Learning Needs Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Learning Needs Assessment - Essay Example For example, in areas involving complex surgical procedures, the volume of interventions and procedures is maintained at a high level in order to improve the outcome. In addition, it was observed that most of the activities are channeled towards the large units of the hospital in a bid to improve the quality of healthcare care. The following table shows the volume of activity and outcome. Number Percentage Surgical procedures 179 86.4% Cancer related procedures 84 40.3% Cardiovascular procedures 68 32.5% Orthopaedic procedures 19 8.7% others 11 4.9% In-patient 21 9.7% Traumatology 11 4.9% Cardiology 4 1.5% emergencies 3 1.0% Pneumology 3 0.5% Intensive care 2 0.5% Nephrology 2 0.5% Mixed (all types of care) 2 0.5% Obstetrics 6 2.4% Safe deliveries 2 0.5% High-risk births 1.0% neonatal intensive care 3 1.0% Outpatients 4 1.5% Total 206 100.0% d) Levels of nursing care staff employed Out of all the respondents that participated in the study, approximately 49% tendered their responses, excluding the wrong addresses. The total of the surveys that were completed was 65, which was 27% of the sample size. The survey revealed that the majority of the nurses worked in regular, full-time basis (60%) or regular and part-times basis (30%). The remaining 10% worked on casual contracts. Also, information was collected regarding the employment settings and status of respondents. Most of the nurses (70%) worked in a hospital setting. There was a good representation from other settings including nursing homes / Long Term Care (LTC) (16%), Home Care (14%), Community Health (8%) and other settings (14%). Most nurses worked in regular, full-time employment (67%) or regular, part-time employment (23%) compared to 10% who worked in casual positions. The level of education for the nursing staff that was interviewed was very diverse, of which 81 % of the staff held diplomas and 24 % held post diploma certification. Of these, 10% had oncology certification from different nursing associ ations, in addition to other oncology courses. Another 5% was found to have completed palliative care certificate courses (Bailey & Corner, 2009). More than 30% of the nurses were holding university degrees with specialization in different medical disciplines. Forty two percent were holders of bachelor degrees while 5% were holders of graduate degrees. Eighty one percent were working in the capacity of staff nursing role while another 7% worked in other roles such as nurse education, nurse consultation, nurse coordination, administration, family practice nursing, research coordination and executive directorship. When the level of nursing care was investigated, it was found that 69% cared for chronic patients, 70 % cared for palliative patients and 65% cared for acute patients. It was also found that a few of the nurses who were interviewed cared for emergency (21%), preventative (29%), and intensive care (16%). As shown in figure 2, these nurses were extensively experienced in cance r care. A good proportion (53%) of them had been employed in a cancer care environment for at least 11 years. Figure 2: The amount of cancer care experience A summary of the results of the educational needs assessment and analysis Identification of the highest priority educational need When the nurses were asked to rate their fields of experience in different fields classified into four types,

Apple Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Apple - Essay Example These software and hardware systems have long provided success with regard to the company’s profitability. Moreover, while the company’s programmers, engineers, designers, and other personnel represent key resources, Apple Inc.’s capability to exploit these personnel’s abilities to develop hardware and software ecosystems encompasses the firm’s key ability. On an individual level, the resources represent only a temporary fraction of the firm’s competitive advantage. However, the combination of all the personnel’s abilities creates the firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The establishment of Apple stores also provided the company with significant resources for physical presence since the stores act as sales locations, as well as means of advertisement. The stores allow the company to monitor and control brand image within the market. In order to maintain its current, strategic position, and enhance its success in the coming years, Apple Inc. should establish highly innovative software and hardware to augment its current resources. In addition, the company should also endeavor to employ personnel with Jobs’ passion for excellence (Lashinsky 58). Such personnel should not only form the company’s strategic planning department, but all departments in the entire company. Situational Analysis The company has a rather intriguing mission statement that not only provides focus to the company in terms of its business operations and processes. The company’s website provides a list of its products rather than a conventional mission statement. The company’s official mission statement states that it designs Macs, the best personal computers globally, alongside OS X, iLife, iWork, and other professional software. Apple directs the digital music revolution through its iTunes online store and iPods. However, popular beliefs hold that Apple Inc. got its conventional mission statement from on e of Steve Jobs’ quotes during the 1980s. Jobs’ quote can be summarized as follows: â€Å"Man is the developer of change in the world. As such, man should be above all systems and structures, and not secondary to them† (Lutchen 72). While various sources consider all these statements as the true mission statement, the company ends most of its press releases through a statement that bears a resemblance to traditional mission statements. The company ends its press releases with the statement, â€Å"Apple commits to the provision of the best personal computing experience to educators, students, customers, and creative professional across the globe through its innovative software, hardware, and Internet offerings.† The company’s mission statement provides a sense of direction, which is sufficiently flexible to the changing market situations. The company’s motivation to continue providing the best hardware, software and Internet offerings, means that it will develop technologies to adapt according to market situations. The industry has many successful competitors that pose a challenge to Apple Inc. However, the company’s strategy allows the firm to remain successful. Apple’s main competitive advantage lies in its broad array of products, especially its software, hardware, and Internet solutions (Cruikshank 81). The company’s immense resources such as personnel provide the backing for the company’s policies and strategies. This means that the company requires dedicated personnel to help it put

Chronic disease managment Essay Example for Free

Chronic disease managment Essay What is self-management? Self-care management is defined as the behaviour employed by an individual in managing and implementing the treatment regimen within the individuals lifestyle routine and it recognizes an individuals central role in managing chronic diseases (Costantini et al. , 2008). In sum, self-management is to help individuals collaborate with health care professionals to help themselves, by using strategies and proper interventions, to bring self-care into daily routine to help managing chronic diseases and to promote quality of life. How will you promote self-efficacy and autonomy for your clients in your practice? Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects almost every aspect of patients life, both physical and emotional. According to Mok (2011, p12), several strategies identified in helping patients with CKD to improve nutritional adherence. These strategies fall into three categories: patient education, behaviour modification and organizational changes. These strategies also applicable in other treatment in CKD. According to Barbra (2011,p183), when patients disease deteriorate or towards terminal states, strategies of ending self-management and back to medical or comfort care were also mentioned. Nurses can apply these strategies by nursing interventions to help promote patients self-efficacy and autonomy. First, patient education strategies. Nurses should assess patients need and their knowledge and literacy level before providing education. These assessment should make sure patients are ready to accept the changes and the education received can be fully understood. Usually when patients are knowledgeable in their own condition, their self-efficacy and autonomy will be greatly improved. In addition, education should also be provided to caregivers because a lot of patients with CKD depend on caregivers in ADLs. During assessment and education process, nurses should be aware of using good communication skills, interviewing skills and make sure accurate information and related resources are provided to patients and caregivers. Second, behaviour modification strategies. According to Mok (2011, p12), several techniques can be used in behaviour modification such as reminders, self-monitoring, and positive reinforcement. Nurses can combine effective behavioral, psychosocial strategies such as periodical reminder by using telephone, email, regular appointment or face to face interaction. Nurses should advocate patients for regular follow up to make sure patients adherence to treatment. No patient is alone in chronic disease treatment, nurses should collaborate with patients family members and caregivers to help maintain compliance. In addition, nurses can assist patients in using self-monitoring techniques such as blood pressure monitoring, diaries, logs, personal health records to help track their health condition. Third, organizational changes. According to Mok (2011, p13), nurses can collaborate with other health care professionals such as dietitians and physicians to enhance compliance. Nurses can directly help patients in developing dietary plan and improve patients satisfactory, in turn, promote treatment adherence. Lastly, according to Barbra (2011, p183), when patient unable to perform self-care, giving up self-management and return to professional medical care should be acknowledged. Nurses should educate and assess patients and caregivers capability of performing self-management, making sure they are knowledgeable of serious symptoms and capable of seeking help when needed. What are indicators of successful self-management in patients with CKD? According to Mok (2011, p12), several factors may affect successful treatment such as lack of knowledge, hectic lifestyle, lack of decision making in own dietary outcomes and dissatisfactory of dietary prescription. First, knowledge deficit will make patients unable to choose proper food or make necessary adjustments, in turn, leads to failure in self-care management. Therefore, patients education, knowledge and ample resources provision are indicators of successful self-management. Second, hectic lifestyle such as fast-paced lifestyle or elderly depend on others are often unable to adherence to the prescribed regimen. Therefore, lifestyle modification, caregivers capability and support are also indicators of successful self-management. Third, lack of decision making of own dietary outcome due to depend on caregivers instead of patients might influence successful self-management. Fourth, dissatisfaction of prescribed renal diet will affect patients adherence. Therefore, patient readiness to change, communication skills, assessment tools and psychosocial support are also indicators of successful self-management. In sum, indicators of successful self-management involves every aspect of disease process and treatment. In nurses and patients perspective, nurses communication skills, interviewing skills, collaboration capability, staff training, patients readiness, patients emotional support, patients knowledge, problem solving techniques, etc are all indicators of successful self-management.

Analysis Of The Leadership Of Kim Jong Il History Essay

Analysis Of The Leadership Of Kim Jong Il History Essay It is believed to be important to examine the life and leadership style of Kim Jong Il for several reasons. Among these reasons are the following. There is much talk about an absolute and/or unquestioning loyalty to Jong Il (e.g. Kang, 2006; Pollack, 2009), and it is deemed important to understand the reason for this. In addition, although North Korea bears the description The Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, its political ideology appears to be in no way linked to democracy, and it is believed that the reason for this should be investigated. Also, of grave concern is how the people of North Korea continue to remain in submission to the inhumane treatment that they have been receiving, and how they have managed (i.e. despite the atrocities taking place in their country) to maintain the ideology that their homeland is literally Paradise on Earth (Hyun Sik, 2008, p.50). What allows North Koreans to perpetuate the thought that they are living in a chosen land (Hyun Sik, 2008, p.50) ? Does their political leader have anything to do with it? What about his leadership style? This paper is expected to unearth the truth behind the North Korean situation. It is believed to be important to understand the North Korean situation through the image of its leader, because of the nature of his leadership. Jong Il is described as one who has assumed absolute control of North Korea (Kang, 2006). He is what is known as a dictator. Consequently, it is believed that if he were to be properly examined then it may be understood why he is the way he is, how the people of North Korea have been affected by his rule as well as how things may be able to turn around for his country and people. To gain the above understanding, an academic research will be conducted on Jong Il in an effort to be able to assess his life and leadership style to gain the desired result. This research will be conducted in the form of a literature review. First the leaders biography will be presented followed by which his leadership style will be diagnosed and assessed within the context of Nahavandis text book on leadership (i.e. The Art and Science of Leadership, fifth edition). Through an analysis of the literature and Nahavandis text, the parallels between Jong Ils leadership style and the concepts discussed within the text will be identified in order for a critical assessment of the North Korean political leadership situation to take place. This assessment should be what will produce a conceptual understanding of the present political leadership within the North Korean context as well as how this leadership situation not only coincides with what Nahavandi (2009) presents, but also works to a ffect the lives of the North Korean people (i.e. inclusive of its leader, Jong Il, the one in question). A brief history of the leader It is unclear when Kim Jong Il was born as well as under what circumstances his birth took place. Jong Il, according to Pike (2009), was born on the 16th day of February, 1941. AE Television Networks (2009) also stated the same date of birth for Jong Il. However, both Pike (2009) and AE Television Networks (2009), acknowledge that Jong Ils year of birth was subsequently adjusted to 1942. The reason given by Pike (2009) for this change was that the same was expected to necessitate a thirty-year age difference between Jong Il and his father Il Sung. The circumstances surrounding Jong Ils birth remain a mystery. Many accounts have been given of the same. Some of these accounts include the following: Jong Ils family claimed that a swallow foretold his birth; others claim that a double rainbow appeared over Mount Baekdu when he was born, while some even stated that with the event of his birth, a new star appeared in the heavens. All these theories surrounding his birth take root in what is described as a cult of personality, which simply illustrates that legend and official North Korean government accounts describe [Jong Ils] life, character, and actions in ways that promote and legitimize his leadership (AE Television Networks, 2009). Needless to say, whether Jong Il was born in Khabarovsk, USSR or in a secret camp on Mt. Baekdu in Samjiyon County, Ryanggang Province (Pike, 2009), there appears to be something mystic about this leader. If there was not, then why would all of North Korea hail him as the Dear Leader and interpret hi s as well as his fathers existence through an analogy of Jesus Christ and God (i.e. with Jong Il being made to represent Jesus Christ in the minds of the North Korean people, while his father, Il Sung, is being made to represent God in the minds of the same) (AE Television Networks, 2009; Kang, 2006)? As Kang (2006) stated, the people of North Korea literally worship Jong Il just as they worshipped his father Kim Il Sung. One North Korean gave the following account of Jong Il: General Kim Jong Il is a rare great man of Baekdu type who was born at Mt. Baekdu, the sacred mountain of our nation, and made an unusual growth amidst the special revolutionary education of his parents, brilliant commanders of Baekdu, as well as the practical training of the revolutionary struggle. He personifies the revolutionary spirit, trait and nature of Mt. Baekdu. The revolutionary spirit of Mt. Baekdu personified by him is the spirit of independence associated with the soul of Baekdu, the spirit of gun inheriting the linage of Baekdu, the indefatigable revolutionary spirit replete with the mettle of Baekdu and the optimistic spirit consistent with cheerfulness of Baekdu. The revolutionary trait of Mt. Baekdu possessed by him is pluck and courage of Baekdu-style giant, ever-victorious sagacity of the brilliant commander of Baekdu, broad-mindedness befitting a heroic man, organizing ability of leading millions of people, indefatigable attacking spirit, strong ability of executi on (Pike, 2009). As mystic as Jong Il may have appeared, he was seen as one who demonstrated loyalty to his father Il Sung. This loyalty, according to Pike (2009), was demonstrated through Jong Ils involvement of the purging of his fathers guerrilla cronies as well as those who were not deemed personal friends of the Great Leader (Kang, 2006). It is believed that this loyalty to his father is what made him his fathers successor. Jong Il was described as forever being in politics. He was noted as being active in the Childrens Union a youth organization that promotes the concept of Juche (the spirit of self-reliance) as well as in the Democratic Youth League, where he engaged in the study of Marxist ideology (i.e. in relation to politics) (AE Television Networks, 2009). It is believed that in 1974, Jong Il was named the successor of the revolutionary cause of Juche, and that between 1971 and 1980; he was given positions of increasing importance within the Korean Workers Party (Pike, 2009). When Jong Il was named successor to the cause of Juche, he reportedly embarked on an initiative, which saw to the advancement of the program, which was concerned with the imbuing of the entire Korean society with the Juche ideology (Pike, 2009). Kim Jong Il reportedly had an interest in many disciplines, none of which he was particularly good at (Hyun Sik, 2008). One of the disciplines Jong Il was interested in was the arts. He was described by AE Television Networks (2009) as the overseer of the Propaganda and Agitation department in his country. This department was the one responsible for controlling the media as well as for censorship (AE Television Networks, 2009). As leader of this department, Jong Il reportedly used the mass media, literature and art, all media that fall under the umbrella term popular culture, to stretch his public image as well as to obtain popular support for himself (Pike, 2009). When Jong Ils father died in 1994, Jong Il reportedly assumed supreme power over the North Korean state. It is through this acquisition of power that Jong Il à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦micro-manages every detail of government business (Pike, 2009). Pike (2009) describes Jong Il as being opposite to his father. He is described as being impatient as well as a vivid displayer of extemporaneous behaviours. Jong Il is described as being arrogant and self-centered in policy decision making, unappreciative of criticism as well as opposing opinion and emotional when it comes to displaying his likes and dislikes (Pike, 2009). However, on his softer side, Jong Il is known to be a lover of movies (e.g. James Bond movies) and is known to have a personal collection of films in excess of 20000 (AE Television Networks, 2009). Nevertheless, despite the latter, Jong Il can be thought of as a sad case, because his legitimacy as ruler of North Korea is determined by the said countrys political system. As a result, Jong Il remains prisoner to a system into which he was born. There is nothing Jong Il could do to reform his nations political system without undermining his own legitimacy. Therefore, his only rational option is to uphold the system (P ike, 2009). Jong Ils upholding of the system is notably in the best interest of his country. A critical assessment of the life and leadership style of Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il, on the basis of his biography, can be deemed a charismatic leader. However, he is of the unethical type. He is deemed a charismatic leader because he shows forth characteristics such as a high degree of self-confidence (expressed through his firm belief in his ideology), strong convictions about his ideas (which is based on him being unaccepting of criticisms as well as opposing opinions), expressiveness (manifested through his description of being an emotionally expressive individual) as well as activeness in image building (expressed through his use of popular culture to expand his popular image) (Nahavandi, 2009; Pike, 2009). However, although the above is true of Jong Il, he is also deemed to be unethical for several reasons. Jong Il is noted to use his power for personal gain or impact and to promote his personal vision (i.e. through the use of the Propaganda and Agitation Department), to censure critical or opposing views (i.e. through his unaccepting of them), to demand that his decisions be accepted without question (as manifested through the unquestioning compliance spoken of by Kang, 2006), to use one-way communication, and to be insensitive to followers needs (accounted for through Kangs description of the sufferings that the people of Korea are made to endure at the hand of Jong Il) (Howell Avolio, 1992). Although Jong Il uses his power indiscriminately, he can still be considered an effective leader. This is because based on the circumstances in his country; he uses his power to maintain the stability required for the effective functioning of the same. It may not be the view of many outside of North Korea. However, with the level of brainwashing the people of that land have received nothing seems wrong for most of not all. As it was noted earlier, even though Jong Ils leadership style is not the best, he has no choice than to ensure that it is perpetuated. This is because if he chooses to change the way his authority is ascribed to him (i.e. to reform the political system in his country); he will be doing himself more harm than good. As Pike (2009) described, Jong Il is a prisoner to the system; a prisoner in that even if he wants to change the system, he would not, because of the unwillingness to give up his supreme, divine status. It is what grants him his legitimacy as political l eader of North Korea, and it therefore cannot be changed without upsetting the present leaders legitimacy to rule over the state. Jong Il can therefore be placed within the context of the contingency era of leadership. This is because as Fiedler describes, his effectiveness as a leader is based on a match between his leadership style and the leadership situation (Nahavandi, 2009). Jong Il is effective as a leader because his leadership style matches his leadership situation (Nahavandi, 2009). Jong Ils leadership personality can also be interpreted in terms of the behaviorist perspective. It can be thought that Jong Il was trained to be the type of leader that he is. His father, Il Sung, ensured that Jong Il was groomed in a particular way from young. He (Jong Il) was made to attend specific schools; namely, Namsan Primary School (a school he later destroyed through bombing), Namsan Higher Middle School, and Kim Il Sung University (AE Television Networks, 2009; Hyun Sik, 2008). According to Hyun Sik (2008), these schools (afore mentioned) were reserved for the elite of the North Korean society, in particular, party officials above the rank of vice minister (p.47). At these schools, the concept of Juche was taught. Apart from attending these schools, Jong Il was able to nurse the Juche ideology from being in close contact with his father as well as through his involvement with the Childrens Union. Consequently, he was able to perpetuate its existence. Jong Il believably lea rned to be a dictator, an autocratic, because as his former instructor described, he was a shy young man (Hyun Sik, 2008). But what made him acquire this leadership personality? It is believed that Jong Il was predisposed to acquire certain behavioral characteristics that would have allowed him to be an effective leader today. It is believed that Jong Il was exposed to a great deal of charismatic experiences throughout his early life. As a result of this it is assumed that he has adopted a certain degree of charisma and that this very charisma is what he was able to use to sway the minds of the Korean people in the direction that he wanted them to go. Jong Il, because of his ability to manipulate the minds of the North Korean people, through the channel of indoctrination, as accounted for by Lankov (2007), can be described as an individual who scores high on the Machiavellian personality scale. Jong Il and his parents crafty use of supernatural accounts at the time of his birth were used to convince the people of North Korea that Jong Il is a deity. Consequently, the North Korean people found themselves worshipping Jong Il in much the same way as they worshi pped his father (Kang, 2006). Apart from Jong Il being made to look like a deity, he reportedly did all in his power to keep the people of North Korea thinking and acting in a particular way, a way that would ensure the continued legitimacy of his power that flows from his position as Supreme Leader/Ruler of the DPRK. For example, as stated by Lankov (2007), North Korea has maintained a self-imposed information blockade that is without parallel (p.71). North Koreans are not allowed to have free tuning radios, neither are they allowed to listen to news casts and programs that are from sources outside North Korea. This news blackout is supposed to keep North Koreans believing that their country is an earthly paradise (Lankov, 2007, p.71). In this way, North Koreans will cast a blind eye upon the inhumanities that Jong Il is said to bestow upon them, because they supposedly do not know any better. In other words, their reality is based purely on what Jong Il feeds them. So, although North Koreans may feel in their h earts and minds that something is wrong with the political leadership in their country (if even they do), they will continue to exist within a false reality, because of the unadulterated doctrine, which has been ingrained deep within their psyche. Continuing on the subject of power, the other sources of power that Kim Jong Il possesses is that of Coercive Power and Reverent Power. Nahavandi states that coercive power is the leaders ability to punish; persons comply for fear of this punishment. Kim Jong Il exercises his Coercive Power by ensuring that he attains full compliance from the people by instilling fear in them by threatening to arrest persons who refuses to adhere to his directives; deeming them political criminals. Jong Il also received Reverent Power through his coercive tactics on his people. He did this by mandating the people to worship him and his father and demanded that all believed and followed the principles of Juche. So not only was he their political leader her was their spiritual leader qualifying his Reverent power. Jong Il is accused of committing many heinous crimes against the North Korean people. Kang (2006) argues that he should be charged for crimes of war as well as of genocide. Kang (2006) argues that although Jong Il may not commit these crimes himself, he (in one way or another) sanctions them. Kang (2006) was careful to mention that the people of North Korea were mistreated on the basis of their religion and nationality. Christians and what were described as half-Han Chinese infants fathered by Chinese or other non-Koreans fell victim to Jong Ils rule. Women, who fled to China and got pregnant there, and were later forced to return to North Korea, were forced to have abortions. In the case of religion, any one who was deemed associated with any other religion besides Juche was persecuted by Jong Il. These persons were typically those who fled to countries outside North Korea seeking refuge, and were suspected of being influenced by outside intervention. However, unfortunately for th em, they were forced to return to their home land (Kang, 2006) where they paid the ultimate penalty for their supposed spiritual fornication. According to Kang (2006): One person testified that she saw prison security officers kill several Christians by pouring molten iron on them after they refused to renounce their religion and accept the state ideology of Juche. In particular, members of underground Christian churches and persons in contact with Christian missionaries have been subjected to harsh punishment, prolonged detention without charge, torture, or execution (p.99). Jong Il is so adamant about his belief in Juche that he went to great lengths to gain compliance from all persons dwelling within his territory of rule. Kang (2006) stated that the citizens of North Korea were literally mandated to worship Jong Il and his father based on what was known as the Ten Great Principles of Unique Ideology. Persons failing to comply with this order became political or ideological criminals and were made to suffer much abuse (inclusive of rape and the deprivation of food and medicine) (Kang, 2006). No one was spared the wrath of Jong Il from the smallest and most innocent of children to the oldest of adults, were made to suffer the consequences of their perceived defiance to Jong Il. For example, it was noted by Kang (2006) that Jong Il punished a nine year old and his family, because the child innocently scribbled over the faces of Jong Il and his father Il Sung that were printed in his text book. Neither the child nor his family was ever seen again; they l iterally vanished off the face of the earth. The interesting thing about Jong Il is that he ensured that he was awarded compliance from his citizens by instilling fear in them. Kang (2006) noted that In addition to [a] cult-like mentality [existing in North Korea], a culture of surveillance pervade[d] [the] North Korean societyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (p.56). Every individual was literally placed as each others watch man to ensure that each individual was living according to Jong Ils rules and/or orders. The Peoples Security Agency, the State Security Protection Agency, and the Korean Workers Party each plant[ed] their own informants in all work-places and units of organization', and since no one knew who exactly was an informant, they were all forced to be on their Ps and Qs (i.e. to be on their best behavior) (Kang, 2006). All these efforts to ensure forced compliance to Jong Il illustrates that the North Korean leader is definitely a high Mach because he is more than willing to do whatever is necessary to gain his desired end (i.e. e ven though it means manipulating other people [as he evidently did] or gaining his desires at the expense of other individuals). From the preceding essay, it can be deduced that Kim Jong Il is definitely the leader of a brutal dictatorship. He displays qualities of an autocrat, because he makes decisions on his own (i.e. without being opposed). The literature exposed him as one being intolerant of criticism and disfavoring of opposing opinions. Jong Il was described as a leader to which there was an unquestioning loyalty. Everything he ordered was executed by his subordinates (i.e. the people over which he ruled) without question. This occurred irrespective of whether the actions were right or wrong. Jong Il was termed a high Mach because he was seen as one using the legitimacy of his power to manipulate his followers into doing precisely what he wanted them to do (i.e. without care for how his desires were affecting the persons directly involved). Jong Il utilized fear tactics to ensure that he gained the compliance he required another indicator that he would score high on the Machiavellian personality scale. Apart from severely punishing people for defying him, he placed the North Korean people against each other by making them all spies for him. The North Korean leader appeared to be a possessor of charismatic qualities (i.e. he was deemed to be one born with special qualities for a special purpose). His birth was described as supernatural in occurrence, and the activities surrounding his birth were used as a tactic to gain the desired support from his followers. Jong Il, despite his negative qualities, appears to be an effective leader because he is able to maintain the stability required in his country. He appears to be operating under the contingency model of leadership because his leadership style appears to be directly related to his leadership situation. However, although Jong Il appears to be an effective leader, he is one that is unethical for various reasons. For example, Jong Il is noted to use his power for personal gain or impact and to promote his personal vision, to censure critical or opposing views, to demand that his decisions be accepted without question, to use one-way communication, and to be insensitive to followers needs all actions that are unethical by Howell and Avolios standards. Jong Il appears to be an explicit case of the nature/nurture principle. He is believed to be endowed with certain character traits (e.g. influence and/or charisma) nature that together with his ideology (Juche) and/or trained behavioral characteristics (authoritarianism or dictatorship) shapes his leadership style nurture. Jong Ils personality and leadership style have created a North Korea that sparks immense interest from the outside world. Apart from them being interpreted as treacherous, it is still unfathomable how the people of North Korea, at the hands of one man, can live to accept such an inhumane political system, and comply with it unquestioningly. Could this be a case demonstrating the share power of indoctrination or is it that North Koreas leader has emerged to be so powerful and feared, because his society provides the grounds for him to do so? Some food for thought.

A Defense of Epicurius :: Essays Papers

You did What? To Whom? When? A defense of Epicurius. There have been many attempts at formulating a theory that accounts for our intuitions regarding the harm of death. Most theories attempt to account for this intuition by attributing the harm of death to a deprivation of some sort. That is a person is harmed when she dies because she is deprived of some good thing. This paper is a defense of Epicurius's argument regarding death as a response to deprivation theories. Before I enter into the argument proper, two statements should be made. First, I do not intend to defend hedonism in this paper. Although, I am uncomfortable defending any particular thing as having intrinsic value, I am inclined to say there must be some things other than pleasure that have intrinsic value (and the converse). However, this rejection of hedonism is in no way relevant to my defense of this argument, because the loss of goods has no bearing on death, regardless of what exactly the goods are. Second, I will define death as follows: the permanent end to existence. Since existence is a binary property (either there exists something that corresponds to x or there does not), this means that death must be instantaneous. For at any given moment one could ask, "Does Kai exist?" and receive an answer, we can narrow the time of death to an instant. Thus, death mimics a function of the form: f(x) = 1 if x < 1; f(x) = 0 if x > 1. The idea is that at every point after 1 you are dead, but at every point up to and including 1 you are alive. In other words, there is no point at which you are not either alive or dead and no point at which you are both. Now that's done. Epicurius's argument is essentially that there is no point at which we are harmed by death, and therefore death is not bad. Specifically, he formulates his argument in the following way: 1. Death is not bad for the victim before death. 2. Death is not bad for the victim after death. 3. Thus, there is no time at which death is bad for the victim. 4. Thus, death cannot be bad for the victim. A defense of Premise (1) is not hard. Since my death has not yet occurred it is impossible for it to act as a cause of anything that is occurring now.

Buddha :: essays research papers

Buddha There are many Buddha’s in the world. The story by Ashvaghosha called The Life of Buddha talks about the original Buddha, and how he came to be. Sculptures and pictures of Buddha always have the same features. From the Art Institute in Chicago comes a sculpture of Buddha from China. These two things have a lot in common. The parts of the body in the sculptures depict certain things about a Buddha’s life and the way Buddhism spread though Asia influenced the arts depicting Buddha.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most works of art involving Buddha have features that are almost always there. Whenever a person sees Buddha, he always has most of the ten qualities or powers of a Buddha, described in Story of the Life of Buddha Shakyamuni. However there are thirty-two major characteristics and eight minor, among them is the eight-spoked lines on the soles and palms. The spot between Buddha’s eyebrows, sometimes calls the third eye or wisdom bump, is a mark of wisdom. The nose has a specific length like the ears have their own characteristics. The enlightenment-elevation on the top of the head, describe by old texts as emerging from the head of a saint, symbolize Buddha’s enlightenment and is a visible symbol of the â€Å"spiritual generative power that strives toward heaven and passes into the immaterial sphere.† (Buddhist Art: Perfect Proportions of a Buddha, Para. 3). The Yoga position stemming from the pre-Buddhist tradition in India hides the lower half of Buddha’s body, but show the divine meditating with the utmost concentration, soles visible. The image of Buddha expresses serenity and proportional beauty. These Measurements are laid out in the canon of Buddhist art, which corresponds to ideal physical proportions; each span has a twelve-finger breadth and has 9 breadths. If there is a background behind Buddha it usually depicts a halo around his head. For example, the Buddha in Buddhism: a Brief Introduction on page thirty-eight exhibits a fiery halo. The Buddha statue from the Art Institute is sitting in the lotus position, have the wisdom bump, and the hair is knotted on the top of the head. Also the Buddha would have had long ear lobes if they were not broken off. The long ear lobes seem to be a symbol of his wealth and that the fact that they are now longer filled shows that he renounced wealth. At the end of the story the Prince did just the he renounced his wealth and became Buddha.

Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms While Countering Terrorism Essay

1. Reaffirms that States must ensure any measure taken to combat terrorism, complies with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law not limited to, A. Torture, punishment and any other methods in which the condition of prisoners is worsened, B. Abuse of women and the use of child soldiers in order to create more man power; 2. Expresses serious concern at the occurrence of violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as of international refugee and humanitarian law, committed in the context of countering terrorism. 3. Also reaffirms the obligation of States, in accordance with article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to C. Respect certain rights as non-derogatory in any circumstances, recalls, in regard to all other Covenant rights, D. That any measures derogating from the provisions of the Covenant must be in accordance with that article in all cases, E. Underlines the exceptional and temporary nature of any such derogations, and in this regard calls upon States to raise awareness about the importance of these obligations among national authorities involved in combating terrorism; 4. Urges States, while countering terrorism: F. To fully comply with their obligations under international law, i. In particular international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, ii. With regard to the absolute prohibition of torture and cruelty, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment; G. To take all steps necessary to ensure that persons deprived of liberty, regardless of the place of arrest or detention, benefit from the guarantees to which they are entitled under international law, including the review of the detention and other fundamental judicial guarantees; H. To treat all prisoners in all places of detention in accordance with international law, including international human rights and humanitarian law; I. To protect all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, bearing in mind that certain counter-terrorism measures may have an impact on the benefits of these rights; J. To ensure that laws criminalizing acts of terrorism are accessible, formulated with precision, non-discriminatory, non-retroactive and in accordance with international law, including human rights law; K. To shape, review and implement of all counter-terrorism measures in accordance with the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination; 5. Welcomes the entry into force of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, L. The implementation of which will make a significant contribution in support of the rule of law in countering terrorism, M. Including by prohibiting places of secret detention, N. Encourages all States that have not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying or acceding to the Convention; 6. Calls upon the United Nations entities involved in supporting counter-terrorism efforts to continue to facilitate the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as due process and the rule of law, while countering terrorism; 7. Urges States, while ensuring full compliance with their international obligations, to ensure the rule of law and to include adequate human rights guarantees in their national procedures for the listing of individuals and entities with a view to combating terrorism; 8. Calls upon States and other relevant actors, as appropriate, to continue to implement the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, which, inter alia, reaffirms respect for human rights for all and the rule of law as the fundamental basis of the fight against terrorism; 9. Calls upon international, regional and sub-regional organizations to strengthen information-sharing, coordination and cooperation in promoting the protection of human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law while countering terrorism; 10. Urges relevant United Nations bodies and entities and international, regional and sub-regional organizations, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, within its mandate related to the prevention and suppression of terrorism, to step up their efforts to provide, upon request, technical assistance for building the capacity of Member States in the development and implementation of programs of assistance and support for victims of terrorism in accordance with relevant national legislation; 11. Encourages relevant United Nations bodies and entities and international, regional and sub-regional organizations, O. In particular those participating in the Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force, which provide technical assistance, upon request, consistent with their mandates, related to the prevention and suppression of terrorism, P. To step up their efforts to ensure respect for international human rights, refugee and humanitarian law, as well as the rule of law, as an element of technical assistance, including the adoption and implementation of legislative and other measures by States; 12. Hopes to be actively engaged in this matter.