Napoleon's Rise and Fall Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Napoleon's Rise and Fall - Research Paper Example Julius Caesar of the Roman Empire was one of them. He had managed in his time to conquer the known parts of the civilized world at the time. He became the king of the world, concurring even the mighty Egypt. However, as he did this, he made enemies both at home and away from home. He was murdered by those who were close to him, and it is required that the person who actually stabbed him was his own best friend and ally Brutus. Adolf Hitler is also another military leader who went down in a similar path. During the World War II, his mighty military was feared by all the nations in the world who were not on his side. He managed to vanquish a good part of the world. Eventfully the nations formed military allies and overpowered him (Shirer, 154). He is said to have taken his own life while other conspiracy theories argue that he never committed the suicide but exiled himself to Latin America when he lived mediocre life until his death in old age. The story can be told of one of the great est military general who ever lived, Napoleon Bonaparte. On May 17, 1779, Napoleon started his studies at the royal military academy at only age ten. He later joined the Ecole Militaire on May 17, 1784, at the age of 15. He was to graduate from this school in 1785 with the rank of second lieutenant. While at the army, the French revolution had increased and in 1795 he was promoted and made to be in charge of suppressing the revolution by the masses, thus introducing him to the forefront of French politics.

My Prejudice Experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

My Prejudice Experience - Essay Example I have come to the United States from Indonesia to study and make a name for myself. Sadly, I am stereotyped by most of my American friends as a studious Asian who goes abroad to study. I do agree that I have the same hard working and professional attitude that most Asians have, and the process of learning interests me a lot. At the same time, I also believe in living the life to the fullest and hence, enjoy attending parties, love to take a night off every now and then, and let myself loose and have a good time. Hence, I feel isolated when some of my friends leave me out when indulging in fun activities. as they misunderstand me as a person who does not love having fun. Many times it has happened that I was not asked out by my friends as either they considered me to be too religious because of me following Christianity faith, or they thought that I am concerned about nothing but my academic work. Sadly, this stereotyped thinking suffocates me as I am quite a fun loving person and my inherent personality is that of an extrovert. Fearing prejudiced treatment, when I first came to the United States and started attending my university, I made friends only with Asian people, thinking that Americans would be too snooty or would not show acceptance due to my nationality. I was under the impression that American people were a little difficult to be friends with, as a popular culture had made my thinking biased. For example, I stereotyped Americans to be racist or having a discriminatory attitude against people belonging to other countries. Furthermore, I was also under the impression that most Americans were not too fond of Asians due to the fact that they were academically smarter, and hence, had more potential in education and more opportunities in a career in the U.S., than the Americans themselves would have. This led me to cut myself off from anyone who was not an Asian and as a result, I wound up making very few friends. This prejudice that I had towards America n people soon changed when I began to let them enter in my life.  

Development strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Development strategy - Assignment Example These are what the typical demand of occupiers is currently. Occupiers also challenge developers to meet their power load reduction goals. Therefore occupiers demand that developers ensure that they meet modern mandates and energy conservation goals. They must therefore ensure transmission, generation, and distribution entities work together effectively. Occupiers also demand that available load demand side management assets are identified and unified and hosted DSM is provided for utilities throughout the distribution of infrastructure (Egan, 2002). Occupiers demand that energy requirements in buildings be reduced and sourced alternatively. They also need energy conservation solution with benefits such as: insight and visibility from generation to device unifying data throughout ecosystem of the energy; achieve compliance and reduction of load through the unified controls which execute and measure created diverse load control programs; cost savings through controlling peak charges; rapid adoption allowing utilities to participate in centralized programs; and future proofing with standard based system device agnostic supporting hardware legacy, data sources and applications. These demands must be met by developers. Analyses of how today’s energy requirements in buildings can be reduced and alternatively sourced. ... Another way to reduce energy demands and source energy alternatively is via the use of renewable energy generations to eliminate or reduce further their emissions of greenhouse gas in use. Evidence has it that buildings are responsible for around 45% of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK. Therefore good building designs can cut energy bills and carbon dioxide emissions by almost two third. Developers therefore need to incorporate renewable energy in order to give the buildings producing no net carbon dioxide in use. The Management of Energy and Water Efficiency in Federal Buildings has established a facility project management and benchmarking framework. This enables developers to identify all â€Å"covered facilities† constituting at least 75 percent of the energy of the building in use. The framework also demands that an energy manager be designated at every one building covered. Developers are encouraged to implement the identified water and energy efficiency measures. Deve lopers are mandated to ensure that their new buildings hit a long term zero net energy goal by 2025. New buildings also need to be located in places that regulate its illumination and temperatures, for example around hills, landscaping and trees in order to block wind and provide shade. In addition, buildings in cooler climates should be designed with south facing windows so as to increase the amount heat energy (sun) that enters the building. This minimizes the use of energy through maximization of passive solar heating (Egan, 2002). Reducing energy requirement is a demand that is typical with occupiers, who also need the energy to be sourced from alternative means. In order to reduce energy

Strategic Management Case Study: Honda

Strategic Management Case Study: Honda Ever since the days of Henry Ford, the global car manufacturing industry, one of the worlds biggest employers, has blazed the trail in both the product innovation, and perhaps most notably for the Japanese motor industry, the development of leading manufacturing methods. The industry is not unlike many others, with blistering competition on all fronts, which makes strategic planning utterly important for both the sort as well as long term survival of any industry player. The ratification of the Kyoto Protocol for instance, spurred car manufacturing companies into the adoption of strategies such as the closed-loop-strategies, in the not only the development of more efficient engines, but also the production, distribution, operation and ultimately recycling of decrepit cars etc. This report presents a review of a number of strategic alternatives by Honda and other automotive industries both in the West as well as Japan, in an attempt to establish the driving force behind Hondas success and growth. The first part of the report gives a description of Honda, followed by the reconciliation of several divergent strategies. Discussion of the differences, if any, between the western and Japanese styles of corporate leadership will unearth the myth behind Japans corporate culture before ultimately concluding with a discussion of the importance of both corporate governance as well as CSR. Contents (Jump to) HONDA, COMPANY PROFILE RECONCILIATION OF DICHOTOMIES PLANNING v. LEARNING POSITIONING VERSUS DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL RESOURCES CORE COMPETENCIES VERSUS CORE CAPABILITIES MANAGEMENT STYLES Lifelong Tenure CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CONCLUSIONS RECOMMENDATIONS HONDA, COMPANY PROFILE With over 182,000 employees, ÂÂ ¥ 10,011, 241 million in annual revenues in 2009 coupled with upwards of $ 1370.1 million$ and 1896.4 in operating profits for the FY 2008 and 2009 respectively, Japans Honda is easily the industrys biggest manufactures of motor cycles, besides being a among the leading automobile producers. Operating across the globe, Honda is involved in the development, manufacturing as well as marketing and distribution of motor cars, motor cycles and a range other power products (Honda Ltd, 2010). It was founded in 1946, by Soichiro Honda and subsequently incorporated two years later, followed by years of success and growth as a motor cycle maker. Away from its core business, the companys 105 affiliates and 396 subsidiaries across the world provide financial services to thousands of its clients. It operates a four tier business model which includes the financial services division, motorcycle, automobile as well as power products (Honda Ltd, 2010). Besides multi wagons, Honda also produces a range of passenger cars, SUVs, mini vans, passenger cars, mini vehicles as well as sports coupes among others. Hondas flagship car and motor cycle models include the Accord, Civic, Legend, Insight, Acura CSX and Acura RL, CR-V, Cross Road, ASIMO Robots as well as the scooters among many others. The company recorded sales of over 10,114,000 units mainly in Japan, North America and Europe, representing an 8.5% rise over the previous years figures. Its sales have been on the rise despite through the global economic down turn that hit its American competitors, and largely driven by Toyotas PR woes over alleged flaws in the breaking system in its flagship Prius model. This success is largely attributable to the company strategic preparedness. Case in point, in 2002, it launched a hybrid car model to tap into the ever growing environmentally conscious clientele, besides launching the Environmental Learning Center (based in Texas), while in 2004, the company entered into a strategic partnership with GE, that led into the development and production of a trail blazing light jet engine, suited for business jets. Sethi and Swanson (1984), commencing in the year 2000, the company has embarked on an ambitious program to set up production plants in the emerging car and motor cycle markets, notably China, Argentina, Russia and the motor bike hot spot, Vietnam. The company prides itself with the twin principles of respect individuals and the Three Joys Principle i.e. buying, selling as well creating. These values reflect the company does wish to build on each persons unique abilities and its endeavor to ensure that everyone who comes by purchasing the products or by other means should have a great/joyous experience. Honda ensures this by relentlessly, lead in the creation of value, innovation, new products at accessible prices. RECONCILIATION OF DICHOTOMIES Honda ltds strategic innovation is founded on a process of dichotomies reconciliation which include both learning and planning, positioning on the market vs. internal resources development and lastly, core competencies related to the product against the core capabilities related to the processes. These three dichotomies do representing divergent strategies etc that drive Honda as a company since its establishment and through years of exemplary growth and expansion. De Wit Meyer (2010), assert that a critical look at Hondas strategies points especially its successful entry and dominance of new markets raises questions as to whether, Hondas strategy and subsequent decision making is solidly based on a meticulous, analytical and rational planning or whether its strategies are a direct result of the some decisions/ strategies reached at by the company, which evolved or became modified due to the environmental influences of the industry in which the company operates. PLANNING v. LEARNING While designing its strategies, the company has consistently followed a rational approach based on a critical analysis of the market and the industry environment. This strategy hinges on and it suited for a seasoned industry player such as Honda, since it seeks to built on, and exploit the companys immense experience in the automotive industry (Johnson et al., 2005). As a strategy, this is an important bottom up strategy that uses the already gained knowledge to optimize the companys needs. Planning takes into consideration both the companys resources as well as the environmental factors, as such will most likely utilize the companys set objectives within the constraints. Hondas largely seen as having successfully employed the planning strategy while entering into new markets notably while launching into the US motor cycle industry. Its recent strategic alliances with GE as well as its design and launch of innovative new products and expansion of manufacturing plants, in the ultimate attainment of huge scale economies and extremely law costs represent examples of internal planning. Planning is largely apparent from an outsiders point of view. However, interviews with the companys top management reveal a far different picture that suggests at best a company that is far from an overly rational, academic planning seeking to impose its corporate values and policies on the market and the industry, but rather a company, with a management structure that is at all times willing to learn. It is evident and widely accepted by many observers that Hondas strategies have evolved, without a clear plan or analysis of the industry. Case in point, the huge success attained by the companys 50 cc Supercab surprised everyone including the companys management. Mintzberg et al. (1998) observe that though the companys strategy may have looked analytical and well thought out, the management did blunder severally up until the market gave them the correct formula. Rational planning on its own is hardly, suited to many organizations and is in fact removed from the day to day running of a business as compared to learning, which permits management to continually develop and adjust their policies and strategies as they are implemented, in the light of new experience (De Wit Meyer, 2010). Hondas development of hybrid vehicles and energy efficient models e.g. the Honda Civic Sedan, in the wake of Toyotas success in the same field represent examples of learning from the environment. Honda has as well launched joint ventures in RD with other companies. Using both strategies gives the company an advantage, not least because it only allows the formulation of strategies that best meet both the internal resources as well as the environmental factors prevailing in the industry. POSITIONING VERSUS DEVELOPMENT OF INTERNAL RESOURCES Hondas positioning helps its brand to be associated with a given market segment. It is an equally helpful guide to the companys other strategies, particularly the marketing strategy, not least because it does clarify the essence of the brand and the helps the consumers to better identify the goals that the product seeks to meet in a unique way. In positioning a product or brand, managers must make decisions, seeking to appeal a given segment of the population, while at once risking losing the other(s). Honda has placed its various products on the basis of benefit, target, distribution as well as prices. The company offers competitive prices owing to its scale and technology advantages, which in turn permits it to achieve better client franchises. This strategy does however; affect the prestige of the brand, besides reducing the profit margins. Target, distribution and benefit positioning, that has seen the introduction of green models to serve the needs of green conscious clients, co upled by Hondas expansion into India, China and Vietnam, which was entirely meant at catering for emerging middle class in those countries. As against, development of internal resources, Hondas product positioning allows it to use fewer resources but still reach the target markets. It however, has enormous resources in capital, management, cutting production technology as well as manpower, which have driven the companys expansion across the globe. More investment in RD is, and has been possible, leading to greater innovation. While other smaller industry players struggle with limited resources constraining their RD as well as expansion, bigger companies like Honda, Toyota and GM can attain a better edge in the industry. Hondas has been able to pursue both strategies owing to the availability of niche products that it has successfully positioned e.g. motor bikes in Vietnam (over 400,000 units in annual sales), coupled by its huge availability of resources which allows it rope for RD, diversification and expansion. This does not entirely hold though, Honda spends just a fifth of GM expenditure on RD and launches fewer mode ls than the latter, yet it products/models are more successful than GMs. CORE COMPETENCIES VERSUS CORE CAPABILITIES Competencies are as a result of coordination of multiple production skills as well as a complex coordination of numerous technologies. They give a company access to newer markets; provide high barriers for competitors to enter the market, besides contributing considerably to the benefits of the end product(s). Hondas core competencies as regards products are the driving force behind the development of the numerous, innovative end user products. Hamel Prahalad regard Hondas product competencies as a brilliant example of how a small company can break into, and establish itself in a mature, stable market. In 2010 alone, Honda has set up a solar H2 station (Los Angeles), introduced the versatile iGX and GX engine series for general purposes. The company has as well produced lithium-ion based batteries intended for the new range of hybrid motor vehicles, alongside an ELC to spear head its green agenda. Honda is famed for its ability to recycle technologies in all its range of products, affording it RD efficiency. There are elements of core capabilities associated with its processes, but perhaps far lacking behind Toyota and many other industry players. These include efficient distribution channels, cost effective production processes. It trains dealers, determines shop floor plans and has strict operating procedures among others. Core product competencies in the automobile industry are far superior to the process capabilities and Hondas success is an outstanding testimony to this fact. MANAGEMENT STYLES Japanese and Hondas management styles do differ from the American style in at least six distinct aspects. These include differences in the interdepartmental relationships, communication patterns, and supervisory styles, mechanisms for control as well as existence of, or lack of a paternalistic orientation. According to Hofstede (2004), these differences largely stem from the inherent cultural differences between the two countries, which in turn influence the respective corporate cultures. Lifelong Tenure Most of the companies in Japan do provide lifelong jobs to their employees, with greater emphasis being laid on not age, but also seniority. Promotions are thus much more difficult, just as there is greater job security for the workers. Many organizations effectively hire employees for the, and are interested in the long term objectives as against Americas corporate worlds obsession with short term goals. Case in point, Hondas top management i.e. Satoshi Aoki (Chairman), Takanobu Ito, Koichi Kondo and Atsuyoshi Hyogo joined the company in 1968, 1978, 2000 and 1972 respectively, during which time they have risen through the ranks to reach the top management. On the contrary, the western corporate world is characterized by short term contracts for both managers and workers, charged with meeting short term objectives. Teams v. Individuals In contrast with the Western model where managers are responsible for decision making and subsequently accountable for the decisions reached, the Japanese system recognizes the importance of individual expertise, but the performance of the entire team is more emphasized than an individuals. In the western corporate world (Germany and American), certain employees have the star statuses e.g. in Germany, the engineers play central roles to the success of motor companies. Some elements of convergence exist though. Long apprenticeships and cadres (seniorities in Japan) do exist both in Germany, France as well as the Netherlands. Employees attain positions, promotions etc. through years of internships, apprenticeships or memberships to given classes-attained through education and or experience. Decision Making While most western corporations are characterized by top down decision making, the Japanese style of management is largely characterized by collective decision making by individual teams. Hondas decision making is characterized by the Ringi system, where decisions are passed based on a consensus of all the employees in a department or even the entire organization. This management style is identical to that practiced in Holland, except that the latter is anchored on existing contracts or class differences of among the employees. Communication As against the largely bureaucratic communication, hierarchical channels characterizing western corporations, which is largely effective and efficient, the Japanese channels of communication compromise in large part of face-to-face communication. These comprise everything from provision of information regarding assignment of tasks, responsibilities, organizational goals and the development and rechanneling of feedbacks. Implicit Mechanism of Control Honda ltd is concerned with building of its relationships with it biggest assets, the employees. Inspired by its philosophy Respect for the Individual, the company always seeks to develop collaborative relationships with each and every employee, where all mechanisms of control and supervision are largely informal. Supervisors work alongside other employees, who are involved, the decision making, which in turn renders decision making, execution of decisions and reception of feedback a lot more expedient. On the contrary, Hondas competitors run on a rigid, formal control mechanism. This sets goals, measurable, complete with targets that must be met by departments, franchises and individual employees, while the Japanese system is anchored on the management philosophies that all employees as well as managers identify with. Departmental Relationships Pascale Athos (1981), states that attainment of the goals set for a department etc requires inputs not just from the concerned departments, but perhaps most importantly, close collaboration with other departments in the company or even other organizations. Formal (necessary) relationships largely accomplish these goals (characteristic of the western model), while the Japanese style has an extra dimension; voluntary collaboration which is far more productive and results in greater knowledge sharing. Paternalistic Orientation Honda and many other Japanese companies are concerned by the holistic needs of every employee, including the concern for the well being of their families (Culpan, 2009). This imposes a social support role on the managers, a feature which is largely absent in the western world, safe for a limited number of family organizations. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY With car markets in the developed world already saturated, most car companys are looking abroad in the emerging markets notably China, India and Brazil. A recent study by TNS shows that car buyers rate car makers more according to their CSR than those consumer in the first world, thus companies that perform better in this sphere stand a far greater chance of winning the hearts and minds of the new middle class is guaranteed success. In 2005, Honda was ranked the UKs best car company based on its social responsibility initiatives, by the foremost research company on automotives, TNS Automotive. It performs equally well in the US, Indonesia, Italy and Spain among other countries alongside BMW, Shell, Malaysias Petronas, Michelin and Germanys Porsche (Nissan Corp., 2010). Honda spent over 2.3% of its annual revenues in 2009, on its CSR commitments, with the environment taking the lions share of the budget. The company has undertaken numerous actions in an attempt to meet the challenges posed by global warming and climate change. With the reputation of the automobile industry and fossil fuels already damaged, due to its huge carbon footprints, and the growing fears among the public of air pollution, it is only reasonable that companies act in accordance to the wishes of the consumers. Honda has initiated the LCA system, which identifies and sets targets for the required actions. The company develops energy efficient models, adheres by the 3Rs (in design) and noise reduction etc. Hondas corporate governance is a typical Japanese style bottom down structure, characterized by collective decision making and a collective sense of belonging among to the company that in turn reflects on the companys performance (Honda Ltd, 2010). Any companys corporate governance does determine the direction that it assumes, which ultimately reflects on its financial performance. Nissans corporate philosophy, governance as well CSR activities are not different from Hondas. It seeks to bring enrichment of the peoples lives and the environment in which they operate. It has made CSR an important part of its corporate management policies. It has devised its green purchasing guidelines, coupled with Nissan-Renault Suppliers Guidelines, which ensure that the companys entire supply chain is green and serves the purposes of the policies set by its top management. Through its charitable arm, Chryslers management makes annual donations to needy communities, projects and causes (Chrysler, 2010). In 2009, the company advanced upwards of $100000 to Good Harvest geared at combating hunger. The companys CSR initiatives are not as extensive as both Nissan and Hondas partly because the company caters for the luxury market segments that are in the main concerned about the quality and luxury as against a companys CSR etc. CONCLUSIONS Honda is largely touted by observers and varied literatures in strategic management. Its strategies have largely been used either rightly or wrongly to back up a number of conceptual dichotomies, with contracting positions i.e. learning v. analytical planning, core capabilities v competencies etc. Most of these assumptions, and evidences have however, proven erroneous owing to empirical mistakes that result into the over emphasis of the companies strengths, while its mistakes go largely unnoticed. Further, strategies and explanations are expressed in form of reductionist, single-sided theories that largely fail to portray the actual strategic orientation of Honda. Hondas thrives on reconciling dichotomies. Thus many observers in the west have largely missed out in studying, learning from and understanding Honda. Rohlen (1974), it is evident that capabilities as well as competencies can possibly complement one another, forming into one theory. The latter does focus on the production expertise and technologies while the capabilities serving to improve the whole chain of value. Capabilities are far more visible and easily appreciated by the clients than are product competencies. Hondas ability to meet high targets and post tremendous growth rates is largely due to its tendency to set stretched targets, which brings into direct competition with the biggest players in the automotive industry. In order to compete, it uses its resource base to compete by either providing niche products or undercutting competitors on basis of cost advantages, attained through scale economies. This ability to leverage her resources offers the key to its success, as against the widely fabled Japanese management styles. This style is widely different from and more appealing that the western style corporate management is only suitable for the Japanese and Asian environments. There are aspects in both management styles that could beneficially be, and have largely been adopted by either side to the great advantage of the corporations, but not the complete management packages as they will be utter failures in the other ones environment (Schein, 1981). Finally, this report has demonstrated the importance of corporate governance, policy and CSR is important in the ever changing consumer tastes as well as preferences, and most importantly, increasing consumer awareness. RECOMMENDATIONS Increased spending and expansion of Hondas and other automotive companies in CSR, environmental protection and production of innovative environmentally friendly models should continue as the only way counter changing consumer needs as well as the changing times. The Western and Japanese styles of corporate management should be blended to suit both the practical and strategic objectives of each organization. Reconciliation of strategies is crucial for success and helps companies reap the benefits of divergent strategies, thus companies must seek common grounds between strategies rather than opting for only one.

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Vegetarianism and Cancer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being a vegetarian is becoming more and more popular in today’s society with the need to be politically correct. As doctors look further in to this lifestyle they are finding more and more benefits to a person being a vegetarian. In an article entitled â€Å"Vegetarian Diets During Cancer Treatment† written by Donna Paglia, M.S., R.D. discuss the benefits to being a vegetarian as far as cancer goes.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within the article she discuss the research that shows that by having a vegetarian diet you can reduce your cancer rates. Researchers are currently looking at the multitude of antioxidants and phytochemicals in fruits, vegetables, and legumes, as a result of some promising studies showing these foods' anti-cancer properties. This research is leading us to believe that a vegetarian diet may be one of the best preventive measures against certain cancers. Though there has not been any consensus on the type diet that should be used vegetarian is seen to be one of the best ways to go.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She also discuss the different foods that should be eaten during the treatment for cancer. She shows several charts with different foods and the amounts that should be consumed. She suggest a diet that is high in protein as well as high in calories. This is to meet the body’s demands, as well as to maximize the value of a reduced volume of food. Small, frequent, high calorie snacks may be helpful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She also discuss the different type of vegetarianism such as veganism and how they can adjust there diets to obtain these benefits. She gives a several examples of the type of the food that can eat and the measurement. She clarifies the different types of vegetarianism and some of their benefits. This gives a well rounded point view.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  She gives a lot of great information that would help people to make decision on whether or not to become a vegetarian during cancer treatment.

Development of Jim in Huckleberry Finn

This article demonstrates the different phases of Jim’s development to show how Twain used him as a tool to condemn mistreatment of black people. The author begins with the analysis of Jim as a simple gag routine which was a common role of African Americans during this time period. However, Twain slowly makes the audience realize that the Jim is a real person, beginning with a profound statement of self-awareness and destiny â€Å"Jim's reflection that ‘I's rich now, come to look at it. I owns mysef, en I's wuth eight hund'd dollars. I wisht I had de money, I `wouldn' want no mo'’ moves outside the world of low comedy, and Jim becomes something more than the ordinary stage Negro.† By this point in the book, the reader begins to realize, along with an unwilling Huck, that Jim is an intelligent and respectable man, equal with any white of the South. Jim’s continuing demonstration of intellectuality and compassion lead the reader to believe that he is the only true â€Å"adult† or â€Å"human† person in the novel while acting as a foil to the emotionally young and adamant Huck. Eventually, the reader is lead to sympathize and relate to Jim while he takes on the traditional role of a â€Å"white man† and Huck that of a â€Å"black man†, evidence of Twain’s slow transformation of Jim from the typical comic relief to the unusual source of reason and humanity. Citation: Hansen, Chadwick. â€Å"The Character of Jim and the Ending of `Huckleberry Finn'.† DISCovering Authors. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 27 Oct. 2011. This article talks about how Jim starts off as a stereotypical negro. Jim starts off very superstitious. Jim also believes that his hairball can tell the fortunes. In the beginning, Jim uses Tom’s trickery to his advantage. Instead of saying that somehow his hat ended up in a tree when he woke up, he told everyone that he was possessed by the devil and that witches had ridden him all over the south. Later in the story Jim does not act so foolishly. Jim develops into a sort of role model near the end of the story. Jim actually takes responsibility and cares for both Huck and Tom and protect them from harm. Jim could have easily have left both Tom and Huck and escaped to freedom near the end of the story yet he protected both of them and actually cared for them. Jim went to being naà ¯ve to becoming a responsible role model for Huck and Tom. Citation: James, Pearl. â€Å"Overview of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.† EXPLORING Novels. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Discover Collection. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. The article talks about how Jim is second only to Huck in this novel. However, when we meet Jim at the beginning of the book, Jim is portrayed as a dumb negro. When Jim is introduced in chapter 2, it is thought that Jim is just the widow’s slave and really has no more importance than that rather than the fact that Tom enjoys to mess with him. In the beginning of the book, Jim is a superstitious fool who believes that he has a hairball that can tell the future. However, Jim’s character develops greatly throughout the book and Jim becomes a major character in the story. The events in the story most likely would have never been able to take place if it hadn’t been for Jim. In the end, he came a long way from being the foolish negro working for the widow.

What Are the Psychological Explanations for Why People Commit Terrorist Acts and Up to What Extent Do They Explain These People’s Behaviour.

What are the psychological explanations for why people commit terrorist acts and up to what extent do they explain these people’s behaviour. Miller (2006) states that the word terrorism derives from the Latin word terrere which means to frighten. Merari and Friedman (see Victoroff 2005, p. 3) claim that terrorism existed even before recorded history. This is echoed by Miller’s (2006) claim that terrorism is as old as civilization and has existed since people discovered that they could influence the majority by targeting a few people. Schmid (see Victoroff 2005 p. ) has collected 109 definitions of terrorism and this suggests that it is a very broad topic and extremely hard to define. Two examples of relatively recent acts of terrorism are the Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 and the terrorist attacks upon the United States in 2001. This essay examines some of the psychological explanations as to why people commit such acts of terror and attempts to integrate some of these explanations in order to achieve a greater understanding. One possible explanation of why people commit terrorist acts can be seen in the pathological theory of terrorism. Bongar at el. (2007) claim that it is a common suggestion that terrorists must be insane or psychopathologcal; this is the basis of the psychopathological theory of terrorism. However Rasch (see Victoroff 2005 p. 12) looked at 11 terrorist suspects and also looked at a Federal Police study of 40 people wanted as terrorists and found nothing to suggest that any of them were mentally ill. Bongar et al (2007) observed that interviews with terrorists hardly ever find any disorder listed in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. This is supported by the work of the criminologist Franco Ferracuti (1982) who said that although terrorist groups are sometimes led by insane individuals, and a few terrorist acts maybe committed by insane individuals, ,most people who commit terrorist acts hardly ever meet psychiatric criteria for insanity. Victoroff (2005) makes the point that very little research supporting the psychopathological model uses comprehensive psychiatric examination. Whilst the psychopathological model may explain the behaviour of a few people who commit terrorist acts it does not explain the behaviour of most people who commit terrorist acts. Psychoanalysis is based on the idea that we are largely driven by unconscious motives and impulses (Victoroff 2005; Borum 2004). It has been used to try and explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts and has many variants but two notions seem to underpin all of them; the first is that people who commit terrorist acts are motivated by a hostility towards their parents and that these motives are mainly unconscious, the second is that terrorism is the result of cruelty and maltreatment in childhood (Borum 2004). A theory which uses the psychoanalytical approach is the Narcissism theory. John Crayton and Richard Pearlstein (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) have used Kohut’s self psychology to explain the process that drives young people to commit terrorist acts. Heniz Kohut’s (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) concept of self psychology is a variation of Freud’s ego psychology. Kohut (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) claims that infants have certain needs which need to be met in order for their caring responses to develop normally and that if they do not receive maternal empathy it damages their self image. Kohut (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) called this damage narcissistic injury and said that it prevents the development of adult morality and identity. In his work Crayton (see Victoroff 2005. p. 23) suggests that political experience such as humiliation of subordination might rekindle narcissistic injury caused in childhood in adults. He suggested that this may result in an exalted sense of self or the rejection of one’s individual identity in order to unite with someone or something which represents omnipotence (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23; Borum 2004, p. 19). Crayton suggested (see Victoroff 2005, p. 23) that an exaltation of self is the origin for leaders of terrorist groups/activities and that the rejection of one’s individual identity is the origin of the followers of such leaders. Akhtar (see Borum 2004 p. 19) based his work on the Narcissism theory and claimed that people who commit terrorist acts are deeply traumatised as children, and often suffer abuse and humiliation. According to Akhtar (see Borum 2004, p. 19) this leaves them feeling an enormous amount of fear and vulnerability. Crayton (see Victoroff 2005 p. 3) claims that this fear and vulnerability become intolerable to the extent that it is expressed through narcissistic rage; narcissistic rage is actually rage against the damaged self but is projected onto other targets as if they were the reason for the intolerable feelings. The work of both Hubbard and el Surraj (see Victoroff 2005 p. 24) supports the narcissistic theory; they found that terrorists are usually not aggressive psychopaths but are often timid, emotionally damaged young people who might have suffered parental rejection and therefore not developed their own adult identities fully. They are often looking for meaning and relationships. The narcissism theory tries to explain why people commit terrorist acts in terms of an identity deficit/narcissistic injury which is expressed through narcissistic rage. Pearlstein (see Borum 2004 p. 19) identifies the narcissism theory as the most comprehensive theory of the individual logic of those who commit terrorist acts. However Victoroff (2005) claims that although the ideas within the narcissism theory are plausible there is very little scientific evidence supporting the theory. Bandura’s social learning theory suggests that violence occurs through observation and imitation of behaviour (see Victoroff 2005, p. 18). Whether or not aggressive behaviour is imitated depends on what consequences of the behaviour are observed when other people carry out the behaviour (see Borum 2004, p. 13). Learning through observation of other peoples’ actions and through the consequences of their actions is called vicarious learning (see Borum 2004, p. 13). Oots and Wiegele (1985) make the point that if aggression can be viewed as a learned behaviour, then terrorism, which is a type of aggressive behaviour, can also be viewed as a learned behaviour. Victoroff (2005) gives an example of how the social learning theory might explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts; he says that adolescents who live in areas of political conflict may witness terrorist behaviours and seek to imitate them or that they may see the way that people in their culture react to such terrorist behaviours and learn through these. The latter is an example of vicarious learning; if certain behaviours get a positive reaction then people are more likely to imitate them. Crenshaw (see Victoroff 2005, p. 18) gives the example of the martyr posters which are displayed in the Shi’a regions of Lebanon and Palestinian refugee camps; this example illustrates how vicarious learning might explain the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts. Positive reactions to terrorist behaviours from the people of a culture may influence others in that culture to commit terrorist acts. The social learning theory fails to explain why only a minority of people who witness terrorist behaviours and see these behaviours being glorified by their culture become people who commit terrorist acts (Victoroff, 2005). The behaviours of people who commit terrorist acts can be explained to a certain extent by the pathological model, the narcissism model and the social learning theory. The pathological model explains their behaviour in terms of psychopathology, the narcissism model explains their behaviour in terms of narcissistic injury and an exaltation of self or rejection of individual identity, the social learning theory explains their behaviour in terms of observation, imitation and vicarious learning. None of the models fully succeed in explaining why only a minority of people who suffer from psychopathology, narcissistic personality traits or live in areas of political conflict become people who commit terrorist acts. The pathological model, the narcissism model, and the social learning theory may provide a better explanation of why people commit terrorist acts if they are combined; For example if someone is pathologically insane, has had a distressful childhood and is also surrounded by political conflict, it seems more likely that they may commit terrorists acts. On the other hand if someone is pathologically insane, has had a relatively stable childhood, and isn’t surrounded by political conflict, it seems less likely that they may commit terrorist acts. The three explanations for the behaviour of people who commit terrorist acts, which are discussed in this essay are not the only psychological explanations available. There are also cognitive and biological explanations for such behaviour which if integrated with the three explanations discussed in this essay would provide an even greater understanding of why people commit terrorist acts. References Bongar, B. M. , et al. , 2007. 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