskin 152) b ut having teenagers who are still growing and finding themselves subjected to creature that is supposed to be perfect yet exhibits these behaviors is emotionally damaging because these girls project and in turn want to find someone like their fiction character crush. In conclusion vampires are the monsters we make them.Society changes the image of the vampire due to what they need, they want and what their true fears are. Vampires started out with monstrous legends and those that were sworn to see them all dead. Vampires in Slavic times were just control elements and explanations of what at the time could not be explained, monsters that stalked the innocent women. Bram Stokers Dracula and Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire were the next big jumps during the 70’s changing them to the beginning of the emotional vampire and introducing the pure naughtiness and sexual aspect, also making them relatable to the public by giving them emotions, hopes and desires.Finally come to today’s pop culture, written by women for women, the irresistible bad boys of today’s fiction world, a complete turn around, from ugly disgusting still live corpses to the sparkly vampires that teens and adults around the world have come to know and love. Is this love safe? No most likely not, but we’ll just have to see what shift the vampire world makes next, hopefully back in the direction of monster.

Drinking Games Essay Example

Drinking Games Essay Example Drinking Games Essay Drinking Games Essay Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Drinking Games People consume alcohol for various reasons. There are those who take it (wine) with meals as it is said to aid in the digestion process, there are those who take it as a way of relaxing, others take it in order to have fun, others due to curiosity, others to â€Å"drown fears, sorrows and trouble†, just to mention but a few. As much as a little alcohol has been recommended as it helps in some body functions (digestive system), most countries have put strict laws on heavy alcohol drinking. Both Legal and economic tools have been used by policy makers to the maximum. This includes heavy taxation on alcoholic drinks, a raise in the drinking age from 18 to 21 years and the toughening of rules on drunk-driving (Gladwell 71). In general, drinking is associated with a kind of a weakness and a loophole to sin. That is why the Christians, Mormons, Muslims amongst other religions do not drink. However, Gladwell brings forth another perception of drinking that may have not crossed our minds before. According to him, a person’s drinking is not as important as how he/she drinks it (Gladwell 70). Gladwell goes ahead a gives a couple of illustrations to prove his point. In a story told by Dwight and Anna Heath, the Camba people of Bolivia had a rather interesting way of drinking. They held drinking parties, which comprised of a particular number of members. The members would drink, pass out, wake up and continue drinking. They drank an alcoholic drink, which they did not like for it tasted nasty. When investigated, the drink was found to be 180 proof. In fact, it was laboratory alcohol, which was thought that it could not be consumed by people (Gladwell 72). Despite all these, these people never drunk on work-nights nor did they attract any police, there were no arguments, sexual aggression, disputes, verbal misbehavior, amongst other misconducts associated with drinking (Gladwell 73). An Italian man was described as a man who drunk an 8 oz. glass of wine in the morning after the morning breakfast and a 24 oz. glass at noon after his meal. Yet, this man had only been drank twice in his life and his drinking never interfered with his work or his day-to-day activities (Gladwell 71). Lolli’s clinic in new Haven had a total number of 1200 alcoholics of which forty were Italians while the rest were Irish by the late 1950s. An anthropologist known as Robert B. Edgerton working in Central Kenya once received a warning to run away as a tribesman who usually got out of order after drinking, was coming his way. Before he could move away, the man had already arrived. However, he surprisingly greeted Edgerton in a calm manner and then moved on with his raged behavior. The man had beaten two people, knocked down a child and eviscerated a goat during the course of the day (Gladwell 73). What Gladwell has put across makes a lot of sense. However, there still must be something in our brains that is triggered by alcohol in order to make one behave the way he/she does when they consumes alcohol. Is it really how much one has drunk that makes a while man stand and abuse people who are old enough to be his parents, or become talkative when he is rather quite in normal circumstances. What about the girl who is more vulnerable to having sex when she is drunk than when she is not? Although Gladwell’s point of view is logic, there are also other factors to be considered. The Irish and the Italians are the same people in terms of species. There must be something more than the amount of alcohol consumed that would make an Irish man be more of an alcoholic than an Italian. It is also important to note that in an individual, there are always exceptions to the rules. For example, Tobacco smoking is known to be a major cause of lung cancer. However, there are those people who have smoked since the time they were teenagers and they are in their old age and do not have any signs of lung cancer. This does not stop smoking from becoming a major cause of lung cancer. Gladwell, Malcolm. â€Å"Drinking Games: How much people drink may matter less than how they drink it†. The New Yorker 15 February 2010: 70-76. Print.

Assumption of Mary Essays

Assumption of Mary Essays Assumption of Mary Essay Assumption of Mary Essay Giving Voice to Our Values the thought experiment Fundamental premise of many Eastern philosophies and martial arts is to move with ones momentum and energy, rather than fight against them. The approach to voicing and acting on our values described in these pages a attempts to build on that same principle. Rather than taking a preaching stance wherein we might try to count- term temptations with all the moral reasons why we should behave ethically, or taking a persuasive stance wherein we might counter those same temptations with all the Para- tactical arguments for ethical behavior, the approach here is to take an enabling stance. We try to identify both the times when we already want to act in accordance with our highest moral values and also the reasons why we feel that way, and then we focus on building the iconic- dance and skills and the scripts that enable us to do so effectively and with the least amount of angst. Rather than pushing or pulling ourselves into values-based AC- Zion, we try to grease the skids that might carry us there. One way that we try to work with personal omen- Tums, rather than fight against it, is by framing our disc- 1 Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values cushion here as a thought experiment. We are invited to consider how we might voice and act on our values if we were going to do so. In this way, we sidestep all the pre- emotive arguments and rationalizations that pop up naturally, about how difficult or even impossible it may be to do so. We create a safe and enabling space, if you will, for experimentation and creative thinking. In the service of creating that safe space, we try to be explicit about as many of the working assumptions that underlie this approach to enabling values-based AC- Zion as possible. These assumptions are intended as the foundation for an exploratory rather than coercive stance. This explicit naming of our assumptions allows for a kind of informed consent at best, or at least for a Provo- signal consent as we embark upon this experiment. Even if we are not entirely certain that we accept all of the as- assumptions, this provisional consent provides room for us to act as if we did, and to see where they might take us, thereby freeing us up to create scripts and implemental- Zion plans for values-driven actions that we might never otherwise develop. Then when we are faced with the AC- tall excision to act on our values, we will at least have a well-developed strategy to consider. In this way, the De- fault of non-action, or of Just going along with the course of least resistance, will have a worthy counter position. So in the service of this informed or provisional consent, lets consider the starting assumptions for Give- inning Voice to Values. These are twelve assumptions, or give- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 3 ens, that form the story line behind this approach to values-driven action. Assumption One: I want to voice and act upon my values. As discussed in the Introduction, the fundamental as- assumption is that most of us want to find ways to voice and act on our values in the workplace, and to do so fee- get stuck on the idea that even if we want to act ethically, we assume that many others do not. Therefore we conclude that our efforts will be for naught and, whats more, that we will likely pay a price for trying. But why do we always focus on the folks who do not want to behave ethically? If we start instead from the premise that most of us would like to behave in accordance with our values, then it becomes less important whether everyone does so. Instead we only need Just enough folks to share this position; it becomes simply a matter of critical mass. It is a glass-half- empty or half-full kind of issue. By starting from the assumption that most folks do want to voice and act on their best values, we begin to create that very possibility, because we eliminate one of the conclusions that prevent us from Joining this group. (We are putting aside for a moment the question of Copyrighted Material 4 Giving Voice to Our Values which values we, or others, want to voice and act upon. That question is addressed in Chapter 2. Another objection to this first assumption may be the protestation: But I might not want to act on my highest values in all situations! However, Just because an idea may not always be true does not mean it is never true. For the purpose of this thought experiment, we suppose that there are many times when we would in- deed like to voice and act on our values, and by enabling that choice and learning to do so effectively, we are likely to expand the frequency of this choice. It becomes a gene- nine and even a realistic option for us. Assumption Two: I have voiced my values , at some points in my past. Even though research and our own experiences reveal many individual and organizational inhibitors, most Poe- pile have in fact chosen to voice and act on their values on some occasions. In conversations and interviews with managers at all levels of organizations and in the class- rooms where this approach has been discussed, we have yet to find anyone who cannot think of times both when they have and when they have not done so. Typically this realization leads to a conclusion that no one is truly teeth- cal. What if, as part of our thought experiment, we turned this around and concluded that no one is truly unethical? This conclusion can then be the foundation for building Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 5 the muscle for more frequent and more effective values- driven actions. Assumption Three: I can voice my values more often and more effectively. We have the potential to expand our capacity, our effect- tipsiness, and our likelihood to voice and act on our vale- uses by acknowledging that we have such a choice, and by practicing what we would say and do if we made that choice. The working metaphor for the Giving Voice to Vale- uses approach to values conflicts is that of an individual learning a new hysterical skill or sport. Not being an tat- Leticia type myself, I did once take a class in self-defense a number of years ago. The course was called Model Mug- king, and the idea was that instead of simply learning the basic self-defense moves (fist to bridge of nose, heel to instep, knee to groin, and so on), we would also have the opportunity to experience the feel of a full-on blow did- erected at an instructor who was dressed in an entirely padded suit, like the Michelin Man. In this way, the stub- dents could practice delivering the various self-defensive moves full force, rather than simply alkali about what action was called for or miming the moves in the air without the in a support- Eve environment, we would have a chance to practice AP- Copyrighted Material 6 Giving Voice to Our Values plying them during a simulated full-speed attack as well, with the same padded instructor. The thinking and research behind this several-stage approach was that muscle memory is linked to both the experience of full-force contact as well as the heightened emotional state of the simulated engagement, and there- fore, even if our brains are frozen or reacting slowly, our bodies would remember how to respond if e encounter- tired that same emotional state again in an actual real- time situation. There are several interesting aspects to this AP- approach. Before engaging in the simulated attack, we first had to master the actual physical movements by breaking them down into their components and practicing them repeatedly, with full-force impact and with encourage- meet and feedback on our form. This is similar to the way a student of tennis or golf or any other sport might learn and practice the different strokes and positions and build the requisite muscle groups, as preparation or put- ting them together in actual play, or the way a musician practices playing or singing scales before attempting a complex musical composition. Switch,thepremiseisthatvalues-transcripts and actions are a competency that can be learned, and that it is learned by both breaking it down into its com- opponent parts and by practicing the application of those componentsscripts and action plansin cooperative and lower-stress situations. Both the cognitive aspects of the processanalyzing the arguments and creating fee- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 7 active scriptsas well as the experiential aspectsactually saying the words in concert with peers who stand in as prop- sees for eventual workplace colleaguesare essential. In this way, we build the muscle and the muscle memory so that the approach will come more naturally and skillfully when we encounter actual values conflicts in real time. Some might argue that this is simply an example of traditional role playing in the service of learning. On the contrary, although there is a value in the use of role playing, if we are immediately placed in a situation where we must ice our values in the face of an adversary who is primed to argue vehemently against our position, we may find ourselves unintentionally reinforcing those same anxieties and that same pessimism about our chances at success that we are trying to counter. For example, too often participants in a role play of a values conflict will demonstrate their political astuteness, their savvy, and their experience with the so- called real world of business by assuming a skeptical, if not cynical, stance, pointing out all the reasons why a defense of ethical values is not realistic or practical. Such ole plays tend to send the signal that values-based actions are naive, at best. However, if instead of adversarial role plays, we Cree- ate opportunities to practice our arguments in front of peers who assume the role of coaches, we can work co- operatively and constructively to simultaneously rein- force the best of our arguments, to revise the weakest of our arguments, and to experience the physical and memo- action act of voicing these arguments in public. Copyrighted Material 8 Giving Voice to Our Values unintended negative rein- forewomen of our own best intentions, they would be used only after we have first taken the time to craft and actually practice speaking our positions in a collaborator- dive context. Assumption Four: It is easier for me to voice my values in some contexts than others. Developing the muscle for voicing our values does not diminish the importance of selecting and developing or- generational cultures and policies and incentives that en- courage such choices. In fact, our effort to promote the development of such cultures, policies, and incentives is, in itself, an instance of voicing values. And the more such organizational enablers are in place, he more likely it is that individuals will choose to voice their values. It is a kind of virtuous circle. This is an important part of the puzzle, for there is much research that examines the impact for good or ill of organizational contexts that enable or disable dissent and that focus on narrowly defined versus broadly De- fined performance goals. We will discuss examples of this in subsequent chapters, but the important point here is to recognize that although the emphasis of the GO AP- approach is on the individual and his or her abilities and choices, the organization and its impact are not over- Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 9 looked. Although GO is an individual strategy, individual- LULAS operate within organizations that can limit or en- hence the options available to address values conflicts. Focusing on organizational pressures and norms is, again, not a reason to avoid voicing our values but rather another opportunity to airframe our choices and act on our values, this time by actually addressing the organize- action context itself. As we will see, sometimes individual- alas can more effectively address values conflicts in the workplace by talking about what discourages ethical AC- Zion and engaging leagues in addressing those factors than by tackling the issue head-on. This becomes a kind of Jujitsu move, where colleagues are engaged in fixing the organization in such a fashion that, by the way, ad- dresses the values conflict itself. An example of this is when individuals focus on changing financial incentives and reporting systems that may not only enable, but also encourage, distortions in an organizations internal AU- dining. Looking for ways to fix the system in the service of more accurate planning and forecasting, along the way, addresses the distortions in reporting integrity. Assumption Five: I am more likely to voice my values if I have practiced how to respond to frequently encountered conflicts. There are certain frequently heard reasons and rational- actions for not voicing and acting on our values. But Copyrighted Material 10 Giving Voice to Our Values there are also possible responses or reframing that we can use to counter these reasons and rationalizations. If we familiarize ourselves with these responses in advance, we are more likely to be able to access them when needed and potentially shift a conversation or change a mind. This is especially true when we begin to see hat the types of reasons that we hearand even offer ourselvesfor not voicing our values tend to fall into a set of recognize- able and limited categories, and therefore the levers for responding to them, or entirely recasting them, are Simi- Larry recognizable and consequently learnable. Prior reflection on responses to values given decision situation. That is, if we be- come fluent in ways to address the defenses of less than ethical behaviors, we will find ourselves more easily and more automatically doing so. Rather than experiencing that deer-in-headlights feeling hen we confront values conflicts, our muscle memory can kick in and the memo- seasonality of the moment is reduced. I learned this lesson firsthand a number of years ago. While teaching at the Harvard Business School, I launched a research and course development project on Managing Diversity in the mid-sass. There was no other course on the subject at the school then, but I had both an intellectual as well as a personal interest in purr- suing this work. For a variety of reasons having to do with my own experiences and those of people I knew, I had always experienced significant discomfort when I Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 11 witnessed unfairness or undeserved bias toward school or professional colleagues. Rather than anger toward the offender, however, I would tend to feel guilty and angry at myself for not being confident enough or skillful enough to counter the situation. At some level, I believe I felt that the experience of researching, constructing, and teaching a course on diversity might enable me to learn how to handle such situations myself, even as I was try- inning to teach others. Although teaching the course was a very positive experience for me, at the end of the two years I felt that, sadly, I as no closer to that elusive sense of bulletproof confidence and skill that I believed I needed to be able to speak up when I witnessed unfairness in my professional life. I moved on to other projects. Less than a year later, however, while working as a consultant, I was led to areas- sees the impact of the diversity research and teaching I had done. Two situations in particular caught me up short. In the first instance, my team was presenting a new piece of work to a potential client. The representative from the clients firm was making small talk at the start of our meeting, and he engaged to make several Joking but disparaging comments based on ethnic and class stereotypes. Although the comments were not specific- calla directed at me or any of my team memberswho were racially diverse and included my boss as well as seven- real more Junior managersI was concerned about the tone that we set for our ongoing working relationship. I Copyrighted Material 12 Giving Voice to Our Values didnt really think about it but I Just heard myself sue- getting, with calm but pointed good humor, that perhaps we should turn to topics about which we all were more informed. There was a palpable sense of relief among my colleagues, especially the more Junior ones, and the CLC- .NET, unfounded, good-naturally turned to a more AP- appropriate topic. I was relieved, both because I did not want to lose the client but also because I did not want to bond with him on the basis of discriminatory humor. In the second instance, I recognized that the senior member of my consulting team had made some incorrect and negative assumptions about the writing ability of the sole African-American Junior member of our group. I dont believe this manager was intentionally biased, but his unconscious conclusion was barring the Junior cool- league from a plum assignment. I found myself in a car with this senior manager, and when the subject came up, I simply explained how impressed I was with the result, the Junior consultant received an attractive writing project, and I had the opportunity to work closely with him and benefit personally and profess- signally from the association. I mention these two examples neither because I be- live I handled them flawlessly nor to argue that I always counter bias when I see it. I still struggle tit my desire to avoid conflict and with a certain natural reticence. However, I did manage to shift the behaviors and IM- pacts on my peers in these two situations (not that I have Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 13 any illusions that I actually changed the attitudes of the client in the first example). And I did so with a mini- mum of stress and hand-wringing on my own part. In fact, in both instances, I heard myself making comments that I would never have made prior to my diversity course. In fact, in the past, I would have felt horrible about both situations but would have likely remained tongue-tied. I have concluded that the experience of researching and talking about the many ways that discrimination and bias can occur in professional contexts, and especially the identification of the many arguments against this type of bias and the many ways of responding to these situations, had had a profound impact on me. Not only had I seen how common such situations are, but I had also Para- diced, unwittingly, all the ways that one might respond. I was not shaken or put off my game when the circus- stances arose. I was able to react calmly, thereby without signaling to my audiences that this was a difficult situ- action or that they were somehow bad people. The re- sponges were fact-based, good-natured, and appropriate to the context. Had I been taken off guard or less pre- pared, I would likely have telegraphed more stress, memo- Zion, and blame. But the funny part was, I had not known that I was so prepared until I was in these situations! So I revisited my assessment of the value of my research and discussions of diversity. I believe it was more effect- dive than I had recognized. It was, in fact, a kind of pre- scripting. Copyrighted Material 14 Giving Voice to Our Values Assumption Six: My example is powerful. Just as we ourselves would like to be able to voice and act on our values, we can assume that many of our colleagues would as well. If we can demonstrate credible responses to frequently heard reasons for not voicing and acting on our values, we may encourage and empower others to Join us. An undergraduate business student I interviewed was working in a plum internship doing research for a consulting firm. When her boss told her to lie about who she was to gain intelligence from a competitor, she ex- planned that she didnt want to do so but that she would work to gather comparable information in other ways. Her boss, unconvinced by her ethical arguments, never- toeless indulged her alternative plan, and through hard work, the intern was able to generate a credible report without misrepresenting herself. It might be argued that she had had a very limited impact on the firm; after all, her boss was not likely to change his behavior going for- ward. However, the intern reported that later she was surprised and pleased to see that other interns began coming to her, asking how she managed to complete her task without deception because they, too, wanted to take that road. Whether the organization was changed example. Additionally, rather than walking away from this internship with only a sense of distill- sentiment at what she had learned about how this rep- Copyrighted Giving Voice to Our Values 15 table firm did business, she gained a sense of efficacy and greater confidence in her own options. In fact, she was offered an ongoing position with the firm. Assumption Seven: Although mastering and delivering responses to frequently heard rationalizations can empower others who share my views to act, I cannot assume I know who those folks will be. The responses we develop and practice to frequently eared reasons and rationalizations for unethical behave- IRS are intended to strengthen our own confidence in voicing and acting on our values. Additionally, this Para- twice can influence others who share our values conflict but are unable to find a way to explain their reluctance. However, we cannot assume we know who feels the con- flick and who does not simply by observing their behave- ROR because, as we have already acknowledged, we all have chosen to suppress these felt conflicts at some points in our past. Thus, in the example above, the business student intern might eve thought she had failed if her goal had been only to change her bosss behavior. However, Unix- affectedly and without her conscious intention, her be- having was noticed by some of her peers and they were influenced by her. This is important because often we can become discouraged from trying to voice our values 16 Giving Voice to Our Values because we are not certain of our ability to influence our intended audience. The thing is, we will experience more satisfaction from our efforts to voice our values if we re- main open to the possibility of unintended positive IM- pacts. This is not to say hat we do not design our scripts and action plans with a careful eye to having a hoped-for impact on a particular audience; rather it is simply to acknowledge and value the additional or alternative POS- dive impacts we may have. The only real and ultimate control we have is over ourselves, which leads us directly to the importance of the next assumption. Assumption Eight: The better I know myself, the more I can prepare to play to my strengths and, when necessary, protect myself from my weaknesses. The greater our self-knowledge, the more likely we are to be able to anticipate and manage our responses to values conflicts. Prior reflection on our own personalities and behavioral tendencies under pressure enables us to play to our strengths: that is, to frame the challenge we face in such a way that it draws on the skills and arguments with which we feel most adept and confident. Rather than AC- accepting the challenge as it is put before us, we can take an active role in reshaping it. This kind of self-assessment is not your typical values- Giving Voice to Our Values 17 clarification process. It is not about figuring out what is important to us; the Giving Voice to Values approach starts from the moment our values kick in. Instead this self- assessment is based on the observation that people who do act on their values often have found ways to describe the situation that give them power rather than ways as a prepare- Zion and trigger to consciously put mechanisms in place to protect us from our own weaknesses. However, re- search tells us that often these mechanisms need to go beyond mere self-knowledge and become external tools (incentives, deterrents, automatic review processes, transparency requirements, practicalities networks of sounding boards, et cetera). Our own internal awareness of our biases and tendencies is important but not enough to prevent us from falling ere to them: we need to go beyond awareness to active preparation for values- based decision making, a preparation that includes the script- inning and action planning that GO encourages. Assumption Nine: I am not alone. When we encounter values conflicts in the workplace, often we feel isolated and personally at risk. We may assume that our peers will not share our concern, or that to raise the issue will polarize our colleagues or expose us to greater pressure and vulnerability. This may actually be true. How- Copyrighted Material 18 Giving Voice to Our Values ever, interviews with individuals who have voiced their vale- uses in such situations veal that, in most cases, they did find and rely upon some form of external support system. The challenge is to identify whom to speak with and for which purposes. There are many different sources of support, both inside and outside organizations, and there are many ways of gathering support, some more direct than others. We can utilize our personal support networks (family, friends outside the organization) as sounding boards; we can reach out to our colleagues in the firm to build a coalition of allies or to gather sup- porting information; and we can engage in strategic use of the managerial hierarchy. However, we must consider carefully which approach is most appropriate in a par- testicular situation, keeping in mind the implications not only for ourselves and the challenge we face, but also for the individuals we engage. The examples discussed here show different ways that individuals countered the ten- Denny to feel isolated. Assumption Ten: Although I may not always succeed, voicing and acting on my values is worth doing. When pursuing our values, Just as with any other man- serial action, we do not always succeed at what we set out to achieve, et that does not necessarily prevent us and others from taking action. There are no guarantees or Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 19 reckless action plans, around voicing values or anything else, and GO does not claim that there are. Rather than backing off from our values because we cant muster the words or the strategies in the moment, and rather than rashly voicing values in ways that belie the management sophistication and interpersonal insight we would exhibit in a less charged situation, GO is about providing the pop- opportunity to hone and reactive our approach, such that we feel greater confidence and can behave more skillfully. In this way, the goal is to increase the likelihood of success. Additionally, we are more likely to voice our values if we have decided that the costs of not doing so, and the benefits of trying, are important enough to us that we would pursue them even though we cannot be certain of success in advance. In order to get to this place of clarity, we need to spend some serious time thinking about our own identity, our personal and professional purpose, and our definition of success and failure. We will fleet clear-eyed upon the risks associated with voicing our values, so that we can be prepared to handle the possible implications. Assumption Eleven: Voicing my values leads to better decisions. It is often difficult to be certain that a specific course of action is right or wrong, but we are more likely to Copyrighted Material 20 Giving Voice to Our Values come to the best decision if we feel empowered to voice our concerns about values conflicts and discuss them with others. In fact, one of the most common objections to the idea of voicing and acting on our values is the con- CERN that we may be wrong, hat our values might spring from a place of self-righteousness or incomplete under- standing. And of course, this is a valid concern. Unfortunately, too often this concern serves to is- lance us, preventing us from sharing our perspectives be- cause we assume that they are not valid. If, however, we learn to examine our values-based position in depth and from multiple perspectives, as the GO approach out- lines, we not only will become more adept at presenting our values-based position, but we will also be testing it against the views of others and supporting it with the necessary information. Our own position will become richer. In addition, even if in the end we conclude that our going-in position was incorrect, the process of analyzing and sharing our concerns can improve our organize- action decision-making process. In fact, one of the less- sons shared by the individuals interviewed for GO is that decisions are often improved if we do not assume that managerial directives are final and unquestionable, but rather view them as simply opening hypotheses. Take- inning this view can also help us to present our views with the calm confidence that comes room the belief that we are adding value by doing so. Copyrighted Material Giving Voice to Our Values 21 Assumption Twelve: The more I believe its possible to voice and act on my values, the more likely I will be to do so. We are more likely to voice and act on our values when we believe it is possible to do so, and to do so effectively. If we pay attention to positive examples of such voice and action and spend time developing support Mecca- minims and practicing the development and delivery of responses to frequently heard reasons and rationalize- actions for unethical actions, we can expand our sense of whats possibleanother virtuous circle. On the other hand, if we focus most of our time and attention identifying and bemoaning all the ways in which we are discouraged from voicing our values, we will be reinforcing that process. This is not only common sense; increasingly it is a phenomenon supported by re- search in the fields of positive psychology as well as the cognitive neuroscience. L In fact, the GO approach described in these pages is more than a set of insights and tools that we can learn to apply; the very act of reading and reflecting upon all the ways that looks have voiced and can act on their vale- uses can change the way we experience reality. That is, rather than proving that we can act on our values, we are simply making it true. And we do this by reframing the question from whether to voice our values to how can we voice our values? Copyrighted Material 22 Giving Voice to Our Values Having now familiarized ourselves with the work- inning assumptions behind the GO thought experiment, it becomes important to ask: What are our reactions to these informed, or at least a Provo- signal, consent to the GO project, then it becomes IM- orator not only to name and define these underlying assumptions, but also to reflect on both our resonances with them as well as our reservations or objections to them. We might consider: A

A Peek at the Physics Behind Multiple Universes

A Peek at the Physics Behind Multiple Universes The sciences of physics and astrophysics explore a great many interesting ideas about the universe. One of the most intriguing is the concept of multiple universes. Its also referred to as parallel universe theory. This is the idea that our universe is not the only one in existence. Most people have heard of the possibility of more than one universe from science fiction stories and movies. Far from being an imaginary idea, multiple universes can exist, according to modern physics. However, its one thing to devise a theory about their existence, but quite another to actually detect them. This is something that modern physics is wrestling with, using observations of distant light signals from the Big Bang as data.   What Are Multiple Universes? Just as our universe, with all its stars, galaxies, planets, and other structures exists and can be studied, physicists suspect that other universes filled with matter and space exist in parallel with ours. They may or may not be exactly like ours. Chances are that theyre not. They might have different laws of physics than we do, for example. They dont necessarily intersect with ours, but they may collide with it. Some theorists go so far as to explain that each person has a twin or mirror in the other universes. This is one interpretation of the multiple-universe theory called the many-worlds approach. It says that there are many universes out there. Star Trek fans, for example, will recognize this from such episodes as Mirror Mirror in the original series, Parallels in Next Generation, and others. Theres another interpretation of multiple universes that gets quite complex and is an outgrowth of quantum physics, which is the physics of the very small. It deals with interactions at the level of atoms and subatomic particles (which make up atoms). Basically, quantum physics says that small interactions - called quantum interactions - happen. When they do, they have far-reaching consequences and set up endless possibilities with endless outcomings from those interactions. As an example, imagine that in our universe a person takes a wrong turn on the way to a meeting. They miss the meeting and lose a chance to work on a new project. If they hadnt missed the turn, they would have gone to the meeting and gotten the project. Or, they missed the turn, and the meeting, but met someone else who offered them a better project. there are endless possibilities, and each one (if it happens) spurs endless consequences. In parallel universes, ALL of those actions and reactions and consequences take place, one to each universe.   This implies that there are parallel universes where all possible outcomes are happening simultaneously. Yet, we only observe the action in our own universe. All the other actions, we dont observe, but they are happening in parallel, elsewhere. We dont observe them, but they happen, at least theoretically. Can Multiple Universes Exist? The argument in favor of multiple universes involves many interesting thought experiments. One delves into cosmology (which is the study of the origin and evolution of the universe) and something called the fine-tuning problem.  This says that as we grow to understand the way our universe is constructed, our existence in it grows more precarious. As physicists have examined the way the universe has changed over time since the Big  Bang, they suspect that had the early conditions of the universe been just a bit different, our universe could have evolved to be inhospitable to life. In fact, if a universe spontaneously came into existence, physicists would expect it to spontaneously collapse or possibly to expand so rapidly that particles never really interact with each other. British physicist, Sir Martin Reese wrote extensively about this idea in his classic book Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe. Multiple Universes and a Creator Using this idea of finely-tuned properties in the universe, some argue for the need of a creator. Tgbe existence of such a being (for which there is no proof), doesnt explain properties of the universe. Physicists would like to understand those properties without invoking a deity of any kind. The easiest solution would just be to say, Well, thats how it is. However, thats not really an explanation. It just represents a remarkable lucky break that a single universe would come into being and that universe would just happen to have the very precise properties needed to develop life. Most physical properties would result in a universe that collapses into nothingness instantly. Or, it continues to exist and expands into a vast sea of nothingness. It isnt just a matter of trying to explain human beings as we happen to exist, but of explaining the very existence of any sort of universe. Another idea, which fits well with quantum physics, says that there is, indeed, a vast number of universes, which with different properties. Within that  multiverse of universes, some subset of them (including our own) would contain properties that allow them to exist for relatively long periods of time. That means a subset (including our own universe) would have the properties that allow them to form complex chemicals and, ultimately, life. Others would not. And, that would be okay, since quantum physics tells us that all possibilities can exist.   String Theory and Multiple Universes String theory  (which states that all the different fundamental particles of matter are manifestations of a basic object called a string) has recently begun to support this idea. This is because there is a vast number of possible solutions to string theory. In other words, if string theory is correct then there are still many different ways to construct the universe. String theory presents the idea of extra dimensions at the same that it includes a structure to think about where these other universes could be located. Our universe, which includes four dimensions of spacetime, seems to exist in a universe that may contain as many as 11 total dimensions. That multi-dimensional region is often called the bulk by string theorists. Theres no reason to think that the bulk couldnt contain other universes in addition to our own. So, it is sort of a universe of universes.    Detection is a Problem The question of a multiverses existence is secondary to being able to detect other universes. So far no one has found solid evidence for another universe. That doesnt mean they arent out there. The evidence may be something we havent yet recognized. Or our detectors arent sensitive enough. Eventually, physicists will find a way using solid data to find parallel universes and measure at least some of their properties. That could be a long way away, however.   Edited and updated by Carolyn Collins Petersen.

Postevent Nutrition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Postevent Nutrition - Essay Example A post-event meal should help to restore fluid and electrolyte losses, replenish glycogen stores and prevent low blood sugar (SMCA n.pag 2nd edition). Inappropriate food intake during post event can have serious implications on recovery. Post event meals are very important particularly for glycogen restoration. As it is a known factor that muscle glycogen is severely depleted for athletes, adequate recovery means that the muscles are rested, re-fueled, and ready to go again (Davis 2005). During an event the athlete encounters free radical attack and to overcome the free radical effects, it is important to take adequate antioxidants. Post event must also be the right time for replacing all those vitamins and minerals. These acts as co-factors in the body's enzyme complexes involved in the production of energy and vitamins which protect against free radical damage (SIS n. pag). The most critical factors that determine sports performance is the energy and hydration supply to the body. Similarly, after an event it is important to replace the lost energy and hydration. Athletes replace fluid and fuel by consuming both liquid and solid carbohydrate feeds.

GDP as a measure of welfare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

GDP as a measure of welfare - Research Paper Example This measures happiness directly by interviewing people about how they feel about their health, wealth, and education and then attaching weights to the respective responses.One good thing about this measure is that it measures the well-being by incorporating material and spiritual development side by side as explained by sustainable development, cultural values, conservation, and good governance. Country  SWL IndexKuwait  240Uruguay  176South Sudan  120*Burkina Faso  156.67Zimbabwe  160Hungary  190Note: South Sudan SWL Index of 120 is for the greater Sudan before it seceded.(b)  Kuwait versus UruguayWhere it compares poorly against Uruguay: Adult Literacy and Life Expectancy at Birth.Here it fares better against Uruguay: Real GDP per capita and Internet user population percentage.(c)  GDP tends to determine most of the variables. The plot below is a display of the trend of the percentage each value contributes over time or ordered categories. GDP is not a good measu re because it does not take into account the specific distribution of the incomes to the hands of individuals. They could only be going to few hands hence it does not measure the general welfare of the people.One good thing about this measure is that it measures the well-being by incorporating material and spiritual development side by side as explained by sustainable development, cultural values, conservation, and good governance. Country  SWL IndexKuwait  240Uruguay  176South Sudan  120*Uruguay  176South Sudan  120*

Behind processed food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Behind processed food - Research Paper Example The process of chemically treating foods was introduced in 1910, by the 1930s, frozen food became available, and the phenomenon of fast food emerged in the 1940s and became popular quickly. Obviously fast food is chemically treated and not natural and generally unhealthy, in 1994, food became even more manipulated with the introduction of genetically modified organisms (Leite 1)). Now we have huge supermarkets and a lot of the foods available in them is unhealthy processed food. Overweight rates in the world are increasing and the United States are the highest rated country when it comes to this subject, if the obesity being in high rates we need to find a solution to this phenomenon. Processed foods should contain more natural ingredients and the government should be more involved in regulating the ingredients that are put into these foods to maintain the population healthy and so the rate of health issues due to overweight becomes lower. Food is our guiltiest pleasure; food is related to all our festivities, whenever there is a birthday there is a cake, in Christmas family gatherings, when we go out with friends usually there food involved. Food is the most important part of our lives wherever we go there is food and we use it to sustain ourselve (Kim 54). We obviously need food to survive but we do not know is that by consuming these foods we might be killing our self. Processed food is everywhere in our lives and it’s very difficult to out run it. Of course, there are places like Whole Foods which distribute unprocessed, all-natural, healthy food to its customers. Their items are naturally grown and fresh and contain little to none chemicals. No matter where we go we try to buy our food there is always going to be a little bit of some form of chemicals. This is why places like whole foods are convenient, especially for the people

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Tort Law - Essay Example Are the current statutory and common law mechanisms sufficient to protect privacy interests of individuals? Main challenges individual face in bringing actions against invasions of their privacy in English courts. Shifting focus of reforms on civil law from questions, standards of liability to issues of civil procedure and damages. Challenges of procedure and damages in bringing actions to protect individuals privacy 3. Protecting privacy in the modern age Individual privacy in the modern age: challenges of protecting privacy. Relationship between internet and media and individual privacy protection. What changes can be made on the law to protect individuals’ privacy. Is the blame for the English law to achieve its duty to protect individual’s privacy blamed on media? 4. Privacy law reforms in the United Kingdom Press and individual privacy. Regulation of press for reforms in the UK for purposes of protecting privacy interests rather than the role of civil law in protec tion of privacy interests ( Joint Select Committee report –Chapter five and the Leveson report 2002) 5. Right to Privacy and freedom of expression Rights to privacy and freedom of expression: the conflicts arising from rights to privacy and freedom of expression in relation to individuals’ privacy (Mosley v News group Newspaper Ltd (2008) EMLR20). Media and the freedom of expression. ... m in order to protect the privacy of individuals.† Discuss Introduction In the old common law individuals are entitled to full protection in person and in property. However, there have been no clear definitions as to the extent of this protection.1 Personal privacy has been invaded with the introduction of instant photographs and newspapers. According to Hughes people are now afraid that what they do or speak in secret may come out into the public domain, if new laws are not put in place to protection individual invasion to privacy.2 The law of tort provided individual with remedy from life and property interference. The right to life only gave individuals protection from battery of all forms. With the recognition of the spiritual, intellect and human feelings legal rights have become broad. Laws have been formulated to protect individuals from offensive noise, odour, dust, smoke and excessive vibrations.3 Statutes and laws English law did not recognize the right to privacy4. I t relied heavily on law of trespass, nuisance, defamation and malicious falsehood to protect individual privacy5. Development of statutes such as Protection from Harassment Act 1997, The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 saw increased advancement in the protection of privacy. With evolution of law it has become clear to individual that hurt, satisfaction and gains in life do not originate from the tangible things. This has therefore led to the legal appreciation of individuals’ opinions, sentiments and feelings. The growth in the common law has allowed judges to afford compulsory defence without having to ask for directions from the parliament.6 Introduction of tort on privacy in the English law Privacy deals with individuals’ information’s and

Human Resource Management Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resource Management Issues - Essay Example When the management structure will be revamped and there will be supportive and conducive work environment for the employees, the motivation level of staff will be enhanced and they will be reluctant to leave the organization. Hence, by altering the management structure, an organization will definitely be able to address this HR issue and ensure that it has a productive and highly effective workforce. One of the major problems that are faced by an organization is high employee turnover and it has been found by Guest (2011) that the key factor that causes increase in this turnover rate is lack of proper management. When there are insufficient or improper mechanisms for talent or employee management, there is a huge possibility that the employees start leaving the organization on voluntary basis. Most of the employees are willing to switch to other jobs because they have lack of clarity about the organization’s purpose and the business tends to possess various unstable elements. The Human Resource (HR) department has to ensure that everything in the organization is organized and disciplined so that the employees have awareness about their tasks, policies that need to be followed and actions that will be taken in case of non-compliance (Berman et al., 2009). It has been found that the organizations that have high level of inefficiency or instability have high turnover rate. Although the organizations are unaware of the real problem that causes increase in turnover rate; it is important for them to keep an eye on the turnover rate as it might be an indication of some problem in the company that might need to be immediately addressed. Proper management means that the employees should be given the leverage of enhancing their skills and they should be given space to prove their expertise in the field; the goals of each employee have to be aligned with the

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Tort Law - Essay Example Are the current statutory and common law mechanisms sufficient to protect privacy interests of individuals? Main challenges individual face in bringing actions against invasions of their privacy in English courts. Shifting focus of reforms on civil law from questions, standards of liability to issues of civil procedure and damages. Challenges of procedure and damages in bringing actions to protect individuals privacy 3. Protecting privacy in the modern age Individual privacy in the modern age: challenges of protecting privacy. Relationship between internet and media and individual privacy protection. What changes can be made on the law to protect individuals’ privacy. Is the blame for the English law to achieve its duty to protect individual’s privacy blamed on media? 4. Privacy law reforms in the United Kingdom Press and individual privacy. Regulation of press for reforms in the UK for purposes of protecting privacy interests rather than the role of civil law in protec tion of privacy interests ( Joint Select Committee report –Chapter five and the Leveson report 2002) 5. Right to Privacy and freedom of expression Rights to privacy and freedom of expression: the conflicts arising from rights to privacy and freedom of expression in relation to individuals’ privacy (Mosley v News group Newspaper Ltd (2008) EMLR20). Media and the freedom of expression. ... m in order to protect the privacy of individuals.† Discuss Introduction In the old common law individuals are entitled to full protection in person and in property. However, there have been no clear definitions as to the extent of this protection.1 Personal privacy has been invaded with the introduction of instant photographs and newspapers. According to Hughes people are now afraid that what they do or speak in secret may come out into the public domain, if new laws are not put in place to protection individual invasion to privacy.2 The law of tort provided individual with remedy from life and property interference. The right to life only gave individuals protection from battery of all forms. With the recognition of the spiritual, intellect and human feelings legal rights have become broad. Laws have been formulated to protect individuals from offensive noise, odour, dust, smoke and excessive vibrations.3 Statutes and laws English law did not recognize the right to privacy4. I t relied heavily on law of trespass, nuisance, defamation and malicious falsehood to protect individual privacy5. Development of statutes such as Protection from Harassment Act 1997, The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 saw increased advancement in the protection of privacy. With evolution of law it has become clear to individual that hurt, satisfaction and gains in life do not originate from the tangible things. This has therefore led to the legal appreciation of individuals’ opinions, sentiments and feelings. The growth in the common law has allowed judges to afford compulsory defence without having to ask for directions from the parliament.6 Introduction of tort on privacy in the English law Privacy deals with individuals’ information’s and

Characterization and Symbolism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Characterization and Symbolism - Essay Example Hawthorne writes â€Å"And Faith, as the wife was aptly named, thrust her own pretty head into the street, letting the wind play with the pink ribbons of her cap while she called to Goodman Brown† (Hawthorne). Following Maus (2002), the symbolic meaning of Faith in the story â€Å"is not only representative of Faith the individual but the faith of the individual--witness Goodman Brown’s reply to the devils comment about his tardiness, which contains both literal and allegorical truth† (78). From the very beginning, readers perceive characters and their actions through their symbolic names. Using symbols names as elements of characterization, Hawthorne portrays the concern is with human motives and human action and with what an act may reveal of character. Ignorance in the search for the self creates tension and attracts readers’ attention to double meaning of the symbols. Hawthorne characterizes Faith as â€Å"Well, shes a blessed angel on earth; and after this one night Ill cling to her skirts and follow her to heaven (Hawthorne). The short story is based on allegorical elements which add emotional tension and pressure. It means that â€Å"the characters and objects in the story represent abstract ideas† (‘More Symbolism’ n.d.). Beauchamp (38) these symbols fresh and vivid, and are used to intensify, to clarify, to enrich the atmosphere; these symbols helps to make readers fed the writers grasp of the characters and situation he is dealing with, gives his grasp of it with precision, vividness, force, economy; and to make such an impact on readers, its content, the stuff of which It is made, cannot be unduly fantastic and remote from readers’ experience. The remarkable feature of Hawthorne’s style is the symbolic use of settings. The setting of ‘dark forest’ can be interpreted as dark human nature and mind. This symbol allows the author to create a unique atmosphere of the short story and feeling of horror. â€Å"He had taken a dreary road,

Lines composed upon Westminster bridge, Sept. 3 1802 and London Essay Example for Free

Lines composed upon Westminster bridge, Sept. 3 1802 and London Essay These two poems show very different views of London. Lines composed upon Westminster Bridge, written by William Wordsworth, describes London in detail. He captures the beautified city and expresses the calmness of the morning. William Blake, who lived around the same time, wrote London which expresses the chaotic and corrupt side of London. Wordsworth describes the city in much detail. A sight so touching in its majesty. The Earth has not anything to show more fair. He expresses his true feeling about the city from where he sees it. He goes on to personify the city and describe how it doth like a garment wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare. He has captured the city in the morning when it is quiet and in a sense almost naked with no one yet bustling through the streets, there are no fume engulfed traffic jams or shouting street salesmen. There is only the calmness of the morning. All the man made objects and buildings, such as ships, towers, domes, theatres and temples lie open unto the fields and to the sky. The man built objects remain where they were left not yet being used by Londoners. The atmosphere is sublime, the sun is just rising and soaking everything in its light, Never did sun more beautifully steep Neer saw I, never felt, a calm so deep! the scene is so peaceful he is feeling peace within himself. The natural body of the city, the river, is gliding in its own free way, the way it wants the river glideth at its own sweet will Its free will is moving it naturally through the city as though it were the countryside. The river has also been personified to give more emphasis of its freedom. He is so overwhelmed by the atmosphere and calmness of the city. Dear God! The very houses seem asleep everywhere he sees is not yet awake, again he has personified an object to give it more emphasis. His final line is describing the city as a mighty heart that is lying still. The capital, like the giant mechanism of a heart is just lying still. The aim from the poem is to describe the amazement he sees when looking over a massive city and seeing the calmness. He wants to express to others how peaceful and calm it makes him feel and pass that feeling on to the reader. The first two stanzas describe what the city is like, and what he sees around him. The sestet after this shows his personal response to what he has already described and how he feels about the city. Blake presents a much more depressing, morbid scene of London describing the corruptness of everything in the city. He is describing the attitudes and goings on in London that are normally never spoken about, the things which people may or may not know but which go on behind closed doors. A lot of repetition is used, unlike in Wordsworths poem, to give emphasis to the points which he is trying to make. In every cry, of every Man, In every Infants cry of fear, In every voice he only lists one example in each line but gives the effect of a lot of crying and pain and fear. He speaks in a first hand account throughout the poem I wander, I hear, and I meet. By speaking in the present tense it makes the reader more inclined to think it is going on here and now however old the poem may be. By beginning the first line with I wander thro each chartered street It makes it easier to visualise what he is describing because it is a first hand account. The chartered streets are each set out neatly and ordered, the chartered Thames is also very regulated and gives the impression of it being divided and bought and sold. He notices a mark in every face I meet Marks of wisdom, marks of woe. This evidence of scars of weakness and great sadness in faces contrasts with the peaceful and happy atmosphere Wordsworth gave to London. He hears mind-forgd manacles in crys of every man and Infants cry of fear he is referring to the fake, made up manacles that he cannot actually hear but knows that something is wrong. His repetition of cry continues to the next stanza where he talks of chimney-sweepers which are doing the dirty, hardest jobs and suffering for their work, an example of the depressed and morbid London. The description of the blackening church shows the soot taking over London and the church becoming almost evil, involved with dirty money or becoming corrupt. Even the church is starting to lose its faith. Another large part of London life is also criticised, the hapless soldiers sigh Runs in blood down palace walls. Fighting is going on around the palace but going unnoticed, the palace is oblivious to the corruptness going on inside its own walls. He contrasts the third stanza with the 4th final stanza, not only the church and palace and the huge industries of London are corrupt the streets are also. Thro the midnight streets I hear How the youthful harlots curse there is a lot of prostitution going on in the streets of London but was something that wasnt spoken about. The STDs, or curses blasts the new born infants tear. Implying that prostitutes pass on STDs and then these in turn get passed on to the newborn babies of those who have any disease. Another example of a corrupt system in London, which now effects the innocent. And blights with plagues the marriage hearse. Sleeping with prostitutes while married destroys the whole point of marriage and then if the partner becomes pregnant another generation is born into corruption. The use of hearse shows how marriage is carried away as though dead and not taken seriously. The extremely regular meter helps put across the ordered ways he describes the beginning. These chartered and regulated ways soon give way to the examples of how corruption is slowly taking over the whole city, the government, the church, the palace and the streets. The first poem also used a regular meter, which, also worked well in describing the city peacefully and happily. The two poems contrast greatly in not what they describe but how they describe it. Wordsworth has a much more calming poem, which in effect leaves the reader much more calm and peaceful. This is unlike Blakes who describes so much evil and chaos going on, his poem leaves the reader much more depressed and almost disgusted with how the people and industries of London are behaving. Their use of language is also quite different, Wordsworths entire poem is full of description of beauty, bright and glittering and full of splendour. He uses very grand descriptions of everything unlike the descriptions of Blake, which are quite harsh and blunt, blasts the new born infants tear, blights with plagues and runs in blood down palace walls. I did enjoy both poems but preferred the first, Lines composed upon Westminster because of its use of more soothing, happy descriptions of London. It made me feel much more relaxed after reading it whereas London left me feeling slightly more depressed and sad. Although this may have been the aim of Blakes poem I preferred Wordsworths poem because it was much calmer.

The role of accounting information on business strategy formulation

The role of accounting information on business strategy formulation Abstract Although strategy development in large corporations has been well documented, the process of strategy deployment in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) has not been extensively investigated by academic researchers. This study tries to provide new empirical evidence and the practical realities on the nature and practice of strategic planning in Greek companies. Its primary target is to examine the formulation of strategic planning in Greek SMEs and also the role of accounting information on the business strategy of SMEs in Greece. The results of the research indicate a positive relationship between strategic planning implementation and accounting information received by accountants and used by SMEs and no relationship with other sources of advice such as government agencies or bank advisors. The importance that is given to sales, costs and profits signifies a business planning rather than a strategic planning orientation of Greek SMEs Keywords: strategic planning, strategic activities, external advisors, accounting information Introduction Academic literature in strategic management of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has been very limited. Although the nature of strategic planning processes has been shown to have an important effect on the performance of firms [1], the field of strategic planning in SMEs is still in the early stages of its development. Its adolescence, relative to other more established areas of business and management theory, is evidenced by inconsistent and conflicting viewpoints [2] and only a few researchers have addressed the strategy-making processes of SMEs [3]. Limited research can also be observed on the usage of information from SMEs when strategically planning. Drury and Tayles [4] suggested that there is a need for more research that explores in much greater depth how managers use financial and non financial information. Recent research has shown that most SMEs are unable to utilize accounting and financial information. Owner-managers of SMEs may be expected to be fully aware of the product/service markets that their business are based in, but they may not be trained or proficient in accounting or financial management [5].The aim of this study is to add to the developing literature on strategic planning implementation in SMEs in Greece. Specifically the objectives of the study are to explore the extent of strategic planning of SMEs, to investigate the activities that owner/managers plan in advance and to identify internal and external advisors that help SMEs to strategically plan. Strategic Management and Strategic Planning Strategy is a term that is widely used by senior and middle managers. But the term seems to have multiple of meanings. There is no commonly accepted and universal meaning of strategy [6]. Due to this fact the definition of strategy has been the subject of extensive research since the 1960s. It has been described as the process of determining the long-term goals and objectives of an organization, by adopting a specific course of action and by allocating sufficient resources [7]. This traditional and rational definition was later challenged by Mintzberg contention that strategy was more a pattern of action resulting from intended or unintended strategies. Mintzberg claimed that strategy could be something more than an explicit plan of action. His five strategy dimensions that he recognized were: strategy as plan, strategy as pattern,strategy as ploy, strategy as perspective and strategy as position. These have been the basis for opening up the definition of strategy to a wider context of use [8]. Strategic planning concentrates on the setting of long-term organizational objectives, and the implementation of plans designed to achieve them. A suitable definition of strategic planning can be the devising and formulation of organizational level plans which set the broad and flexible objectives, strategies and policies of a business, driving the organization towards its vision of the future [2]. Porter [9] noted that further work was needed to enable business to understand strategic planning by arguing that while there has been considerable progress in developing frameworks that explain differing competitive success, at any given point in time, our understanding of the dynamic process by which firms perceive and ultimately attain superior market positions is far less developed. The SMEs literature Small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial part for the economic growth of a country. SMEs contribute to outputs and employment and also affect the competitive ability of the large organizations [10]. SMEs can influence the competitiveness of large organizations by providing high quality inputs [11]. The importance of small and medium size businesses for future economic development has been reflected in a number of policy papers which have focused attention on the role of entrepreneurship, owner-managers and the small firm sector [12]. 3.1 The SMEs sector in Greece The contribution of the SMEs in the development, the employment and social coherence in Greece is substantial. In Greece, enterprises that have fewer than 50 employees form about 99.5 per cent of the total number of enterprises and employ the 74 per cent of the work force of the private sector. It should also be noted that Greek SMEs provide 70% of the new employment, reinforce the regional development and financial balance of the regions and make part of a cohesive financial and social link in Greek society. The role of SMEs in the national economy and employment is vital, since the main business model in Greece is and it will remain the micro enterprise which employs less than 10 persons. According to the criteria set by the European Commission, Greece has more than 733.000 qualified SMEs, from which more than half, 394.000 or the 53.7 per cent does not employ any salaried workers and they employ 11 people on average. [13] 3.2 Strategy in SMEs Academic research has been conducted on several broad fronts in order to define strategy in SMEs, from planning processes, to the individual personality of the owner-manager and the growth of a wide range of available advisory services providing information on strategic choice. Perry et al [14] argued that strategy should be examined in the everyday operating environment of the small firm. The formulation of strategy in SMEs has been the theme of many academic researchers. Some studies [15] examined the link between planning and performance in SMEs, while others [16] explored the difficulty of defining planning and strategic planning, and its dimensions, such as planning formality and performance in the small firm context. The definition of strategy in SMEs is often perceived as person centred rather than process driven. The performance of small firms is linked with the leadership style of the owner. Nahavandi and Malekzedah [17] in 1993 argued that the style and personality of the manager is central to the strategy definition process. Noble [18] after a series of exploratory interviews with the managing directors of SMEs, suggests that strategic deployment often fails as a result of SMEs inability to forecast and overcome implementation barriers. ORegan and Ghobadian [3] indicated a number of general barriers relating to the constraint of strategic planning implementation such as communication was inadequate, implementation took longer than expected, a shortfall in employee skills, objectives of strategy were not clearly understood by the staff, ineffective co-ordination of implementation, crises distracted attention from implementation, unexpected external problems arose and external factors impacted on implementation. Research Design This research applies the quantitative method to examine the implementation of strategic planning in SMEs in Greece. The central aim of the research is to provide empirical evidence on how SMEs use strategic planning and what kind of advice they use to aid them. Data were gathered by means of a survey questionnaire, all questions used a five-point Likert type scale; with a response of 1 indicating that an item received not agree and 5 indicating an item received agree. The sample consists of small and medium enterprises that are located in the Greek capital Athens and belong to the service and manufacturing sector. Questionnaires were distributed to a whole sample of 546 owner managers of small and medium sized enterprises. A postal questionnaire was used instead of sending e-mails, in order and to protect the participants anonymity and because some owner-managers were not familiar with the use of e-mails. From a total of 546 questionnaires mailed, 178 were returned, representing a 32 per cent response rate. Out of these 19 were found to have missing data and were deemed void. Therefore, data was collected from a total of 159 sets, representing a satisfactory response rate of approximately 29 per cent. The questionnaire consisted of 4 sections, covering the following aspects: Strategic planning implementation in SMEs Strategic planning activities Advisors that affect strategic planning Accounting information used for strategic planning Prior to distributing the questionnaire to the sample, a pilot study was conducted to discover any errors, ambiguities, inadequate answers, or highlight any confusing questions. Enterprises that participated in the pilot study were excluded from the main study. Research Questions of the study Question 1: Is there a significant relationship between Strategic Planning Implementation and the Total Strategic Planning Activities? Question 2: Is there a significant relationship between Strategic Planning Implementation and the use of internal advisors? Question 3: Is there a significant relationship between Strategic Planning Implementation and the use of external advisors? Question 4: Is there a significant relationship between Strategic Planning Implementation and the use of accounting information? Findings and Discussion The findings of the present research are contradictory in certain respects. Despite a sizeable majority of respondents indicating that their companies undertake strategic planning, there is limited evidence of practical strategic planning in the sense of setting long-term business objectives. Research by Stonehouse and Pemberton [2] that was conducted for British SMEs had the similar results. In their research the 92 per cent of the companies indicated that they undertake strategic planning, either highly structured or of a general nature. They have found that most of these organizations were concentrated on short-term sales, cost and profit targets rather than longer-term goals. 6.1 Strategic planning implementation and strategic planning activities Question 1 examined the relationship between strategic planning implementation and strategic planning activities In order to answer the above question relating with the strategic planning implementation and the strategic planning objectives, correlation tests and T-tests were employed. First the researchers with the use of factor analysis divided the strategic planning activities (objectives) into three categories. In the first category were sales, costs, profits, production/service procedure and customer service. In the second category were staff training, staff appraisal, staff recruitment and advertising and in the third category were the market share, the expansion of the size of the enterprise and the mission of the company. With the use of Pearsons and Spearmans correlation it was found that strong relationship between strategic planning implementation and strategic activities exists only for sale targets, cost targets, profit targets, production outcome targets and for the improvement of quality service. Greek owner managers of SMEs in their great majority when strategically planning, neglect activities such as staff appraisal, training and recruitment, advertising, mission fulfillment and market share targets. The above results are in line with the findings reported by Stonehouse and Pemberton [2]. They found that contradictions between strategic planning implementation and strategic planning activities could be explained in terms of a difference in perception between managers and academics on the nature of strategic planning. Furthermore, most Greek companies refer to strategic planning, but in practice they are more concerned with short-term objectives and what would be regarded by academic researchers as business planning. 6.2 Strategic planning and internal advice and assistance Question 2 examined the relationship between strategic planning implementation and human resources capital and internal advisors employed for strategic planning in Greek SMEs. Pearson Correlation and Spearman Correlation tests were used in order the research question to be answered. The study on Greek SMEs has not found a significant relationship between strategic planning and human resources capital employed. Most owner managers surveyed did not share the belief that the personnel have the skills or the experience to assist in the deployment of strategic plans. This result can be confirmed by the findings of research question 1, that owner managers do not have long-term plans for their staff recruitment, training and appraisal The above results are in contradiction with a research on Spanish SMEs by Aragon-Sanchez and Sanchez-Marin [19] who revealed that owner managers focus their attention on human resources as a key element that allows them to achieve a sustainable advantage. They noted that the competitiveness of SMEs is based on internal elements supported by resources such as personnel and their skills. But other studies had similar results with what was found about the Greek SMEs. ORegan and Ghobadian [3] identified a number of general barriers relating to the constraint of strategic planning implementation. Their pilot study confirmed eight main barriers with the shortfall in employee skills being one of them. The research by Hall and Young [20] on 182 failed small enterprises indicated that the most important cause for the failure of these companies were shortages in working capital (51.4 per cent). 6.3 The necessity of external advice Question 3 examines the relationship between strategic planning implementation and the use of external advice by the owner managers. Pearson Correlation and Spearman Correlation tests were used for the analysis of this question. The results of this research suggest that SMEs in Greece receive valuable external advise in order to plan strategically mainly from accountants. Government agencies and bank advisors are not contributing as beneficial advisors for the owner managers and only a minority of the respondents state that they receive useful advices for strategic planning. Pearsons correlation test has shown that there is a significant relationship between strategic planning implementation and the use of accountants, while there is not a significant relationship between other external advisors (government agencies and bank advisors) and strategic planning implementation. These results are in line with previous studies which have investigated the association of strategy formulation and external advice. Berry, Sweeting and Goto [21] conducted a research on SMEs located in Manchester and found that most of the business advisers had limited use by the owner managers. Only accountants had a key role in the processes of the SMEs but mostly on statutory work. They have also identified that accountants made a significant effort to shift into the value-adding areas of the SMEs; at it was perceived by the owner managers in the sample. Alattar [22] found that the use of an accountant to be responsible for the accounting function in the enterprise resulted in a provision of more information which was useful for maintaining better planning and control. Deakins et al [12] study indicates that an important task for accountants is to act as a consultant to the owner managers and that this involves supplying advice on internal planning, decision-making and control. Gooderham et al [23] stated that in many countries, smaller business accountants play an important role as business advisers in addition to providing accounting services. 6.4 Accounting Information used as tools for strategic planning implementation Question 4 examined the relationship between strategic planning implementation and accounting information used as a tool by owner managers for strategic planning in SMEs using Pearson Correlation and Spearman Correlation. This research has shown that owner managers of Greek SMEs take under serious consideration the accounting information they receive from external advice and they apply them as tools when they implement their strategic plans. This finding was consistent with what should have been expected as accounting information have been identified as crucial elements of strategic planning Stonehouse and Pemberton [2] noted that there is little evidence of usage of the tools of strategic analysis with the most common tool relating to internal financial analysis. Collis and Jarvis [5] identified the three main resources of information used in the management of small companies; management accounts; cash flow information and bank statements. They have found that most SMEs use accounting information such as profit and loss account, balance sheet, cash flow statement and forecast and ratio analysis in order to monitor the profitability and for planning and controlling. Hall and Youngs research [20] showed that poor use of accounting information was one of the main reasons that led into failure the 38 per cent of the 21 small enterprises surveyed. Randal and Horsman [24] found that the lack and misuse of accounting information contributed to small enterprise failure. Holmes and Nicholls [25] suggested that the quality of accounting information utilised within small enterpris es had a positive relationship with their performance. Conclusion This study has tried to examine from the respondents perspective the extent to which Greek SMEs use strategic planning and the influence of accounting information in the design and deployment of these plans. This paper has tried to identify relationships and differences, among the SMEs surveyed, between strategic planning implementation and (1) strategic planning activities of the firm; (2) the human resource capital; (3) external advice from, government agencies, banks and accountants; (4) accounting information such as profit and loss accounts, cost accounts, sales accounts, accounting ratios from the balance sheet and sales forecasts. The results of the analysis have shown that owner managers when strategically plan emphasise on activities such as profits, sales, costs, production outcomes and costumer service. The importance that is given to short-term financial objectives (sales, costs, profits) confirms a predisposition towards business planning rather than strategic planning. Other business objectives, that are closer related to strategic planning such as the companys mission, human resource training, market share targets and enterprise size targets are completely left out from strategic planning by the majority of the owner managers. The use of accounting information and advice received from accountants were, according to the owner managers, the most significant factors that facilitated them during the design and implementation of their strategic plans. In the contrary, it was found that the human resources of the SMEs and external advice from government agencies and banks did not have an important role in strategic planning implementation.