English Composition Essay Example for Free

English Composition Essay In the aspect of writing English composition, several rules and guidelines must be followed for the aspect of clarity, clearness, and understandability. This grammar rules are established to follow a clear and concise presentation of the ideas and concepts being communicated in each composition. Included in these guidelines and rules is the use of examples and how they are used to promote the main argument in each composition. In the use of examples in the English composition, several approaches are established to guide the use of this strategy for the clearness in the composition. First, is using example in a word or phrase employing short approaches towards the presentation. The second is through sentence-length examples, which are more specific as they employ the idea along with the specific example explaining the said concept. Third is through the use of extended examples, which are commonly to be an entire paragraph for more detailed explanation and presentation. For better composition, most writer use different styles and conjoined different approaches in a single essay for more detailed explanation of the main topic. For example, in the composition of John Head entitled â€Å"The Brutal Business of Boxing†, the author was able to clearly and specifically presents his topic and ideas through the use of both single word or phrase example and sentence-length examples. In most paragraphs, the author mentioned specific words to support his topic and in the others, he used the sentence-length examples, which includes the idea and the specific argument explaining the concept. Through this approach, the author has able to present clearly his main argument and reasons about his opinions towards the brutal nature of boxing explaining why the said act should be condone not as a sport but as an uncivilized fight in the society.

Literature Review On Organisational Change Management Essay

Literature Review On Organisational Change Management Essay Part A Organisational Change: Organisational Change is the process by which organizations move from their present state to some desired future state to increase their effectiveness. Characteristically Change is vital if a company wants to avoid stagnation fast and is likely to increase further in the present competitive business Change is understood as doing things differently in order to cope up with emerging changes in the organisation environment. Change in any part of the organisation may affect the whole organisation. Change could be proactive or reactive. A proactive change has necessarily to be planned to attempt to prepare for anticipated future challenges. Generally it is initiated by management. A reactive Change may be an automatic response to a change taking place in the environment (John Lacovini, The human side of Organisation Change, January 1993, Page 35.) Change Management is a structured approach to transitioning individuals, teams and organisations form a current state to a desired future state. Its major objective is to maximize the collective benefits for all people involved in the change and minimise the risk of failure to change. The major obstacle to change management is Resistance to Change. (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour, 8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.520) T John Lacovini says, The secret to real success of any organisation is effective management of the emotional vulnerability that accompanies organisational change. Types of Change: Different types of changes require different types of strategies to be implemented for effective functionality. The three types of change that occur most frequently in organisations are Developmental Change Transitional Change Transformational Change Developmental Change: Developmental Change occurs when a company makes an improvement to their current business. If a company decided to improve their processes, methods or performance standards that should be considered as developmental change. Companies are continually processing developmental changes to some degree in order to stay competitive. This type of change should cause little stress to current employees as long as the rationale for the new process is clearly conveyed and the employees are educated to new techniques. When major change such as decision to close a division, streamline the business and organisation downsizing, make developmental changes unacceptable to the employees. The employees could see that the company attempted different strategies before determining that closing the division is the only option. Transitional Change: Transitional Change is more intrusive than developmental change as it replaces existing processes or procedures with something that is completely new to the company. The period when an old process is being dismantled and the new process is being implemented is called transitional phase. A corporate reorganisation, merger, acquisition, creating new products or services and new technologies are examples of Transitional Change. It may not require a significant shift in culture or behaviour but it is more challenging to implementing than a developmental change. The future of the organisation is unknown when the transformation begins which can add a level of discomfort to the employees. (Bernald M. Bass, From Transactional to Transformation Leadership, Training and Development, May 1991 Pages 87-92) The outcome of transitional Change is unknown so employees Amy feel that their job is unstable and their own personal insecurities may increase. Education and orientation at every stage of new process implementation should be commenced in order to employees insecurity. This will make the employees feel comfortable. They will feel engaged and actively involved in change. As the employees level of engagement in new process increase, their resistance to change may decrease. Management should be a cognizant of the impact and stress these changes will have on their employees. The company should continue to inform the employees of their status offer support in helping them deal with the personal adjustments they will be forced to make. Transformational Change: Transformational Change occurs after the transition period. Transformational change may evolve both developmental and transitional change. It is common for transitional and transformational change to occur in tandem. When companies are faced with the emergence of radically different technologies, significant changes in supply and demand, unexpected competition, lack of revenue or other major shifts in how they do business, developmental or transitional change may not offer the company the solution they need to stay competitive. Instead of methodically implementing new processes, the company may be forced to drastically transform itself. (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour,8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.525) Part B Resistance to Change: The goal of any planned organisation change is to find a new and improved way of optimal utilisation of resources and capabilities in order to increase an organisations ability to create value and improve returns to its stake holders. Yet employees do not always welcome changes as expected by the organisation. As per the 2007 survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), organisational changes fail majorly due to employee resistance and inadaptability to change. Figure   Reactions to change may take various forms. Active resistance  is the most dangerous factor in change management. Employees with Active Resistance may go against the change effort and object the change in several manners. Boycotting the organisation, tending to disrupting habits and raising slogans against the organisation are some examples for high negative resistance. In the opposite nature,  passive resistance  is calm and doesnt include violence in any aspect. Passive resisters are insecure about their position after change. Instead of clearing their insecurities with the management, they tend to look for a new job and leave the organisation. Compliance, is coping up with the proposed changes with little enthusiasm. Finally, those who show  enthusiastic support  are supporters of change, who understand the value of change and contribute to the effective implementation of change. They are the defenders to organisational resistance and propagate the new way to actually encourage others around them to give support and contribute to the overall change effort. The best example of resistance of employees to change is computerisation. Change requires readjustment. Man always fears the unknown and a change represents the unknown(P Subba Rao, Essentials of Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations, Chapter 12, page 353) Factors causing resistance to change: Fear of Unknown: Such fear is due to uncertainty about the nature of change, feelings that one doesnt know what is going on and what the future holds. Loss of Control: Feeling that the change is being done to the person, worry that one has no say in the situation and events that are taking place. Loss of face: Feeling of embarrassment as a result of change and discerning it in such a way that the things one has done in the past are wrong. Need for Security: Worry about ones potential role after change and fear of losing job after change. Fear of Demotion: Employees may fear that they may be demoted if they do not possess the skills required to do their jobs, after change. Hence they prefer status quo. Loss of Power: Employees in superior cadre may assume that change may eventually result in the loss of their superior power. They give more prominence to maintaining prestige and status in the organisation, even if the change is for overall betterment of the organization. Fear of workload: Change in work technology and methods may lead to increasing workloads there by no proportional increase in salaries and benefits. This feeling creates resistance to change. Need for Training: Not all employees are interested in continuous learning and if the change necessitates relearning and continuous training, employees may resist to boredom to learn. Need for new social adjust: Any organisational change involves new social adjustment with various groups and sub groups.Some people refuse transfers and promotions, as they may need to need to break their current social comfort zone? Perceiving change as imposed from outside: Some employees may consider that change is enforced only for the development of organisation, not for their development. They perceive change as something imposed from outside on them. (Bernald M. Bass, From Transactional to Transformation Leadership, Training and Development, May 1991 Pages 93-95) Forces of Change: An organisation is affected by various forces to change. Internal forces: The forces inside the organisation which affect the change are as follows: Need to develop new products and new technologies in order to with stand in the ever changing competitive world. Focus on business diversification. Urge to implement bench marking standards in the organisation Business Process Re-engineering and Total Quality Management process implementation Cost Cutting strategies to with stand in recession times Company going for Public Issue External Forces :The forces outside the organisation which affect the change are as follows: Change in the employment and industrial laws of the country. Booming economy or recession situation. Business trends such as globalisation which helps to spread the commercial activity all over the world. Increasing competition makes companies concentrate more on customer satisfaction and customer excellence. Social, economic and political changes like terrorist attacks, political conflicts with other countries, UNO Regulations and World Bank policies. Demographic shifts like shrinking labour, droughts and drains, rising health care costs, rise in the number of foreign born workers force companies to concentrate more on matters of discrimination and civil rights. Part C: Approaches to Organisational Change Change Management Models: Management is said to be a change agent as its role is to initiate the change. It has to overcome the resistance in the organisation and make the change as a successful venture. Management must realise that resistance to change is basically a human problem and hence it must be tackled in a social and human manner. Several behavioural scientists and psychologies have studied group dynamics and organisation development and hence have proposed various theories and models to change management. They are described below. Levins Force Field Theory of Change(1936): Kurt Zadek Lewin (September 9, 1890 February 12, 1947) is a renowned psychologist and is recognized as the founder of social psychology. To his credit he was one of the first to study group dynamics and organizational development. Lewin proposed force field theory of change, which explains about various forces affecting the change and organizational equilibrium. Taken from www.change-management-coach.com An organisation at any time is a dynamic balance of forces supporting and restarting any practice. The forces supporting the practice are Driving Forces and the forces objecting the practice are restraining forces. When the forces are evenly balanced, the organisation is in a state of inertia and doesnt change. To stimulate an Organisational change managers must find ways to increase the Driving Forces and decrease the Restraining Forces. With these strategies an organisation overcomes inertia and implements change process. (John W. Newstrom and Keith Davis, Organisational Behaviour,8th revised Edition, Chapter 15, Page No.410,411) Change is introduced within a company by a variety of methods. The idea is to help change to be accepted and integrated into new practices: Adding new driving forces Removing restraining forces Increasing the strength of the supporting force Decreasing the strength of the restraining force Converting a restraining force into a supportive force A good example for this strategy is an urge for increased quality of products in an organisation is supported by forces like higher-quality work, increased company reputation and better customer satisfaction.Restrining forces being employees feeling irresponsible for the quality of product they produce. This can be overcome by implementing programs to increase employees pride, performance based hikes, providing better machines and training, quality of work life etc. Three Stages in Change: Behavioural awareness in managing change is aided by viewing change as a three step process: Unfreezing Changing Refreezing Stage 1: Unfreezing Unfreezing means that old ideas and practices need to be cast aside, so that new ideas can be learned. It basically means to have an open mind and flexibility to accept new changes. Its getting rid of old practices and accepting new challenges. Its basically breaking the current comfort zone and getting ready for change. So a manager must help employees clear their minds of old roles and old procedures. Only then they will be able to embrace new ideas. The Unfreezing stage is probably one of the more important stages to understand in the world of change we live in today. Stage 2: Change or Transition Changing is a step in which new ideas and practices are learnt.This process involves helping an employee think reason and perform in a variety of new ways. It can be a time of confusion, disorientation, overload and despair. Patience is very important in this point. There should be hope, discovery and excitement to overcome to overcome all chaos and enter a new mode of development. Stage 3: Refreezing Refreezing means that what has been learned is integrated into actual practice. The new practices become emotionally embraced and incorporated into the employees routine behaviour. Successful on -the-job practice, then must be the ultimate goal of the refreezing step. In this step emphasis is on stabilising the work process after rapid change transition. (Lewin K. Force Field Analysis and Diagram. Online. www.valuebasedmanagement.net/methods_ lewin_force_field_analysis.html.) Even though the world has changed ever since Kurt Lewin has published the model in 1947, it is still extremely relevant and the foundation of several other new models.(John W. Newstrom and Keith Davis, Organisational Behaviour, 8th revised Edition, Chapter 15, Page No.409) Kotters Eight Step Model (1995): John P Kotter (1995) has designed an extremely helpful model to understand and manage change. Each step in the model is characterised by key principle, in which people see, feel and then change. Kotler explained them as principles of response and approach to change. These are explained descriptively in his highly appreciated book Leading Change (1995). The eight step process is described as follows: Kotters Eight Step Change model is considered as one of the worlds best change management models. It has simplified the change process immensely and concluded that every successful change effort is messy and full of surprises. Managers have to view change process in a see-feel view where major problems in the process are highlighted and there by easily solved. Pendlebury, Grouard and Meston -Ten Keys Model(1998): These Scientists have presented Ten Key Factors which can be adapted to any particular change situation. All these keys may be needed to be implemented either simultaneously of separately based on the change process. The ten keys are as follows: Define the Vision Mobilise Catalyse Steer Deliver Obtain Participation Handle Emotions Handle Power Train and Coach Actively Communicate (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour, 8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.520) Nandler -12 Action Steps: Nandler, has developed a management frame work of twelve action steps which is helpful for Managers and Executives to apply at every level of hierarchy during the change process.This is immensely helpful for leading and managing change at every corner of the organisation. The twelve action steps are as follows: Get support of key power groups Get leaders to model change behaviour Use symbols and language Define areas of stability Surface dissatisfaction with the present conditions Promote participation in change Reward behaviours that supports change Disengage from the old Develop and clearly communicate image of the future Use multiple leverage points Develop transition management arrangements Create feedback Kanter, Stein and Jick Ten Commandments(1992): Kanter, Stein and Jick have done a wonderful research on organisation change and proposed Ten Commandments on how to plan a change process. Analyse the need for change Create a shared vision Separate from past Create a sense of urgency Support a strong leader role Line up political sponsorship Craft an implementation plan Develop enabling structures Communicate and involve people Reinforce and institutionalize change Ghoshal and Barletts Model(1997) : Ghoshal and Barlett argue for the importance of sequencing and implementation of activities in a change process. The interrelated change phases are: Rationalization : Streamlining company operations Revitalisation: Leveraging reqources and linking opportunities across the whole organisation Regeneration: Managing business unit operations and tensions, while at the same time collaborating elsewhere in the organisation to achieve performance. They claim that while change is often presented as difficult and messy, there is nothing mystical about the process of achieving change with effective strategies following the rationalization, revitalization and regeneration sequential process. (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour,8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.540) Dumpy and Stance Contingency Model of Change(1993): Dumpy and Doug Stance developed the best change contingency approach. They argue that the style of change and the scale of change have to be matched to the needs of the organisation. Scale of Change Style of Change Management Fine Tuning International Adjustments Modular Transformation Corporate Transformation Collaborative Consultative Lowers Performance (Avoiding Change) Developmental transitions (Constant Change) Charismatic Transformation (Inspirational Change) Directive Task Focussed Transistors (Constant Change) Turnarounds (Frame-Breaking Change) Coercive They identify five change approaches: Development Transitions: They refer to situations in which there is constant change as a result of the organisation adapting itself to external and environmental changes. The primary style of leadership is consultative, where the leader acts in the capacity of a coach aiming to gain voluntary, shared commitment from organisational members to the need for continual improvement. Task Focused Transitions: In this, the change management style is directive with the change leader acting as a captain seeking the compliance of organisational members to redefine how the organisation operates in specific areas. Directive leadership means that the overall change is driven from the top; this may translate into a more consultative approach by managers operating lower down in the organisation who are required to implement the changes. Charismatic Transformation: With this model, people accept that the organisation is out of step with its environment and that there is a need for radical, revolutionary change. Helping to create a new identity and a paradigm shift in the way in which the organisation conducts its operations, the charismatic leader is able to operate symbolically to gain emotional commitment of staff to new directions. Turnarounds : This is aimed at frame breaking changes. Turn around change leaders as commanders utilizing their positions of power to force required changes through the organisation. Taylorism: It is associated with the fine-tuning, paternalistic approaches to managing change. Dumphy and Stance their model indicates that medium to high performance organisations are likely to be using consultative and directive change management. (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour,8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.530) Huys Work on Change Management(2007) : Huy categorizes change into for ideal types: Commanding : Commanding change intervention is one where the time period is short term, abrupt and rapid. Change is usually implemented by Senior Managers who demand compliance from organisational members. Changes may well include downsizing, outsourcing and divestments. Engineering: This model is oriented toward a medium -term, relatively fast change perspective and often assisted by work design analysts who assists in changing work and operational systems. The change agent act as an catalyst in this process Teaching : This model takes a more gradual, long term organisational change perspective. Assisted by outside process consultants, staffs and taught how to probe their work practices and behaviours to reveal new ways of working. Socializing : This intervention is also gradual and long term. It sees change as developing through participative experimental learning based on self-monitored democratic organisational processes. Each ideal type has its limitations. The commanding approach may lead to resentment and rarely produces lasting behavioural change. The teaching approach is very individualistic and may not be aligned to corporate strategic objectives. The engineering approach may not encourage collaboration and spread of change across business units and socializing approach may lead to over focusing on individual work groups rather than on how they may operate as part of larger, corporate collective. (K.Aswathappa, Organisational Behaviour,8th revised Edition, Chapter 20, Page No.550) Part D Implementing Change: Implementation is the institutionalisation and internalisation of a change after it has been accepted by an organisation and a decision has been taken to accept and make it part of the on-going activity. Implementation is a multidimensional process whose end is stabilisation and institutionalisation of change. Support Training Resources Commitment Linkages Planning the implementation process: The objective of planning is to have an overall understanding of the nature of implementation. Planning process determines the entire process of implementation of change phasing. Phasing may be either temporal (in terms of time) or spatial (in terms of various units or the locations of the organisation) Processes: All processes involved in the implementation should be pre-determined. Various stages of the process include initiation, motivation, diagnosis, information, collection, deliberation, action proposal, implementation and stabilisation. Strategies: Management should formulate various strategies to implement processes. These strategies should focus on taking outsiders help, change agent, designing permanent organisational structures, unit/location of the organisation to be selected for initial process, openness with the environment etc.( P Subba Rao, Essentials of Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations, Chapter 12, page 358) Monitoring : It is the process of routine periodic measurement of programme inputs, activities and outputs undertaken during programme implementation. Monitoring is normally concerned with the procurement, delivery and utilisation of programme resources, adherence to work schedules to progress made in the production of outputs Implementation team : A broad based task group of implementation should be set up to look after the implementation of change programme and monitor it continoulsy.HRD department of the organisation may be asked to take up this responsibility.es and Minimum control: As monitoring is a delicate issue, control should be minimum in order to make the monitoring effective. Control attempts to develop new norms of creativity, diversity and experimentation. Feedback and communication: Implementation requires reviewing various processes and provides feedback. It involves getting data information and experiences and providing feedback to the people on how they are implementing compared to the design and plans. Action : Action covers all the minute details of what is implemented at different stages. This process involves various phases and steps for people and various group tasks in relation to change programme. Adaptation : Adaptation is the combination of two main criteria of effectiveness and implementation. It may be general or specific or both. Support : Various types of support from all concerned will be required for the implementation of change. The HRD department, Operations and management committee are some of main agencies which render major support. Institutionalisation: Institutionalisation is making change permanent part of the organisation and internalisation is stabilisation of change. (P Subba Rao, Essentials of Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations, Chapter 12, page 340) Part E: Evaluating Organisational Change The Balanced Score Card Approach: Since centuries Top Management has been depending only on financial measures to evaluate the performance after the organisation change. But this approach was not enough to provide information about overall effectiveness of the organisation.in 1992 Robert Kaplan and David Norton have published Balanced Scorecard in Harvard business review as a management tool for organisational development. Managers can get a comprehensive picture of the financial and operational measures using this framework. HR Consultants and OD strategists all over the world opine that Balanced Score Card is the best tool to enforce organizational change management and organizational development in todays technology driven world. They emphasize the principle that Businesses must develop in a multidimensional way viz., providing best value to its stake holders, achieving ultimate customer satisfaction, implementing bench marked business standards and developing a learning culture in the organisation. The scorecard facilitates managers to view critical performance factors and understand their interrelationships evaluating current performance and targeting performance to be achieved. Emphasis is on the organizational vision and long-term success. (Robert Kaplan and David P. Norton, The Balanced ScorecardMeasures that Drive Performance, Harvard Business Review, January and February, 1992.)   Performance levers in a Balanced Score Card : The Balance Score Card acts as a catalyst for driving organisational change within the organisation. It is dependent on four perspectives which are considered as performance levers for any organisation. The four perspectives of a Balance Score Card are as follows: 1. Financial Perspective How do we perform according to our shareholders? 2. Customer Perspective How do our customers see us? 3. Internal Organisation Perspective What should we excel in? 4. Innovation and Learning Perspective Can we keep on improving and adding value? Hence, the rationale of Balance Score Card is to give uniform importance to non-financial factors of business performance and balancing them with the financial factor. Therefore it is termed as a complete comprehensive framework which tries to bring a balance and linkage between the (a) Financial and the Non-Financial indicators, (b) Tangible and the Intangible measures, (c) Internal and the External aspects and (d) Leading and the Lagging indicators. (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy, California Management Review, Vol. 39, No.21, 22 1996.) All the four perspectives of a Balance Score Card are explained briefly as follows: The Innovation and Learning Perspective This perspective emphasizes on developing a learning culture in the organisation.The key goals in this perspective are Employee training and self-improvement Grooming and communication Increasing quality of work life Developing skill and knowledge management The Internal Organization Perspective This perspective emphasizes on developing internal business processes in the organization. The key goals in this perspective are Value creating internal operations Innovative supply chain management Total Quality Management. Team building The Customer Perspective This perspective emphasizes on achieving customer delight. The key goals in this perspective are Reducing customer response time Timely updated information Taking regular customer feedback Achieving best vendor award from customer The Financial Perspective This perspective emphasizes on developing financial systems in the organization. The key goals in this perspective are Centralized and automated financial information system Developing financial corporate database Providing more value to stake holders Risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis. Increased working capital and current assets. (Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy, California Management Review, Vol. 39, No.21,22 1996.) Based on the above discussion, organsiations must develop scorecards fitting their current and future needs. Transformational leadership and strong commitment are required to initiate a change process, using Balance Score Card. Some of the worlds best Balance Score Card practises are as follows: GEs HR Score Card design and implementation HR Score card of Washington state HR Score Card of U.S. Department of Transportation Balance Score of Texas State Auditors Office (McKenzie Shilling, Avoiding Performance Measurement Traps: Ensuring Effective, Incentive Design and Implementation, American Management Association, July/Aug., 1998.)   All metrics to organisational performance

A Description of My Room: The Comfortable Chill Room :: descriptive essay, personal narrative,

My room is what everyone calls â€Å"The Chill Room†. In this room there are all kinds of items that been collected throughout the years. There are several black lights, posters, and a bumping stereo. And even though my room is small it easily holds everything to make it comfortable and chill. At night the black lights engulf the whole ceiling with light. The light includes a tinge of blue which emitted by one of the black lights. This light is a 42 inch double fixture which was painted fluorescent blue. The light from the two tubes hits the blue coloring, giving the blue to everything in the room. The other black light has an all black fixture that emits no color except the color it all ready produces and measured the same as the other black light (42†). There are few items in this room that are black light sensitive; from posters to glass material the room has many highlight glowing. The black light gives a lot of character to the room in the sense of whoever enters the room, suddenly changes color. Clothes go from white to light purple and the color of the clothes sometimes changes. Different lighting effects are also used to help give the room more of a relaxing and chill environment. A small light covered in blue plastic wrap sit in place inside my closet. Thi s light is bright enough only to light just the closet, yet it does not impede on the acquired blue tinge. A dark blue lava lamp which is on day and night is placed near my television, which also gives the room a unique look to it. A large variety of posters fill every wall that represents few interests. The majority of the posters consist of ICP (Insane Clown Posse). These posters were collected through the internet, and some were given by friends. Anyone who walks into the room can tell what type of music is preferred by looking at some the posters on the walls. Such artists as SPM (South Park Mexicans) from Huston, Tx. the whole crew from Metallica, and an almost life size picture of a pit-bull, it all gives the room a nice touch of style. You can see a few pictures of cars on the walls: Ferraris, BMW, racing cars and customized cars. Last but not least the stereo system. This SONY three disk CD player is capable of producing 500watts of sound.

How Crime and Deviance Can Be Seen As Functional for Society Essay

Crime and deviance are acts that will elicit dissent from society. They take various forms and involve various concepts and theories. It will be the aim of this paper to explore those that are considered to be functional for society. It was Emile Durkheim who first clearly established the logic behind the functional approach to the study of crime and deviance[1] when he wrote The Rules of Sociological Method and The Division of Labour[2]. In those works, Durkheim argued that crime and deviance is â€Å"an integral part of all healthy societies†. He reasoned that crime and deviance are not only inevitable, but also functional for society and that they will only be considered dysfunctional when they reach abnormally high or low levels. His theory of functionalism rooted from his amazement with how society was able to keep itself intact amidst the social, political and economic upheaval provoked by the Industrial Revolution. He found that the social glue holding everything in place was: value consensus, social solidarity and collective conscience; and that crime and deviance had a role in this equation. â€Å"Deviance† is a wide-ranging term used by sociologists referring to behaviour that is off-tangent from social normalities[3], and that â€Å"crime† is a variant of deviance, only that it â€Å"comprises activities or actions which are deemed so damaging to the interests of the community† (Pease, 1994) that some form of identification and action must be done against the perpetrator. It follows that all crime are, by definition, deviant behaviour, but not all forms of deviance are criminal[4]. In the pre-industrial days, societies were sm... ... Publishers Ltd., Chapter 6, pp. 330 – 403 8. Kai T. Erickson (nd) Notes on the Sociology of Deviance, in Howard S. Becker (ed) (1967) The Other Side, Perspectives on Deviance, Glencoe, The Free Press 9. Robert A. Nisbet (1975) The Sociology of Emile Durkheim, London, Heinemann Educational Books Ltd., Chapter 7, pp. 209 – 237 Notes: [1] (Criminology, nd) [2] (Robert A. Nisbet, 1975) [3] (Chris Livesey,nd) [4] Ibid [5] Ibid [6] (Anthony Giddens, 2001) [7] (Durkheim, nd) [8] (Chris Livesey,nd) [9] (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004) [10] Ibid [11] (Emile Durkheim, nd) [12] (Criminology, nd) [13] (Robert A. Nisbet, 1975) [14] (Kai T. Erikson, nd) [15] (Chris Livesey,nd) [16] Ibid [17] (Chris Livesey,nd) [18] Ibid

Essay --

Operation Deliberate Force By SSG Barker, Russell J. ALC Class 018-14 SFC Franklin Barker, Russell J. 13F ALC Class 018-14 14 March 2014 Operation Deliberate Force The idea of a humanitarian war or going to war in pursuit of a humanitarian effort is an ambiguous idea. From an outsider’s point of view it can seem like a self-serving mission or even some crazy form of moral or immoral self-deception. Yet, in war strategies, humanitarian efforts are widely distributed through all aspects of our art of war such as the Geneva conventions. In operation deliberate force the theory of air strikes came to be the most humane effort in that of shortening the war as well as bringing the amount of innocent suffering to a minimum. Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in the south east region of Europe, in the Balkan Peninsula. It borders with the Republic of Croatia in the north, west and southwest and with Serbia and Montenegro in the east and south. The Ivan Sedlo saddle (much like a valley) found between the mountains Bitovnje and BjelaÃ… ¡nica connects the two major wholes of the country, the more populated and abundant in forests and land, Bosnia in the north and the smaller, rocky Herzegovina in the south. There is a natural border of mountains between Bosnia and Herzegovina. Herzegovina is actually quite small barely making up ten percent of the population of the entire country. Most of Bosnia is hilly and mountainous and there is almost no area less than one hundred and fifty meters above sea level. Bosnia is not a country abundant in many different water sources; it contains a few large rivers and only few lakes. Of the countries making up the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzego... ...ion. There were many sides to this Bosnian civil war; each of the three cultures in this territorial conflict had their own justifiable reasoning behind the events that took place throughout the long ordeal. Yet it was easily brought to an end once NATO and the United Nations decided to take a more aggressive role with their presence. The Serbians who were the main antagonist throughout this war thought they were much more militarily inclined than they actually were therefore when just a small amount of air strikes were implemented by NATO it occurred to them that they should probably quit while they still could. Operation Deliberate Force in my opinion, proves how effective air support can be, and how efficient it is at bringing all things conflict related to an end much quicker than ground battle, and with much less casualties, both civilian and military, at that.

Music Is More Than Just a Source of Entertainment for People All over the World

Music is more than just a source of entertainment for people all over the world. For many, many centuries music has been used for reasons other than just entertainment. Take our National Anthem†¦Ã¢â‚¬ The Star Spangled Banner† for example. It was written as a patriotic song and, its purpose was to evoke the countries struggles of the past, traditions, and its history. During the 1800’s when slavery was permitted the seemingly innocent spirituals, as the slave songs came to be known, were more than simple hymns of endurance and a belief in a better after life.As sung by slaves and their descendents, the spirituals allowed the slaves to communicate secret messages and information to each other about the Underground Railroad. Music can also be therapeutic, improving our emotional estate, sleep patterns, eating habits, social skills, and behavioral awareness. It’s inspirational, energetic, and lyrically scenic. It can also be memorable, emotional, life experienc ing and many other things for people everywhere. Often music is even a mood setter.It can be calming, relaxing or even anger releasing for many people. From the day that I was brought into this world, if not before, the first words and sounds that my mother spoke to me were in the form of a lullaby. She soothed me to sleep, and taught me my ABC’s. Music has helped me, grow emotionally, physically, and intellectually, while simultaneously entertaining. Music for many, such as myself, is also a source of identity and individuality for all, as most prefer different styles and types of music

The Vampire Diaries: The Struggle Chapter Eight

â€Å"What?† said Elena dully. â€Å"Well, the way she ended up, in her slip. She looked just like she did when we found her on the road, only then she was all scratched up, too.† â€Å"Cat scratches, we thought,† said Meredith, finishing the last bite of her cake. She seemed to be in one of her quiet, thoughtful moods; right now she was watching Elena closely. â€Å"But that doesn't seem very likely.† Elena looked straight back at her. â€Å"Maybe she fell in some brambles,† she said. â€Å"Now, if you guys are finished eating, do you want to see that first note?† They left their dishes in the sink and climbed the stairs to Elena's room. Elena felt herself flush as the other girls read the note. Bonnie and Meredith were her best friends, maybe her only friends now. She'd read them passages from her diary before. But this was different. It was the most humiliating feeling she'd ever had. â€Å"Well?† she said to Meredith. â€Å"The person who wrote this is five feet eleven inches tall, walks with a slight limp, and wears a false mustache,† Meredith intoned. â€Å"Sorry,† she added, seeing Elena's face. â€Å"Not funny. Actually, there's not much to go on, is there? The writing looks like a guy's, but the paper looks feminine.† â€Å"And the whole thing has sort of a feminine touch,† put in Bonnie, bouncing slightly on Elena's bed. â€Å"Well, it does,† she said defensively. â€Å"Quoting bits of your diary back at you is the kind of thing a woman would think of. Men don't care about diaries.† â€Å"You just don't want it to be Damon,† said Meredith. â€Å"I would think you'd be more worried about him being a psycho killer than a diary thief.† â€Å"I don't know; killers are sort of romantic. Imagine your dying with his hands around your throat. He'd strangle the life out of you, and the last thing you'd see would be his face.† Putting her own hands to her throat, Bonnie gasped and expired tragically, ending up draped across the bed. â€Å"He can have me anytime,† she said, eyes still closed. It was on Elena's lips to say, â€Å"Don't you understand, this isserious ,† but instead she hissed in a breath. â€Å"Oh,God ,† she said, and ran to the window. The day was humid and stifling, and the window had been opened. Outside on the skeletal branches of the quince tree was a crow. Elena threw the sash down so hard that the glass rattled and tinkled. The crow gazed at her through the trembling panes with eyes like obsidian. Rainbows glimmered in its sleek black plumage. â€Å"Why did yousay that?† she said, turning to Bonnie. â€Å"Hey, there's nobody out there,† said Meredith gently. â€Å"Unless you count the birds.† Elena turned away from them. The tree was empty now. â€Å"I'm sorry,† said Bonnie in a small voice, after a moment. â€Å"It's just that it all doesn't seem real sometimes, even Mr. Tanner's being dead doesn't seem real. And Damon did look†¦ well, exciting. But dangerous. I â€Å"And besides, he wouldn't squeeze your throat; he'd cut it,† Meredith said. â€Å"Or at least that was what he did to Tanner. But the old man under the bridge had his throat ripped open, as if some animal had done it.† Meredith looked to Elena for clarification. â€Å"Damon doesn't have an animal, does he?† â€Å"No. I don't know.† Suddenly, Elena felt very tired. She was worried about Bonnie, about the consequences of those foolish words. â€Å"I can do anything to you, to you and the ones you love,† she remembered. What might Damon do now? She didn't understand him. He was different every time they met. In the gym he'd been taunting, laughing at her. But the next time she would swear that he'd been serious, quoting poetry to her, trying to get her to come away with him. Last week, with the icy graveyard wind lashing around him, he'd been menacing, cruel. And underneath his mocking words last night, she'd felt the same menace. She couldn't predict what he'd do next. But, whatever happened, she had to protect Bonnie and Meredith from him. Especially since she couldn't warn them properly. And what was Stefan up to? She needed him right now, more than anything. Wherewas he? It started that morning. â€Å"Let me get this straight,† Matt said, leaning against the scarred body of his ancient Ford sedan when Stefan approached him before school. â€Å"You want to borrow my car.† â€Å"Yes,† Stefan said. â€Å"And the reason you want to borrow it is flowers. You want to get some flowers for Elena.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And these particular flowers, these flowers you've just got to get, don't grow around here.† â€Å"They might. But their blooming season is over this far north. And the frost would have finished them off anyway.† â€Å"So you want to go down south – how far south you don't know – to find some of these flowers that you've just got to give to Elena.† â€Å"Or at least some of the plants,† Stefan said. â€Å"I'd rather have the actual flowers though.† â€Å"And since the police still have your car, you want to borrow mine, for however long it takes you to go down south and find these flowers that you've just got to give to Elena.† â€Å"I figure driving is the least conspicuous way to leave town,† Stefan explained. â€Å"I don't want the police to follow me.† â€Å"Uh huh. And that's why you want my car.† â€Å"Am I going to give my car to the guy who stole my girlfriend and now wants to take a jaunt down south to get her some kind of special flowers she's just got to have? Are you crazy?† Matt, who had been staring out over the roofs of the frame houses across the street, turned at last to look at Stefan. His blue eyes, usually cheerful and straightforward, were full of utter disbelief, and surmounted by twisted, puckered brows. Stefan looked away. He should have known better. After everything Matt had already done for him, to expect more was ridiculous. Especially these days, when people flinched from the sound of his step and avoided his eyes when he came near. To expect Matt, who had the best of reasons to resent him, to do him such a favor with no explanation, on the basis of faith alone, reallywas insane. â€Å"No, I'm not crazy,† he said quietly, and turned to go. â€Å"Neither am I,† Matt had said. â€Å"And I'd have to be crazy to turn my car over to you. Hell, no. I'm going with you.† By the time Stefan had turned back around, Matt was looking at the car instead of him, lower lip thrust forward in a wary, judicious pout. â€Å"After all,† he'd said, rubbing at the flaking vinyl of the roof, â€Å"you might scratch the paint or something.† Elena put the phone back on the hook.Somebody was at the boarding house, because somebody kept picking up the phone when it rang, but after that there was only silence and then the click of disconnection. She suspected it was Mrs. Flowers, but that didn't tell her anything about where Stefan was. Instinctively, she wanted to go to him. But it was dark outside, and Stefan had warned her specifically not to go out in the dark, especially not anywhere near the cemetery or the woods. The boarding house was near both. â€Å"No answer?† said Meredith as Elena came back and sat down on the bed. â€Å"She keeps hanging up on me,† Elena said, and muttered something under her breath. â€Å"Did you say she was a witch?† â€Å"No, but it rhymes with that,† said Elena. â€Å"Look,† said Bonnie, sitting up. â€Å"If Stefan's going to call, he'll call here. There's no reason for you to come and stay the night with me.† Therewas a reason, although Elena couldn't quite explain it even to herself. After all, Damon had kissed Bonnie at Alaric Saltzman's party. It was Elena's fault that Bonnie was in danger in the first place. Somehow she felt that if she were at least on the scene, she might be able to protect Bonnie. â€Å"My mom and dad and Mary are all home,† Bonnie persisted. â€Å"And we lock all our doors and windows and everything since Mr. Tanner was murdered. This weekend Dad even put on extra locks. I don't see whatyou can do.† She left a message for Stefan with Aunt Judith, telling him where she was. There was still a lingering constraint between her and her aunt. And there would be, Elena thought, until Aunt Judith changed her mind about Stefan. At Bonnie's house, she was given a room that had belonged to one of Bonnie's sisters who was now in college. The first thing she did was check the window. It was closed and locked, and there was nothing outside that someone could climb, like a drainpipe or tree. As inconspicuously as possible, she also checked Bonnie's room and any others she could get into. Bonnie was right; they were all sealed up tight from the inside. Nothing from the outside could get in. She lay in bed a long time that night, staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. She kept remembering Vickie dreamily doing a striptease in the cafeteria. What was wrong with the girl? She would remember to ask Stefan that next time she saw him. Thoughts of Stefan were pleasant, even with all the terrible things that had happened recently. Elena smiled in the darkness, letting her mind wander. Someday all this harassment would be over, and she and Stefan could plan a life together. Of course, he hadn't actually said anything about that, but Elena herself was sure. She was going to marry Stefan, or no one. And Stefan was going to marry no one but her†¦ The transition into dreaming was so smooth and gradual that she scarcely noticed it. But she knew, somehow, that shewas dreaming. It was as if a little part of her was standing aside and watching the dream like a play. She was sitting in a long hallway, which was covered with mirrors on one side and windows on the other. She was waiting for something. Then she saw a flicker of movement, and Stefan was standing outside the window. His face was pale and his eyes were hurt and angry. She went over to the window, but she couldn't hear what he was saying because of the glass. In one hand, he was holding a book with a blue velvet cover, and he kept gesturing to it and asking her something. Then he dropped the book and turned away. â€Å"Stefan, don't go! Don't leave me!† she cried. Her fingers flattened whitely on the glass. Then she noticed that there was a latch on one side of the window and she opened it, calling to him. But he had disappeared and outside she saw only swirling white mist. Disconsolately, she turned away from the window and began walking down the hall. Her own image glimmered in mirror after mirror as she went by them. Then something about one of the reflections caught her eye. The eyes were her eyes, but there was a new look in them, a predatory, sly look. Vickie's eyes had looked that way when she was undressing. And there was something disturbing and hungry about her smile. As she watched, standing still, the image suddenly whirled around and around, as if dancing. Horror swept over Elena. She began to run down the hall, but now all the reflections had a life of their own, dancing, beckoning to her, laughing at her. Just when she thought her heart and lungs would burst with terror, she reached the end of the corridor and flung open a door. She was standing in a large and beautiful room. The lofty ceiling was intricately carved and inlaid with gold; the doorways were faced with white marble. Classical statues stood in niches along the walls. Elena had never seen a room of such splendor, but she knew where she was. In Renaissance Italy, when Stefan She looked down at herself and saw she was wearing a dress like the one she'd had made for Halloween, the ice blue Renaissance ball gown. But this dress was a deep ruby red, and around her waist she wore a thin chain set with brilliant red stones. The same stones were in her hair. When she moved, the silk shimmered like flames in the light of hundreds of torches. At the far end of the room, two huge doors swung inward. A figure appeared between them. It walked toward her, and she saw that it was a young man dressed in Renaissance clothing, doublet and hose and fur-trimmed jerkin. Stefan! She started toward him eagerly, feeling the weight of her dress swing from the waist. But when she got closer she stopped, drawing in a sharp breath. It was Damon. He kept on walking toward her, confident, casual. He was smiling, a smile of challenge. Reaching her, he put one hand over his heart and bowed. Then he held out the hand to her as if daring her to take it. â€Å"Do you like dancing?† he said. Except that his lips didn't move. The voice was in her mind. Her fear drained away, and she laughed. What was wrong with her, to have ever been afraid of him? They understood each other very well. But instead of taking his hand, she turned away, the silk of the dress turning after her. She moved lightly toward one of the statues along the wall, not glancing back to see if he was following her. She knew he would. She pretended to be absorbed in the statue, moving away again just as he reached her, biting her lip to hold in the laughter. She felt wonderful right now, so alive, so beautiful. Dangerous? Of course, this game was dangerous. But she had always enjoyed danger. The next time he drew near her, she glanced at him teasingly as she turned. He reached out, but caught only the jeweled chain at her waist. He let go quickly, and, looking back, she saw that the pronged setting on one of the gems had cut him. The drop of blood on his finger was just the color of her dress. His eyes flashed at her sideways, and his lips curved in a taunting smile as he held the wounded finger up. You wouldn't dare, those eyes said. Oh, wouldn't I? Elena told him with her own eyes. Boldly, she took his hand and held it a moment, teasing him. Then she brought the finger to her lips. After a few moments, she released it and looked up at him. â€Å"Ido like dancing,† she said, and found that, like him, she could speak with her mind. It was a thrilling sensation. She moved to the center of the room and waited. He followed her, graceful as a stalking beast. His fingers were warm and hard when they clasped hers. There was music, although it faded in and out and sounded far away. Damon placed his other hand on her waist. She could feel the warmth of his fingers there, the pressure. She picked up her skirts, and they began dancing. It was lovely, like flying, and her body knew every move to make. They danced around and around that empty room, in perfect timing, together. He was laughing down at her, his dark eyes glittering with enjoyment. She felt so beautiful; so poised and alert and ready for anything. She couldn't remember when she'd had this much fun. The room around her was blurring. She could see only his eyes, and they were making her feel more and more sleepy. She allowed her own eyes to half close, her head to fall back. She sighed. She couldfeel his gaze now, on her lips, on her throat. She smiled to herself and let her eyes close completely. He was supporting her weight now, keeping her from falling down. She felt his lips on the skin of her neck, burning hot as if he had a fever. Then she felt the sting, like the jabs of two needles. It was over quickly, though, and she relaxed to the pleasure of having her blood drawn out. She remembered this feeling, the feeling of floating on a bed of golden light. A delicious languor stole through all her limbs. She felt drowsy, as if it were too much trouble to move. She didn't want to move anyway; she felt too good. Her fingers were resting on his hair, clasping his head to her. Idly, she threaded them through the soft dark strands. His hair was like silk, warm and alive under her fingers. When she opened her eyes a slit, she saw that it reflected rainbows in the candlelight. Red and blue and purple, just like – just like the feathers†¦ And then everything shattered. There was pain at her throat suddenly, as if her soul was being torn out of her. She was pushing at Damon, clawing at him, trying to force him away. Screams rang in her ears. Damon was fighting her, but it wasn't Damon; it was a crow. Huge wings beat against her, thrashing in the air. Her eyes were open. She was awake and screaming. The ballroom was gone, and she was in a darkened bedroom. But the nightmare had followed her. Even as she reached for the light, it came at her again, wings thrashing in her face, sharp beak diving for her. Elena struck out at it, one hand flung up to protect her eyes. She was still screaming. She couldn't get away from it, those terrible wings kept flailing frantically, with a sound like a thousand decks of cards being shuffled at once. The door burst open, and she heard shouts. The warm, heavy body of the crow struck her and her screams went higher. Then someone was pulling her off the bed, and she was standing protected behind Bonnie's father. He had a broom and he was beating at the bird with it. Bonnie was standing in the doorway. Elena ran into her arms. Bonnie's father was shouting, and then came the slam of a window. â€Å"It's out,† Mr. McCullough said, breathing hard. Mary and Mrs. McCullough were just outside in the hallway, clad in bathrobes. â€Å"You're hurt,† Mrs. McCullough said to Elena in amazement. â€Å"The nasty thing's pecked you.† â€Å"I'm okay,† Elena said, brushing at a spot of blood on her face. She was so shaken that her knees were â€Å"How did it getin?† said Bonnie. Mr. McCullough was inspecting the window. â€Å"You shouldn't have left this open,† he said. â€Å"And what did you want to take the locks off for?† â€Å"I didn't,† Elena cried. â€Å"It was unlocked and open when I heard you screaming and came in,† Bonnie's father said. â€Å"I don't know who else could have opened it but you.† Elena choked back her protests. Hesitantly, cautiously, she moved to the window. He was right; the locks had been unscrewed. And it could have been done only from the inside. â€Å"Maybe you were sleepwalking,† said Bonnie, leading Elena away from the window as Mr. McCullough began putting the locks back on. â€Å"We'd better get you cleaned up.† Sleepwalking. Suddenly the entire dream flooded back to Elena. The hall of mirrors, and the ballroom, and Damon. Dancing with Damon. She pulled out of Bonnie's grasp. â€Å"I'll do it myself,† she said, hearing her own voice quaver on the edge of hysteria. â€Å"No – really – I want to.† She escaped into the bathroom and stood with her back to the locked door, trying to breathe. The last thing she wanted to do was look in a mirror. But at last, slowly, she approached the one over the sink, trembling as she saw the edge of her reflection, moving inch by inch until she was framed in the silvery surface. Her image stared back, ghastly pale, with eyes that looked bruised and frightened. There were deep shadows under them and smears of blood on her face. Slowly, she turned her head slightly and lifted up her hair. She almost cried out loud when she saw what was underneath. Two little wounds, fresh and open on the skin of her neck.