Abortion Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Abortion - Article Example The author points out that forcing an unwilling mother to have a child is like forcing the kidnapped person to stay connected to the violinist for as long as he needs it. This scenario immediately strikes us as unfair, why should any-one be unwillingly obliged to spend nine years on a bed so that some-one else can live. The point is that even though the violinist has the right to live, he does not have the right to make use of your kidneys when you have not willingly agreed to it. A similar argument can be drawn up in the case of the mother and the fetus. The fetus has a right to live but does he have any rights from the mother that she is unwilling to give. This argument is specially powerful in the case of a rape pregnancy or even in the case of a pregnancy that is unwanted and has happened despite appropriate precautions. An important crux of the argument given by the author is that even if the demands are small and it would be almost indecent and despicable to refuse that still does not imply a right over the mother if she is not willing to take on the responsibility. Although the Good Samaritan principle might be used by anti-abortionists the author points out that it is only in this particular scenario that we are forcing a human being to act as a Good Samaritan and not leaving it to their

Celiac Disease: Symptoms, Causes and Effects

Celiac Disease: Symptoms, Causes and Effects INTRODUCTION TO CELIAC DISEASE (definition, overview); Celiac disease or celiac sprue is a common disease that occurs in people digestive system. The people with this condition have adverse reaction to food containing gluten. Gluten is a type of protein that commonly can be found in three types of cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. It also can be found in food such as bread, pasta and biscuit. In the case of celiac disease, the immune system of the body treated one of substances that make gluten, gliadin, as a threat to the body and negatively react to it. The immune system produces antibodies to fight the supposed to be harmful substance. This antibodies cause surface the intestine become inflamed, disrupting the ability of the body to absorb the nutrient from the food lead to malnourished condition to people with the celiac disease. If this condition happened to infant or toddler, it will make them failed to thrive, in term of the weight and height. In older, the malnourished condition can lead to late blooming. In United States, 1 in every 100 to 200 people has this condition[1], while in UK it affects 1 in every 100 people[2]. The number might be higher because some milder cases may go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and treated as other disease. The disease may affect to all people at any age. Women with celiac disease are two to three times higher than men[3] from all the cases that were reported. The symptoms have high probability to develop during early childhood – between 8-12 months old and usually it takes several months before correct diagnosis is made or in later adulthood – between ages of 40 to 60 years[4]. Due to adverse reaction to gluten, people with this condition should avoid gluten in their diet. Cause There is no exact science what conditions that can develop the celiac disease. The two condition that probably cause this is the genetic and environment. The risk is approximately 10% with family history[5], compared with 1% person with no close relative that has this condition. In identical twin, the risk can go up to 85% if the other twin has this condition.[6] Other factor that can cause celiac disease is the environmental factor. Having previous infection in the digestive system or wrong diet when someone was a children play part in developing celiac disease. Introduce gluten to the diet of less than three months old baby can increase the risk of developing celiac disease. Experts agree that parents have to wait until their baby is six months old or older to introduce gluten to the baby diet. When the baby is introduced to gluten, there is also high chance that they still develop celiac disease if they are not breastfeed. Some number of health conditions can also increase the risk to develop celiac disease such as ulcerative colitis – inflammation of colon cause by some digestive condition–, type-1 diabetes and neurological disorders such as epilepsy.[7] Symptom Although celiac disease is hard to be recognized, there are several symptoms that may lead to celiac disease diagnosis. When a person eat food containing gluten, several conditions can be happened: Indigestion Occasional change in bowel habit such as diarrhea or constipation Bloating and flatulence Anemia, a condition where someone lack iron in blood and cause tiredness, breathlessness and an irregular heartbeat Abdominal pain Loss of appetite Weight loss Feeling tired all the time – as result of malnutrition Children not growing to expected rate. Tingling and numb in the hands and feet Vomiting, usually happen on children Hair loss, usually happen on adult Note that the symptoms are often intermittent, start and stop interchangeably and sometimes appear unrelated to the diet and digestive symptoms. The symptom in mild case celiac disease sometimes unnoticeable, and is detected during testing for another disease. It is suggested that, although it is a mild condition, complication can still occur. The symptoms for severe celiac disease is the same as the regular symptom, except in more severe level such as stomach cram, muscle spasm, diarrhea which often happen at night and swelling in the hand, feet, arms and legs caused by buildup of fluid or edema. The stools (feces) can also contain high levels of fat, which can make them greasy, foul smelling and frothy. They also can make it hard to flush the toilet. IMPORTANCE OF READING ABOUT CELIAC DISEASE; The symptoms of celiac disease sometimes are not apparent. The cause of the disease for children can be harmful and cause long-term damage. If the disease is untreated, it can lead to malnourished because the body cannot digest the food in the right way. The body will feel tired and lack of energy. Malnutrition in children will lead to failure to grow at expected rate, in term of height and weight and for older children; it can lead to delayed puberty. Because of the long term and damaging effect of celiac disease, proper knowledge of this condition should become a common awareness. An untreated or undiagnosed celiac disease in a person that still eats gluten can cause more serious effect. Eating a tiny amount of gluten can trigger the symptoms of celiac disease and increase the possibility to develop complications such as osteoporosis, malnutrition, lactose intolerance and even cancer. Osteoporosis Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones become weak and brittle. The bones need mineral and vitamin to make it keep strong. Because of the digestive condition of a person with celiac disease, the damaged intestines prevent it to absorb nutrient from the food that needed to be given to the bones. Osteoporosis usually has no symptoms, until someone had an accidental fall or something similar and end up breaking a weakened bones. Osteoporosis can be treated by consume enough vitamin D and calcium. Malnutrition The damage in the intestines prevent is to absorb enough nutrient for the body. These malnutrition conditions can makes the body cannot function normally or recover in the event of infection or wounded. Severe malnutrition can cause fatigue, dizzy and confused. The muscles become languish and it is very difficult to keep the warm of the body. In children, the malnutrition can hamper the growth and late development. The malnutrition can be treated by additional supplement or eating enough calories in the diet. Lactose Intolerance Someone with celiac disease has high possibility to also develop lactose intolerance, where the body is not enough producing enzymes to digest milk sugar (lactose) found in dairy products. Celiac disease symptoms such as diarrhea, bloating and abdominal discomfort are caused by lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance does not damage the body, but rather cause the above discomfort, the gastrointestinal symptoms, because the body cannot digest the lactose properly. Lactose intolerance can be treated by not drinking or eating dairy product. Additional supplement such as calcium might be needed because dairy product is one of the main sources of calcium for the body. Cancer It is suggested in some research that having celiac disease can raise the possibility to develop certain type of cancer, including bowel cancer and lymphoma, cancer in the lymphatic system, part of the immune system. Based on research, it is estimated that people with celiac disease has two times higher possibility to develop bowel cancer than general population[8]. The highest risk to develop cancer is thought in the first year after diagnosis, and drop to normal after the gluten free diet take effect. Whether or not someone has celiac disease, it is important to be aware to the symptom of bowel cancer which includes unexplained weight loss, blood in stools (feces) and change in the normal bowel habit lasting more than four weeks. SIGNIFICANCE OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO CELIAC DISEASE The symptom of celiac disease sometimes unrecognizable or people think that it is the symptom to other disease. Take the right approach to find the disease and how to react to it seems necessary. The approach to celiac disease can be divided into two categories, the correct diagnosis and correct treatment. Diagnosis Routine screening for celiac disease is not recommended unless someone has the potential to develop them. If someone have symptom that already explained above, then it is recommended to test for celiac disease. Testing is also recommended if someone have the following condition: Type 1 diabetes Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Underactive or overactive thyroid gland Dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin condition that causes blistering In other circumstances, testing is also recommended if someone has this condition: Addision disease, where certain gland in the body are attacked by immune system Down Syndrome, an abnormal physical and mental development that is caused by genetic condition Epilepsy Lymphoma, a type of cancer Bone diseases such as rickets, the softening and weakening of the bone Persistent of unexplained constipation Repeated miscarriages Sjogren’s Syndrome, a condition where the tear and saliva gland are attacked by the immune system Turner Syndrome, infertility and delayed growth affecting a woman because of a genetic condition Unexplained fertility The screening to diagnose celiac disease involves two steps. The first step is the blood test, to help identify the people who may have celiac disease and then biopsy as the second test to confirm that people have celiac disease. In the blood test, the general practitioner will take sample of the blood and then test it for antibodies that usually can be found in the bloodstream of people with celiac disease. Before and during the test, the people that will be diagnosed should not avoid gluten in their diet as this can lead to inaccurate test result. If the test is positive, mean that there is a celiac disease antibodies found the blood, it is recommend to take second step of the test, biopsy. Sometimes, someone has celiac disease but the blood test result is negative, mean that no antibodies found in the blood. If the symptoms of celiac disease keep coming, the doctor usually will recommend taking biopsy test. The second step, biopsy test usually carried out in a hospital and is performed by gastroenterologist, a specialist that treats any conditions in the stomach and intestines. Before the procedure, local anesthetic will be given to the patient to numb her throat or sedative to make her relax. An endoscope, a thin and flexible tube with a light will then is inserted in to her mouth and gently pass down to her small intestine. A tiny biopsy tool will be passed through the endoscope to takes sample of the lining in the small intestine. The sample will then be inspected under microscope to confirm the presence of a celiac disease. If someone diagnoses with celiac disease, she may also need to take other test to assess how the celiac disease has affected the body so far. She may need to do another blood test to check the level of iron, vitamins and mineral in the blood. This test will help to determine whether she already has anemia due to poor digestion. A skin biopsy may need to be taken if she appears to develop dermatitis herpetiformis, a gluten intolerance condition marked by an itchy rash in the skin. I other cases, a DEXA scan may also being recommended. This test will particularly see the condition of the bones. The DEXA scan is some kind of X-ray to measure the bones density to see if she have the risk of bone fracture when she getting older. This test may necessary if the doctor suspects that the celiac disease has already affected the bone and cause osteoporosis. Treatment The simplest way to explain the treatment celiac disease is by move away from food contains gluten. Do not eat it even just a small amount of it. This action will prevent the damage of the lining in the intestines or gut that is caused by gluten, and its associated symptom such as diarrhea and stomach pain. Someone with celiac disease should avoid gluten in their diet for life because this protein, if is consumed will cause the symptom to comeback and cause long-term damage to the health. This may looks worrying and daunting, but help is always available from the doctor or dietician about how to manage the diet. Few weeks after starting gluten free diet, the symptom will improve considerably. However, it may take quite long time; up to two years before the digestive system heal completely. As mentioned above, a dietician might be endorsed by the doctor to give advice about healthy diet without gluten. They will also help to check the balance of the nutrient in the new diet. Someone with celiac disease will no longer able to eat foods that contain wheat, barley or rye. Even if they eat just a spoonful of pasta, the celiac symptom will start to emerge, such as the unpleasant intestinal sensation. If gluten is ate regularly, in the long run it will increase the risk to develop osteoporosis or cancer in later life. The good news is, as protein, gluten is not essential to the diet and the replacement can be found in many other foods. Alternatives for gluten-free foods are widely available in store, supermarket or healthy food shops, including pizza, pasta and bread. Wide ranges of gluten-free food are also available on prescription. Many basic foods such as vegetables, rice, cheese, potatoes and meat are naturally gluten-free so to put them in the personal diet of someone with celiac disease is not a problem. To give a brief picture about which food contain gluten or not, the list below will show you some of the food with gluten and without gluten. Food containing gluten Do not eat the following food unless it has label as gluten-free version: Bread Pasta Cereal Biscuit or crackers Cakes and pastries Pies Gravies and Sauces It is important to always check the label of the food that being bought. By law, food labeled as gluten-free can contain no more than 20 ppm (parts per million) of gluten. [9] Most people can accept this amount trace of gluten, but very few people cannot tolerate even very small of it. For those type of people, they really need to eat gluten-free food. Many foods, mainly those that are processed may contain gluten in additives, such as modified food starch and malt flavoring. Gluten may also found in some non-food product such as lipstick, postage stamps or some type of medication. Cross contamination can occur if gluten-free food is processed together with same utensils with the food that contain gluten. Gluten free food The following foods naturally do not contain gluten: Rice Potatoes Fruit and vegetables Fish and meat Most dairy product such as milk, butter and cheese Gluten free flour such as corn, soy, rice and potato Oats is also an example of gluten-free food; nevertheless many people with celiac disease avoid eating them because they can become contaminated by gluten from other cereal. To eat oats, someone with celiac disease should carefully check that the oats is pure and no gluten contaminations have occurred. It is recommended to eat oat when the gluten-free diet already taken full-effect. If the symptom emerges again, stop eating oats. In early prevention of celiac disease to be developed in people, it is advised to not introduce any diets that contain gluten to less than six months old baby. Breast milking the baby is the best way to feed them since the breast milk does not contain gluten. The baby milk formula is also gluten-free. Besides eating gluten free diet, other treatments are also needed especially if the celiac disease already affecting the body. For the first six month after diagnosis, additional supplement might be needed to ensure that the body have enough nutrient its needed before the digestive system repair itself. Taking supplement can also remedy any deficiencies such as anemia. In the case where the celiac disease causing the spleen work less efficiently, which makes someone vulnerable to infection, an additional vaccination should be applied. The vaccinations include influenza and HIB/MenC vaccine which protect against meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis or blood poisoning. Pneumococcal should also be taken to protect against infections caused by the Streptococcus Pneumonia bacterium. For some people, celiac disease can also cause an itchy rash in the skin called dermatitis herpetiformis. Taking a gluten free diet as treatment is usually enough to clear it up. In some cases, it takes quite long time to clear up the rash. Medicine called Dapson might be prescribed by the doctor to help the body speed up the clearing of the rash. However, side effects such as depression and headaches should be expected, so it usually will be prescribed in the lowest effective dose. Celiac disease has a long run damaging effect to the body. It is suggested that comprehensive approach, which include diagnosis and treatment as explain above should become common knowledge for people, especially someone with the higher risk to develop the disease because of family genetic or other factor. [1] http://www.aafp.org/afp/2007/1215/p1795.html [2] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx [3] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx [4] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Introduction.aspx [5] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx [6] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx [7] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Causes.aspx [8] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Complications.aspx [9] http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Coeliac-disease/Pages/Treatment.aspx

Ellis Island and American Nationalism Essay -- American History Essays

Ellis Island and American Nationalism Many people have many different opinions of airports. Some people love going to airports and flying all around the country or the world. Others are afraid of airplanes, fearing that the plane will be hijacked. Others like coming into American airports so that they can start a new life. Some think that Arab immigrants are discriminated against when entering the country, but during the early days of American immigration many more were discriminated against. Ellis Island was corrupted with American Nationalism and the fear of the unknown. â€Å"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land, Here at our sea-washed, sunset-gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome, her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor the twin-cities frame. ‘Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!’ cries she, With silent lips. ‘Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore; Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!† (Lazarus, 1883) These are the words from the poem â€Å"The New Colossus† written by Emma Lazarus. This was the welcome the statue brought; ‘come here and be free, have a home, and a hope for your future.’ This is how many people, both within and outside of the United States, saw the Statue of Liberty, as a symbol of freedom. To the immigrants coming to this country, America was first visible to them in the presence of the 305 foot statue. The message of the Statue of Liberty didn’t need any translations into a... ...med acceptable. Bibliography Allen, Leslie. Liberty: The Statue and the American Dream. Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, New York 1985 Coan, Peter Morton. Ellis Island Interviews. Facts on File, New York 1997 Corsi, Edward. In the Shadow of Liberty. The Macmillan Company, New York 1935 Lankevich, George J. American Metropolis. New York University Press, New York 1998 Lazarus, Emma. The New Colossus. November 2, 1983. Weisberger, Bernard A. Statue of Liberty: The First Hundred Years. American Heritage Press, New York 1985 Yans-McLaughlin, Virginia and Lightman, Marjorie. Ellis Island and the Peopling of America. The New Press, New York 1997 Images from cover of Judge Magazine. March 22, 1890. Private Collection, Paris.

Howard Zinn Chapter One

Columbus has always been portrayed as an enlightened, peaceful explorer who â€Å"discovered† a new world, and became friends with the native people. Howard Zinn’s view on Columbus’s encounter with the natives is an entirely different perspective. Zinn describes Columbus as a man who is willing to torture and kill others to be able to accomplish what he wants; in this case he wanted to obtain gold and other resources to take back with him to Spain.When Columbus and his men arrived to the islands, he noticed that the natives were generous, and accommodating because they willingly traded everything they owned and brought them such things like: food, water, and gifts. Since the beginning the natives offered all of their hospitality to Columbus and his men. Columbus believed that the natives were ignorant because they had no weapons for self defense; when he showed them a sword, they had no idea how to use it and ended up cutting themselves.Columbus was more than cer tain, that he could take control over the natives, and captivate them as slaves. In his writing he wrote, â€Å"They would make fine servants†¦. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want. † (Zinn, 3) This attitude leaded to enslavement, feeling superior, and genocide by Columbus and his men towards the natives. Columbus had persuaded the king and queen of Spain to finance an expedition to the lands, and the wealth; he expected to be at the Indies and Asia.Columbus would receive ten percent of all the goods collected, governorship over new-found lands, and the fame that would go with a new title: Admiral of the Ocean Sea. Columbus believed the natives could lead him and his men to where the gold was, to be able to take it back to the King and Queen so he took many of them as prisoners on his ship. He also wanted to take them back to Spain as slaves and be able to make them do whatever they wanted them to do. Columbus took advantage of th e ignorance of the natives, and made them do hard labor for him and his men.Columbus believed that there were huge fields of gold, in the province of Cicao on Haiti. He became desperate to pay the dues back to the king and queen, so he order every native older than fourteen to collect a certain quantity of gold by three months. Once they had collected the amount, they would receive a copper to put around their neck, those without it had their hands cut off and bled to death. Many felt it was impossible to do this, and tried escaping but were always found and killed.When it was finally clear that there was no gold left, they took them all as slave labor to huge estates which are called encomiendas. Columbus’s big plan for Hispaniola since the beginning was to take advantage of the natives and take their land, and the gold he believed was located there. He built the first fort in the Western Hemisphere, and left some of his men to find and store gold there. Columbus had to ask for a little more help from their majesties, he convinced them by saying he would take them â€Å"as much gold as they need †¦ nd as many slaves as they ask† (Zinn,6 ) Columbus’s plans affected the natives, in many ways; first of all they were going to lose their land, and also they were going to be taken captive for slave labor. Howard Zinn not only introduced a new perspective on Christopher Columbus, but he changed the way I viewed things. I never knew how much killings, and torture was put upon the natives in the searching of the â€Å"New World†. I learned how the hero I thought Columbus was, in reality was more like a villain. He didn’t care what he had to do as long as he got what he wanted, even if it dealt with murders and torturing the natives.

Summary of the Case on Uganda

Summary of the case The Charles Martin in Uganda story shows how companies can often be at adds with a manager who is managing operations in a distant land. The values and normal tendencies of a company can sometimes be interpreted much differently by the manager on the ground. In this example, we will look at how Charles Martin dealt with cultural differences of Uganda and the U. S. -based Hydro Generation (HG) Company. On the surface, the diverse culture could be seen as a turn off to foreign companies, but HG, with the help of Charles Martin’s life experiences and scholastic knowledge of the region saw an opportunity to grow in Uganda.But at first glance this may prove to be difficult for HG. This was HG’s first pursuit of business in Africa ,so growing pains were almost certainly be felt. Like many African countries, Uganda has a tumultuous history. With the dictatorship of Idi Amin ruling with an iron fist, life in Uganda was difficult (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sulliv an, 2011). A diverse country in terms of religious sects, Christianity is the majority, though there is a large number of Muslims among many other religions (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan, 2011).In terms of language spoken, English is the official language, however many speak only an indigenous language such as Bantu or Nilotic (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan, 2011). In addition the history, language, and religion, HG Company had to also take into consideration the tribal normalcy’s as well as business normalcies in Uganda . With the pending displacement of 700 villagers (Daniels, Radebaugh, & Sullivan, 2011), HG was now faced with its first major hurdle that most companies will face when expanding globally.This hurdle is best described in how to best coexist with the cultural norms of a country. Instead of trying to simply impose the will of HG Company, they assembled a package that they felt would best benefit those being displaced. HG (hydro generation) is U. S based comp any. Specialist in power plants (dams). It values strongly built in the Christian culture. It has built plants 16 countries maintained an ownership an about half of them. The Uganda is its first anywhere in Africa. Because their construction involves huge amount of capitalUganda: Uganada officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by Tanzania. The southern part of the country includes a substantial portion of Lake Victoria, which is also shared by Kenya and Tanzania. Uganda takes its name from the Buganda kingdom, which encompasses a large portion of the south of the country including the capital Kampala.The people of Uganda were hunter-gatherers until 1,700 to 2,300 years ago, when Bantu-speaking populations migrated to the southern parts of the country. Uganda gained independence from Britain on 9 October 1962. Language Uganda is a multilingual country. Forty of its living indigenous languages. Fall into three main families – Bantu, Nilotic, and Central Sudanic – with another 2 languages in the Kuliak family. English, inherited from the colonial period, and Swahili, which is regionally important, are official languages. There is also a Ugandan Sign Language. all of the Bantu speaking areas of Uganda, dialect continua are very common. For example, people around Mbarara in Ankole District speak Nkole and people from Fort Portal in Toro District speak Tooro, but in the area between those towns one will find villages where most of the people speak a dialect which is best characterized as intermediate between Nkole and Tooro. In recognition of the closeness of four of these languages (Nkole, Tooro, Kiga, and Nyoro), and in order to facilitate work in them such as teaching, a standardized version called â€Å"Runyakitara† was developed around 1990. In south central Uganda, the Bantu languages of Luganda and Soga are largely interintelligible. Religion: Uganda is a predominantly Christian country with a significant (about 12%) Muslim minority. The Northern and West Nile regions are dominated by Roman Catholics and Iganga District in the east of the country has the highest percentage of Muslims. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Uganda Constitution but religions are expected to be registered with the government and some religions considered cults are restricted.The Catholic Church, the Church of Uganda, Orthodox Church, and the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council (UMSC) are registered under the Trustees Incorporation Act and most other religious groups are registered yearly as Non-Government Organizations. Economy: Endowed with significant natural resources, including ample fertile land, regular rainfall, and mineral deposits, it is thought that Uganda could feed the whole of Africa if it was commercially farmed. The economy of Uganda has great potential, and it appeared poised for rapid economic growth and development.However, chronic political instability and erratic economic management produced a record of persistent economic decline that has left Uganda among the world's poorest and least-developed countries. The national energy needs have historically been more than domestic energy generation, though large petroleum reserves have been found in the west. After the turmoil of the Amin period, the country began a program of economic recovery in 1981 that received considerable foreign assistance. From mid-1984 onward, however, overly expansionist fiscal and monetary policies and the renewed outbreak of civil strife led to a setback in economic performance.Uganda began issuing its own currency in 1966 through the Bank of Uganda. Prior to the failure of the East African Currency Board, Uganda used other countries' currency. Agricultural products supply nearly all of Uganda's foreign exchange earnings, with coffee alone (of which Uganda is Africa's leading producer) accounting for about 27% of the country's exports in 2002. The industrial sector is being rehabilitated to resume production of building and construction materials, such as cement, reinforcing rods, corrugated roofing sheets, and paint.Domestically produced consumer goods include plastics, soap, cork, beer, and soft drinks. Major Cement manufacturers like ‘Tororo Cement Ltd' caters to the need of building and construction material consumers across East Africa. Hydro generation: HG (hydro generation) is U. S based company. Specialist in power plants (dams). It values strongly built in the Christian culture. It has built plants 16 countries maintained an ownership an about half of them. The Uganda is its first anywhere in Africa.Because their construction involves huge amount of capital and because many groups opposes their construction on the grounds that they typically displace large groups of people. HG wanted to bu ild as many local allies as possible for its Ugandan projects in order to prevent adverse publicity that could lead demonstrations and costly work stoppages. Its employees have a high degree of empowerment, being fully responsible for their actions. There is no code of conduct concerning expatriates lifestyle, but its corporate culture was one that reflected the lifestyle of a prosperous international company.

Differences in Chinese and American Cultures Essays

Differences in Chinese and American Cultures Essays Differences in Chinese and American Cultures Essay Differences in Chinese and American Cultures Essay The differences in Chinese culture and American culture are many. Language and dialects, the importance of family, a hierarchy, and traditions are pillars in Chinese culture. American culture is more , we can classify the different social things and human behaviors into three categories, depending upon the moral value system of a particular society: first, the good, these kinds of social things or behaviors demonstrate or conform to the moral ideal of the society; second, the appropriate, they conform to the basic moral norms of the society; third, the evil, they deviate from the basic moral norms of the society.Of which, both the first and second are acknowledged by the moral value system of a particular society and hence deemed as moral, and only they may be at different levels in the moral value system; whereas the third is regarded as immoral and necessarily prohibited by the moral value system of a particular society.In fact, among the social things or be haviors that are acknowledged by the moral value system of any society, there are always only very few that demonstrate or conform to the moral ideal, the majority of the social things or behaviors is merely appropriate. When the evil prevails over the appropriate, it means a collapse or dissolution of the societys moral value system, or even the entire social life.Should we ignore or deny the extremity in evaluating the good and evil, or amount the good and evil to the entire moral value attribute of social things and peoples behaviors, and then simply regard them as either good or evil with a dichotomy, we could end up either making the good condescend to the appropriate, or putting the things that should have belonged to the appropriate into the evil category, consequently, weakening the normalizing function during the evaluation through the good or evil, obscuring or watering down the significance of removing evil in favor of good, and even blocking the normal development of so cial life.The INTRODUCTION What does culture have to do with business? Many business majors and practitioners immersed in questions of financial forecasting, market studies, and management models have turned aside from the question of culture and how it affects business. But more and more organizations are finding themselves involved in communication across cultures, between cultures, among cultures; because they are doing business in foreign countries, perhaps, or because they are sourcing from another country, seeking financing from another country, or have an increasingly multicultural workforce.The globalization of the world economy, on one hand, has created tremendous opportunities for global collaboration among different countries; on the other hand, however, it has also created a unique set of problems and issues relating to the effective management of partnerships with different cultures. It can also be observed that most of the failures faced by cross-national companies are caused by neglect of cultural differences. With the increasing importance of the China market in the world economy, many businessmen rushed to enter China to explore business opportunities.It was reported that the great barriers caused by cultural differences like difficulty of communication, higher potential transaction costs, different objectives and means of cooperation and operating methods, have led to the failure of many Sino-foreign cooperation projects. Here is how arise some issues on â€Å"how to understand China† and â€Å"how to settle business† with Chinese people. Predominantly motivated by the quest for material inputs (oil and other primary commodities) required for its infrastructural investments and booming manufacturing sector, Chinese presence in Africa is rapidly growing.The rapid growth and significance of enhanced Chinese participation in Africa has important implications while talking about cultural aspects. To clarify the differences between C hina and Africa, I will focus on Hofstedes four cultural dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance and Bonds dimension about long-term/short-term orientation also called â€Å"Confucian Dynamism†. Hofstede is one of the first to adopt a pragmatic problem-solving approach in the field and relates culture to management.He defines culture as a kind of collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another (Hofstede, 1980). He explained that culturally-based values systems comprised four dimensions: power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance. Michael Bond (1989) in a further research discovered another dimension called long-term/short-term orientation. China and Africa differ greatly with regard to their economic systems, political systems, social values, and laws, despite the substantial changes that have occurred in China during recent years.Some differences can be found according to Hofstede studies on culture differences. First, in terms of power distance, China is centralized (though it has shown some tendency toward decentralized power) while Africa is relatively decentralized. In high power distance cultures, authority is inherent in one’s position within a hierarchy. There are strong dependency relationships between parents and children, bosses and subordinates and a significant social distance between superior and subordinate.In low power distance or power tolerance cultures, individuals assess authority in view of its perceived rightness. Second, we notice in both cases that contrary to western countries which have a strong individualism, China and Africa have a strong collectivism. Individualism-collectivism refers to the relative importance of the interests of the individual versus the interests of the group. In collectivistic societies, the interests of the group take prece dence over individual interests. People see themselves as part of in-groups and the in-groups look after them in exchange for their loyalty.In individualistic cultures, the interest of the individual takes precedence over the group’s interest. Third, Africa has higher value than China in masculinity, which indicates that Africa is medium masculinity while China is medium femininity. Masculinity-femininity or goal orientation pertains to the extent to which â€Å"traditional† male orientations of ambition and achievement are emphasized over â€Å"traditional† female orientations of nurturance and interpersonal harmony. Cultures differ on what motivates people to achieve different goals.Cultures of the aggressive goal behavior type (masculinity) value material possessions, money, and assertiveness whereas cultures of the passive goal behavior type (femininity) value social relevance, quality of life and welfare of others. Fourth, China and Africa have higher value s for uncertainty avoidance the West. This shows that in both sides, people are relatively risk-avoiding while western people are relatively risk-taking. Uncertainty avoidance captures the degree to which individuals in a culture feel threatened by ambiguous, uncertain, or new situations.Cultures are characterized as either high or low on uncertainty avoidance. Whereas low uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer positive response to change and new opportunities, high uncertainty avoidance cultures prefer structure and consistent routine. Last, Africa has a short-term orientation while China has a long-term orientation. Also called â€Å"Confucian dynamism†, this last dimension assesses a society’s capacity for patience and delayed gratification. Long-term oriented cultures (China and Hong Kong) tend to save more money and exhibit more patience in reaping the results of their actions.Short-term oriented cultures (African countries) want to maximize the present rewards and are relatively less prone to saving or anticipating long term rewards. It has been widely accepted that cultural differences greatly affect human thinking and behavior and thus business organizations in which people interact on the basis of shared values. Management is embedded in a wider societal setting, and is heavily influenced by local historical and cultural norms (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983). The significant ifferences between Africa and China seem to affect some aspects of their business management practice. Cultural Differences in business Strategies Because entrepreneurs mature within a societal context, their attitudes toward cooperation are likely to be influenced by the underlying values of their society (Weaver, 2000). As discussed above, Africa and China have a strong collectivism. People depend more on groups or institutions to determine what they should do and emphasize loyalty to the group.They are more likely to cooperate with others to avoid risks and reduce resp onsibilities. However due to the medium masculinity, Africans sometimes are reluctant to cooperate because their masculine culture view cooperation in general as a sign of weakness and place a high value on independence and control. In the process of cooperation, Chinese tend to pay more attention to relationships. I have to mention that the term â€Å"guanxi† which in English means relation or connection is at the center of businesses in China.In Weaver’s studies (2000), I found that entrepreneurs from societies that are masculine and individualistic have a lower appreciation for cooperative strategies as compared to entrepreneurs from societies that are feminine and collectivist in nature. Cultural Differences in Conflict Management In order to solve conflicts, Chinese and Africans have different ways. For Chinese where harmony and personal relationship are very important, they don’t like open conflict; therefore they use indirect ways to work out problems.Any time there is conflict, they use the authority to end up with it or settle things in private. Negotiation and compromise are determinant for them in this case. Contrary to them, Africans managers like Europeans or Americans, will directly confront problems and bring them out in the open. To resolve problems, everybody is involved in order to bring rational arguments and ideas to suggest solutions. We can notice that Chinese avoid this method because for them that will create disagreement which is very undesirable.African managers are reluctant to devote their time and efforts together in solving business conflicts. Other people’s help is needed. In contrast, according to Bond (1991), the strong collective orientation and uncertainty avoidance values in China encourage Chinese managers to use indirect forms of influence that involve the assistance of a third party. Indirect forms are used by Chinese managers to deal with a difficult or controversial request. In this way, they avoid losing face or damaging â€Å"guanxi†.Cultural Differences in Decision-making Risk-taking/Risk-avoiding Chinese and African managers differ from in the attitudes toward risks when they make decisions for their different values in uncertainty avoidance. Chinese managers with a high uncertainty-avoidance have a lack adventurous spirit and the sense of risks. Immediate decisions which make them lose the opportunity to compete in a market are avoided in the case they feel the circumstance is uncertain. Most of the time, they want to be safe by taking less risky decisions. For African managers, it is almost the same.Middle and lower level supervisors are less willing to make decisions without deference to superiors. The result is that decision-making takes much longer than anticipated and requires more input from players at various social and professional levels. Uncertainty Avoidance measures for Africa indicate low risk taking and a resistance to change which can further d elay projects which encounter problems mid-cycle. Levels of Participation in Decision-making The decision-making process involves making sense of ambiguity and taking risks (Jackson, 1993).The decision maker is working on the information available about what has already happened, what is assumed to have happened or is happening. The second aspect is future oriented (Brady, 1990). A risk is being taken because one is applying a perspective based on (often assumed) knowledge of the past, and projecting this to what might happen in the future if a certain course of action is followed. Chinese managers or African managers have different level of participation in decision- making. In China, decisions are participatory.Employees accept decisions handed down by their supervisors. Because of their unquestioning attitudes towards their supervisors, they resist participation in decision-making. In Africa, managers make individual decisions. They don’t consult with others but can defer to their supervisors. They value personal equality. To summarize, I can say that Chinese managers adopt the no participatory approach to decision-making. The decisions come from the higher superiors to the subordinates. However, since the reforms in China, things are changing.More and more, participatory decision-making is starting to be used in a certain number of companies. Cultural Differences in Work-group Characteristics The first difference about the work-group characteristics is the concept of â€Å"brotherhood, network, family feeling† which is at the heart of all Chinese interactions. In African business style which is quasi the western business style, managers focus on the deal, the possibilities, the risks and so on. There is less focus on the people they are doing business with.They may encourage their group members to learn from each other, to focus on task rather than on social and interpersonal relations, and to build the confidence required for superior perfor mance. They make difference between personal relationship and work. In China, it is the opposite. Chinese managers may initially focus more effort on building social and interpersonal relations (guanxi) before entering into business or contractual relationship. They would like to spend time developing and maintaining guanxi during the process of interaction and consider it as a prerequisite to do business.What sort of person you are is more important than what you do. A good deal of time is spent exploring peoples characters. People want to know your background, your family situation, your likes and dislikes. A good deal of business is conducted in banqueting halls. Chinese believe a persons true character comes out during these moments. The only purpose during these meetings is to see people’s other side, the human side. If they are comfortable with you, and if they think they can trust you, that you can be invited to â€Å"join the family†, you and your business are made.Chinese managers are not interested in short term; they want long, life-long business relations. However, as the economy has become increasingly marketized, privatized and competitive, the value and effectiveness of the Guanxi system has greatly deteriorated. In industries that have been substantially deregulated or privatized, or where there is vigorous competition, business is business, and Guanxi has been neutralized or marginalized. Relationships or connections now resemble that which we find elsewhere. Cultural Differences in Motivation SystemsIn business contexts, the motivations of employees, partners, superiors, contractees, social associates, and members of a society spring from cultural values, or what people think is important. In order to understand how to do business with members of another culture, it is necessary to understand what motivates them, to know where to begin and what you need to cover all necessary bases. According to Aguinis (2002), employees can be rewarded according to their performance (principle of equity), equally (principle of equality), or based on their needs (principle of need).In general, the equity principle is common in individualistic cultures while the equality principle is widely used in collectivistic cultures. Pay for performance and pay equity are the two main differences in motivation systems. From the 1950s until the 1980s, every aspect of Chinas economic activity was planned, controlled and operated by the government. There was no private ownership of any property or asset, and, consequently, no profit motive for individuals or enterprises. The government would allocate everyone a pre-defined slice of the â€Å"big pie. If anyone wanted more than what was allocated to him/her, it meant circumventing that system and getting someone in that allocation chain to provide a special favor. People were obliged to sacrifice their individual interests for those of the society. Cooperation, interdependence, group goa ls that create group harmony are applied in China. The sense of belonging and devoting to the group are important for Chinese people. Focusing on the view that one’s success is mainly based on group work; they believe that one cannot claim the reward just for oneself.Contrary to what some Chinese researchers argued on this part, I can say while setting salaries Chinese managers will not pay more attention to the working experience and academic qualifications of employees. In that case, the equality principle is reflected in the motivation system. For African managers, individual achievement is important. They are expected to achieve success only by their individual efforts. Value competition, achievement and personal goals are their main motivations in order to have plans to recognize their individual contributions.Their success relies on their own efforts. Talents and work performance of the employees will be considered by their superiors for salary increases and promotion. CONCLUSION As a result, understanding other cultures is more important than ever. If we consider that people from the same economic, political, and cultural background have problems communicating effectively; we can appreciate the difficulties and challenges that people from diverse cultures face when trying to communicate. Misunderstandings will always be a part of cultural aspects.The objective of this topic is more or less to minimize misunderstandings through an awareness of the priorities and expectations of business partners. In this period of Globalization, examination of cultural factors and the subtle ways in which culture affects business practices and patterns of market behavior should command increased attention from businessmen. Companies need to think outside the proverbial box when formulating their business strategies and when collaborating and forming business partnerships.As sometimes companies move to do business in other countries, a greater sensitivity to cultur e will be required and an understanding of cultural realities should facilitate business transactions. Knowing another culture is a legitimate concern of businesses. More than that, it is essential. Those who make effort the effort to understand another culture gain knowledge about how to behave in that culture. Otherwise, if you know what people value and understand their attitudes, you won’t unintentionally do something that offends and diminishes your chances for business success.In today’s global businesses’ context, the winners are not those who study the markets they deal with even if it’s important but those who study people they deal with. REFERENCES Adler, N. (1991), â€Å"Cultural Dimensions of Organizational Behavior†, Thomson Publishing Company Adler, N. (2001), â€Å"International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior†, South-Western Pub, 4th Edition Blunt, P; and Jones, M. L (1992), â€Å"Managing Organizations in South Africa †, Berlin:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Walter de Gruyter. Beamer L. and Varner Iris, (1998) â€Å"Intercontinental Communication in the Global Workplace†, New York: John Wiley ; Sons Beamer L. 2003, â€Å"Directness, Context and Facework in Chinese Business communication†, Journal of Business and Technical communication, Vol. 17, No. 2, 201-237 Beamer L. 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Robert Y. (2004), â€Å"What is Culture in Organizations†? Project Management Community Industry Article 3/2/2004 Storey J. 2000), â€Å"Cultural theory and popular culture: An Introduction†, Prentice Hall 3rd Edition Song Li (2004), â€Å"Gateway to Intercultural Communication†, Harbin University of Industry Press Victor D. (1993), â€Å"International business communication†, Harper-Collins Retrieved from articlesbase. com/internatio nal-business-articles/culture-differences-in-business-relationsthe-case-of-china-and-africa-1483226. html (ArticlesBase SC #1483226) Read more: articlesbase. com/international-business-articles/culture-differenc

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn essays

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn essays Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn is known as one of the most influential painters of his time because of his original style of painting. Though he faced many tragedies in his life, he managed to create some of the most exquisite works of his era. He is known for incredible use of chiaroscuro in his works. His pieces also contain a subtle darkness that manages to captivate the human soul. Rembrandt's life, believe it or not, was not one to be desired. He was born on July 15, 1606, in Leiden. His father was a poor miller. Though they did not have much, they made sure that their son would get a good education, so they sent him to the Latin School. He attended there until he turned fourteen, when he decided to go to Leiden University. After a short stay there, he left to pursue his study of art. He first studied with Jacob van Swanenburch, and later with Pieter Lastman, a famous historical painter, in Amsterdam. It took only six months for Rembrandt to master the arts from Lastman, and he then returned to Leiden. Though he was only twenty- two years old, he began to receive his own pupils. Rembrandt was an accomplished student of the arts, which enabled him to achieve so much at a young age. In 1631, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam where he was married to Saskia van Uylenburgh in 1634. She was related to a wealthy art dealer, which helped Rembrandt's career tremendously. By 1641, Saskia had given birth to four children, but only one, Titus, had survived. Unfortunately, the year after that, she passed away. Saskia's death marked a decline in events in Rembrandt's life. Though he re-married in 1649 to Hendrickje Stoffels, he was forced to declare bankruptcy in 1656. Though this was a low point in his life, Rembrandt managed to create some of his best works, such as The Jewish Bride, Jacob Blessing the Sons of Joseph, and Bathsheba. Near the end of his life, Rembrandt was visited by death, but this time it took his wife a...