8 Things People Decide Within Seconds of Meeting You

8 Things People Decide Within Seconds of Meeting You Within a couple of seconds of meeting you, someone instantly judges you.   First impressions are real and it contributes towards the way someone perceives  you. In that moment they decide if they like you or they don’t. So how do you give the best first impression? What are traits that people automatically can tell about you? Here are 8 things people decide within seconds of meeting you.  Source [Business Insider]

Foundations of Phsychology essays

Foundations of Phsychology essays Psychology research and studies have come a long way in learning more how the human brain affects the way we think, learn, and behave throughout the stages of life. Psychology first sparked a huge interest for further experiments and research when people were unable to recall memories that were tied to the response rendered following severe head trauma. According to (Kowalski In order to fully understand the brain and what makes people think, act, and behave in certain ways, we must learn and understand the schools of thought, the four perspectives, and who the major theorists were in each. Schools of Thought (Structuralism and Functionalism) William Wundt known as the father of psychology believed that there was more to psychology than just experiments, but rather a persons religion and language were also essential to understanding mental processes. He used objects which were presented to his observers to record their thoughts, sensations, and feelings and combined them together for a more meaningful perception on what manipulated those responses. Structuralism was introduced by a student of William Wundt who was known as Edward Tichener. He was most interested in the structural makeup of the conscious and unlike Wundt he believed that psychology should be studied only by experiments. Eventually, sensations and feelings were named as unscientific because this method was immeasurable. Back in the day, structuralism was considered the most powerful schools of thought. The second school of thought is functionalism, focused mainly on helping people to cope and adapt to their surroundings. William James a founder of functionalism believed that the study of psychology included many sources other than experiments, but rather thru the use of animals, children, and those con ...

International business finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International business finance - Essay Example It is obvious that each time a business is considering going abroad in its operations, there are likely risks that it is to face. These may be in regards to dealing with the local culture of the new market, the language, business practices and the regulations by the foreign governments (Tolentino 2000). A business has to therefore critically consider these factors before deciding on whether or not to venture on its operations abroad. Legal requirements; this has to be considered to help ensure that the business will oblige to the rules and regulations that support business in the new country (Eitemann, Stonehill & Moffett 1998). Lack of adherence to such rules and regulations normally cause conflicts and business problems in the process of trying to acquire new licenses or permits to commence operations. In most of the developing countries, the procedures or the rules are normally unnecessarily long due to the bureaucracies governing business procedures in those countries (Tolentino 2000). Therefore IBF must expect uphill tasks in obtaining such licenses in both majorities of the Asian and African states. The procedure of venturing into East Europe would not be quite hard since their regulatory procedures are quite easier. IBF should therefore get a way of accessing the legal procedures of the countries they want to exploit in each of the regions identified to avoid the possibility of paying huge fines and penalties for breach of laws. Thorough research on both business and accounting requirements and this will take place by hiring foreign accountant and legal attorney from those countries (Madura 1999). IBF should also consider the language in such a country since language barrier has in the past proved to be the greatest hindrance to business operations. The ease of understanding the official language should therefore be well known in advance. This owes to the fact that language is very important hence the business must consider the possibility and the cost o f hiring a translator in case they have to invest in a country where a language they don’t speak is spoken (Eitemann, Stonehill & Moffett 1998). The other factor is the cross cultural issues; these issues are to a large extent likely to affect business operations depending on the products. This will also dictate the manner in which business operations will be effected since it is not always automatic that business operations take the same direction in different operation environments. Cultural differences may influence the way business associates interact and hence influence the attitude (Tolentino 2000). The business intending to expand its operations abroad should also consider the risks both business and financial that they are likely to face in the foreign markets. This is done through thorough market analysis to weigh the risk exposures and the returns. This will inform on the decision of the prospects to undertake such ventures or drop them. Is risks become more than th e expected returns then the business is not profitable and is as good as not undertaken. Political factors are also necessary since businesses are only able to thrive in peaceful environments. Countries facing political instabilities are not good for business hence should be avoided by IBF due to the high political risks that they are likely to face. Therefore before a business ventures its operations in another country, they

There has been much written about september 11 and many visual Essay

There has been much written about september 11 and many visual accounts of the events of that day. these articles present a diff - Essay Example As such, it is the hope of this author that the reader can come to a more informed and broad understanding with regards to the way in which individual integration of understanding concerning the events of September 11th is channeled into society via the viewpoints within these specific articles. The first article, â€Å"September 11th, 2001: Picturing Time† focuses upon the way in which photographers of the events were impacted by what they saw, the ways in which others were impacted by these images, and the response mechanisms that these custodians of history applied to the most horrific spectacle they had likely ever seen. The author focuses upon the way in which the photographers were floored by the gravity of it all; so much so that they went into something of an autopilot mode – snapping pictures without coming to a complete understanding or cognition of what was going on around them. An example of this is the fact that many of these photographers had no recollecti on of the film they had snapped until such a time as it was returned to them from the developers. In short, this particular article represents the objectivist standpoint; in that the individuals responsible for chronicling these events were merely aware of the component parts of September 11th without being aware of the overall emotional gravity they portended. Conversely, the second article, entitled, â€Å"The Call to Life†, views the events from a moral standpoint; choosing instead to focus upon the horror of the way in which the events of that day ushered in an increased need for â€Å"the great public good of civil peace†. The author goes so far as to provide the quote from an unnamed friend who states, â€Å"Now we know what government is for†. Additional inflammatory/emotional language such as â€Å"protecting the flock† and denoted the terrorists as â€Å"evildoers† helps to further the emotionally charged rhetoric that was so common as ang er reached a boiling point soon after the attacks that brought down the twin towers. Another element that is represented alongside this seeming â€Å"righteous indignation† is the element of fear that was so pervasive. This element of fear is aptly noted in the following quote: â€Å"My daughter and I found ourselves discussing the need for a family plan shouldthere be a biological or chemical attack†. Although seemingly incongruous with the time in which we live, the reality of the time in which the article was written was quite different. The final article, entitled â€Å"After the Fall†, is unique in that it does not focus upon emotion and/or objectivity alone; rather it combines these and discusses the way in which iconoclasm has come to define the twin towers and 9/11 itself. The twin towers, as the author discusses, were never much beloved in the NYC skyline; however, even if these buildings were not the most attractive in terms of their architecture, they dominated the NYC skyline and commanded attention. Yet, it took their collapse to make them truly universally appreciated. The author goes on to argue that individuals throughout the country have turned these buildings into something of a shrine and anthropomorphized them to hold almost human qualities. This is of course expected after an attack and does not surprise. In short,

Pro-Firearm and Anti-Firearm Information Dissemination Essay

Pro-Firearm and Anti-Firearm Information Dissemination - Essay Example The tools that would no doubt convince someone to join their cause are the â€Å"buzz words† used to embellish violence.   Looking through some of the commentaries and discussions based on this second amendment right to â€Å"bear arms† has not been carried forward to read into the current societal concerns and general civil rights violations, but, rather has continued to be read as if this amendment was written yesterday.   It seems that the country thinks that society should in fact propagate the rights that were afforded during civil war unrest.   The amendment was meant to protect those in the military and fighting for the country to carry weapons (guns) while not out in the Warfield.   By including on the same front page of their website the cause to carry guns by law enforcement along with moving forward with legislation to allow normal everyday workers to carry guns to the workplace clouds the reader into thinking both subjects is one in the same.   Ver y deceitful in this writer’s opinion.The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (www.bradycampaign.org)On the other end of the spectrum is the anti-violence, anti-gun crusaders that hope to shed light on subjects that the NRA is providing as â€Å"fuzzy logic†.   The Brady Campaign website is also politically motivated by the general feel that one gets when directed to the home page of their site.   Although their site is much simpler to navigate through as opposed to the mass media outlets that the NRA places on their site, the only fallible aspect of their site is that. it is too politically motivated and no so much addressing the non-political psychological student of life. There is more of a feel that the person arriving at their site meant to go there and was not redirected by some other means. The tools that the Brady Campaign uses to have people join their site is the direct and open honesty of what they oppose. For instance, their education of the individual about the â€Å"shoot first law† (Brady Campaign) gives the average citizen a more of an insight as to how powerful the NRA actually is and as their site says, â€Å"in a country where thousands die needlessly every year in gun accidents and violent confrontations, this law is an enormous step backwards in civic responsibility and public safety. What's more, it envisions a society in which fear and distrust are the rule, and reason and responsibility are an endangered species†. (Brady Campaign) A major issue with this shoot first law is their exact astonishment by such organizations as the Million March Moms that if you are not a citizen of these states that have passed these bills to enact these types of laws and visit there, you can be an innocent victim of a shooting due to miscommunication between t he victim and shooter. Which Side is Correct

The Effects of Structural Adjustment Programs

The Effects of Structural Adjustment Programs INTRODUCTION At independence, most African countries had their economies rely heavily on the production of primary commodities especially agriculture. However due to a sharp increase of market prices of agricultural products such as cocoa, tea, coffee and many more in the global market in the 1970s. Many economies of African countries grew significantly for example the real GDP of Kenya grew by 6.5% a year, by about 15% in Zambia in 1964-73 (Adepoju, 1993). African governments responded to their newly acquired fortune by increasing government expenditures in their respective countries thus less government savings. As the world was plunged into the oil crisis of the 1970s, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) increased world oil prices so as to generate more income which they invested in the banks of developed countries. As a result, these banks embarked on a mission to loan African countries so as to facilitate the purchase of products and services offered to African countries by developed industries. Therefore African countries were encouraged and manipulated into borrowing huge sums of money from western banks. However the money borrowed by African banks ended up in the pockets of corrupt government officials, unnecessary projects or on luxuries by leaders and very little was invested so as to attain sustainable economic growth (Toussaint and Comanne 1995: 15). Moreover, the loans given to African countries were accompanied with very low interest rates. However, the situation changed drastically as the United States of America and European states increased interest rates so as to stop inflation. Hence, African countries that had borrowed money from Western banks had to pay back their loans with huge amounts of interest. These culminated into inability to pay up the loans by African countries and therefore were forced to take up new loans to pay up the increased interests (George 1995: 21 cook). As a result of the need to take up new loans by developing countries, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank developed the structural adjustment programs, economic policies as condition for the provision of loans in the late 1970s. This paper will therefore aim to give a brief overview of the Structural Adjustment Programs, by putting into focus the key components and objectives of the programs. Furthermore, the paper will highlight on Structural Adjustment Programs in Kenya, the effects of the programs in Kenya and finally draw a conclusion of the overall effects of Structural Adjustment Programs in Africa. OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGAMS Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) according to leftwitch (1996) is defined as a set of institutional and economic measures intended to solve the macroeconomic problems facing developing countries by correcting a country’s borrowing deficit, reducing the intervention of governments in the economy and opening up the state’s economy to the world market. The SAPs designed by the Bretton woods institution, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and later embraced by other major international financial institutions, were believed to consist of policies that would bring about reduction of poverty and sustainable economic growth. As underlined in the World health Organization website (2014), Structural Adjustment Programs echoes the neo-liberal ideology which pushes for globalization; hence was aimed at realizing a long-term economic growth in poor countries by encouraging the restructure and reduction of government intervention in the economy. Therefore, the components Structural Adjustment Programs as advocated by the IMF and the World Bank include: the devaluation of local currency, balance of payments management, government reduction of social services through cutting of public spending, social spending and budget deficit, reduction of tax on high earners, reduction of inflation, suppression of wages, lowering of import tariffs, tightened monetary policy. Governments were also encouraged or sometimes forced to lessen their role in the economy, hence privatize state-run industries, deregulate businesses and open up their economies to foreign competition so as to increase free trade. The Structural Adjustment Programs was a financing mechanism of the international monetary fund to support macroeconomic policies and reforms in low-income countries through low interest subsidizations and loans. According to (Finch 1985 cook), Structural Adjustment Programs were intended to provide long-term solutions to economic problems facing developing countries around the world by facilitating the achievement of sustained growth and economic stability. They were also designed to eliminate unsustainable external and internal imbalances of a countries economy. Finch further argues that, the champions of SAPs, believe it was a forward-looking and long-term solution to underdevelopment in Africa and Latin America, as it seek to increase the elasticity of an economy to have the ability to respond to changes, stimulate efficiency utilization and allocation of resources, elimination of trade deficits and finally balance the expenditure and revenue of the government. Therefore the prog rams were created as a result of the failures of the Band-Aid projects and programs which mostly responded to crises instead of enchanting a pre-emptive stance which would look into preventing crises before they arise. STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS IN KENYA Kenya gained independence in 1963, a period when the global economy was expanding and stable. This was as a result of the high prices of primary commodities that Kenya exported for example tea and coffee, therefore the country acquired a huge sum of foreign exchange which it reserved and thus could afford to deal any instability in the economy. Consequently, it can be deduced that the first decade after Kenya gained independence was a period of high aspirations and economic prosperity (Swamy 1994). The economic sector of Kenya in the first 10 years after independence had made tremendous progress, this is depicted by the fact that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had grown by 6.6%. Hence investments and savings for its per capita income were relatively high, thus Kenya could provide a better life for its citizens. For instance there was a tremendous increase in the number of schools between 1963 and 1982. Health services were improved with an increase of hospitals leading to an increase of life expectancy from 44 years at independence to 68 years in the 1980s whereas infant mortality had dropped significantly from about 220 deaths per 1000 new born to 70 per 1000 new born. With the facts mentioned, it is evident that Kenya was actually doing better than most sub-Saharan countries (Swamy 1994:196). However, as the world went into recession in the 1970s with the inflating oil prices, Kenya economic problems started after an experiment in expansionary fiscal policies which brought about a severe rundown of reserves. Like other African countries, the 1973 oil crisis worsened the living conditions of Kenyans. The situation was worsened with the dropping of prices of Kenya’s main export products, poor technology, high population growth, drought, and collapse of East African Community. In a bid to cub to emerging economic problems, Kenya successfully applied for a structural adjustment loan from the World Bank in 1980. The loan was aimed at helping Kenya correct the economic imbalances of its economy; implement institutional reforms for a sustainable and balanced economic growth. As Mwega and Kabubo 1994 argue, the loan was meant to finance structural changes in the industrial sector, promote the efficient use of external assets and enhance effectiveness of public assets. Moreover, the loan was given with conditions which required Kenya to reduce budget deficit, promote exports, liberalize trade, reform interest rate regime and cut down its funding on social services. The first structural adjustment loan was followed by another loan in in 1982 which was intended to accomplish similar objectives as the first loan. In 1986, Kenya applied for its third structural adjustment loans was aimed at implementing reforms in the agriculture sector so as to improve production, provide finances for the importation of agricultural inputs, improve agricultural research institutes and support reforms of parastatals in the restructure of publics assets and expenditure programs (Rono, 2002). Another structural loan was signed in 1988 which introduced reforms in the social service sectors especially in health and education. The policy reforms agreed upon included the introduction of cost-sharing in the provision of social services. This is where beneficiaries of services such as education and health were to pay for them either partially or fully. The reforms forced the government to withdraw its funding from health and education. Furthermore the policies forced the g overnment to retrench many civil servants in a bid to cut down its expenditure on the salaries of civil servants (Rono, 2002). EFFECTS OF STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS IN KENYA Structural adjustment programs have encompassed withdrawal or reduction of government expenditures on social services and basic needs mainly in the health, agriculture and education sectors. Competition from subsidized imported goods has been a major challenge for local products in Kenya due to the competition they bring about. As a result of this, the poor are continuously being exposed to austere socio-economic risks for instance retrenchment and unemployment. The effects of structural adjustment products cut across a number of sectors in the Kenyan society, however this paper will focus on the effects of structural adjustment programs on education, health, agriculture, and politics Education After independence, Kenya had been making remarkable progress in the education sector. This being measured by the number of education institutions, the rate of enrollment in universities, secondary and primary school, in addition to this, is also the level of literacy rate in the country. Education, at the time of independence was an inspiration to the human capital ideology, therefore was regarded as an important tool for economic and socio-political transformations for post-colonial Kenya. Hence the government took the sole responsibility of financing, controlling and providing free education to the citizens (Obamba, 2009). Education being given its due importance by the government, its key feature was the rapid growth of enrollment at every level of education institutions, leading to an increase in educational expenditure. For example, recurrent expenditure on education amplified from 15% in 1960s to about 40% in 1980s (Rono, 2002). However in the 1980s, after the Kenyan government started taking structural adjustment loans, there was significant swing in government funding of higher education arose due to the emergence of neoliberal economic policies of the structural adjustment programs that played a major role in policy-making of higher education. The government was forced to withdraw funding on education and further introduced tuition cost-sharing tuition fees (Obamba, 2009). The introduction of school fees led to an increased number of school dropouts, low enrollment, underdevelopment and inequality in that only the children of well off Kenyans could afford education at the expense of the poor Kenyan families. The students who failed to complete their education, failed to get employed hence the continuous degradation of standard of living in Kenya (Rono, 2002). Health Health being an important aspect of the socio-economic development of a country, Kenya after its independence embarked to address the issues of inequality brought about by the colonial development and administration. Therefore, the provision of health to all the citizens was a priority of the government. This commitment was evident with the fact that, the government provided free health services to members of the public. Moreover the public was encouraged to take part in construction of clinics, hospitals and medical training. This increased health personnel and medical structures in the country. As a result, life expectancy increased from 44 years at independence to 68 years in the 1980s whereas infant mortality dropped significantly from about 220 deaths per 1000 new born to 70 per 1000 new born (Rono, 2002). However, the economic pressures brought about in the 1980s by the structural adjustment programs placed a lot of pressure on the government’s expenditure. Subsequently, the government responded by cutting down on social services especially in health. The government introduced cost sharing whereby the beneficiaries of health services were to pay some amount of money before receiving health services for the medication and the government catering the cost of medical personnel. Thereafter medical quality has been deteriorating, thus affecting Kenyans and especially the poor and the vulnerable groups. This has led to the reduction of life expectancy rate of 68 years in the 1970s to 61 years in 2012 (Data: Life expectancy at birth, total (years), 2014) . Agriculture The structural adjustment programs on agriculture were meant to introduce reforms that would provide incentives of increased production to farmers. Although, there were improved policy reforms on implementation, agriculture and food production has been declining. SAPs were meant to remove government control and monopoly in agricultural products marketing, pricing, imports and distribution. Decontrol of prices, trade liberalization and deregulation of market encouraged the participation of the private sector in the production and distribution of agricultural products. However trade liberalization worked out to be a disadvantage of local farmers as it allowed for cheaper imports of subsidized agricultural commodities from western countries. This culminated in the collapse of certain agricultural industries in Kenya for example cotton (Nyangito, 2003). Politics Structural adjustment programs have had a mixed impact on the political arena of Kenya. It would be unfair to overlook the positive effects the programs have had on politics in the country. It is true to say that the program enforced by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund ushered in of political pluralism, greater democracy, respect for human rights and accountability of the government to the citizens. However the positive effects came accompanied with a list of negative impacts too. The programs are accused of heightening tribal tensions, polarizing communities and further increased ferocious ethnic clashes that have resulted in the death of hundreds of people and a lot being displaced as well. Moreover, the programs are said to have lessened national leaders to tribal chiefs leading to the infusion of tribalism in all sectors of development thus being an obstacle to growth and development (Rono, 2002). CONCLUSION Within the African context, the impacts of the structural adjustment programs have been a controversial issue. Presently, just about 20 years after the programs were introduced in Africa, they continue to be detested by the people because they were conveyed by a number of conditions that have worsened the living conditions of Africans. Scholars have argued that these conditions are based on economic models that are not fit for the social structure and situation of Africa. The programs were intended to improve the economy in the long run but in the short run, the social aspect of human development especially in the provision of social services has been ignored and suffered tremendously. African scholars should therefore with solutions to counter the problem brought about by structural adjustment programs rather than letting western scholars experiment programs with no reference to the social-cultural background of Africans. BIBLIOGRAPHY Adepoju, A. (1993). The Impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population of Africa. In A. Adepoju, The Impact of Structural Adjustment on the Population of Africa (pp. 1-6). London: Villiers Publication. Data: Life expectancy at birth, total (years). (2014, November 21). Retrieved from The World Bank Group : http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN Leftwich, A. (1996). â€Å"Two Cheers for Democracy? Democracy and the Developmental State.† In Leftwich, A. (ed) Democracy and Development: Theory and Practice. Polity Press: Cambridge. Mwega, F.W. and Ndulu K. (1994). Economic Adjustment Policies. In Barkan, J.D. Beyond Capitalism verses Socialism in Kenya and Tanzania, Nairobi, East African Educational Publishers. Nyangito, H.O. (2003). Agricultural Trade Reforms in Kenya under the World Trade Organization Framework. KIPPRA PP No. 25 Obamba, M. O. (2009). Myth and ceremony: Contested Marketization and Internationalization Regimes in Kenyas Higher education. Journal of Higher Education in Africa, 7(3), 125–149. Programs:World Health Organisation. (2014, November 21). Retrieved from World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story084/en/ Rono, J. K. (2002). The Impact of the Structural Adjustment Programmes on Kenyan Society. Journal of Social Development in Africa, 17(1), 81-98. Swammy, G. (1994). Adjustment in Africa: Lessons from Country Case Studies, Washington, DC, the World Bank Toussaint, E. and Comanne, D. (1995): Globalization and Debt. Notebooks for Study and Research 24/25. 1

Willy Loman, An Idiot with A Dream in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman :: Death of a Salesman

Willy Loman, An Idiot with A Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman   Ã‚  Ã‚   A common idea presented in literature is the issue of the freedom of the individual in opposition to the controlling pressures of society. Willy Loman, the main character in Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller, epitomizes this type of person; one who looks to his peers and co-salesman as lesser individuals. Not only was he competitive and overbearing, but Willy Loman sought after an ideal that he could never become: the greatest salesman ever. Determined to make money, Willy became uncontrollable and somewhat insane. Through his dialogue and actions, Willy Loman portrays a character of insecurity, persistence, and unknown identity.   Ã‚  Ã‚   From the very beginning of his life, Willy Loman experienced problems with his popularity and personality. His last name is a pun on a "low man." He is at the bottom of the business world as an unsuccessful salesman. In addition, his theories on life and society prove to be very degrading, not to mention influential to his mind set every day. Willy believes that being well-liked and having a personal attractiveness, together, can bring success, money, and many friends. Ironically, Willy does not have many friends and many people do not like him. With a beauty unlike others, Willy thinks that doors will open and problems will all disappear.   Ã‚  Ã‚   As a salesman, Willy developed many hindrances that caused his mind to deteriorate. His life as a salesman was built on a dream that he witnessed as a child. At an early age, Willy heard of a salesman, Dave Singleman, who could make his living out of a hotel room. Singleman was very successful and when he died, people from all over the country came to his funeral. It was this ideal that Willy Loman sought after. All he ever wanted was fame, popularity, and a few friends. Unfortunately, when Willy died, not a single person went to his funeral. His life, one that was spent trying to become another person, namely Dave Singleman, was a waste as no-one even wanted to see him buried.   Ã‚  Ã‚   In reflection of his career with the Wagner Company, many other problems arose that forced economic difficulties on him and his family. He was determined to live by ideals that placed him above everyone else. It was with these lies and illusions that Willy's life began to lose its' air of