The Five People You Meet in Heaven: the Impact of Relationships

Personal Goal: Attempt to tie every idea, topic, and commentary back to the prompt and the thesis. Make sure no deviations from the current main ideas exist and all ideas are directly relevant to surrounding sentences. Personal Goal: Attempt to tie every idea, topic, and commentary back to the prompt and the thesis. Make sure no deviations from the current main ideas exist and all ideas are directly relevant to surrounding sentences. Clayton Little Ms. Davis English 2 22 February 2013 Independent Reading ProjectThe Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom follows a man’s journey through heaven after dying at the age of 83 in a horrific theme park accident. The novel proposes that when one dies, one meets with the five people that most influenced, affected, or defined one, before moving on. The story is told partly through Eddie’s interactions with his five people and also through vivid snapshots of his life, both of which allow the reader to see changes in his char acter and the development of his identity as he journeys through life.The changes in Eddie’s character before and after his death and the musings the author instills in the reader exemplify the theme that what defines an individual the most are the people around them and their relationships with them. The novel begins at the end, right before Eddie dies in the accident. It is here the reader gets the first view of Eddie as an old man, weary of the world: â€Å"His plans never worked out.In time, he found himself graying and wearing looser pants and in a state of weary acceptance, that this was who he was and who he always would be, a man with sand in his shoes in a world of mechanical laughter and grilled frankfurters† (Albom 5). This initial introduction to Eddie delivers the reader with a vivid description of his weariness and resignation. Throughout this same first chapter, the author also interjects small stories of Eddies past, no more than a paragraph each: †Å"Another story went around about Eddie. As a soldier, he had engaged in combat numerous times. He’d been brave.Even won a medal. But toward the end of his service, he got into a fight with one of his own men. That’s how Eddie was wounded. No one knew what happened to the other guy. No one asked† (Albom 8). These short glimpses into Eddie’s past interspersed throughout his last moments make the reader wonder what the meaning of these stories are. The way the author uses short, clipped sentences and the repetition of the phrase â€Å"No one† evokes a tone of mystery, arousing the reader’s curiosity in Eddie’s past. What was Eddie like in his childhood, his adolescence, his adulthood? What made him into what he is now?These unanswered questions pester the reader like flies and builds the framework for future revelations about Eddie’s character. The first of these changes seen in Eddie’s character is when Eddie first awakes in heaven, finding himself 75 years in the past, on Ruby Pier, the place that has always been a constant setting throughout his life. He is at the beginning. It is here that Eddie meets his first person in heaven, the Blue Man, who explains the intricacies of the journey Eddie must travel and how he will meet five people in heaven, â€Å"Each of us was in your life for a reason.You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on Earth† (Albom 35). Eddie learns that his relationship with the strange man he barely knows was Eddie’s unintentional act that led to the Blue Man’s death. The knowledge that it was his irresponsibility that caused the death of the man sitting in front of him fills him with guilt and sorrow that ultimately deeply affects his identity and character, as seen in the two quotes, â€Å"‘You see? the Blue Man whispered, having finished the story from his point of view. ‘Litt le Boy? ’ Eddie felt a shiver. ‘Oh no,’ he whispered† (Albom 44), and, â€Å"‘Please, Mister†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Eddie pleaded. ‘I didn’t know. Believe me†¦God help me, I didn’t know’† (Albom 47). The shock and guilt Eddie feels is profoundly felt by the reader, through words with foreboding connotations like â€Å"whispered† and â€Å"shiver† and by the ellipses and commas between phrases, showing pauses in his speech as he attempts to absorb the impact of the new knowledge.The revelation that he had a hand in murdering another person strongly affects Eddie’s character, making him more paranoid and confrontational, as everything he knew about his life crumbles into a much less desirable image, a trait he holds for the rest of the book. The gruesome relationship between Eddie and his unintended victim affects Eddie’s behavior and attitude in a way that no setting, environment, or event ever could: â€Å"Eddie stepped back. He squared his body as if bracing for a fight†¦Eddie was skeptical. His fists stayed clenched† (Albom 47).The transformation from a weary old man too tired to care about much but the weather to a confrontational man willing to fight for the life he had once known is radical and sudden, and brought about merely through what many would consider a fleeting acquaintance with a man he barely knew. Yet, this apparently minor relationship had a major effect, clearly exemplifying the huge power of a relationship with another individual. The people Eddie meets in heaven do not all affect his character after death, such as the Blue Man, but rather let him and the reader reflect on Eddie’s fluctuating identity in the past.One of these such people was his father: â€Å"The damage done by Eddie’s father was, at the beginning, the damage of neglect† (Albom 104). Eddie was often neglected and abused physically as well as emotionall y by his father. This resulted in him always thirsting for approval or affection, two things he would only ever receive in small, taunting tastes from his father: â€Å"And on occasion, as if to feed the weakest embers of a fire, Eddie’s father let a wrinkle of pride crack the veneer of his disinterest† (Albom 106).This virtual torture of Eddie’s emotions as a child and for the rest of his life would forever scar him and breed a habit of coldness between Eddie and his father. The impact on Eddie’s character cut deep. The abusive relationship between him and his father made him into a man that was always searching for his place in the world, always feeling inadequate. Eddie was never content with his lot in life, not with his wife, job, or family: â€Å"He cursed his father for dying and trapping him in the very life he’d been trying to escape† (Albom 128).Of everything that defined Eddie, the relationship with his father was the most influen tial, a relationship that stemmed from less than opportune circumstances, yet yielded what is perhaps the core of Eddie’s character. After reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven, it becomes obvious to the reader that changes in an individual are direct results of relationships and connections between individuals. Many things can grow to define a person’s self: war, hunger, death, time.Yet none of these can compare with the soft words of a parent or the pleading of an enemy soldier on the battlefield or the trust held between friends. One realizes, as Eddie did, that every individual is just a strand in a web, a drop in a pool of water, and when one strand is plucked or the surface disturbed, the ripple is felt by those closest. Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. New York: Hyperion, 2003. Print.

Gender Project

Today more than ever, toys are incredibly gendered, and send highly gendered messages to the children who play with them about what an ideal male or female looks like, acts like, and how he or she lives their life. This project aims to look at the ways in which toys are so gendered (based on one trip to a Toys R us store in Greensboro, North Carolina) and to describe the gendering of toys through three sociological perspectives.Section One- Observations In this particular Toys R us, Items were displayed In segregated zones; meaning that there were very clear areas that were for girls' toys and separate, very clear areas that were for boys toys. From far away, these sections could be easily distinguished from one another by the headings above each of the aisles that held the toys. On the left side of the store, the signs hanging above the aisles read- Star Wars, Action Figures, and Sports, respectively. On the right side of the store the aisles were marked- Dolls, Dolls, and Pretend P lay.Clearly the toys on the right side of the store were meant for girls, and the left side toys were meant for boys. The segregated zones were also easily distinguishable at a glance by the packaging and presentation f the toys on their shelves. Boys toys were packaged In more stereotypical â€Å"masculine† colors- red, blue, grey, and black. Further, all the boxes containing boys' toys portrayed some sort of motion or action on the boxes. The action portrayed was almost always violent In one way or another; a tank moving, a fist or bullet flying through the air, etc.Girls' toys, by contrast, were packaged completely differently. The boxes for girls' toys were pink. Purple, covered in glitter and sparkles, and almost all had light, feminine language on them- words like â€Å"magical†, â€Å"sparkly', and â€Å"princess†, o name a few. Toys R us' selection of Nerd- brand toys are an excellent example of how using different packaging and presentation for essenti ally the same item can be heavily gendered. Being a toy whose concept is rooted in violence, Nerd toys are typically for boys. However, Nerd recently released a line of toy weapons for girls called Rebelled.All the Rebelled toys are pink or purple with flowers and glitter on them to make them appear more feminine', and they also have very girl names, such as ‘Heartbreak Bow', ‘Diamonds', ‘Dart Diva', ‘Femme Fire', ‘Angel Aim', ‘Pink Crush', etc. Even If two Nerd guns of the same make and model were presented side-by side, no shopper would have any trouble knowing which one was being marketed to girls and which to boys. This loaded difference in packaging and presentation was also present everything in the store, whether it could carry a perceived gender role or not, was gendered.Instruments, pens and pencils, notebooks, walked-talkies, playing balls, and several other kinds of toys were packaged in ways in which two items that were essentially the same would be obviously be marketed to one gender or another. Toys hat recreate stereotypical home life are essentially having children play out their societal predetermined future roles. This is seen specifically in the ‘pretend play genre of toys. These are model replicas of the realms that children ‘should' grow up to occupy.What this means for girls is child-size kitchens and child-size cleaning toys, and baby-dolls. Girls grow up learning through these toys that their place in society is in house and home, cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. The boy versions of these toys are child-size model grills, toolkits, and car-building toys. The brands Home Depot and John Deere both have lines of toys for boys, depicting specifically male things for them to do. Many girl toys also demonstrate that a girl should be heavily focused on keeping herself beautiful.There are a huge amount of toys dedicated to teaching girls how to do the hair, nails, and makeup on their do lls, and most of the dolls marketed to girls all are sold with makeup painted onto their faces. Going even further, the toys also include makeup for the girl to use on herself, teaching girls at an early age that wearing makeup is preferable for women in this society, and generally necessary for them to be considered beautiful. Additionally, dolls marketed to girls all wear makeup and have the societal accepted standard of ‘beauty.Their bodies are skinny, tall, big-breasted, and completely disconnected with what any real human woman's actual body might look like. They give girls an image to look up to that they will never attain. Boys also face unrealistic representations of the human physique in their toys. Action figures marketed to them all have huge muscles, square Jaws, and other features that conform to the societal idea of the deal male body. Toy companies go even further than giving girls unrealistic body expectations in terms of not working to connect their toys to re ality.They girls' toys section had absolutely no toys that were designed to be replicas of real people from the real world. Girls had no role models foam reality represented in toys. Boys' toys, on the other hand, had several role models represented in their action figures. These men were almost entirely athletes; baseball or basketball players, wrestlers or MASCARA drivers (another male-dominated field). These toys teach boys to idealize throng, wealthy, masculine, sometimes violent men, without giving them any more realistic images to aspire to.Section Two- Perspectives Looking at the issue of highly gendered toys through various sociological lenses can provide us with several insights on why the toys children play with carry such thinly veiled and heavily stereotyped messages. Through a Symbolic Internationalist lens, toys themselves are symbols used to convey meaning. This paradigm focuses on the role of symbols in colonization and social interaction, and argues that society is formed when groups of people all give the same meaning to the same symbols and Greer on how these symbols play into their colonization.Using this paradigm, toys can be regarded as symbols in that in many cases they are child versions of adult things, meaning the toy replicas of kitchens, babies, tools, cars, grills, etc. They symbolize the appropriate material symbols in the life that the child will grow in to. Stages of their development, is directing them to live and act in a certain way that society considers ideal. Structural Functionalism dictates that society is a functionally integrated, problem- solving entity.Through this lens, the subject of gendered colonization through toys loud be seen as a developed response to a certain problem. Hypothetically, using toys to teach children how they ought to behave could be a carefully constructed response on behalf of toy manufacturers to the problem of children not being socialized ‘properly. If children were not being socializ ed to behave in their predetermined manners, this ‘deviance' could pose a threat to traditional gender roles in the United States and to keeping things functioning the way they ‘should'.The function of the gendered toys could be to keep society working ‘properly in whatever way they could. One last way of looking at the gendering of toys is through a Social Conflict perspective. This perspective conceives the emergence and persistence of social institutions and practices as the consequence of the exercise of power and explains their transformation as the result of conflict between different groups contending for power. In terms of toys and their messages, the two groups contending for power are less groups than they are ideas.One idea would be that people and the gender roles they should occupy should remain the same as they've been for generations, with omen occupying domestic spheres of society and men occupying public ones. The idea that battles this one would b e a more modern idea that men and women can and should hold the same positions in society. The fact that toys are generally more in line with the former idea shows that that is the side of the battle that is currently Winning, making it the societal norm, at least in the realm of children's toys.Toys are a constant in the development of children and thus play a large role in their colonization. While some toys teach children positive messages about caring for ACH other, sharing, and other healthy traits, the majority of the child-play market is saturated with heavily gendered and extremely antiquated messages about children's bodies and looks, traits, roles, behavior, and almost all aspects of their lives.The result of this is generation after generation of children who subconsciously take in false information about what it means to be a boy or a girl, a man or a woman. Social behavior is learned at a young age, and to teach children these outdated gender roles is to freeze our soci ety in an era gone by when we should be advancing toward a more equal world instead.

Cervical Cancer (HPV Induced) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cervical Cancer (HPV Induced) - Research Paper Example Various types of cancers exist, depending on where cancerous tumors develop at. However, detection of all types of cancers is done though presence of visible signs and symptoms, medical imaging, and screening tests. Cervical cancer, for instance, is among the common type of cancer in women (Smith et al., 2012). Several cancer centers are currently researching on effective control measures, easy diagnostic procedures, and suitable management procedures for cervical cancer. This paper explores some aspects of cervical cancer. General Overview of Cervical Cancer Cervix is the lower portion of a woman’s uterus. Cervix connects the uterus with the vagina. Cervical cancer occurs when there is abnormal growth in the cervix cells and/or invasion by other tissues or organs. Like other cancers, cervical cancer is curable if detected and immediate and appropriate treatment is administered. As a key feature, cervical cancers slowly progress from a normal cervical tissue to cancerous tissu e changes. This slow progression is utilized by gynecologists, who detect the disease and give treatment at an early stage. Even though this early detection and administration of proper treatment has significantly lowered down prevalence of cervical cancer, a considerable portion of women still die of the disease every year. According to Smith et al. (2012), gynecologists are still challenged by invasive nature of the disease. As defined by Gadducci et al (2011), an invasive cancer means that the disease affects deeper cervix tissues and spread to other body parts. This kind of spread is defined by Walboomers et al. (1999) as metastasis. Causes of Cervical Cancer Several types of cervical cancers are caused by infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). Different strains of HPV exist and each strain has different effect in the body. Apart from causing precancerous growths in the cervix, HPV also causes various types of skin warts and other abnormal body surface and skin disorders. Be ing a cause of genital warts, HPV makes sexual contact a window through which cervical cancer is transmitted. The risk of infection is higher for women with multiple sex partners. At initial stages, HPV causes cervical lesions which slowly progress to cancer. Walboomers et al. (1999), however, observes that HPV infections, in some cases, do not lead to cancer. According to Walboomers et al. (1999), HPV causes cervical cancer if an individual is persistently infected with a particular type of HPV. Based on the claim, HPVs are classified according to cancer risks associated with each type. Three types of HPVs, thus, exist, which are high-risk, moderately-risk, and low-risk. Infection by high-risk HPVs, therefore, causes immediately cancerous tumors in epithelial cells of cervix. Cigarette smoking is another risk factor for occurrence of cervical cancer. Chemicals in a cigarette react with cervical cells causing precancerous modifications on the cells. These changes slowly progresses t o cancer. Oral contraceptives, especially pills, increase chances of development of cancer of the cervix. The risk is pronounced in women who use pills for a long period. Just like the effect of tobacco, oral contraceptives react with cervical cells forming precancerous tumors. Other risk factors include: stress and stress-related disorders, multiple pregnancies, Chlamydia infection, dietary factors, family history, and weak immunity. Signs and Symptoms Sign and symptoms

First Contact with America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

First Contact with America - Essay Example It is not hard to imagine that European influence was evident on all settlers and continued on for a substantial period of time. The settlers were mostly British and they brought with them their British lifestyle, culture, trends, and traditions. Europe at this time was in its prime as the cultural center of the World with poets, musicians, writers, artists and theater whereas the settlers lacked this substantially. The main reason for this was not the lack of talent but a preoccupation with settling into a new land and making it home. Another region that the colonists could not avoid was America itself with its native population of â€Å"red Indians† as they came to be known. The fact that these natives were called â€Å"Red Indians† shows the British Influence on the settlers who had trade ties with the Indian Sub-continent. The early settlers learned a lot from these natives who were well aware of their local land including sources of food, cultivation, weather trends and much more. The colonist had much to learn from these natives even though the natives lived a life of which by most standards of that time could be referred to as a savage living. Native people were also familiar with Europeans as the French had traded fur with the natives throughout the 16th century. The settlers gave these natives the deadly gift of smallpox. Around 1615, smallpox or yellow fever (for which the Native population had no immunity) swept the coast. Many of the people who lived between Penobscot Bay to the east side of Narragansett Bay died.

Self steem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Self steem - Essay Example Lauren Slater in her article The Trouble with Self-Esteem tries to make a reply with examination of various scientists’ controversial views. It is relevant to say that there is no common and sole opinion concerning the correlation between self-esteem and felonies. Due to David Long in most cases terrorists and bandits keep a feeling of great dissatisfaction deep inside. Therefore, when culprits break a law, they attempt to compensate own worthlessness with a help of â€Å"significant† actions, so â€Å"the less confidence you have, the worse you do† (qtd. in Slater 44). In contrast to that point of view, Nicholas Emler believes that â€Å"there is absolutely no evidence that low self-esteem is particularly harmful† (qtd. in Slater 44). Moreover, there is an assumption that people with low self-esteem do much better in life and achieve more than people with high self-esteem. On the one part it really makes sense. A person with low self-esteem will always tr y harder, because of his own farfetched inability and weakness to do something properly. And person with high self-esteem will be more passive, falsely believing that everything is possible and achievable for him. But on the other hand these examples may be scrutinized differently.

Applied science Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Applied science Report - Research Paper Example While clinical science includes a scientific component, it also includes aspects of care such as communication and knowledge, acquired through interaction in the health care environment. Clinical science is distinguished from medical practice, in that it includes experiences and knowledge gained through interaction, as well as relevant data surrounding clinical issues. Daniels & Powell (2006) define clinical science as â€Å"the contributions of scientific disciplines to health promotion and the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease through the development, communication and application of new knowledge.† The definition does not suggest, however, the existing knowledge and experiences are cast aside, in preference of more current findings. It implies that existing knowledge, experience and data can be used to further advance or develop new methods of inquiry and new approaches for the clinical setting. Two topics of interest in clinical science today are those of exer cise and sports psychology. Exercise is an increasingly important topic, as more Americans face health issues, due to sedentary lifestyles. Benefits of regular exercise are linked to longevity and holistic wellbeing of a person. Sports psychology is an important topic, as it provides insight into how top athletes develop and how they are able to become the best and fiercest competitors. This report will investigate how a physical activity program and visualization techniques can be coupled, to improve overall fitness. â€Å"Numerous athletes are turning towards mental imagery to take their game to the next level† (Plessinger, 2011). Understanding how athletes use imagery can help those who adopt a regular exercise program achieve the results they desire. Research Method The method of research used for this report is inquiry into current literature on both the benefits of regular exercise and the benefits of visualization in exercise. Data collected from literature includes sc ientific journals on exercise and sports performance, with the inclusion of reports available on the internet, which focus on health benefits of exercise and the benefits of visualization in sports. Key words used to find relevant literature include visualization in sports, benefits of regular exercise, mental imagery in sports, science in exercise and use of mental imagery in competition. The databases used for journal articles are Academic Search Premier, for articles in Journal of Sports Behavior and Ebscohost, for Journal of Physiological Anthropology. Ebscohost is also used for the Book by Carol W. Kraak and Vivica I. Articles pertaining to sports performance were also obtained directly from the Vanderbilt University, Psychology Department website and from the University of Minnesota, Department of Medicine site. Findings Physical Exercise With realization on benefits of regular exercise comes the pressure of incorporating exercise program into already over-crowded and busy dai ly routines. This means that maximal benefits are sought under the shortest span possible, predisposing one to risk of injury and chronic fatigue. Therefore, there is need to formulate a proper working out program. It is of great importance that before commencing an exercise program, one should consult with a clinical physician or a qualified sports physician. This takes

Considering the demands and contemporary requirements of your Essay

Considering the demands and contemporary requirements of your vocational or professional practice, critically examine how these - Essay Example One feature of vocational training and education is that it has a career-oriented focus, often done by people preparing for specific careers and on graduating, vocational learners begins to work in these high-demand jobs immediately (Doak, 2012). The other feature of vocational education is that it is offered by highly skilled experts in the concerned disciplines and involves a lot of practical work in the laboratories, workshops or work studios. Thus less time is spent in classrooms contrary to the case in other types of learning institutions. There are several requirements for one to undertake vocational training. These include high school diploma or equivalents. Although it is not essential, applicants are required to go for areas they have expertise in since these programs. It is not essential since learners are often taught all they need to know to work in a given field. Thus, even applicants without prior skills and experience are transformed into competent and skilled workers. Vocational education and practice has become a rather important concept in recent times given its view as an alternative to university education and its being less expensive compared to other college and university educational programs such as degree. ... Therefore, it is apparent that not all undertaking vocational programmes are high school graduates seeking to enter the workforce for the first time. Many people in vocational programs are older workers interested in new careers and thus require retraining. The main reason people seek vocational education is the need to balance different skills for improved productivity and social order. For instance, while mechanics and plumbers are necessary for social order, beauticians, dental hygienists, and medical aides are useful for quality of life. There are numerous demands and requirement-related challenges encountered in vocational practice that affect different kinds of workers and high school graduates (Wolf, 2002). This paper explores the current and future requirements and demands for the older worker regarding vocational practice. Vocational Requirements/Demands for Older Workers Lifelong learning for older workers continues to attract the attention of stakeholders such as employers , the government and the older workers. For them to remain competent and not be rendered redundant, older workers have to acquire the latest skills and proficiency required for their jobs, which may have changed over the time they have been employed. Without the necessary vocational training and practices being imparted into this category of workers, employers would be forced to retire or retrench them and employ new, younger and more skilled labourers. The effects of demographic changes in the nature and the structure of the workforces has thus created a lot of vocational education and training concerns for employers such as the government and those in the private sector (Lauglo & Rupert, 2005). Consequent to

Crowd safety by design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Crowd safety by design - Essay Example This will make the people in the concert to be in good safety. There will also be the management structure which will provide all the details needed for the planning of the design. This will organize on how the three sides of the concerts will be designed and the front hall be organized. When everything is well analyzed and planned, implementation of the crowd and safety will be given the first priority. This is a stage that will be very critical and it will be well analyzed by the team which will be in control. Under the implementation, there will be numerous proposals that will be forwarded to the crowd and safety team of the concert giving them the chance for them to choose from the best plans. There will be an understanding between all the parties when creating a design model of the concert. The roles and responsibilities of all the members involved in the process will be well analyzed and noted. This will lead to the creation of the statement of intent (SOI). The crowd manager is not supposed to control everything in the project and he should not be responsible of every responsibility because there are other seat levels that are responsible. SOI will be responsible for allocating responsibilities to the right levels in the management of the crowd and safety creation. It will assign a leader the only required responsibilities and omit the unrequited ones. In the design of the crowd management, there will be specific references and legislation that will be required giving a systemic implementation that will be very legal. Functions will be drawn that will be very important in the design where there will a thorough control over the stages and each of them with contribute to the creation of strategic, tactical and operational design processes of the concert seats which will be successful in the design. All the commands and control functions will be well

Singapore Airlines External Factor Analysis Essay

Singapore Airlines External Factor Analysis - Essay Example Singapore Airlines, initially the Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, started operations as an independent airlines company in 1972. The company has gained a strong position in the airline industry and the route network now has expanded to over 90 destinations in more than 40 countries. The company has been able to achieve competitive advantage through product and experience based differentiation as it pioneered the concept of entertainment and innovation in flight. It was the first airline to introduce hot meals, alcoholic and non alcoholic drinks, fragranced towels, and video on demand for the cabin crew members. The crew members are youngest in any airline industry in South Asia and they use the â€Å"Singapore Girl† as the symbolic representation of the company’s commitment to quality excellence and service delivery (Singapore Tourism Report, 2011). Further, the airline keeps the youngest fleet of aircrafts in order to minimize its fuel costs and has an impressive business model which is responsible for its astounding success. It has an efficient financial infrastructure developed and incorporates innovation and strategic management to adapt to the rapidly changing external environment of the industry. As it is the national airline, it is present in the markets of South Asia, East Asia, Europe and America. Therefore, Singapore Airline operates in a highly competitive market thus external environment is of particular importance to its strategic management and leadership. The External environment has an important impact on the airline industries in Asia especially after the augmentation of terrorism across the world. With the changing external trends globally Singapore Airlines is faced by many micro and macroeconomic pressures, socio-cultural changes, political and legal factors and also the technological pressures to constantly innovate. Below is an analysis of the four external factors affecting Singapore Airlines. Political This refers to the political set up and government intervention in the business sector. The government usually discourages private monopolies and hence would encourage competition. This means Singapore Airlines has to watch for political barriers in host countries for example it withdrew the stake in Air India because of the privatization programme of Indian government (BBC News, 2001). The government’s lobbying activities or policies regarding privatization, protection of domestic industry, contracts or subsidies can al l affect the international firms like Singapore Airlines. In politically unstable countries like India and Pakistan, the Airlines will be subject to much uncertainity in operations and will have to incur additional security costs. Even in Singapore, it does not receive any government subsidies despite the fact that it is a national airline (John, 2010) Social Factors Social factors pertain to the societal changes in tastes, preferences and consumption patterns of the consumers. A change in income levels of the society means more people can afford to travel by air rather than by rail or car hence, there can be an increase in the sales of Singapore Airlines domestic and international flights (Hill, 2008). Moreover, changes in social habits like increased preference of entertainment on flights poses a greater pressure on Singapore Airlines to provide such features to the travellers. The crash of Singapore Airline flight SQ006, at the Chiang Kai Shek International Airport in Taipei, mea nt that the company had to compensate the agitated families of victims with a total amount of $400,000 (BBC News, 2001). Moreover, the increased trend of online shopping also requires Singapore Airlines to regularly update its website and offer online selling and booking of airline tickets in Asia. The increase in terrorist activities however, has a

Stat project Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Stat - Statistics Project Example it the economic performance of the country. The contribution of different industry sectors of the country when combined together then creates the cumulative production level or the productivity of the economy. The gross productivity of all the sectors of the country by the residents of the country is referred to as the gross domestic product. The gross domestic product is represented in terms of absolute values or numbers, which may create difficulty in evaluating the performance of the country. Therefore, other mathematical as well as statistical methods can be used for the purpose of analysis. The most common indicator of the performance of the country is the GDP growth rate per year. The growth rate can be calculated using the periodic change in the production level of the economy in terms of percentage change. The purpose of the paper is to evaluate the performance of the economy of Saudi Arabia in terms of its GDP growth rate along with the impacts of exports and Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) on GDP growth rates. The GDP of Saudi Arabia is assumed to be one of the most important economies for the Muslim World, as well as, for the western world because it is oil based economy. The influence of the Govt is significant with respect to controlling major economic activities. Saudi Arabia contributes around 18 to 20% of the world petroleum reserves. It is assumed to be one of the largest exporters of petroleum. Therefore, the study of the economy, as well as, the interests of the investors towards such a profitable economy seems interesting. Moreover, another reason for the selection of the topic is the study of relationship of foreign direct investment, exports and GDP together. Therefore, the whole study is based on the literature review on the economy of Saudi Arabia and the statistical analysis using the regression model to evaluate the impacts of Foreign Direct Investment and Exports on GDP. There are different

Tudors Paper Essay Example for Free

Tudors Paper Essay The English history would not be as it was colorful and interesting today had it not been for the two of the most important icons in the History of United Kingdom: King Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Their personal life and their political strategies not to mention their contributions to English history is one of the most unparalleled in any time. The royal life had been transmuted to the world of political maneuvers, religious conflict and personal decisions. Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, were not just members of the same Tudor royal clan, more importantly both of them had shaped modern England today. Two leading biographers and historians Garrett Mattingly and Lacey Baldwin Smith, recalled the lives of two monarchs and wrote a biography, in a convention peculiar to their tastes. Other English royal biographers might have treated their works different from the styles of the two, but surely, Mattingly and Baldwin elevated the taste of biographical writing in another playing field. Henry VIII was born on June 28, 1491 from the Tudor family. Elizabeth I, his daughter was born September 7, 1533. Coming from the family of nobility of Welsch, the Tudors reunited the whole of England during their reign. However, their family’s contribution was overshadowed by scandal and impunity. Mackie and Clarendo(1990, p. 190), clearly view the Tudors as the royal family, headed by their predecessors were diplomats of their first rate. They have settled diplomatic relationship with their former enemies and made long lasting truce of peace. The evidence of which is the end of â€Å"War of the Roses†.    This view was kinder tone as a description of the House of Tudors. Historically speaking, during their reign, England made several important decisions for herself but actually personal preferences of her king. Yet, undeniably, the reign of the Tudors was full of their inclinations toward their interests that had strong impact to the national life, religion, system of politics and governance of the entire country. Tudors were not entirely viewed by Mackie, Mattingly, Smith and Garvin. All of them, while had distastes with the rule of each Tudor monarch, none of them actually condemned any sovereign. While Smith has strong words used to chronicle the life of Tudors, most especially King Henry, he left in his spaces room to be defended.   In his book, â€Å"Henry VIII† he said: â€Å"For a king, do like a king; and when Henry learned that James V of Scotland besmirched the role of clean-fingered royalty with the filthy profits of sheep-raising, he warned that such actions cannot stand well with the honour of his estate, and that they would surely cause his subjects to mutter and mutiny. Henry instinctively knew that princes could survive the hatred of their subjects but never their scorn (1971, p. 43). Baldwin never saw Tudors, especially Henry the acclaim accorded to him by other historian-biographers. Henry VIII is the son of Henry VII, the latter being the first monarch in the House of Tudors. It was said that, Henry VIII lived a secluded life in the royal courthouses of the Tudors. He lived outside the confidence of his father’s privies and counselors. His growth as a monarch was characterized by his distinct personal convictions at the expense of his institutions. For instance, the divorce to Catherine of Aragon and the subsequent marriage to Ann Boleyn were the real reasons behind his defection to the Roman Pontiff’s authority. He asserted his royal right in his country and severed the Catholic Churches in England, outside the rule of the Papacy. But this is more personal than a stately decision. The refusal of the Pope to recognize his marital actions, lead him to justify himself and legalize his marital union to Ann Boleyn. However, this decision had made a positive impact to the religious life of the English. Since, the Church of England is under no authority except the king   the Church of England was more open and flexible with in terms of changes and reformation the country has faced. Gavin (1935) had a subtle view, for her the plans of Henry VIII are more nationalistic impression than self-serving act. Gavin relates (p.25) that England is not yet prepared for a woman ruler. Henry VIII has to secure the throne for a male monarch who shall embody the entire nation. For Gavin, unlike Baldwin’s view, her stand on certain royal issues during the late medieval period was more defensive. Unlike Baldwin who used strong indicators of Henry VIII’s mistakes, but were only forborne by the results of his actions, Gavin and Smith had more defensive stance on King Henry’s action. To prove this point, Gavin made this chronicle: Catherine of Aragon, whom he had not chosen himself, failed him: one miscarriage or still-born child succeeded another, and in 1514, after five years of parental misfortune Henryor Wolseypetitioned Leo X to annul the marriage with his brothers wife which another pope had sanctioned, doubting the validity of his own dispensation. Then in 1516 came Mary, who was welcomed, not for her own sake, but as an earnest of the son to follow. No woman had yet reigned in England, and Henry VII had secured the throne, not only by ending a civil war, but by excluding from the throne his mother, from whom he derived whatever hereditary right he possessed. The expected heir never followed Mary, and by 1527 it was certain that Henry VIII would have no legitimate son so long as Catherine remained his wife. He ceased to cohabit, though not to live, with her from that date, and fell a victim to the one grand passion of his life. (p. 25 [italics and undersco re ours]). Note that, Gavin in this excerpt utilized the apologetic language she can use to defend the Tudor Monarch from criticisms. She openly defended the choice of Henry to secure a male heir, because no queen has lead England as sole sovereign. All of the previous queens were just consorts. The subtlety of Gavin as compared to being straightforward of Smith and Smith is evident in her last phrase, ‘victim to the one grand passion of his life’. This statement is but a magnification of her romantic conveyance of an act to justify the king’s directions to justify her marriage and to give religious validity to his separation to the Pope. On another light, Mattingly (1963) had picturesquely described the Tudors, so stately and assertively. Unlike Smith who openly gave emphatic characterization to the Tudors and King Henry, Mattingly gave the scenario with the comments unconsciously buried in the deep of his biography. For her implied diction, she described Elizabeth I, the Tudor, a wise-lady. In the work of Mattingly, Elizabeth I is a strategist than a military chief, a restorer of culture than procter of the land, a compromiser to advance her interest for England mutually than to lead a nation in war. Mattingly had this for a statement:   Elizabeth preferred to have the Spanish bear the burden. To the end, until Spanish guns were heard in the Channel, the English negotiators at Bourbourg were arguing desperately for the solution which seemed to the Queen no more than elementary common sense. Let the King offer his subjects a general amnesty, restore the ancient liberties of the Seventeen Provinces as they had been at the beginning of his fathers reign, and withdraw his troops except for garrisons in the frontier cities. In exchange, the rebellious provinces would return to their allegiance to their legitimate sovereign and declare the Roman Catholic faith the only established religion. Nothing need be said about the toleration of heretic sects (p. 7).   In her words, Elizabeth I,   was still female, she cannot lead a nation to war. But that took her to an advantage. She (Elizabeth) strategize her connections and empowered her military fortresses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The defeat of the Spanish Armada, shocked the entire European kingdoms, the female virgin queen, who had no king consort had defeated the vast naval strength of the Spanish crown, Mattingly described it as Elizabeth’s opportunity to lead the entire England under her own spell, than to be subdued by a foreign king. The efforts and the achievement of Elizabeth I was seen by Mattingly, impliedly as usual courses in the history of her reign. Mattingly gave the comment that, though much celebrated, the defeat of the Spanish Armada should not be seen so heavily as Elizabeth’s legacy. For Mattingly, the defeat of the Spanish people had little or no greater impact to England’s solidarity as a people. Noticeably, unlike Smith or Gavin, Mattingly sees the perspective of common notions of other historians in a different, yet solid view. Note that in the last sentence of this statement, she was convincingly of the belief that Elizabeth’s actions, specifically the defeat of the Spanish Armada, in many ways futile. Mattingly said: It is probable, too, that the victory gave a lift to English morale. It may be that a good many Englishmen, like a good many other Europeans, though not like Elizabeths sea dogs, had doubted that the Spanish could ever be beaten. Now they knew that they could. The thoughtful and the well-informed understood, however, that England had not won a war, only the first battle in a war in which there might be many more battles. England was braced for the struggle. But to say that the defeat of the Spanish Armada led to a sudden outburst of buoyant, self confident patriotism is to read the interpretation of later centuries back into the past. One would search the records of the next two or three years in vain for any specific evidence in support of such a view (p.23)  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, it becomes clear that the leaning of Smith was somewhat skeptical if not negative in his narration to the achievement of the Tudors. More so, Smith’s view on King Henry’s creation of the Church of England was seen more personal than nationalistic. Gavin has taken a lighter view, for her, the Tudors and the reign of Henry VIII, needs no less than understanding. These choices made by the King while personal were to secure the succession of the throne and the safety of the English throne. She (Gavin) has taken a more benign stance. On the other hand, Mattingly gave Elizabeth the treatment she portrays. As a woman, she may not have the power to lead the army with dauntless acts but surely she will stage a strategic plan to advance her kingdom’s interests. Mattingly, may not openly be a feminist advocate but her treatment was also fair, yet opposed to the main projection of Elizabeth I, as the pomp, untouchable queen. The latter view of Mattingly is so laid-back compared to Carole Levin’s   (1994) biographical notes on Elizabeth I. She (Levin) openly justified and even sees the reign of Elizabeth, as power struggle of sexes. For Levin the succession of Elizabeth I in the throne is but a clear, manifestation (perhaps the earliest) of the women’s role. During Elizabeth I time, women were subservient to their husbands, but Elizabeth not only transcended her personal tragedies but also penetrated through the norms of domestic views on women to a global and effective female leadership. Thus, her view is to support active gender roles, equality and sex issues. Her concern has a direct leaning, feminist point of view. Levin has this for a chronicle:   Ã‚  A central concern is how gender construction, role expectations, and beliefs about sexuality influenced both Elizabeth’s self-presentation and others perception of her. A crucial question this study examines is how such issues affected the methods of power used by a woman ruler as opposed to the traditional king. The way people regarded a queen and her use of power will also be valuable in answering more general questions about attitudes toward women during the English Renaissance (Levine, p.3).   Ã‚  Ã‚  The sensitivity of Levin to social constructs leads her to be the most gender sensitive of all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, the epitaphs of these biographers will surely vary. For instance, Smith will describe Henry VIII, as â€Å"The Ruler, whose hands are not tied with anyone†. For his views truly reflect the strong will of King Henry to assert his own beliefs. Mattingly may use the lines â€Å"Here lieth a queen, who reign without fear† as Elizabeth I, epitapth. This is only apt for a queen who defied norms and social expectations. Perhaps it will be the same as Levin’s, â€Å"A Queen who outlived, outwit any Kings on earth†, she would strongly assert it for the same reasons. And lastly, Gavin, who is the most laid back of all of the biographers would name, King Henry’s tomb, engraved in gold, which reads: â€Å"A King who died, and believed his own mind and lived by it†¦Ã¢â‚¬    Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The history, intricacies, scandals of the English monarchy might be totally different from their counterparts in Asia or Middle East. Yet their weaknesses and their personal legends bespeaks of one thing: No person in this earth has walked so glorious to ascribe them the power that belongs to God’s.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   SOURCES Smith, Baldwin L. (1971).   This Realm of England. New York: Houghton-Mifflin Co, Vol. II Levin, Carole. (1994). The Heart and Stomach of a King: Elizabeth I and the Politics of Sex and Power. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press Mattingly, Garret, (1963). The Armada . USA: Cornell University Press Garvin, Katherine. (1935). The Great Tudors. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press

Verbal And Nonverbal Communication

Verbal And Nonverbal Communication When we pursue to convey our thoughts to another person, we use three different modes, methods, or channels to transmit our intentions. These modes are important to let people know who we are, how we view and experience the world, and how we describe our experiences. This communication is done verbally and non-verbally, and sometimes with varied signals or noise. When two people, A and B, are trying to communicate with each other, their communication somehow becomes distorted or altered. This could be due to an assortment of things such personalities, attitudes, values, belief systems, biases, assumptions, experience, background, and so on. We put in our own thoughts to what we hear, we disregard or overlook what we hear, and we alter messages according to the modes that are used to convey messages. As a society, we say a lot to each other about who we are and how we portray each other and the rest of the world through symbolic ways. The symbolic communication mode is basically unreceptive, and messages transmitted in this way are very effortlessly misunderstood. There are a variety of symbols that we use as a form of communication (Hybels Weaver, 2007). First, our selection of clothes can enlighten an enormous amount about who we are, what our values are, what our status is, how traditional or open-minded we are. We link differences in occupational categories with different uniforms. An example would be the banker wearing a suit or the farmer wearing overalls, and so on (Blatner, 1985). The second set of symbols is hair, which for some people can have a lot of meaning. This type of communication is shown through the type of hairdo, length and color of hair, and the existence or nonexistence of facial hair. They can say a great deal about who we are. Nonetheless, these signals are often extremely vague (Blatner, 1985). A third symbolic type of communication is jewelry. Married people regularly wear wedding rings, some people do not wear a watch, and some people wear exceedingly expensive jewelry, and so on. These are inert messages that are given out constantly to other people. Such things as wearing a flag pin on the collar, a red ribbon, an earring in one ear or in the nose say loads of things to other people (Blatner, 1985). A fourth type of symbolic statement to other people is cosmetics a.k.a makeup. We connect meanings with the different ways women apply makeup to their bodies. Prostitutes have been known to wear heavier makeup than other women. Even a man who uses cosmetics is giving out a lot of symbolic message about the meaning that his world has for him (Blatner, 1985). What a person drives or their choice of vehicles is the fifth symbolic mode. There are different sets of messages between a business executive who drives a sports car to his colleague who drives a luxury sedan or an ordinary family car. The sixth symbolic mode is the selection and locality of our houses. Social status is openly associated with the kind of home one lives in and its location (Blatner, 1985). The seventh and final form of symbolic communication is the layout of our living or working spaces. An example of this would be how an interview would be laid out. In one instance, the interviewer and interviewee have a desk in between them. The next instance would place the two sitting face to face with nothing in between them. Both of these give out a primarily different set of messages (Blatner, 1985). During communication, people are continuously giving out signals. These signals entail the meaning that we want others to understand using the symbols that we opt to enclose ourselves and devote ourselves with. These symbols are basically passive, but are a genuine part of our communication. In all aspects of life, talking, not talking, even sleeping, we send out passive symbolic signals (Blatner, 1985). The technical term for nonverbal communication is called kinesis. This type of communication or body language is typically involuntary, and the nonverbal signals are expressed through behavior as well as verbally and also have symbolic meaning. There are many diverse forms of body language. The first one is ambulation. We relate different meanings to different ways people carry their bodies from one place to another. The way a person carries their body, whether they glide, stride, stomp, etc. says a lot about who they are and how they experience their surroundings (Fast, 1971). One of the most dominant forms of nonverbal communication is touching (Jones, 1994). Due to it being the largest organ in the body, the skin can receive a variety of stimuli. From a simple touch, we can communicate such feelings as anger, interest, trust, tenderness, warmth, and many other emotions. People are different in their keenness to touch and be touched. Several people give away nonverbal body signals that state that they do not want to be touched, and there are other people who describe themselves and are described by others as touchy feely. There are many taboos related to this form of communication. A person can realize a lot about their own personalities and self concepts studying their reactions to touching and being touched. A next type of nonverbal communication is eye contact. As humans, we are inclined to size each other up and determine their trustworthiness through reactions to each others eye contact. Consider the last time you were driving down the road and passed a hitch-hiker. The chances are that you did not look him in the eye if you passed him up. Con artists and salespeople identify with the power of eye contact and use it to their advantage. Counselors understand that eye contact is a very influential way of communicating understanding and recognition. Speakers understand that eye contact is essential in making sure that an audience stays interested in ones subject (Hickson III Stacks, 1985). Posturing is another form of nonverbal communication. The way a person sits, stands, and postures themselves relays a number of possible signals that may communicate how one is experiencing their environment. An example would be a person folding their arms and legs, which is a defensive signal. It has at times been observed that a person who is a severe psychological threat will lay in a fetal position. A person who is seductive in nature postures themselves so that their body is exposed to other people (Fast, 1971). The fifth types of nonverbal communication are known as tics. The unconscious nervous spasms of the body can be a key to ones being threatened. There are a lot of people that stammer or jerk when they feel like they are being threatened. When it comes to communication, these mannerisms can be easily misinterpreted. Sub-vocals make up the sixth type of nonverbal communication. We say uh, uh, uh, when we are trying to find the right word to say in a conversation. We say a lot of words or sounds such as these in order to get the meaning to another person. In conversations, some of us may stammer, hum, grunt, groan and so on. Some of these sub-vocal sounds or noises are not actual words, but they do carry meaning. The next, seventh, type of nonverbal communication is called distancing. It has been said that each individual person has their own psychological space. When and if another person intrudes on that space, a person may become somewhat tense, alert, or jammed up. We have a tendency to place distance between ourselves and others based on the kinds of relationships that we have and what our motives are toward each other. These reasons for creating distances are often not visible to others, but the behavior is, nonetheless, interpreted. The eighth way to communicate non-verbally is with gesturing. There is a joke that says that if we bind a Frenchmans hands, he is voiceless. As we communicate with each other, there is a enormous amount of definition in our use of gestures. However, some of these gestures have different meanings to different people. At times people place different meanings to the hand signals that we give out. An example would be the A-OK sign, in which the thumb and first forefinger is placed together forming a circle. This sign is considered very obscene in some other countries. Another potentially obscene gestures in some cultures is the were number one signal. We put a lot of importance in our words and we try to make clear our meaning through the use of gestures (Maginnis, 1958). Vocalism or inflection makes up the ninth way to communicate non-verbally. An example of this would be the sentence I love my children. This is a sentence that could be insincere unless it is pronounced. The way that sentence is spoken vocally determines the idea that another person gets from it. For example, if the emphasis is on the first word, I love my children, it says that somebody else doesnt. If the emphasis is on the second word, I love my children, it has a different meaning. With this inflection, it is possibly saying that some of their behavior gets on my nerves. If more inflection is placed on the third word, I love my children, it says that someone elses children do not get the same affection. Finally, if more stress is in the last word, I love my children, it could be implied that there are other people whom I do not love. So the way we speak our words vocally often decides the meaning that another person is likely to gather from our message (Fast, 1971). The communication style that we use most frequently to send meaning from one person to another is the verbal style. However, anyone who has ever thought about it has come to the conclusion that there are huge difficulties in sole reliance on this style of communication. History is full of examples of misunderstandings between people who were relying on just the spoken words to carry meaning. Possibly the most important knowledge that has come out of this experience has been that words themselves do not have meaning. People have meaning, and words are merely tools that we use for trying to express meaning that is characteristic to one person into the individual meaning system of the other person (Bonvillain, 2007). One of the problems with words is that we attach to them different practical and emotional implications. Words are not always connected with related experiences or related feelings on the part of the listener and speaker. Other problems involved in using the verbal mode include the use of jargon, the use of clichà ©s, and the use of particular vocabularies. It is time and again said that words have meaning only in circumstance. It is easier to say that words only have meaning when they are associated with people in context (Hybels Weaver, 2007). It is not unusual to watch people trying to find the right words to say what they mean. There is a myth that there is a certain approach to say it right. If we conclude from that observable fact, it is easy to assume that there are some people who, instead of experiencing feelings and sensations, more frequently experience language. Specifically, their experience parameters are made clear by their vocabularies and their ability to be expressive (Bonvillain, 2007). The trouble with adults, evidently, is that frequently we are not aware of the physical feelings which we experience. We habitually doubt our fantasy lives and are likely to be afraid to allow ourselves to dream. We deal with the world in an intangible way rather than in a physical way. The definitions and ideas that we allow ourselves to be conscious of are verbal and intangible. What we get from the physical stimuli which we experience is reliant on our vocabularies and our reckoning abilities. However those three layers of experience concrete, image, and abstract are going on endlessly. People understand concretely, understand image, and understand the abstracting development which they carry out when they are awake and applying meaning to what they see, hear, feel, taste, and touch; and of course, many of these meanings cannot be passed from one person to another through just the verbal mode only (Bonvillain, 2007). The assumptions are obvious. For communication to take place there needs to be a two-way exchange of feelings, standards and values. One-way communication is vastly unproductive in that there is no way to decide whether what is heard is what is projected. The office memo is a type of one-way communication which is possibly the least helpful standard for transmitting meaning. A second suggestion is that for proper communication to be practiced, it is essential that there be a response process built in to the communication effort. There needs to be a nonstop flow back and forth between the people trying to communicate, sharing what they heard from each other. The third suggestion is that the individual person wishes to become intensely conscious of the series of signals which they are giving at any given moment. They can become skilled at that by requesting opinion from the people that they are attempting to share ideas. Nonverbal and verbal communication work as one to express and make clear messages sent between people. Jointly they sustain the feelings and ideas of the speaker. We employ nonverbal communication to demonstrate the verbal communication. If it wasnt for both types of communication we would not be able to completely comprehend each other. In conclusion, there is one question left to answer: With all these habits and methods of communication (verbal and non-verbal, internal and external) that we are able to utilize, why is it that the majority of the time we misunderstand each other?

Strategy Implemented In Starwood Hotels And Resorts Tourism Essay

Strategy Implemented In Starwood Hotels And Resorts Tourism Essay To critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to the Environmental Concern: A Case Study of Element Hotel ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to critically evaluate the green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. The author intend to assess to what extent the implemented strategies are all-encompassing in responding to environmental concern as one of major contemporary issue in todays hospitality industry. As the matter of fact that the global environment is severely affected by todays business, natural resources are predictably running out in next 50 years if no improvement is being made by all business. In the last decade, peoples awareness of environmental protection is significantly increasing. For instance, new emerging market of eco-conscious traveler and pressure from eco-ethic group act as the driven force to urge business companies rapidly launch environmental friendly program to support sustainability development. In this research, green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts are critically examined basing on ISO 14001 model. The positivism philosophy with deductive approach will be adopted throughout the research. The author will critically review the literature related to environmental management. Secondary research will be used to investigate the green initiatives implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts with a case study focused on Element hotel, followed by a critical analyze on the strategies with application of ISO 14001 model. Last but not least, the author will assess to what extent the implemented strategies are all-encompassing in responding to environmental concern. The research has shown that Starwood Hotels and Resorts have successfully implemented comprehensive green initiatives by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. The author suggests that further evaluation and improvement should be continuously carried out to strive be the leader in supporting sustainability development in hospitality industry. Moreover, the author advises that primary research should be carried out for future study in order to gain more generalized and specifically up-to-date result. TABLE OF CONTENTS _______________________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION BACKGROUND INFORMATION Background of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Element Hotel NECESSITY TO RAISE THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY IN LONG RUN Increasing pressure from ethical consumers New emerging market, Eco conscious traveler The impact of environmental problem onto hospitality industry AIM AND OBJECTIVES Aim Objectives THE ISO 14001 MODEL Environmental Policy Planning Implementation and Operation Checking and Corrective Action Management Review Continual Improvement RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOG Proposed Study Design Secondary Research Limitations 3.0 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 3.1 Environmental Policy 3.2 Planning 3.3 Implementation and Operation 3.4 Checking and Corrective Action 3.5 Management Review Continual Improvement CONCLUSION 5.0 REFERENCES 6.0 APPENDICES 1.0 INTRODUCTION __________________________________________________________________________ In the past few years, environmental issue has severely plagued hospitality industry (Pasiuk, 2006). The significant changes in global environment and climate definitely draw attention to all business. People start to think about how the mother earth can be saved from harm and the way to sustain hospitality industry. The popularity of eco-friendly hotel is closely related to the growing awareness of global warming (Guitierrez, 2008) and also the new emerging market segment Eco-traveler (Patterson, 2007). According to Forbes (2007, cited in Go Budget Travel, 2007), it stated that traveler with sense of eco-awareness is a new trends nowadays. Hence, many hotels and resorts make effort to launch wide variety of initiatives on green management (Enz, 2010). As a global leader in hospitality industry, Starwood Hotels and Resorts steps forward responding to the trend with action on building up its own culture of sustainability by introducing its innovation Eco-Friendly hotel chain called E lement (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). The purpose of this report is to critically evaluate how Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by introducing a green hotel chain, Element hotel. In order to achieve the purpose, the author first highlights Eco-traveler as one of the mainstream in hospitality industry and identify the importance of taking environmental concern as a corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, the author is then illustrates the theoretical framework of ISO 14001 model and critically evaluates its application to the strategies implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to the contemporary issue of environmental concern. Last but not least, a brief summary and recommendation will be provided. BACKGROUND INFORMATION __________________________________________________________________________ 1.1.1 Background of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Element Hotel Starwood Hotels and Resorts grow to be a hotel behemoth through every effort made by Mr. Barry Sternlicht (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). At the present time, Starwood is widely renowned as one of the luxury hotel chain worldwide. Starwoods fleet is currently owns and operates approximately 750 hotels under premium leading brands including Sheraton, Four Points, St. Regis, Westin, W brand, the luxury collection and notably its latest innovation product Element, in 80 countries over every continent (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010). Element hotel is a green hotel chain newly launched by Starwood Hotels and Resorts by the year of 2008 (Starwood Hotels and Resorts, 2010a). The inspiration is induced by travelers eco-etiquette. According to Savage (2008, cited in Press Release, 2008), most of the traveler adopts green routine at home however only a few of them do the same at the hotel. In response, Element hotels take the lead in going green. Element is built green to reduce from the ground up, as the first major hotel brand pursue U.S. Building Councils LEED Certification for every property (Press Release, 2008a), depicting the importance of the environment in todays world. Element is committed to provide the guest with a no-compromise, eco-chic experience and also as an easy way responsible to be eco-friendly without sacrificing guest experience, in addition, the element philosophy is to satisfy guests needs with the environment in mind (Elements hotel, 2010). Nowadays, Starwood is recognized as the environmentally friendly luxury brand within the hospitality industry (Rockmael, 2007). With the recognition of its remarkable green initiatives, the author is intended to critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern. Green initiatives undertaken by Starwood Hotels and Resorts will be further elaborated in details by focus on the case study of Element hotel. Necessity to raise the importance of sustainability in the long run __________________________________________________________________________ Increasing pressure from ethical consumers It is not surprising to find that a significant growing number of large-scale corporate are experiencing an exerting pressure from consumer activist groups requiring betterment on the performance of both social and environmental aspect. An elevating level of these issues are gradually becoming mainstream and the consumers are commonly raising question about the general performance in terms of ethical, social and environmental of the service and product they consume. More enlightened companies treat these prompting changes as a golden opportunity of embracing social and environmental concerns integrated into their operation (Gupta, M.C., 1995). 1.2.2 New emerging market segment, eco-conscious traveler According to the research conducted by Green Hotel Association (2007), about 43 millions travelers in the United States are concerned about environmental consciousness in the hospitality industry. Meanwhile, referring to the survey done by USA Travel Association (2008), 54 million peoples search for companies that are concerned with the protection of local environment and incline to book travel arrangement with these companies. Korman (2008, cited in Press Release, 2008: 2) also agree that Todays consumers including guests who stay with us, corporate customers who select hotel providers and the development community who build our hotels are increasingly demanding green options when they select hotel brands. At the present time, eco-awareness is very popular in travel trends (Harding, 2010). And Chemla (2007, cited in Vora, 2007:1) also argued that now upscale travelers want to do whatever they can to be eco-conscious. The characteristics of eco-conscious traveler (refer to Appendix 1) can be concluded as lack of knowledge about environmental issue, however, they are keen to learn. Element hotel is tailor-made for eco conscious traveler, as Savage (2008: 1) stated that We know our guests want to be eco conscious, it is our job to make it easy for them. Eco-conscious traveler is defined as a person who yearns for making positive contribution while travelling with the companies that sustain development on environmental practices (Eco media group, 2010). With the emerging segment of eco-conscious traveler, in response many hotels and resorts started to launch green management program to emphasize their concern in environmental sustainability. Green initiatives are implemented into the hotel s operation to maintain brand image (Grant, 2007), reputation and remain competitive in the marketplace (Schulz, 2009). As Ryan (2006 :1) stated that Going green isnt necessarily about saving the environment, rather its about saving the business. All the undertaken green initiatives are viewed as marketing strategies helps to boost up the sales as well as the occupancy rate (Honey, 2008). According to the research conducted by Watkins (1994), the findings shown that about 71 percent of respondents would likely or extremely likely to stay in a hotel implemented with environmental strategy. Furthermore, in the case of The Sol Elite Falco Hotel, they recorded a significant growth of 15% in business after the adoption of environmental practices (Honey, 2008). 1.2.3 The impact of environmental problem onto hospitality industry In the past few decades, as a matter of fact that global population is dramatically escalating, it is not surpirsed to find that both rural and urban area are densely-populated. It leads to accelerating demand on not only living space but also resources to accommodate peoples physical need for basic living. Besides, with the promising stability of global economy, at the present time vast majority of people are capable to lead a better living, to pursue a quality of life. Driven by that reason, many businesses habitually utilize limited resource to fulfill the unlimited needs and wants from the consumer. In the meantime, the consequence is commonly neglected. Overusing resource on the mother earth, many negative impacts and problems can be severely affecting the society such as occasion of global warming, pollution and climate change. As Aldunce and Leon (2007:33) stated that disaster risk does not only exist because of the presence of a physical hazard, and it is compounded by the pr esence of vulnerable populations. In that sense, both direct and indirect impacts are possibly brought to hospitality industry. Greenhouse gases are the driven force to the elevating average level of temperature on the planet (Tisdell, 2008). It is resulted as rising sea level that leads to drastically changing of water availability geographically. Thats the reason why the weather is in instability correlated with the harvest of agricultural and the phenomenon of natural disasters happen more frequently in last ten years (Mckibben, 2007). Above mentioned circumstances are inevitably threaten hospitality and tourism industry (Kirby, 2007). For instance, in 2004, tsunami in Phuket (BBC News, 2009) brought relentless damage to the local community. The infrastructure and the landscape were completely destroyed. Phuket is as a renowned tourist destination with approximately 7 millions of tourist annually (TourismThailand Org, 2010). Tsunami was harshly hit the hospitality industry which is the mainstream sector in Phuket. Tsunami caused the local communities and business to spend large sum of money on reconstruction of the environment and infrastructure including numerous hotel property and facilitates. As mentioned, the changing climate is associated with the harvest of agricultural. It impacts on the reduction of the availability of agricultural thus the food cost raise up correspondingly. Likewise, due to water pollution, reduction of water supply leads to increasing price of water. As the result, hotels are undoubtedly affected with larger expenditure on acquiring water supply and food materials from the suppliers. To conclude, water and energy are the necessity to hotels daily operation. In the viewpoint of hotel, they would acquire this necessity to sustain the business at all cost. Consequently, hospitality industry should not hesitate and to take proactive measures to against the potential challenge and also encourage the sustainable development incorporated with environmental concern. Natural disaster is inevitably takes place, however, hospitality industry could strive to launch environmental management program to at least minimize the probability of its occurrence. 1.3 AIM AND OBJECTIVES __________________________________________________________________________ 1.3.1 Aim To critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by introducing Element Hotel 1.3.2 Objectives To identify the environmental concern as a contemporary issue affecting Starwood Hotels and Resorts To review the literature related to environmental management and ISO 14001 model To identify the associated challenges and factors of environmental concern in hospitality industry To critically investigate and evaluate the strategies implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern by using ISO 14001 model THE ISO 14001 MODEL __________________________________________________________________________ Source: EnviroManager (2009) Environmental Management Software; (http://www.enviromanager.net/index.htm) According to Latham (2007), an appropriate theoretical framework can be guidance for the research study thus enhances the efficiency. ISO 14001 model is renowned as a global green standard, therefore, it is being chosen by the author as a tools to critically evaluate the strategy implemented in Starwood Hotels and Resorts in responding to environmental concern. In-depth explanations and critical analysis of this framework will be carried out in the following session. ISO 14001 is recognized as one of the most noteworthy initiatives on sustainable development. It is an Environmental Management System (EMS) providing any organization a theoretical framework for effectively managing environmental responsibilities to facilitate its efficiency and better integration into business operation (Hansen, Mowen Guan, 2007). This model is clearly presenting the whole procedure towards effective environmental management. Moreover, continual improvement is particularly emphasizes within the process which indicates that it is an essential component contributing toward the success of environmental management. On the contrary, Plan, Do, Check, Act Model known as Deming cycle, is another approach of Environmental Management System. However, it is not adopted by the author as its simplified structure, relatively low accuracy and the process of continual improvement is not encompassed in the model. Most importantly ISO 14001 model is basically built on the Plan, Do, Check, Act model. Hotels that efficiently integrate an Environmental Management System into organizations operation can enjoy so many benefits. Nowadays, majority of consumers seeking guarantee they are sustaining and choosing operations that encourage protection of the environment. An Environmental Management System helps to uplift the hotels reputation, awareness of the public and creates an opportunity to develop new market segment, environmentally conscious consumers (Bill and Monaco, 1999). In general, hotel can facilitate efficiency and achieve reduction of operating costs through setting an unambiguous and realistic performance goals and objectives that hotel can put efforts towards. It also helps to increase competitiveness in global market, expand tactical advantage over non-certified competitors, meet consumer requirement and demonstrate commitment to quality (Anderson, 2000). Moreover, the potential economic benefit is surprisingly far more than enough to launch an Environmental Management Systems in the property (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). Environmental Policy Establishing an Environmental Policy is certainly requiring the participation of top management of the organization to deeply define the policy that is consistent with the span of an EMS and suitable to the organization (Johnson, 1997). According to Moore (2000: 14-6), Environmental Policy is the statement by the organization of its intentions and principles in relation to its overall environmental performance which provides a framework for action and for the setting of its environmental objectives and targets. The Environmental policy should be embodied with an obligation to continual improvement, prevention of all kind pollution and obedience to the legal requirements (Woodside, Aurrichio and Yturri, 1998). Lastly, this policy ought to be documented and published to the public before communicating with all the personnel working for or the representative of the organization. A comprehensible vision of the policy helps the management in planning activities. Planning An effective planning is necessary and a crucial process to determine an assessable organizational goal and offer guidance to fulfill the achievement (Johnson, 1997; Montana and Chamov, 2000). For that reason, the author recognizes the importance of Planning process in ISO 14001 model. Besides, the organization should be pragmatically stipulating the objectives with reference to both direct and indirect impacts deriving from previous management for instance reduction of water consumption. According to Block (1999; 1), Organization shall ensure that environmental aspects related to these significant impacts are considered when setting environmental objectives. Furthermore, environmental activities should be inclusively all-encompassing supplies, waste management and notably obligation of responsibilities (Rao, 2008). From the authors point of view, a comprehensive planning would drive the organization to the right direction on developing its culture of sustainability program in respon ding to environmental concern. Implementation and Operation In this stage, the author suggests that the roles and responsibilities of job task need to be clearly assigned to every employee in order to efficiently implement the environmental management system. Furthermore, senior management must employ a representative especially in charge of environmental management. Representative is responsible to extract report on the performance of EMS and potentially offer recommendation for betterment on a regular basis. Senior management is also responsible to ensure the availability of the materials which is needed for implementation and further improvement on EMS in the property (Tibor and Feldman, 1996). Specific practice is necessarily established to facilitate internal and external communication as regards to environmental issues, For instance, company report of its adopted environmental practice can be issued to the public to maintain continual communication externally thus raise up public awareness to the company (Culley, 1998). Continuous train ing and regular meeting is essentially held frequently to increase awareness of employee on environmental practices and its impact (Cascio, Woodside and Mitchell, 1996) consequentially to ensure that employees are completely understand the system and their roles within the EMS (Sullivan and Wyndham, 2001). Checking and corrective action According to Withcer, Chau and Harding (2007), the significance of checking is in relations to the long-run strategy and effectively manages organizations performance. Checking process helps to identify and ensure the environmental performance in terms of quality and standard of ISO 14001 model is on the right track and facilitate betterment to meet the purposed organizational goals. Corrective action should be undertaken appropriately to the magnitude of the problem as immediate measurements (Rao, 2008). Management review It requires senior management of the organization to evaluate the EMS to make certain the continuous capability, aptness and effectiveness. Evaluation is necessarily undertaken to promote further improvements. Also, management review can benefit an organization to experience more extraordinary environmental performance (Rao, 2008). Continual improvement Continual improvement is the methodical approach to recognize the potential problem, seek opportunity, establish measurement, collect data, and make comparison to the trend purposing to verify if the progress is smoothly ongoing toward the set objectives embodied in the environmental policy and planning (Johnson, 1997). According to Rao (2008:87), continual improvement helps to achieve the fulfillment of the urge for contributing toward sustainability. RESEARCH STRATEGY AND METHODOLOGY __________________________________________________________________________ This section provides the reader with better understanding on the research method that the author has been adopted throughout the research. The research design and data collection method is justified in this chapter. Proposed study design The purpose of this research is to find out how Starwood Hotels and Resorts is responding to the challenge of environmental concern, therefore the author will adopt positivism as research philosophy for this study. And the author will use deductive approach to test whether the organizations strategy is all-encompassing with the theoretical framework of ISO 14001 model. In order to achieve the research purpose, the author conducted secondary research to collect information on environmental issues theories and the strategies that the Starwood Hotels and Resorts put on practice. Primary research is not conducted for this report, because the author recognized there is a bulk of data was published online that is sufficient for the author to make analysis. The author decided to analyze the strategy the organization adopted by using a theoretical framework and academic theories related to green management.. Since the author can easily access the information required for the research, therefore, only secondary research is conducted. Secondary research Veal (2006) stated that secondary research enriches the reader with existing information which has already been collected. The author collected both quantitative and qualitative data on the organizations environmental-friendly strategies and literature of environmental issues. Information was sourced from the SHMS-UC library; where textbooks with hospitality-related topics are available; in addition, online articles and journals were sourced from the online database such as Emerald. Through the use of internet, the author can access a wider range of up-to-date information about environmental issues. 3.0 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS __________________________________________________________________________ In this section, an in-depth evaluation on how the Element Hotel responds to environmental concern with the application of ISO 14001 framework will be carried out. The green initiatives launched by Element Hotel will be elaborated and categorized into the process of ISO 14001 model. 3.1 Environmental Policy According to Element Hotels official website (2010), Element embrace the responsibility for continual environmental stewardship and are committed to integrating leading environmental practices and sustainability principles into the core business strategy. Element has focused on the conservation of natural resources, reduction on waste and pollution, betterment and enhancement of indoor environmental quality and raising awareness of environmental concern between employees, guests and local community (Element Hotels, 2010). Moreover, Element is committed to develop an economically responsible LEED-certified hotel concept that is promising a more sustainable future (Paasschen, 2008:1). In authors opinion, the statement of Element environmental policy is clearly showed the intentions and principles related to environmental practices by Element hotel and evidences of complying with legislation requirement. To contrast with the ISO 14001 model, Element hotel has developed a statement which is committed to green environment. The principles of the hotel are all about green. In addition, employees and customers can have a better understanding about the green strategies undertaken at the Element. In this section, the author strongly agrees that Element hotel has implemented the environmental policy successfully. Planning Element hotels are primarily introduced to the public by Starwood Hotels and Resorts as a strategic plan to against the challenges in environmental concern. The element philosophy is to satisfy guests needs while keeping the environment in mind (Element Hotels, 2010a). Element is actively make effort striving to minimize the environmental impact stemming from business activities and enhance continual improvement and innovation on practices. As McGuinness (2009) stated that elements efforts around green are great for the Earth and great for our guests. Element endeavors to launch green initiatives to diminish the operation cost as well as expend the market share by building up a reputable green image. The planning of green initiatives at Element are categorized into Reducing, Reusing and Recycling (Element Hotels, 2010a). At Element, departmental managers are participated in environmental management planning in order to fulfill different range of needs within each department, and establish a realistic and effective plan on environmental management. The author agrees that an accessible plan is essentials to provide employee a better understanding thus to take action properly following the proposed planning. In the planning process, the author mentioned the planning will establish an assessable organizational goal. The reducing, reusing, and recycling planning could help the hotel to achieve the hotels strategy which is to develop the green philosophy to the employees and customers. In the next section, the operations will be discove red in order to complete Elements planning. Implementation and Operation Element hotels score high marks from U.S. Building Green Council (USBGC, 2010), that indicates the significance of its variety of cost-effective green principle on the improvement of environmental sustainability. Element have launched a responsible business program to staff on seeking feedback. As Potts, Christenbury Wolak (1994: 41) mentioned that The hotel staffs are a key source of information, their input and suggestions for improvement are critical to implementation of a good plan. Feedback can make certain the inaccuracy and errors to be corrected before problem arise once again (Lancaster and Stanhope, 2004). Moreover, meeting holds in a regular basis in order to maintain staff awareness of the implemented environmental program at Element. The author suggests that social activities such as picnics and hikes or competition can be organized to encourage motivation and enhance communication within the workforce. Management can allow people to take ownership of certain project al so a means of motivation. In addition, suggestion boxes and reward staff for success in terms of introducing and educating the guest with on-site green initiatives. At Element hotel, a module on its comprehensive environmental policy is en-compassing in staff induction and also refresher training. Adequate Training is important to endow the staffs with necessary tools in order to maximize the benefits to staff member (Remenyi, 2007). Reduced water consumption According to Green Lodging News (2008), Element efficiency features saving 942,000 gallons of water per guestroom every year through the adoption of water conservation measures. Element implemented Grey water system which is any wastewater has been used within the property except toilet water can be re-used for watering plants and toilet water through filtering treatment. Dual-Flush toilet is installed in all guest room and public area that helps to lower water consumption up to 67%. Low flow shower heads and water-efficient faucet aerators also means to conserve water, all dramatically increase the efficiency and ease the burden of water supplies while giving the guest a great experience. Reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions Element conserve energy by launching energy conservation measures en-compassing an environmental friendly lighting system throughout the property supported by compact fluorescent light (CFL) and Light-emitting diode (LED), Energy-Star labeled appliances in each guest room and high efficiency ventilating and conditioning system. And the roof top is equipped with solar reflect panal that reflect heat from the sun so as to ease the burden on hotel air conditioning systems. Element also encourages the development of renewable energy technology through purchasing credits of renewable energy to compensate partial electricity consumption. According to Element Hotels (2010), 35% of the used electricity comes from renewable sources such as wind power at Element Hotel. Recycling by Element hotel is estimated to have already conserved enough energy to supply approximately 9 million households in United States (Press Release, 2008a). Improved indoor environmental quality measures Element hotel is in partnership with EcoLab for the implementation of Green Housecleaning practices, to encourage using environmental friendly cleaning products and facilitate day-lighting throughout the property by installing oversized window in every guest room (Green Lodging News, 2008). Smoking is strictly prohibited in and around the property to ensure good air quality. Furthermore, element hotel applies low Volatile Organic Compunds paints and carpets made of 100% recyclable materials. Traditional Do Not Disturb sign paper tag is replaced by the environmental friendly magnet (Press Release, 2008). Execution of waste management and Recycling At Element hotel, pa

Overcoming Challenges in Channeary by Steve Tolbert :: essays research papers

In this novel by Steve Tolbert, we experience the life of a young girl by the name of Channeary. Channeary lives in a small fishing village in Cambodia. During her life, she faces many challenges, like the loss of her family to the ruthless Khmer Rouge soldiers. She overcomes many of the tragedies faced, but some still haunt her to this day. In this essay, I intend to explore several of those challenges, including how she overcame them. The first major obstacle faced in Channeary?s life was when the ruthless Khmer Rouge soldiers invaded their small fishing village. They had selected a few people from the village to come forcefully with them. You, as Angkar?s Ancient People you will fully co-operate in battle to rid our land of reactionary capitalist filth and their imperialist supporters!?(1) Knowing the Khmer Rouge, they probably were killed. Later, they cleaned their village in silence. After cleaning, the villagers gathered around the Buddha figure and prayed. At this time, Channeary would have felt very scared that the soldiers might take her away, there was a feeling of discomfort and uncertainty in the mind of Channeary at that point in time. From the fear of the Khmer Rouge invading the village again, some residences were forced to leave for bordering Thailand. ?We must leave tonight...possibly to Thailand? Channeary?s mother said.(2) Most fled only for the welfare of their children. Channeary would have ex perienced great sadness when leaving her home that was full of her childhood memories with her family. With the help of Mith constantly encouraging them, the villagers continuously pushed themselves. Many characters had began to get weak and weary resulting, to the lose lives. Overcoming Challenges in Channeary by Steve Tolbert :: essays research papers In this novel by Steve Tolbert, we experience the life of a young girl by the name of Channeary. Channeary lives in a small fishing village in Cambodia. During her life, she faces many challenges, like the loss of her family to the ruthless Khmer Rouge soldiers. She overcomes many of the tragedies faced, but some still haunt her to this day. In this essay, I intend to explore several of those challenges, including how she overcame them. The first major obstacle faced in Channeary?s life was when the ruthless Khmer Rouge soldiers invaded their small fishing village. They had selected a few people from the village to come forcefully with them. You, as Angkar?s Ancient People you will fully co-operate in battle to rid our land of reactionary capitalist filth and their imperialist supporters!?(1) Knowing the Khmer Rouge, they probably were killed. Later, they cleaned their village in silence. After cleaning, the villagers gathered around the Buddha figure and prayed. At this time, Channeary would have felt very scared that the soldiers might take her away, there was a feeling of discomfort and uncertainty in the mind of Channeary at that point in time. From the fear of the Khmer Rouge invading the village again, some residences were forced to leave for bordering Thailand. ?We must leave tonight...possibly to Thailand? Channeary?s mother said.(2) Most fled only for the welfare of their children. Channeary would have ex perienced great sadness when leaving her home that was full of her childhood memories with her family. With the help of Mith constantly encouraging them, the villagers continuously pushed themselves. Many characters had began to get weak and weary resulting, to the lose lives.