Marketing coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing - Coursework Example Agriculture and any other economic activity such as tourism cannot thrive in a society that does not have efficient water management strategies. Challenges related to water in Ethiopia have persisted for several decades now. Management of water resources is the only way to meet the growing needs for agricultural products soas to help reduce poverty and food insecurity. Further, water can be used as an important entry point to bring development in the social environment and economy thus leading to sustainable development (Gabre-Egziabher 2007, p.67). Ethiopia is also challenged with several civil wars. Ethnic communities have been fighting each other over the scarce resources in the country. The civil wars have also been linked to poor governance because there are numerous corruption scandals affecting the delivery of services to all ethnic communities. As a result, wars between communities have emerged. This level of insecurity cannot allow the smooth flow of tourists in the country (Kiros 2006, p.212). Due to mismanagement of water resources, Ethiopia has witnessed one of the worst droughts in the world. Human beings have died due to famine which prompted the international community to intervene and save the citizens from the great famine of Ethiopia that occured in 1986. Drought cannot allow any agricultural activity to take place, which is why food prices continue to be highin the country . According to the United Nations, Ethiopia is one of the countries that depend on relief food for its population’s survival (Brems & Beken 2008, p.129). Any investment in the tourism sector needs adequate infrastructure such as good road and railway systems. In Ethiopia, there are no adequate roads that can easen the movement of tourists from one region to another. The road networks as well as the rail systems are underdeveloped. The movement of tourists from one place to another cannot be easy in such a situation. In addition, there are no adequate airports that ca n provide air transport to various tourist attraction sites in the country (Asfaw 2006, p.48). In relation to security, Ethiopia does not have the right security personnel equipped with modern technology to identify terror threats. Terrorism continues to be one of the challenges affecting tourism. Without guaranteed security, there can never be any benefit arising out of the industry. In addition, the numerous ethnic conflicts are also not suitable for tourist visits to the attraction sites (Asfaw 2006, p.48). The weak and developing justice system does not provide procedural guarantees including legal aid, an appeal system, fair trial and equity before law. Despite these issues being given priority in the constitution, their implementation is still a challenge. The unreliable justice system is not friendly to potential investors in the country. Furthermore there is a severe shortage of trained legal staff meaning that potential investors and players in the tourism sector lack confi dence in the delivery of justice (Gabre-Egziabher 2007, p.67). Political repression is a major challenge to the citizens of Ethiopia. The ruling party EPRDF has continued to trample on the rights of the citizens. Opposition leaders are not given a chance to air their grievances concerning the illegal dealings and scandals in the government. The government has punitive legislative laws aimed at the press and the civil society. The main aim of the government is to affect the

Studies In The Theory Of Emotional Development

Studies In The Theory Of Emotional Development The maturational processes and the facilitating environment: Studies in the theory of emotional development written by Donald W. Winnicott is a fundamental book, which is created from collection of his published and unpublished papers on psychoanalysis and child development between years of 1926-1964. The book informs the readers about the maturation process of a human being step by step from early childhood to adolescence stage. The main theme of this book dates back to Freuds theories to infancy. Winnicott mostly based his discussions on Freuds basic concepts and he had taken Freuds concepts as the frame of his references, however Winnicott did not based his discussions on Freudian concept. Through out the paper, it is observed that the ideas were based on between Winnicotts and Freuds ideas on maturational processes (Winnicott, 1965). In this astonishing collection, Dr. Winnicott analyses the maturational processes in three phases of developmental approach, theoretical approach an d the technique in depth. The book is scripted in a straightforward language that people who are new to psychoanalytic study can benefit from its virtue. Furthermore, the aim of this review is to elaborate on theory of maturational processes in emotional development by analyzing Winnicotts theories in support of different theories at of different theorists who studies the emotional development likewise. In order to accomplish this task, first the author and his theory will be introduced briefly. Subsequently, theories of other theorists will be presented and discussed in depth in order to contemplate the likeliness of maturational processes of human being and psychoanalytical therapy session. The Author Donald W. Winnicott (1896-1971), Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and psychoanalyst received his first analysis from James Strachey. Before this event, in 1919 he read Freud in Brills translation of The Interpretation of Dreams. Strachey was attentive to Winnicotts interest in children and child analysis by encouraging him to research about Melanie Klein. Afterwards, he had become Kleins student and spent several years as her supervisee. Way to understand Winnicott, goes from Klein since Klein had pointed out the missing parts from Freuds theory, the emotional development. His accomplishments of working with infants and children clinically, gave rise to psychoanalytic field, and led him to become the second important person after Klein in British Object Relations School. (Phillips, 1988, pp.153-154; Levine, 2006; Winnicott, 1971, pp.7-10). Winnicotts original ideas had differed from Kleinians. According to Rodman, Winnicott differed from others since he was in close contact with mother and infants. He, also, described that Winnicotts conflict with Kleininas was a turning point in his life, which led him to develop the theory of True Self (Levine, 2006). Winnicott had published over two hundred papers and many valuable books including Through Paediatrics to Psychanalysis (1958), Therapeutic Consultations in Child Psychiatry (1971), The Piggle (1977), Play and Reality (1971) (Phillips, 1988, pp.153-154; Levine, 2006; Winnicott, 1971, pp.7-10). Play and Reality, one of his well known books, is improved version of his paper Transitional Objects and Transitional Phenomena (1951), which discusses the importance of transitional stage in an individuals life, and intense experiences that take place in art, religion and fantasy world. Lastly, Winnicott refers to this book the most (Winnicott, 1971, p.15). When Winnicotts differentiation from Klein observed, one can assume that this process is Winnicotts transitional phenomena from his supervisor to become an independent theorist. Brief summary of the book Part One: Papers on Development Winnicott starts off the book from collection of papers on development. First, he explains the importance of the psycho-analysis and sense of guilt by stating A psycho-analyst comes to the subject of guilt as one who is in the habit of thinking in terms of growth, in terms of the evolution of the human individual, the individual emotional growth (Winnicott, 1965, p.15). Afterwards, Winnicott continues stating by sense of guilt is visible when the child enters to Oedipal Stage, since unconsciously the child is wishing his/her same sex parent to disappear and accordingly feelings of love and hate rises in this stage. After this stage, child enters to Superego and ego comes in terms with the superego, leaving anxiety to mature into guilt. Winnicott states that at this stage, child would feel sense of guilt related to masturbation. He continues by describing the individuals who acquired guilt feeling might suffer from melancholia and obsessional neurosis. The origin of guilt feeling aris es from Oedipus complex, when the child starts to experience three way relationship (mother, father and child). Next, Winnicott continues with the term capacity to be alone which is highly related with emotional development of an individual. It is basically experience of being alone in presence of another person, which helps children to build up his/her ego and contributes to build individuals personality. Winnicott includes the importance of parent and child relationship by defining the holding environment. The infant is dependent to holding environment where the mother holds the infant physically, emotionally and in her mind. Following the mother and the infant will live together. The child is now a psychosomatic (psyche indwelling in the soma) being on its own. He sees all the objects, including his mother, as outside of himself. At this stage, the childs ego moves on from the state of unintegration to integration and now he has gained the capacity to develop object relations. In other words, he has now passed on from a subjectively designed object to an on objectively perceived object rela tionship, which the infant can live with the father and mother together. Winnicott includes that the infant development should facilitated by good-enough maternal care in order for infant to survive. He continues stating that it can be said that infants ego is weak, however strengthen by his mothers ego. Further on, Winnicott states the importance for child to experience full dependency, relative dependency and independence, in order to integrate the ego. He includes the importance of ego strength that receives ego-support from the mothers adaptive behaviour and love. Accordingly, Winnicott articulates the relation of needs of children to those of infants in health and crisis. Additionally, he points out the importance of the relationship between childcare that is provided by healthcare providers versus natural care that is supplied by the parents. Correspondingly, Winnicott discussed the development of the capacity for concern in children. His statement was concern was assumes to belong to the stage that is prior to Oedipus complex. The capacity for concern was part of two body relationship, between the mother and the infant. In order the infant to experience guilt or hold it in full expectation of an opportunity to reparation, he needs to develop capacity for concern. Following this paper, Winnicott discussed infants growth from dependence towards independence. There are three categories in this issue. The first one is absolute dependence, which is the early stage of emotional development. The infant is dependent on the mothers womb and care from the beginning. In this section Winnicott states that This term maturational process refers to evolution of the ego and of the self, and includes the whole story of the id, of instincts and their vicissitudes, and of defences in the ego relative to instinct (Winnicott, 1965). In this state, the mothers go through a phase called primary maternal preoccupation where the mothers are preoccupied with the care of their baby starting from the last few weeks of pregnancy and couple of weeks after the birth. Their babies seem part of them and they are identified with the baby. Accordingly, the mothers know how their baby feels like or what their baby needs. In this situation, the mother herself is dependent. The n ext step is relative dependence where the infant is aware of the presence of dependence. In order to explain this phase, Winnicott stated that when the mother is away for a moment beyond the time-span of his (or her) capacity to believe in her survival, anxiety appears, and this is the first sign that the infant knows. The last step is infants journey to towards independence. Once the child passed the both phases normally, he/she will become eligible to meet with world and its hardships, since he/she will be able to observe what is already present in his(her own self. Lastly, this stage explains the attempts of the toddler child and of the child at puberty. Part Two: Theory and Technique In the second part Winnicott, dedicated himself informing the readers about the theories of child psychology and the techniques that is used in child psychoanalysis. Winnicott starts with contributions of direct child observation to psycho-analysis. According to Winnicotts direct observation, the baby must have a physical and psychological maturity in order to have a full emotional development. When these phenomena take place in psychoanalysis the analyst cannot date when it occurred. However, the analyst will be able to describe to patients early infancy. Furthermore, infants play become acknowledge in process of analysis. Play includes the personal growth of through imagination. Winnicotts foremost crucial theory is transitional object and phenomena. In this phase, the normal developing baby adopts a piece of cloth or a teddy bear. For a while the child will subject this object to himself; he will carry it with him all the time and wants to have full possession of the object. Therefore, according to Winnicott, starting from infancy, the mother should tolerate and allow the baby to besmear this object, to harm it, to ruin it. If the mother is wa shing this object, or cleaning it, or mending it or sewing it, she is breaking up and destroying something. What the mother is destroying is the meaning the baby attaches to the object and to what she is doing to the object. Winnicott explains that concentration of environmental phenomena in which crystallizes out a person (p.138), a mother, and within the mother the infant constitutes as anatomically and physically, later on at the birth date, the infant becomes a female or male individual. Winnicott states that there is no such thing as a newborn on its own, what you can see is the mother baby unity; which is called nursing couple. Where you find a baby you will find maternal care. At the beginning the baby exists only by means of the maternal care with whom the baby forms a whole. This care period is before the verbal period. The baby does not talk, in this period which is prior to presenting the baby with word symbols, the relationship between the mother and the baby is a maternal empathy. The baby is completely dependent and with what he receives from this dependency his ego develops and he paves the way for the construction of a separate self. When assumed that the development progressed normally w ith good enough initiation, true self operates steady and protects the being from the false self. False self is described as the breakdown of the childs illusion of omnipotence by the mothers non-empathetic replies at early period results in serious psychopathological consequences. A child in such a situation will gradually develop a false self. He will give up his needs and demands and will quickly try to form himself according to the demands and expectations of the mother or others. He will observe himself and his surroundings all the time and trying to assess reality, he will be inclined to present a superficial concordance. The real self which has not developed, will be enveloped, encapsulated and hidden by false self. Real self is the source of needs and expressions itself. False self, on the other hand, is a continuous activity in order to create the positive surroundings the environment has not provided one with. In analysis of a false personality, Winnicott describes, the fact must be recognized that the analyst can only talk to the False Self of the patient about the pat ients True Self (Winnicott, 1965, p.151). He continues stating that in point of transition, the analyst and the patient should be in extreme dependence, when the analyst starts to get into contact with the True Self. Winnicott discusses the importance of counter-transference within the therapy. Additionally, he stated the aim of psycho-analytical treatment is keeping alive, well, and awake. It is crucial to be aware of what, when, and how the patient states the certain statement or releases the emotion. Following, Winnicott discusses how to train for child psychiatry, since it is a different field than psychiatry that is applied to adults. Child psychiatry is involved with the emotional growth of the individual child and his/her maturational processes which is provided by his/her environment and the issues that derives from child him/herself. Accordingly, child psychiatry requires additional education of type which is provided by Psycho-Analysis and Analytical Psychology. Winnicott continues by stating the importance of psychotherapy of character disorders and he elaborates by discussing them in terms of maturational processes. Lastly, he concludes by stating the importance of dependence in infant-care, in child-care, and the psycho-analytic setting. The Critique of the book When the main issue is the maturational process, it is crucial to acknowledge Freuds theory since almost all of the theories stemmed from it. According to Freud, in infancy and childhood, the individuals anticipated concern is survival issues, which are experienced through nursing and the mothers activities with infants body, following infants fantasies about birth and death. Also, the infant will experience these issues through the sexual bond with its parents. Later on the infant will experience, pleasure principle where he/she demands all of his/her needs to be accomplished immediately (id). With reality principle, the infant realizes some gratifications are that problematic, however the infant will realize it is worth to wait for them (ego) (McWilliams, 1994; Mitchell Black, 1995). Freuds drive theory states that the child will go through psychosexual stages of oral, anal, phallic and latency stage (where superego develops). Therewithal, Winnicott values the theories of Freud an d based the fundamental of his theories from his. However, Freud states that patients problems stems from secrets, gaps in memory, while Winnicott believes that the patient is shaping and molding the analytic situation to provide the environmental features missed in childhood (Mitchell Black, 1995, 133-134). According to my observation, even though Winnicott had developed a different style of maturational processes than Freuds, still he based his ideas on his drive theory. Freuds maturational processes of emotional development reciprocate my idea of maturation, since the stages are apprised when the children are observed from the frame of drive theory. Accordingly, I believe that Winnicotts stages of theory builds up on Freuds maturational stages with addition of mother-infant relationship reinforcement. The dedicated theorists, Klein and Anna Freud, had different theories which concerned technical problems with regard to analyzing. Klein believed that children were analysable as long as their play was interpreted, while Anna Freud argued that small children are not analysable since they have weak ego and they cannot handle interpretations. (Mitchell Black, 1995). Klein s play technique of child analysis, which the child is offered with simple toys that represents his fantasy life (Klein, 1975). On the other hand A.Freud states that since Superego is the heir of the Oedipus Complex, the pre-oedipal child will be unable to obtain internal controls of his own erotic and aggressive impulses. Even though, Winnicott was influenced by Kleins theory, he still acknowledged A.Freuds view of giving importance of the childs actual parents. On the other hand, Klein was insufficiently respectful of the role of parents and concentrated on childs internal world of fantasy to the exclusion of exter nal factors (Phillips, 1988). However, Winnicotts benefaction to psychoanalytic theory was formulated to re-introduce the importance of the real mother in development. He gives the mother a relatively passive role, at least from the infants point of view (Katz, 1996). Winnicott believes that there is not only an infant there is a nursing couple between mother and the infant. When I think of these theories, I also, believe psychoanalysis cannot be applied to the children. I support Kleins the play technique, however I believe that children are not ready to hear the interpretations, since they have not accomplished all of the developmental stages as A.Freud stated. Additionally, I disagree with Kleins point of view of excluding parents, when working with children. Since the care of the mother and the environment is crucial in childrens development, I think parents contribution to the therapy session will be meaningful as Winnicott stated. Stern disagrees on the existence of developmental stages as other theorists do. Stern makes an attempt to free infancy and psychoanalysis from predisposition of adult psychopathology. His position is that the infants from the start mainly experience the reality and their subjective experiences without suffering distortion or defences (Downey, 1988). In contrary of Winnicotts developmental stages, Stern uses for senses of self, which are emergent self, the core self, the subjective self and the verbal self. According to Erten (2010), Stern emphasizes the importance of sense of subjective self as the crucial steps of development of the child. Erten states that, according to Stern I think, Stern was influenced by Winnicotts theory of mother-infant relationship and applied to his own theory. In Sterns system the mother and the infant are in a dual relationship, in other words in sync. Stern (1985), and A. Freud (1965) were influenced by Winnicot (1971)s transitional object and phenomenon by describing the importance of having a soft substance in process of differentiating from the mother. However, Sterns view on this phenomenon is different than Winnicotts. Winnicott believes that it is crucial for child to be left alone with the transitional object whereas Stern states it is normal for mother to enter infants play in this stage is normal and she should encourage the infant play with the transitional object. Once the infant gets acquainted with the toy, he/she should be left alone. He states that it is beneficial for development of self-regulation (Stern, 1985). Additionally, Erten (2010) includes that the child will start to take a journey from his inner world to external world as he will travel from subjectivity to objectivity. I think that Winnicotts opinion seems more logical, since the transitional object should be an object that will help the child to differ entiate from his mother in order to take steps in the journey of becoming an individual. I think that transitional object would replace the pleasure that the child is receiving from the mother until the child gets acquainted to his new situation. Erten (2010) within Winnicotts holding theory; the environmental mother will witness the child, through out his development by holding the child mentally. The mother will stand besides her childs existence and will have an optimal dance with her child. By optimal dance, Winnicott meant that the mother will stand by her childs side, while not abusing her childs existence by interrupting him. In another words, the child should live his loneliness in presence of his mother. In my opinion, this optimal dance is similar to Sterns idea of affect attunement. Affect attunement is described below: When the infant is around nine months old, however, one begins to see the mother add a new dimension to her imitation-like behavior, a dimension that appears to be geared to the infants new status as a potentially intersubjective partner. (It is not clear how mothers know this change has occurred in the infant; it seems to be part of their intuitive parental sense.) She begins to expand her behavior beyond true imitation into a new category of behavior we will call affect attunement (Stern, 1985, p. 140). In Sterns theory, the mother follows the affect and behavior of her child in a compatible manner, while in Winnicotts theory, the mother watches over her child without interrupting his being but still keeping a compatible manner mentally. Additionally, Erten (2010) was able relate Winnicotts concept of capacity to be alone with Bowlbys attachment theory. He stated that the individual can form relationship which is free from separation anxiety, if he/she was able to securely attach to his mother in infancy stage. Erten continues by stating the infant who formed insecure attachment will be alone in both cases of when the mother departures (the baby is left alone) and when the mother arrives since he/she ignores the arrival of the mother due to her departure. The reason is as the object leaves (the mother), the baby feels abandoned in his/her subjective world and the anxiety will be stimulated according to frequency of mothers departure. I strongly agree with Winnicotts and Ertens statements since the concept of capacity to be alone is also a way for child to relax in his own time. Accordingly, I believe that the child will learn to soothe himself without requiring someones attention. Conclusion In the book, The Maturational Processes and the Facilitating Environment: Studies in the Theory of Emotional Development, Winnicott informs the readers about the developmental theory ranging from early childhood to adolescence, while he explains the crucial theories that contribute the emotional development of the individual. He concludes the collection by narrating the differences between child and adult psychiatry styles, while he states the possible psychiatric disorders that might stem from infantile maturational processes. The book consisted from the collection of Winnicotts various papers. Winnicott, a former Kleinian, began to separate from Klein as he started to form his own theory by observing infant-mother relationship. By focusing on this two-body relationship and basing on Sigmund Freuds drive theory and nourishing his theories from Kleins and A.Freuds opinions, Winnicott formed different and useful theories about emotional development of individual. Unlike other theorists, Winnicott begins his theory starting from pregnancy period, when the baby is in the womb, instead of starting from the birth. He values the first relationship of mother-infant, the dependency period, immensely. Winnicott, rarely mentions the fathers role in his theories. Winnicott, also, emulates infant-mother relationship with patient-therapist relationship. When it is considered, the concepts that he mentioned can be visible in therapeutic session. Such as, the patients prefer to have capacity to be alone and experience going on being state by being silent in the therapy room. On the other hand, the therapist maintains a holding environment by not interrupting the patient, by being by his side. Finally, Winnicotts current book of collection is a well rounded, detailed book which captures the reader and provokes spirit as the reader dives into the book. The new students of psychoanalysis and pupils who wants to be psychotherapist must read this book in order to apprehend the full journey of individuals maturational processes.

Harry Potter: Books and Merchandise :: Harry Potter Essays

Harry Potter: Books and Merchandise With the rising popularity of the Harry Potter books, there is an increase in production of Harry Potter merchandise that both Hasbro and Mattel are taking full advantage of. Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products has announced that Hasbro has received the license to create Harry Potter games that involves the first two books in the series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Some of the Hasbro divisions including, Wizards of the Coast, Tiger Electronics and OddzOn, are also going to create some Harry Potter products. These companies are worldwide leaders in the products that they make, some of the products that they are known for are, the Pokemon Trading Card Game and Magic: The Gathering. There are trading cards, candy, youth electronic video games, and role playing games. Cap Candy will have interactive candy including the magical Bertie Bott‘s Every Flavor Bean and Tiger Electronics will introduce handheld electronic games, personal radios and recorders, diaries, kids messaging systems and voice changing devices. â€Å"The millions of Harry Potter fans around the world are going to love seeing literary references to things like cards and candy come alive through our exiting range of offerings,† said Alan G. Hassenfeld, Hasbro’s chairman and CEO (About). Mattel, however, has the rights to Harry Potter toys. They have produced action figure trivia games, and collectible figures. Some of the collectible figures will only be offered in specialty stores. Most of these toys became available during the first part of the 2001 (Find Articles). There have already been over five hundred toys and gimmicks in stores, including dolls, puzzles, castles, broomsticks, and do-it-yourself magic. With the holiday season coming up, the Harry Potter products will be selling out fast. Mattel expects certain items to be sold out by Thanksgiving. Storeowners are happy to see the rise in sales with the merchandise and have had a hard time keeping products in the stores (CNN.com). The popularity of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series has helped Hasbro’s and Mattel’s sales go up. People, young and old, are buying up all of the Harry Potter merchandise and spending an enormous amount of money on the products. Along with the merchandise being sold in stores there is also a movie, â€Å"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone† that came out November 16, 2001.

Latin American Politics Essay

Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias is the current president of Venezuela and was born on 28th July, 1954. He is a leader who advocates for democratic socialism in his country and for Latin American Integration. He openly attacks the policy of globalization, neo-liberalism and opposes most of the foreign policies of the United States. The president is very popular and respected at home for he is able to keep the promises he made to his people for example to fight poverty, malnutrition, illiteracy and other related social ills that affected citizens. His personality and policies evoke a mixed reaction from different nations some in the Latin American region and others from abroad. Some support his ideologies while others criticize them and a good example is the United States government which refer him as a threat to the Latin America’s democracy. The reason behind this is that he tries to implement some modalities that would promote regional integration and cooperation among the Latin American nations and especially the Latin’s poor nations. This essay is going to look at how Venezuela’s foreign policies under the directions of Hugo Chavez have changed overtime. The paper will also give a brief overview of the life of Hugo Chavez and then proceed to discuss how his policies have benefited the Venezuelans back at home and affected other nations. The paper will be concluded with a recap of the key points that have been discussed. The last page of this paper is a list of the references that have been consulted, properly formatted in accordance with MLA style. After Chavez won in 2004’s referendum, he promised to uplift the living standards of his people under a program that was dubbed as â€Å"Bolivian missions† something that proved to be successful because it was favoured by the increase in oil prices. Through this, he was able to gather billion of dollars as foreign exchange which he used to boost his country’s economy which reached 9. 3 in 2005. (Painter) Venezuela’s economy mostly depends on the oil it produces. Since 1920 up to the present day, the profit that is accrued from oil exports has led to the growth and development of this nation more than one would have imagined for example the size of Caracas city doubled in the 1920-1936 period and tripled in 1940s. Despite the fact that the country exports a lot of oil to other nations, half of the population are very poor and live in slums and that is why Chavez has dedicated his efforts to eradicate poverty in his nation and to reduce the high rate of inequality that has continued to affect citizens. Currently half of the Venezuela’s population live in urban cities while the other half is in rural slums where they live in abject poverty (Mora and Hey 78) Chavez has always been trying to boost relations with other Latin Americans in a bid to achieve regional integration in fact this is one of his key foreign policies, a goal that he started to pursue after the 1997’s Summit of the Americas. Venezuela has been very vocal in advocating for the lifting of sanctions that have been imposed on Cuba and other ‘Multi polar’ ties that are imposed on other developing countries. Although Venezuela has not been enjoying warm relationship with United States, it has never experienced the military, political and economic sanctions that are imposed on other nation perhaps because of its oil producing capacity. (Painter J. ) Venezuela occupies a strategic position as far as the superpowers’ interests are concerned and the reason for this is that is supplies oil to these countries in large quantities something that made it to be ranked among the biggest oil producers in the world. Despite the fact that it was one of the primary oil suppliers to US and a role model to other Latin American nations US has never recognised the role it plays partly because of its aggressive foreign policies. Although U. S and Venezuela have not been good very friends, Venezuela continues to export oil to United States. Their relationship is from time to time affected by other factors and adding salt to the injury was the 2002’s attempted coup that led to the temporarily removal of Chavez from office with an assistance from US government something that US government denied. (Isbell) The reason why US sponsored this coup was that the Latin American oil producing countries were extending their business relations to Cuba contrary to what US would have liked. US wanted the sanctions it had imposed on Cuba to remain but its efforts were undermined by Chavez’s move to sell oil to Cuba in a bid to maximize his capital. For this reason US wanted Chavez to be removed and replaced with another one who would not interfere with the sanctions that had been imposed. Venezuela apart from starting business relations with Cuba it signed a business deal with it to increase its oil sale to Cuba something led US to deny Hugo Chavez a visa to go to its country. (Elliott) Venezuela in reaction to this started to openly oppose US policies especially after the 200’s coup attempt for example, Venezuela voted against US’ claims in the United Nations meeting that there were human rights violations in Iraq, Libya and Cuba. It also opposed the sanctions that were intended to be imposed on Peru in 2002 by the United States in respect to the agreement that was reached in Quebec’s summit. As if this was not enough, Venezuela criticised and opposed what US referred to as ‘Plan Colombia’ designed to fight the sale of narcotics in the region. The plan was to allow free antinarcotics over flights in the Latin American region, a move that was opposed because of its US military nature which was likely to cause regional conflict. (Mora and Hey 159) The US relations with Venezuela reached its worst point after the 2001 New York bombings. The US government had vowed that it would fight terrorism completely and war was waged against Afghanistan. The Venezuelan government criticised this move arguing that terrorism cannot be fought with terrorism. They shown pictures of young children who had been killed by US bombs. As their relations continued to worsen, the US government was trying to improve this relationship. The US even denied having participated in the 2002’s attempts to swap Chavez with Pedro Carmona. The only motivating factor for the United States to do this was to ensure that there was continued flow of the commodity they heavily relied on, the oil and that their power would be felt in the Latin America and especially by Fidel Castro. (Mora and Hey 155) Chavez was also been vibrant in rescuing the oil prices especially when they were on the decline in 1998. He liaised with other OPEC members and held a crisis meeting to solve the problem of the decline in oil prices. His efforts were duly paid because after this meeting the price per barrel shot up something that made his power to felt in the world. (Lotta) Although there is lot hegemony from the US government, Chavez has never allowed US government to take control over his country. He visited the OPEC countries in 1999 and specifically the Libyan and Iraq leaders Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein respectively in his trial to his business ties. In 2001 Chavez visited the Asian countries to share his support on communism both in Russia and China but this was not all that he wanted because for was trying to look for new business partners. Although he was doing this he never failed to acknowledge that though his country was at verbal war with US, it was its key oil supplier. It acknowledged this especially after it stopped to give oil subsidy to the Cuban government. (Elliot et al) In his move to improve and extend his country’s foreign policies to Asian and European countries, he killed the democracy that was enjoyed at home by Venezuela’s institutions. At the same time as democratic institutions declined, the warm relationship that had existed between other regional Latin countries was lost. His aggressive pursuance of foreign policies was counter productive as it made him forget the issues that needed immediate address back at home, â€Å"foreign policy did not contribute to the provision of adequate responses to the most urgent domestic economic and social needs† (Mora and Hey 160) Although he is criticised and demonized by many people, the way he has impacted this nation is much more than what other leaders had done. He is accused of perpetrating corruption but all in all, he is different from others in that his foreign policies have led to the increase in oil prices and to the improvement in living standards. He channelled more dollars on the fund that is used to help the less privileged in the society. Many argue that were it not for his ability to make oil prices rise he would not be in power. The argument is that Chavez can only remain in power if will be able to ensure that the price of oil will remain high. At the moment, Hugo Chavez is trying to look for new market for his oil in the Asian and western countries. This move is meant to expand Venezuela’s business relations while at the same time punishing US for pursuing aggressive goals towards it. Chavez according to Lotta R. (2007), â€Å"the third track of the oil program is to restructure Venezuela’s external trade relations away from dependence on the US as a market and source of investment capital and technical expertise. † Venezuela alone exports about 12% of petrol to United States and thus it contributes to the power that US exerts to the world. It is said that this is about half of its production and that is why it is looking for other buyers. Already the country is holding talks with Chinese and Russia governments to sell oil to them. It is also planning to sell oil to India but the problem is that Venezuela does not have its own port and is thus required to put a pipeline to pass through Columbia to china. Another problem is that China does not have money that is needed to refine Venezuela’s sulphur rich oil unlike in US where are special refineries meant for refining Venezuelan oil. Though most of foreign policies are economically focused, in 2005 he stopped buying arms from United States and looked for alternative sources, he started to buy them from Brazil Russia, Spain and China something that added strain to the relationship that had existed between Venezuela and US. He also asked all the US military personnel who were active in the service to move out Venezuela. Since he took power, the price of oil per barrel has risen from 10 US dollars to 78 US dollars. This figure would be more than this were it not for the fact that Venezuela’s oil is sold a bit cheaper due to its high percentage of sulphur impurities however, its oil has remained as competitive as that of other OPEC countries. The sharp increase in oil prices could largely be attributed to his success in politics for example, he was able to win the majority’s support. Chavez is trying to establish market for his oil in countries that are not in good relations with United States such as Iran, Russia and Belarus, â€Å"Chavez used every opportunity to disparage the United States and seek to forge solidarity with a number of states at odds with Washington† (Hanson). Political experts argue that unless Chavez devise new ways of maintaining high oil prices then his regime will soon come to an end. It is for this reason that he is trying to establish new markets. Experts see this move as a threat to the survival of US as a world power but this might not necessarily be true. These experts have mixed views on this for example, John Hopkins, a professor dismisses Chavez’s rhetoric as something insignificant while others warn that his move should not be underestimated as he has widespread support in Venezuela. In reality, Chavez is not a threat to US but all he wants is to widen his economic base and that is why he is having many trips across the world so that he would broker more economic cooperation among other oil producers. He is also trying to secure himself a seat in the United Nations Security Council a move that is vehemently opposed by the United States. In response, the US imposed some sanctions against Venezuela especially on arms importation citing the reason that Venezuela was not supportive on terrorism war. (Kozloff, 98) It is argued that if Venezuela would stop selling oil to US, oil price would shot up almost with at least 11 dollars per barrel. Some are underestimating his potential to become a world power but they should consider how the rise in oil prices in the last few months has made him popular both in his country and world wide. He used that money to foster his programs, to forge and to booster commercial ties with other nations. At the moment he (Chavez) is threatening that he would stop supplying U S with oil. (Kozloff, 99) In his foreign relations, Chavez advised other OPEC members to cut their supply so that the price of oil would increase. Although international flights to US were banned, he decided to drive from Iran to Iraq and as a result of this; the price of oil reached $25 per barrel in 2004 something different from how it was prior to this period and all this was happening when he was the president of OPEC. The upsurge in prices was also as a result of his efforts to look for other oil consumers and especially in the developed nations such as china, India and even Japan. These nations use a lot of oil leading to its shortage. To counter this move, the US government is referring him as a â€Å"negative force† and is even trying to urge Chavez neighbours to isolate him. (Elliot et al 26) The foreign policies of Hugo Chavez have greatly impacted on Venezuelans and the country at large. Chavez using the money that is got from increased oil prices to fulfil the promises that he made to his people under the mission he dubbed as Bolivian Mission. He has significantly improved the living standards of his people for example he reduced poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. His foreign policies have been widely criticised by the western nations and more specifically the US particularly due to its move to extend its business relations to the Asian countries such as China and India and other Latin American nations that are not in good terms with US. Work Cited: Elliott, K. Ann, Hufbauer, G. C. and Schott. Economic Sanctions Reconsidered Peterson Institute, 2007 Kozloff N. Hugo Chavez: Oil, Politics, and the Challenge to the U. S. Palgrave Macmillan. 2006. Kelly de Escobar, J. , Kelly, J. and Romero, C. A. The United States and Venezuela: Rethinking a Relationship. Routledge, 2002 Isbell, P. Hugo Chavez and the Future of Venezuelan Oil: The Resurgence of Energy Nationalism (ARI) 2007. Available at http://www. realinstitutoelcano. org/wps/portal/rielcano_eng/Content? WCM_GLO BAL_CONTEXT=/Elcano_in/Zonas_in/International+Economy/ARI+14-2007 Lotta, R. Hugo Chavez Has an Oil Strategy†¦ But Can This Lead to Liberation? 2007. Available at http://revcom. us/a/094/chavez-en. html Painter J. Is Venezuela’s oil boom set to bust? 2008. Available at http://news. bbc. co. uk/2/hi/americas/7694757. stm Mora, F. O. and. Hey, Jeanne A. Latin American and Caribbean Foreign Policy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2003

The True Meaning Of Family Essays

The True Meaning Of Family Essays The True Meaning Of Family Essay The True Meaning Of Family Essay My essay will be developed around the poems The Black Walnut Tree and Lineage. Deep inside these poems we can discover the true meaning of love for family ties. The Black Walnut Tree unfolds strong feelings for the absent father and husband. This person comes to life with a form of a tree that serves as a family debate. Mother and Daughter are faced with a dilemma that can lead them to an economic stability or a sense of guilt. But something brighter than money moves in our blood. That something brighter its definitely the love and memory of his father that its no longer resent. Even though the old tree brings up many different problems like roots in the drains, or the difficult task of cleaning up the leaves its hard for them to get rid Of the tree. We can see the difficulty for this family in getting the money to pay off mortgage and the maintenance caused by the tree. But the love and strong feelings towards the husband and father figure o;sighs the harsh reality. Its clearly stated towards the end of the poem the pain and suffering that cutting the tree would bring to their life. Its a sense of scare hey dont want to go through so they prefer to deal with it than feel guilty about it. Thats why they just talk about it but they wont cut the tree. We can identify the importance of family ties that is represented in the walnut tree. The tree is the family tree that not only represents the father but the entire family. This is why the importance and sentimental attachments towards the tree. Something similar occurs in the poem Lineage where a child grows up dolling her grandmothers. The lineage is the line of ancestors of the speaker. We can identify a deep love and admiration from a child towards her family. It gives me the impression that the speaker is remembering her childhood and compares herself with her grandmothers. She remembers them as strong hardworking women that represented a role model which she would like to follow. Throughout the poem the speaker describe her grandmothers with details and compared them to her. Why am I not as they? She wants to be strong like them and for an unknown reason she is different. This poem allowed me to free up my imagination and think about he meaning of being strong working in the fields. It was probably the time of slavery were it was all about being strong for African Americans and for a child was probably a sign of admiration and example to follow. Both of these poems have so much in common. The family ties and the strong feelings for each other. In The Black Walnut Tree the family lineage is represented in the tree. The tree is part of their family. In the poem Lineage the grandmothers are the ancestors of the little girl.

Indo-European Family of Languages

Indo-European Family of Languages Definition Indo-European is a  family of languages (including most of the languages spoken in Europe, India, and Iran) descended from a common tongue spoken in the third millennium B.C. by an agricultural people originating in southeastern Europe. Branches of Indo-European (IE) include Indo-Iranian (Sanskrit and the Iranian languages), Greek, Italic (Latin and related languages), Celtic, Germanic (which includes English), Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Albanian, Anatolian, and Tocharian. The theory that languages as diverse as Sanskrit, Greek, Celtic, Gothic, and Persian had a common ancestor was proposed by Sir William Jones in an address to the Asiatick Society on Feb. 2, 1786. (See below.) The reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages is known as the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE). Examples and Observations The ancestor of all the IE languages is called Proto-Indo-European, or PIE for short. . . . Since no documents in reconstructed PIE are preserved or can reasonably hope to be found, the structure of this hypothesized language will always be somewhat controversial. (Benjamin W. Fortson, IV, Indo-European Language and Culture. Wiley, 2009) Englishalong with a whole host of languages spoken in Europe, India, and the Middle Eastcan be traced back to an ancient language that scholars call Proto Indo-European. Now, for all intents and purposes, Proto Indo-European is an imaginary language. Sort of. Its not like Klingon or anything. It is reasonable to believe it once existed. But nobody every wrote it down so we dont know exactly what it really was. Instead, what we know is that there are hundreds of languages that share similarities in syntax and vocabulary, suggesting that they all evolved from a common ancestor. (Maggie Koerth-Baker, Listen to a Story Told in a 6000-Year-Old Extinct Language. Boing Boing, September 30, 2013) Address to the Asiatick Society by Sir William Jones (1786) The Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a wonderful structure, more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bearing to both of them a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs and the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been produced by accident; so strong indeed, that no philologer could examine them all three, without believing them to have sprung from some common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists. There is a similar reason, though not quite so forcible, for supposing that both the Gothick and the Celtick, though blended with a very different idiom, had the same origin with the Sanscrit, and the old Persian might be added to this family, if this were the place for discussing any question concerning the antiquities of Persia. (Sir William Jones, The Third Anniversary Discourse, on the Hindus, Feb. 2, 1786) A Shared Vocabulary The languages of Europe and those of Northern India, Iran, and part of Western Asia belong to a group known as the Indo-European Languages. They probably originated from a common language-speaking group about 4000 BC and then split up as various subgroups migrated. English shares many words with these Indo-European languages, though some of the similarities may be masked by sound changes. The word moon, for example, appears in recognizable forms in languages as different as German (Mond), Latin (mensis, meaning month), Lithuanian (menuo), and Greek (meis, meaning month). The word yoke is recognizable in German (Joch), Latin (iugum), Russian (igo), and Sanskrit (yugam). (Seth Lerer, Inventing English: A Portable History of the Language. Columbia Univ. Press, 2007) Also See Grimms LawHistorical Linguistics

The Rule of Saint Benedict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Rule of Saint Benedict - Essay Example One of the reasons why it was and remains so popular is its objectivity, which makes it much more sustainable than related precepts especially because it allows for a moderate line between the zeal of individual devotion and institutionalism1. The rule was essentially designed to create an environment in which the needs of monks in communities could be provided to foster a deeper understanding into human nature, providing spiritual mentorship, support the monk’s ascetic endeavors and develop spiritual growth. This paper will endeavor to analyze the text by primarily focusing on; the historical context in which the Rule emerged, the factors that drove Saint Benedict to write it, his secondary sources of information and the role the rules played and continue to play in religious and non-religious discourse. For as long as it has existed, the rule has been used by Benedictine monks and to many scholars, saint Benedict is considered to be the originator of western monasticism alth ough historians had suggested that he probably had no outward intention of starting a religious order. Among the many advantages of these rules is that they allow of communities of monks to be autonomous and thus operate without outside influence or direct co-operation. Consequently, communities that apply these rules have enjoyed a variety of benefits from the accruing independence such as the development of close internal bonds and more contemplative lifestyles without outside distraction. While the book is quite explicit on some of it requirements, it is not iron clad and it allows the Abbott to use his discretion when circumstances demand it.2 The lessons, according to Benedict were not meant to dictate but provide a guide of those wishing to spend their lives in holy contemplation especially beginners. Overview The rule has seventy-three chapters and these are divided into edicts about the duties of the abbot, regulation of worshiping God, chastisement and consequences for brea king rules, the core management of the monastery and miscellaneous rules. It prologues with a hortary preface through which Saint Benedict lays down the basic tenets of the religious life and the renunciation of an individual’s will to take up a life of Christ In his summation, the rules will serve as the foundation for the formation of a school in which salvation shall the taught as a science. Through their perseverance in the monastery for the duration of their natural lives, monks will be deemed as qualified to be partakers of the kingdom of Christ Owing to the scope of the rules, it is not possible to summarize it explicitly by the chapter since that would require an entire paper of considerable length. Nevertheless, several of the rules, which have a bearing on the historical context to the text, will be briefly discussed herein. Benedict makes it clear that the rule is only relevant to two classes of monks, those are the Cenobites, Hermits, and it precludes the Gyrovagi and Sarabites who did not follow any specific code and were, in Benedict’s opinion a disgrace to the monastic profession. He emphasizes on the authority of the abbot who all the monks must obey without question and in the selfsame way requires the abbot is an honorable and godly individual. Concerning the personal lives of the monk, the rules demand that they must live frugally and what little they have such as extra clothes should be