Interpretive exercise Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Interpretive exercise - Assignment Example 2. Measure the width of the river to cross. What are the differences between the biblical audience and us? Bible has been segregated into two segments which are ‘Old Testament’ and ‘New Testament’. Old Testament describes the story of God’s treaty with Hebrew people. On the other hand, New Testament includes several versions of life, death and renaissance of Lord Jesus. ‘Measure the width of the river to cross’ is a New Testament passage relating to Bible. Here, river denotes something which can create differences in terms of diverse culture, customs, languages, time and power among others. Today, one obvious difference can be found between biblical audience and us. The difference is generational gap. Biblical audience was made up of first century and the present audience is made up of twenty first century who does not struggle with legalistic Judaism and traditional Gnosticism. The river which separates biblical audience and us is not wi de, but these differences should be addressed in order to cross the river1. 3. Cross the Principlizing Bridge. What are the theological principles in this text? Theological principles are generally intended for understanding the principles of God. The objective is to overwhelm the current gap between different religions and to demonstrate the mutual obligations of every religious discipline. In order to identify theological principles, one should recall the differences and similarities between present day’s audience and biblical audience. The theological principle of the text is that in order to be operative in serving God, people should employ their strength and bravery. The theological principles affirm that Christ provide the believers of God a kind of power in order to remain happy in variety of circumstances1. 4. Consult the biblical map. How does the theological principle fit with the rest of the Bible? The theological principles of the text are used by every Christian nowadays in terms of worship and divinity on Lord Jesus. The texts in Bible are precise, real and provide universal realities. In Bible, a particular passage can only be applied to certain circumstances. However, the theological principles revealed in the text are fit to each people who always have faith in God. Theological principles have certain definite meaning and application to the olden biblical audience and to the Christians in present days. As the theological principles possess explicit application and can be used by the audiences, it operates as a link for wrapping the river of differences2. 5. Grasp the text in our town. How should individual Christians today apply the theological principles? Individual Christians cannot apply the theological principles without knowing its significance. However, they can understand the main philosophy of Bible without implementing it in practical life. In order to apply the theological principles, initially there exists the need for observ ing the world, examining the cultural background of people and exploring the meaning of God’s word. There pertains huge dissimilarity between understanding the method of applying the theological principles and logically implementing them1. Assignment 17-1 The ‘Book of Revelation’ is the last volume of New Testament. Chapter 1 of the book defines John’s (one of the twelve supporters of Lord Jesus) explanations on seven stars of angels.

Benefits of Career Planning

Benefits of Career Planning Career planning is the process by which one selects career goals and the path to these goals. Career development is those personal improvements one undertakes to achieve a personal career plan. Career management is the process of designing and implementing goals, plans and strategies to enable the organization to satisfy employee needs while allowing individuals to achieve their career goals. So, due to this career planning and development is necessary to each and every employee in an organization. The need of career planning and development is felt in each and every organization of todays global world. Need for Career Planning: Career Planning is necessary due to the following reasons: 1. To attract competent persons and to retain them in the organization. 2. To provide suitable promotional opportunities. 3. To enable the employees to develop and take them ready to meet the future challenges. 4. To increase the utilization of managerial reserves within an organization. 5. To correct employee placement. 6. To reduce employee dissatisfaction and turnover. 7. To improve motivation and morale. Process of Career Planning : The following are the steps in Career Planning : 1. Analysis of individual skills, knowledge, abilities, aptitudes etc. 2. Analysis of career opportunities both within and outside the organization. 3. Analysis of career demands on the incumbent in terms of skills, knowledge, abilities, aptitude etc., and in terms of qualifications, experience and training received etc. 4. Relating specific jobs to different career opportunities. 5. Establishing realistic goals both short-term and long-term. 6. Formulating career strategy covering areas of change and adjustment. 7. Preparing and implementing action plan including acquiring resources for achieving goals. Pre-requisites for the success of career planning. 1. Strong commitment of the top management in career planning, succession planning and development. 2. Organization should develop, expand and diversify its activities at a phased manner. 3. Organization should frame clear corporate goals. 4. Organization should have self-motivated, committed and hard working employees. 5. Organizations goal in selection should be selecting the most suitable man and place him in the right job. 6. Organization should take care of the proper age composition in manpower planning and in selection. 7. Organization should take steps to minimize career stress. 8. Organization should have fair promotion policy. 9. Organization should publicize widely the career planning and development programmes. Advantages of Career Planning:- For Individuals: 1. The process of career planning helps the individual to have the knowledge of various career opportunities, his priorities etc. 2. This knowledge helps him select the career that is suitable to his life styles, preferences, family environment, scope for self-development etc. 3. It helps the organization identify internal employees who can be promoted. 4. Internal promotions, upgradation and transfers motivate the employees, boost up their morale and also result in increased job satisfaction. 5. Increased job satisfaction enhances employee commitment and creates a sense of belongingness and loyalty to the organization. 6. Employee will await his turn of promotion rather than changing to another organization. This will lower employee turnover. 7. It improves employees performance on the job by taping their potential abilities and further employee turnover. 8. It satisfies employee esteem needs. For Organizations: A long-term focus of career planning and development will increase the effectiveness of human resource management. More specifically, the advantages of career planning and development for an organization include: i. Efficient career planning and development ensures the availability of human resources with required skill, knowledge and talent. ii. The efficient policies and practices improve the organizations ability to attract and retain highly skilled and talent employees. iii. The proper career planning ensures that the women and people belong to backward communities get opportunities for growth and development. iv. The career plan continuously tries to satisfy the employee expectations and as such minimizes employee frustration. v. By attracting and retaining the people from different cultures, enhances cultural diversity. vi. Protecting employees interest results in promoting organizational goodwill. Limitations of career planning :- Apart from advantages, there are some limitations. So, let us have a look at the limitations of career planning. Despite planning the career, employees face certain career problems. They are: Dual Career Families: With the increase in career orientation among women, number of female employees in on increase. With this, the dual career families have also been on increase. Consequently, one of those family members might face the problem of transfer. This has become a complicated problem to organizations. Consequently other employees may be at disadvantage Low ceiling careers: Some careers do not have scope for much advancement. Employees cannot get promotions despite their career plans and development in such jobs. Declining Career Opportunities: -Career opportunities for certain categories reach the declining stage due to the influence of the technological or economic factors. Solution for such problem is career shift. Downsizing/Delayering and careers: Business process reengineering, technological changes and business environmental factors force the business firms to restructure the organizations by delayering and downsizing. Downsizing activities result in fixing some employees, and degrading some other employees. Review of literature (Bardsley 1987) IBMs career planning workshop focuses on the interests, skills, and contributions inherent in the individuals current job. Employees study their jobs components and learn how to make the work more challenging. In addition, participants learn how jobs evolve from business needs Leibowitz, Farren, and Kaye (1985) it has been present a model for designing and implementing a career development system. Their guidelines include the following: o State specifics o Tie the program to overall human resource development o Tailor the program to the culture o Build from a conceptual base o Plan long-term approaches, short-term payoff o Design multiple approaches o Co-design and manage the project o Ensure top management support o Publicize accomplishments Slavenski and Buckner (1988) it conclude their paper with a list of recommendations garnered from the literature and from their own experiences with career development in the workplace. Among their recommendations for persons designing and implementing career development are the following: o Link new programs to other parts of the career development system o Design the program in terms of the specific organizational culture o Think of career development as a process, not a program o Involve line management. Choong Kwon Lee (2010) It has been described that agency theory is proposed as a framework for explaining the design of IT jobs and career paths. To support this theory, data about knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) were gathered and analyzed from Fortune 500 job listings for the Programmer/Analyst Systems Analyst IT Manager career path. The results indicate that agency theory has significant predictive power over the type and importance of IT KSAs for job sequences along IT career paths. The results have implications for both researchers who are looking for theories that explain IT job design and career path development and managers who are challenged with decisions about how to design IT jobs and manage IT career paths. Workspan (sep 2010) According to a recent study, 60% of the 382 polled companies have a career development program in place, and 41% of those use in-house coaches and/or mentors to drive development. The study suggests that people who want coaching and mentoring are better off working in the rich and diverse villages of large corporations. Of the companies that do not have such programs, four-fifths plan to implement one within the next two years. Joann S. Lublin (Dec 2009) About 44% of individuals age 50 or older plan to postpone retirement, with half of those planning to work at least three years longer than previously expected, concluded a February poll of more than 2,200 U.S. employees by consultants Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. The postponed promotion phenomenon is a reality in the heavy-manufacturing, media, retailing, financial-services and medical-supply industries, says John Beeson, a principal of Beeson Consulting, which specializes in succession planning and executive development. The assistant director of a midsize nonprofit group expected to snare the executive directors spot after the executive director retired next January, says Katy Piotrowski, the assistant directors career counselor in Fort Collins, Colo. Kimberly A. Eddleston (2003) it has been described that research has uncovered important predictors of managerial career success, the causal relationships between these predictors has not been fully explored. Accordingly, we propose and test a model that establishes a link between individual differences, salient career-related beliefs, career enhancing outcomes and managerial career success. Using path analysis, we found that education and career impatience directly affected willingness to relocate and perceived marketability, which in turn led to more promotions offered and greater exposure to powerful networks. Finally, the number of promotions offered directly affected management level, which in turn affected compensation level. With respect to gender differences, we found that beliefs regarding the efficacy of mentoring positively influenced a womans sense of marketability, and like her male counterpart, exposure to powerful networks. However, we also found that for women manager s, unlike men, such exposure did not affect the number of promotions they were offered. Cathleen Benko, Managing Principal of Talent USA (2007) This article introduces mass career customization, a system that encourages a continuous collaboration between employer and employee to design customized career paths, taking into account both the changing needs of the business and employees changing lives. Mass career customization is an adaptive model of career progression that offers employees career-long options for keeping their work and personal lives in sync and employers the long-term loyalty of their best and brightest. MCC was first introduced through a 120-participant implementation pilot that began within Deloitte Consulting LLP in 2005 and then continued through a year-long second round pilot with approximately 300 participants in 2006. Findings Satisfaction with career-life fit improved, in some case sharply. Nearly 90 percent said MCC positively influenced their decision to remain with the organization. Team leaders said the ongoing MCC process was an advantage i n staffing new projects with top talent. Client service standards were maintained. Significant savings were achieved, primarily driven by positive impact on retention and associated revenue. COMPANY IBM (CAREER PLANNING) IBM Global Business Services organization offers numerous paths to career success. While most traditional consulting firms offer a single route to a leadership position, they have four career paths that focus on our consulting, sales, project management and technical competencies. This allows their people to succeed by focusing on their strengths and interests in one or more disciplines. Partner client management, practice development, engagement sales and delivery Sales Executive client relationship and sales Delivery Executive project management Distinguished Engineer technical capabilities In addition, as part of a large global organization with multiple business units, our consultants gain access to career opportunities throughout IBM in strategy, marketing, sales, finance and human resources, among many others-something our competitors simply cannot match. In fact, many of our most successful executives have had roles in several organizations within IBM. A guide for new hires An early start at career success begins with IBM, their new-hire training program. They make learn how IBM works, how to maximize the contribution to the company, how to successfully navigate within IBM and connect with the colleagues and have fun in the process. Planning the career To help to identify opportunities, construct a skills road map and mark their progress, IBM offers easy-to-navigate career Web sites and tools: Job role and technical training In addition to top-notch professional skills, IBM focuses on in-depth industry and technical training to keep you up to date on emerging technologies and skills valued in the marketplace. Academic learning assistance program IBM provides assistance for external education in addition to our internal training offerings to help you keep your skills aligned with our business goals. [emailprotected] Explorer The Academic Learning Assistance Program is intended to meet identified business needs by paying for many educational expenses for employees at universities and colleges. Participation is limited and selective. Management may limit whether the plan is available to their employees given business needs. If it is available, management may specify additional requirements for their employees to participate. Tution fee All three plans under the Academic Learning Assistance Program (DWSP, ICP, SSP) are funded by the business units. Participation is limited and selective. Management may limit whether the plan is available to their employees given business needs. The education expense is charged to the education minor code 0330 and the employees division and department. However, each IBM division decides whether to hold the funding at the department, functional, or divisional level. IBM expects you to apply for all other financial assistance to which you are entitled. Financial assistance includes student aid programs, scholarships, grants, fellowships, Veterans Administration benefits, etc. IBM reserves the right to discontinue any of the Plans in the program or discontinue the program should there be significant business changes. IBM Foundational Competencies We identify core competencies that provide the foundation for employee professional growth at IBM. These include: Adaptability Client focus Taking ownership Communication Drive to achieve Teamwork and collaboration Creative problem solving Passion for the business Trustworthiness IBMs commitment to people development sets us apart from other employers. From Web applications to mentors to global e-learning to classroom training, IBMs learning environment enables you to take charge of your skills and knowledge from day one, empowering you to expand your expertise throughout your career. Analysis As we know that IBM (International Business Machines) is is a multinational computer, technology and IT consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, North Castle, New York, United States. IBM is the worlds largest technology company and the second most valuable by global brand (after Coca-Cola). IBM is one of the few information technology companies with a continuous history dating back to the 19th century. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software (with a focus on the latter), and offers infrastructure services, hosting services, and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM company provide Base pay, performance bonuses, awards, commissions and other forms of earnings comprise the cash compensation for employee career planning. It Includes healthcare benefit such as- vision, dental, with two plan options and medical for which there are three plan options. They also provide Sickness accident income plans, long-term disability plan, travel accident insurance, long-term care insurance and group life insurance plans are available. IBM offers a leading-edge 401(k) plan where employees can contribute up to 80% of eligible compensation each pay-period before taxes and for eligible employees IBM will match up to the first 6% of pay. Employees are eligible for this match after 1 year of service. Additional program The employee purchase program allows employees to purchase IBM products at significant discounts off of the suggested retail price. Many IBM locations have special programs like fitness centers, educational courses, career planning centers and award programs. Conclusion As per the study we came to know that Career planning is an important step to success in the workplace. Through career planning one selects career goals and the path to these goals which incorporates short-term and long-term career goals,personal goals and constraints. Short-term planning Assess your skills, knowledge, values, constraints and interests Long-term planning Identify which new skills and knowledge you want to develop Research career opportunities Formulate a careers action plan with contingencies Up to 5 years ahead Check the careers action plan for realism From 5 to 10 years ahead As we have taken example of career planning in IBM Company, we have seen that the company provides special programs like fitness centers, educational courses, career planning centers and award programs. Through these planning program the employee of the company get the opportunities to have the knowledge of various career opportunities, his priorities etc. They also able to select the career that is suitable to his life styles, preferences, family environment, scope for self-development etc. So, Career planning program is being designing and implementing goals, plans and strategies to enable the organization to satisfy employee needs while allowing individuals to achieve their career goals. So, due to this career planning and development is necessary to each and every employee in an organization. The need of career planning and development is felt in each and every organization of todays global world.

Alice Munros The Red Dress and The Day of The Butterfly Essays

Alice Munro's The Red Dress and The Day of The Butterfly â€Å"The Red Dress† and â€Å"The Day of The Butterfly† are two very interesting stories, written by an exceptional Canadian author, Alice Munro. Both of these stories are well written and can be associated with what goes on in today’s society. The principal characters, human relationships, and the importance of symbolism exist, in both of these stories, strongly. There are many similarities, and also differences between the two short stories, that compare and contrast what can be viewed upon in our daily lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The principal characters of â€Å"The Red Dress† is the narrator, who’s name never gets revealed throughout the story, and the principal character in â€Å"The Day of The Butterfly†, Myra, have many similarities. These principal characters are both females with low self-esteems. Both Myra, and the narrator have no control over their lives, and therefore strive for their own unique individuality. However they both suffer because of the control that their parents have over their lives. They both have few friends and strive to be popular. However until they become individuals themselves they will continue to suffer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another contribution to the story is the human relationships, that take place between both of the main characters. These character relationships are completely different. The narrator has many problems with her mother, and her best friend. The main conflicts that take place between both of the stories...

History according to the Male Historian Essay

Gender plays a very important role in the definition of history. Male historians are often presented as scientific thinkers. But the truth is that they merely perpetuate religious, ethnocentric or class-based versions of the past under the guise of neutrality. Female historians, on the other hand, are usually dismissed as propagators of amateur or irrelevant historical accounts. This observation most likely stemmed from their preference to study domains such as the lives of queens and other accomplished women, as well as manners, mores and everyday life. The accounts of Marco Polo and Ibn Khaldun are two evidences of history’s male-oriented nature. Their versions hail men and or patriarchal values as the agents of change in a given society. Such a pro-male stance is no longer surprising – history as a discipline has traditionally been regarded as a male preserve. Apart from the proliferation of male historians, focus is given on men and male-dominated spheres such as war, politics and industry. Inside the Middle Kingdom Marco Polo was a Christian Venetian merchant who traveled to and lived in Yuan China from 1271 to 1292. His accounts of his travels and experiences in China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands, turning him into one of the most famous Western medieval travelers. Furthermore, the works of Marco Polo aroused fascination with Asian trade. Traders and cartographers used these as a guide to be able to come up with their own routes to the East. Marco Polo, however, grossly misunderstood several aspects of life in Yuan China. For one, he conjured a very paternalistic image of Mongol ruler Kublai Khan. In addition, Marco Polo came up with a superficial description of the city of Kin-sai. His observations on the way of life of the city’s inhabitants clearly lacked further analysis, if not overly romanticized. The Grand Khan Marco Polo regarded Kublai Khan as a benevolent leader who brought prosperity and stability to Yuan China. The city of Kanbalu (present-day Beijing), for instance, possessed an opulence which â€Å"(was) greater than the mind can comprehend. † Its dwellers lived in handsome houses and stately buildings in the suburbs. The capital, meanwhile, was groaning with merchandise. At least a thousand pack-horses would go there everyday to unload raw silk, which would then be used to manufacture market items such as gold tissues and silk cloth. Kublai Khan lived even more luxuriously than his subjects in Kanbalu. Marco Polo wrote of an instance in which Khan threw a feast which lasted for three days. Merchants and other important personalities attended this banquet in the hopes of securing Khan’s favor for their respective endeavors. The guests were treated to a fare which included overflowing amounts of game animals, raisins, fish, fruits and Greek partridges, as well as wine and horse and camel milk. As they ate and drank, Khan’s acrobats entertained them with juggling acts, magic tricks and amazing feats of contortion. Kin-sai: A Cautionary Tale Marco Polo described Kin-sai as a â€Å"noble and magnificent city. † Its facilities – extensive streets and canals, spacious marketplaces, numerous bridges – rendered it a modern veneer for the standards of its time. Kin-sai’s markets sold a wide variety of goods, including meats, fruits, fishes, herbs, spices, drugs, trinkets and pearls. These bazaars are constantly full due to the city’s capacious stone warehouses, which are frequented by merchants from India and other countries. Marco Polo attributed Kin-sai’s prosperity to the rule of Khan. The former described the city’s previous ruler as a morally decadent individual who preferred hunting and orgies over administering to the needs of his people. His negligence of his duties reared its ugly head when the Khan was easily able to conquer Kin-sai. Marco Polo then concluded that Khan brought peace and stability to Kin-sai by controlling the licentiousness of its citizenry. Behind the Myth. What Marco Polo did not know was that the Chinese people resented the existence of the Yuan Dynasty primarily because of its Mongolian origin. Furthermore, the Yuan Dynasty marginalized the Han Chinese in the latter’s own country. Only Mongols and other foreigners were allowed to assume government positions. Neither was the Han Chinese permitted to engage in external trade and or learn other languages. While Marco Polo’s account of Kin-sai was merely a romantic tableau, its realistic descriptions of Yuan China can be interpreted in two ways. The tragic end of the city’s former ruler is a possible warning against excessive indulgence in worldly pleasures. It must be noted that during Marco Polo’s time, the nobles of the West were notorious for living lavish lifestyles while the commoners starved. He is therefore warning Western monarchs that they will share the same fate with the former ruler of Kin-sai if they don’t mend their ways. Another probable construal is that Kin-sai is a reflection of what the West really intends to do with China. Marco Polo’s focus on the city’s courtesans and the promiscuous way of life of its former ruler can be a means of fetishizing the East. Portraying China as an exotic location can increase Western expeditions to the country both for trade and for converting more people to Christianity. But what Marco Polo probably did not understand was that in Kin-sai, the practice of polygamy was considered acceptable. In ancient societies, polygamy was used as a means of replenishing the population after it has been reduced by wars and other calamities. From the Desert to the Desert Ibn Khaldun was a North African statesman, scholar and historian who traveled to various parts of the Arab world. In his journeys, he was able to make observations on the geopolitical climate during his period. These observations eventually became the basis for his ideas in the fields of historiography, sociology and economics. The Muqaddimah was the compilation of these concepts. Although The Muqaddimah was actually a reflection on 14th-century Arab politics, it has striking parallelisms with modern-day Arab geopolitics. For one, self-reliance is seen as more desirable than the unity and conformity being espoused by an established dynasty. Furthermore, luxury and interaction with strangers (foreigners) are regarded as the causes of corruption. The strong emphasis of The Muqaddimah on independence which already borders on isolationism was probably intended to make it more appealing to male than female audiences. The Bedouins In The Muqaddimah, Ibn Khaldun began his discussion on human civilization by describing Bedouin life. He believed that the Bedouins are the models of strength and self-reliance, as they focus â€Å"only (in) the necessities of life and not (in) luxuries or anything, causing, or calling for, desires and pleasures. † Furthermore, the Bedouins live according to the principle of asabiya (â€Å"group feeling†). Asabiya refers to a higher form of unity – it espouses â€Å"the cohesive force of the group (which seeks) power through conquest. † The Dynasty Ibn Khaldun was quick to clarify that the dynasty was not without asabiya – royal authority cannot be established and function without the group (society). But he also pointed out that the asabiya being practiced by the dynasty was a weaker form of the principle. This was because most dynasties were based in the city – a venue of luxury products and a thriving intellectual life, as well as specialization and diversification of labor. For a dynasty to thrive in the city, the army must shoulder the expenses of the royal family. Doing so, in turn, means greater taxes from the commoners. Another detrimental effect of luxury is interaction with foreigners – people during Ibn Khaldun’s time were able to obtain luxury items only from foreign merchants. Interrelating with outsiders would result in the inhabitants of the city acquiring values that contrast sharply against asabiya. It would come to a point that succeeding generations would have already forgotten the Bedouin values of independence and resilience – values on which a dynasty is supposed to be based. When that time comes, the dynasty would start to break down. Behind the Myth. Ibn Khaldun overly romanticized the Bedouins. While it is true that the latter is strong and independent, it is because it has to acquire these traits in order to survive. The Bedouins are a nomadic tribe that roams the deserts of the Middle East. Given the scarcity of resources in the desert, they have to be hardy in order to last. These traits of the Bedouins, however, are not without negative effects. In order to compete with scarce resources, Bedouin tribes constantly wage war with one another. In addition, they observe the practice of burying female infants in the sand. Because females ultimately leave their families to get married, the Bedouins consider feeding and rearing them a waste of already scarce resources. In sharp contrast, inhabitants of the city do not have to worry as much when it comes to their daily sustenance. Thus, they have more time to pursue other endeavors, such as education, arts and the sciences. The influx of new ideas may have also prompted them to change social institutions and or policies that they consider to be obsolete and or inefficient. Indeed, The Muqaddimah shows the enduring conflict between the patriarchal values of conformity and permanence and change and modernity. Conclusion Historical accounts of male historians are scientific only in the sense that they relieve the past in terms of religious, ethnocentric or class-based ways of thinking. Consequently, they end up misrepresenting certain ideas and or romanticize concepts that are actually detrimental to society to begin with. Marco Polo, for instance, portrayed Kublai Khan as a ruler which brought peace and stability to China. But the truth was that the Yuan Dynasty was an imperialist rule – it expanded itself by invading China and marginalizing the Han Chinese. Ibn Khaldun, meanwhile, adhered strongly to the Bedouin values of hardiness and self-reliance. But these values could likewise promote conformity and absolutist thinking, which, in turn, could result in groups which view violence as the only way to attain their objectives. When female historians write about the lives of queens, manners and everyday life, it is not because they want to come up with irrelevant accounts of the past.Rather, they simply want to show how seemingly unimportant persons, events and or ideas are the ones that make a bigger impact on society as a whole. References Barnes and Noble. (2009). The Travels of Marco Polo: Forewords & Introductions. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from http://search. barnesandnoble. com/The-Travels-of- Marco-Polo/Marco-Polo/e/9780760765890 Chowdhry, S. DinarStandard. (2006, October 4). Ibn Khaldun’s Philosophy of Management and Work – Excerpts from the Muqaddimah. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from http://dinarstandard. com/management/IbnKhaldun_Mgmt100206. htm Lach, D. F. (1994). Asia in the Making of Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. MNSU. edu. (n. d. ). Yuan Dynasty. Retrieved January 29, 2009, from http://www. mnsu. edu/emuseum/prehistory/china/later_imperial_china/yuan. html On Distance. (2006, October 16). The Desert and the City. Retrieved January 30, 2009, from http://woodeneyes. wordpress. com/category/ibn-khaldun/ Polo, M. (1997). The Travels of Marco Polo (Benjamin Colbert, Trans. ). Wordsworth: Wade UK. (n. d. ). Smith, B. G. (1998). The Gender of History: Men, Women and Historical Practice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Effects of Alcoholic Drinks to College Students Essay

Although alcohol may give you a feeling of elation and aroused senses due to a lessening of inhibitions during the early stages of alcohol intoxication, alcohol is a depressant. It depresses the central nervous system—leading to slowed reactions, slurred speech, and ultimately, to unconsciousness. Alcohol progressively affects different brain areas. Alcohol first affects the part of the brain that controls inhibitions. When people lose their inhibitions, they may talk more, get rowdy, and do foolish things. After several drinks, they may feel â€Å"high,† but really, their nervous system is slowing down. Alcohol acts fast because it is not digested like food. Instead, it moves directly into the bloodstream from the stomach and small intestine. It takes a long time for alcohol’s effects to wear off—as it takes approximately one hour for the liver to process the alcohol in one drink. ALCOHOL’S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops. On the other hand, a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety. Exactly how alcohol affects the brain and the likelihood of reversing the impact of heavy drinking on the brain remain hot topics in alcohol research today. We do know that heavy drinking may have extensive and far–reaching effects on the brain, ranging from simple â€Å"slips† in memory to permanent and debilitating conditions that require lifetime custodial care. And even moderate drinking leads to short–term impairment, as shown by extensive research on the impact of drinking on driving. A number of factors influence how and to what extent alcohol affects the brain (1), including * how much and how often a person drinks; * the age at which he or she first began drinking, and how long he or she has been drinking; * the person’s age, level of education, gender, genetic background, and family history of alcoholism; * whether he or she is at risk as a result of prenatal alcohol exposure; and * his or her general health status. BLACKOUTS AND MEMORY LAPSES Alcohol can produce detectable impairments in memory after only a few drinks and, as the amount of alcohol increases, so does the degree of impairment. Large quantities of alcohol, especially when consumed quickly and on an empty stomach, can produce a blackout, or an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events, or even entire events. Blackouts are much more common among social drinkers than previously assumed and should be viewed as a potential consequence of acute intoxication regardless of age or whether the drinker is clinically dependent on alcohol (2). White and colleagues (3) surveyed 772 college undergraduates about their experiences with blackouts and asked, â€Å"Have you ever awoken after a night of drinking not able to remember things that you did or places that you went? † Of the students who had ever consumed alcohol, 51 percent reported blacking out at some point in their lives, and 40 percent reported experiencing a blackout in the year before the survey. Of those who reported drinking in the 2 weeks before the survey, 9. 4 percent said they blacked out during that time. The students reported learning later that they had participated in a wide range of potentially dangerous events they could not remember, including vandalism, unprotected sex, and driving. Binge Drinking and Blackouts| †¢ Drinkers who experience blackouts typically drink too much and too quickly, which causes their blood alcohol levels to rise very rapidly. College students may be at particular risk for experiencing a blackout, as an alarming number of college students engage in binge drinking. Binge drinking, for a typical adult, is defined as consuming five or more drinks in about 2 hours for men, or four or more drinks for women. | ARE WOMEN MORE VULNERABLE TO ALCOHOL’S EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN? Women are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use. For example, alcoholic women develop cirrhosis (5), alcohol–induced damage of the heart muscle (i. e. , cardiomyopathy) (6), and nerve damage (i. e. , peripheral neuropathy) (7) after fewer years of heavy drinking than do alcoholic men. Studies comparing men and women’s sensitivity to alcohol–induced brain damage, however, have not been as conclusive. Using imaging with computerized tomography, two studies (8,9) compared brain shrinkage, a common indicator of brain damage, in alcoholic men and women and reported that male and female alcoholics both showed significantly greater brain shrinkage than control subjects. Studies also showed that both men and women have similar learning and memory problems as a result of heavy drinking (10). The difference is that alcoholic women reported that they had been drinking excessively for only about half as long as the alcoholic men in these studies. This indicates that women’s brains, like their other organs, are more vulnerable to alcohol–induced damage than men’s (11). SUMMARY Alcoholics are not all alike. They experience different degrees of impairment, and the disease has different origins for different people. Consequently, researchers have not found conclusive evidence that any one variable is solely responsible for the brain deficits found in alcoholics. Characterizing what makes some alcoholics vulnerable to brain damage whereas others are not remains the subject of active research (34). The good news is that most alcoholics with cognitive impairment show at least some improvement in brain structure and functioning within a year of abstinence, though some people take much longer (35–37). Clinicians must consider a variety of treatment methods to help people stop drinking and to recover from alcohol–related brain impairments, and tailor these treatments to the individual patient. Advanced technology will have an important role in developing these therapies. Clinicians can use brain–imaging techniques to monitor the course and success of treatment, because imaging can reveal structural, functional, and biochemical changes in living patients over time. Promising new medications also are in the early stages of development, as researchers strive to design therapies that can help prevent alcohol’s harmful effects and promote the growth of new brain cells to take the place of those that have been damaged by alcohol.  ¦ As well as damaging their health, university students who drink too much alcohol may also be damaging their academic performance. Alcohol: The Benefits of Moderate Drinking Drinking alcohol in moderate amounts can have positive influences on physical and mental health. While alcohol is one of the most widely abused substances on the market, it is also one that features certain benefits for drinkers who consume it in safe amounts. For individuals who consume low levels of alcohol, benefits like reduced stress, increased cardiovascular health and decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes offer a wealth of reasons for consumers to drink in moderation. Reduce Stress, Anxiety and Tension. Research shows that the consumption of alcohol in moderate amounts can lead to certain psychological benefits. Low levels of alcohol can trigger stress reduction, easy feelings of anxiety and help consumers to reduce tension. In addition, low levels of alcohol consumption can also cause the consumer to feel more pleasant and relaxed. Studies on sleep show that people who drink in moderation get more sleep on average than do those who indulge in excess. These psychological effects of moderate drinking are positive ones that can be beneficial to the consumer. A Longer Life The positive psychological effects of drinking in moderation can be associated with the studies that show moderate drinkers tend to love longer than people who don’t drink at all or those who drink in excess. Studies from a number of different countries including China, the United States and England indicate that longevity is highest among groups of people who drink alcohol in moderation. Increased Cardiovascular Health Several studies have shown that drinking alcohol in moderation has a positive correlation with certain aspects of cardiovascular health. In particular, the risk of developing coronary artery disease is significantly lowered in conjunction with moderate consumption of alcohol. Another link between alcohol and cardiovascular health shows that moderate consumption of alcohol has a positive correlation with survivability in the event of a heart attack. Those who drink low levels of alcohol are more likely to live and less likely to experience another heart attack. Alcohol produces several positive effects on the body when consumed in low levels. For example, it increases levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). Alcohol also acts as a blood thinner once it enters the human body, much like common aspirin does. Thus, when consumed in moderation, it can reduce the likelihood of developing blood clots in arteries. Decreased Risk for Type 2 Diabetes While consuming alcohol in large quantities has been proven to put drinkers at a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, some studies show that drinking in moderation might have the opposite effect. The relationship between alcohol and type 2 diabetes is the focus of a great number of ongoing studies. Findings show, however, that moderate drinkers are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than heavy drinkers. All of these health benefits associated with moderate drinking serve as an incentive for consumers to limit their levels of alcohol intake. Too much alcohol eliminates the health benefits described above. The best way to maximize on the health benefits of alcohol is to consume it in low levels. Negative Effects of Drinking Alcohol on Physical Fitness While occasional alcohol use may not have a major impact on physical activity, there is a clear link between sports, exercise and drinking alcohol. In fact, alcohol is the most widely used drug by athletes which is why alcohol related difficulties seem to be more common among those who exercise regularly. It is clear that drinking in excess can negatively influence exercise. Studies done to determine the influence that alcohol has on exercise Studies have shown that consuming alcohol has the following influence on exercise: *Diminishes the use of amino acids and glucose by the muscles of the skeleton *A detrimental influence on the supply of energy *An impairment in metabolism while exercising In addition, persuasive evidence implies that continual use of alcohol is connected with unfavorable effects on systems of the body and organs, including the liver, brain, heart and blood vessels. Exercising while under the influence of alcohol Drinking alcohol has a negative influence on motor skills, stamina and aerobic ability. Alcohol has the following effects on motor skills: *Delayed reaction time *A decrease in hand-eye coordination *Less precision and balance Alcohol has the following effects on strength training and short term athletic functioning: *A decline in athletic performance as a whole. *Decreased times in cycling and running *Weakened pumping power of the heart *Impaired temperature control while exercising *Weakening of grip strength *Decreased jump altitude *Lower 200 and 400-meter running performance *Becoming tired more quickly while participating in high-intensity workouts Alcohol has the following effects on aerobic performance: *Dehydration *Considerably diminished aerobic performance *Hindered 800 and 1500-meter running speeds *An increase in health risks after working out in hot atmospheres for an extended amount of time Working out with a hangover. A hangover is caused by a number of factors including, dehydration and toxicity from the alcohol. The symptoms include a gloomy mood and headache. Unfortunately, these side effects can cause a decline in athletic performance. Working out with a hangover has been shown to considerably decrease aerobic adequacy by as great as 11 percent. Long term effects that alcohol has on exercise performance Long term, heavy (more than two drinks each day) alcohol use can impair exercise in the following ways: *Hindering the cardiovascular reaction to exercise *Cause nutritional deficits from changes in nutrient consumption, digestion and metabolism. *Cause muscle injury, wasting and feebleness in several muscles, including the heart. *Changing the body’s hormonal atmosphere It is also important to note that women might be more susceptible to the toxic results of alcohol on the heart. It is clear that drinking in excess can negatively influence exercise. Alcoholism is a growing problem in the United States and is even a problem in teenagers, too. Unfortunately, there are a variety of negative effects that are associated with the consumption of alcohol. While the negative effects can either be long term or short term, all of them start with the first drink of alcohol. Negative effects may not become apparent immediately, but as time goes on, the adverse effects of alcohol will become more and more noticeable and, in some cases, they can even lead to death. Diseases One of the negative effects that alcohol tends to have is the increased risk for multiple serious diseases. Increased consumption of alcohol can lead to serious medical problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, which often results in death. Infections, sleeping disorders and sexual dysfunctions can also be caused by consumption of alcohol. Recent studies have also shown that consumption of alcohol can actually raise the risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer, throat cancer and intestinal cancer. Consuming alcohol can be very serious and there are many grave negative effects that are caused by alcohol. Avoiding alcohol can help you avoid these adverse effects and perhaps even save your life.