How America Has Changed Forever Essay

Americans to this day will never act or feel the same way as they once used to. What we did then and how we did it, we can no longer do now. It has been over twelve years since the United States went through one of the most horrific, terrifying tragedies in all of United States history. As we all know today, on September 11, 2001, Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four passenger airliners so they could be flown into buildings in suicide attacks. Two of those planes were intentionally crashed into the North and South towers of the World Trade Center complex in New York City. For this reason, there has been an enormous amount of changes in the United States. The three major areas that have changed are the airport security, the government, and the psychological impact. Before the attacks on the World Trade Center, airports security was fairly simple. For instance, passengers only had to show your ID and passengers were allowed to bring sharp objects on board such as: penknives, box cutters, and sharp scissors. Passengers were also allowed to walk through security with their shoes on, a belt on, or even a drink in their hand. Whereas now, we have adopted a new form of security called the Transportation Security Administration. Security now stops you at every checkpoint and you have to show your ID. Also, you cannot carry sharp objects onto the plane. You now have to take off your shoes and belt, and have them ran through a metal detector. Another key point is that passengers are not allowed to have liquids above 3. 4 ounces when going through the checkpoints. Special items such as laptops must be pulled out of the luggage. One of the most noticeable changes is the need to arrive at the airport early. The United Airlines website, for example, suggested airport arrival times include this recommendation for Los Angeles International: â€Å"Customers with checked baggage should arrive 2 hours before flight departure. † Due to the excessive wait at security, an early arrival is necessary. The airport security was not the only factor the United States enhanced, but the government as well also made changes. Due to the attacks, for this reason, the United States adopted the Patriot Act. The purpose of this act is to: deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, and for other purposes. There were also more than one hundred and thirty pieces of legislation introduced that related to the attacks during the first year. Such as: the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, the Enhanced Border Security, and Visa Entry Reform Act. To be sure to stop another tragedy happening, the government created agencies after the attacks that include the Department of Homeland Security, which consolidated other agencies, including the U. S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. The last significant change that the United States has faced since the attack is the psychological impact on how we Americans view immigrants. To put it another way, some Americans responded with fear, anger, as well as a growing intolerance for immigrants, especially against those who are or appeared to be from the Middle East. For this reason, many Muslims and Asians in the United States reported that they were the victims of harassment and hate crimes days after the attacks. In fact, some Muslims were shot and killed only because of their race. Not only were people shot, people were also targeting institutions that related with the Islamic faith. Mosques were attacked as well as other religious buildings, including a Hindu temple in St. Louis, Missouri. Anger and fear are not the only psychological consequences that we Americans have faced, but also posttraumatic stress disorder. According to figures from three New York City 9/11 health programs, at least 10,000 police officers, firefighters and civilians directly exposed to the World Trade Center attacks have been diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Twelve years later, we Americans are still impacted from this tragedy. We will always be emotionally distraught, nor we will ever get back the loved ones that have passed away in the tragic incidents. On the positive note, the government passed many regulations to make sure that there will never be a 9/11 repeat.

Two Poems of Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver

Comparison and Contrast Essay between two Poems of Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, or called Emily Dickinson for short (1830 – 1886) and Mary Oliver (1935), are the two poets who contributed great works of art to American society during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In spite of several characteristics that can be found in both Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver poems, there are undeniably things that distinguish them from one another, although outside both are very famous poets of the poems that they wrote at that time, but actually inside, every poem that they bring the reader has a different meaning and quite deep in reader hearts. For example, as we read the poem â€Å"Alligator Poem† by Mary Oliver poem and the poem â€Å"A Bird Came down the Walk† by Emily Dickinson, we can clearly see that both poets have borrowed the images of the bird to express the deeply of each verse, and to add lively for their poem. This method is called personification, is one of the main methods by which the poet used to write a poem vividly. Although both poets use personification methods in both poems, such as borrowing the images of the bird to write a poem as an example, but actually the use of such methods have different deeply meaning in the two poems. And that is the topic I write this essay, what are the similarities and differences between how they use images of birds to express their verses? How they have been very successful in using the personification methods to write a poem completely and deeply. First of all, about two poets, they are very famous poet and professional in the field of modern poems in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, both began writing poetry when they were very young. (Write something about Emily Dickinson Early Life and Career). Mary Oliver, since she started writing about modern poetry, she had a lot of work that very successful and famous all over the world such as House of Light, Winter Hours: Prose, Prose Poems, and Poems, Why I Wake Early,†¦ and and many other works. One of the most famous works is New and Selected Poems – Volumne One, this work brought to her a great success on the modern way of writing poems, it was also the cause of the birth New and Selected Poems – Volume Two. (Write something about Famous Works of Emily Dickinson). In the poem â€Å"Aligator Poem† in â€Å"New and Selected Poems – Volumne One† of Mary Oliver, personification method is a main method that she used the most to write this poem. As you read the whole poem, you can clearly see the bird that she wants to talk about is tanding in the tops of the trees, whistling any warning, crashing toward to her, its tail failing, slashing the grass, its cradle – shaped mouth gaping, then rimming with teeth,†¦ these actions are not the actions of a bird, these are human actions, she used personification to pretend the bird is a person, or a friend, she pretended that she was walking on the street and saw the bird, but she thought that bird is not a normal bird because she could see its eye was trying to tell her something. And of course she couldn't understand bird language, or the bird couldn't tell her what is going on with her in human language. So the only way that the bird could do is action, I do agree that human cannot understand the birds language, but I do surely agree that human can understand the bird action. Then finally she did understand what the bird was trying to tell her, she understood that something is really bad will happen to her in the future. And yes, she fell, but thanks to the bird's warning, she leaped aside and fell, that is why she did not die. Then in the end, she said that this is not a poem about foolishness, but about how she rose from the ground and saw the world as if for the second time which means she is not a person accepts to failure, she will face it and will continue to stand up every time she falls. In other words, all those things above, including her imagination of a bird is a human, are a method to help she continue to stand up each failure, and see the world again. On the other hand, in the poem â€Å"A Bird Came down the Walk† of Emily Dickinson, personification method is also one of the methods that Emily Dickinson used the most to write this poem like I said above in the instruction and in the poem â€Å"Aligator Poem†, this is also the similarity of the two poems, borrowing the images of bird to express their poems. She describes the simple experience of watching a bird came down the walk, but particularly is the bird didn't aware that it was being watched by the poet. The poet depicts the bird and its actions throughout the whole poem such as hopped sidewise to the wall to let a beetle pass, glanced with rapid eyes, stirred his velvet head, unrolled his feathers, rowed him softer home,†¦ these actions provides the readers with vivid imagery when they read the poetry because Emily Dickinson was very meticulous to describe the bird's actions as the actions of human. The poem makes the reader feel and experience very slowly the simple aspects of nature but very beautiful. She creates the mood of the poem in the sequence of very simple activities of he bird but bring more excitement to the reader. The first three stanzas describe very reasonable to replace the sequence of operations of a bird that could occur in the order when watching many kinds of bird. The last two stanzas describe a very natural act of a bird when she provided a crumb. The poem is divided into two parts, the first three stanzas are the first part to describe the mood and tone of the poem by listing the activities of the bird and the rest of the poetry is the second part describes the effect of human interaction on the bird. In the final stanza, a method that Emily Dickinson was used to write this poem is metaphor method; this is a difference between the two poems of Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver, comparing the bird’s smoothness in flight to oars splitting the ocean and butterflies leaping from banks. She used metaphor method to compare the bird’s smoothness in flight to oars splitting the ocean and butterflies leaping from banks. After all, the main goal of this poem is to show the simplistic beauty of nature through words, but this scene will be lost forever if people continue to destroy the nature such as the effect of human interaction on the bird as an example in this poem. To sum of, the big difference between the two poems is the meaning of borrowing the images of birds to tell the unbeaten in the poem â€Å"Poem Aligator† and to describe the beauty of nature in the poem â€Å"A Bird Came down the Walk†. In conclusion, reading the poems of the two great poets Emily Dickinson and Mary Oliver is one of the best ways to learn and study knowledge although both poets have similar ideas and different ways to bring knowledge to the reader through words, as long as a person or a student willing to work hard and improve, he/she will be able to analyze things in life, to know how to overcome their own difficulties.

The first crusade 1096-1109 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

The first crusade 1096-1109 - Essay Example Visiting places that were thought to be sacred was a common practice upheld by early Christians. Of particular importance was the city of Jerusalem. Since the time of Emperor Constantine, pilgrimage to Jerusalem was highly embraced by most economically able Christians. According to Khalidi, this city was thought to be holy due to the fact that it was the place where most events surrounding Jesus’ nativity, crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection took place (Khalidi 82). Therefore, for Christians, visiting Jerusalem was a blessing than just a mere experience. The city of Jerusalem was under the rule of the Saracen Caliphs, a Moslem Jihad group, since 638 AD. However, up to the tenth century, Christians could still be allowed to visit the Holy city. The caliphs encouraged the Jerusalem pilgrimage and made it one of the main sources of their revenue. At the dawn of the eleventh century, everything changed. A serious Muslim group comprising the Seljukian Turks from the ancient kingdom of Persia fought the Caliphs out of the region. Unaware of the change in power, about three thousand pilgrims to Jerusalem were caught unaware and persecuted. Jerusalem was captured by the Seljukian Turks in 1065 and all its holy and important places were destroyed (Al-Athar 109). This news was sadly received by Western Europe Christians. At the same period, the Normans had permanently settled in France and conquered England and the entire Roman Empire. The next step for them now was to conquer more kingdoms in order to satisfy their insatiable desire of expanding their territories. Therefore, their leaders began to strategize on how to conquer the entire Mediterranean region and take away Jerusalem from the hands of the Islamic Fatimids and the Seljuk Turks... This essay discusses that when the First Crusade broke out, most of the Islamic countries and the ruling powers of the time were disunited. They fought one another and they had been weakened by the time the crusade was launched. They could not combine their forces against the common western enemy. For instance, the Fatimids and the Seljuks attacked the Latin Christians separately. On the other hand, some cities under the control of Muslims had traitors who betrayed their fellow Muslims. A good example is Firouz who accepted a bribe to leave some gates of Antioch open for the enemy (Khalidi 363). The crusader armies were many in number. The army comprised of more than 35, 000 crusaders. Whenever this army was starving of hunger, good Samaritans came to their aid. For instance, Baldwin supplied them with enough food when they were planning to attack Antioch. Moreover, the revelations made by some of their priests encouraged the crusaders and gave them hope of victory against their oppo nents. The First Crusade is considered by many as the most successful of all the nine crusades. This is due to the fact that it enabled the West to set up a power base in the city of Jerusalem for the very first time since the collapse of the Roman Empire. The crusade was really advantageous in that apart from enhancing the Latin Christians’ grip on the Holy City-Jerusalem- it opened several international trade routes between Europe and the Middle East. The First Crusade led to the emergence of four new crusade states.

Team Building Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Team Building - Essay Example Conflict resolution process is essential to resolve conflicts that arise between individuals and/or groups. Conflicts can arise at many levels such as interpersonal levels, role level, between multiple parties, and at external levels (Fisher, 1977, Rev 1985 2000). At workplace, most common conflicts occur at interpersonal levels, which arise between individuals because of different needs, goals, and beliefs. The most common factor that is involved in interpersonal conflicts is the relationship between two individuals. It is very difficult for a third person, like a manager, to analyze interpersonal relationship between two individuals because relationships are shaped by a variety of incidents in the past. Hence, it becomes extremely challenging to resolve interpersonal conflicts that arise because of relationship history (Collins & O’Rourke, 2008a). Nevertheless, such conflicts can severely affect their performance and behavior. Hence, it becomes important for managers to addr ess conflicts at these levels in order to ensure smooth flow of work and maintain healthy environment in the team. Very often, interpersonal conflicts are trigged by lack of communication or misinterpretation of communication. Interpersonal conflicts can be addressed by fostering effective communication among team members. For this, the team members must first be made to realize the significance of communication in workplace. This can be achieved by conducting this simple teambuilding exercise named ‘Do you know what I mean?’ (Kumar, n.d). This teambuilding exercise involves participation from the entire team. Firstly, one volunteer from the team should be advised to draw different shapes/pictures of at least 10 different things that come to his/her mind on a chart. Next, the volunteer must instruct the team members verbally to draw these exact shapes without actually showing the chart. The team members may be allowed to ask questions. The result of this exercise will b e that none of the group’s pictures will match the original picture exactly (in shape and/or size), and some may be completely different. This exercise will make the team members realize the importance of communication in understanding the other person’s viewpoint in order to produce the desired outcome. Communication breakdown is considered as an important cause for interpersonal conflict. Therefore one has to possess or acquire effective communication skills to handle conflicts. Communication skills that are essential in conflict resolution include listening, asking appropriate questions, clarity of words and speech, and translating the conversation in the right manner that is acceptable to both the parties involved in the conflict. In this teambuilding exercise, the team members need to ask open ended questions so that they get a better idea of the picture that needs to be drawn. Open-ended questions help in acquiring more information from the other person; and begi n with words such as ‘how’ or ‘what.’ However, during conflicts, people tend to ask closed-ended questions that elicit only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers (Collins & O’Rourke, 2008b). Open-ended questions provide more information and learning to the listeners. Another important aspect of communication, especially important in conflict resolution, is to listen to the other person. In the present exercise,

Supervisory management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Supervisory management - Coursework Example 2. The main ways of non-verbal means of communication are as follows: keeping a certain personal space, looking into a person or object, mimics and poses, vocal attributes of the voice (tone, pitch), and speech tempo. The ways nonverbal signals influence supervisory communication are therefore: contributing to verbal messages making the speech more expressive; helping to understand feelings and thoughts of interlocutor by building rapport; their use instead of verbal messages (sometimes it is enough to use a gesture of a exclamation); regulating interaction between people in the process of communication, including subordination. In the process of nonverbal communication, it is quite easy to get comprehensive information about the personality of the communicator (his or her temperament, emotional state, image of â€Å"self† and self-esteem, personal traits) and about the attitude of the interlocutors towards each other and towards the situation itself. Among the effective nonverbal communication techniques there are the techniques of establishing contact, rapport, and evoking trust. There are also some techniques that can effectively influence the state of an interlocutor: increasing his or her interest, decreasing the level of aggression, etc. An efficient communicator should possess the skills of calibration of the state and reactions of people – which allows to determine an interlocutor’s true intentions, reasons for behaviour, thoughts, etc. Sending the right signals in the process of communication is also extremely important as this â€Å"meta-message† gives the interlocutor all information about the attitude to the subject of conversation on the subconscious level. 3. The key rule of corporate communications is their relevance to corporate strategy that will eventually determine the goals and content of messages. The three major spheres where communications

Explanation Of Two Financial Giant Merger Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explanation Of Two Financial Giant Merger - Essay Example It is apparent that due to increased local and international stiff competition in the banking sector, many organizations have resorted to mergers. Nevertheless, these merges have to be well planned for and articulated in a manner that would lay a firm foundation for the newly formed organization to maintain competitive advantage (Yates 7). One of such things that must be considered is the applicability of information system. With online banking services being on the increase, banks are very sensitive on how they engage in information system in order to retain and attract new customers. The case of merger between Wells Fargo and Wachovia is no exceptional to the importance of prioritizing on integration of information system in their merger. In fact, having been familiar with purchasing and merging smaller banks and failing institutions especially in 2006, just before the merger with Wachovia took place, Wells Fargo is cited to have had been successful and had steady increase in stock value. In this regard, for such an achievement to take place, information system plays an important role in enhancing the success.... In light of this, it was crucial for the two firms to integrate information system in their merger in order to strengthen their approach on information system matters. Perhaps, one of the firms could have a workforce with proficient information system, but lacking personnel to propel such knowledge to a higher notch while the other could be having ideas of propelling such ideas, but lacking people to propel them. In such a case, integrating information system in the merger would have created a strong information system (Prakken 7). 2. It is apparent that although integration of information system in the merger was crucial and enabled the merger to be successful, difficulties were noted by the two firms. For instance, after being successful in most of its mergers before the merger acquisition of Wachovia, Wells Fargo had been successful in these mergers. The firm was well aware of the challenges of such a merge especially with a firm recording decrease in stock value. In essence, it i s evident when a firm is recording decrease in stock value, either it’s IT or the human resource or both could be less functional. In this regard, there was a challenge of incorporating the information system of Wachovia. This is because it could have been the one that led to decrease in its stock value. However, although there could be some aspects of it that was significant, the effort to identify and incorporate such aspects in the new merger could have been difficult as well. On the other hand, human resource that manages the information is system is very important. Therefore, if the Wachovia’s human resource was incompetent and probably leads to the downfall of the firm, then it is apparent that there were difficulties in incorporating it into the

Bestmovies released in the past three years Essay - 1

Bestmovies released in the past three years - Essay Example Kleber Mendonca Filho directed the movie. This film documents a magnificent residential suburb that is located towards the south of the city and borders the Atlantic. There is a significant warning on the beach that warns visitors to be aware of sharks. The community in the Neighboring Sounds suffers from stress caused by the environment that is constantly changing. Apparently, the build environment has complicated the lives of residents in this city (Filho, 2012). The white and black photographs in the movie, the setting portrays a rural community that is coherent and builds around a master house. The presence of a sugar mill and school that is socially mixed further points to the historical times of the community. The film then assumes an urban area that is brightly lit with high apartments and some other ancient buildings. A Rollerblades girl follows a boy through a car park built under the ground until they disappear into an area that is enclosed. When the film opens in part one, Beatrice is shown seated at the kitchen due to lack of sleep. Apparently, some dogs are noisily yelping across the yard of the next door. To overcome this irritating noise, she decides to drug the dogs, an action that surprises her daughter. The director then shows an old, white bearded and widowed patriarch who once owned the entire area. Apparently, this former sugar baron Francisco is now selling the area in bits for purposes of redevelopment. His family lives and run the area. Among them, include the old man’s grandsons, Dinho and Joà £o who are cousins. Apparently, Joà £o took his studies in Europe and acts as the estate agent, albeit with much laxity. On his part, Dinho is a student without good reputation due to his numerous cases of petty theft. Both Dinho and Joà £o share the belief of closeness to the female servants and the boys who mostly do odd jobs. However, a new class has

Accounting case s Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting s - Case Study Example The request of baker to be involved in the scheduling of employees and the discussion over the costs of the labor force also indicates cases of fraud. According to him, he thinks that maybe there is more money given in order to fund more experienced labor but someone and most probably the departmental manager uses the allocated funds to recruit less qualified labor at a cheaper cost bearing in mind that the department would still record high profits. Through the complaint that the departmental statement includes charges that are not related to the bakery also indicates that the baker is concerned by the fact that the departmental manager may be using the high profits from the bakery department in order to account for losses made in other sectors of the department. According to reliable operating statements, it is prudent for all the sectors in a department to have their statement in order to help analyze the effectiveness and the progress of the sector As clearly observed from the baker’s complaint, it is clear that there may be cases of fraud and mismanagement of funds going pun from the management of the department. It is, therefore, recommendable that the baker must be involved in decisions to do with the choice of labor. Despite the fact that his sector records high profits, more experienced labor s required in order to help produce more. It is only through an increase in the profits from the preceding year that will mark development and growth of the company. It is also recommendable that the baker must be involved in the making of the general statements for the department. The fact that there happens to be charges in his sector that are not related means that resources from the bakery sector are used to source other sectors. In order for a company to grow, each sector and department has to be accountable for its expenses. This makes it easier to realize the weaknesses and be able

ETHICAL DILEMAS INTERNATONALIZING FIRMS HAVE FACED Research Proposal

ETHICAL DILEMAS INTERNATONALIZING FIRMS HAVE FACED - Research Proposal Example Each party comes with marketing transactions according to their cultural backgrounds of how the businesses should exist as well as how business should be implemented (Mozur 2015). Each aspect of marketing has ethical implications. Ethical implications in marketing study include incursion of privacy along with stereotyping (Brislin & Yoshida, 1994). Stereotyping happens because of analysis of real population in order to make applications as well as placing individuals into groups (Merriam, 2001). However, if it is conducted irresponsibly it might lead to ethical objectionable results. In this perspective, selective market is mostly used to depress demand from unwanted market sectors. A number of unethical market barring includes past business stances to the gay, cultural minority as well as plus size markets (Knowles, Holton, & Swanson, 2012). Insufficient skills in marketing ploys is another ethical issue that is connected to vulnerable audiences in developing

The Theme of Politics in Detective Fiction Essay

The Theme of Politics in Detective Fiction - Essay Example The Theme of Politics in Detective Fiction First, Politics has influence on detectives morals since they are also human beings expected to abide by the societal moral codes. The society expects investigators to portray excellent morals when handling criminal matters because people’s lives depend on the outcome. Whereas morals may differ from one culture to another, there is single moral that binds all the happenings of society; that is, the goal of doing well to another person. However, political influence on detective characters may alter the moral thinking with which they execute their duties. In fact, Dey brings forward, through the tales, the moral, political, and epistemological queries through the rationalistic and surveillance interpretations of detectives (97-20). According to him, bad politics hampers detective work. Secondly, the credibility of Detective findings depends on the political atmosphere at a specific time of the event. Harpham says that politicians get mad at each other, only when seasons changes (122). He adds that detective work involves rubbing shoulders with the politicians in some instances (127). Depending on the nature of favors that politicians may call from the detectives, some investigation findings risk being biased. In fact, the aspect is well portrayed in Dey’s articles when the author shows influence of political authority on the lives of various people such as Robbe-Grillet, and Agatha Christie murdered using political power (Dey 20).

Target (TGT) and J.C. Penny (JCP) Research Essay Example for Free

Target (TGT) and J.C. Penny (JCP) Research Essay Over the next couple of months, I will be conducting research on Target (TGT) and J.C. Penny (JCP). The reason for this is so that I may give my insight on which company I feel will be the most desirable one for Celash, Byrne Moovon (CBM). Using detailed financial statements on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as data available on each of the companies web sites, Foundations of Financial Management With Time Value of Money, course book, Interpretation of Financial Statements, and The Value Line Investment Survey, make a recommendation as to which of the two is the most desirable acquisition and at what price. Company Profiles Target has: †¢1,797 stores in the United States †¢124 stores in Canada †¢37 distribution centers †¢361,000 team members worldwide †¢online business at target.com †¢global locations in India and Canada As a publicly-owned, U.S.-based company, Target has a global presence with a headquarters location in India and sourcing offices around the world. In addition, the company operates a credit card segment that offers branded proprietary credit card products and rewards programs. (Corporate Information) 1) Overview: Company Overview | | Headquarters: | Minneapolis | NYSE Trade Symbol: | TGT | 2012 Revenue: $73,301Million| Number of Stores: | 1,755 | Number of Associates: | 350,000 | To link to view Target’s 2012 10k annual report is: https://corporate.target.com/_media/TargetCorp/annualreports/content/download/ pdf/Annual-Report.pdf?ext=.pdf . On the report you will be able to see the growth in revenue that Target has obtained within the past 5 years. Below is a copy of the chart. The annual book value per share from 2008-2012 are as follows: The current annual ratios as well as the past years are as follows: The profit margin on sales from 2008-2012 for Target are as follows: J.C. Penny â€Å"J. C. Penney (JCP) is one of the nations major clothing and home furnishing retailers. The company is experiencing a revival towards becoming Americas preferred retail destination for unmatched style, quality and value. Across 1,100 stores and at their web site jcp.com, customers will discover an inspirational shopping environment that features the most sought after collections of private, national and exclusive brands and attractions.†(4) To be America’s shopping destination for discovering great styles at compelling prices is the vision of J.C. Penny. The goals of the company include: To win with their * Customers Build deeper, more enduring customer relationships * Associates Increase associate engagement and retention * Shareholders Deliver industry-leading financial performance Company Overview | | Headquarters: | Plano, TX | NYSE Trade Symbol: | JCP | 2012 Revenue: | 17.26billion | Number of Stores: | 1,108 | Number of Associates: | 150,000 | To link to view J.C. Penny 2012 10k annual report is: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1166126/000116612613000016/jcp-20130202x10k.htm The annual book value per share from 2008-2012 are as follows: The current annual ratios as well as the past years are as follows: The profit margin on sales from 2008-2012 for J.C. Penny are as follows: 20082009201020112012 5.59%3.09%1.43%2.19%-0.88% Here you can also follow this link, http://target.knoji.com/compare-vs/jcpenney/ , to see a comparison chart between target and J.C. Penny. Both Target and J.C. Pennies have similar goals. Throughout the next couple of months I will research these two companies to provide evidence on which company will be the best one to go with. REFERENCES PAGE 1.Stanley B. Block, Geoffrey A. Hirt and Bartley R. Danielson (2011), Foundations of Financial Management With Time Value of Money, McGraw-Hill Irwin, 14th edition. 2.Benjamin Graham and Spencer Meredith. (1998). Interpretation of Financial Statements, Harper Business. 3.http://pressroom.target.com/corporate 4.http://www.jcpenney.net/about-us.aspx 5.http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Target_(TGT)/Data/Book_Value_Per_Share/2008 6.http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Target_(TGT)/Data/Current_Ratio 7.http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Target_(TGT)/Data/Net_Margin/2008?ref=chart 8.http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/J.C._Penney_(JCP)/Data/Book_Value_Per_Share 9.http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/J.C._Penney_(JCP)/Data/Current_Ratio 10.http://financials.morningstar.com/ratios/r.html?t=JCP

Aegon Group International: Change Management Strategies

Aegon Group International: Change Management Strategies INTRODUCTION TO THE CHOOSEN ORGANIZATION: AEGON Group (AEGON N.V.), an international provider of life insurance, pensions and other long-term investment products. Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, AEGON has around 40 million policyholders and approximately 28,000 employees around the world. It has assets, including all revenue-generating investments, of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬405 billion ( £348 billion).* AEGONs mission is to help customers secure their long-term financial futures. AEGON has three main established markets: the United States, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Recently, AEGON has expanded its international presence, pushing into new growth markets in the Americas, Asia and Central and Eastern Europe. At present, AEGON has businesses in more than 20 markets across the globe. AEGON has a clear, well-defined strategy, aimed at creating long-term value for all the companys stakeholders. Committed to its core businesses (life insurance and pensions), AEGON seeks profitable, sustainable growth and pursues a multi-channel approach to distribution to give customers access to products and services in the way that best suits them. AEGON was created in 1983 the result of a merger between two Dutch insurance companies AGO and Ennia. And many of the companies who form AEGON have a long history. For example, in the United States, Monumental Life based in Baltimore has been insuring people since 1858, while in the United Kingdom, AEGON (a brand name of Scottish Equitable plc) has been in existence since the early 1830s. *Source: AEGON N.V. quarterly results, 30 September 2010 TASK 1; EXPLORE THE BACKGROUND TO CHANGE AFFECTING THE ORGANIZATION. (A) IDENTIFY A RANGE OF MODELS OF CHANGE MANAGEMENT AND EXPLAIN THE ANY THREE OF THESE MODELS IN DETAIL. McKINSEY 7-S MODEL: The McKinsey 7-S Model was created by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman whilst they were working for McKinsey Company in 1978 (12Manager, 2007. According to this model there are seven different factors that are a part of the model: Shared values Strategy Structure Systems Style Staff Skills Shared values are the centre of the model because it is what the organization believes in and stands for, such as the mission of the company. Strategy represents what the company plans to do react to any changes of its external surroundings (Recklies, 2007). The structure refers to the organizational structure of the company. Systems are the portion of the model that represents the procedures, processes and routines that characterize how the work should be done. Staff is quite obvious in the fact that it is a proper representation of who is employed by the organization and what they do within the organization (12Manage, 2007). Style signifies the organizational culture and management styles that are utilized within the organization (12Manage, 2007). Skills indicate the abilities and competencies of either the employees or the organization holistically. LEWINNS CHANGE MANAGEMENT MODEL: This model was developed in early 1950s by Kurt Lewin a psychologiest. Lewin recognized following three stages of change (Syque, 2007), Unfreeze Ttransition Refreeze The majority of people tends to stay within certain safe zones and is hesitant of change (Syque, 2007). These people tend to become comfortable in this unchanging environment and become uncomfortable when any change occurs, even if it is a minor one. In order to overcome this frozen state, we must initiate an unfreeze period, which is done through motivation (Mind Tools, 2007). Motivation is important in any organization, even when it is not changing. The transition period is when the change is occurring, which is a voyage and not a step.. The transition period takes time because people do not like change. At the end of the transitional voyage, comes the next stage: refreeze. This is the stage where the company once again becomes stable. Kotters Eight Step Change Model; According to this model there are eight steps that must be followed for successful change. Step One: Increase urgency for change Step Two: Build a team for the change Step Three: Construct the vision Step Four: Communicate Step Five: Empower Step Six: Create short term goals Step Seven: Be persistent Step Eight: Make the change permanent The first step is to create urgency for change. This means that we have to convince the employees that this change is necessary for the company to survive. This also means that we must communicate that the change is achievable without any detrimental effects on their jobs. The next step is to build a team for the change, which has to be of some respected employees within the company. The third step is to construct the vision, which will show clear direction to how the change will better the future of the company and their jobs (Rose, 2002). The fourth step is to communicate this vision. In order for the vision to work it must be fully understand by the employees, which means that it is necessary for the leaders of the change group to follow this vision. The fifth step it to empower the employees to execute the change. It is still important that the management follow the same guidelines as the employees are too. By creating short term goals, we assist the employees to accept the chang e by showing them progress. Rewards are very important at this step also. The seventh step is about persistence because we should influence more change even after the short term goals are met or the original plan for change will cease and die (Rose, 2002). The final step is to make the change permanent by moving fitting it into the companys culture and practices, such as promotion (Chapman, 2006). (B) IDENTIFY AND LIST THE FACTORS THAT ARE DRIVING YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZATION TO CHANGE, AND SUGGEST AN APPROPRIATE MODEL OF CHANGE FOR YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZAITON WITH REASONS FOR SUGGESTING THE MODEL. In case of AEGON UK following are the deriving forces for organizational change. Financial restructuring in the United Kingdom. Growth in population and changes in demographic attributes. Cultural diversification in the UK. Changes in social dimensions of the United Kingdom. Evolution of political orientation and policies. Increase in the domestic purchasing power. Institutional and policies neglect regarding the financial products. High competitiveness and consequent challenges. Deficient Management practices. Inefficiency in processes. In the personal opinion of the researcher the best choice of change model that should be applicable in case of AEGON UK is Kotters Eight Step Change Model. The researcher believes this is the best choice because it is simple mode. Researcher thinks in this way because it fully prepares the employees of the company before the vision is even created, which means that the actual transition will be much easier in the long run. There are fewer disadvantages to this model than others. Overall it is the best fit for most companies because substantial change is needed for the divisions because its history. This will also help ease the transition because the division has quite a history compared to the rest of the company, so people are not as set in the ways, as they would be if the division had been around longer. (C) IDENTIFY THE VALUE OF STRATEGIC INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES AND WHAT INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES WOULD YOU APPLY IN INTRODUCING CHANGE INTO YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZATION; There is no question that some form of strategic planning is key to an organizations future performance. However, there are several challenges to implementing this type of planning in an organization. Large group interventions are one set of methods for addressing these challenges. In case of AEGON UK strategic planning implies planning for the long-term. The time frame associated with this type of planning is from three to five years into the future. Due to this timeframe, there are several challenges associated with long-range planning. These include: creating a plan that is breakthrough in its orientation rather than more of the same, getting all stakeholders to commit to the organizations strategies and to follow through on implementation of critical activities, and decreasing cycle time in the planning process. In todays world, organizations cannot afford these challenges. To survive, they must be able to quickly create, deploy, and implement breakthrough strategies that help them to continually anticipate and meet current and future customer requirements. In doing so, they must be able to align all internal and external resources around the plan. This sort of orientation necessitates approaches to strategic planning that involve all employees and stakeholders in the planning process and a planning process that can occur within a shortened time frame. The researcher will prefer to adopt Large Group Interventions Technique to address the proposed change in the chosen organization AEGON. LARGE GROUP INTERVENTIONS: Over the past 20 years, a number of large group intervention techniques have emerged that more quickly effect large-scale change. As such, they have been effective tools in dealing with some of the issues associated with strategic planning. These intervention techniques include: Design, Participative Design, Simu-Real, Work-outs, and Open Space Technology. As summarized in the book, Large Group Interventions, by Barbara Benedict Bunker and Billie Alban, these approaches allow organizations to involve anywhere from 30 to hundreds, if not a few thousand, individuals in working together to accomplish a common outcome. They may come together for a single day or multiple days or events. In the process of working collaboratively, the organization can more quickly achieve what Kathleen Dannemiller has coined one heart and one mind-a key factor in organizational alignment. These approaches have several defining characteristics. They are best used when: Time is of the essence. The issue is complex. The purpose of the intervention is clear. There is committed and involved leadership. Benefits can be reaped from stakeholder involvement and ownership. A design team that is representative of the whole is engaged to develop the content and process pieces of the intervention as well as its follow-up, support, and communications plan. Real work occurs during the event. Large group interventions have been used successfully in diverse industries hence the researcher believes this type of strategic intervention technique will be effective for AEGON UK. TASK 2 UNDERSTAND ISSUSES RELATING TO STRATEGIC CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION (A) DISCUSS THE GENERIC BACKGROUND TO CHANGE THAT EXISTS IN TODAYS ECONOMY, AND THE SPECIFIC DRIVES THAT MOTIVATED YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZATION TO CONSIDER CHANGE. World appears to be integrating economically, politically and culturally. Irrespective of the national boundaries huge developments in information, communication and technology has taken place. Ownership patters of corporate sector all over the world have become more complex like joint ventures, cross-border acquisitions etc. Global strategies have emerged in the production of goods and services, distribution and management of labour. These have had an immense impact on business activities. The world economy is now more closely interlinked and the finance has become a global resource. In the current economic circumstances organizations are facing both external and internal forces that ultimately make change unavoidable. External forces such as new work force demographics; changing expectations about quality, productivity, and customer satisfaction; and new technologies are dramatically affecting the operating environment in organizations globe wise. Internally, financial limitations, the condition to do more with less, cross-functional groups, mergers and acquisitions and empowered employees all influences organizations position to compete in the global marketplace. Outsourcing, automation, best practices, downsizing, globalization, repositioning, re-engineering, and all other such terms refer towards change to your work force. It does not matter how do you define this change the fact is that challenge to the organization is inevitable; balancing the demands and hopes among the stakeholders including customer, employees, management and shareholders. Without balance, an organization risks an anxious work force that may yield declining output. The magnitude of the success of the organization depends how an organization decides to motive, correspond and incorporate change into the work force. So we can say that change is a process not an event. In the corporate world, when any or all of the factors such as; environment, technology, task, structure or people are altered fully or partially, the phenomenon is called as change. Whenever in the corporate environment deriving forces and restraining forces are not in equilibrium, there is a need for the change. In case of the AEGON UK there were many deriving forces that caused the background of change in AEGON UK. AEGON UK was although was bearing international repute but still it didnt had band awareness by the name of AEGON in the United Kingdom. The philosophy of the financial services products that were being sold by AEGON UK or its competitors were quite difficult to understand by the potential customers. Life expectancy in the United Kingdom has increased in the recent years so people can expect to be retired for longer age and similarly many individual never think it worthy to plan about their retirement properly, on the other hand there was a derive from the government to reduce dependency on the state in old age so there was a need to make a social awareness among the people for the benefits of having the financial products sold by the AEGON UK to secure there future because benefit of these investments usually realised in later years. AEGON was not well recognised in the areas ot her than pensions. Above stated reasons are the few of those that lead management to introduce change in the corporate structure and strategy of the AEGON UK Limited. (B) CONSIDER THE IMPLICAITONS IN TERMS OF RESOURCES, FOR YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZATION IF IT FAILED TO RESPOND TO THE NEED FOR STRATEGIC CHANGE. Human and other Capacity Requirements The human capacity and skills required to implement the strategy, current and potential sources of these resources. Also, other capacity needs required such as internal systems, management structures, engaged partners and Network NOs and POs, and a supportive legal framework etc. Financial Requirements The funding required implementing the proposed management strategy, current and potential sources of these funds, and the most critical resource and funding gaps. Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy What risks exist and how they can be addressed. Estimate of Project Lifespan, Sustainability, and Exit Strategy How long the strategy will stand implemented, after how long and why strategy will require modifications (if feasible to do so), and how it will ensure sustainability of the corporate objective achievements. Strategic Change Management Plan may only be considered complete when these components have been defined, at least in broad terms. As the project moves into change implementation, several of these components are then defined in more detail and tested in reality. TASK 3 DEVELOP SYSTEMS FOR UNDERSTANDING AND INVOLVING OTHERS IN THE PROCESS OF CHANGE (A) IDENTIFY THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZATION AND PROPOSE SYSTEMS TO INVOLVE THOSE STAKEHOLDERS IN THE PLANNING OF CHANGE. Stake holders are the people who are directly affected by the decisions of an entity. Stake holder may be internal (management, employees etc.) or external (government, suppliers, banks, media, shareholders etc). Different stake holders have different expectations from the organization. In the process of change, stake holders can be involved in a number of ways suck as; Involve them in problem solving. Keep them up to date of standing towards corporate objectives? Take actions on feedback received by them? Mobilize the correct resources at the right moment to recognize the implementation plan? In order to involve the stake holders to the process of change the new chief executive officer of AEGON carried out the following actions; Simplification of Financial Services; for the purpose of involving the customers to the process of change the Chief Executive Officer of AEGON adopted a customer focused approach. The CEO simplified the ever complex financial services in terms of their understanding and it was now made very simple to understand. Now the customers know that what they are investing into and what return their investment is expected to yield at the end of the contract. Earlier customers have always been confused between the complex calculations. Now the customers are happy because they dont need any financial interpreter to understand the ins and outs of the products offered by the AEGON. Workforce Development; An-other very important stake holder of the organization is the employees. These are actually the people who are practically responsible for to make the change process successful or not. Before implementing the change the new CEO took the employees in confidence and brief them about the fact that what AEGON stands today and what AEGON wants to stand in the future and he also address the forces reasoning this change. Next step is to develop the new skilled required to implement the change, the CEO introduced job rotation which involves progression from one job to the other job. Hence it provided individual employees with a coherent career path. CEO also arranged a Management Development Programme in collaboration with a leading management college for the training of the workforce. Creating Distinct Market Place; To refresh the brand identity of AEGON into the minds of the people the CEO carried out an external promotional campaign to highlight the relationship between the locally famous Scottish Equitable and AEGON. Also the CEO spoke to the media stating the reasons for the change and how the change will be useful for the stakeholders. (B) ANALYSE AND EVALUATE THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THESE SYSTEMS. The systems stated above in part (A) were used to involve the different people into the process of change. The need for this change was actually those external and internal forces that were affecting the performance of the AEGON. The AEGON business was not going well due to a number of key issues. Due to those issues the Chief Executive Officer had to bring some changes into the line of operation and the way of operations by AEGON. The Chief Executive Officer related this change programme being fully customer focused and associated this whole change project with certain behaviours which are; think customer; embrace change, encourage excellence, act with integrity, decisive action, work together, learn and grow relate and communicate. The employees were trained about these behaviours by a leading management institute. Another reason for this system of change relating to the problem that AEGON was facing was that the consumers were not aware about the products and services provided by AEGON. The customers had always been confused about understanding their investment policy. They had never been able to make comparison among the services provided by AEGON neither about the possible outcome if they invest into them. As to the reaction of the fact the Chief Executive Officer simplified the description of the product to the extent that every person could understand and calculate the financial flows regarding the products offered by AEGON. This strategy really worked and AEGON have a very positive response from its customers. The other system that the Chief Executive Officer developed was to train the workforce. First the employees were addressed about the need for the change and the possible proposed changes and before implementing the change it is very essential that the workforce is capable enough to perform their duties into the new environment. For the purpose workforce was developed with rotating job descriptions and Management Development Programme was conducted by a leading management college to train the employees about how to respond to the change. Finally the Chief Executive Officer had to respond to the most vital reason for the change that is the fact that AEGON was trading under many different trade names into the same geographical location. This was the greatest reason because of which AEGON had not taken a distinct market place despite of such a historical background and multinational presence. The CEO for the purpose spoke to the media and addressed the whole situation, besides that many others measures were taken to establish a brand position, for instance Scottish Equitable was changed to AEGON Scottish-Equitable representing the repute of the local company and the brand of AEGON similarly external promotional campaign was incorporated into the system. (C) EXPLAIN HOW WOULD YOU DEVELOP A CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY WITH THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS. Stakeholder management is critical to the success of introducing change in the organization .The more people are being affected by change, the more likely it is that your actions will impact people who have power and influence over your projects. These people could be strong supporters of your work or they could block it. Stakeholder Management Strategy is an important discipline that successful people use to win support from others. It helps them ensure that their projects succeed where others fail. Stakeholder Analysis is the technique used to identify the key people who have to be won over. You then use Stakeholder Planning to build the support that helps you succeed. The benefits of using a stakeholder-based approach are that: The opinions of the most powerful stakeholders to shape change implementation at an early stage. Not only does this make it more likely that they will support you, their input can also improve the quality of your project Gaining support from powerful stakeholders can help you to win more resources this makes it more likely that your projects will be successful By communicating with stakeholders early and frequently, you can ensure that they fully understand what you are doing and understand the benefits of your project this means they can support you actively when necessary By anticipating what peoples reaction to your project may be, and build into your plan the actions that will win peoples support. (D) WHAT WOULD BE YOUR STRATEGY FOR MANAGING RESISTANCE TO CHANGE IN THIS ORGANIZATION? The researcher has developed following strategy for managing resistance to change in the AEGON. There will be a workflow process in order to achieve results for mutual benefits for employees and organization. There will be an Authority Process in order to direct behaviour in the interests of the organization and its participants. There would be a Reward and Penalty Process to induce people to behave in a way required by the interests of the organization and its participants and / or to behave in a way making associated activity possible. There will be a Perpetuation Process to maintain, replenish, and make adequate the quantity and quality of social and natural resources utilized by the organization and its participants. There must be an Identification Process to develop a concept of the wholeness, uniqueness and significance of the organization. This is usually accompanied by efforts to select and define clearly understood emotionally toned symbols, concepts, or other such factors which will help individual participants identify the uniqueness of the organization as a whole, which in turn automatically helps to define the uniqueness of the organization in the larger environment in which it is embedded. There will be a communication process to provide for the exchange of information, ideas, feelings and values etc utilized in all activities to the stake holders. There must be an evaluation process which establishes criteria for and defines levels of utility and value for people, materials, ideas, and activities and which rates them and allocates them to these levels. TASK 4 PLAN TO IMPLEMENT MODELS FOR ENSURING ONGOING CHANGE (A) IDENTIFY APPROPRIATE MODELS FOR IMPLEMENTING CHANGE THAT SUITE YOUR CHOSEN ORGANIZAITON. Model for change refers towards the overall strategy to incorporate change into the organizational environment. A model of change is usually implemented into the following steps; Access the necessity of change Forming a powerful alliance Creating an idea for change Communicate the vision Remove barriers Incorporate the change into organization The Chief Executive Officer implemented the same model to incorporate change into the organization. The CEO realised the need for the changed and he came to know that company is not doing well as compared to its competitors, the legislative restriction of price has decreased the profitability lack of brand awareness getting worst and difficulty of the customers understanding the soul of the services offered by the AEGON were the factors that required an immediate change into the organization at a large scale. It was what AEGON was at the moment. The CEO conducted a SWOT analysis of the firm. After getting the situation the CEO decided to develop a new behavioural framework for the staff which was known as 8 behaviours framework and also arranged managerial training for the workforce. The CEO further addressed to the stakeholders of the organization to communicate his vision to them by simplifying the financial services, developing a workforce and arranging a brand awareness campaign. The CEO also spoke to the media about this change process and the reasons for the change. Hence model implemented by the CEO of AEGON UK brought about considerable positive change to the organization and gave it a new line of direction towards the desired goals and objectives. (B) HOW WOULD YOU IMPLEMENT THIS MODEL IN CHOSEN ORGANIZATION WHAT IMPROVEMENTS DO YOU EXPECT TO ACHIEVE BY IMPLEMENTING YOUR CHOSEN MODEL AND HOW WOULD YOU MEASURE THESE? The plan for the change was implemented into the various steps such as discovery phase to analyze where the AEGON is right now, where it wants to be and what actions are required to meet the objectives set by the Chief Executive Officer to become the best long term saving and protection business into the United Kingdom. Discovery phase revealed the reasons for changes and weaknesses and strengths of the organization. After the discovery phase the next step was to involve the appropriate stake holders into the process of change. The chief executive officer involved various stakeholders in different effective manner as discussed previously. The CEO further redeveloped the organizational behavioural framework and arranged the training of the staff members. The outcomes of the efforts made by the CEO were extremely encouraging and rewarding for the company. Before the change there was confusion among the people about the recognition of AEGON but after the heavy promotion of the brand AEGON with Scottish-Equitable created a more reliable image of the AEGON into the minds of the people. Further to that the brand carried a new more powerful and prestigious look as AEGON Scottish-Equitable. The behaviour of the employees changed altogether, now they behave with more customer focused approach. Now the employees are concern to provide useful and relevant services to their existing and potential customers and the organization is always doing its level best to do what is really important to their customers. By the change into the structure of AEGON now the customers are being offered more choices of services. AEGON launched new and ground-breaking products like the 5 for Life annuity has facilitated to change the way in which consumers can look at their retirement income. AEGON providing the levels of return promised and being responsible for any risks associated with doing so it provides more certainty about levels of income for the consumer. In short as the result of the change implement by the CEO of AEGON the company rebuilt its brand reputation, became more customer focused, started to provide more innovative products and became more popular among the consumers and ultimately the business has grown to a gigantic extent. In order to become more customers focused the new Chief Executive Officer decided to develop a new organizational behaviour framework to support the brand values of AEGON. Behavioural framework is the structured pre-defined codes of behaviour how the individuals working within the organization are suppose to behave among themselves and to the people outside the organization. Presence of the behavioural framework gives rise to the similar behavioural and ethical values of all the individuals at all levels with in the organizational. Behavioural framework developed by the AEGON was mainly focusing 8 behavioural values which are; THINK CUSTOMER; EMBRACE CHANGE; ENCOURAGE EXCELLENCE; ACT WITH INTEGRITY; DECISIVE ACTIONS; WORK TOGETHER; LEARN GROW; RELATE COMMUNICATE As the part of their strategy AEGON also undertook an audit to look at the two aspects which were the internal position of the company and how AEGON was positioned internally into the market respectively. The audit revealed that AEGON was firmly positioned within the market. Its workforce was known for their considerable expertise, innovation and clarity of communication. The external audit also helped to determine where AEGON was placed in relation to its competitors. This audit provided a very important vision to the decisions that were needed to initiate the change process.

Technology During World War 2

Technology During World War 2 As the battle advanced into a fatal war so did the technology around us. The knowledge most people lacked during the war involved the advantage of the World War. The war carried on as the technology warfare complexed day by day. From Naval to Aerial warfare new weaponry was introduced by each side of the war. Countries around the world revolutionized. The war had finally come to an end however the creation and distribution of new weaponry was never put a halt. Rapid advances in bombs and guns proved deadly, it came very clear to the people that there was much more deaths in WWll then in WWI. Till date the weaponry business strives to introduce further innovation that modernizes our earth as a whole. The weaponry industry determined which opponent of the war had an advantage over the other. It seems like a bad way of advertisement but thats what went on during the war. One side advertised a new weapon or piece of technology and soon was recreated by the other side to be sold in bulk. The war really turned into a game of I can do anything you can do better. Ground Warfare at the time was where the real action took place and where most of the thinking went towards. New advances were pioneered at the battlefield. The Machine Gun being one of the most important pieces of expertise in that time! The Machine Gun was introduced at first as very expensive and hand reloaded. The Machine Gun allowed the biggest advantage to the Germans for quite some time until the allies finally realised what a imperative piece of machinery the machine gun was and hence invested in providing their own military with it. Eventually the Machine Gun surpassed its own incredible ability and was fully automatic. This was a startling time in history; the gun being light, requiring less than 2 people to man the machine and easily portable. Aerial warfare was also a big part of the war. The advantage of being of being able to give a high birds eye view was crucial during the war. At first this was the only goal of the airplane in war. The aerial conflicts werent as well known as ground warfare because becoming a part of the Air Force meant facing the fact that people die on their very first days. Many others live to tell their story. Aviation didnt have an immense effect on the outcome of the ground battles of World War 2 because it was still in its developmental stages. It finally occurred to the Military leaders from both sides and they studied and planned to take advantage of the Airplanes features. ON April 1, 1918 the RAF (Royal Air Force) was finally structured by an amalgamation. When World War I ended, France at the time had the most powerful air force established. Airplane bombings annihilated one coordinate on the map effectively and fairly easily. Aerial warfare was essential during the war however the leaders soon realised there was still one more point where the army was weak; Naval Warfare. Naval warfare had changed significantly during World War II. Limitations were in place when developing new ships because of the short amount of time given for expansion. However a lot of modifying took place during the war that took old working machines and improved them with recent additional features (Also known as retrofitting). More advances arrived for German Submarines nonetheless majority of the experienced and skilled crews had been killed off. The Germans used the U boat in order to primarily stop and/or destroy resources being shipped across the Atlantic Ocean. This was a clever way to make the other side less stable and physically dominant. Submarines were critical in the Pacific Ocean as well as in the Atlantic Ocean. The most important naval advances were preventing submarines in the first place. While others built and developed new technology in the naval field some forces created machinery that destroyed/prevented them. The use of ASDIC (SONAR) became common and so did the fixing of airborne radar which cautioned the troops of imminent attacks. Technology during the world war not only influenced and determined the outcome of the war but changed peoples lives all together. The technology being introduced all through the World War brought many widespread intellectual people who wanted to take these ideas and build upon them. The progress was influential for many future ideas and development in technology that we see today. This meant the war had an impact on any ordinary human being. Furthermore, we wouldnt see the vast growth in Aerial, Naval, and Ground warfare like we do up till now. As a common individual in our society I find it hard to morally justify death as a good thing. The war was a tragic event in our history books nevertheless the consequences of the war also brought us with great innovation we would not have seen so quickly the way we did. Cited List.

Wedding Speech - Best Woman or Maid of Honor :: Wedding Toasts Roasts Speeches

Wedding Speech – Best Woman or Maid of Honor Good Evening! For those of you who don’t know me, I am Sarah, Frankie’s slightly older sister. I want to start by congratulating Frankie and Erik, and thanking all of you for coming here today. I of course have known Frankie, a very, very long time. Frankie and I have always been pretty much inseparable as long as I can remember and we have always managed to keep each other laughing. I vividly remember Frankie and I staying up until well past our bedtime, throwing stuffed animals at each other, talking about boys and laughing so hard at everything and anything. To this day Frankie is the only person I know that can make me laugh so hard it hurts. Now, I of course have lots and lots of fun embarrassing stories about her†¦but because it is her special day, I will leave her alone. But there is always Erik†¦Erik, Erik, Erik. The big bonus of Frankie and Erik dating as long as they have is that we have all gotten to know Erik really well, really, really well†¦he has become the big brother I never had†¦ or wanted. But honestly he has really become a part of our family. He hunts, drinks beer, and wears flannel so it wasn’t too much of a stretch. Now, I have been trying for weeks to come up with a single embarrassing story, something about meeting Erik for the first time, or the first time he met our family, and frankly I came up with nothing. Erik has always been polite, kind, and funny to everyone†¦EVERYONE†¦frankly man it’s a little spooky.

Satie, Erik :: essays research papers

Satie, Erik   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The French composer Erik Satie was born on May 17, 1866, and died on July 1, 1925, was the son of an English mother and a Parisian music publisher. He entered the Paris Conservatory in 1879 but failed to benefit from academic education, which he embarked on again only in his 40th year, when he enrolled as a pupil of Vincent d'Indy and Albert Roussel at the Schola Cantorum. Long before that, however, he had composed a number of short piano pieces, whose eccentric titles and unfashionable and yet convincing simplicity of melody were matched by an individual sense of harmony. It is still a moot point whether Satie got his harmonic ideas from his fellow student and friend Claude Debussy, or whether the debt was on Debussy's side. It is quite clear, however, that Satie's tasteful principles influenced Debussy in the composition of his opera Pelleas et Melisande and that Satie was the main influence in helping Debussy to free himself from the musical domination of Richard Wagner. Satie became interested in plainsong through his association with a so-called Rosicrucian group, while he earned his living as a cafe pianist in Montmartre. Satie was a conscious eccentric and a determined enemy of all establishments, including the musical. The comical titles that he attached to his small piano pieces are characteristic of the Bohemian wit in the Paris of his day. Irony and a deceptively childlike attitude, a dislike for pomposity of all kinds, and an instinctive secretiveness were hallmarks of both the man and his music. In 1916, Satie was befriended by Jean Cocteau and wrote the music for a ballet, Parade, on which Pablo Picasso and Leonid Massine also collaborated. By far the most important of Satie's works is Socrate , an harsh

Companies, Ethics, and Privacy of Personal Information Essay -- Privac

Introduction Personal data is quickly becoming a commodity in today's high technology world. This information is used by banks, investment and brokerage companies, credit card merchants, government agencies (local, state and federal), and consumer product-based companies. Most people probably don't realize the amount of information that's shared between companies, or how often it's done. Many companies sell and share customer data to help sell products and find out what new products they should produce. Other uses include gathering information about inventory levels to help better determine what types of products are bought at which store, when and how often. This can be used for inventory and production, to make sure that the store (or stores for chains, like Safeway and Long's Drugs) can have the products available when they're needed. However, the same personal data is being compromised and eroding privacy. Companies have been getting bolder in their attempts to gather, share and sell data. The latest trend is outsourcing data to third party companies for data processing, which can be done at a lower cost. One of the main problems with this approach is that a lot of very sensitive data is being sent, which could be harmful in the wrong hands. Most companies require their customers to "opt-out" to prevent their data from being shared with a company's affiliates. This process requires the customer to explicitly tell the company not to share their data, which is usually in the form of a web site or a survey sent in the mail. These surveys are often thrown away by consumers, so they don't even realize that they're giving the companies a green light to sell and share their data. There's a new movement starting to grow, whe... ...nstitution Policy Brief #29, February 1998. http://www.brook.edu/comm/policybriefs/pb029/pb29.htm [17] Simon Davie,"Europe to U.S.: No privacy, no trade", Wired - Issue 6.05. May, 1998 http://www.wired.com/wired/6.05/europe.html [18] Swedish Personal Register Law, recent changes http://www.dsv.su.se/~jpalme/society/personal-register-law.html#recentchanges [19] Declan McCullagh, "US Twitchy on EU Data Privacy", Wired News, October 16, 1998 http://www.wired.com/news/news/business/story/15671.html Suggested Online resources Privacy International - http://www.privacyinternational.org/ Internet Privacy - http://www.netatty.com/privacy/ US Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (HIPAA) - http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/ Electronic Privacy Information Center - http://www.epic.org/ Privacy 2000 - http://www.privacy2000.org/

Gender Ideologies in Local Context Essay

Present essay deals with analysis of gender ideologies’ functioning in certain local contexts. The latter is discussed through the prism of interactionist approach, which seems to be the most effective in terms of describing micro-level at which gender ideologies function. It provides with possibilities for studying how performative, discourse and social strategies of actors realized in local contexts are embedded in general gender ideology framework. For the present analysis a bar was chosen as the local context, where field study was conducted and gender ideologies’ reflection in interactions between men and women were analyzed. The central research question of this paper, hence, may be formulated as follows: how do gender ideologies shape interactions between men and women in bar or night club? Gender ideologies in local contexts: interactionist approach. Gender ideologies represent certain social and cultural constructs, which structure the perception of female and masculine identities, societal roles, family status and production relations etc (Philips, 2). Gender ideologies should be understood as a product of social structure, which fosters different roles of men and women in society. For instance, it may be said that currently dominant perception of women in society was formed within predominantly patriarchal discourse. Paradoxically, patriarchal perception of women affects their own gender ideology and identity, which often corresponds with socially constructed identity. Hence, women’s interactions with men are affected by the absence of their organic self-identity – they are forced to interact within the discourse created by men. However, the latter is realized through women’s own discursive system, which may be described as the micro-level of gender ideology. As Lakoff suggests, women and men learn their distinct languages from the childhood, which being the part of universal language, in fact reflect different identities in gender interactions (Lakoff, 222). Interactions, according to interactionist approach are based on endowing of certain subjective actions of the Other with meaning and symbols (Blumer, 45). In gender interactions, such meaning is ascribed to actions, based on gender ideologies. For instance, as Lakoff suggests of women’s discourse, ‘If she refuses to talk like a lady, she is ridiculed and subjected to criticism as unfeminine’ (Lakoff, 222). The latter example shows that gender ideologies are genuinely embedded in gender interactions, because they form the frame of understanding, actions’ meaning and behavior. Moreover, as Lakoff suggests, there exist considerable differences between women’s and men’s use of vocabulary, especially as far as the use of strong words, adjectives and particles are concerned (Lakoff, 223-224). The latter may be evident in any local context, including gender interactions in bar or nightclub, as it would be shown. Any local context activates specific aspects of gender ideology. According to Philips, notwithstanding culture, ‘There are at least four aspects of human experience that regularly enter into gender ideologies. These include work, appearance, sexuality and reproduction’ (Philips, 8). There is no denying the importance of the fact, that in the interactionist context, analyzed in this paper, such aspects as sexuality and appearance come into play in the first place. Based on these general theoretic considerations concerning gender ideologies let us analyze their reflection in concrete location’s context of bar, based on the empirical data collected in the field study. Gender Ideologies in gender interactions in bar Field research for this study was conducted in Dirtbags Bar and Grille in Tucson, AZ on June 1, 2009 during 10:30-Midnight. The data collection orientation focused on observing how gender ideologies affect gender interactions in this situational context. The first observation includes objective behavioral patterns of men and women during their visit to bar. It was established as a fact, that men may arrive to bar both in 3-4 individuals groups and alone. Women, as the field study found never arrive alone, but only with their boyfriend of female friend. The latter situation may be interpreted through the prism of Butler’s approach to gender identity construction. According to Buttler, identity is constructed based on repetition of certain behavioral patterns, gestures, discourses etc (Butler, 519). The latter implies that social structures, existing in society already provide women with stable behavioral orientations, taught to them by their families, older friends. One of such behavioral codes, which are immediately linked to gender ideology may be described as the cultural taboo for visiting entertainment public places alone. Such taboo is connected first of all with institutionalized male perception of women, being alone in the bar or night club, as the invitation for sexual relations. Based on this perception, visiting bar alone for women automatically means moral fault, since she is immediately associated with prostitute etc. Unlike women’s case, in men’s gender ideology the problem of man’s visiting bar alone does not exist, since it is not problematized as gender issue at all. Therefore, it is evident that men have more behavioral options and may choose between them to one’s own like. Buttler suggests that gender identities and ideologies are constructed through theatrical and performative interactions (Buttler, 520). The latter is particular evident in women’s focus on their dress, while visiting the bar. Women are more prone to put the emphasis on their own clothes and comment on the apparels of their female friends. They often made complements concerning good dress of each other. As the same time, men regularly have no tendency to comment on the clothes of their male friends. Instead, they often make complements to women concerning their dress. The latter observations show that gender ideology functions through performative and theatrical behavior reflected in the culture of dressing. Men are relatively indifferent to what their friends wear, however, pay much attention to what women wear. The performative and theatrical role of gender ideologies is also evident in women and men behavior, when they enter the bar. Women express much more willingness to be noticed by public, including both men and women, as they immediately look for people they know. Unlike, women, men seem to be less tied by any social obligations as they often go straight to the bar and order drinks and only after this greet people they know. Moreover, a bar serves for men a spot to sit down, while women prefer staying near the bar and being attentive to what is going on around them. Gender ideological conventions concerning sexuality are also evident in the types of drinks ordered by men and women. First of all, male gender ideology is obvious in the wide-spread practice of ordering drinks by men for women, especially as the part of acquaintance or showing sexual interest. Such behavior is often welcomed by women, who are embedded in gender ideologies of men, because women are prone to interpret such attention as the marker of sympathy and often use it in their own interest. As far as the type of beverages, drunk by men and women are concerned, men usually do not differentiate between different drinks, while women often order low calorie beverages such as ‘diet coke and Bacardi’ or sugar free redbull. The latter shows that the majority of women are embedded in the discourse relating to their appearance and sexuality, which is according to Philips is one of the central aspects of gender ideology (Philips, 9). Women, embedded in gender ideology, try to follow its main conventions in any local context, including bar. Gender interactions in bar are also characterized by both and men and women behavior directed at emphasizing correspondingly their femininity and masculinity. Men in the conversation with women always try to lower the pitch of their voices, while women often raise it. As Tannen suggests, such strategies are inherently gender, because they are affected by existing ideological representations of femininity and masculinity (Tannen, 169). In these ideological representations masculinity is characterized by the low pitch of voice, which is associated with men authority and women’s high pitch, associated with her secondary role in society. Gender socialization patterns in bar are also very informative, as far as the reflection of gender ideologies is concerned. Women feel more comfortable always being in company either of their female or male friends. In contrast, men may be either alone or in company without any differentiation. For women being in company guarantees the stability of her identity, because she may fully realize her performative and theatrical patterns of behavior. In contrast, being alone often causes negative gender connotations. Gender interactions in a bar are predominantly initiated by men, when a member of a male group offers a drink to a woman or a group of women. Often women refuse such invitations, however, in a majority of cases they agree even if they feel compelled and uncomfortable in communicating with the large group of men. A man being alone, however, is less prone to initiate conversations with women, than if he finds himself in company. There is no denying the importance of the fact, that the discussed pattern of gender interactions in bar reflects certain features of dominant gender ideologies. As Butler suggests, gender interactions are regulated by social sanctions and taboos (Butler, 520). One of such taboos may be formulated as follows: women are generally not eligible to initiate gender interactions with men; such priority solely belongs to the latter due to their primary role in gender relations. The realization of this taboo is particularly evident in bar context, where women generally behave in such a manner in order to stimulate men’s interest, however, their own interests is hidden from public. A woman may be interested in communicating with a given man, however, due to certain gender limitations she is more likely to refuse from her ambitions. Moreover, men usually feel uncomfortable when gender interactions are initiated by women, because it is usually mocked up in his male company. Hence, it may be postulated that taboos and limitations relating to gender interactions exist both in male and female gender ideologies. If a woman and a man know each other they usually greet by hugs, kisses and even if they are not engaged in romantic relations, they often show some kind of flirting. In personal interactions between men and women gender ideologies are also evident in men’s primary role in initiating tactile closeness with women, especially after alcohol drinks, including closeness, flirt, kisses, hugs, joking etc. Women, interested in such gender interactions, would not hesitate to communicate and flirt. However, a woman, who feels uncomfortable in this situation, according to the field study conducted, tries to use any possibility to escape from such kind of interactions. Gender ideologies are also embedded in the purpose of men and women’ visiting bars. Men usually visit bars to chase after women and find the object of their sexual desires etc. Women may also visit bars in this purpose, however, their clear intentions are not seen so obviously as that of men, hence, we may speak of dubious nature of their purpose. Such distribution of gender roles clearly resonates with dominant gender ideology, according to which men have the priority in initiating close gender relations. As far as dancing practices in bars are concerned, men are less prone to dance alone; however, women have no qualms about it. Men prefer dancing if they want to initiate interactions with women – in such a case they dance close to her. Apart from this, gender interactions in bar are often characterized by age limitations. Older women rarely visit such kind of places; however, older men may be seen there more frequently. Conclusion Gender ideologies represent language reflection of certain social and behavioral patterns of men and women and society. They usually refer to different social roles, types of discourse, sanctions and taboos and behavior of men and women. The analysis of gender ideologies in local context of bar showed that they are reflected in concrete interactions. Men and women usually act according to well-established gender conventions of behavior, which are reflected in initiating interactions, purpose of bar visit, behavior in groups, intersexual behavior etc. Women seem to be considerably affected by their representation in men gender ideologies, which means that they have no behavioral choices. In contrast, men’s behavior is characterized by the possibility of choice between a wide range of options. Men may be either alone or with friends, initiate gender interactions or not etc. Women have virtually no choices: they have refuse from initiating interactions, positively respond to any men’s attempt to initiate communication, always be in a company etc. Moreover, gender interactions in bar reflect crucial social perceptions of women sexuality and appearance, which are the first aspect of gender coming into play in bar context. Women put emphasis on their appearance and clothes and often try to present their identity in performative and theatrical way, which according to Buttler, immediately links such kind of behavior to gender strategies. In contrast men, pay less attention to such things and behave in a more casual and free way. Finally, men’s behavior in a bar is regulated by the lesser number of social sanctions and taboos. References Blumer, Herbert (1969). Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method. Berkeley: University of California Press. Butler, Judith. (1988). ‘Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory’. Theatre Journal. Vol. 40 # 4, (519-531). Lakoff, Robin. Extract from Language and Woman’s Place. Philips, Susan U. (1999). Gender Ideology, Cross Cultural Aspects. International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd. Tannen, Deborah. â€Å"She is the Boss†: Women and Authority.

Counter-Terrorism Strategies

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were founded in 1976 with the aim of championing for the Tamil people of Sri Lanka-Hindus who follow ab bug out 18% of the total people against the Buddhist Sinhalese who make up the studyity of the population (Rabasa, pp. 68). To fight for the brass of an independent bow curved out from Sri Lanka, they eat repeatedly waged war apply guerrilla, conventional, and terrorist tactic and feature sharpshooted legions, presidency and civil targets.One study unit that specializes in terrorist attacks is the mordant Tigers who often commit suicide during much(prenominal)(prenominal) attacks. The Irish Republican array ( ira) is a terrorist organization founded in the class 1916 and has conducted umpteen violent and terrorism campaigns against the British g wholly overnment in the Union Ireland for a keen-sighted time since 1916 . The current operations of the depicts is based on a variant of rules of war in which for instance wa rnings of an close at hand(predicate) bomb attack be provided followed by a authentic code that acts as a verification of the legitimacy of the warnings.The bombings take hold been targeted to disrupt the lives of British people so that the organization can continue obtaining m startary support from associate countries though this is pass judgment to change. The range of bombs dod by the terrorists overwhelm minute devices made from high explosives which charter been provided by foreign associates or stolen and pear-shaped improvised bombs based on ammonium . A transmigrateed ceasefire decl atomic number 18d in 1997 by the IRA was far from universe comprehensive since it only refrained them from attacking the security measures issues and thereof the IRA continued to tack brutal attacks against Roman Catholics .Different strategies switch therefore been employed to attack terrorism both(prenominal) in Sri Lanka and northern Ireland. These strategies exhibit nig h discordences as well as a add together of similarities. This paper will study and contrast these strategies pick out by the authorities to revoke acts of terrorism propagated by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka and the IRA in Yankee Ireland. The strategies adoptive by the authorities to moderate acts of terrorism in Sri Lanka and Union Ireland differ on several(prenominal) facets.Firstly, the authorities in Sri Lanka suck a bun in the oven predominantly designd forces force to combat the violent acts propagated by Tamil Tiger rebels. In contrast, the British authorities apply use enormous legislative measures to suppress the terrorist organization, the Ireland Republican phalanx in northerly Ireland. There are several vitrines of legislation by the British administration. It is worth noting that since its formation, Northern Ireland has been in a state of emergency and the Civil governance do of 1922 was passed only a year after(prenominal) its partition .In the 1970s the British organisation perceived an imminent opening night of the violence in Northern Ireland spiral out of control and therefore it efficiently introduced the Northern Ireland urgency Provisions Act (EPA) in 1973 . This Act was a milepost since it paved way for a number of naked as a jaybird measures including increased power for the violet Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and legions to arrest all terrorism suspect.In addition, the Act allowed the formation of non-jury courts curiously for conducting auditions on those acc utilize of terrorism and withal it provided for the prohibition of all terrorist organizations. As some other and to a greater extent advanced measure to suppress acts of terrorism, the British Parliament quickly passed the pr correcttion of terrorist act Act (PTA) in 1974 after the deadly Birmingham pub bombings by the IRA . The PTA also served to extend the measures undertaken by the EPA end-to-end the UK by the virtue of introducing to a greater extent(prenominal) powers with attentiveness to dubiousness and postponement.These two major Acts had thorough edible and therefore they were originally intentional to be temporary though the political sympathies fully understood the dynamic personality of terrorism and therefore was committed to renew them until they were eventually replaced by more ageless purvey of the Terrorism Act of 2000 . The durability of such legislation can be seen particularly from the implementation of Northern Ireland Emergency Provisions Act in 1973 which gave the array power to arrest and detain suspects temporarily and also search homes in the absence of warrants.The culmination of such a force out was that hundreds of people were detained and more than 250,000 homes searched during which thousands of hidden weapons were ascertained and seized by the military . These legislation paved way for a number of methods in sustaining terrorism in Northern Ireland. These methods ackno wledge criminalisation, internment without trial, Diplock courts and the supergrass organization in which the policies of each focus on punishing those accused of crimes related to terrorism with unwanted or unforeseen effects .Therefore, the legislative measures adopted by the British government to combat Ireland Republican arrays terrorist actions forced it to alter its witness legislative avenue to make it conterminous with the policy-making violence in the Northern Ireland by both taking extreme point steps and first making their provisions temporary. In contrast to such legislative comees to ending terrorism, the government of Sri Lanka can be said to invite close toly apply military force combined with real few harsh legislative measures when compared to those adopted against IRA by British government.It is grave to remember that when it attained its independence in 1948, Sri Lanka was not prepared to deal with even minor protests leave alone such large terrorist gr oups as Tamil Tigers which real gradually over time. This was due to the small number of police and military in addition to inadequate equipment and lack of a firm organizational anatomical structure. There are several incidences which demonstrate that the government has employed force in terms of military action as well as legislation as major strategies against the Tamil rebels.In 1977, before a month was over after the UNP government coming to power, an array was sent to wipe out all the people who were organizing a movement to contract for a separate Tamil state . This was purposed to stop the secessionists before the movement became a threat to the government. A similar attack in August 1977 resulted in hundreds of Tamils universe killed and thousands left wing homeless. This was done through the use of force by the police and the military.An archetype of a legislation against terrorism is the ginmill of Terrorism Act which was passed in 1979 and whose provisions includ ed confessions made out of torture, detention without trial, and conducting searches without warrants . In addition, the Act made crimes such as kidnapping, murder, and abduction punishable by life-time imprisonment. This legislative approach can all the same be compared to the one used in Northern Ireland by the British government though it has passed many legislation compared to the blank space in Sri Lanka with fancy to counter-terrorism.In the mid 1981, another(prenominal) military-initiated attack against the Tamils occurred which left the group devastated. A major preventive war in 1983 was waged against Tamils by the government to crash them totally hobby a shift in the balance of power amongst the Tamils who were secessionists, and the Sri Lankan government . This pogrom had a draw poker of effects compared to the antecedent incidences of military action since it was accompanied with the use of violent attacks by organized impede groups which left over 3,000 Tamils brutally killed and 150,000 left homeless .These events are examples which demonstrate the discrepancy in the way the two governments maintain dealt with terrorism propagated by the two groups. other major contrast in the strategies to combat the activities of both the Tamil Tigers and the Ireland Republican Army is that the British government in the Northern Ireland has extensively applied contingency measures which include legislation aimed at dealing with biological, chemical or radiological attacks .In Sri Lanka, such measures have hardly been used and instead, legislation to curb terrorism by the Tamil Tigers have been predominantly those that give the military more power and authority to use force. However, a similar case applies in Northern Ireland with regard to use of harsh tactics to arrest and suppress the members of the Ireland Republican Army. The major measure used betwixt 1971 and 1975 was that of exploitation torture during interrogation of suspects who had be en subjected to internment without trial .The measure was particularly applied on suspects whom the authorities believed they were potential sources of valuable culture which could possibly enable them apprehend more suspects including the masterminds of the terrorist attacks by the IRA. The in depth interrogation as an example of using force on suspects entailed five main techniques including pic of the terror suspects to a monotonous and unvarying loud voice with the show cover with a black hood and existence forced by means of a button to stand for about half-dozen hours at a time against a wall, hands raised above the head with the legs apart for a period of several days.The suspects were also subjected to severe deprivation of intellectual nourishment and water and also sleep was denied. However, the European Commission on Human Rights posterior on judged the method as one constituting an inhuman practice of treating people who have been arrested. This led to the discon tinuity of the use of the five techniques following unfavorable publicity . A major similarity in both counter-terrorism strategies is with regard to the attempts to use pink of my Johnful means or dialogue which has seen several treaties being write amidst the IRA and the British government and between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers.The peace agreements have been accompanied by certain promises and conditions such power sharing deals, surrendering of weapons by the rebelling groups including other conditions with the purpose of seeking peace. However, a similar scenario witnessed in both cases is that most(prenominal) of the attempts to initiate sustainable peace agreements have in most cases failed due to divers(prenominal) political, economic or social reasons.A major attempt and a good example of a peace agreement in the Northern Ireland is the Downing Street contract bridge which was initiated in December 1993 and which signaled readiness for more dialogue to break the stalemate between all the sides involved in the final result process including the IRA and Sinn Fein, the Irelands oldest political movement . In Sri Lanka, since a new government came to power in 2001, the government has adopted a peace approach to suppress terrorism by the Tamil Tigers in which at least lead breakthroughs have been achieved.Among the peace talks have been a disarmament process, agreement on humanitarian measures and most importantly, the readiness of the Tamil Tigers to welcome a federal structure . It can therefore be understandably deduced that there have been practical and viable approaches to counter acts of terrorism by both the Ireland Republican Army and the Tamil Tigers which have been implemented by the governments concerned to set about and improve the situation in these countries. A good similarity is that both governments have tried peace agreements though most have not elicited sustainable outcomes.Another similarity is seen in the us e of force though the kind of force used against IRA is seen to be mostly applied after suspects have been apprehended in an effort to gather useful cultivation from them. The force used on Tamil Tigers is predominantly military action. The biggest contrast between the strategies in both situations is that a lot of sustainable legislative measures have been adopted against the IRA with only one major legislation being implemented against the Tamil Tigers. Bibliography Bjorgo, Tore. Root causes of terrorism myths, reality and slipway forward. sweet York Routledge, 2005. Brenner, Edgar H and Yonah Alexander. Uks Legal Responses to Terrorism. New York Routledge, 2003. Derkins, Susie. The Irish Republican Army. New York The Rosen Publishing Group, 2003. disk operating system Santos, Anne Noronha. Military intervention and secession in South Asia the cases of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, and Punjab. New York Anne Dos Santos, 2007. Geraghty, Tony. The Irish War the hidden conflict b etween the IRA and British Intelligence. New York JHU Press, 2000. Houen, Alex. Terrorism and modern literature, from Joseph Conrad to Ciaran Carson.New York Oxford University Press, 2002. Martin, Gus. Essentials of Terrorism Concepts and Controversies. New York SAGE, 2010. Rabasa, Angel. beyond al-Qaeda The outer rings of the terrorist universe. New York Rand Corporation, 2006. Shanahan, Timothy. The provisional Irish Republican Army and the morality of terrorism. Salt Lake metropolis Edinburgh University Press, 2009. Sluka, Jeffrey A. stopping point squad the anthropology of state terror. Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania Press, 2000. Wallis, Geoff, blade Connolly and Margaret Greenwood. Rough guide to Ireland. Dublin City Rough Guides, 2003.