LEARNING LOG AND COMPREHENSIVE ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE Essay

LEARNING LOG AND COMPREHENSIVE ACTION PLAN FOR CHANGE - Essay Example this change would result in positive personal and professional growth and in enhancing interpersonal relationships with diverse people from various walks of life. If I did not change these areas, it would affect personal and career growth as problems and conflicts need resolution to avoid negative outcomes. Self-Reflection: The concepts focusing on one’s ability to assess personality, attitude, and emotional intelligence are relevant as these affects all facets of relating with other people. The lessons learned from this section would assist in one’s interpersonal relationships in various situations by acknowledgement of personal strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, a journey in self-awareness provided me with the opportunity to gauge the areas I am strong in and to address those that need improvement. Responses to Reflection Questions: I think that feedback is a necessary element in all communication processes. Self-disclosure however is given only in appropriate situations and to people one completely trusts. Trust should be earned and could not be assumed that all people are trustworthy. Honestly, I am not comfortable with self-disclosure because it exposes aspects of one’s self that could be prone to criticisms. Trusting others should only be practiced when trust has been earned. It is therefore more difficult to disclose oneself rather than learn to trust others. Since I am more apprehensive to disclose oneself to others than to trust other people, then, I welcome feedback more from others; rather than me giving feedback to people that I know would hurt them or betray their trust in me. I have established complete trust to my family and close friends and the relationship is symbiotic; therefore, the relationship has been bonded through trust and self-disclosure. To enh ance relationships with friends, my weakness in self-disclosure could be slowly addressed to be more open to them and to communicate what needs to be addressed. If I am more willing to

Jacobite opposition to the Whig Oligarchy Essay Example for Free

Jacobite opposition to the Whig Oligarchy Essay Why was Jacobite opposition to the Whig Oligarchy so unsuccessful between 1714-60 The Jacobites were a British group who repeatedly tried to reinstate the old Stuart kings onto the English throne, as opposed to the Protestant monarchy that began in 1689. From 1714-60 parliament was dominated by the Whig party, to the detriment of the pro-Jacobite Tories. There were many Jacobite attempts in this period to overthrow this Whig oligarchy and the kings that supported it. P Monod attributes the failure of the Jacobites to a lack of leadership and inadequate military forces. J Stephenson, on the other hand, argues that a lack of foreign and domestic support for the old stuart monarchy is the predominant reason for the lack of success of the Jacobites. This essay will examine the four main factors that are cited as the reasons for the failure of Jacobites poor leadership, weak military, little foreign support, declining domestic support and will evaluate which one of them is the most important. The Jacobites that they never had adept leaders. Jacobite officers were normally of Scottish brethren, with little experience of warfare. Furthermore, as they were Scottish, they did not know the territory when they entered England. This is considered by Monod as one of the reasons for their failure to sustain themselves upon exit of Scotland. The best attempts at Stuart restoration were the rebellions of 1715 and 1745. However, both of these are characterised by poor leadership. In the 15 the commander of the Jacobite army was the Earl of Mar. He raised the Jacobite flag too early, before the army was prepared and, at the Battle of Sherifmuir, failed to take advantage of his victory and the 3:1 ratio of forces, instead allowing the British battalions to retreat and regroup. On top of this, James Francis Stuart, the Pretender King, was absent from the rebellion. Thus, the Jacobites were without their inspirational figurehead. The rebellion of the 45 endured similar problems, despite having their true leader, Bonnie Prince Charlie present. Having successfully driven down to Derby, instead of marching for London, the Jacobites fled to Scotland, allowing the British to regroup and pursue them. The issue of poor leadership was compounded by the inherent weakness of the Jacobite forces. They were predominantly comprised of Scottish highlanders, and anyone else that wished to join them, normally farmers. The men had little, if any, fighting experience and had never been trained in combat. Furthermore, they were poorly equiped, relying on homemade and captured weapons. The force was usually small, at its largest during the 45 when it reached 12 000 men. This is contrast to the British armies that were defending London. Although, they were slow to react to both rebellions, they were far superior when they engaged the Jacobites in combat. In 1715, the British army had just emerged victorious from the War of Spanish Succession. After famous victories, such as Blenhim, it became known as one of the most formidable fighting forces in Europe. It was large and well trained. Moreover, the Jacobite armies were hampered by internal divisions. The bulk of their men came from highland clans which were historically opposed. Many refused to fight with each other. This problem was particularly present in the rebellion of 45. The Jacobite cause had little hope when it was so weak in the face of such strong opposition. In Britain and Scotland the Jacobites support for the Jacobites was slight, waning further during the period. While Scotland may have been very pro-Jacobite in 1714, the Jacobite influence influence decreased radically until 1760. This is largely down to the fact that the people were forgetting the reasons for their hatred of the British crown. The Glencoe Massacre of 1690 was soon moved into oblivion. Memories of the stuart kings faded as Britain enjoyed peace and prosperity under Hanoverian rule. Lastly, the benefits of Union with England became more apparent as Scotland grew economically and was less heavily taxed than before. In England itself, followers of the Jacobites were always few and far between, only decreasing in the period until 1760. England had always been very anti-Stuart, accusing James II and his predecessors of despotism. Thus, the Glorious Revolution of 1689 was welcomed by the majority of the population. The support that had come from the Tory party also wavered. This was because, after their defeat in the 1714 election, they were keener to rebuild politically than waste time on what was considered a hopeless task. This was compounded by the fact that two Tory leaders, Oxford and Bolingbroke were impeached in the run up to the Jacobite rebellion of 1715 and because Jacobitism grew to be associated with treason. The Jacobites could never rely on foreign support. Louis XIV had originally pledged his allegiance to James Francis Stuart, proclaiming him as King of England and promising resources. However, the loss of the War of Spanish Succession, and the subsequent acknowledgement of the Hanoverian succession, esnsured France would not, and could not, fund the Jacobites for a very long time. This was reinforced by the Anglo-French Entente of the 1720s, whereby Walpole and Fleury were keen to maintain the peace. The French did promote the Jacobites in the run-up to the 45, with a 15 000 invasion force at Dunkirk ready to embark for England. However, poor weather and the War of Austrian Succession diverted the troops. Similarly in 1719, a Spanish fleet was ready to set sail for England, in support of the Jacobites, only to be stopped by a storm. Few other European nations were willing to fund the Jacobites. Seeing it as an worthless cause that would just bring unnecessary aggression from Britain, the pre-eminent power in Europe. The lack of foreign support was no doubt significant, as a large, well-supplied army was never received in Britain. However, even with the absence of this, the Jacobite rebellions drove deep into Britain. Similarly, the claim that Jacobite leaders were inept, while maybe true, does not fully explain the failure of the rebellions. The armies still enjoyed many victories and the British were often commanded by similarly worthless men. The inadequacy of the troops and the lack of domestic support are the most significant explanations for the failure of the Jacobites. Against such a strong British army, the Jacobites had little hope of victory. Linked to this, is the lack of pro-Jacobite people in Britain. This was an underlying reason for the small number of people that would join the rebellion and further ensured that both times the revolts extended into England, they petered out due to the prevalent hostility of the people.

drugs in sports :: essays research papers fc

From the beginning of time sports have been around. It is the competition that everyone loves. The feeling of winning makes many people do anything to achieve it. Even if this means one must cheat to win. Cheating is monitored in professional sports by the use of referees or umpires. With the discovery of many â€Å"nutritional† supplements, many new forms of cheating have arisen that cannot be monitored on the field. Many players used and still use steroids to enhance their muscles so they are stronger during game play. Many random drug tests have been instituted to cut the number of people using steroids down. There are many other supplements that basically do the same thing as steroids that these players use. More and more are becoming illegal in professional sports. And people still use them. Illegal drugs to enhance one’s performance are illegal, therefore when people use them they are cheating. They have created an unfair advantage for themselves illegally. These people using these drugs should be banned from their sport. Professional sports players get paid to play a sport. What more could they want? It is every kids dream. It they cannot play with out cheating they should not have the privilidge of playing at all. There have been many cases in professional sports where athletes have been caught for using illegal drugs that enhance their performance. Often players even use illegal drugs that have no benefit on their performance. These drugs are illegal to everyone, but it seems that when professional athletes get caught using them they don’t get as harsh of a punishment as an average person because of their fame. Steve Howe received seven lifetime suspensions from Major League Baseball. For some reason that does not appear to be possible. If an average person was caught doing so they would be in jail. It is disappointing to see professional athletes receive special treatment because of their fame. They have a good profession; why would they risk it by using drugs?

Enemy of the State

In the movie Enemy of the State directed by Tony Scott, there is a political bias against having a powerful government. From the year 1998, which was when the movie was produced, technological development has exponentially increased at a rapid rate. The government has become more sophisticated within many administrations including the NSA or National Security Agency creating an elite system of gathering information, as well as upping security standards through surveillance. This has aroused fear in many American’s point of views on what this new â€Å"powerful† government is becoming.This is the prevailing ideal promoted within this movie. Exploitation of this growing federal power is sparking fear in regards to people’s concerns for keeping their constitutional rights, and personal safety. Furthermore, the notion of corruption of power within the federal system compounds the fear of the â€Å"weak† individual. Technology not only changes the way markets a nd businesses develop the economy, but can alter human’s social enviornment and interactions. This altering of human’s social characteristics is what is concerning.The NSA has ramped up their attempts on keeping the nation safe through the use of technology and many refer to one major example of this called the â€Å"Big Brother Policy. † This, metaphorically representing an actual big brother overseeing a little brother, enables the government to do many things in which privacy can be breached. This can be from tapping phone calls, retaining all of your medical history, billing information, birth certificate, and social security number to name a few. The idea of electronic surveillance All films are on reserve at the Fine Arts Library.Your job is not to merely summarize the film or to comment on whether or not the actors gave a fine performance or if the director did a good job. Instead, you are to discuss the sociological content of the film. Taking popular cu lture as pedagogical, consider the lessons that popular culture offers about the role of surveillance in society. As well, you could comment on the limits of this medium (film) as means of theorizing surveillance. Introduction In the introduction of your film review you are expected to highlight the main themes of the film.Here, there is no need to describe or summarize the entire film. Instead, focus on those aspects of the film that will be most relevant to your analysis. You will also need to state your thesis in this section. What will you be attempting to say in this film review? Your review will be only 3-4 pages, so please be concise. Body of the review This is the most important section of the review. Offering your opinion, whether or not you agree with the film, is not the same and cannot substitute for critical analysis.Instead, choose clearly defined issues to explore (e. g. , panoptic power, the role of the gaze, gender, race, the body, counter-surveillance, resistance, the role of confession, social discrimination) Remember that each paragraph must have a topic sentence. Do not make sweeping, general statements that you cannot substantiate. Instead, develop two or three points clearly and in detail. Use this section to explain further the points that you raise in your introduction. You could provide analysis of particular scenes from the film to substantiate your argument.As well, you could provide pertinent background information regarding the setting (temporal or what was occurring in ‘real life’ when the film was made and/or during the time that it is set in). Remember, your analysis must discuss the relevance of the film to the themes of the course. To do so, you could start by asking how technology figures in the film. Is it seen as productive or enabling, repressive, or as the inevitable part of some future? Taking technology in its instrumental sense as having the aim of altering the human environment (a technology could be a p en). What characters are agential subjects?Meaning, who has agency in the film? Does the film present a certain political bias? What assumptions does the film make in regards to privacy, the state, or the future? These are suggestions. You do not need to follow them. Conclusion Use this section to demonstrate that you have succeeded in writing what you set out in the introduction. The film Enemy of the plead is a conspiracy-thriller film released in 1998 by Touchstone Pictures and was directed by Tony Scott and written by David Marconi. The film uses a variety of cultural assumptions, attitudes, values and beliefs end-to-end to manipulate the viewers of the film into accepting them.Enemy of the State is found around the US Governments discussion agencies and politicians and their huge amount of power, technology and the conspiracies involved with their intelligence departments much(prenominal) as the National Security Agency (NSA). Robert doyen (Will Smith) a labour lawyer, who unkn owingly becomes involved in a establishment conspiracy when he receives a disc containing the characterisation of the writ of execution of Congressman Hammersly (Jason Robards). This is when Robert Deans life set downs to fall asunder; he loses his job, his family and all his money.Whilst on the run he meets a former government operative, Edward Lyle Brill (Gene Hackman) who then unwillingly befriends Dean and helps him to escape from the NSA. Brill becomes an antihero because of his unconventional methods, and because he is unlikeable, but is a protagonist in the end. In the film, Enemy of the State, there ar many cultural assumptions, values, beliefs stereotypes and attitudes presented throughout the film. One of the most essential values presented in this film is that of privacy, which conflicts with the governments want of safety.The film is based around the governments proposal to install video and audio devices throughout US households. This is for surveillance purposes, mainl y to rule out terrorism, but is as well as a major invasion of privacy. This is also the reason for the murder of Congressman Philip Hammersly, as he was impertinent to the idea and his vote could mean the cancelation of the bill. Because of this the audience are positioned where they begin to dislike the authority figures in this film, which then promotes Dean as the protagonist throughout the film, and becomes a more†¦

Economic Factors in the Decline of the Byzantine Empire

â€Å"Economic Factors in the Decline of the Byzantine Empire† In this article taken from The Journal of Economic History, Peter Charanis discusses the factors that economically affected the decline of the Byzantine Empire. His discussion is based on the fact that past scholars, such as English historian Edward Gibbon who wrote The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, thought the Byzantine Empire was in a constant state of decline throughout its existence, but he disagrees. He says that more recent scholars have found that it was, in fact, one of the great empires in history.He references to historians such as Fridtjof Nansen, author of L’Armenie et le proche Orient, who said that the Byzantine culture â€Å"is and will remain one of the most remarkable works of architecture, and if the Byzantine culture had created nothing but that, it would be sufficient to classify it among the greatest. † Charanis is convinced that most scholars today reject G ibbon’s theory, and this article discusses why he believes so. Because the Byzantine Empire endured for over a thousand years and was the center of civilization until the middle of the eleventh century, it could not be looked at as a constantly declining empire.According to Charanis, it preserved antiquity, developed new forms of art, and held back barbarians. Byzantium produced great soldiers, statesmen, diplomats, reformers, and scholars. It was also successful at spreading the gospel among pagan tribes. Charanis quotes Czech historian F. Dvornik who wrote Les Slaves byzance et Rome au IX saying Byzantium â€Å"molded the undisciplined tribes and made nations out of them; it gave to them its religion and institutions, taught their princes how to govern, transmitted to them he very principles of civilation – writing and literature. â€Å"Byzantium was a great power and a great civilizing force,† Charanis said. He believed that war and religion were the two pri ncipal factors that molded the society of the empire and determined its external position. Because war was a normal state during Byzantium’s thousand year existence, war was not a reason to believe that it was constantly declining. For example, in the seventh century, the Sarcens, Slavs, and Bulgars reduced the empire greatly, but the seventh century emperors reorganized the administration of the empire to cope with the situation at hand.In the eleventh century however, the empire was not as fortunate to recover from certain military reverses that occurred. There were disastrous defeats that they never fully recovered from, and this is what finally led to the beginning of their decline. One very important factor, according to Charinis’ sources such as Russian historians’ books and works, were the conditions the Manzikerts left the empire in. It had such a huge impact on the social and economic life of the empire, and this was the basis of its virtual disappearan ce.Byzantium relied so fully on the social and economic aspect of their culture, that an attack to this was fatal. The Manzikert military aristocracy was far from what the Byzantines were accustomed to, and caused the soldiery-peasantry to decline which was a large part of their state. Up until this point, emperors were able to rework the empire and reorganize things so that Byzantium could thrive, but after their â€Å"large estate†, which had been a huge party of their society, was attacked, it was almost impossible.Charanis believes that the aristocracy that was put in place in the eleventh century was also another large factor of decline. Instead of being a social and economic based empire, it was a military aristocracy. The soldiers were the holders of the military estates, and the aristocracy absorbed the estates of the peasants. The focus of the emperors was the happiness of the soldiers and not of the peasants, or all the other people in the empire, and this was also a large source of decline in Byzantium.Once the emperors of the eleventh century realized that this system was not working quite as well, they tried to create an anti-military policy, which consummated a depression in soldiers. This entire struggle that occurred after the seventh century caused the empire to participate in a series of civil wars affected its sources and manpower, according the Charanis. Other serious factors that caused the decline were the weakening of the central administration, the failure to enforce measures of protection for the soldiery-peasantry, and the grants of privileges made to the aristocracy.It has been said that another reason for their decline was the strict controls they placed on commerce and industry, but Charanis disagrees and says it is extremely doubtful that this was their weakness. He backs up this argument by saying that when those controls were most strictly enforced, was when their empire was at its greatest. He goes on to say that the per iod of the greatest decline is marked by the breakdown of these controls.Tenth century Byzantine emperor Romanus Lecapenus wrote in one of his novels that the extension of power to the strong and the depression of power to the many would â€Å"bring about the irreparable loss of the public good. † Charanis agrees with him saying that â€Å"His prediction had come true. The disappearance of the free peasantry, the increase in the wealth, privileges, and power of the aristocracy, and the consequent depression of the agrarian population constitute, I think, some of the principal factors in the decline of the Byzantine Empire. †Charanis’ evidence is clearly all there and cited, but it is somewhat difficult to understand his references. They’re numbered at the bottom and his numbers are meant to further explain certain points throughout the article. Another problem I have with his evidence is that they are mostly books written by foreign authors, and I canâ₠¬â„¢t read the titles. I believe that Charanis has clearly proven his point and thoroughly discussed his thesis; however, his argument was not extremely bold, because he is arguing one historian’s theory (Edward Gibbon), and agreeing with every other historian who believes the Byzantine Empire was great.His argument was more fact-based, and proven through certain points of notoriety throughout the existence of the empire, and his presentation of these points seemed unorganized. In fact I found the organization of this article to be somewhat confusing. He seemed to jump around from century to century and fact to fact. I believe it would have been much more efficiently written if he had discussed the certain centuries of the empire in chronological order. This also would have more effectively shown the factors that led up to the decline of the Byzantine Empire.Instead he jumped around discussing things that related to the factors, but not thoroughly discussing what order the th ings happened and why one led to the next. Charanis did not raise new questions in his argument. He simply argued Gibbon’s theory, and used other historians to back his argument up. In fact, most of the historians that Charanis used as references were quite old, for example, Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian author from 1928. No recent authors or suggestions were raised from Charanis’ article.I think that overall this article offered some very thorough and credible information about the decline of the Byzantine Empire, but since his original argument was that Gibbon was wrong, he should have used more examples of historians that supported Gibbons theory and argued their points as well. Though he had many historians to back up his argument, his thesis mentioned Gibbon. He definitely proved his point and listed many factors that caused the decline of the Byzantine Empire, but I would have liked to see less confusing organization and newer information that supported his argume nt.

Secondary Mortgage Market and Securitizations Essays - Finance

Secondary Mortgage Market and Securitizations Essays - Finance Secondary Mortgage Market and Securitizations One topic that was brought up a good amount in class was the difference between predatory and subprime lending. They are different because predatory lending is purposely harmful to the borrower while subprime lending is lending to someone with less than good credit. The false representation that this essay will discuss is Goldman Sachs underwriting process during the time of their scandal. Underwriting is a big part in giving loans. This is because the underwriting guidelines are used to discern whether or not a person would be able to pay off a loan. When we specifically look at the case of Goldman Sachs, they more or less took out this whole process of underwriting and tried to play it off as if they hadn't. As found in the Statement of Facts, Goldman Sachs told investors that, "Certain loan originators applied underwriting guidelines that were intended primarily to assess the borrower's ability and, in some cases, willingness to repay the debt and the adequacy of the mortgage property as collateral for the loans". This statement reiterates how underwriting guidelines are used in assessing the borrower's ability to repay and a few other points like collateral if there would be a default. Such procedures regarding the underwriting guideline that Goldman stated that they abided by was the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA), state and federal predatory len ding, origination practices by jurisdiction, historical loan level loss experience and a few others. This specific representation that Goldman Sachs tried to play off can and should be considered predatory lending rather than subprime lending. This is because Goldman Sachs did not follow regulatory underwriting guidelines, and had the sole purpose to sell as many loans as possible to make more money. This will be further explained in the next paragraph. Also in the Statement of Facts is a quote saying that, "The securitization sponsor or originator (which, in many instances, was Goldman) represented that the loans had been originated in compliance with federal, state, and local laws and regulations." Goldman told investors that they had a process for reviewing and approving originators, when in fact they were the "originators" themselves. Again, we can see a trend of how Goldman Sachs implies that they are following regulations, when in fact, they are skipping these regulations to assume the image that their loans are above par so that more people will buy them. Goldman even went as far as to say that the originators were subject to Goldman's "counterparty qualification" process, which consists of many strict guidelines including Goldman having an on-site visit with the originator to review their goals, quality control and other variables. Overall, there were just so many lies about the underwriting process that was expressed to inv estors that could be considered predatory. By making their mortgage loans look as if they are securitized (even when they were subprime), Goldman Sachs was able to sell billions of dollars' worth of these residential-mortgage backed securities (RMBS). Although the loans were subprime, Goldman Sachs is guilty of predatory lending because of their harmful intentions to make money off of their investors. Between the lying of their regulatory procedures to the selling of the un-securitized loans, Goldman Sachs misrepresented a lot of information to their investors, which hopefully, this essay helped bring to light. Sources: https://www.justice.gov/opa/file/839901/download (Statement of Facts)

Sybolism in A Rose for Emily essays

Sybolism in A Rose for Emily essays In the short story, A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, symbolism is used frequently throughout the story. There are several different symbolic subjects in this story such as the house, Miss Emily as a monument, Homer and the Yankee views, and Miss Emilys old Negro servant who represents death in the story. Miss Emily is compared to her house in many different ways, there is the description of the decaying house which symbolizes Miss Emilys physical and emotional decay, and as well as her mental problems. The representation between Miss Emily and the house is shown through the constant neglect that is given to her from the neighbors and people in the town. Faulkner in one point makes, the house is described to be stubborn and unrelenting, as Miss Emily portrays the same aspects. Miss Emily shows her stubbornness when she doesnt let the new guard attach metal numbers above her door. Also many other signs of this stubbornness is when Miss Emily refuses to believe that her father is dead and when she refuses to pay taxes. This retracts back to the house on how it rejects progression and updating, so does Miss Emily, as they become decaying symbols of their dying generation. Miss Emily really is representing the Old South, her southern heritage and her points of view are given through her actions. Thats where she gets her stubbornness and attitude from the strong characteristics of her Southern heritage. She refused to believe that the times where changing and refused to change into the new society like everyone else in the town was doing. The Southern heritage is also represented through Miss Emilys strict and repetitive ways. The story basically addresses the changes in the South after the Civil War. Miss Emily is considered a monument of the Southern manners and her past values that she has. The Old South generations were dying qui...