Organization and Leadership Analysis Essay

The Company chosen for this analysis is Cummins Inc. and I am confident the description that follows will give a better understanding of the organization for any third party considering a career with this organization. Clessie Lyle Cummins built his first steam engine in rural Indiana with the backing of banker William G. Irwin in the year 1919. These men together built the first company that would take advantage of the technology developed by the German Engineer Rudolf Diesel in the late 1880’s. From that early beginning thru today Cummins Inc. has been a world leader in Diesel power engines and service products with sales and service locations in 197 countries and gross sales of over nineteen billion dollars  in 2015 (Cruikshank, 1997). I have Chosen Ericka Rodriguez Eastern Distribution Center Site Material’s Leader for this analysis. I chose both the company and one of its leaders as they have carved a niche for themselves in the field of diesel technologies and s ervice products. It has been an inspiration to learn from the leader ship style portrayed by Ms. Rodriguez. Organization Description The Company chosen for this analysis is Cummins Inc. and I am confident the description that follows will give a better understanding of the organization for any third party considering a career with this organization. Clessie Lyle Cummins built his first steam engine in rural Indiana with the backing of banker William G. Irwin in the year 1919. These men together built the first company that would take advantage of the technology developed by the German Engineer Rudolf Diesel in the late 1880’s. From that early beginning thru today Cummins Inc. has been a world leader in Diesel power engines and service products with sales and service locations in 197 countries and gross sales of over nineteen billion dollars in 2015 (Cruikshank, 1997). I have Chosen Ericka Rodriguez Eastern Distribution Center Site Material’s Leader for this analysis. I chose both the company and one of its leaders as they have carved a niche for themselves in the field of diesel technologies and serv ice products. It has been an inspiration to learn from the leader ship style portrayed by Ms. Rodriguez. Organization Description Cummins Inc. was founded over ninety years ago with a vision of revolutionizing the concept of how diesel power was produced and serviced. This organization has been the global leader in diesel technologies and services for over 75 years and its products have been emulated by several other global companies. These advances were only achieved by the whole hearted dedication of its workforce. The customers and stakeholders show immense support of Cummins Inc. and it is because of their belief that Cummins Inc. is the leading enterprise in the diesel technology and service ecosystem. Customer are now able to obtain the power needed in the quantities needed over a variety of business fields. They have facilitated the process of selling and servicing there markets ensuring the success of  the company for years to come. Cummins Inc. has three overarching business objectives: 1.) Achieve Financial target over the quarters. To succeed and grow into the future, we must demonstrate performance by consistently meeting or succeeding our financial targets. 2.) Be the first choice of customers. Cummins success depends solely on our customers. As we succeed in our ability to help them, they will view Cummins as a partner in their success and we will then become their first choice in our competitive market place. 3.) Be a great place to work. The ability of Cummins Inc. to achieve these objectives is based on our workforce. Cummins Inc. must be able to attract, develop and retain the skills need to pursue the first two objectives (Hanafee, 2011). Aspiring to fulfill their objectives helped Cummins Inc. maintain its position in the diesel power and service market and over time ensuring its success. The commitment to customers, communities, and partners they serve, and the employees with diverse employment cult ure has positioned Cummins Inc. to maintain that global first choice power leader status. Leadership Practices I interpret Ms. Rodriguez leadership style as situational, she is skilled at mentoring individuals, sharing her vision, and motivating her employees. She has portrayed situational leadership style and this can be rationalized from the following three examples: 1.) Coaching – Ms. Rodriguez has portrayed this attribute, and has successfully been able to lead her group in achieving the strategic objectives of the organization. She coaches her employees by providing detailed instructions while encouraging her subordinates, requesting feedback and explaining the decision making process to them. She gives specific feedback to all individuals on their metrics and how there metrics can be achieved to meet overall organizational objectives and goals. Situational leaders reduce their involvement in daily activities as the dynamics of her group changes and matures. Ms. Rodriquez gives her people the freedom to do their work. The most productive work can be accomplished by people given th e space needed and are entrusted by the organization to be of the highest quality. Ms. Rodriquez is a leader of the highest integrity, though she is portrays a situational leader she does not change her approach to take advantage of the situation. She is seen to adapt to the is most appropriate practice after considering factors such as level  of maturity, organizational structure and culture, and the business metrics. She works with integrity and is not motivated by a desire to capitalize on a weakness of her team or organization 2.) Flexibility- The fundamental nature of a situational leader is to move their style in the business environment of an organization and encourage the thoughts of innovative employees. Ms. Rodriguez is more adaptable to the various changes that occur and welcomes innovation in her group. Rather than abiding by the typical views of a leader and not adapting to change. She is a risk taker and seems to enjoy the freshest concepts brought to her attention. She faces many challenges but still enjoys her work and the people who work for her. The people who work for her are likely influenced by her nature and work ethic and will mirror this behavior and expectations in their own work. 3.) Courage- Ms. Rodriguez as a situational leader is never afraid to take on new challenges because of the fear of incurring losses. She portrays a clear vision and takes complete charge of where and how the team is moving forward. She takes it upon herself to mentor, lead, delegate responsibilities to employees on a personal level and have each person accountable for their metric within the organization. This leadership style allows her to determine and embrace most behaviors and strategies to get the goal achieved. Her projects humility at various levels and as a key leader does not claim to have all the answers. She encourages participation of all level of employees and makes sure that her group has ample scope of engagement and remains close with them. The above mentioned attributes lead me to conclude that she is a true leader, and because of this leadership many employees at different sites across Cummins Inc. would like to work here. Ms. Rodriguez treats her employees as family. Cummins Inc. offers diverse career opportunities for people to enhance their skills and ensure growth not only for the company but employees as well. She recognizes that investing in vast amount of resources for overall development for her work force will only enhance the employee experience as a whole. This spirt of family acknowledges that she has the full support of her team which ensures good will amongst her them Relationship Between Leadership and Organizational Culture A leader’s beliefs and values shape the culture of any organization. Talented people from around the world come to work at Cummins Inc. because of the diversity it represents. The opportunity to eclipse other companies in an atmosphere that has numerous opportunities, a fast pace, and leaders that motivate, inspire and invent new technologies. Cummins Inc. offers uncommon career advancement opportunities regardless of the ethics, gender, and race. Employees chosen to work from Cummins Inc. are results oriented, entrepreneurial and independent. . People do not join a company simple on the brand name it offers, it is the culture and atmosphere that binds the work place together. People thrive under the growth, guidance and opportunities that an organization provides. Each employee wants to connect with an organization that facilitates, engages, and cares for its employees and their families. It is impossible to invest employee time and energy to the best interests of the organization without proper support to their families. Cummins rewards exceptional performance are direct results of exemplary employees and customer success. Ms. Rodriguez is always encouraging first class performance from her group and helps them understand the value of the hard work. She redirects her groups work when necessary to make sure the work is aligned with the company culture and strategy for long the term health of Cummins Inc. SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats revolving around a corporation. This analysis involves determining the objective of the corporation and identifying the internal and external environmental factors expected to benefit or burden the achievement of company objectives. After the business identifies that objective a SWOT analysis is performed to examine the strengths and weaknesses(Internal factors) and then considers the opportunities posed by business conditions(external factors) By identifying the company strengths, a company will be better able to think of strategies that will take advantage of new opportunities. Identifying current weaknesses and the threats, a company will be able to identify changes needed to improve and protect its current operations. Organizational Strengths The strengths identified for Cummins are summarized in that they are a market leader for diesel technologies and products? One of the most important strength is that the company has a strong and loyal customer base across the globe. Its ability to reach around the globe with its master and regional distribution centers is clearly an advantage against their competitors. A second important strength is the yearly improvements made in the research in new diesel technologies. I emphasize yearly because competitors can take multiple years to produce results that Cummins Inc. routinely makes year over year. Lastly Cummins Inc. financial stability and security is a major strength. The company consistently maintains market position, financial disciplines and operational strengths to contend with cyclical nature of its business. The Financial Stability of Cummins Inc. is a key strength of this organization with Moody’s assigning an A2 rating. Moody’s determined that Cummins will maintain its market status, operational durability, and the financial self-restraint necessary to deal with the substantial cyclical nature of its business. Cummins Inc. recognizes that the cyclicality in the market it serves and maintains a high degree of financial discipline that is characterized my low levels of debt and a healthy liquidity profile (Park, 2014). Organizational Weaknesses Weaknesses that have been identified at Cummins Inc. are the weak profit margins on Diesel engine filters. A low profit margin will leave little room for them to lower their selling prices. Which is sometimes necessary to gain a competitive edge against competitors. A low margin means little funds available for profits and expenses. Reducing your selling price without a corresponding and proportionate reduction in the cost of goods sold will further reduce the funds available for expenses and profits. The biggest disadvantage for Cummins Inc. is that of a low profit margin is poor operational efficiency. Profit margins are lower than the industry average are indicative of a need to improve performance. The lack of improvement results in a lower level lower than would normally be attainable. Heavy dependence on a few suppliers is also another weakness with the Cummins Inc., strategy. The supplier will have the opportunity to take advantage of the company. When they are at the opportune time they may drive up prices because they understand that they are the supplier of choice at Cummins Inc.  even though they are contracted to do otherwise. Cummins will also be vulnerable to losing company technologies and research because suppliers are part of that information flow during the development process. Lastly a significant disadvantage is the supplier capable of meeting the future capacity of the company. Suppliers may withhold this information until product launch and once the launch of the new product is complete there may become capacity constraints with their production lines. Organizational Opportunities With the Cummins product Market environment consistently changing due to continuous improved product offerings need to adapt and change to what the customer wants. To be able to maintain the growth and profits of the business it is of vital importance to safeguard and diversify its product range. Possible opportunities to explore are capitalizing on the growth and expansion of diesel technologies. Product growth in this area can be a key imitative. Cummins takes the lead with these technologies. Cummins should also be able to, because of significant capital reserves, undergo strategic acquisitions and synergies, for example overseas dealerships that are privately owned and also undertake strategic alliance with competitors like Parker-Racor Corp for an interdependency that will cater to a wider consumer base. Organizational Threats The outlook for Cummins still looks positive but there are also are threats to the business that need monitored and/or addressed. China has enjoyed rapid growth for the past few years but is has been noted that diesel trucks purchased in China are down ten percent. China is the second largest market behind the United States in sales and any prolonged sales weakness there would have a large impact on Cummins Yearly performance. Secondly, with the long term in mind, emerging technologies in artificial intelligence could pose another threat. Self driven vehicles may possess a significant long term danger to Cummins. While this seems far off, one has to consider the limitations of human driven trucks. Simply put is that automating a truck fleet would put less trucks on the road because you would not have down time as you do now with humans. Leadership Evaluation My choice for the Leadership Evaluation is situational leadership theory, it is representative of the leadership form characterized by Ericka Rodriguez for her organization. It is pertinent from this background characterization and can be attributed to its overall success of the leadership qualities she exhibits. Leadership Strengths The scholarly sources that I have chosen are listed below: 1. Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading At A Higher Level. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Blanchard Management Corporation. 2. Hanafee, S. (2011). Red, black and global: The transformation of Cummins, 1995-2010. Columbus, IN: Cummins. 3. Winkler, I. (2009). Contemporary Leadership Theories Enhancing the Understanding of the Complexity, Subjectivity and Dynamic of Leadership. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag Heidelberg. Cummins Inc. is prospering by becoming the leading diesel engine builder and service provider in addition to maximizing its workforce and develop world class business leaders. Under Ms. Rodriguez the Eastern Distribution Center has grown from a regional parts Distribution center to a facility services the globe. She exhibits situational leadership style and are justified from the following instances; 1.) Coaching, participating, directing- Ms. Rodriguez has portrayed these attributes, and still successfully directs all her employees into achieving the strategic goals of Cummins Inc. She coaches, encourages, inputs solicitation, and explains why she has made certain decisions. She gives out specific instructions about what the objectives are and how the goals are achieved. As a situational leader Ms. Rodriquez gradually reduces her involvement in the day to day activities of her employees. She works with the highest integrity and never appears motivated by a desire to capitalize on the weaknesses of the team or Cummins Inc. She gives her employees the freedom to do their work to the best of their abilities. She does not change her approach to merely take advantage of the situation as she visualizes it but rather to take advantage by adapting to how the employees  visualizes and coaching accordingly(Winkler, 2009). 2.) Flexibility- A fundamental nature of a situational leader is to be able to flow with the changes in the environment of an organization and encourages thoughts from different people. These are the people who take risk. They enjoy new concepts, take challenges and enjoy their chosen profession. Employees enjoy working under Ms. Rodriguez. These employees are more than likely influenced by her working style (Blanchard, 2010). 3.) Ms. Rodriguez consistently encourages improvement of performance in her group and helps them to better understand the value of hard work and consistently motivates them to direct their work towards the strategies of the organization with humility and grace. Leadership Weaknesses Leadership: Situational leadership style exhibited by MS Rodriguez has certain perceived weaknesses. The Situational leadership style may be exhibited as a management technique instead of a leadership style. A vision of a manager maybe limited but a leader has a broad vision. This is a drawback that Ms. Rodriquez on occasion portrays a lack of long-term vision. The lack of vision has allowed competitors to capitalize in servicing our customers. Awareness: Ms. Rodriquez is a situational leader who can be manipulative. She fails to understand the perception of her employees. This perception may lead to the employees considering Ms. Rodriquez as a dictator. This form of leadership is unacceptable in the company culture of Cummins Inc. This will reduce the credibility and trust of the employees towards Ms. Rodriguez. It will be to her benefit if she is more transparent towards her employees (Hanafee, 2011). External factors: The decision making of Ms. Rodriguez may be affected by certain external factors. A situational leader is successful if they take into consideration external factors. There is a fair chance that there will change be in the situation with a change in leadership. It is the capability of the leader to adapt to this change and then adapt to these new circumstances. This capability is lacking in Ms. Rodriquez. Recommendations for Leadership Development I would suggest the use of situational leadership projected by Ericka Rodriquez, Eastern Distribution Center Site Materials Leader, on the fact that under her leadership productivity and employees moral has increased immensely since her hiring. I respect her strategies and completely take into account the knowledge that I have learned in the process of completing this assignment. The knowledge that I have attained can be summarized as follows- 1.) Delegation: Ms. Rodriquez is a considerate leader. Her decision making style is seasoned. She is a flexible leader but on occasion lacks the broad visions necessary to be a complete leader. A broad vision is essential to maintaining a business that is organized and efficient. Engaging with employees is also crucial for the essential for the continued success of Cummins Inc. This organization must work as a team. 2.) Ms. Rodriquez should adopt different styles of leadership according to the requirement. She must be able to provide confidence to the employees in times when Cummins Inc. is not attaining its organizational goals. Her employees will find confidence in these situations if she addresses these situations effectively. The will build and maintain a positive mental feeling (Northouse, 2013). 3.) Ms. Rodriquez leadership style must maintain an open commutatively rather than portrayed as a dictator. Situational leaders have a tendency to be manipulative. Ms. Rodriquez must reduce her dictatorship and take into consideration employees ideas. This will help keep her employees motivated (Brackett, 2011). These strategies of situational leadership are implemented will ensure the viability and sustainability of the Eastern Distribution Center for Cummins Inc. References Bass, B. M., Bass, R., & Bass, B. M. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications. Blanchard, K. (2010). Leading At A Higher Level. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Blanchard Management Corporation. Blanchard, K. H., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D. (1985). Leadership and the one minute manager: Increasing effectiveness through situational leadership. New York: Morrow. Brackett, M. A., Rivers, S. E., & Salovey, P. (2011). Emotional intelligence: Implications for personal, social, academic, and workplace success. Social & Personality Psychology Compass, 5(1), 88-103. Connolly, R., Pico, M., Henderson, K., Bodine, T., & Blankenship, S. (2012). Strategies for success. Training, 49(4), 48-52 Cruikshank, J. L., & Sicilia, D. B. (1997). The engine that could: Seventy-five years of values-driven change at Cummins Engine Company. Boston: Harvard Business School Press. Darling, J. L. (2011). The key for effective stress management: Importance of responsive leadership in organizational development. Organization Development Journal, 29(1), 9-26. Graeff, C. L. (1983, April 1). The Situational Leadership Theory: A Critical View. Retrieved March 9, 2015, from http://amr.aom.org/content/8/2/285.short GURUFOCUS. (2014, December 14th). Cummins Inc Financial Strength Rank. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gurufocus.com%2Fterm%2Frank_balancesheet%2FCMI%2FFinancial%252BStrength%2FCummins%252Binc Hanafee, S. (2011). Red, black and global: The transformation of Cummins, 1995-2010. Columbus, IN: Cummins. Hargis, M. (2011). Developing leaders: Examining the role of transactional and transformational leadership across business contexts. Organization Development Journal, 29(3), 51-66. Lanz, K. (2013 ). The art of self-awareness. Training Journal, 65-69. Momeni, N. (2009). The relation between managers’ emotional intelligence and the organizational climate they create. Public Personnel Management, 38(2), 35-48. Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and Practice Sixth Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Nyman, M., & Thach, L. (2013). Coaching as a new leadership development option. Supervision, 74(2), 23-26. Park, J. B., & Jankowits, R. P. (2014, December 8). Moody’s raises Cummins’ rating to A2; outlook is stable. Retrieved March 8, 2015, from https%3A%2F%2Fwww.moodys.com%2Fresearch%2FMoodys-raises-Cummins-rating-to-A2-outlook-is-stable–PR_313739. Rooke, D. R. (2005). 7 Transformations of leadership. Harvard Business Review, 83(4), 66-76. Winkler, I. (2009). Contemporary Leadership Theories Enhancing the Understanding of the Complexity, Subjectivity and Dynamic of Leadership. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag Heidelberg. Zenger, J. (2013). Developing lea ders. Leadership Excellence, 30(8), 24.

Private Equity

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Use of Ethanol as a Fuel - Research Paper Example Unfortunately, inside an automobile engine, fuel undergoes incomplete combustion and as a result unburned hydrocarbons, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and compounds of sulphur are released, which are extremely dangerous to mankind (Rao, 1989). Many organizations all over the world are participating in developing awareness and making such standards that are environment friendly. Among them is U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA which is constantly trying to make such standards and regulations which can lessen the effects of the exhaust of the automobiles on the environment. An Energy Policy Act has been passed by EPA which is considered to be an attempt in fighting energy problems. It contains a national renewable fuel standard program RFS, developed to make use of a certain amount of renewable fuel within transportation fuels. Ethanol is one of the environment friendly gas or liquid recommended in EPA and RFS programs. It is, in actual, the ethyl alcohol found in drinking beverages and it is being used as a transportation fuel too for decades. It is termed as an oxygenating factor for gasoline and is used purposely for oxygenating fuel in many parts of the country. It is blended as an alternative fuel to the gasoline of about 5-10% concentration initially, but now it is mostly in the form of E85 and E100 which contains 85-100% concentration of ethanol alcohol (Renewable Fuel Standard Program. 2011). Using Ethanol as E85 has quantitatively replaced the gasoline in flexible fuel vehicles, which have engines designed for this special purpose so that they are compatible with the high concentration of ethanol. It has a high octane rate than gasoline and thus provides good performance and engine efficiency, but at the same time it has lower energy content and thus it gives less mileage as compared to gasoline of the same amount. United States was the world’s top producer of ethanol with 50 billion liters out of 86.9 billion liters all over the world in the year 2010. Every other car or automobile in US uses a blend of gasoline ethanol up to 10% as it is considered mandatory by the RFS program. There are also a great number of flexible fuel vehicles which use E85 and E100 as a fuel, but it can b e affirmed that more energy is consumed as compared to gasoline (Lichts. 2010). As ethanol is a biofuel, it is mostly seen to be produced from the natural sources and products. Agricultural feed stocks such as sugar cane or corn which are considered renewable are being processed into ethanol by fermentation, distillation and dehydration, when after they undergo the process of photosynthesis for their growth. Petroleum is also a source of ethanol production in the world. About 5% of world’s ethanol is produced by the catalytic hydration of ethylene which is obtained from oil, gas, coal and other petroleum resources. Apart from sugar cane and corn, other feed stocks can also be used for the production of bio-ethanol, which include bagasse, miscanthus, sugar beet, sorghum, grain, switch grass, barley, hemp, kenaf, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava, sunflower, molasses, stover, grain, wheat, straw, cotton and other biomass and cellulose harvestings. The only condition is that the process of photosynthesis should completely occur, i.e., plants absorb sunlight for their growth and all the minerals they produce like phosphorus etc should return to the land (Ethanol. 2012). Apart from its

Analyzing the uses of scheduling methods in IT project management Coursework

Analyzing the uses of scheduling methods in IT project management - Coursework Example The data that I will use in this research will be collected from notes and documentation of projects that has been done before. I will particularly make use of planning processes of various projects so that I get to know what is required of a project. I preferred internet databases that would exploit electronic links like; Springer Link, Emerald Management Extra, Sweets Wise Online content and Ulrich. These databases provided a lot of information on applied sciences access to abstracts, full-text versions of articles that have been published in electronic books and project management journals. I found these sources quite intriguing as they enabled wide access of full text reviews, case studies and publications to a greater extent. To obtain information, I logged on the four links mentioned above and absolutely found variety of details on project management. I aimed at reviewing the importance of scheduling in any project undertaking but most exciting was not the relationship between scheduling with traditional engineering and manufacturing projects but relating scheduling concept to the recent IT projects in this instance cloud computing. I therefore found a broad relationship between scheduling and cloud computing, inferring that scheduling is the most preferred mode of ensuring all projects have successful implementation and completion. In a nutshell, the entire search exercise was informative and exciting upon discovering that numerous studies have been made and documented in systematic and logical order in the tune of employing project management tools as Critical Path and Gantt charts. This ordering method enabled me to mark and continue reading the files in phases. My study entailed... This study looks into scheduling is a critical aspect of IT project management in implementation of all level projects. Indeed, the articles and journals highlighted above methods that have been discovered and practically used to achieve and attain project goals. The importance of scheduling is synchronous to the anticipation of IT project managers in effectiveness of information technology. Critically speaking, scheduling and efficiency of IT projects is an practical element in information age. The whole safety boundary that was previously created in to each project is given identity the critical chain optimizing. The total project time period is always reduced when the safety margin is there in every individual activity. But in case of any withdrawal and only one critical activity go beyond the estimated length, the finishing date for the whole project not met. There exist important evidences in this studies that many IT project managers use scheduling and a method to effectively i mplement projects and enable them to run into completion. In a research project done by Dayal, Zachariah & Rajpal the findings indicates that scheduling through network diagrams requires creating a line of balance in development of project plan in which various techniques can be used to implement the planning and control technique for manufacturing and processing that were improvised. This technique is unique in that it identifies and notes the resources needed for each phase and hence the succeeding phase is not affected therefore the goal outcome is attained.

The Oil Politics Essay Example for Free

The Oil Politics Essay The controversy over oil has been raging for quite a while. It has played into the international politics and the politics of terrorism. The Middle East is the most volatile area of the world at present. Israel is viewed as a satellite of the United States located in the Arab world to represent the superpowers interests in the region. Incidentally the Middle East is a region endowed with oil, a precious commodity sought after by every government. The main occupation and foreign exchange earner for these countries is therefore oil and petroleum products with which they use as a bargaining chip in the global arena. The current fluctuation in the price of petroleum around the world is a cause of worry. Some analysts are leveling blame on the oil producing countries claiming they have deliberately raised the oil prices. On their side, the countries have refuted the allegations instead blaming the rise to private entrepreneurs who hoard the commodity with the hope that prices would increase even further. Apart from the Middle East, North Africa has got also oil deposits. Coincidentally the region is also dominated by Arabs, who have formed grouping the organization of petroleum exporting countries OPEC. As importers complain of the rising oil prices, oil exporters celebrate the economic boom as a result of the rise in prices. Their gross domestic product increases and the general standards of living appreciate. As usual with the developed world to get their hands into any opportunity presenting itself, the oil industry is attracting foreign companies into Africa to help in the exploration of oil. New exploration sites are discovered in the vast continent of Africa, especially in the north. The bedeviled state of Mauritania is so far the latest country in Africa to join the league of oil exporters after explorations proved positive results. Since Exploration costs are damn expensive but this is not a hindrance to the exercise Africa is witnessing the largest investment in the continent ever, in the oil exploration field. Since the year 1990 more than US $20 billion has been spend on explorations around the continent and a further $50 billion is expected to have been spent by the end of the decade. Dominating the oil industry are three international companies, shell, Total and Chevron. Shell is a British Dutch consortium which invested 15% of its global exploration and production budget in the continent of Africa. France-based Total and America-based Chevron has invested 30% and 35% respectively in the industry in Africa. The American oil company has planned for United States$20 billion to be invested in Africa for a five year period. The Gulf of Guinea is the most appropriate part of Africa at the moment attracting the different exploration companies. It is an area with deep waters. This area found in the Western Coast of Africa just at the â€Å"armpit† is suspected to be having large deposits of the precious commodity. Some oil has already been discovered within the coverage area of the Gulf but more is still to be discovered as exploration progresses. Other sub-Saharan countries endowed with oil albeit smaller in quantities are southern Sudan and Southern Chad both under semi desert conditions. They have been producing oil and exporting in small quantities. The explorations are however taking place to find out if more can be tapped. The East Africa margin covering Kenya, Somalia and Tanzania are among targets of explorers for oil. The United States is warming up to reap from the harvest of oil and petroleum products from Africa. The country has been watching Africa from a distant making its calculations on how to have the continents oil. Discoveries in Africa increased making headlines in the last decade. The United States predicted an increase of its oil sourced from Africa by 10% from 16% to 25% by the 2015 the year when the United Nations’ millennium Development Goals are expected to have been achieved. In a report released in December of 2000 the United States National Intelligence Council predicted sub-Saharan Africa’s raise to prominence in the global energy markets. The council is a consultant for the central Intelligence Agency. If the predications come true, then the continent would be ahead of Saudi Arabia in terms of oil export to the United States. In close relation to this, the United States Vice President Dick Cheney formed a taskforce to compile a strategic report on oil. The report finalized by stating that West Africa will soon be among the fastest growing sources in the world in production of oil and gas for the United States (Basedau) As stated earlier, the United States receives around 16% of its oil from Africa a figure is expected to increase to 25% in 2015. at the current consumption rate the United States feels there is due need to increase oil energy inputs. This, the National Security strategy notes will be achieved by the United States strengthening its ties with the continent. In an effort for the United States achieving its dream it plans to invest in democracy crusades to strengthen the political systems in prospective source countries of oil. This is time as some of the target areas are marred by violence a situation that may make it difficult for exploration and transportation of oil. Examples in this case are Nigeria, a country rocked by a rebellion in the Niger Delta where oil is mined. The rebellion is led by people complaining of unfairness in the way resources are distributed. Chad is also facing the same problem with so many attempted coups, necessitating intervention by France to bring order and due process. Southern Sudan is equally bedeviled by the political instability problems. Of late, the Southern Sudanese leader Omar Hassan El Bashir has been recommended for arrest by the international criminal court prosecutor Moreno Ocampo for committing acts of genocide among other crimes against humanity. The fact that oil is in Southern Sudan a section that is demanding its independence from the mainland is a sign of worse times to come. This explains why the United States is busy pushing for a democratic regime in the region. On the 17th of May 2001 President Bush remarked on the importance of diversifying the source of energy used. He mentioned that overdependence on one source may result into a rude shock subjecting the United States to blackmail, supply interruptions and price shocks. The alternative available then remains to search for other sources west cost of Africa being in the list. Other areas are Latin America and the Caspian Sea basin (Klare, 2004). In Africa therefore, United States is planning for Nigeria, Angola and the states within the Gulf of Guinea. However the greatest hindrance for the United States would be as mentioned earlier, the political and ethnic tensions in the oil producing countries. The Delta region in Nigeria had the United States and other explores sent packing in 2003 due to the ethnic animosities and demands for more community project funding. The site produces much of onshore oil in Nigeria. The demands of these groups brought about massive vandalism of oil exploration sites causing a downsizing of Nigeria’s oil production instead of increasing. In its commitment to tap oil from Africa, the United States has therefore opted to give military assistance to friendly regimes to help them fight the menace of the cartels and armed groups blackmailing the government. Nigeria and Angola received United States assistance totaling to three hundred million American dollars from 2002 to 2004. The Excess Defense Articles program of the Pentagon also advanced eligibility to the two countries to receive surplus arms for the same reason. The United States has also been considering establishing naval bases especially in Nigeria and the Sao, Tome and Principe Islands. Currently the United States is supplied with oil from various countries with the highest supplier being Canada. Mexico and Saudi Arabia follow in the list in that order with Venezuela and the African country of Nigeria closing the top five list. Five to eight percent of 20 million barrels total United States demand per day is what each of these countries supply to the United States. An analysis of the 2005 oil supply to the United States puts Latin America highest at 34% of the total imports to the United States. The Middle East comes second supplying 24% while Africa supplied 19%. Canada stood at 16% and lastly Europe and Asia exported seven percent to the United States (Kern 2006). Africa’s oil is advantageous for its lack of sulphur thus making it preferable for stringent refined product requirements. It gives it a growing share in the market for refining centers in the United States. It is estimated that the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, holds 3% of the total oil reserves globally. This is to the environs of 40 billion barrels, in the West African region alone (Kern 2006). The figures provided are conservative as the total estimates proven or otherwise may be more by four percent- that is 7%. West Africa countries the Bush Administration is targeting include- and the order remains arbitrary- Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Chad, Nigeria, Gabon and Congo. The fifth largest supplier of oil to the United States, Nigeria is the largest producer in Africa with a daily pumping of 2 million barrels. The figures also represent the quantity produced per day by Iraq before it was unilaterally invaded by the United States in March 2003. Being a member of the international cartel- the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries- Nigeria has to go by the policies and standards set by this grouping. They include limiting production to a certain level subject to the world market conditions. Due to a weak political system, Nigeria, with a population in excess of 130 million people is wallowing in the miasma of corruption and bad governance. Its annual per capita income reduced substantially from US $1000 to a mere $390 in 2006 with most of the proceeds from oil finding its way into individual’s pockets. The continent’s most populous nation earned more than US $300 in 25 years to 2006 but the revenue was shared among the bourgeoisie and the political elite. Only 1% of the population benefit effectively from 80% of the oil proceeds according to the World Bank (Kern 2006). In its recommendation, a 2005 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies pointed out that America should prioritize explicitly the security and governance issue in the Gulf of Guinea in its foreign policy towards the continent. Titled â€Å"A Strategic US Approach to Governance and Security in the Gulf of Guinea† the report called for a promulgation of a robust and comprehensive policy for the West African region (Kerk 2006). As a matter of strategy the United States is considering softer military interventions in the continent. Through the Pentagon’s Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Initiative, the United States provides military training to some nine African countries on ways of dealing with terrorism and on how to effect regional security. The US is further planning on establishing military bases in some African countries bordering the ocean for strategic reasons. Nigeria The damning story is the bloodshed and the hostage taking in Nigeria in Ogoniland. Hostage taking of foreigners is a way of life with the perpetrators demanding for resource control and access to oil money. The continent in general is a hotspot for oil, as east Africa is just about becoming the next oil boom for the continent, after the successful explorations in the west. In the East however, China would be the beneficiary due to proximity, the reason why it has its explorers in Kenya and Sudan. Nigeria is a strategic partner for the west. As the anchor for British and American foreign policies in Africa, the country has developed warm relations with the west. It is the most populous country in Africa with one out of every six Africans being a Nigerian (Ghazrinian 2007). The country has a large experienced army participating in peace-keeping missions around the world. The oil in Africa has not been used to its optimum potential. It is a bad news in some countries bringing on to the continent proxy wars of the west. China for instance gets 30% of its oil from Africa (Ghazvinian 2007). Of this 10% is from the Sudan where the Asian country has been accused of supplying ammunitions to the Sudanese Government, the ammunitions which are used to terrorize the people of Darfur in southern Sudan. The positive side of the Chinese is however, the human resource base they help build in Africa. They have participated in the development of infrastructure in Africa, as is the Angolan case where they jetted in for construction of railway line and tarmac roads with minimal conditions. Getting to the central African country of Chad, a country marred by violence and political instability. The country is in the Sahel region, twice the size of France with a 400 km-long paved road. It is among the poorest countries on earth, with the national airline having only one airplane. Ironically, the country lacks any gas station yet it produces the commodity. Its people are languishing in hell yet the country exports crude oil through Cameroon to Europe and America. The oil is traded through ExxonMobil Company. Worth mentioning also is the fact that some of these oil producing countries have the largest gaps between the poor and rich. In fact they are gulfs, not even gaps. The rich continue flourishing out of oil proceeds with the lower cadre of society languishing in abject poverty, malnutrition, diseases and low education, and living on less than a US$ a day! This then encourages prostitution as the effluent individual use the poor fellows as sex objects thus contributing to the spread of HIV/AIDS among other infections venereal diseases (Ghazvinian 2007). The oil factor is a cause of anarchy in most African countries. Democratic reforms are poised to increase with the decrease of oil revenues, as taxes would take up the position currently received for oil revenue. The regime has been neglecting the tax-paying middle class, concentrating instead on oil revenue thus neglecting social reforms. The case in Gabon is a pretty example. It is only when world oil prices fell and prospects for a decline in Gabonese oil realized that the Omar Bongo regime considered the economic reforms by the Breton Woods institutions aimed at democratization. The opposition gained a voice in governmental affairs as was a rise in civil society groups. He had to limit state allocations in 1986 after facing a rear break in the oil industry (Basedau). The presence of petrol-dollars retards people’s thinking on alternative income. Banana project, for instance, has been neglected yet it can earn handsomely to the nation and entrepreneurs in particular. Now they have left unpicked bananas as they import goodies from abroad. Sao Tome and Principe is yet another tiny African Island rocked in political instability but rich in oil resources yet to be exploited. It is facing a dilemma over how to share billions of barrels of oil reserves, offshore its territory. Anticipated are hostilities from its neighbors including the popular Nigeria. As tiny as it is, the country is so different from Africa: from its politics, society and culture. It is more European with little if any traces of African lifestyle (Ghazvinian 2007). In a 2003 speech in Washington USA, Sao, Tome and Principe President Fradique de Menez reiterated his hope and commitment that his Island would not drown into civil war, ethnic hatred and economic regression, because of oil. Oil is instead supposed to bring more development and economic satisfaction to the population (Ghazvinian). The country is however miserably poor with only high school but without any university. Half of the capital city is occupied by government officer. The national budget sums to a meager $50 million financed majorly from agriculture and fishing. Agricultural produce are coffee and cacao, putting the island in the list of the major recipients of direct aid relative to GDP as 35million is received annually in the form of international development aid. The country is not strange to armed coups. It is among the African countries who political cultures are informed by armed coups. Between 1991 and 2007, the island experienced fourteen changes of guard, with more uncertainties expected in case oil would be discovered. Nigeria is on record as having help crush an armed rebellion in Sao Tome in 2003,a clean indication of its involvement in the tiny African state.

Perceptual Maps Essay Example for Free

Perceptual Maps Essay

Buddhism As A Path To Enlightenment

Buddhism As A Path To Enlightenment Buddhism is not about God or Gods, it does not supply a theory about what may happen in the afterlife, nor does it express views about creation; it is based in the world of daily living. Most religions have deep theoretical foundations they are built upon, and most people within such religions have faith that the theory is true. Buddhism does not address theories; it does not agree or disagree with any religion, but rather acknowledges religion as a means to live in a positive manner. Buddhism is about enlightening the person, regaining the compassion and wisdom inside, thus resulting in freedom from suffering. Buddhism is about living a life of peaceful serenity. Originating in a region near India over two-thousand years ago, Buddhism is becoming a religion that is revered and practiced worldwide. Buddhist spirituality is viewed as something from within, an innate goodness in all humans that has been lost can now be found through practice and meditation. Buddhists must motivate themselves, and rely on their own efforts, not those of a charismatic leader. If followers of the Buddha began to revere the man, they would become distracted from their task impeding spiritual progress. Mark W. Muesse, a professor of religious studies, reveals, Buddhist spirituality promotes a form of life that provides an antidote to the stresses of modern living. As a counterpoint to the haste and hurry, the noise and confusion of this world, Buddhism prescribes a life of quietness and tranquility, a life of contemplation and gentle awareness. (Muesse, 2002). Buddhists may have come from a variety of religions; for example, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, and Atheism. To find true wisdom and compassion is to see the world as it really is, and live life without being the center of the whole. To be s uccessful, Buddhism teaches a person to actively practice, and work to channel the mindset of self-centeredness into one of compassion. Buddhism originated in India around the sixth or fourth centuries BCE, and is based on the teachings of also referred to as the Buddha. (Muesse, 2002). Siddharthas journey to find truth, spirituality, and learn how to solve the problems of suffering, led him to extensive meditations. Over a period of about seven years, he endured exhaustion and starvation while experimenting with various meditations searching for enlightenment, but made no progress. On the verge of death due to fatigue, he finally rested, had a nutritious meal, and then decided to meditate again until he found the answer to suffering. As the sky began to lighten following day, he too felt illuminated, happy, and relieved; after seven years of searching, Siddhartha reached the state of enlightenment. He then realized that in order to become enlightened, he must keep himself healthy so his mind would be fit. He set forth to teach others, regardless of caste, his enlightenment, the method of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Siddhartha traveled from city to city teaching the importance of not losing ones self by allowing passions to consume, but rather exis t without indulging in selfish cravings, leaving one free to be happy. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). (Armstrong, 2001). The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism and the Eightfold Path are the starting points for all Buddhist variations. This doctrine is Buddhas (Siddharthas) diagnosis and prescription for treating human suffering and finding true happiness. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). Noble Truth one: Life Is Suffering. Birth is suffering, illness is suffering, aging is suffering, and death is suffering. When a person looks at life realistically, it is full of fleeting happiness followed by inevitable sorrow, the years go by faster, and faster, it is a no-exit path to death. Even when things seem to be at their best, it is not completely satisfying. People have come to want more and more from life and that is the core of the problem, egocentric desire. This is Buddhas diagnosis. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). Noble Truth two: The Root of Suffering. Egocentric desires are the root of suffering; the selfish grasping after pleasures and evasion of pain. Self-centered yearnings can never truly be fulfilled, leaving behind feelings of irritation, frustration, and even anger. Anger is one of the main reasons for causing distress to others; it also will cause suffering within. People constantly engage in actions that cause anguish, either directly or indirectly. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). Noble Truth three: You Can End Suffering. Knowing that going beyond suffering is possible through internal transformation is the point of this truth. Suffering and the causes of suffering are dependant on a persons state of mind, therefore, by changing the way one perceives the world mentally, also changes the amount of suffering incurred. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). Noble Truth four: The Eightfold Path. This is the prescription, a means to find freedom from suffering. People can end their suffering and dilemmas by controlling the body and mind in a positive manner to help others instead of doing them harm, and by creating mental wisdom. Once this renewal is complete, a person can enjoy the state of Nirvana, free of problems. This is the path leading to the mental transformation, and cessation of suffering. The Eightfold Path is a guide meant to help people work out their difficulties, become liberated from suffering, and come across happiness. Right Views is the first step on this path to discover happiness. Once a person understands what is wrong and becomes familiarized with the transformation process, gaining the knowledge of what will need to be accomplished in order to achieve success, they will be pointed in the right direction. Right Intention is the second step. A person has to feel this is really what they want to do, and be willing to maintain this commitment along their journey. Dedication to this endeavor is necessary to become successful. The third step is Right Speech, meaning a person needs to listen to what is said, how it was said, and why it was said. Curbing the use of negative intonations, and derogatory remarks will contribute to the positivity inside instead of nourishing the negativity inside. Awareness and self-examination can help a person communicate in a more positive, harmonious way. Right Conduct is the fourth step, encouraging a person to be aware of their motives, as well as their conduct. Upon self-observation, a person may become aware of unconscious actions that incur negativity. Then reflect on those negative actions, discover the motivation, and work towards positive actions. The fifth step on the path to enlightenment is Right Livelihood. Most people spend the majority of their lives working; find inner peace in a positive occupation. A person working in a negative environment acquires negative feelings. These negative feelings can become overwhelming, and then aimed in the direction of others, in turn causing suffering. Right Effort is the sixth step. By exerting positive effort, a person will begin to notice positive changes within their life. Right effort also means to pace ones self; do not over examine every word said or action taken, as this can become disturbing over a short period of time. The seventh step is Right Tho ught. This step lends confidence in taming the mind. Thoughts, feelings, and sensations are erratic, and short-lived. Simpkins explained this simply, The concrete sense people have of themselves is merely a series of experiences that seem to blend together into one. In reality, the ego is nothing more than this series of experiences. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000, p.56). Right Concentration is the final step on the Eightfold Path to enlightenment. In this step, a person pulls together the skills learned from each of the previous steps and places them into the practice of meditation. Meditation, concentrated awareness, allows a person to see through the illusions, seeing the world as it really is, a direct perception. (Simpkins Simpkins, 2000). All religions incorporate meditations in with their faith in one form or another; such as prayer, reciting mantras, all the way to induced states wherein visions are seen, gibberish is spoken in the language of tongues, or voices are heard, which are usually the deities, spirits, or other supernatural beings for that particular religion. Buddhist meditations are different. Francis Story points out, The Christian who has seen Jesus, or the Hindu who has conversed with Bhagavan Krishna may be quite satisfied that he has fulfilled the purpose of his religious life, but the Buddhist who sees a vision of the Buddha knows by that very fact that he has only succeeded in objectifying a concept in his own mind. (Story, 1995-2010). Buddhists embrace two distinct types of meditation: dhyana, meditation that clears the mind, and prajna, meditation that fills the mind. Usually these two meditations are performed together. Several variations of Buddhist meditations exist today, some methods are fo r developing mindfulness and concentration, yet others focus on breathing and visualizations. Meditation enhances awareness, and by being aware, one becomes wise. Meditation also calms the mind, allowing a person to feel at ease while reflecting upon life with positive focus. The discipline that Buddhist meditations establishes in a person can be applied to life situations; it teaches clear thinking without bias, and concentration so the mind will be able focus intently on any given situation. Buddhism is a religion based on real life without theorizing about things that can never be solidified. It is a religion that holds no bias toward any other religion, nor do many other religions hold a bias for Buddhism. The doctrines within Buddhism urges the need for humanity to become humane again, to let go of selfish desires, negative intentions, and be thoughtful of all. Experiences, and a persons reactions to them, create the ambience of the path of life a person leads. Buddhism is the embodiment of peaceful existence in a world that has become wrought with despair and suffering.

Theory and practice of group counseling Book Review :: essays research papers

Corey, G. (1999). Theory and practice of group counseling. (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This text was written for graduate or undergraduate students in any field involving human services but is especially suitable for students enrolled in any course of Theory and Practice of Group Counseling, practitioners who are involved in group work, and students who are interested in leading various types of groups. This text presents an overview of various theoretical models and describes how they apply to group counseling. The text outlines the basic elements of group process, deals with ethical and professional issues special to group work and presents an overview of the key concepts and techniques of ten theoretical models of group counseling. The text also attempts an integration of the ten theoretical models and emphasizes the practical application of the approaches with a focus on helping the reader develop his/her own synthesis of various aspects of the models.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Part I; Basic Elements of Group Process: An Overview is comprised of chapters 1-5. This section is obviously an overview of the various types of groups and discusses some general principles that can be applied in working with culturally diverse groups. Part I also covers some basic group leadership issues, ethical issues in group work, and the stages in the evolution of a group, from formation to termination and follow up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Part 2; Theoretical Approaches to Group Counseling examines 10 theoretical approaches dealing with theory and practice of group work. The 10 chapters are as follows: The Psychoanalytic Approach to Groups, Adlerian Group Counseling, Psychodrama, The Existential Approach to Groups, The Person Centered Approach to Groups, Gestalt Therapy in Groups, Transactional Analysis, Behavioral Group Therapy, Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy in Groups, and finally Reality Therapy in Groups. The aforementioned chapters follow an organizational pattern, this organization makes comparing the 10 theoretical approaches easier for the reader.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Each chapter introduces the rationale for the theoretical approach and its unique characteristics, discusses the model’s key concepts and their implications for group process, discusses the approach’s basic procedures and techniques, defines the role and function of the group leader, and when applicable describes the stages of development of that particular group process. Finally near the end of each of the 10 theoretical chapters is an evaluation section. This section is devoted to Corey’s personal assessment of the approach.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Part 3; Integration and Application contains chapters 16 and 17.

Effects of Divorce on Children Today Essay -- Psychology Sociology Mar

Effects of Divorce on Children Today Divorce and its effects on children are common issues that are on the rise in the world today. Divorce affects more than just the married couple. Children often bear the brunt of divorce, which makes divorce a complicated decision for most parents. Understanding the effects divorce has on a child is important to know exactly why a child acts a certain way. A divorce can affect a child psychologically, intellectually, and even behaviorally. Children can suffer physiologically from things like depression, intellectually by having trouble in school and behaviorally by having trouble in social settings. Legally, a divorce is a single event, but from a psychological standpoint, it is a complicated, multilevel issue. Things like identity confusion, depression, and anxiety are all areas of psychological concern this paper will address. Through this explanation, I will demonstrate the harmful effects divorce has on children. Identity confusion is a main concern of children who have experienced divorce. Often time?s children feel responsible and blame themselves for their parents? actions. Felling guilt for actions that do not pertain to them can have lasting psychological effects. In a study done on effects of divorce, almost half of the participants felt responsible for their parents divorce (Taylor 2001). This study involves interviewing children regarding their views of the parental divorce. It discusses these children?s feelings and gives specific recommendations. The children are asked a series of questions including, ?Do/did you feel responsible for your parents? divorce (Taylor 2001). The amount of children who felt responsible in one way or another totaled 33% (Taylor 2... ... Identity confusion, depression and anxiety are all harmful effects divorce has on children. Feelings of responsibility, sadness, and apprehension about their situations have extremely detrimental and lasting affects on children. These studies show that these are indeed grim realities many children have to face in their daily lives. Parents may be affected by a divorce, but the children are the real victims. References Barker, Philip. ?Family Dysfunction and Anxiety in Children.? Anxiety in Children. Ed. Ved P. Varma. Methuen, Inc.: New York, NW, 1984. 89-104. Fox, Daniel J. ?Children of Divorce: Is There a Personality Component Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 35 3/4 (2001): 107-124. Taylor, Raymond J. ?Listening to the Children: Children of Divorce Speak Out About Their Parents.? Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 35 1/2 (2001): 147-154.

Many Are the Crimes

The period of McCarthyism brought strong anti-communist campaign in the United States which started in the 1940s and ended in the 1950s. This era was also known as the Second Red Scare. There were fears of Communist infiltration on American organizations and â€Å"espionage by Soviet agents† (Fried, 124). It was a troubled time during the McCarthy era where many Americans where charged of being Communists or being Communist sympathizers. Many of them went through a series of investigations and interrogations by government committees and agencies. These investigations were directed at individuals who work for the government, those in the entertainment business, union members and educators. Although evidences were weak and often exaggerated, suspicions were given more weight. As a result, many Americans lost their jobs and some were even incarcerated (Fried, 150). In Ellen Schrecker’s book Many Are the Crimes, the author describes the persecution of the Communist Party in the U.S. from the 1920s until the 1950s. Schrecker believed that McCarthyism contributed to the downfall of Communism in America and thrusted the country into a gulf of right-wing sentiments which plagues the U.S. until now ( Reeves, Are You Now†¦A new study of McCarthyism and the legacy of HUAC, 1998). The first three chapters of Schrecker’s book explain the Communist Party’s emergence in the 1930s in America. She explained why the Communist Party was susceptible to attacks by the U.S. government. The second chapter â€Å"Red Baiters, Inc.† is an extensive analysis of people and institutions which characterized anticommunism in the 1920s and 1930s (Schrecker, 41). The author outlines Franklin D. Roosevelt’s stance on Communism. According to Schrecker, President Roosevelt’s approach to Communism was â€Å"non-ideological† (p. 87), there were occasions that he did not pay attention to the existence of the Communist Party and there were times that he supported political suppression. Roosevelt authorized the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover to look into the Communist Party’s movement because they saw it as â€Å"a threat to national security† (p. 89). In Chapter 4, Schrecker discusses the U.S. government’s propaganda that the Communist Party was being influenced by Moscow. In Chapter 5, the author talks about how Americans saw Communism as a national threat through â€Å"subversion, espionage and sabotage† (p. 181). In the third part of Ellen Schrecker’s book, explains the â€Å"instruments† of anti-communism and how the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover used different tactics to purge communists in America by wiretapping and surveillance (p. 239). Schrecker discussed the role of Senator John McCarthy in the â€Å"anti-communist crusade†, and his â€Å"disregard for civil liberties† (p. 265). The last chapters of the book Many Are the Crimes, Schrecker talks about the experiences of Clinton Jencks and members of the workers union and how they were persecuted and eventually lost their jobs.   Schrecker explains the impact of McCarthyism in the American society, how it â€Å"destroyed the left† and paralyzed the Communist Party (p. 369). In context, Schrecker’s book exposed the effects of the McCarthy era not only in politics but also in the entertainment business wherein the Hollywood blacklist dictated who would produce movies and star in those films. Screenwriters, actors and actresses did not escape interrogation by the anticommunist committees and those found guilty of espionage were sent to jail (Whitfield, p. 194). The unions played an important part in those days because they talked about racial concerns in terms of equality. The union also provided support for women’s issues. It showed the inequality in terms of salaries that female workers get and how they are poorly-paid in comparison with the male workers. The union also encouraged women to be strong leaders. These progressive attempts of bringing change in the role of women in society and the work force were halted during the McCarthy era (Cherny, p.10). For the most part the greatest damage done during the McCarthy era was the destruction of the American left and the decline of the Communist Party in America. In terms of social policy, McCarthyism interrupted the reforms needed for health insurance. The country’s â€Å"cultural and intellectual life† became stagnant because of censorship during the McCarthy era (Schrecker, The Legacy of McCarthyism). The downfall of the McCarthy era was due to the decline of public support and court decisions which upheld individual rights and freedom (Fried, p. 197). With the current situation in the U.S., people are more vigilant and aware of the effects of McCarthyism. This episode will serve as a â€Å"cautionary tale for future generations† (Rosen, Could It Happen Again?). Works Cited Cherny, Robert W., William Issel and Kieran Walsh Taylor. American Labor and the Cold War: Grassroots Politics and Postwar Political Culture. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2004. Fried, Albert. McCarthyism, The Great American Red Scare: A Documentary History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. Reeves, Thomas C. â€Å"Are You Now†¦.A New Study of McCarthyism and the Legacy of HUAC†.   14 June 1998. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/14/reviews/980614. 14reevest.html. Retrieved on 7 January 2008. Rosen, Ruth. â€Å"Could It Happen Again?† 12 May 2003. http://www.commondreams.org/ views03/0512-01.htm. Retrieved on 7 January 2008. Schrecker, Ellen. â€Å"The Legacy of McCarthyism†. Retrieved on 7 January 2008. Schrecker, Ellen. Many Are the Crimes: McCarthyism in America. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1999. Whitfield, Stephen J. The Culture of the Cold War. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996.                                 

Humans or Robots? Essay

As Americans, we are told from a young age that in order to have a fulfilling life we must work hard to reach the American Dream. We must get an impressive degree; we must get married by age thirty to someone of the opposite sex; we must have two kids—one boy and one girl; and most importantly we must work a nine-to-five job, writing reports at a desk in a successful corporate business. If one does not fulfil these requirements, others expect that they probably were not up to par, or as deserving, as the other Joe Schmo who did. In Daniel Orozco’s short story, â€Å"Orientation,† the narrator is showing a new employee around the office, telling him/her about all of the rules that he/she must follow, about the personal lives of the other employees’, and about the â€Å"perks† he/she will have as an employee. By illustrating the corporate workplace as being void of any human element, the story argues that the workplace is an impersonal and a relentles sly unforgiving environment, and that people should be aware of this crisis in corporate America, and furthermore see the faults of the corporate workplace. The story begins with the narrator telling the new employee rules about his/her phone, and that he/she may not answer it or make any personal phone calls, unless it is an emergency. However, after the narrator tells the new employee what he/she must do in the case of an emergency call, the narrator describes the consequences to not following the rules by saying, â€Å"If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go† (484). This illustrates the company’s capacity for human emotion (which is obviously extremely low), showing that the company’s value of its rules is more important than any emergency. An emergency is something that comes up unexpectedly and needs to be attended to right away to fix the problem. In this case, the company has no empathy for its employees but rather for the efficiency of the business. The employees are expected to put their job before everything in their lives, even though a job is, in most cases, a source to suppo rt the other aspects of their lives. The narrator goes on to point out the receptionist who is a temporary employee, but is only labeled temporary because historically they always  seem to quit. The narrator states, â€Å"Be polite and civil to our temps. Learn their names. Invite them to lunch occasionally. But don’t get too close to them, as it only makes it more difficult when they leave† (484). The narrator is instructing the new employee to be â€Å"polite† and â€Å"civil† to the receptionist, which contrasts the human tendency to want to be friendly to co-workers. This illuminates the narrator as being robotic and emotionless, just like the company. The narrator and the company alike are incapable of genuine emotion, which is evident when the narrator tells the new employee to be â€Å"polite† and â€Å"civil† but to not get too attached. The emotional ability of the narrator is clearly forced when he/she tells the employee to be â€Å"civil† towards the receptionists, to â€Å"learn their names†, and to â€Å"invite them to lunch occasionally.† The low magnitude of what the narrator perceives as friendly is disturbingly unhuman-like. The narrator has no difficulty telling the new employee to put in the bare minimum of his/her emotional effort, by purely tolerating the receptionist, without being too mean or too nice to her. The narrator expects the new employee to be just as detached and emotionless as the company, because if he/she is not, it would only make it emotionally harder for him/her to endure the emotionless acts and values of the company. In another attempt to make the company appear good, the narrator tells the new employee about the comprehensive health plan that covers the costs of any family illness or tragedy. The narrator uses the example that if anything happened to any of Larry Bagdikian’s daughters, all expenses would be covered and that, â€Å"he would have nothing to worry about† (486). The irony behind this is that if an illness or tragedy happened to any of his daughters, he would have the illness or tragedy to worry about rather than the breadth of his health plan. Like any good father, he would fret about his child’s well-being above any financial costs. This piece of evidence has a strong connection back to when the narrator said that if the new employee ever made an emergency phone call without asking, the new employee would be let go. Another example of how the comprehensive health plan does not take away worry is when the narrator talks about how Barry Hacker’s wife died, and how she was completely covered but she has â€Å"haunt[ed] him† (487) since. The company’s comprehensive health plan shows that the company expects  family illnesses and tragedies to come up, but the company would rather make up for their lack of empathy during the emergency, when it is already too late and has turned into a tragedy. Although the company tries to make the comprehensive health plan look like a perk to the job, Orozco argues that it is more of a plan to compensate for the company’s faults and is purely intended to take employees’ attention away from the corrupt workplace environment. An ongoing pattern throughout the story that illuminates the strict workplace environment is shown in the repetition of, â€Å"you may be let go†. A good example of this is when the narrator states, â€Å"Feel free to ask questions. Ask too many questions, however, and you may be let go† (484). In a humane workplace, there are typically universal rules that, if broken, would result in an employee being fired. However, the company’s rules that will get an employee fired are all irrational. The company expects its employees to act without human error and to balance everything with perfect proportion. This is manifested when the narrator says to not ask â€Å"too many questions† but does not tell the new employee what that exactly means. The amount of questions that the new employee will perceive as too many is subjective, but the narrator sees it as an objective amount and expects the new employee to also see it objectively and without further clarification. The narrator goes on to explain the rules about the coffee pool and the microwave oven. When talking about the coffee pool, the narrator says, â€Å"You are allowed to join the coffee pool of your choice, but you are not allowed to touch the Mr. Coffee† (486). Immediately after, the narrator goes on to describe the rules for the microwave oven when he/she states, â€Å"You are allowed to heat food in the microwave oven. You are not, however, allowed to cook food in the microwave oven† (486). When it comes down to it, the company’s strict guidelines have little to do with the company itself. The rules for the Mr. Coffee and the microwave oven are both very simple and perplexing. Rules are generally used as safety precautions or for efficiency. Touching the Mr. Coffee and cooking food in the microwave oven have nothing to do with safety or efficiency, and have everything to do with the unforgiving and power-driven nature of the company. Through the absence of any human element, the story argues that the corporate workplace is emotionless and harsh and that it sends a negative message to corporate workplace employees. Orozco’s agenda behind writing â€Å"Orientation† was to articulate how corporate bureaucracies exploit their employees by subjecting them to irrational standards and by expecting them to work without human error. I agree with Orozco because corporate businesses tend to care more about the money and the success rate of the business, rather than their employees. This subjects the employees to neglect and in essence makes them slaves to their workplace. The message is not outdated, and the workplace conditions are currently, in my opinion, more taxing than the author intended to portray. The message that we should always be aware of the faults in the corporate workplace will never be outdated, and furthermore it is important to remember our history for generations to come so that the history of corporate workplace conditions does not repeat itself.

Books beyond paper

The technological developments in the field of computers and internet have brought in far reaching changes in both at home and the office. Communication through letters has changed over to exchange of e-mails. The vast storage space available in the computer is being utilized for storing text, music, pictures and video in electronic format. Once inside the computer hard disk, they are all digital files consisting of bits of ‘ones’ and ‘zeroes’. Office automation has improved efficiency and has provided cost reduction to survive in a competitive environment. Modern technology is known to have had its impact on every part of our life.It can’t leave the world of books untouched. e-book We are living in the age of information and the internet. This is the period of the knowledge economy. There are several changes that have taken place in the work area. Most of the work is being done using the computer, intranet and the internet. Modern offices have become paperless offices. Faster microprocessors and higher disk space available in the computer has made storage and retrieval of data faster and convenient and this has helped Project Gutenberg to convert texts of classical literature into the digital format (History and philosophy of Project Gutenberg, 1992).The idea was to make books and other information to be made available to the general public. The World Wide Web can be considered as a vast library where all sorts of information is stored and is accessible to anybody from any corner of the world. The websites which form the World Wide Web can be considered as the books or magazines of the virtual library. The websites have different applications such as games, on line shopping, networking, music and video sharing. But there are many websites such as online dictionaries and encyclopedias which have been organized similar to books or printed matter.Some of these websites and the databases can be considered as electronic books (Bradl ey F. James). HTML coding is the standard followed by all websites to accommodate text as well as pictures. A server is a host where the WebPages are uploaded. Hundreds of such WebPages are put together in a common server with a domain name so that they can be accessed easily. The WebPages are interconnected using hypertext links. This has resulted in a network consisting of WebPages full of information on all sorts of topics.Massive work is in progress in adding content to the websites and they are being periodically updated. There are any number of online libraries which host books that can be read on the net. The HTML coded text can be read using the web browsers. In addition there are books that can be downloaded which are generally in pdf format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is the software that is required for reading text in pdf format. Reading a book from a computer screen is not same as reading from the printed book. It is basically the comfort level of the reader.To make the conce pt of the e-book more acceptable and also to provide the reader the flexibility of reading the book as per his requirement, several manufacturers have come up with paperback size portable electronic gadgets that work on batteries. The e-books come in two broad categories; the personal digital assistant (PDA) and electronic reading device (ERD). While PDA is for multi-function use and it is considered as a hand held computer, ERD is specially designed and marketed for reading pleasure. ERD has the provision to download and store the e-book files from a computer hard disk and display text on a screen.For music files mp3 compression became a standard but there is no such standard for e-books. There are as many as 25 different formats which are being promoted by different manufacturers. In addition, the e-books that are commercially made available are with digital rights management (DRM), a form of security to prevent people from sharing without authorization (Rosso Sara, 2009). The ded icated e-book readers use E Ink technology to simulate text printed on paper and ink particles are displayed electronically. There is no need of backlighting of the display. It can be read even in broad day light.Amazon kindle is a product developed by Amazon. com and the second generation model became available in March 2009. There is provision to deliver content directly to the e-book within a wireless coverage area hence a computer is not required to download content. It has features such as choosing text size; the text can be read out either through speakers or headphones while the screen continues to show the text being read; choice of voice can be male or female; dictionary look up for a particular word without disturbing the content; notes made are saved and backed up on Amazon servers.It has capacity to hold thousand digital books, and other text from magazines and blogs. Whatever books purchased from Amazon. com are in a store for the customer and he can download them as an d when he wants through the wireless access provided. All other text files belonging to the user which are in different formats can be uploaded to Amazon where they get converted to kindle format and are available for downloading and reading on the device (Kindle User’s Guide).PRS-700 is the third generation Reader available from Sony and has additional features such as touch screen, on screen key board, and side lighting for reading in poor light. The addition of touch screen is supposed to have affected the display contrast. A portable mp3 player is integrated within the Reader to listen to music in the background. The internal storage capacity may be limited to 350 books but it has memory stick and SDHC SD card slot to store thousands of books and tunes (Gade Lisa, 2008). It uses Sony software to synchronize with desk top computer to transfer books to the Reader.It supports different text formats such as text, RTF, MS Word, PDF and ePub. The iLiad book from iRex Technologi es is an e-book with 8. 1 inch touchscreen display and has memory that can be expanded to 8 GB to accommodate up to 10,000 books in digital format. This needs to be connected to a PC using a USB cable to search and browse the net to download books or get it from mobipocket. com an online ebook-store. Mobipocket Reader is the software that works with this device. The handwritten notes can be converted to digital text. This device supports several formats (Stunningly paper-like).Cybook Gen3 is an e-book from the French manufacturer Bookeen, slightly smaller in size with a six inch screen and easily fits in the hand. There is no provision for taking notes and Wi-Fi connectivity for downloading data. It needs to be connected to the PC with a USB cable to transfer data. 64MB built in memory is provided and SD card can be used for additional storage. It supports several text formats including PDF. It has an mp3 player for listening to music and also for playing audio books. It is energy e fficient and the battery provides 8000 screen refreshes (Vogel Sandra, 2008).The present generation of student population is technology friendly and would love the text books in a digital format which provides a clear advantage of easy portability in a laptop. It is easier for the libraries to store them and many people can access them using the intranet or the internet. The content can be updated as required. The library can transform itself from a place of storing books to an information portal. There is a need to distinguish the reading content from the e-book as a medium for storage and reading.It is just like the difference between the music and the storage medium such as cassettes, CDs and mp3 digital files. The technological changes that were accepted in the music industry have helped in distributing music in different formats and now iPods and iTunes are the most popular form of the medium and the distribution channel for music. We are hopeful of a similar transformation to take place in text content and its medium and distribution provided the problem of DRM is settled and text content file is made available at a fractional price of its printed counterpart.A standard open file format will be helpful in expanding the market Conclusion The text in digital format has several advantages of small size, easy portability, searching capability, font type and size, and ready access to dictionary. In theses days where people are losing reading interest, the rigid attitude of publishers on DRM and high cost of text in digital format is coming in the way of generating customer interest in e-book as a useful reading of tool. Works cited Bradley F.James â€Å"The Electronic Book and PDA† retrieved on 2009-05-14 http://www. scinet. cc/articles/ebook/electronicbook. html Gade Lisa â€Å"Sony Reader PRS-700† Nov 11, 2008 Mobile Tech Review retrieved on 2009-05-15 http://www. mobiletechreview. com/gadgets/Sony-Reader-PRS-700. htm â€Å"History and philos ophy of Project Gutenberg† Aug 92 retrieved on 2009-05-14 http://www. promo. net/pg/history. html â€Å"Kindle User’s Guide† 3rd edition retrieved on 2009-05-15 https://kindle. s3. amazonaws. com/Kindle_Users_Guide_v3. pdfRosso Sara â€Å"How to Read an ebook: Formats, Devices, Dedicated Readers and iPhone Applications† Mar 10, 2009 retrieved on 2009-05-14 http://www. whenihavetime. com/how-to-read-an-ebook-formats-devices-dedicated-readers-and-iphone-applications/? PHPSESSID=bb4854fd629733b5375a6a83a7f0d70d â€Å"Stunningly, Paper-like† The iLiad Book Edition retrieved on 2009-05-16 http://www. irextechnologies. com/products/bookedition/features Vogel Sandra â€Å"Bookeen Cybook Gen3 Review† Nov 9, 2008 Trusted Reviews retrieved on 2009-05-16 http://www. trustedreviews. com/mobile-devices/review/2008/01/09/Bookeen-Cybook-Gen3/p1

The Italian Conquest of Abyssinia: How far was the LoN to blame?

Source A – the cartoon entitled â€Å"Dogs of War† – has a message of the ways in which the League of Nations failed. This is depicted through the cartoon in numerous ways. Firstly, the woman (representative of the League of Nations) is shown holding the dog collars which have writing engraved on them. One collar reads Japan while the other collar reads Germany. The fact that they are empty indicates that they have both left the League. When relating that to real events, Japan left the league as a result of them being condemned after the invasion of Manchuria and Germany left through the actions of Hitler (as a result of him disagreeing with the disarmaments). Another way in which the cartoon shows the failure of the League is through the actions of Britain and France. During the conflict between Italy and Abyssinia, Britain and France are shown as just â€Å"looking over†. In simpler terms, Britain and France are shown as if they do not care or just wish to let things go by as if it doesn't matter. This, in effect, undermines the League's objective of dealing with conflicts such as those and creating peace. When relating that to real events, Britain and France didn't really do much as they thought that would be jeopardising their relationship with Italy. By doing so, they reckoned Italy would join forces with Germany and that would make matters worse. As a result, they just stood by and let Mussolini invade and take over Abyssinia. However, it is not just about what Britain and France did; it is also about if they had the ability to do it. The fact that Britain is represented as a bulldog and France as a poodle – stronger than the dogs representing Italy and Abyssinia – shows exactly how they could have dealt with the problem if they wanted to. This relates to how they had the use of collective security to deal with problems, if need be. My point here is that this strengthens my argument above of how Britain and France just didn't want to deal with the conflict. In addition, the League of Nations on the whole is shown as a woman who is not bothered about the conflict. That aside, the fact that the league is represented a woman depicts peace. This is also emphasised through the addition of a dove above her head, which also represents peace. The ironic thing here, though, is that the situation is not one of peace and that the argument has not been dealt with in order to create peace. Instead of actually doing something about it, she is just doing what Britain and France are. Using this, failure has been shown as the cartoon is critical of the league not doing anything about the matter. My final point on this matter relates to what the woman representing the league is actually doing. The cartoonist has shown the woman with her arms tied. It seems as if he/she wants to get across the fact that woman is struggling to control the dogs. In terms of real events, Britain and France signed a Hoare-Laval pact which allowed Italy to take 2/3 of Abyssinia. However, when the public found out about this, it had a bad name on the LoN and so Hoare and Laval denied any knowledge whatsoever. Italy saw this and invaded Abyssinia as they no longer trusted Britain and France. This is a reason for the league having its arms tied. On the other hand, it can be said to be struggling as the league struggled to look after both the members and the conflicts that were going on. This point is reinforced from what is said at the bottom of the cartoon: â€Å"JUST AS WE WERE ALL GETTING ALONG SO NICELY! I WONDER WHAT I HAVE TO DO THIS TIME. † There are a number of ways in which sources A and B differ and allow the viewer understand the problems of peacekeeping in the 1930s. Firstly, a major difference between the sources is how each country is represented. While source A uses dogs to represent countries, source B uses sacks. The fact that dogs are closer to humans than sacks allows source A to have a huge advantage over source B. What I mean by this is that dogs are living and really significant things such as facial expressions and movement can be shown through them. However, those significant aspects cannot be shown through sacks and that is what allows a viewer to understand the cartoon better. For example; Italy and Abyssinia are shown to be having an argument of some sort. We notice that it is an argument from the facial expression of Abyssinia. In addition, they are in each other's face and in positions that are most likely when in a fight. This cannot be done with sacks and so source A is more understanding in showing the problems in this aspect. Likewise, in source A, the LoN is represented as a woman and things such as her movements can be shown (she is shown with her hands tied) whereas, in source B, the LoN is represented as a cart and that cannot be shown here. However, like source A, source B does have aspects that help understand the problems. One good aspect in my opinion is the showing of which countries are more likely to leave than others. A great example of this is how Great Britain and France are solid up the top whereas Italy is on the verge of falling off. This relates well to how Italy didn't have faith in the League after the pact because they felt betrayed by France and Britain and also because Mussolini was a fascist and disagreed with a lot of their views. Therefore, it can be said that this helps understand the problem of Italy being upset with the Council (Britain and France) of the LoN. In addition, the fact that the LoN is represented as a cart in source B indicates it is slow and needs to be pushed. This helps understand the slow aspect and an example of this would be how Lytton went out to Manchuria to sort things out really late in November. A good aspect in both sources that help understand the problems is that both show that Japan and Germany have left the league. Despite the fact that they are done in different ways, they both show and help understand the problem of not having 2 major forces in the league. On the other hand, a bad aspect in both would be that neither shows the â€Å"whys†. For example; both sources do not show why Japan and Germany have left the league. This is a major disadvantage as research or own knowledge is required to understand the source to full effect. Finally, something to note here is what the provenance states. Source A is a cartoon from a British magazine but is critical of the fact that Britain just looked on over the conflict between Italy and Abyssinia. On the other hand, source B is a cartoon from a British magazine and is saying that Britain is solely holding the league together, which is untrue as the help of France and other countries is also doing so. From this, we can say that source A is more reliable than source B as source B is biased. In conclusion to this answer, I feel that source A is more useful than source B for understanding the problems of peacekeeping in the 1930s for the sole reason that living creatures are used to represent countries as opposed to sacks. Despite the fact that source B shows how the league was slow and how Italy were about to leave, I still think that what the dogs and the woman show are more crucial in terms of understanding the problems. The fact that the conflict is shown and how Britain, France and the league is not interested are the core points justifies my point. There are ways in which source C would have worried members of LoN and ways in which the league would not be worried much at all. Benito Mussolini states that â€Å"once a decision is taken we march forward and do not turn back! In my opinion, this aspect of the speech would have worried the members of the league as it is implying how ruthless Italy can be/are. When that is put into perspective with the league's actions, things can become very concerning for the league. By mentioning that they will not turn back, whatever the league throws at them will, in effect, not stop Italy. Another reason for the league to be worried relates to what Mussolini says at the end of his speech. In his speech, Mussolini says that â€Å"It is better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep! I reckon this would worry members of the LoN because that last part shows how much power means to him. In addition, he may be implying that the sheep are countries of less power such as Abyssinia or other African colonies. The fact that lions eat sheep further indicates his intention of taking hold of the countries/colonies. A reason for the league not to be worried, however, is that Italy showed its weakness in 1920 when it came running to the league after the incident at Corfu. However, this can be counter-argued by the fact that Benito Mussolini did not come into power until 1922. What I mean by this is that Benito's option would have most likely not included the league and so Italy wouldn't seem as weak. Members of the league would not be as worried due to the fact that Italy was on their own at the time and would therefore mean less strength. Once again though, Mussolini was a fascist and would have probably gone to extreme lengths to get an ally. Overall, I think that the members of the LoN would have been worried at his speech for a number of reasons. Firstly, his ruthlessness would have concerned the league as they would not know how to deal with it on occasions. Secondly, the fact that the speech indicates his love for power would also worry the league as they often struggle with situations whereby a powerful country has done something. A perfect example of this is the incident of Vilna. Vilna was awarded to Poland solely on the basis that they were strong/big and the league could do nothing about it, although it originally belonged to Lithuania. Finally, the league would be worried because they would be unsure as to how Mussolini would act. For example; in 1920, Mussolini may have chosen for Italy to use force instead of go to the LoN and that would have worried the league much more. Britain's attitude to Abyssinia is shown in different ways through each source (D and E). In source D, we are given the impression that Britain does not really care much about Abyssinia. It states, â€Å"The suggestions favoured Italy, were acceptable to France, and Eden gave the impression that England might accept them as well. † The fact that the suggestions favoured Italy meant that they didn't favour Abyssinia. Baring this in mind, the source later says â€Å"Eden gave the impression that England might accept them as well. † This meant that he thought England were going to accept the fact that Abyssinia were to be treated unfairly and so this quote indicates Britain do not really care much about Abyssinia. However, to counter-argue that, it can be said that Anthony Eden was a man who always used to try and impress people. This is evident from him being known as â€Å"Lord Eyelashes† – someone who always used to flutter his eyelashes in order to get on the good side of people or to get what he wanted. Using this, it can be said that the impression he gave didn't represent his true feelings or that what his views are may not be the same as the rest of Britain. Despite the fact that – from the provenance – Anthony Eden was charge of the LoN affairs of the British government, whatever he may think may not have been accepted by the public due to different viewpoints. Although Eden gave the impression that Britain may accept it, Britain, on the whole, may have not have actually done so. While Source D was written by an Italian historian, Source E was proclaimed by Sir Samuel Hoare, British Foreign Secretary. Samuel's first sentence in his speech immediately questions my trust of Britain's attitude to Abyssinia. When Hoare states that â€Å"The League stands for collective support of its Covenant (rules)†, what suddenly comes to mind is the Hoare-Laval pact. This was a pact signed between Britain (Hoare), France (Laval) and Italy (Mussolini) that stated Italy could have 2/3 of Abyssinia. While it was considered a reasonable conclusion by Hoare and Laval, the Covenant opposed it and so it reflects Hoare's personality and as to whether he can actually be trusted. However, regardless of his actions, it can be said that Samuel Hoare was a man of high authority considering the fact that he was British Foreign Secretary. In addition, another trustworthy aspect to this speech would be that Hoare was talking to the public and could not lie. Once again though, that can be counter-argued by the fact that he is talking to the LoN and doesn't want to disappoint them by saying negative things about them. By doing so, he could have been the cause of the LoN having an even worse name, which he would then be blamed for. My final point in this question relates to the provenance/details about the source. Source D was written by an Italian historian in 1961. Here, the author and the time play a major part in the reliability of the source. The fact that the source was written many years after and the writer was Italian means that, if – for instance – Italy didn't really like Britain at the time, the writer may have referred to Anthony Eden as â€Å"Lord Eyelashes† instead of something a bit more positive. On the other hand, the speech (Source E) was said by a British person and was said just after the time of the incident. Therefore, if Samuel Hoare hated the LoN years later, nothing would be different in terms of the speech as it has already been made. As mentioned earlier, time plays a huge part in reliability. Time goes on and as it does, memory becomes a less clear vision. What I mean by this is that people tend to forget things or not see them the way they were at the time and so Source D may be different to what had actually happened. Source E, however, cannot be as the speech was actually made at the time. In conclusion to this question, I trust source D more when reflecting Britain's attitude to Abyssinia for a number of reasons. The way I perceive it to be – from what I have learnt/my own knowledge – is that Britain didn't care about Abyssinia all that much as it didn't concern them much. In other words, the consequences of them being invaded didn't really concern affairs with Abyssinia; it just really concerned Italy's power and what they were going to do next. And so, firstly, this is backed up by source D (from my point earlier). Despite the fact that Anthony Eden was a â€Å"weird† man and the provenance could cause unreliability, I feel source E isn't any better. Source E states that Britain (in the LoN) will help Abyssinia and does not tolerate bullying but that is not actually how I feel about the matter. From previous cases, such as the one of Manchuria, the League only condemned Japan and did not act in terms of collective security. And, although Samuel Hoare was talking to the public, can he really be trusted after the pact opposing the Covenant? I think not†¦ There are numerous ways in which sources F & G agree and likewise in ways they disagree. Source F shows an old man on the verge of exiting a small house. He is holding something that is emitting light and the cartoonist has done this to emphasise the fact that the old man/LoN is living in the dark. What can actually be done in the dark is limited and so the cartoonist is trying to show the viewer that the LoN is limited to what it can do. What's more, the LoN is made out to be an old man. When referring something to an old man, the point being made is that it is slow and feeble. So the cartoonist's point here is that the LoN was slow and feeble. A further way in which the cartoonist is critical of the LoN is through the use of the Italian soldier. By making out the Italian soldier as big and armed, the message being sent across is that the old man/LoN cannot do anything about the soldier; all it could possibly do is go back inside and accept what has been said. In simpler terms, the fact that the matter has been settled by Italy should be of no concern to the league as absolutely nothing can be done about it. On the other hand, source G is a speech made by the emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie. During his speech, Selassie stated that: â€Å"On many occasions, I have asked for financial assistance for the purchase of arms. That assistance has been constantly refused me. † This, once again, indicates how limited the LoN is in what it can do and so is a way in which they agree. Another obvious way in which they agree is the fact that they are both critical of the league in their own ways. A final way in which both sources agree relates to the first sentence of Selassie's speech, â€Å"I claim the justice which is due to my people and the assistance promised eight months ago. † Since the assistance promised had not been given to Abyssinia for 8 months, it would be fair to say that the LoN was slow. When put in comparison with the source F, the old man confirms this point. Although, there are a few points that prove the 2 sources agree, there are also a couple that prove the sources disagree. In source G, Haile Selassie says, â€Å"The problem is a much wider one than Italy's aggression. It is the very existence of the League of Nations. † This does not agree with source F as source F does not show the League of Nations being a problem or making matters worse; it just shows it as something that is not really powerful and nimble. In addition, at the end of Selassie's speech, Selassie questions the League of future actions through the last line of his speech, â€Å"Are you going to set a terrible example of bowing before force? † This disagrees with source F as source F does not show, in any way, the LoN actually bowing before force. In conclusion, I go somewhat but not too far in saying that sources F & G agree due to the fact that the points showing agreement between the sources have clearly outweighed the points showing otherwise. The fact that both sources agree in how the league acts (slow and in a limited way), in my opinion, is of more importance than whether the league made matters worse and so my conclusion to this question – from what I have seen from my arguments – is justified. Source H is a speech from Benito Mussolini in 1936. In this part to the essay, I will be answering as to how far I am surprised that the League of Nations did not ban oil sales to Italy. There are ways in which I am surprised and ways in which I am not. Immediately after reading the source, the first thing that surprised me was the fact that Mussolini had said, â€Å"The biggest worry was a ban on selling oil to us. If that had happened in 1935, the invasion of Abyssinia would have halted in a week. † This surprised me because; if we turn back to source C, we'll discover that Mussolini said there that â€Å"once a decision is taken we march forward and do not turn back! † The decision here was to invade Abyssinia but Mussolini just went against his speech in 1935 as he said he would have halted the invasion had the oil ban been imposed. On one hand, I was surprised with the League's actions while, on the other hand, I was not. The reason for me being surprised was that the LoN did not try out something different to prevent the invasion; it just imposed less serious bans. However, I am also not surprised at what the League did due to the fact that the league already had a bad reputation with Italy at the time. Since the Hoare-Laval pact had already been denied (a lie by both Hoare and Laval), Mussolini didn't trust Britain and France anymore and so people would see that imposing an oil ban, for example, would be a perfect way at getting back at them. A further way in which I am not surprised relates to the bad name the league possessed at the time. Had the league put oil bans on Italy, they could have put them in another depression. After the speech of Haile Selassie, putting another country in depression would just strengthen the point about the LoN existing being a problem in itself. What's more, a depression affects other parts of the world as well as Italy as trading becomes more of an issue and so my point here is that the world would have more reason to blame the league. Maybe if the league had a better name would it have imposed those bans. My final point in this question is about how Italy could have reacted if the bans were imposed on them. Since, Mussolini was a fascist; I do not believe the invasion would have halted in a week. Instead, I feel Mussolini would have endeavoured to get oil from other means. A perfect way in which to do so would have been to go to America, as both Italy and America would both be satisfied: Italy would get the oil required while America would see it as a profitable opportunity. In conclusion to this question, I am not really surprised that the LoN did not impose the oil bans on Italy for a number of reasons. Firstly, the fact that the league had such a bad reputation at the time meant that serious bans being put on Italy would have resulted in total blame on it if the consequences were outrageous. In addition, since the LoN did not really like Mussolini (his ideas went against it and the fact that he had found out their plan through the Hoare-Laval pact) meant that oil bans could have been an excuse to get back at Italy. As a result, it was further reason not to impose them! And despite the fact that I am surprised at what Mussolini said about halting the invasion, the League still took into account that Italy could have gotten oil from other means. The sources I have studied are all going to be put to use in the final part of this essay: how far do they collectively prove that the LoN was to blame for Mussolini's conquest of Abyssinia? Source A shows a number of ways in which they prove that the LoN was to blame for the conquest of Abyssinia. Firstly, by having the collars of dogs â€Å"Japan† and â€Å"Germany† empty, the source is trying to get across the message of how the League lost 2 of its most important members that could have made a difference to the outcome of the conquest. In addition, source A shows how Britain and France are not doing anything and so is critical of the fact that they – as council in the LoN – didn't really do anything but look over the invasion. Likewise, source A shows how the entire league is just looking over the invasion as if not bothered and also shows how her hands are tied. The whole idea is to show how the league could not really take care of both its members and the invasion and so is showing how the league failed in this aspect. This is proved from a quote at the bottom of the source: â€Å"JUST AS WE WERE ALL GETTING ALONG SO NICELY! I WONDER WHAT I HAVE TO DO THIS TIME. † One way, in my opinion, in which the source is not critical is through showing that maybe Italy's aggression (and Abyssinia's) was hard to deal with as the league's (woman's) hands are tied. Source B is also critical of the League of Nations in a couple of ways. For starters, the league here is represented as a cart. The fact that this is the case shows how the league was slow and needed to be pushed to keep it going. This relates well to what actually happened as the league were slow in doing something about the invasion, as by the time they could do something, Italy had already invaded Abyssinia. Another way in which it proves the league is to blame is by having Italy almost falling off of the cart. The significance of doing so is to show that, with Italy not fully associated with the league anymore; the league had less control of it and so couldn't really stop future actions. This is as a result of the Hoare-Laval pact, which was – once again – Britain and France's faults. A final way in which source B is critical is through the use of Japan and Germany. By having them off the cart, it is indicating it is easier to push and this is a good indication of the fact that the league found it hard to deal with so many members and problems simultaneously. Therefore, by having members of the league leave, the league works much smoother. Source C, on the other hand, is showing how the league is not really to blame for the conquest. By Mussolini indicating how ruthless he can be, it gives an idea of what the LoN were dealing with. By using terms such as â€Å"it is better to live one day as a lion than hundred years as a sheep†, the message we are getting is that it was not all the league's fault; it was also Italy's aggression that was to blame for the Mussolini conquest. Source D is a source written by an Italian in 1961 and talks predominantly about Anthony Eden, a person in charge of LoN affairs for the British government. This source, in my opinion, shows that the league was to blame for the conquest of Abyssinia. By using the phrase â€Å"Lord Eyelashes†, the writer is trying to get across the message of how the league appointed someone who just did what they did to impress people. In other words, he may have made the wrong decision in agreeing to let the suggestions favour Italy and not Abyssinia just because he wanted to impress Mussolini and others. Therefore, it is showing how the league employed the wrong person for that job, which – most probably did, from the argument I have discussed – drastically change the outcome. Source E, meanwhile, shows supposed positive aspects to the league and so does not show any ways in which the league was to blame for the conquest. This source talks about how the league reacts to things such as â€Å"unprovoked aggression† and states that â€Å"The British government and nation is firm on this principle. † As a result, it can be said that this source does not go far at all in proving that the league was to blame for the conquest of Abyssinia. Source F is a German cartoon published in May 1936, depicting an Italian soldier talking to the LoN (an old man). The soldier says, â€Å"I am sorry to disturb your sleep, but I should like to tell you that you need no longer bother yourself about the Abyssinian business; the matter has been settled. † By stating that he is â€Å"sorry to disturb† the old man's sleep, the cartoonist is showing that the old man was asleep/just been woken up and is living in the dark. The point being made here is that the league, on many occasions, did not really do anything due to the fact that they are actually sleeping. In addition, by making the LoN an old man, it is indicating that the LoN was slow and weak and therefore allowed the conquest to proceed. A final way in which the cartoonist is critical of the league is through the use of the quote. By making the Italian soldier say that â€Å"I am sorry to disturb your sleep, but I should like to tell you that you no longer need to bother yourself†¦ † it seems as if the cartoonist is trying to get the message across of the fact that the soldier has taken responsibility of the league's soldiers and done it a favour. What's more here, by making the Italians solve the matter themselves and having the Italian soldier as bigger than the old man (armed as well) shows exactly how the league could do nothing about the conquest. Likewise, source G is highly critical of the LoN. It is a speech made by Haile Selassie, emperor of Abyssinia at the time. The first way in which Selassie says that the league was to blame is through the first sentence, â€Å"I claim the justice which is due to my people and the assistance promised eight months ago. By using the time phrase â€Å"eight months ago†, it gives us a clear indication of how slow the league was. In addition, by stating that: â€Å"On many occasions, I have asked for financial assistance for the purchase of arms. That assistance has been constantly refused me†, Haile is otherwise saying that the league has its limits to what it can do. In addition to those points, Haile says that the problem is bigger than the aggression of Italy; it is the existence of the LoN. Despite the fact that it is saying that the league in existence is causing all the problems, it is also showing how Italy were also to blame for the conquest. Finally, source H is yet another speech by Benito Mussolini, whereby he says that; if the league had imposed oil bans, he would have halted the invasion. This is critical of the league as it gives me the message that the league should have taken the risk. However, it can also be said that the league was unaware of how to deal with Mussolini or how he would react to the oil ban. Ultimately in this essay, I feel that the sources go very far in proving that the LoN was to blame for the Mussolini conquest. All but 3 of the sources agree with my conclusion and, despite there are even 3, they can all be counter-argued. Firstly, source C shows how ruthless Mussolini was. However, the League of Nations collectively was stronger than him and could deal with whatever he threw (it was more of the fact that they could not be bothered). As a matter of fact, Britain and France on their own could deal with the likes of Mussolini and so the argument for Italy's aggression now seems small. Secondly, source E talks about how the league was meant to deal with issues like unprovoked aggression. However, the fact that Samuel Hoare's character is questionable (after the Hoare-Laval pact) alongside him talking to the LoN (wants to say good things about it) makes me wonder whether this source actually counts. And thirdly, despite the League were unaware of how Mussolini was going to react to the ban, I feel that it should have taken the risk in doing so nevertheless as it had nothing to lose; it had already lost its reputation†¦