Write a position paper for President Assad of Syria on the curent Essay

Write a position paper for President Assad of Syria on the curent foreign policy dilemmas facing his country, setting out at least three viable policy options for the future - Essay Example What are the major foreign policy issues facing Syria today? As with all of our neighbors, the American decision to invade Iraq and overthrow a fellow Ba’athist regime in Iraq has presented a variety of new challenges. Contending with a pro-American regime in Iraq is something which we have had to understand since 2004 and this represents an important foreign policy challenge. Lebanon, a neighbor and Arab brotherly state, has recently asserted its independence in regional and domestic affairs and the result has been a lessening of Syrian influence in the region. The invasion of Iraq and the establishment of a pro-US government in that country has had a variety of regional ramifications. Finally, the constant belligerent relationship with Israel remains one of the most protracted foreign policy issues facing Syria today (Bloom, 2005; Zubaida, 2002). As I see it, there are three major policy options for Syria in the short to long-term. The first relates to Lebanon and the dwindling influence of Syria in this country. While we continue to exert influence in Lebanon through a variety of proxy sources as well as through the Hezbollah Resistance Movement, Syria must maintain its regional supremacy through an active Lebanon policy which ensures that Lebanon remains pliant to the wishes of its Syrian neighbor and remains decidedly pro-Arab in its inclinations as opposed to pro-Western. This will be a challenge to maintain in a new 21st century in which national assertiveness is expressed in Beirut but we must continue to maintain a foothold in Lebanon in order to remain effective. Another important policy option encompasses our relationship with the United States and its aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East. American aggression in Israel is threatening to Syria but after years of isolation we may have little choice but to warm

No topic 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

No topic 1 - Essay Example inees through journal writing but there are other researchers who have shown that journal writing cannot assess how the practitioners will stop during an activity to frame the problem according to their past experiences and observations. Judging trainees through journal writing can impact their writing so it is not an effective assessment technique. However, reflective writing still is a great assessment mechanism in which the medical educators assess the writing both qualitatively and quantitatively and find out if the trainees have used reflective process in analyzing and solving a clinical problem by linking their knowledge with what should be done. Educators can assess whether trainees have tried to synthesize the information in the reflective process and have considered all perspectives to the solution. They can also assess whether the trainees have explored options other than what is needed or have made assumptions but do not know how to apply them. Thus, this way the educators can assess the trainees through the reflective

Project proposal Essay Example for Free

Project proposal Essay RESEARCH TOPIC PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CASE STUDY OF CHEVRON) INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY â€Å"Performance appraisal is an evaluation of the appraisee performance in his or her job while potential appraisal helps in discovering the appraisee’s capabilities, skills and talents for development.†(Obisi, 1996). Worldwide, performance appraisals are used in nearly all organizations. There are different tools and number of goals that performance appraisals focus to examine individual’s performance and potential of development, (Leena and Twinkle, 2012: pg01-06). Therefore, the general area of our study is performance appraisal systems in organization. Only minority activities in personnel management are concerned with evaluating employees as individuals. Performance appraisal is a planned interaction between employees and their supervisors, during which the former examine the performance of the latter to identify strengths and weaknesses with the view to improving future performance, (Kofi, 2012: pg22). For their, appraisal is part and parcel of an important personnel activity salary planning and administration. Having accepted that staff performance appraisal is a legitimate activity in organization, we shall familiarize ourselves with the difficulties concerning both accuracy and fairness. It is important to note that the culture of value-system of the organization will act as the major determinant of both the appraisal scheme adopted and the way it is introduced. For instance if the culture is one which favors control and measurement of people, then it is likely that system will be imposed on the participants, but that it will at least contain some measurable criteria against which to judge performance. But where openness performance are encourage, any system will be discussed first with those involved, with the result that appraisals are more likely to be joint problem – solving affairs rather than a calling to account by a superior. Similarly, we can appreciate the importance of performance appraisal when we realize that it is through it that organizational progress at the target and productivity of workers can be evaluated. For instance, a high performance rating tells the workers the organizations is aware of his devotion to his job increase his performance via the goal when were set. The above arguments are not weights. Today open appraisal system has come to stay and any organization, which ignores open appraisal system, should be prepared to face the negative consequences of low performance, conflict and uncertain future. (Obisi, 1996). Alo, (1999) defines performance appraisal as a process involving deliberate stock taking of the success, which an individual or organization has achieved in performing assigned tasks or meeting set goals over a period of time. The specific subject matter of our t is study concern the use of performance of employee as a basis for judging the contribution and weakness of emplo yees so that continuing efforts can be made to build a strange and more effective organization performance appraisal system helps in retaining promotional and retaining policies. Performance appraisal as the process of appraising staff performance against previously agreed standard and targets. It is based on guidelines given to employer by the management of what is expected of them in terms of organizational objectives. Performance appraisal involves the observation and evaluation of employee work behavior or the result that behavior by some. To appraise is to judge the work quality or conditions of something or to find out its value. However, it is important to note that one of the responsibilities of manager is to evaluate the performance of his subordinates. The essence of the evaluation is to assess their character, attitude, potentials and past performance on the job. According to Alo (1999) defines performance appraisal as a process involving deliberate stock taking of the success, which an individual or organization has achieved in performing assigned tasks or meeting set goals over a period of time. Atiomo (2000) agrees with Fajana (1997) that perfor mance appraisal is a system which provides organizations with a means of identifying not only what people’s performance levels are but which areas those levels need to be improved if maximum use is to be made of human resource. In most organizations, there is always a way instituted to evaluate productive behavior of the workers. This is important if the goals for which  organization was established are to be attained. Further, most industrial organizations institute mechanism to solve human problems of workers such as motivation and job satisfaction with an overall objective of ensuring higher productivity. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM The process of appraising the performance of employees is made difficult by the fact that criteria of effective performance are frequently difficult to define, the areas of performance for which an individual is responsible are often unclear and evaluation tend to be based not on measurement of actual performance but on the perceptions and judgments of an employee’s immediate boss. And also there can be ineffective if the performance appraisal system does not correspond with organizational culture and system. Despite that performance appraisal will be of immense assistance to management in formal organizations in general and CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED. It can be detrimental to quality improvement: it has been proposed that the use of performance systems in organizations adversely affect organizations pursuits of quality performance. Negative perceptions, quite often individuals have negative perceptions of performance appraisal receiving and/or the anticipation of receiving a performance appraisal can be uncomfortable and distressful and potentially cause tension between supervisors and subordinates. Performance appraisal should provide accurate and relevant ratings of an employee’s performance as compared to pre-established criteria that is organizational expectations. Legal issues: if performance appraisal are not carried out appropriately, legal issues could result that place the organization at risk. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The main purpose and objective of studying performance appraisal systems is as follow. i.To understand varieties of an heir use in personnel administration and motivation of workers for higher productive behavior.  Evaluate the strength of performance appraisal in supplying data that could help the management of the CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED to make an efficient use of its human resources. iii.To understand problem of performance appraisal system and reaction of workers to consequences of their adoption iv.Highlight whether the appraisal technique as presently  creates a learning experience for the employees of the organization to motivate them on improving their level of performance on the job. v.To find out whether the employees of the company are usually satisfied with the way they are being appraised by their supervisors. Vi.Find out how effective is the use of performance appraisal technique as a toll for determining promotion, salary increases and training. RESEARCH QUESTIONS To direct the conduct of this study, the following research questions were developed whose answers will go along in attaining the objectives of the study. i.Do you agree with the fact that performance appraisal is significant to the personnel and effective human resource manager? ii.To what extent can Performance appraisal as an instrument enhance effective human resource management? iii.In what areas has the Chevron Nigeria Limited performance appraisal scheme created an impact on employees? vi.Are performance appraisal reports usually a true reflection of employee’s strength and weakness? v.Is the present appraisal scheme appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment? vi.Do bosses influence performance appraisal reports? Could proper use of performance appraisal lead to employee’s motivation? RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS The following research hypothesis has been developed for the purpose of this study tested for acceptance or rejection. H0:The usefulness of performance appraisal is significant to the personnel and human resource managers. H1:The usefulness of performance appraisal make no significant to the personnel and human resource manager. H0:Performance appraisal could be used to enhance employee’s performance H1:performance appraisal could not be used to enhance employee’s performance. H0:performance appraisal systems usually a true reflection of employee’s strength and weaknesses H1:performance appraisal systems does not usually reflect a true employee’s strength and weaknesses H0:Present appraisal scheme is appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment H1:Present appraisal scheme is not appropriate for evaluating suitability for promotion and salary increment. H0:Proper used of performance appraisal leads to employee’s motivation. H1:Proper used of performance appraisal does not lead to employee’s motivation. SCOPE OF THE STUDY Because of the time constraint, the research will be primarily directed to the country headquarter CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED located at 2, Chevron drive, Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. It will delve into such sensitive and areas like promotion, salary increases, training and reward for hard work. To make the research work more reliable and valid the sample study will cut across all categories of junior staff, officers and management staff. It is my sincere hope that the study of the research will be of immense assistance to the management in formal organizations in general and CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED in particular. LIMITATION OF THE STUDY Generally, in any meaningful project work of this nature, some difficulties are likely to come up. Such difficulties include: TIME FACTOR: Time factor is a major problem because as an undergraduate student, there is little or no time to allocate to a greater work as the available time is shared between this study and other subject course study. FINANCE: Research project is quite expensive. Preparing the research instrument, moving about to gather the data, administering the research instrument, compiling, validating, writing, typesetting and printing the report cost a lot of money. For an undergraduate, the fund may not really flow as much as needed. HUMAN FACTOR: All efforts would be made towards ensuring error free findings. However, absence of errors is not totally guaranteed as all human are prone to mistakes. DATA GATHERING: Eliciting of data from the stakeholders might also be like a camel trying to pass through the eye of a needle in the sense of inaccessibility and unwillingness of executives and other respondents in providing data information for the purpose. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this study includes: The study will assist organizational control by ensuring efficient initialization of human resource. It will also be of assistance in formulation of acceptable and objective performance appraisal. It will also assist in areas such as staff promotion or advancement as well as demotion. Performance appraisal helps to maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises. It helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on the right job. It helps to maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY This section of the research proposal will examine, research design, research population and sample, data collection method and procedures for data analysis. RESEARCH DESIGN The survey research methods would be used in this study and a case study of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED would be undertaken. POPULATION OF THE STUDY The population of the study would be made up of the entire staff of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED located at 2, Chevron drive, Lekki Peninsula, Lagos, Nigeria. RESEARCH SAMPLE After the sampling size has been determined, simple random sampling techniques would be utilized in coding the sample. The reason for using the simple random sample is precisely to give each individual in the population equal chances of being included in the sample and to make it possible to every sectional group of individual to be represented. DATA COLLECTED METHOD Both primary and secondary sources of data collection method would be adopted in gathering data relevant information on this study. The primary sources will consist of a well-structured questionnaire to be administered to the respondents within three levels of management (i.e. top, middle and lower management) of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED. The secondary data would be collected from the texts, journals, newspapers, seminar papers, magazines, employee’s performance reports from the personnel departments of CHEVRON NIGERIA LIMITED and other literature on performance appraisal as an  instrument for effective human resource management the usefulness of financial ratio analysis. DATA ANALYSIS METHOD The analysis of the data to be obtained would be done by the use Chi-Square methods of statistical analysis. The spearman’s rank approach ÃŽ §2 = [ (O – E)2] E E= Expected value O= Observe value ÃŽ §2= Chi-Square DEFINITION OF TERMS Appraisal: A method of assessing and grading employees for the purpose of promotion, commendation/development and salary increase. Performance: It refers to the output or personal contribution of an employee to the overall goals and objectives of an organization. A high performance may yield positive appraisal and vice versa. Employee: It refers to the workforce of every organization or firm Human Resource Management: It is a term that can notes the management of human being and raw material of an organization. The blending of both is crucial if the object of an organization is to be realized. Organization: It is the entity where economic activities take place. It could be formal or informal. Organizations strive to harness its human and material resources in order to achieve its goals. REFERENCES Obisi, C. (1996). Personnel Management: lakbod enterprise, Ibadan. Leena. T and Twinkle. P. (2012). From Performance Appraisal to Performance Management. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, Volume 3, Issue 5. 01- 06. Kofi, O. A., and Vincent, P.K. (2012). Performance Appraisal As Employee Motivation Mechanism In Selected Financial Institutions In Kumasi, Ashanti Region Of Ghana. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, Vol.2 Issue 6, 22. Atiomo, A.C. (2000). Human Resource Management: Malthouse Management Science Books, Lagos. Fajana, S. (1997). Human Resources Management: Labofin and Company, Lagos. Alo, O. (1999). Human Resource Management in Nigeria: Business and Institutional Support Associates Limited, Lagos. UNIVERSITY of LAGOS Department of Business Administration Research Proposal NAME: LAWAL ADEBISI FATIMAT MATRIC NUMBER: 100203122 DEPARTMENT:BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION COURSE TITLE:RESEARCH SEMINAR COURSE CODE:FBA321 RESEARCH TOPIC PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (CASE STUDY OF CHEVRON)

Role Of Media In Politics Media Essay

Role Of Media In Politics Media Essay Globalization has allowed us access to be more informed through the internet, radio, television and many other types of media, as we all know the role of media is to inform us about issues of the everyday life. So let me ask you a question do you trust the media you read or see and do you think informing us is their only role? Well through this essay you will learn the role of media in politics like the influence the media plays in presidential elections, For example if the media likes a presidential candidate it can help his career but it can also destroy his career. We will also see the influence they have on peoples every day decisions, lastly we will see how the different types of media have different impacts in politics, economy, education and so on. Keep reading and you will get a handful of information. According to the journalist Thomas Carlyle Media is often called the fifth branch of governments After the Congress, the President, the Supreme Court, and the federal bureaucracy, saying that no other institution has such an impact on governments as the media has. Well I think I have to agree with Thomas even though the media members are not elected by the people and its motives are often driven by profit. When we listen or hear the media we tend to believe it because we assume they have done some research and the information we are receiving is true. But media sometimes takes sides for example in the Colombian recent elections the media played a key role in influencing the public vote, since the two main channels in Colombia are owned by wealthy families that preferred Juan Manuel Santos over the other candidates I would probably have to say that is why we saw more propaganda for Santos than for Mockus or any other candidate and also favoritism from the two channels. Media also play s a crucial role in shaping a democracy, democracy being the art of how states related with each other used to be secret but now thanks to media is very public and the government doesnt have its privacy like it used to. Nevertheless, the media can also be good since it makes us aware of various social, political and economical activities happening around us. The media in Latin America has evolved and become more active over the time that is why the modern media reminds politicians about their unfulfilled promises and relations with other countries they promised during elections. For example the Colombian media, when it comes to the war with the guerrilla they cover what politicians do not want us to see because it may be too grotesque and make the population scared, maybe the politicians are right in not lettings us see such grotesque pictures but I think is also important to know what is also happening in the country you live in and most importantly in the world. Television allows us to see live the major political events in fact Television has become so important that is the major platform of communication between political figures and the citizens. Television plays an important role in political socialization, helping both children and adults to acquire knowledge about the political system and how it operates. This type of media has allowed nations economies to rise at unprecedented levels, also accelerating the urbanization trend and lastly it has also influenced the high schools and universities to pour millions of graduates every year. Television with the help of the radio has increased the number of voters for presidential elections since together they have reached less educated and less involved sections of the population. Nowadays we can say that the main role of television is to be a watchdog on government actions since they exercised the greatest influence on governments by pressuring them, in other words television is the bridge be tween the people and the government. But television also has its down sides for example the Latin American society has suffered a crisis of confidence of governmental private documents going public, Due to this Venezuelas president Hugo Chavez has entered to control what journalists are allowed to say in Venezuelas television, He is also controlling the access to the internet keeping the people from Venezuela informed in only what he thinks is good for them to know. Another type of media is the newspaper when I say newspaper I am also referring to magazines like semana. An essential function of the newspaper is to bring us news of all around the world, without newspapers we would be like a baby who knows nothing of the outside world. Newspapers keep citizens informed about the political activities of their governments, they give in detail the statements and the speeches made by presidents or other political figures at public meetings or congresses. Newspapers now a days due to their freedom of speech criticize governments on what they do wrong and advice them. They also describe the economic policies of the government for example they describe its import and export policies, its economic development, and the prices of different things to keep people aware. Newspapers gives the same information as television does, the only difference is that is more detailed and specific. Newspapers also describe the problems of unemployment, farmers struggle wit h the guerrilla. Newspapers also convey information regarding the different crimes taking place every day they inform us about the political, economic and social changes occurring everyday in different countries, They give descriptions of the revolutions in different parts of the world, they provide descriptions of changes taking place in other societies in the fields of education, agriculture and a country defense preparation for war. But not everything is news they also have a space to relax with great comics and crossword puzzles. In the recent years the Internet has not replaced the influence of newspapers, radio, or television. However the internet has an advantage over the older media types since The Internet is an interactive medium that allows citizens to send information as well as receive it in real time, something that television and newspapers dont allow. In Colombias latest election the presidential candidates were able to developed web sites to support their campaigns. They also developed groups in facebook, twitter and many other websites, by this new form of communication presidential candidates were able to reach new audiences on the World Wide Web, creating the potential for an even greater influence in society. We could say that the key word for the Internet and politics is power. The 2010 Colombian presidential campaign demonstrated the power of the Internet to raise funds for candidates by collecting contributions via the Websites, Thats why I say dont be surprise next time the presidential c andidate debates are via chat rooms. Among the main internet users are the young adults maybe this is a reason why it has become so important since we are the leaders of tomorrow. The internet serves many functions to society some of them are that is serves as virtual community, information source, employment portal for jobseekers, research center, discussion forum, and entertainment center, among others. The internet brings together buyers and sellers and facilitates the flow of information, making it a key driver of trade. It also has some benefits like doing fast business gathering new ideas but the internet is not as great as it sounds it also has some limitations like the hackers or the privacy control problems we are facing right now I guess we will just have to wait and for the solutions. The last type of media we are going to analyze is the radio since its the oldest one with the most advantages. The most important advantage that radio offers is its ability to reach specific audiences through specialized programming. Radio can be adapted for different parts of the country and can reach people at different times of the day, For example radio is the ideal media for reaching people driving. When the radio first appeared it gave great potential for improving living conditions in the rural areas in Latin America. It is the most universal mass communication medium and is presently the cheapest type of media. Radio has also some effects in society the Excessive coverage of sensitive and violent news has led to communal riots at times in the case of Colombia the sindicatos when they found out about plan Colombia they formed a riot to stop the trade agreement of Colombia with the united states since they were going to be damaged by it. The constant repetition of news especial ly the violent ones can have major impacts especially on kids and make them repeat what they see for example if kids see a shooting they might be tempted to buy a gun and shoot their friends I know its a bit exaggerated but its just an illustration of how much power the media has on society as a whole.The media also plays a role in international political affairs as well, For example when Colombias government invaded Raul Reyes Camp people were all for it they were proud of the Colombian soldiers but when the internet and television stations started showing the other countries reactions a lot of people gave their back to the Colombian government saying they dint respected their neighbors and that they were disappointed on Colombia even though Colombia had already apologize to Ecuador. Radio and the other types of media also play an important role in war, in other words war is good for the media business because despite the excessive costs of sending correspondents for coverage, usin g expensive satellite equipment and airtime, war is precisely the type of event on which the media earns most of their money. A lot of the times the information is transformed and converted to be more dramatic that is why we should work with the media to help them focus in peace agreements and not so much in yellow news. In conclusion the Medias specific role in politics and society is informing us through persuasion always trying to influence us in our decisions. That is why media should have more clearly defined restrictions as to what they can write or cannot write. The media should be obligated to tell the truth and not manufacture or elaborate stories, even if it does not sound as good. Even though most of the television news stations are owned by wealthy individuals, they should not be so biased. The media and the politicians only want us to see what a perfect world we live in, so they tend to hide the truth or work their way around it. We can also conclude that the media has positive and negative things and that is good to read, listen or see the news but most importantly what I recommend is not to believe everything they tell us because they always come with a twist so just make your own decisions based on what you believe in and not letting yourself be influenced by anything. Through this es say we also saw the different types of media and their roles and how in the future the internet is going to be the most important type of media since it allows us to send information and receive information. Finally I recommend to the media to focus a little bit more in peace coverages than on violent news even though they sell better. The End BLIBLIOGRAPHY: Aronson, JD (2005) causes and consequences of the communication and internet revolutionin: Baylis J. Smith(2005). Globalization of world politics: an introduction to international relations. Oxford university press. Pg 621-643 comparing media systems: three models of media and politics (Daniel C. Hallin, Paolo Mancin pg 1-46) University of Haifa; Better-looking politicians get more media coverage.  (2010,  July). NewsRx Health Science,55.   Retrieved September 18, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID:  2080833321). Cindy T Christen,  Ã‚  Albert C Gunther.  (2003). The influence of mass media and other culprits on the projection of personal opinion.  Communication Research,  30(4),  414-431.   Retrieved September 18, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID:  373810331). The Role of the Media in the Consolidation of Democracy in Latin America, The Latin American Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars,  Volume 7, Issue 2, February 2005 Lazaroiu,  G..  (2010). NEW MEDIA AND THE NATURE OF THE NEWS MARKET.  Economics, Management and Financial Markets,  5(1),  189-195.   Retrieved September 18, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID:  2084371381). Television and Politics, Tom Brennan, Article first published online: 24 AUG 200s DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-923X.1978.tb02221.

Handguns in Households with Children Essay -- essays research papers

Handguns in Households with Children   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Guns in America are a problem as bad as the drug problem: 43% of households that have children have handguns in them; 10 children die every day from handguns, approximately one every 2  ½ hours. That is the same of a classroom of children every two days. Parents do not realize that children get the physical capacity to reach and discharge a firearm long before the ability to understand the potential consequences of these actions. Parents who insist on keeping guns in the home should be urged strongly to store their firearms unloaded and locked in a secure place. Actions like these will reduce the probability of children being killed by a firearm. The presence of handguns in households with children frequently leads to fatal accidents, suicides, and murders.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The majority of handguns kept in homes are NOT kept safely locked up, simply because people are stupid enough to believe that they need to be able to access that gun as fast as possible in case of emergency. These people keep their guns in bedside drawers, closets, under mattresses. Most of the children who are involved in fatal accidents are older children. In 1999, the most recent year which data are available, 34 children under the age of 5 died in gun accidents. Among children aged 5-9, there were 56 fatal gun accidents; and among children aged 10-14, 146 fatal accidents. For instance, on July 21, 1999, in Lakepark, Florida, a 6-year-old boy fatally shot his 5-year-old brother Corey Andrew Wilson, as the boys played with a shotgun they found under a bed in their grandparent’s bedroom. The best way to reduce gun risks is to remove guns from home. Candamo 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Children suicide has truly become a problem of outbreak proportions in America that must be addressed from every direction. As numerous studies have shown, children use guns in roughly two out of every three-suicide attempt, and handguns are used in 70% of these. In 1998 alone, 1200 youth in America committed suicide with a gun, the same of one every seven hours. Children suicide attempts are usually impulsive acts, and the easier it is to carry out. Using a firearm in a suicide attempt drastically increases the likelihood that the attempt will be fatal. Simply having a gun in the home actually increases the chances of suic... ...ban or recall hundreds of products that cause injury or death to very small numbers of children, yet they will not pass laws making guns safer because of the NRA. Maybe people may not be able to fight the NRA on the national level, but there are many cities and states that have already taken one step forward. Such a small number, however, is not enough to convince the politicians that they don’t need the NRA’s money or votes. The children need their help.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, despite the guidelines regarding safe firearm storage in homes with children, a study reports less than half of gun-owning parents store their firearms safely. Many parents underestimate the risk of leaving their children in the home with an unlocked and loaded firearm. The gap between awareness and reality is particularly great for gun-owning parents. More gun-owning parents trust their children with a loaded gun and believe that their young child can tell the difference between a toy gun and a real gun. And in many cases they will not be able to tell the difference. So to have handguns in homes around children will sooner or later produce fatal accidents, suicides, and even murders.

Negative Peer Pressure Essay -- Peer Pressure Speech

Go on." "Everybody's doing it." "It's only one drink." "You're such a loser." I didn't know what to do. All these voices were repeating themselves over and over in my head. I didn't want to give into them because I knew what I was doing was wrong. I didn't want everyone to think I was scared but what if my parents found out. Why was I here? Are these people really my friends if they are really doing this to me? These were the vital questions that I didn't know the answers to. I knew in my heart it was wrong but I gave in. This is usually the typical outcome of a scene like this. It is called peer pressure. It can be disguised in many different forms. In this essay I am going to look at different ways in which teenagers can be influenced by peer pressure. Many teenagers experiment with cigarettes, drugs or alcohol. It is likely that they take their first cigarette, drink or drug because of pressure from peers or friends. The influence of friends who smoke is the main reason teenagers start, although you are also more likely to start if your parents do. Cigarettes, like alcohol, are an acquired taste but over eight per cent of people who smoke in their teens become permanently hooked. Often adolescents drink to feel less uncomfortable and more relaxed with friends and peers and because they are encouraged to do so by other teenagers. Regular excessive drinking can lead to poor school work, social and emotional problems, the use of other drugs and sometimes even suicide, The main difference between alcohol or cigarettes and other drugs is that once you are over a certain age you can legally buy alcohol and cigarett... ...y develop other symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches. Some sufferers feel short of energy and want to sleep all the time; others will have difficulty in sleeping and become very tired. Tiredness, lack of interest and difficulty in concentrating can affect schoolwork. Depressed people often lose interest in hobbies and activities and feel cut off from the people around them. They feel worthless and believe they have no power to change the situation they are in. some young people turn to drug or alcohol abuse, sleeping around, crime, skipping school or running away from home. These can all be ways of distracting themselves from their feelings. Depression has to be taken seriously and sufferers need to seek immediate help. Counselling, psychotherapy or sometimes medication can make recovery quicker and easier.

Philosophy †Plato Essay

2. What is the role of philosophy for Socrates and why is it valuable in itself? Explain three argu- ments Socrates gives for the immortality of the soul. Briefly explain Cebes and Simmias’ coun- terarguments using examples from the text for support. Finally, based on your understanding of the Phaedo give your interpretation of the last words of Socrates and back it up by citing the text. In Plato’s The Last Days of Socrates, Phaedo gives an account of the last few hours of Socrates’ life, to Echecrates when he encounters him after Socrates’ death. In Phaedo’s telling of the story, we learn about why Philosophy was so important to Socrates, and why he spent his final hours explaining his arguments about the body and the soul, to his two friend Cebes and Simmias. Socrates presents four separate arguments as to how the soul lives separately from the body, the first being the theory of opposites, seconded by the theory of recollection, and followed by his theory of Affinity. After he presents his first three arguments, Simmias and Cebes interject with their opinions and counterarguments to Socrates’ first three, which is then when Socrates comes up with his fourth and final argument – Theory of the Forms. The last and final argument is one of the most important arguments that Socrates will make throughout the whole story. Phaedo ends his account to Echecrates by telling us of the final words of Socrates. Socrates was a well known Greek philosopher, known chiefly through the writings of his students, such as Plato who wrote the novel in which we are reflecting. Socrates did not write down any of his ideas or knowledge, but instead instilled it upon other people who took the re- sponsibility of writing it down for themselves. During Socrates’ final hours, we find out why Phi- losophy was so important to him. He argues that the soul is a separate entity from the body, and that we must separate the soul as far as possible from it. He relates this to death, by saying that death is this freeing and parting of the soul from the body. Socrates states, on page 100 line 67d exactly why Philosophy is important – â€Å"†¦those that go in for philosophy in the correct way who are always eager to set the soul free; what philosophers practice is exactly this, the freeing and parting of soul from body. † He believes that Philosophers live their lives being as close to death as possible, â€Å"those occupied correctly in philosophy really do practice dying, and death is less frightening for them than for anyone else (Plato 67a). † He states that if philosophers desire that one thing, separating the soul from the body, then they must always be close to death and to nev- er be afraid of it. Socrates presents his initial argument that â€Å"everything comes to be through opposite things coming to be from no other source than their own opposites (Plato 70e). † He believed that everything that exists, has an opposite and must have came from that opposite. He provided examples such as â€Å"the beautiful is presumably opposite to the ugly† or â€Å"when something comes to be bigger, it must be from being smaller before (Plato 70e). † In explaining this argument, he presents that between the two members of the pair, there are two-processes for the pair to come into being. In order for something to be big, it had to come from being small, it increased in size but it could go the opposite way and decrease in size as well. This argument relates to the soul and the body by saying that being alive has an opposite, which is being dead. In order for the op-posites argument to be logical, one must be able to come back from the dead and be alive, so it is from the dead that living things come to be alive. This leads us to believe that the soul is immor- tal, and existed before the body. Socrates sums up this argument by stating, â€Å"the living have come from the dead no less than the dead from the living; and I think it seemed to us that if this were the case, it would be sufficient proof that the souls of the dead must be somewhere – from where they were to be born again (Plato 72a). † Following the argument about opposites, Socrates poses the question that if we are going to recollect something, we must have had knowledge about it at a previous point in time. This is then the second argument that Plato recounts in his telling of Socrates’ last hours. What he is pre- senting in this argument, is the fact that when we recognize something, it brings us back to think- ing about something else. So when we recognize this first object, it triggers our minds to remem- ber something that is associated with that object. Therefore, when we remember something we are recollecting back to a previous state or time or object. He argues that these recollections canat are unlike the items we have recollected. He sums this thought up by saying, â€Å"So long as, on seeing one thing, you come to have something else in mind, like or unlike, from seeing the first one. What occurs must be recollection (Plato 74d). † He doesn’t stop at this, but then goes on to explain that we had this knowledge before we even obtained our senses. When we were born, we obtained the ability to see, hear, and possess all of the other senses, but we had this knowledge before our senses, so therefore we had this knowledge before we were even born. This argument leads back to his original point that the soul exists outside of the body. â€Å"Whereas if we get our knowledge before we are born but lose it on being born, and then later through the use of our perceptions we get back those pieces of knowledge that we had at some previous time, what we call learning would be a matter of getting back knowledge that was ours anyway; and we’d be surely correct if we called that recollection (Plato 75e). † Socrates’ third argument before Cebes and Simmias provide their counterarguments is his theory of Affinity. This suggests that we must distinguish between things that are material, visi- ble, and perishable and things that are immaterial, invisible, and immortal. In this case, the body is the thing that is perishable, while the soul is immortal and lives on. While arguing this to Sim- mias and Cebes, Socrates states, â€Å"the soul is something that’s very like what’s divine, deathless, the object of intellect, uniform, undissolved, and always in exactly the same state as it ever was; while body in its turn is something very like what’s human, mortal, mindless, multiform, tending to dissolution, and never the same as it was before (Plato 80b). † This is yet another argument that proves his point that when the body dies, the soul still lives. He brings up the point in this argu- ment that the soul may wander, but eventually it is put into a different body or it will spend its time with the Gods. After his third argument, Simmias and Cebes finally interject and give their counterargu- ments to Socrates. Simmias is the first to present his counterargument, by comparing the topic of the soul existing after the death of the body, to the attunement of an instrument. He states, â€Å"The argument would go, there’d be no way that the lyre could continue to exist as it does, with the strings broken, or that the strings could, while the attunement, which is of the same nature and the same kin as the divine and deathless, had already perished, before the mortal (Plato 86a-c). † He is comparing the body to an instrument, and the soul to the attunement. When the instrument is no longer there, if it was completely broken or burned, there would no longer be a tune. The tune of one instrument does not just travel to a separate instrument when the original one is gone. Cebes then gives his counterargument, not agreeing with the one Simmias just made and not ful- ly agreeing with all of Socrates’ arguments. Cebes argument states that the soul does still live on after the body is dead, but that it is not entirely immortal. He then compares the body to a cloak and the soul to the body, stating â€Å"someone might say the very same things about soul and body as about the weaver and his cloak, that the soul is something long-lived, while the body is a weaker and shorter-lived thing, but all the same, he’d say, every single soul wears out many bod-ies, especially if it has a long life – for if the body is in flux, and is perishing even while the per- son is alive, still the soul always weaves again whats being worn out. (Plato 87e). † This argu- ment he presents states that a soul can live through many bodies, as a person can go through many cloaks each as they wear out. He finishes his argument by stating that â€Å"there’s no justifica- tion yet for relying on this argument of yours, and it gives us no reassurance that when we die our soul still exists somewhere (Plato 88a). † Socrates final words at the end of Phaedo’s account were, â€Å"Crito, we owe a cock to As-clepius; pay our debt and no forgetting. † According to Greek myth, the cock symbolizes a peace offering to the god Asclepius in order to receive a cure. In this case, Socrates was getting ready to die. This could mean only two things to me, the first being that he was being cured of his life by dying and being closer than ever to the one thing that philosophers dedicate their time to, sep- arating his soul from his body and having that soul be free. The second interpretation I came up with is that he offered this cock to the god Asclepius to avoid any misfortune after he dies, while his soul is still living. All in all, Socrates had many deep and thought provoking arguments as to why the soul and the body are separate, and why the soul continues to live after the body has perished. Whether or not these arguments seemed logical, or were very believable, Socrates spent his whole life dedicated to the ideas of Philosophy, and he spent his final hours instilling his beliefs upon those who cared about him. Socrates died for what he believed in, and that’s what makes Phaedo’s account of his life so interesting. Works Cited: Plato, , and Christopher Rowe. The Last Day of Socrates. New York: Penguin Classics, 2010. 87-169. Print.