Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Computers and Girlfriends :: Essays Papers

Computers and Girlfriends What is it about leading your troops to a bone crushing victory in Blizzard's latest real time strategy computer game, Starcraft, that gives you such a sense of accomplishment? How does playing a video game cause you to let the phone ring and be late for dinner with your significant other... How many fights have ensued when you claimed you were tired and are found lying, playing Starcraft into the wee hours of the night and not waking up till 4pm in the afternoon. Computers and games like Starcraft have taken the place of desperate ho's as the homewreakers of our time. In the past few years, the undeniable bond between males and their non-breathing companions, personal computers has strengthened 10 fold. With the booming popularity of the internet and increasing quality of games and entertainment offerings. Many guys are spending much more time on their computers... time that used to be quality time for the girlfriend. In fact, I bet if computers had nice bodies and breasts, we would n't even bother with girlfriends. The computer is the perfect companion... the computer is never mad at you, it always says what it means and it doesn't matter if they are in the mood or not... porn is available at the click of a mouse. What computers don't provide us with, is the ability to carry offspring, maybe somewhere down the line this will happen... but till then, I guess guys are stuck. :) So, how do we balance between girls and computers? How do we avoid getting in *censored* for getting that one last game of Starcraft in? Teach her how to play! Once she sees how fun it is, she'll be the one calling you on to battle.net for a quick 2v2 hunters game! Give her the inside scoop on how to play (except for your deepest secret strategies, or she might end up beating you one day and she'll dump you to find a better boyfriend that is better at Starcraft) and she'll be kicking newbie ass in no time. Another word of advice, is never let your girlfriend win. Or at least in an obvious manner, they hate this more than anything. Make it close. If you end up trying and getting massacred, simply play it off like you let them win. They will be pissed but it will save you some face and give you some time to improve your skillz.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Competitive Bidding Essay

Introduction An open and competitive procurement procedure begins with the promoter’s description of its requirements and an invitation to suppliers to indicate their interest in the contract and their professional capacity to fulfil it. The promoter then identifies potential suppliers and invites them to submit bids. After the bidding phase, most procurement systems require a public declaration of the competitors’ names and their bid prices and, ultimately, of the successful bidder. There is a wide variety of procurement procedures available for use in tendering when it comes to PPP arrangements. Many of these procedures have become prescriptive in nature. Many local governments follow standard procurement procedures drawn up by the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC). However, most commonly PPP contracts are awarded as the result of some form of competitive bidding procedure. Designing a competitive bidding process – and getting the best possible result – is easiest when the product or service required is a fairly standard one and the technical outputs can be defined with reasonable certainty in the bidding documents. Particular attention, therefore, should be paid to providing good quality information to potential bidders and to the detailed design of the bidding process. Defining the procurement process Some initial decisions need to be made regarding the procurement and the bid evaluation process. It includes: Qualifying criteria for the evaluation and selection of shortlisted bidders Process for submission and evaluation Details of pre-submission conference or meeting and of other opportunities to ask questions or seek clarifications Indicative procurement schedule Other general instructions to applicants Application forms (as annexes) The choice of procurement method will depend on the government’s budget, capacity, desire to encourage innovation, need for high-level inputs, vulnerability to corruption, and objectives of the ppp project. Three main options, distinguished by the level of competition they create, are available: 1. Unsolicited proposals or direct negotiations. 2. Competitive negotiation. 3. Competitive bidding. Unsolicited proposals or direct negotiations When confronted with a unsolicited proposal, the government has three options: Direct negotiation to the offer.  Purchase the project concept then competitively tender among a range of bidders. Offer original proponent a predefined advantage in recognition of the value of the original proposal(bonus system)and open up bidding. Entering into a sole-source process can save government time and money and may alert government to an unrealized opportunity for ppp. However, sole-sourcing can encourage corruption through lack of transparency, and the cost benefits to competitive bidding are lost. Competitive negotiation. Competitive negotiation entail inviting a small group of bidders to a structured negotiation. The bidders are aware of the presence of the other bidders and there is pressure to obtain the best price. This arrangement is quicker and less expensive than full competitive process and can yield good prices. A time consuming procurement process may be seen as an opportunity cost to the private sector. This needs to be weighted against the degree of and value to transparency. 1. Competitive negotiations, another option of competitive bidding which generally involve the following stages: The government specifies its service objectives, and requests proposals from private operators for meeting these objectives. The government reviews the proposals and selects those that are technically responsive to the request proposals. The government then negotiates contract terms and conditions with the selected bidders. 2. Competitive negotiations may involve simultaneous negotiations with the objective of awarding one contract, or they may result in the award of several contracts. 3. Competitive negotiations are well suited to project in which technical variations are possible, there is much scope for innovation, and it would be difficult to secure project financing on the basis of standardized contract document. Advantages of competitive negotiations They permit bidders to be more creative and innovative. They reduce the incentive for bidders to deliberately underbid in order to win projects. They offer a richer means of screening bidders than price alone. Disadvantages Bids can be difficult to compare. Competition is less transparent than with competitive bidding. Competitive bidding process A competitive bidding process generally consists of: 1. public notification of the government’s intention to seek a private partner for the provision of, for example, water and sanitation services, including prequalification or a request for expressions of interest from private companies; 2. distribution of bidding documents and draft contracts to potential bidders; 3. a formal process for screening potential bidders and finalizing a list of qualified bidders; 4. a formal public process for presenting proposals, evaluating them, and selecting a winner. Different procedures for procurement include invitation to tender; and request for proposals (one- and two-stage processes). Formation of a Procurement Committee A Procurement Committee, often called a Tender Evaluation Committee, is formed for overseeing and conducting the bidding process. Typically, the Procurement Committee is formed with representatives from a number of MDAs with responsibility for the financial, legal and operational aspects of the project as well as the Bureau/Office of Public Procurement in order to have diversity and no one government group alone in charge of selecting the preferred bidder. The Committee appoints an in-house coordinator or an external consultant (Transaction Advisor) to manage the day-today aspects of the bidding process. However, the Procurement Committee itself (and not the coordinator or Transaction Advisor) is responsible for making the final determination of the preferred bidder. The Procurement Committee, in turn, could be divided into functional teams to focus on evaluation of specific aspects of the bidders’ proposals. For example, the Procurement Committee could have separate teams for undertaking technical review, legal review,  local preference review and financial review. The number of teams may depend upon the complexity of the project evaluation. Invitation to tender Generally, an invitation to tender is issued when the promoter knows exactly what it wants and how it wants to achieve its goals. Most often, the tender is issued and the lowest bidder is awarded the contract. Although this approach reduces the cost involved in developing a PPP, it may limit the promoter’s opportunities to view other, more efficient and/or more cost-effective options for delivery of the service. Request for proposals A request for proposals (RFP) is usually used when the promoter knows what it wants to achieve, but would like prospective partners to use their experience, technical capabilities and creativity to identify how the project objectives can best be met. One of the main differences between an RFP and an invitation to tender is that in an RFP the promoter is looking for value (that is, operating efficiency, cost-saving measures, innovations and so on), rather than the lowest bid. The request for proposals can be issued through either: a one-stage; or a two-stage process. The decision between having a single or a two-stage procedure for requesting proposals will depend on the nature of the contract, on how precisely the technical requirements can be defined and whether output results (or performance indicators) are used for selection of the contractor or concessionaire. If it is deemed both feasible and desirable for the contracting authority to formulate performance indicators or project specifications to the degree of precision or finality necessary, the selection may be structured as a single-stage process. In that case, after having concluded the pre-selection of bidders, the contracting authority would proceed directly to issuing a final request for proposals. Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) The RFEI is intended to provide the promoter with sufficient information to draft a clear RFP in cases when the local government has identified its  objectives, but may not have fully defined the project or service to be delivered. The use of an RFEI can assist in two ways: it reduces the time and expense involved in evaluating a larger number of proposals; and it improves the quality of proposals. In this sense, the RFEI is used to gain information to help in drafting the RFP. Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Pre-qualification A RFQ is used in situations where the promoter and the project team have amore defined project, but do not know if there are any private sector partners with the resources, experience or interest to undertake the project. It is a step within a contract awarding procedure in which the party inviting the tenders selects the companies to participate in competitive bidding for the contract. To this end, potential participants in the competition are requested to submit information on their companies. The RFQ document is more specific than the RFEI document. In traditional government procurement it consists of the verification of certain formal requirements, such as adequate proof of technical capability or prior experience in the type of PPP, so that all bidders who meet the pre-selection criteria are admitted automatically to the tendering phase. Bidders should be required to demonstrate that they possess the professional and technical qualifications, financial and human resources, equipment and other physical facilities, managerial capacity, reliability and experience necessary to carry out the project. Qualification requirements should cover all phases of an infrastructure project, including financing, management, engineering, construction, operation and maintenance, where appropriate. Based on the pre-qualification results, a shortlist is drawn up of the companies eligible to compete. The bidders answer the RFQ with Expressions of Interest. The RFQ process is used as a â€Å"shortlisting† method to pre-qualify selected potential partners who will then receive the RFP. It is not designed to gain answers as to how the project will be completed. Depending on the pre-qualification requirements set out in the documents, different groups of companies will be selected. One recent trend is that pre-qualification requirements laid down by promoters such as local  governments have started to include not only the price and quality of the service they wish to procure, but also requests to address poverty, upgrade welfare and/or create employment opportunities. Often the bidding companies need to prove their recent experience with a previous assignment similar in nature and outcomes. Thus, the purpose of this stage is to enable the contracting authority to formulate its requirements in a manner that enables a final competition to be carried out on the basis of a single set of parameters. Put simply, this is an opportunity to ensure that in the final evaluation, the contracting authority is able to compare â€Å"apples to apples† rather than â€Å"apples to oranges.† Often local small businesses or community-based organizations are best suited to resolve a particular service delivery problem. In such cases, it is important not to leave the m out of the bidding process. One of the means through which this can be achieved is to simplify the tender documents. Obviously, pre-qualification, drafted without taking these potential bidders into account, could serve as an obstacle to the effective and innovative solutions to the existing problems. Meanwhile, the pre-qualifications can still be an effective mean pre-define the bidders for the RFP, when the criteria are correctly specified and weighted according to their value to the PPP project. Simplification of tender documentation The system of tender submission should not require too many forms of supporting information, which could be unnecessarily complicated for small businesses to complete satisfactorily. Besides, the administrative burden for smaller businesses in dealing with tender form requirements for government bodies is disproportionately greater and more expensive than for larger companies. Thus, the tender submission of documentation should be rationalized and simplified as far as possible to make it easier for small contractors to deal with the paperwork involved. However, this simplification of the documentation should not influence negatively the essence of the contract and the contractual obligations. Evaluation of Applications and Shortlisting of Bidders The applications are evaluated based on the technical and financial capabilities to implement the project as per the selection criteria given in  the RFQ. At this stage, the evaluation normally focuses on threshold criteria such that all proposals meeting the criteria are shortlisted for the next stage and all non-confirming proposals are rejected. A Pass/Fail approach is generally the preferred approach for evaluation of responses to the RFQ. However, a target number (3-5) of shortlisted bidders is usually preferred in order to ensure sufficient competition but not at the same time overcrowd the bidding process, and therefore sometimes only the highest qualifying firms will pass on to the full tender phase. If firms feel there are too many bidders, and thus the odds of winning are low, they will not participate in the full tender. Advantages of competitive bidding It ensures transparency. It provides a market mechanism for selecting the best proposal. It stimulates interests among a broad range of potential partners. It works best where outputs are standardized and all technical parameters can be clearly defined. It may encourage underbidding if renegotiation is possible later. The contract Regardless of the option selected, the essential elements to be included in a contract are: The parties to the agreement, Interpretation, sets forth the definitions of important terms and providing guidance on the interpretation of the contract’s provision’s: The scope, territorial jurisdiction and duration of the agreement, The objective of the contract, Circumstances of commencement, completion, modification and termination of contract; The rights and obligations of the contractor; The rights and obligations of the Government; The requirement for performance bonds to provide security for Government if the construction and service delivery falls below standards; Insurance requirements to provide security for the insurable matters; Government warranties; Private sector warranties: Consequence to a change in law; Service quality and performance and maintenance targets and schedules; The identification of regulatory authorities if any and the extent of their roles and authority; The responsibilities of the contractor and the Government with regard to capital expenditures; The form of remuneration of the contractor and how it will be covered, whether from fixed fee, fixed fee plus incentives or another arrangement; How key risks will be allocated and managed; The contractors right and responsibility with regard to passing through or entering public or private property; Reporting requirements; Procedures for measuring, monitoring and enforcing performance; Procedures for coordinating investment planning; Responsibility for environmental liabilities; Procedures for resolving disputes; Delay provisions describing what is and is not an excuse for a delay in construction and operations; Force majeure conditions and reactions; Procedures to be followed when either party to the PPP contract wishes to change any material portion of the contract; Indemnification circumstances; The right of each party to any intellectual property brought to the project or created during the project, including the steps to be taken to protect the intellectual property of third parties, such as information technology software manufacturers; Conflict of interests and dispute resolution; Description of the conditions under which either party may terminate the contract, the process to be undertaken in that regard, and the consequences to each party of a termination; The circumstances that may permit either the Government or any financial institution to â€Å"step in† to the contract to protect its rights under the PPP contract; Consequences of a change in the ownership or key personnel of the private partner; Mechanisms whereby the parties to the PPP contract will interact with each other going forward; Requirement that each party comply with all laws pertaining to the project, including obtainable environmental, zoning, planning and other permits; Conditions by which public sector employees are employed by the private sector contractor, including any restrictions on termination or redundancies for operational reasons; and Conditions precedent: describes any conditions  precedent to be fulfilled by either party before the contract takes effect. This list is i llustrative and does not capture every clause required in a contract. The final content of the contract will depend on the project scope, local legal requirement and precedent, and advice of legal advisors. It may include more elements as per demand of situation and size of the project. CONCLUSION PPP projects have lately become a popular operation model in public infrastructure development all over the world. Long-term contractual arrangements with PPPs change the traditional roles of the public and private sectors. Public sector bodies become clients and private sector bodies become service providers with a large responsibility of the project in question. PPP projects offer different kinds of benefits to both public and private parties. Both partnership parties also have different kinds of goals; however, the common goal is that both parties win. As the results in the text show, proactive law becomes relevant in contract law and contracting. Practicing proactive contracting requires more planning of legal relations. The goal is to prevent difficult future situations and avoid problems. Proactive contracting emphasizes contract preparation. That is why, for example, issues and questions concerning risks, risk management and creative contractual mechanisms play a significant role. In business relations, proactive contracting invites and gathers different professions to participate in a new type of co-operation. A common language has to be found, for example, between the people in companies with technical, financial, and legal backgrounds. In this way, it is possible to assess the possible risks and other critical contractual questions in the contract preparation phase. A partnership mindset is essential in PPP projects. A client and a project company form the main contractual relationship in terms of PPP projects. In addition to this, for example, a project company has several contracts with subcontractors. These partnerships are complex contractual relationships in which trust plays a big role. Co-operation requires constant care in the form of communication and reciprocal trust to strengthen it. Trust is achieved by th e companies and public sector representatives binding themselves to shared goals. Furthermore, once strong  trust has been built and established, firms may enjoy lower costs than those without such trust. In the business context, trust seems to be based partly on economic calculations and partly on the trusting party’s basic values as a human being. Each PPP project consists of several different contracts, so that they are actually a bundle of contracts. These contracts cover, for example, construction, financing, and services. PPP projects are long-term and very complex contractual arrangements which require careful and time-consuming preparation and negotiations. Dozens of different risks exist as well. As regards risks with PPP projects, the proactive way is the only reasonable way to handle and allocate them. This requires investments from the parties. As the results in the text show, changing circumstances play a significant role in long-term contracts and, for instance, in PPP projects in terms of contract law. It is sensible for the parties to prep are for changing circumstances. This requires proactive mindset and actions. In practice, this means that parties have to create flexible contractual mechanisms for contracts so that they can respond to possible changing circumstances in the future. These mechanisms can be, e.g. clauses concerning changes in official regulations and legislation, hardship, renegotiations, and force majeure. As the results in the text show, in Finnish PPP projects and their contractual arrangements, tailored contract clauses, insurances, securities, and guarantees have been used as tools for managing and allocating risks. It has also been noted that the most problematic situations arise when risks are not individualized. Problems also occur when a risk is individualized but the risk-bearing party is not determined. Proactive law and risk management play significant roles in PPP projects. Moreover, tailored contract clauses and mechanisms also have a great significance.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Marginalisation of Ethnic Minorities in Contemporary Media...

Marginalisation of Ethnic Minorities in Contemporary Media In the last decade there has been an enormous change in the nature of the media and the ways people interact with it. For example, cable, terrestrial and satellite television channels plus widespread cheap access to the Internet and digital technology have spread rapidly from the USA to many other parts of the world. In addition audiences are now able to interact with the media to some extent, so they are able to exercise some control over the form and sometimes the content of the message they receive. For representation to be meaningful to audiences, there needs to be a shared recognition of people, situations and ideas. It is very†¦show more content†¦Not every foreign person is a threat to the security of Britain as the newspaper have us believe. The quote from the newspaper shows its biased, this view is very stereotypical maybe because at the time this happened war was prominent. Van Dijks (1991) study of European newspaper coverage indicates that black people are often portrayed as criminals. Another example of black people being portrayed as criminals is an article on the Nation of Islam, which reinforces stereotypes of black people being criminals, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦His (Louis Farrakhan) acolytes in their neat jackets and bow ties, selling the Nation of Islams journal have always offered the black community a more inspiring role than the junkies and muggers who inhabit the same space. Television representation of ethnic minorities portrays a particularly restricted range of social roles for minority ethnic groups. In 1999 the broadcasting standard commission found that in terrestrial and satellite television, members of minority ethnic groups appeared in 42% of programmes, accounting for 7% of all people with a speaking role. They were best represented in childrens programmes. Childrens programmes such as Newsround, CBBC and Blue peter all have had or have ethnicShow MoreRelatedThe Impact Of Australian Colonization On Australian Society1709 Words   |  7 PagesSince British arrival, Aboriginal people have experienced marginalisation and extreme disadvantage within Australian society. Urban-based Aboriginal people, even more than those living in remote communities, have been subject to the impact of racism and discrimination on self-identity. Nonetheless, many urban-based Aboriginal people proudly identify with their Aboriginality, asserting their identity. In this case study, I will examine the identity of Aboriginal Australian’s, comparing this constructionRead More The Perpetuation of Racism in Canada by the Mainstream News Media3990 Words   |  16 PagesThe Perpetuation of Racism in Canada by the Mainstream News Media Canada is internationally renowned for its commitment to multiculturalism. In fact, Canada was the first nation to officially adopt a multicultural policy. However, while the Canadian government has developed a broad-based multicultural mandate that includes a national human rights code and increased penalties for hate-motivated crimes, and most Canadians oppose overt forms of discrimination and hate, racism continues to exist inRead MoreCritical Social Theory : Power, Critique And Praxis3794 Words   |  16 PagesSCS730: Critical Social Theory: Power, Critique and Praxis Assessment Task 3: Major Essay ______________________________________________________ In order to delineate the nature of power and domination in understanding contemporary society, this major essay will provide an advanced critical and comparative analysis of the social theory ideas of Karl Marx, Michel Foucault and Dorothy Smith. Resultant of such analysis, this essay will also postulate how conceptions of power and domination may beRead Morecrime and deviance4817 Words   |  20 Pagesof crime, deviance, social order and social control. The social distribution of crime and deviance by age, ethnicity, gender, locality and social class, including recent patterns and trends in crime. Globalisation and crime in contemporary society; the mass media and crime; green crime; human rights and state crimes. Crime control, prevention and punishment, victims, and the role of the criminal justice system and other agencies. The sociological study of suicide and its theoretical andRead MoreSocial Determinants of Health10939 Words   |  44 Pages3 The Social, Cultural and Historical Context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians PatDudgeon,MichaelWright,YinParadies, DarrenGarveyandIainWalker OVERVIEW To understand the contemporary life of Indigenous Australians, a historical and cultural background is essential. This chapter sets the context for further discussions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and issues related to their social and emotional wellbeing and mental health. The historyRead MoreExploring Corporate Strategy - Case164366 Words   |  658 Pagesderail Anglo–French rail link. Ryanair – competitive challenge and strategic choice in the budget airline industry. IKEA – quality and low prices at the Swedish furniture giant News Corporation – corporate logic and corporate management in a worldwide media business. CRH – impressive international growth of an Irish company driven from a ‘lean’ corporate centre. Numico – difficulties with diversification for a Dutch nutritional products company. AIB – competing in the global banking industry: the challenges

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Feminism And Humanism In A Dolls House By Henrik Ibsen

The play A Doll’s House, written by Henrik Ibsen, revolves around many themes. The majority of those themes are portrayed through Nora. A major theme throughout the play, is the idea of humanism. There is a fine line between Feminism and Humanism. Feminism is the idea that women should be treated equally or better than men because they are women. Humanism is the idea that all humans are equal no matter their gender, race, etc. Though some people may not be able to see the difference, this particular play portrays the theme of humanism through social position, respect, and equality. One way the play supports the theme of humanism is social class. Although the judgement of people based on social class has significantly†¦show more content†¦Nora is all about power, money, and social class. In regards to social class, Nora shows no intentions of being treated equally. However, social class clearly supports humanism because a person’s rank and their financial status is what garners respect, not their gender. Another element that supports the theme is respect. The play is about disrespect. Nora is constantly looked down upon throughout the story. Whenever Torvald talks to Nora, he disrespects her by treating her like a child. He constantly addresses her using the words â€Å"little† and â€Å"child†. When Nora comes back from being out, he asks if â€Å"‘[his] little spendthrift [has] been wasting money again’† (Ibsen 2). He does not take her seriously and sees her as an irresponsible child who wastes money. Nora is disrespected and not treated like a wife, nor a human. The main reason people do not respect Nora, is that her attitude is immature, in their point of view. Many characters in the play see Nora as â€Å"‘incapable of anything really serious’† (Ibsen 10). For an adult, Nora seems very happy, energetic, and appears oblivious to the struggles of the real world. However, as the story continues, it is clear that this is not the real Nora. The real Nora is a person that deserves immense respect. She sacrifices her time and money in order to save her husband. She saves as much money as she can and later finds â€Å"‘other ways of earning money’† (Ibsen 13). She givesShow MoreRelatedA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1666 Words   |  7 PagesMy understanding of cultural and contextual considerations of the work, A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, was deepened through the interactive oral. We discussed about the cultural values of the time with its emphasis on the position of women, and the play’s influence on feminism in Norway. In fact, A Doll’s House is more relevant than before, since a paradigm shift occurred in the modern society that women are no longer dependent upon men. After the publication and the first stage production, theRead MoreA Doll s House : Feminism Vs Humanism Essay1068 Words   |  5 PagesA Doll’s House: Feminism vs Humanism A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen was originally considered by critics and scholars as a play about feminism. This is a believable idea as the play’s protagonist, Nora, goes through a personal journey where she realises that she is an independent woman and that she does not need a husband, especially like Torvald, to live. Nevertheless, many people believe that the play is more humanist than feminist. According to Ibsen, he wrote the story with a humanist eye.Read MoreA Doll House By Henrik Ibsen Essay1787 Words   |  8 PagesHumanism is an idea which focuses on the importance of oneself, rather than the importance of divine or supernatural matters. Humanism is often mistaken for feminism which is one of the major controversies of A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. The idea of humanism becomes apparent through Nora’s interactions with Torvald, Torvald’s interactions with Nora, and Torvald’s interactions with other characters in the play. Many argue that A Doll House, is a feminist play due to its portrayal of the charactersRead More Ibsen, Strindberg and Feminism Essay examples2824 Words   |  12 Pagesnational identity. For Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg the early woman’s movement was to influence their writing greatly. Many associate both playwrights with playing key roles in the rise of feminism. However, were Ibsen and Strindberg attempting to write about the emancipation of women in the 19th century as a feminist issue? To explore this issue this essay will consider key play texts of both writers, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House and Strindberg’s Miss Julie. A Doll’s House will be considered throughRead MoreHenrik Ibsen s A Doll s House1403 Words   |  6 Pages1. In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen, there are three major references in the play that explain Ibsen’s thoughts on both gender and societal roles for when of the past and present; these three references are to dolls, to ani mals such as skylarks and squirrels, and to children. Nearing the end of the story, Nora reveals that she feels similarly towards Torvald as she did to her father: â€Å"But our home has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your doll wife, just as at home I was Papa’s doll child;Read MoreA Doll s House By Henrik Ibsen1544 Words   |  7 PagesIn A Doll’s House, the gender roles match those that are consistent to the real world expectations of women’s rights. Henrik Ibsen, author of A Doll’s House, uses his play to represent the traditional gender roles of the time and even go further in depth to explain the reality of it all. Gender roles are supposed to be the way males and females should talk, think, dress, and how to go about everyday life. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, present day, and the playwright of A Doll’s House, theRead MoreAgency Of Punishment And Hedda Gabler1914 Words   |  8 PagesClass Date Agency in Punishment and Hedda Gabler. In Rabindranath Tagore’s short story â€Å"Punishment,† Chandara, an 18-year old lower caste woman in India, seeks her freedom from cultural and familial oppression by allowing herself to be executed. In Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler, the protagonist, an aristocratic woman from prosperous 19th century Norway, asserts her freedom from societal oppression by killing herself. Considering the socio-economic and cultural differences of these female characters

Friday, December 20, 2019

Book Report The Scarlet Red Lips - 1155 Words

The gorgeous man woke up with his palms sweating. He has a bad habit of sleeping with his comforter, even during the summer. He made a little stretch with his arms and got out of bed. He s the owner of a modeling company and needed new models for his company. He s also a player that everyone knew about. Women stayed away from him, because they will fall under his charm. One young woman was determined to beat him at his own game. She was very pretty. Her hair color is black and eyes are big. They re round too, which is impossible. Her eyelashes are seductive with her crimson red lips. She looked like she came out of a model magazine. Her exterior is beautiful, but her heart is black like ashes. She s merciless and does not care†¦show more content†¦She s going to make the whole world love her, by being beautiful and having an affair with a rich man. She waited a few second and the front lady said that she has to go to the sixth floor and the room number is one hundred twenty. Great. I have to encounter more judgmental people on the elevator. She thought. Well, suck it up. No one will like you if you don t get yourself on that floor! Her mind said back to her. She walked like a zombie to the elevator. Her mind controls her. She pressed the number six button and waited for the elevator to stop at her floor. She made sure her phone is in her purse, because she can t live without it. She s like every other woman. She has some addictions and of course insecurities. Her big breasts bothers her a lot, because people hate big breasts. Most women are insecure of that. Girls and young ladies too. She tapped her foot and the elevator dinged. She got off and knocked on the door. She felt insecure. You fool, if you re scared, you won t be loved! Her mind scolded her. She heard shuffling inside the apartment. It took half a minute before the man opened the door. Who is at my door on a Saturday? The man said to himself. He opened it and saw a young woman standing in front of him. The first thing he noticed about her is her beauty. She s perfect for his company. He needs to have the best company ever, so he can get a lot of money. May I come

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Person Centred Real-Play Counselling Skills Help Free Sample

Question - Write an analysis on Person Centred Real-Play counselling? Answer - Introduction: It is known that in the psychology field, counseling and education is a Person Centered theory which offers new way to look at the individuals and their development as well as help them in making changes (Kirschenbaum, 2004). In this essay I will try to determine and explain the core conditions of the PCT model and the essay will also undertake in-depth examination of the PCT approach and its methods. The essay will also discriminate about the working at different competence levels at relational depth. This will also give a glance about different ranges of Person-centered counseling skills and through the essay properly utilize of the feedback taken from the DVD session and will also assess their development. According to the person-centered theory, client can be viewed as their own best authority on their own experiences, clients are also considered as fully capable of fulfilling their own potential for growth (David, Daniel, Szentagotal, Eva and Macavei, 2005). We get to know through this approach that either in potential or adverse conditions, individual growth may get restricted or they could not grow or develop as required. In other words, we can say that at the stage where people started getting denials and positive regards from others or when people start putting conditions on positive regards, at that time they begin to lose touch about their own experiences (Hackney, 1992). Critical understanding of key underlying concepts and theories relevant to the counseling: Fritz Perls is considered the foremost practitioner of gestalt counseling and psychotherapy, but the method we discussed here was influenced by other gestalt theories proceeding to him. Gestalt is a German term and it is used to define a unique patterning in which parts are integrated into perception whole (Ellis, 2003). This psychology is based upon perception and cognition, this therapy was also focuses on personality, psychopathology and psychotherapy (Schultheis et al., 1999). Here we will provide short overview of the Gestalt theory and further I will discuss critique of Rogerss theory including strengths and weaknesses of each and this theory is discussed on the perspective of personal and professional basis. Carl Rogers is a humanistic theorist and origins of person-centred therapy can be found in reaction to it. This theory was first named counselor-centred therapy, because during this therapy all tests are administered by therapist along with preparing questions and asking them and it will also suggest courses of action for the client (Rogers, 1986). Rogerss took subtle changes on the term client at the place of patient during his revolutionary approach, and he called the approach provided by the name, non-directive counseling. Later on this approach was named by person-centred counseling because it emphasizes its positive focus and thinking on individuals capacity (Rogers, 1975). Person centred approach is my core model which aim at Rogerss (1957) core conditions, and there are four core concept for this approach which I will follow during the practice session while counseling client. The first concept is self-actualization and it requires that the person should react with their fullest potential for discovering themselves and growing personally (John Wiley Sons, Sprenkle, 2003). Positive regard is second concept, where one person needs appreciation, love, and respect from another person. In between two positive regards first is unconditional which receives positive responses from people no matter the action or behavior. Conditional positive regard is reinforcement of certain actions and behaviors over others (Guterman and Rudes, 2005). Congruence is third concept of PCT, and it is considered as the agreement between person self-concept, their real self and their ideal self. Empathetic understanding is fourth concept which tells that therapist or counselor s hould have the ability to see the client world as his or her own world. Session 1: At the beginning of counseling session I ask my client if he want to drink something. If its coffee, I always prefer to watch client activity and start an informal conversation at beginning. Offering coffee etc. will add few more minutes of informality, which can tend towards revealing the feelings of the individual. I feel it is important because people may be different in informal setting as compare to formal setting and it will be effective for me if I see client in natural circumstances. Firstly I will clarify my client Dale that confidentiality is a primary condition of counseling and I will surely kept your trust and autonomy (Tursi and Cochran, 2006). I will explain him that, his problem or whatever concern he share will kept confidential. During the counseling session I will follow self-actualization, positive regard, congruence and empathy the four core concepts stated by Rogerss to successfully accomplish my each session (Mearns and Thorne, 1988). After making Dale comfortable, I asked him that what is his problem which brought him for counseling and what he want after completing the therapy session. Dale replied that, he does not do any of the things he enjoyed to do. He does not feel energetic and does not have any desire to involve or be surrounded by the people and he want to be like he was in his old days. I let him finish what he trying to explain about himself and I understand what he is saying and by using my reflective skills and summary on his behavior, I told Dale that, correct me if I am wrong but I strongly feel that, something has changed in your life in a bad way and you cannot digest the fact till now. Dale replied, yes, you are absolutely right, I was totally a party guy, I used to make lot of fun and also used to make my wife laugh so hard. He continued that he and his wife get along so well and had precious time with each other. I noticed that the change is affecting negatively on Dale and his married life. I showed empathy on his feeling and it is one of the core concepts given by Rogerss theory and core condition of person-centred approach. During the continuation of the session I really feel empathetic towards the client and allow Dale to talk about his issue more and at his each conversation, I share sincere congruence with Dale. Dale further continued that he felt guilty due to his behavior and also because his wife have to tolerate with his bad moods. He feels it is not fair to her. She deserves so much better and Dale just doesnt know how to change his feeling. I was non directive and show empathy unconditional positive regard as it looks in DVD. It is also seen that I use my listening skill effectively, I look attentive paraphrasing and reflecting, and due to this I get confidence of non-directive, and I tried to adopt my client perspective, his perception and issues from his point of view. Due to this the client also opened up and talk more about his present problems, which was worrying him and not any point he feel judged. Dale has depression problem, it is identified at the starting of the session and it is his goal that he want to be like his old self again. As a counselor I encourage Dale to explore his situation and his problem. While looking at the DVD it is seen that, I communicated with empathy and showed genuine interest towards his problem and also showed acceptance throughout the conversation by using nonverbal cues like using facial expression, nodding and so on and try to reflect Dales message effectively. The DVD shown that, during the session I provided information about the forms of depression and ensure him that it is not a big deal, if handled and practiced what I have given well. I encouraged Dale to conceptualize his guilt over being depressed which causing him more distress. Dale has irrational belief about himself that, he must not be depressed and also that he is an inadequate husband and this belief has been challenged here. Dale have to realize that he was rational to apply an integrated approach concerning about his depression and due to this concern, he came for attending counseling session. It is just the case that he is guilty about being depressed and it was irrational and not helpful for his situation too, he should accept the fact and also try to reduce it and assure him that I am with him in the process of leaving depression. As a counseling therapy I told Dale to read book on rational emotive and behavior therapy. I told him think about personal example of Rogerss Personal-centred approach that was discussed in the session. The objective of giving this exercise to Dale is that, it would help him begin to identify and dispute the irrational beliefs which contributes to his depression. At the end of the session, Dale was quite encouraged from re-evaluation of his problems and goals for counseling and I will get positive response from Dale as he express desire to learn more about his depressive thinking and also want to know what things influences his depressive thinking. Dale explained and shares his thought about the session and told that due to this session he had got the idea about how he can change his metal state, rather than just focusing on how his depression is debilitating him and he also assure me that he do not make negative thought over his mind. Session 2 In this session we will discuss about the case study of Dale again which will incorporate characteristics, skills, knowledge and attributes of person centered therapy which revolves on the concept of talk psychotherapy so as to motivate the clients to have a feeling of self and to steer them into a positive path and direction. My task was to make my client fully potential to fulfill his dreams and aims of growth by gaining something positive out of everything. I helped him overcome the scenario and his problem being faced. I acted empathetically to dwell deeper into his problem and his perspective regarding the problem to have an emotional connection with my client and to make him feel the positive vibes (J.C.Norcross) so as to help him to gain his self-confidence. I also adopted a strategy of congruence to transparently relate myself with my client in a genuine way. To provide my client with an unconditional positive regard, I tried to make him feel self-empowered and capable to value himself (J.C.Norcross) . The condition of my client Dale was general, yet thoughtful in which he wanted to regain his momentum and live his life again with full zeal, exuberance and in a vivacious manner. In the very beginning of our session and counselling process, Dale gave a brief description about his condition again so as to find about the proceedings and gave a deep description of his feelings, his aspirations, his desires and the way he looked at his problems. He also told me about his expectations from this session. Dale was feeling bummed and wanted to make his life come back on the previous terms. My skills and previous knowledge gave me a hint to make him, self-motivated to find strategies and small moments in which can elevate and lighten up his mood. My reflective skills gave me a sign of a general routine sadness which is borne out of missing the happy routine which once my client had. I allowed him to talk more and in detail so that we can progress step by step so that I can ponder in greater and more minute details. He started with a general discussion about the ways in which he used to have entertainment and fun in his life which is deprived of now. I took a moment from him to understand the core of the problem that is missing of a life which was full of fun and happiness. I was not directive at this point as I wanted him to open up completely and discuss his problems fully. I used my listening skills and appeared to be really attentive, non- directive, reflective and patient (Lapworth, 2010). He wasnt feeling judged and therefore, I was able to make him comfortable and understand the issue from his point of view. He further unfolded the issue that he missed playing cards with his friends as his wife didnt like him being social and attend social activities without her presence. This was the main crux in a nutshell of his problem. I stayed silent and pretended to think something so as to give him time to introspect upon this issue and have a session of self-exploration. Meanwhile, I tried to place myself in my clients shoes and genuinely gave him space to think about his issue. As a training counsellor, it was my duty to uphold the principles of empathy, congruence and unconditional positive regard. I felt his grievances, his anxiety and his feelings. The scenario at the time of counselling was a state of profound contact and a sense of engagement between me and my client in which I got fully engrossed and utterly real with my clients condition and feelings. I wasnt being sympathetic but empathic so as to understand the situation with full intellect in the overflowing emotional training session. I tried to match up the scenario with the situation of my client with one of the theories and with the help of my past experience I tend to match it up with the ABC theory (Eysenck, 1970). In this situation the discontentment of his wife with him playing cards with his friends and becoming social without her presence was the sign of Activating (A) of an event. The Belief (B) was that, now when he was married, he should have engaged with the activities which were associated with his wife and not meet up his friends for fun and frolic without her presence. The Consequence (C) was feeling deprived, lonely, and resentful leading to our meeting of counselling session. My focus was to dwell deeper in the situation and come up with something that can balance his mood and make his life smoother in context of his belief of fun and his wifes views regarding his social life. My direct view and first suggestion was to have a friendly relationship with his wife and to discuss all the terms of happiness and fun as perceived by her. I tried to be like a friend and recommended him with full unconditional positive regard that his feelings were not wrong and even his wife was not totally wrong. It was just a requirement of a balance between friends and wife which my client required to understand humbly and act intelligently. The core keys of my success and understanding power are as a result of the person centered core therapy and conditions including authenticity, reflectivity, honesty and value (Dryden, 2007). I do not tend to hide my suggestions and genuine views about the client under the veil of my professional role rather specialize the suggestions accor ding to the problem of my client. Recreational time shall be divided among friends and wife, to make them openly discuss the issue to get a clear idea of the socializing preferences each of them have and to come on a general basis terms. I helped him to undertake Negotiating socializing preference difference exercise (Harris-Brooks, 2008) with the help of which the couple can plan and find mutually agreeable arrangements of social activities. I was trying to be more practical yet emotional with my client so as to make myself neutral in his problem and come up with innovative solutions by closely examining a case study or situation and come over an unbiased resolution. I tried to be humbly genuine and not just act to be genuine with my client. I, being a counsellor, am not able to have the skills of a specialized psychotherapist doctor rather have tactics and skills to provoke, motivate and inspire my client to self-govern the development (Egan, 2006) in the situation which is a transition from being depressive, sad a nd exhaustive to being satisfactory, happy and contended by going on a right direction and a right path. I did empathized with him at every stage of development of the session and tried to hold my emotional and mental state by projecting a transference of feelings. I was not much focusing over the problem solution pair but was analyzing the situation deeply to gain an entrance into his world so as to feel and experience his feelings. For a better analysis, I wish I could have included the domains and dimensions of psychodynamics and psychoanalysis (Geldard, 2005) to understand the philosophical aspect lying behind the case study. I could have used these theories to make my client more comfortable with the type of the situation he was facing and all the unconscious feelings that were going into his mind. My client was resistant and reluctant in the very beginning by opening up his personal life and his views with his wife. He was also reluctant to give some information of his wife which was necessary for me to have an analysis of behaviors, expectations and personality of my client and every person associated to him in the case study. I made him feel comfortable by giving a clear description about my process of counselling which unveils with time and situation and may demand some extra information for a better analysis. At the very end, I asked him about the feedback of both the sessions and I was glad to hear that he was satisfied with my efforts and skills amalgamated to give him clear, comprehensive and concise solution to his problem. I made him feel confident and self-sufficient to ponder upon any issue that might appear in the near future. My session helped Dale to recognize himself, clarify his views on himself and build up confidence on himself. He got to understand the problem resolving strategies by a sense and attitude of self-determination and resolution of choices. The longer domain of my approach was an assimilative integrated counselling with a keen and more focused approach of person centered counselling therapy. Being a beginner and learner, I wish to learn more and more in this scenario and make the lives of my clients better in some or the other way. Reference List: David, Daniel., Szentagotal, A., Eva, K., Macavei, B.(2005).A synopsis ofrational-emotivebehavior therapy (REBT): Fundamental and applied research. Journal of Rational Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 23 (3), 175. Dryden, W. (2007) Drydens handbook of individual therapy, 5th ed. SAGE Publication. Egan G. (2006) The Skilled Helper: A Problem-management and Opportunity Development Approach to Helping. Brooks/Cole. Ellis, A. (2003). Early theories and practices of rational emotive behavior theory and how theyhave been augmented and revised during the last three decades. [Electronic version]. Journal of Rational-Emotive Cognitive-Behavior Therapy,21 (3/4).RetrievedJanuary21, 2007, from ProQuest database. Eysenck, H.J. (1970) Amish-mash of theories; International Journal of Psychiatry, 9:140-6. Geldard, D. and Geldard, K. (2005) Practical Counselling Skills Training: An Integrative Approach, Palgrave Macmillan Hampshire. Guterman, J., Rudes, J. (2005).A solution-focused approach to rational-emotive behaviortherapy: Towarda theoreticalintegration.[Electronic version]. Journal of Rational Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 23 (3), 223-244. Retrieved January 16, 2007, fromProQuest database. Hackney, H.(1992).Differentiatingbetween counselingtheory andprocess.[Electronicversion]. ERIC Clearing House on Counseling and Personnel Services. RetrievedJanuary 22, 2007, from ERIC database. Harris-Brooks, J, E. (2008) Integrative multitheoretical Psychotherapy, Lahaska Press. USA. J.C.Norcross, M, R. Goldfried (Eds.), Handbook of psychotherapy. New York. J.C. Norcross. (Ed), Handbook of Eclectic Psychotherapy, New York. Josefowitz, N., Myran,D. (2005).Towards a person-centered cognitive behavior therapy. Counseling Psychology Quarterly, 18 (4), 329-336.Retrieved January20, 2006,fromAcademic Search Premier. Lapworth, P. Sills, C. (2010) Integration in counselling Psychotherapy 2ND ed. SAGE Publications Ltd. Kirschenbaum, H. (2004). Carl Rogerss life and work: An assessment on the100th anniversaryof his birth. Journal of Counseling and Development, 82, 1, 116-125. Motschnig, R., Nykl, L.Toward a cognitive-emotional model of Rogers person-centered approach. Journal of Humanistic Psychology,43(4), 8-45. Rogers, C. (1957). The necessary and sufficient conditions of therapeutic personality change.Journal of Consulting Psychology, 21, 95-103. Schultheis, G., OHanlon, B., OHanlon,S. (1999). Brief couples therapy: Homework planner.New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc.Sprenkle, D. (2003).Effectiveness research in marriage and family therapy: Introduction.[Electronic version]. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 29 (1),85-96.RetrievedJanuary 26, 2007, from ProQuest Psychology Journals. Tursi, M, Cochran, J.(2006).Cognitive-behavioral tasks accomplished in person-centeredrelational framework. Journal of Counseling Development, 84, 387-398. Mearns, P., Thorne, B. (1988).Person-Centred Counselling in Action (Counselling in Action series). London: SAGE Publications Ltd. Rogers, C. (1951).Client-centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications and Theory. London: Constable. Rogers, C. (1959). A Theory of Therapy, Personality and Interpersonal Relationships as Developed in the Client-centered Framework. In (ed.) S. Koch,Psychology: A Study of a Science. Vol. 3: Formulations of the Person and the Social Context. New York: McGraw Hill. Rogers, C. (1975). Empathic: An unappreciated way of being.The counseling psychologist,5(2), 2-10. Rogers, C. (1986). Carl Rogers on the Development of the Person-Centered Approach.Person-Centered Review, 1(3), 257-259.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Leadership Strategic Leadership in a Changing World

Question: Describe about the Strategic Leadership in a Changing World? Answer: Before getting into the detailed study of Van Jones, we must know what is strategic leadership? Strategic leadership is one of the leadership styles which gives the image and the route to the growth and success of the organization (Clayton). Every executive in any organization needs the tools and skills for both strategy formulation and its implementation. It is the approach taken by the management of a company where all the aspects of the leadership are lined up with the business objectives and strategy (Jones). Anthony Kapel Van Jones, an American environmental advocate, attorney and civil rights activist, is a co-founder of four NPO, was born in September 20, 1968. He founded a national advocacy organization named Rebuild the Dream, which works towards to make a fairer economy. He was then appointed by the President of United States to a newly formed position Special Advisor for the Green Jobs at the White House Council on Environmental Quality where he worked on improving the vulnerable communities (Lipman-Blumen). In strategic leadership the leaders allow themselves to contemplate strategically where they can effectively navigate the unknown. Van Jones knows how to collaborate, influence and integrate power to lead organizations effectively. The success of his leadership depended on the judicious and equivalent alignment of operations, corporate culture and strategy (Mburu). There are seven principles of strategic leadership in changing the world related to Van Jones can be put in the following way: Strategic leaders have future strategy and are future oriented. Strategic leaders have the ability to get things done. Strategic leaders are very fit to lead. Strategic leaders are research led and are based on evidence. Strategic leaders have the ability to open new horizons. Strategic leaders make good partners. Strategic leaders do the next thing right. There are many evidences and studies from Van Jones life which we will throw some light on. There are many people who fought against the brutality of police. Although, it is very tough to solve this problem but many people are still fighting against it. We cannot always find justice in these cases because many people cannot survive these brutal cases. Van Jones has dedicated his life against the issue of police brutality since there was an incident in his life which acted as a turning point and made him protest. In the incident the police had brutalized and abused a young man and mercilessly left him to die, this mad Van Jones made built an organization where he can raise his voice against this issue and those police who torture the people. He started PoliceWatch which led a successful campaign in which they fired Marc Andaya who was accused of in-custody death of a black man who was unarmed. This certified referral portal helped in tracking problem precincts, officers, practices in just a click, which then identifies the offenders and troublemakers (Jones and Conrad). Van participated in the protest of Rodney King verdict as a legal monitor. He along with many other protestors was arrested and the district attorney put charges against Jones. He said that the activism was encouraged by seeing the racial discrimination. In the year 1996, Van Jones founded Ella Baker Centre an umbrella NGO. It is an action centre and a non-profit strategy centre. The aim of this centre is to work for peace, justice and opportunity in the urban America. It is named after an activist Ella Baker. This centre exclusively works in the course of four movements so as to break the sequence of the violence in the urban area. It also entitles to end the disinvestment in the cities and the excessive racist policy. It also calls for better and clean environment, schools and many prospects for the people. In October 2008, he released one of his books named The Green Collar Economy where he defines the issues which are big enough that the country is facing and will face (Jones, Conrad and Kennedy). He began promoting environmental justice and eco-capitalism. The campaign of Green Collar jobs was an effort to improve the economic and racial equality with the desire to alleviate the concerns of the environment. Van Jones is in favor of the combination of regulation, conservation and investment as the way to encourage environmental justice and oppose the environmental racism. At an interview he told that this is a third wave of environmentalism which makes the Teddy Roosevelt conservation era the first wave. He said that we are proceeding to an era where our survival will demand innovation and invention on the scale that anybody has ever seen before. So the success and our survival are directly attached to new eco-entrepreneurs. Jones marketing campaign's grassroots nature led to calling it a victory for the entire green-collar jobs movement. In the year 2009 it was declared that Jones will serve as the Special Advisor at the White House Council for Environmental Quality. He worked under the administration of Barrack Obama which resulted into $5050 million for the training of green job. He has worked as the advisor and helped administer the inter-agency procedure that directed $75 billion in the recovery spending of green energy. Jones received many criticisms from the media for his past activities in politics which included his involvement in STORM; this made him resign from his position. References Clayton, Helena. 'The Changing Leadership Landscape'. Strategic HR Review 11.2 (2012): 78-83. Web. Jones, Van, and Ariane Conrad. Rebuild The Dream. New York: Nation Books, 2012. Print. Jones, Van, Ariane Conrad, and Robert Francis Kennedy. The Green-Collar Economy. New York: HarperOne, 2008. Print. Jones, Van. Strategic Solutions For Business Economics. [S.l.]: Mcgraw-Hill Primis Custom, 2003. Print. Lipman-Blumen, Jean. Connective Leadership. Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Mburu, Antony. Strategic Leadership. Colne: Lap Lambert Academic Pub., 2010. Print.