WILL THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL ICONS CARRY THE SAME INTRINSIC ROLE IN Essay

WILL THE NEW ARCHITECTURAL ICONS CARRY THE SAME INTRINSIC ROLE IN DEFINING CITIES - Essay Example 11-12, 2007) Moreover, since antiquity until present, humans have advanced significantly in every sector, and so, humans have achieved pinnacle by the advancement in architectural designs, which can be noted by observing existing modern architectural icons, as well as, designs and plans of future architectural icons that are being built in different parts of the globe. It is observed that technology has become an important tool of humans, which is being used intellectually and imaginatively by ingenious and inspiring architects around the globe. As time is passing by, more and more improvement is being made in technological sector, as well as, in the architectural sector. On the other hand, environmental resources are reducing rapidly due to excessive utilization of humans for their personal purposes. (Ford, pp. 34-37, 2004) In this regard, it is a debatable topic whether new architectural icons will be able to carry the same intrinsic and natural role that was carried by historical architecture in the absence of technological tools and tactics. Studies have indicated that a number of factors are affecting the architectural discourse, such as technology, economy, and especially, culture. All these factors are shaping the contemporary modes and designs of architectural outcomes, and this paper will discuss whether new architectural icons that will be outcome of these factors will be able to acquire an intrinsic value, or natural relation will eliminate in few years. Experts have indicated that culture plays a significant role in the creation of any architectural icon, as it facilitates the specific place in expressing its cultural identity to other parts of the globe. In this regard, it is very essential for an architect to relate with the historical architectural icons, in order to continue the relation according to some experts. On the other hand, some other experts argue that it is not essential to relate with historical architectural icons, and a new

What are the Reasons Behind Challenging Behaviour in residential care situations Essay Example for Free

What are the Reasons Behind Challenging Behaviour in residential care situations Essay Residential Care is local authority and privately owned residences within which Looked After Children (LACs) aged thirteen to eighteen reside. Challenging behaviour is a term defined as two main types: disruptive or externalised behaviours which may include some of the following: aggressive behaviour such as fighting, disobedience, tantrums, destruction of property, bullying and attention-seeking; non-disrupting or internalised behaviours including depression and anxiety. Symptoms of the latter include tension, inferiority complexes, unhappiness, feelings of worthlessness, timidity, social isolation and hypersensitivity (Hayden et al. 1999). Within my research I will be focusing upon externalised behaviours, specifically tantrums which are defined as episodes of extreme anger and frustration characterised by crying, screaming, shouting and violent body motions, including throwing things (Encyclopaedia of Children’s Health [online] 2011). My interest in this area stems from placement experience when two young men I worked with were reading an article Breaking the law in and inside in Who Cares Magazine (2010), a publication they receive every month. Within the publication was a letter from a young man of a similar age to them (15-16) and he said he behaved badly because people expected him to and he felt that if people expected him to he might as well live up to this reputation. The young men I worked with agreed with this, which made me think about the reasons behind some of the behaviour they exhibit on a regular basis. Within my placement in residential care the most common form of challenging behaviour I witnessed was tantrums. I feel it is important both for the young person and staff to understand the reasons behind the behaviour; for the young person they will better understand themselves and for staff they will be able to help the child more if they understand the behaviour more and the reasons behind it. Upon examining this concept closer I looked on the Who Cares website to gain more insight and discovered ‘John’s blog’ and a particular entry from October 2010: ‘I wasn’t prepared for the Panorama programme ‘Kids in Care’ The blur quickly fixed itself in the eyes of ‘Connor’, an angry fourteen year old in care. In the short clip, no doubt shown to jack up audience numbers, Connor is shown attacking his social worker’s car and leaving its window smeared with blood (at least I think it was blood). His rage caught me off guard, not out of shock, but more from a forgotten familiarity. I remember that rage and then I remember the vacuum. The hole in my childhood that screamed out to be filled. I often reached for rage. ..’ (John’s Blog, 2010). This research proposal begins with a review of literature around LACs and behaviour and identifies findings and any gaps in the current research. Examining other literature helps to identify any ethical issues or areas of difficulty others have found and able to overcome or avoid these in this proposal. Literature review The research uncovered in order to shape the proposal is dated from 1998 which is thirteen years old the most up to date research I found was from 2010. I will examine this literature in a thematic order. These themes will be used to inform the design of the planned interviews and help me to from questions around particular topics. Life as a looked after child Many of the research projects consider what it is like for the young people to be a Looked After Child (Baldry and Kemmis, 1998; Minty, 1999; Rutter, 2000; Rutter et al. 2000; Munro et al. 2005; McCarthy et al. 2003; Vinnerljung et al. 2006; Clausen and Kristofersen 2008). This was done by looking at daily life, being looked after, contact with family and friends, social workers, planning and reviews, education, and information and knowledge of what is available in the community. Garrett’s (1999) article highlights that those children who are perceived to be at risk of offending or to be threats to the community are also products of the ‘care’ system. Further to this, in The Guardian (1993) a comment that Kenneth Clarke made when he was Home Secretary regarded offending children and young people when he stated that they are ‘persistent nasty little juveniles’. One of the questions I would like to understand from my research is: what is the impact of these type of labels on LACs? Action and Assessment Records Several of the articles examine the use of Action and Assessment Records (AARs) from two different perspectives Garrett (1999) was concerned that the AARs are oppressive and contain powerful sub-texts; for example, what is an ‘appropriate’ youth lifestyle and the effects of this on the LACs? Kufeldt et al. (2003) looked at the children’s health, education, identity, family and social relationships and self-care skills. They felt the use of AARs would help their practice and improve outcomes for LACs. This is a contrasting viewpoint; the expectation seems to be that LACs need to fit into a particular box; it further highlights the concept of labels. Davies and Harrà © (1990) also look at identity: ‘ who one is is always an open question with a shifting answer’ I feel this fits LACs very well and other researchers have stated that having a social identity is important and LACs often do not have a confident grasp of what their identity is and this can have a detrimental effect upon them (Biehal et al. 1995; Ridge and Miller, 2000; Rutter,2000). This research intends to engage with young people in order to find answers to these questions. Families Research by Biehal et al. (1995) found that the birth family remains very important to LACs. Ridge and Miller (2000) did in-depth interviews to explore the importance of social relationships for LACs and what the impact of the care system is on keeping and maintaining these relationships. Rutter (2000) states LACs usually come from families where the parents exhibit diverse psychopathology and multiple parenting problems. Therefore, when working with families and LACs it is important to remember the impact the care system has on LACs maintaining social relationships and what impact families may have had on children prior to coming into the care system. This identifies another area for investigation in this project. Social Exclusion A number of the researchers look at social exclusion that LACs may experience. Ridge and Miller’s (2000) core finding is that LACs lack strong family ties and, due to living in care, experience a high degree of social difference. Their study focused in particular on emotional aspects of social exclusion. McCarthy et al.’s (2003) research assessed the level of social impairment and distress experienced by LACs with behavioural disorders whereas Minty (1999) examines empirical findings of behaviour to assess the extent to which LACs experience emotional, social, behavioural and educational problems. Rutter (2010) comments on Minty’s work: ‘Two implications are immediately evident. First when considering the elevated rate of emotional/behavioural difficulties.it will be necessary to ask whether these derive from the risk factors external to the experience of care or the care experience itself.’ (Rutter, 2010, p.686). Behavioural Problems Behavioural problems seem to be a recurring theme within the above research findings and are the focus of some of them (McCarthy et al. 2003; Munro et al. 2005; Hayden, 2010). Coward (1997) in an article in The Guardian argues that the assumption that when children are left to their own devices they will naturally drift towards offending behaviour. The present research proposes to discover how these assumptions and labels have become prevalent in the present time. Offending Behaviour Hayden and Gough (2010) discuss the introduction of restorative justice in residential settings and the impact this has in counteracting offending behaviour and thereby the above assumptions and labelling. In particular with regard to residential care Munro et al. (2005) state that several of the children interviewed in residential care experienced a culture of delinquent behaviour, bullying, low staff morale and also a lack of empathy displayed by the staff. McCarthy et al. (2003) looked into behavioural problems but only the impact on how this affects the LACs; it does not look at reasons behind challenging behaviour a gap I wish to examine. Improving Outcomes Two studies look into improving the outcomes for LACs and the idea of misconceptions of LACs ((Kufeldt et al. 2003; Hare and Bullock, 2005). These researchers firstly examined how children are looked at within legislation; they do highlight that there have been lots of improvements since the Children Act 1989 but my own interest indicates that this may not be good enough. These researchers further advise cautions in attempting research with LACs, stating that LACs are an ‘administrative sample because they are defined by law’. There is consideration of the difference between ‘movie shot’ samples and ‘snapshot’ samples of participants in that most studies with LACs focus mainly on those who have long-term fixed placements or those that move around frequently. Following this the above study examines retrospective and prospective samples; it examines the rates within which LACs end up in offending institutions to explain the flaws in these types of studies. Many LAC studies rely on retrospective evidence; the major problem with this approach is that it exaggerates links between the past and the present. However, the prospective study hopes to avoid a biased link with leaving care and offending. In my study I want to remove myself from viewing variable factors of a LAC’s experience as fixed such as: they will all come from feckless, neglectful families. Hare and Bullock (2006) warn of the danger of syllogisms which arise when characterising this group of children ‘all a is b, but all b is not a’. Their example is the relationship between children presenting challenging behaviour and placement in residential care. It is also important to remember that it is not only LACs who experience poor outcomes but they are more visible and they highlight the wider problems experienced by all deprived children. With all these considerations in mind Hare and Bullock (2006) used a snapshot sample of three hundred and fifty one LACs which then produced four groups of children with common needs: 1) adolescents who need help to improve their behaviour; 2) children who need protection from risk of neglect in families; 3) children in need of nurture and protection from families with serious health problems; 4) children whose needs arise from a specific problem. They state at the very end that the research does identify a risk to LACs but that it may not lead to improved outcomes or dispel misconceptions of them it may reinforce negative stereotypes. This is possibility that I am aware of and hope to avoid in my own research.

The neoclassical model of labour leisure choice

The neoclassical model of labour leisure choice In this society, not many people can afford goods and education without working. Since we are not all wealthy, most of us must work in order to cover our living costs and other expenses (Borjas, 2008). However, our decisions on whether to work or not are based on many factors that motivate or discourage us to enter the labour force, then we need to decide how many hours to work. The first and second part of the essay will discuss about an individuals work-leisure decision regarding to her decision to work or not, and the number of hours to work. In the third part, I will discuss about Clarks report on job satisfaction of men and women. Although women had higher levels of reported stress in their life, they appear to be happier in work than men. Finally, the results which are recently reported by Booth and van Ours (2007) also support Clarks conclusions. The neoclassical model of labour-leisure choice is used to analyse labour supply behaviour and identify the factors in a persons work decision and her decision on how many hours to work (Borjas, 2008). In this model, individuals satisfaction which is obtained from consumption of goods (denoted as C) and leisure (L) is presented by utility function (economists assume that both goods and leisure are normal goods): We want to maximise our well-being by consuming as much goods and leisure as we can. However, there is a trade-off between consumption and leisure (Sparknotes, 2010). If we want to consume more leisure, then we have to give up goods and services because we cannot afford them since we work less (or do not work). In the other hand, if we spend more time to work, then we are wealthy enough to buy those goods and services; though we cannot consume as much leisure as before. In order to understand an individuals work-leisure decision, we use indifference curve analysis to explain their responses. Indifference curve analysis consists of two concepts: indifference curve and budget constraint (bized). A person will make her decision through the combination of the consumption of leisure and goods, in which we can analyse her work-leisure decision through a combination of her budget constraints and her indifference curves. The persons budget constraint can be written as: Where C: the value of expenditures on goods, wh: labour earning, and V: non-labour income (such as property income, lottery prises, medical insurance, disability insurance, dividends, retirements program) The total time allocated to work and leisure must equal the total time available in the period, say T hours per week, so that: Figure 1 illustrates the optimisation in utility of a person by combining her budget constraint and indifference curves. She will choose point P (as this is her optimal consumption of goods and leisure) because she is better off at point P. At point P, she will consume T1 hours of leisure and h1 hours of work per week. Note that in this figure, we assume that the indifference curves are convex to the origin, which is equivalent to assumption of diminishing marginal rate of substitution. It is the amount of consumption a person is willing to give up for an extra hour of leisure time diminishes as leisure time increases (lecture note). We are interested in how many hours of work a person will choose when non-labour income (V) (may be because of higher investments return or inheritance money) or wage (w) increases. There are two types of effects which dominate in this model: the income effect and the substitution effect. When non-labour income increases (holding the wage constant), the income effect reduce hours of work (as people tend to take more leisure as they feel wealthier) The workers opportunity set expands as non-labour income increases, thus leads to a parallel shift in her budget line. An increase in non-labour income also means that when holding the wage constant and the income effect generates, the worker tend to reduce hours of work (assume that leisure is a normal good). When the wage rate increases, its total effect is the sum of the income and substitution effects. A person will reduce her hours of work if the income effect dominates (in this case, a person is effected only if she is working); instead if the substitution effect dominates, she will increase her hours of work. If both effects are equal, then there will be no change on individuals hours of work or hours of leisure. In Figure 3, as the wage rate increase, the income effect generates lead to a decrease in hours of work (movement from point A to B), however, as the substitution effect has equal effect, individual will increase her hours of work (movement from point B to C). As we can see, the hours of work are still the same. A person makes her decision to work or not to work is based on the reservation wage. It is said that when the real wage exceed reservation wage, the workers will enter labour market. Therefore, if there is a high reservation wage, people are less likely to work. However, if we hold the reservation wage constant, high-wage persons are more likely to work. The neoclassical model of labour-leisure choice has some limitations such as: it considers only leisure and goods and ignores home production; it has simple linear budget constraints as in fact, the budget constraints are nonlinear due to taxes, government benefits; labour supply decision may be affected by other members decision of a household; and finally, it is one-period model, whereas lifetime labour supply model is more complex and dynamic (lecture notes). Womens participation rate in labour force has been increasing due to: rise in real wage (encourages women to enter the labour market), decline in birth rate since the costs of having one more child are very expensive, technological advances (which are the convenient products to help women in household activities), social and cultural factors (feminism, religion), expansion of service industries, and low unemployment (lecture notes). Mammen and Paxon (2000) state that education levels, for women themselves and their spouses, is an important factor in womens labour-decision. In a competitive labour market, women will consider the opportunity cost of her time and the income that unearned (non-labour income). A woman will withdraw from labour force if there is an increase in her non-labour income (may be because her husbands income has risen). However, when womens wage rises, it depends on whether substitution or income effect dominates. One interesting finding which made by Andrew Clark (1997) is that womens job satisfaction levels are higher than men. Firstly, he introduced his theory of four possible explanations for womens higher levels of job satisfaction, which are: jobs and gender, work values, sample selection, and expectations. Clark used the individual and job characteristics as control variables in ordered probit regressions to test all the explanations, except for the sample selection explanation, in which he used Heckman sample correction in OLS regressions. His theory is presented as the utility function from working: u = u(y, h, i, j) (1) where y is income, h is hours of work, and i is individuals feature and j is job characteristics. He concluded that gender (i variables) should not enter the equation (1), for example: an identical man and woman in identical jobs should report the same job satisfaction score (Clark, 1997). The data in this paper were collected from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS) which interviewed 10,000 adults in 550 households in 1991. They were asked to rate their satisfaction levels (by the scale number from one to seven) with eight job aspects: promotion prospects, relations at work, job security, own initiative, total pay, the actual work itself, hours of work and something else. Clark argued that job satisfaction has correlations with the genders differences such as: age, education, health, and different job characteristics: establishment size, union membership and hours of work. He found that good health has large positive effect on job satisfaction while renter, union membership, and hours of work have small negative effects (an increase in hours to 50 per week only reduces the predicted probability of reporting overall job satisfaction of 7 to 38% and 30% for women and men, respectively); moreover, higher levels of educations and longer hours of work are connected with lower satisfied workers. Especially, womens overall job satisfaction is largely determined by renter, union, marital status and managerial status. However, these findings only justify which types of workers are satisfied, not why women are more satisfied than men. The second explanation of this paper is work values (as men and women consider the work aspects differently). Men choose promotion prospects, job security and pay, are the most important jobs aspects; while women rank highly the aspects such as: relations at work and hours of work. Nevertheless, the results show that women who have same jobs, same personal characteristics and same work values, report a higher job satisfaction score than men do. Thus, work values do not explain why women are so happier at work. The third explanation of womens higher job satisfaction (sample selection tests how the individual feel about working) is not effective since it relies on men and womens participation rate. Clark highlighted that men are more likely to be in employment than women; specifically, married women are less likely to be employed. Since the sample sizes are small (mens participation rate is higher than women) Expectations are the last explanation for womens higher job satisfaction. Clark (1997) stated that women are happier at work than men, because they have lower expectations. Education and upbringing form a part of expectations. For the higher-educated workers, younger workers, those whose mothers had a professional job, those in professional positions, and those working at male-dominated workplaces are likely to have higher expectations about their job aspects. Clark suggested that there is only a temporary result in womens higher job satisfaction which is explained by improved position of women in the society and labour market. He predicted that womens expectations and job satisfaction would be the same as men, given that womens pay only rise at the same pay rates of men. (gender) used the pooled ordered probit models to show that in the past decade, womens job satisfaction has indeed declined significantly (nearly by half), while mens job satisfaction has slightly changed. This paper results support the theory that womens higher job satisfaction is only transitory and Clarks prediction of gender differences in job satisfaction. Furthermore, the results found by Booth and van Ours (2009) are indeed supportive to Clarks conclusions. Akerlof and Kranton (2000, cited by Booth and van Ours (2009)) stated that womens improved position in society (such as the female suffragette movement) has made it more tolerable for women to work. This paper examines the relationship between part-time jobs and family well-being by using fixed-effects ordered logit estimation method on the panel data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA). Hours satisfaction is considered to be one aspect of both men and womens job satisfaction. Womens job satisfaction is said to be increasing follow their partners health. The results from pooled cross-sectional data indicate that men and womens job satisfaction is higher if their family income and health are high, which is consistent with Clarks findings. While full-time work reduces womens hours satisfaction and job satisfaction, it increases mens hours and job sati sfaction. Booth and van Ours (20009) concluded that the male share of house work is always low even when the female spend enormous hours in marketplace. This finding proposes an explanation why women are happier with part-time work. (developing) In contrast to Booth and van Ours findings, Boo (2010) states that in developing countries (as in Honduras), women do not have higher job satisfaction refer to part-time job. Alternatively, both women and men are more satisfied when they are working full-time. For the fact that working full-time increases individuals income, poorer women seems to value full-time jobs than non-poor women.

The Island Of Dr. Moreau Essay -- essays research papers

In 1896 H. G. Wells had the first edition of ' The Island of Dr. Moreau'; published. The book took place primarily on an island in the Pacific Ocean. On this island Dr. Moreau and his assistant ( Montgomery) performed dangerous, secret experiments on humans and animals. When Wells wrote this he knew nothing about DNA, cloning, or chromosomes but he did use his scientific imagination. Wells realized that society was beginning to rely on science too much in the late nineteenth century. He wrote this book to issue a stern warning for future societies against their own scientific advancements. He knew that just like his society others will want to quench their appetite for this tasty treat called vivisection or cloning. He knew that eventually the progress of society would lead to the all or nothing control of the evolutionary processes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This brings me to one of Wells' most important ideas that he wanted to tell his readers. That was the idea of vivisection or cloning of humans and animals. In todays world we are trying to control evolution by furthering our studies into cloning. He was right about his expectations of future societies and his ideas about how scientific advancements would affect our world. It was different because when this book was published it got horrific reviews for being too outlandish with its views on society. I think that if the book was published today it would be raved as a good warning for all the cloning scientists. Tod...

Buddhism: The Foundation, Development and Beliefs

Though the other divisions of Buddhism have altered their practices to accommodate the needs of a wider range of people, Theravada has remained virtually the same as it was at its founding. Theravada Buddhism is the original and most popular form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Myanmar. Theravada remains closest to the original teachings of the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha Gautama is the original founder of all forms of Buddhism. He was born in present day Nepal around 563 B. C. E. He was a prince of the Shakyas clan, and likely heir to his father’s throne.He was named â€Å"Siddhartha† which means â€Å"he who has attained his goals. † Being the prince of the warrior caste, he trained in the arts of war and grew up to be a strong and handsome young man. When he was at the age of sixteen, he fought and defeated his competitors in a variety of sports, which won him the hand of the beautiful princess Yashodhara, who wa s also sixteen years old at the time. He continued living in the luxury of his palaces. Soon, however, he grew restless and began to wonder what happens outside the palace. He eventually insisted to be permitted to come out of the palace so he can see his people and his lands.For fear of the prince leading a religious life, the king ordered that only young and healthy people should greet the prince so that he will not see the kind of suffering. However, even with the king’s careful orders, he still caught sight of a couple of old men, who accidentally wandered near the parade route, at Kapilavatthu, the capital. Curious of who these people were, he chased after them. He then came to a place where some people are desperately ill and even came across a funeral ceremony by the side of the river, seeing death for the first time in his life.Siddhartha saw four sights: a sick man, a poor man, a beggar, and a corpse. When he caught sight of these, his heart soon filled with vast lon eliness for the suffering that humanity has to go through. He then asked his friend and squire Chandaka what those things meant. Chandaka told him that all of us grow old, sick and eventually, die, saying that these truths should have been told to him before. (Boeree, 1999). He said upon seeing these realities: â€Å"When ignorant people see someone who is old, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be old some day. I thought to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people.After that, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with youth anymore. When ignorant people see someone who is sick, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be sick some day. I thought to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people. After that, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with health anymore. When ignorant people see someone who is dead, they are disgusted and horrified, even though they too will be dead some day. I tho ught to myself: I don’t want to be like the ignorant people. After than, I couldn’t feel the usual intoxication with life anymore. † (AN III.39, interpreted) (Boeree, 1999) He also saw an ascetic or a monk who has abandoned all the pleasures and cravings of the flesh. What struck Siddhartha the most is the peaceful expression on the monk’s face, which left a deep impression on him. Going back to the palace after this and despite having what appeared to be the perfect life of luxury, Siddhartha became very discontent with the material world and decided to leave his family. He realized that he could no longer live happy with the thought that, even with all their luxury, there would still come a time that he will suffer and die.With these thoughts, he soon wondered what he may do so that he can overcome suffering, more than anything else. He left his privileged life as a prince and ran away to the forest in search of spiritual understanding. For a while, he s tudied with two well-known gurus of that time but soon found that their practice is not enough to answer his question. That was when he began to follow the practices of a group of five ascetics: austerities and self-mortifications. For six years, he practiced with utmost sincerity and intensity that the five ascetics became his followers before long. However, he still did not find the answers he was looking for.He decided to double his efforts by refusing food and water until he was in a state of near death. One day, Sujata, a peasant girl saw this starving monk. She took pity on him and offered him to eat some of her milk-rice. Soon, he realized that self-mortification still do not help him answer his questions. He decided to carry out a practice that will be middle way between the extremes of luxurious and self-mortification life. For many days, Siddhartha sat beneath a particular fig tree, called the bodhi tree, in the town of Bodh Gaya, vowing that he will never stand up until h e found the answers to the problem of suffering.At first, he deeply concentrated in clearing his mind from all distractions, and later on, in mindless meditation. They said that he started to recall all his previous lives, and see everything that was going on in the entire universe. He became the Buddha, meaning â€Å"he who is awake†, with the rising of the morning star on the full moon of May, when he finally found the answers he was looking for (Hooker, 1996). He spent the next forty five years teaching others about the path to enlightenment. After an exhaustive ministry he died around 483 B. C. E. During his life, none of Siddhartha Gautama's teachings were ever written down.During the following 100 years after his death, Buddhism spread throughout India and Sri Lanka. A group of Buddhist monks held a council in the Capital city of Patna, during the third century B. C. E. , to come to a consensus on what the original teachings of Siddhartha were. When the council came to agreement about Siddhartha's true original teachings, the teachings became the doctrine of Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism has not deviated from this doctrine since. Theravada Buddhism's main goal is for the individual practitioner to reach Nirvana.This is accomplished by realizing the very foundation of Buddhism which was the â€Å"Four Noble Truths†: The Four Noble Truths: 1. ) All human life is suffering (dhukka ). 2. ) All suffering is caused by human desire, particularly the desire that impermanent things be permanent. 3. ) Human suffering can be ended by ending human desire. 4. ) Desire can be ended by following the â€Å"Eightfold Noble Path†: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Bullitt, 2005).The practitioner must also follow the Eight Fold Path; 1. ) right view, 2. ) right resolve, 3. ) right speech, 4. ) right action, 5. ) right livelihood, 6. ) righ t effort, 7. ) right mindfulness, and 8. ) right concentration. The council all also agreed in practicing the â€Å"Four Cardinal virtues† which were friendliness, compassion, joy, and equanimity. During the onset of Buddhism, the religion comprised of only very few followers making it relatively insignificant among the vast variety of Hindu sects.But when Asoka, the great Mauryan emperor converted to Buddhism in the third century BC, the young and insignificant religion soon spread profusely throughout India and was carried across the Indian Ocean to Sri Lanka. Just like rumors change as they are spread from person to person, Buddhism was slightly altered over time. The original form Theravada Buddhism, held its ground in Sri Lanka as the Buddhists of Sri Lanka maintained a form that was most similar to the original form of Siddhartha's teachings. On the other hand, the rest of India, then the world in general later on, Buddhism fragmented into a million sects and versions.T heravada Buddhism requires intensive meditation. To follow his form of Buddhism requires the practitioner to devote a lifetime to its practice, thus making it difficult or even imposable for the average modern person to commit to such an undertaking. Despite the extreme demands of Theravada Buddhism, it is gaining popularity in Singapore, Australia as well as other parts of the western world. There are over 100 million Theravada Buddhists worldwide. Theravada has had less success spreading than other forms of Buddhism.Forms of Buddhism such as Zen are much more user friendly and are less demanding. Theravada Buddhism might not be the most popular, but it remains true to teachings of the genius who founded the religion. Just as well, Buddhism is in fact, a way of life. References: Boeree, D. C. G. (1999). The Life of Siddhartha Gautama. Retrieved February 21, 2007, from http://webspace. ship. edu/cgboer/siddhartha. html Bullitt, J. (2005). What is Theravada Buddhism? Hooker, R. (1996 ). The Historical Siddhartha [Electronic Version]. Retrieved February 21, 2007 from http://www. wsu. edu/~dee/BUDDHISM/SIDD. HTM.

Importance of Business Correspondence Essays

Importance of Business Correspondence Essays Importance of Business Correspondence Essay Importance of Business Correspondence Essay Importance of Business Correspondence Name: Institution: Instructor: Course: Date: Business Correspondence 1. Inquiry Letter August 28, 2012 Mr. Zhu Lu Director, Fine Leather Shoes Ltd. 22 Miu Ave, Shangai China Dear Mr. Lu, I trust that this letter finds you in excellent health. My name is Mrs. Cindy Elroy and I own an importing company specializing in women’s shoes. The company, Fit Shoes Ltd., is based in Sydney, Australia. I learnt of your company from an article in the Sydney Morning Herald, which led me to your website. I have been looking for an affordable leather shoe manufacturer with a reputation for quality, with which to partner. I would like to inquire if you have a product line of multicolored women’s shoes. In case you do, not I would like to know if I could send you my designs and have you manufacture them. I would also appreciate information on any other women’s product lines you have. Please remember to include your current business policies. It would be a privilege to partner with your organization. Please let me know if you have worked with other Australian companies. Thank you for your assistance. I look forward to your reply. Sincere regards, Cindy Elroy. Fine Shoes Ltd NSW 132 Australia 2. Reply Letter August 28, 2012 Mr. Tom Connor Director, Procurement United Sports, NSW 205 Australia Dear Mr. Connor: I hope that this letter finds you well. My name is Ms. Liu Ming. I am the director of public relations at the Shanghai Sports Ltd. I am writing in reply to your letter dated 24 August 2012. I appreciate the interest you expressed in our company. We currently have the capacity to manufacture the pointed football boots you were interested in before the September Deadline. We, however, regret to inform you that the extra streamlined ‘immerse’ swimming caps you liked are out of stock due to a shortage of raw material. Allow me to interest you in our new speed line, which has been proven to increase the speed of swimmers. We appreciate the concerns you raised regarding the use of child labor in China. Our company complies with the fair labor laws set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) who regularly send an inspector to our factory. Please refer to the ILO website, which has a list of approved organizations. We look forward to partnering with your esteemed organization. Find enclosed the copies of the certificates awarded to us by ILO. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Liu Ming Shanghai Sports Ltd 32 Mao Lane, Shanghai China 3. Importance of Business Correspondence in the International Setting Business correspondence is crucial in the International context. It is the primary means of making queries concerning issues like business contracts and terms. The correspondence you use as an international businessperson influences how seriously you will be taken. The quality of your letter will be taken to equal that of your company. Well-written and formatted letters convey seriousness to clients and help build trust. Quality also determines the amount of respect you command. Business correspondence can thus be taken as an advocate for a company’s position. Good letters are always well organized. It is advisable for business people to plan everything they want to say in advance. Drafting out the sequence of the intended communication helps writers to include all the relevant facts. It also avoids redundancy caused by unnecessary words. Considering that communication is with real people markedly improves the content of letters. Business people should always convey respect to their recipients. One should use a tone of courtesy even when disagreeing with a fact. This shows sensitivity to others people’s views. It also reduces the impersonality of letters and can lead to strong friendships as attested by real life businessmen. Another important aspect in business correspondence is appreciation. Thanking people for sparing the time to read your letter increases the chances of the recipient supporting your goals as your gratitude indicates you value them. Clarity in correspondence also eases everyone’s work. Misunderstandings can result in expensive delays. It can also result in mishaps such as the wrong goods being shipped to you. Using simple and concise words is thus better that complicated ones. Business people should always consider if their recipients use English as a first or second language. Using idioms may also lead to confusion. When corresponding in the international context, having insight into your recipients’ culture increases your chances of success. When writing, show respect for their country of origin and mention something positive about it. Also, be careful not to adopt a stereotypic tone as this may portray you as ignorant. Honor your reader’s place in the world economy, avoid insulting phrases such as ‘third world country’ or ‘Oriental’ (Kolin, 2012). Maintaining goodwill with clients takes tact, which one can develop through reading or talking to businesses people who have dealt with a certain country in the past. Letters with antagonistic tones can make recipients adopt defensive attitudes with you. With the advent of technology, most business correspondence nowadays is done via the internet. The revolution of the Information Technology industry has presented business people with various communication options like e-conferencing, instant chat and Email. Emails are more common as they are easy to use and affordable. It is also easier to keep records for future reference. One should ensure emails are an acceptable means of business communication before adopting them when dealing with new business partners as some cultures find them too impersonal (Martin Chaney, 2012). People sometimes get informal when corresponding via email. This can have negative results as it indicates a lack of professionalism. Proper etiquette should still be observed. As adopting, a familiar tone with emails can be offensive and is associated with disrespect. References Kolin, P. C. (2012). Successful writing at work. Martin, J. S. Chaney, L. H. (2012). Global Business etiquette: a guide to international communication and customs. Santa Barbra, Cali: Praeger.