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SWOT Analysis BUS/210 SWOT Analysis: “On the Water” A Mediterranean Restaurant Business Plan The business plan I selected is a Mediterranean restaurant that is to be built in on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood. This plan seems fairly reasonable and has a high chance of success. I chose this plan for a couple of reasons. First of all, many aspects of this plan are in an area where I have a little bit of experience. Being part of a failing restaurant opens your eyes to many struggles and the many obstacles business owners face.

The other reason I chose this plan is because I am Lebanese, so I thought it would be fun to read the plan and fantasize about owning and opening a Mediterranean restaurant in a place that I would love to live. The hardest part of a business plan being successful or being accepted by a bank is the financial analysis and capital. From experience in working in a bank and seeing the plans come in, there needs to be substantial evidence of success and cash equity for them to become the lenders.

Only having enough for the first six months does not promise too much, there are going to be peaks and off seasons in any business, so it would be better to be more prepared than having a slight shortfall. Strengths: This restaurant will be led by an extremely knowledgeable and talented manager, with 12 years of experience with us and 20 years of experience cooking for her large family in Greece. The business model seems well developed and researched, covering all aspects of a successful business plan. The product is sure to satisfy a majority of our customer’s needs with a variety of choices and an elegant atmosphere.

Our target segments have been researched and graphed to show the accuracy of the market area. The leadership of this restaurant is fully equipped to manage, train, recruit and operate sufficiently and productively. With the years of experience and the crucial training of our employees, there should be impeccable service and sales. The manager has already place appropriate compensation and will maintain human resources for the future. Opportunities: With our sales pitch and service, the likeliness of expansion is very high and probable.

Our goal is to expand within five years, as long as sales follow our projections. The chosen location is constantly growing and with our target age group, this growth should continue to rise with gradual speed. As we warm up and become regular with the area and population, the outer target group should become the inner group allowing us to grow and expand that way as well. In the future we will continue to have our employees participate in new training and refresher programs to keep the momentum going and our service spectacular.

Global expansion has been mentioned and is definitely a possibility for the far future. Weakness: The plan for the business has been well thought out and planned. The target area should do well and allow room for expansion and excellent feedback. Our structure, along with leadership and employees has been well placed and will prove to quite profitable. As for a weakness, capital is not quite accurately placed. There should be more cash equity and assets. There are substantial long term assets, which will turn to depreciation.

Not enough capital has been established for the first six months, if basing off of the financial projections. A company with such rapid growth will require more financial means to start. This could possibly allow room for investors. Threats: Competition in the area does not seem to be a huge threat. The target area and groups are large enough that if competition were to come, it should differentiate enough that there are enough opportunities to still succeed. If the economy has another downfall, I do not anticipate that being a problem, people will still continue to eat and spend money.

As long as our marketing skills are up to par and we present our product perfectly, there should be no doubts and no failure. Community participation and awareness will be a significant part of our success, so once again, if there is any incoming competition, our developed relationships with the surrounding community should subside and threats there. There are so many opportunities that lie in this business plan. A lot of experience and talent will benefit the restaurant and bring guests in from around the world. The knowledge of what our weaknesses are and what we need to do to overcome those faults will strengthen our plan.

ITM 550 MODULE FOUR CASE ASSIGNMENT 5 June 2011 Why do companies find it necessary to distinguish between network administration and systems administration? The first line of defense for almost every organization is typically the system administrator. This is the person that actively interacts with the company network on a daily basis, and by extension has intimate knowledge of it. So it stands to reason that this person would hopefully be the first to notice any signs of possible compromise would it not? Sadly that is often not the case.

Whether it is due to a lack of IT Training, complacency, or laziness is anyone’s guess. Several of the company networks that I have been involved with have the same story. All of them have been compromised by exploits, which have been out in the wild for some time. In other words a patch for the exploit has been released and is available. Why then did the system administrator not go out and download then install this patch? Surely it cannot be ignorance? A system administrator is a knowledgeable person who has specialized knowledge.

If they can successfully administer a large LAN composed of hundreds of users and a dozen servers what is the issue then? I’m too busy! One possible issue is that the administrator is simply too busy. Though as I am sure they will admit it is easier to simply go to the vendor site and get the patch then it is to rebuild an entire machine. This is especially so if it is one of your critical servers. That also begs the question of: does the sys admin regularly check that the backups actually work? Should the worst happen and you are compromised does your backup actually have what it is supposed to have?

Nothing is worse then finding out your backup plan actually doesn’t work. Rather imperative I would think that you would need to verify the integrity of your restoration media. Few and far between are the admins that actually do check their backups in my experience. An unacceptable lapse indeed, but a reality nonetheless. A key theme that I have been building upon here is that a lot of responsibility lies upon the shoulders of the admin. All too often though for a variety of reasons the admin comes up lacking. What do you do then to remedy that situation? For me it would be an easy fix.

How about building in accountability into the system administrator’s job description when they sign on with you? This to me would be the simplest solution, as it would force accountability upon the admin. Not only that but you also hold a hammer over their heads should they not perform their duties as expected. After all this isn’t kindergarten anymore, and we all have duties to discharge with an expected level of professionalism. Is the admin really to blame? So we have a problem in that time and again the system administrator has been proven to be at fault.

Not only at fault but, on a matter so centric to their jobs that it really does boggle the mind. Why didn’t they download that vendor patch! Anyone can harp about a problem, however it is preferred if one also gives a possible solution. With that in mind, this is how I would go about ensuring that my front line people are indeed doing their jobs properly. After all, patching the operating system you are running is very much a system administration job. Once a suitable candidate has been found for your vacant system administrator position you need to go over their list of duties.

This is something that needs to be written down on paper so that later on there is no room for misunderstanding. Included in this job description is that they will check the vendor site on a daily basis for any patches, or other operating system information. The same should be included for any other third party applications they will need to maintain. All said and done that is an excellent policy to have, and furthermore is one many companies have. So why then do we keep seeing these very same companies having problems with old exploits? Human nature, being what it is, laziness creeps in, and the vendor site is no longer being checked.

That or a box is rebuilt and the sys admin puts it back on the network with no patches, as they will install them in a second or two. If I had a nickel… I don’t know how many times I have heard this when the admin in charge is queried after the fact while an incident is investigated. “Geez it was only on the network for a minute or two! ” No one really expects the sys admin to be a security guru but certain fundamental practices must be observed. One of those is to have all those patches on a cdrom so that the rebuilt machine can be patched offline.

Much like the admin checking on a daily basis for newly released system patches. It’s just good business after all. So to wrap up all of the above verbiage, what should one do to ensure the sys admin is staying on top of patches? Well simply put, I would have a sheet where the sys admin would need to sign off on. That person’s signature would attest to their having verified the vendor site for patches each and every day. Not only that but I would personally have them checking out the mailing lists as well on a daily basis. This would help give them situational awareness as it impacts them and their network.

With that in mind if the sys admin has indeed signed off on that sheet and the company is compromised because of an old exploit then the answer is simple. You’re fired! Many system administrators out there may find this rather harsh. The reality of it is that there is little to no accountability for system administration. Unless the step of having the new network admin sign a job description has been taken, there is precious little in the way of known punitive steps management can take. In many companies it would still be considered a firing offence for having forgotten, or outright neglected to patch company servers.

There are many good admins out there today, but a great deal more need to become far more proactive in their duties. One of the most vital ones being to keep the software up to date patch wise. Parker (2005) A network administrator is a person responsible for the maintenance of computer hardware and software that comprises a computer network. This normally includes deploying, configuring, maintaining and monitoring active network equipment. The network administrator (or “network admin”) is usually the level of technical/network staff in an organization and will rarely be involved with direct user support.

The network administrator will concentrate on the overall integrity of the network, server deployment, security, and ensuring that the network connectivity throughout a company’s LAN/WAN infrastructure is on par with technical considerations at the network level of an organization’s hierarchy. Network administrators are considered tier 3 support personnel that only work on break/fix issues that could not be resolved at the tier 1 (helpdesk) or tier 2 (desktop/network technician) levels. Depending on the company, the Network Administrator may also design and deploy networks.

The actual role of the Network Administrator will vary from company to company, but will commonly include activities and tasks such as network address assignment, assignment of routing protocols and routing table configuration as well as configuration of authentication and authorization – directory services. It often includes maintenance of network facilities in individual machines, such as drivers and settings of personal computers as well as printers and such. It sometimes also includes maintenance of certain network servers: file servers, VPN gateways, intrusion detection systems, etc.

Network Administrators may also be technically involved in the maintenance and administration of Server, desktop, printers, routers, switches, firewalls, phones, PDA’s, application deployment, security updates and patches as well as a vast array of additional technologies inclusive of both hardware and software. The administrator is responsible for the security of the network and for assigning IP addresses to the devices connected to the networks. Assigning IP addresses gives the subnet administrator some control over the personnel who connect to the subnet.

It also helps ensure that the administrator knows each system that is connected and who is personally responsible for the system. Duties of a Network Administrator Many organizations use a three-tier support staff solution, with tier one (help desk) personnel handling the initial calls, tier two (technicians and pc support analysts) and tier three (network administrators). Most of those organizations follow a fixed staffing ratio, and being a network administrator is either the top job, or next to top job, within the technical support department.

Network administrators are responsible for making sure that the computer hardware and network infrastructure for an IT organization is properly maintained. They are deeply involved in the procurement of new hardware (For example: Does it meet existing standardization requirements? Does it do the job required? ), rolling out new software installs, maintaining the disk images for new computer installs (usually by having a standardized OS and application install), making sure that licenses are paid for and up to date for software that need it, aintaining the standards for server installations and applications, and monitoring the performance of the network, checking for security breaches, poor data management practices and more. Most network administrator positions require a breadth of technical knowledge and the ability to learn the ins and outs of new networking and server software packages quickly. While designing and drafting a network is usually the job of a network engineer, many organizations roll that function into a network administrator position as well. One of the chief jobs of a network administrator is connectivity.

Network administrators are in charge of making sure that connectivity works for all users in their organization, and for making sure that data security for connections to the Internet is properly handled. (For network administrators doing security aspects, this can be a full time job. ) Trouble tickets work their way through the help desk, then through the analyst level support, before reaching the network administrator’s level. As a result, in their day-to-day operations, network administrators should not be dealing directly with end users as a routine function.

Most of their jobs should be on scheduling and implementing routine maintenance tasks, updating disaster prevention programs, making sure that network backups are run and doing test restores to make sure that those restores are sound. Wikipedia (2011) Bibliography: Parker, DP. (2005, July 21). System adminstrator friend or foe. Retrieved from http://www. windowsecurity. com/articles/Sys-Admin-Friend-Foe. html Wikipedia. (2011, May 27). Network administrator. Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Network_administrator

Satirical Essay Rough Copy Recently, cigarettes have been getting a bad rap. No one seems to understand that the real problem at hand is not the negative effects of smoking cigarettes, but those who abstain from smoking cigarettes. These people are nothing but a nuisance, a lousy bunch of no-gooders that just want to ruin your fun. In fact, smoking cigarettes is an activity that the entire population can benefit from. The world relies on the production and consumption of tobacco, and there are many positives of smoking that outweigh the negatives.

For example, smokers dedicate a large portion of their life buying packs upon packs of cigarettes, which in turn gives a huge profit to the country. Surely if you consider yourself a patriot, you would take up smoking cigarettes. These non-smokers are the exact opposite, and will remind you of the risks of cancer and other diseases from smoking; but no one truly wants to live forever, and if you smoke, you won’t have to. You will also most likely notice how unpopular and unattractive these non-smokers are compared to those who smoke.

It’s a well known fact that smoking makes people look better, as it gives people a rebellious, non-conformist persona. So, taking everything into account, you should smoke because it increases the wealth of the economy, it helps end an otherwise meaningless life, and you’ll look cool doing it. Everyone knows that it’s a great thing to participate in the economy. The tobacco industry and all of its related products are a billion dollar enterprise, and if it were to fall, it would take a huge blow to the already poor economy. However, what keeps this dire part of the economy alive is the dedication of thousands of smokers.

Party poopers that have raised awareness against the evils of cigarette smoking have dwindled the faithful smoking community, not knowing that their addictions keep the country alive and well. They also ruin the lives of those that have jobs in the various sectors of cigarette production, causing them to go broke more and more every year. Would you want to be responsible for the elimination of so many jobs? Without the common smoker, who will buy things like teeth whitener and bad breathe killing gum? Surely coffee drinkers can’t bare that burden alone. With the increase of cigarette smoking, not only will the sales of hem help the economy, but so will the increase of jobs in manufacturing, tobacco farming, and many other great career paths. Now, onto the topic of the supposed “life threatening” risks of smoking cigarettes that people have been so vocal about. People that smoke aren’t oblivious to these risks; they’re clearly printed on the front of every pack. If a smoker isn’t going to listen to all of these scientific sources, what makes them think they would listen to you? The truth is, most smokers know that smoking is killing them, and they should accept this fact willingly.

Smokers get to experience the wondrous effects of cigarettes throughout their lifetime, and won’t have to live until they’re inevitable senility. Smokers know that living until they’re old is pointless, because when you’re old you lose even more relevancy than you had when you were young. Pick up smoking and die early, so that you can preserve your dignity instead of being laughed at as a feeble old man/woman. Furthermore, the world is overpopulated as it is; what’s a few lives taken from cancer here and there going to do? If anything, it will help keep the population in check. Everyone who’s anyone in the history of the world has smoked.

For some time, smoking was portrayed in the media (TV shows, films, etc) to give off a look that would be interpreted as “cool”. This undoubtedly worked, which is why smokers are looked at as cool nowadays. It especially gives men a very important edge to their look; toughness. Any male celebrity that has ever lived has used smoking as a tool to look tough; for example, the cast of the movie The Outsiders. Everyone knows that you shouldn’t mess around with a guy that smokes. It gives people the look of a rebellious, non conforming person that just doesn’t care about other peoples opinions.

That’s the exact point you want to get across to those who don’t want to join the superior smoking community. Some say that smoking promotes peer pressure, and forces kids to fit in with others at school. Well, it’s definitely better than being unpopular and unattractive. People that say things like that are clearly jealous of how relaxed and easy-going the smoker crowd is. Cigarette smokers don’t deserve the backlash that they have gotten in modern society. People are trying to shun out and eliminate smokers in an attempt to better society, when they don’t even know that they’re digging their own graves instead.

Those who don’t smoke are oblivious to the more important positive effects of smoking. Our economy would crumble without cigarettes, and would result in the crumbling of our entire nation. Without cigarettes, people will continue to live their miserable lives and grow into feeble old men and women, and become the subject of ridicule. Without cigarettes, no one would know what it feels like to be popular, or what it feels like to look like all of the cool people in the media. The differences are clear, now it’s up to you to make the obvious, superior choice.

Executive Summary On April 11, 2002, Rob Pincombe, Purchasing Manager at Unifine Richardson was notify by their main honey supplier Harrington honey that Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has found traces of Chloramphenicol in Chinese honey. As a result to the contamination of Chloramphenicol in Chinese honey, Harrington honey has decided to discontinue importing Chinese honey. Consequently, Mr. Pincombe has to consider on a long term contract to lock down on a specific price.

The recommendation will be base on factors such as price, quality (taste), custom predictability & transportation risk (flexibility), political risk, work ethic and overall attractiveness. Not only that, they have to consider on a strategic perspective on building more suppliers to give them choice and flexibility, retain control, better pricing and growth for the business. Issues Harrington Honey has decided to discontinue importing Chinese honey due to the contamination of the honey with Chloramphenicol. Since the honey was 50-50 blend of Chinese and Canadian honey, Mr.

Pincombe would have to consider alternative options. Environmental and Root Causes The world supply of honey has decreased by 20% resulting in higher honey prices (non-Chinese) and there are still concerns about product availability regardless of price. Chloramphenicol contamination of the Chinese honey is the root cause to the world shortage of supply. Alternatives and/or Options Three options were offered to Mr. Pincombe as follows: 100% Canadian Honey at $1. 75/lb, 100% U. S. Honey at $1. 10/lb in U. S. dollars and 50-50 blend of Canadian and Argentinean Honey at $1. 2/lb. In addition, Mr. Pincombe was asked to consider the possibility of a long term contract to lock down on a specific price. The option with the highest weighted score is 100% Canadian honey due to these following criteria: quality, custom predictability, transportation cost or risk, political risk, work ethic and overall attractiveness. See Appendix A for the weighted score and Appendix B for the Pros and Cons evaluation on the honey. Recommendation Even though Canadian honey supplier has the highest weighted score, but Mr.

Pincombe should recommend going 50-50 with Canadian and U. S. honey from a strategic perspective. Currently, Unifine Richardson needs to look for other suppliers as they only have one main supplier. This will make Unifine Richardson depend less on any single supplier while providing them with more options, better pricing and growth for their businesses. Implementation Short Term: Sign contract to lock in the price by April 12, 2002 Long Term: By April 17, 2002 put out RFQ to get better understanding what alternate suppliers is out there.

Long term ongoing: Built a relationship with your current supplier to have better understanding of the situation and help them be more efficient with their process. Monitor & Control Benchmarking their supplier would allow Unified Richardson to continuously monitor the company’s business needs and measure supplier’s ability to meet those needs, so that the company always has the best suppliers and ensure that the capabilities of the supply base evolve with the company’s business needs.

Through Mrs. Gruen’s book Water for Elephants, one is able to open their imagination to struggles and joys of life of circus kinker. While the book address many different aspects of early twentieth century American life, the focus of Gruen’s writing leans heavily on the gypsy lifestyle of a traveling circus; as well as, the coming of age of Jacob Jankowski. Although this is only Gruen’s second novel, she effectively develops a world of mystery and wonder as Charles Wilkin’s states, “Gruen is an old fashioned storyteller,” suggesting that the author was a part of a sideshow herself telling stories to patrons of the circus.

Within this lost circus world, she continues her theme of animals, which she contributes to her personal affection to all animals. The focus of this paper will not only be to review the opinions of other critics, but to analyze their views on the key social issues addressed by Mrs. Gruen in the novel. This love for animals is seen throughout the novel, as she uses various animals to add not only to plot, but creates integral characters out of them along the way. The first animal to impact the story is Marlena’s horse, Silver Star.

The loving relationship that Jacob observes between Marlena has with Silver Star exposes the hardship of losing a companion. Even though Jacob’s job was supposedly contingent on the horse recovering; nevertheless, he was not “red lighted. ” Witnessing this love allowed Jacob to commit himself to serve the circus because it gave him a sense of family at a time of great loss. Other important issues addressed in this novel include human rights, old age, prohibition and justice. In Charles Wilkin’s June 3, 2006 a critique aptly named, Two-ring circus, he favorably agrees with many aspects of Mrs.

Gruen’s description of circus life. An intriguing element to Wilkin’s qualification for a critique on this subject is the fact that he has had firsthand experience traveling with modern day circus in 1997, the Great Wallenda Circus. In his brief description of this experience, one almost feels as he was jealous he did not author this novel or somehow that he personally knows Uncle Al and Gruen’s fictional cast of crazy misfits. The disagreement that Mr. Wilkin’s focuses most centrally on is that fact that Mrs. Gruen neglects to develop any of her story inside the big top.

As title of Mr. Wilkins article Two-ring circus implies, his circus experience was focused more directly on the actual theatre and showmanship of the performers. I feel that Gruen did not neglect this aspect of her book out of lack of importance but as a means to develop a greater dialogue between characters. If she had wasted time explaining the intricacies of a performance, she would have disrupted her theme of hierarchy and class structure. By avoiding the clowns, musicians and performers as central characters; Gruen allowed the reader to stay engaged with lives of the workers.

In doing so Wilkin’s agrees that, “Gruen does an impressive job recording the rawness of the backlot… she delivers a compelling version of the circus’s prejudices and behavioral code. ” One must not forget the time period in which this novel is set. During the Depression of the 1930s, class warfare had escalated to new heights as a means to justify resource management. This discrimination was clearly seen in the chow hall was divided to separate the performers from the workers.

Drinking and Driving Drunk driving is considered a serious crime in every state. It is wrong, irresponsible and wastes many lives. People who abuse alcohol hurt everyone around them, endanger public safety, and create chaos on the nation’s highways. There is nothing positive that can come out of drunk driving, so why do people do it? It is society’s job to punish these people and try to take control of this “out of control” issue.

America doesn’t want to watch quietly as hundreds of people are killed each day. We want to take a stand and let the world know that we may be the ‘land of the free and the brave’ but there is nothing brave or free about driving drunk. I am very fortunate to have never experienced a loss of a loved one due to the choices of a drunk, and I pray I never will, but a good friend of mine has experienced this recently and although she is strong, it must be very hard to deal with it.

Imagine you and your loved one talking to each other at the beginning of the day and being perfectly all right, then come home later that day to find out that your loved one has died in a car crash from the choices made by the other drunk driver. Not knowing that last conversation would be your last with them! Drunk drivers not only affected the other driver and their passengers lives, but also hurt the families and friends of those people too.

History of Psychology PSY/310 August 29, 2011 Psychology was originated from the roots of philosophy Socrates, Aristotle and Plato asked many hard questions for example how the mind works. “According to psychology historian Morton Hunt, an experiment performed by the King of Egypt, as far back as the seventh century B. C. , can be considered the first psychology experiment (Hunt, 1993, p. 1). The king wanted to test whether or not Egyptian was the oldest civilization on earth.

His idea was that, if children were raised in isolation from infancy and were given no instruction in language of any kind, then the language they spontaneously spoke would be of the original civilization of man — hopefully, Egyptian. The experiment, itself, was flawed, but the king deserves credit for his idea that thoughts and language come from the mind and his ambition to test such an idea. ” Freud, Wundt, Piaget and Lossky I believe relate to the beginnings of psychology as a formal discipline. Piaget developed theories in child development and the brain development in children.

Freud was an early philosopher than borrowed the psychology discipline. His lecture on psychoanalysis showed the differences between science and philosophy. He called it the philosophy of life. He said that philosophy created an illusion of the universe without thinking of the intuitions that show the best picture of it. “In the theory of positivism, Freud rejected the notion which had been previously out forward by other philosophers that God would die and that there were no “scientific men” as the story of creation placed the theory.

This aspect of philosophy formed the basis of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory where he believed that human beings were driven by two major conflicting desires namely life drive and death drive. In this case positivism played a great role at ensuring that all human beings who were focused had to look up to God for survival and at the same time live positively. Positivism is a vital aspect in psychology as it was significant in the formulation of the discipline (Eijk, 2005). ” Wundt is known as the “father of experimental psychology. He started the first lab that dealt with mental disorders, religious beliefs, and abnormal disorders in the brain. He found that neural causes of mental problems came from psychology. “The school of thought that arose from the work of Wundt and his colleagues is called structuralism. The basic goal of structuralisms was to study consciousness by breaking it down into it components — mainly perception, sensation, and affection. Their basic method was to train their subjects in introspection, which was careful, systematic observation of one’s own conscious experience (Weiten, 1992, p. ). ” Ralph, Waldo, Gestalt and Abraham Maslow all were contributors to the western formation of psychology. Waldo developed/ believed in transcendent, which means man plus the world is connected to god. That our souls merge with nature to form a better learning process which allows us to open our way of thinking plus discover our inner self. Gestalt was a more structural organizer, not sensory. He believed our mind, inanimate nature plus our life as a human made up psychology.

Maslow believed that if we had our physical, psychological plus human needs met, then we have acquired our full potential. The most dramatic period in the development of the science of psychology in the 19th century too place when Wilhelm Wundt established the experimental study of self-conscious in his laboratory. This was a significant moment especially as the laboratory was exclusively used for psychological research in 1879. Similarly, the classical conditioning experiments by Ivan Pavlov were yet another milestone in the 19th century development of psychology.

The pioneer study of the human memory by William James was also made more rampant in this century (Kroker, 2003). After experimental psychology, other areas of specialization such as scientific pedagogy appeared in the early 1880s led by G. Stanley Hall and the educational theory by John Dewey was another milestone in the same era. The very first psychological clinic was built in the 1890s by James Cattell and it incorporated anthropometric methods which were used to test the mental condition of the clients.

Similarly, in 1898 Sigmund Freud was developing a new approach to the study of the mind known as psychoanalysis (Eijk, 2005). Reference Abul’khanova, K. A. & Slavskaia, A. N. (1997, November/December). On the history of the alliance between psychology and philosophy. Russian Social Science Review, 38(6), 40. Murray, D. J. (2002, February). The transformation of psychology: Influences of 19th-century philosophy, technology, and natural science. Canadian Psychology, 43(1), 62. Rutherford, A. 2004, Autumn). Where history, philosophy, and psychology meet: An interview with Wayne Viney. Teaching of Psychology, 31(4), 289-295. Academic writing tips (2011). History of modern Psychology. Retrieved from: http://academicwritingtips. org/component/k2/item/3325-history-of-modern-psychology. html? tmpl=component&print=1 Hunt, Morton (1993). The Story of Psychology. New York: Doubleday. Retrieved from: http://library. thinkquest. org/C005870/history/index. php? id=historyp1

Student’s name here Male Circumcision Although the origins of circumcisions are unknown, it is commonly believed that the practice began about 12,000 years ago whereby a stone knife was used to chop off the extraneous skin at the tip of a male’s penis. The primary reason given in ancient societies for this practice was that they believed difficulties in retracting the foreskin were detrimental to the fertilization process (Morse, 2004). In another instance, the act of circumcision was widely practiced in Egyptian culture as a right of passage into puberty, although it was not a cultural standard.

The Muslims, on the other hand, considered it to be an act of good hygiene. A second theory as to the spread of this cultural ritual is that in ancient times when certain cultures moved away from the act of sacrificing humans to the gods, they sought a replacement vessel such as self-mutilation (i. e. circumcision). This was due to the fact that the spillage of blood was an important part of these sacrificial offerings and would have been common with their primitive circumcision practices (Morse, 2004). The most well known origin of circumcision, however, is the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament.

It was said that Abraham performed the first circumcision over 3,800 years ago on himself at God’s decree so that he would be fit to father the Hebrew nation. Current Judeo beliefs state that the boy should be circumcised on his 8th day of life following the Shabbat, which is their holiest day. It is believed that now the body and soul are completely united (Morse, 2004). Contemporary American views on the subject of circumcision are shifting more and more in opposition of such a custom (GVU’s 8th WWW user survey, n. d. . In 1971 90% of American men were circumcised, however, that same year the Committee on the Fetus and Newborn of the American Academy of Pediatrics decided they would no longer recommend the procedure (Afifi & Metts, 1998). There has been a steady decline in circumcisions since then. In 1999 the same committee reported that although low, the risk for getting a UTI, penile cancer, syphilis, and AIDS is actually higher with uncircumcised males. Currently, 65% of males in the U. S. are opting in favor of circumcision.

Despite experiencing a slow rate of decline, it seems that some minor benefits and the long standing tradition of male circumcision have a strong influence on many Americans’ decision to put their child under the knife (Morse, 2004). On the other end of the spectrum is the much more controversial topic of female circumcision or female genital mutilation, as it is more appropriately referred to at times. It consists of the removal of the prepuce and partial or whole removal of the clitoris itself. It is often performed without anesthesia or proper instruments while the young girl, anywhere from age 0 to 16, is held down.

The incidence of this barbaric treatment is highest in many African nations with other cases reported in several Asian and Arab countries as well. It is thought to have originated in Africa around the 5th century B. C. as a way of establishing male dominance, and even as late as the 1930s was being performed by renowned doctors in the United States as a cure for psychological disorders. The consequences of such a procedure are immense, both physically and psychologically. A female may experience anything from hemorrhaging to death depending on the complications.

Ironically, due to cultural influences, many of these girls willingly participate because it is seen as necessary to remain desirable for marriage or even feminine and beautiful (Little, 1988). In recent years the World Health Organization (WHO) has taken great strides to make this act an illegal one. As is stated in Little’s article, the position of the WHO is that “culture is no longer acceptable as a justification for violating the bodily integrity of a child. ” I, for one, strongly agree that this form of torture is not legitimized by the fact that these women were socialized to believe it is something to hold in high regard.

Both of these instances of male and female circumcision bring about the issue of a caregiver making a potentially important, physically-altering decision for a child who is too young to do so. In the case of male circumcision, it is my personal view that such a decision would have no major repercussions in the long run and is therefore a decision based on the personal preference of the parent/s. In my own case, even though there are no significant benefits and I have no religious background urging me in one way or the other, I would want my son to be circumcised because I believe it to be more aesthetically pleasing.

Female circumcision, on the other hand, as I’ve already stated is not acceptable in any fashion, let alone by another party. This brings to light a third option or scenario rather. The parents of intersexual babies have the particularly daunting task of deciding what sex their child s hould become. Science has shown us that much of our sexuality comes from an innate, genetic sense of who we are that can be very difficult or impossible to alter in some cases (Carroll, 2004). If this is indeed true then how could any parent make the decision for their infant who that child is supposed to be from this day forward?

It’s a task that I certainly don’t envy, but given the alternative it is a necessary evil. I think it is better to make this sort of life-altering decision for your child now than to risk raising a transgendered child in a society that is not very accepting of mixed gender roles and identities. The emotional and psychological torment that a transgendered child would have to face would scar them long before they reached a point where they could make a thoughtful and sound decision as to their future sex. Either way you’re taking a giant leap of faith.

Now whether that faith belongs to science or society remains to be seen. In 1999 the same committee reported that although low, the risk for getting a UTI, penile cancer, syphilis, and AIDS is actually higher with uncircumcised males. Currently, 65% of males in the U. S. are opting in favor of circumcision. Despite experiencing a slow rate of decline, it seems that some minor benefits and the long standing tradition of male circumcision have a strong influence on many Americans’ decision to put their child under the knife (Morse, 2004).

On the other end of the spectrum is the much more controversial topic of female circumcision or female genital mutilation, as it is more appropriately referred to at times. It consists of the removal of the prepuce and partial or whole removal of the clitoris itself. It is often performed without anesthesia or proper instruments while the young girl, anywhere from age 0 to 16, is held down. The incidence of this barbaric treatment is highest in many African nations with other cases reported in several Asian and Arab countries as well. It is thought to have originated in Africa around the 5th century B.

C. as a way of establishing male dominance, and even as late as the 1930s was being performed by renowned doctors in the United States as a cure for psychological disorders. The consequences of such a procedure are immense, both physically and psychologically. A female may experience anything from hemorrhaging to death depending on the complications. Ironically, due to cultural influences, many of these girls willingly participate because it is seen as necessary to remain desirable for marriage or even feminine and beautiful (Little, 1988). References Afifi, W. A. Metts, S. (1998). Characteristics and consequences of male circumcision on infants and their families. Journal of American Pediatric Association, 15, 365-392. Carroll, J. (2004). Sexuality Now: Embracing diversity. Belmont, CA:Wadsworth Thomson. GVU’s 8th WWW user survey. (n. d. ). Retrieved August 8, 2000, from http://www. cc. gatech. edu/gvu/usersurveys/survey1997-10/ Little, A. G. (1988, May 30). Male circumcision explored. U. S. News & World Report, 104(21), 66-68. Morse, S. (2004). Male circumcision: A necessary practice? American Psychologist, 55, 180- 186.

As a poem, Beowulf illustrates the concept of the Monomyth structure perfectly. According to the Monomyth structure, a story must have several components, or stages, in order to be considered an epic. These stages are: the call to adventure, leaving the homeland, descent into hell, the return with gifts and finally, death. As expected, Beowulf experiences all of these stages throughout his adventures. In the land of the Danes, a monster named Grendel has been terrorizing and murdering the people and the king’s finest soldiers for about ten years.

It is around this time when Beowulf hears “in his home, Hygelac’s thane…of Grendel’s doings”. This is when Beowulf receives his “call to adventure”. After receiving it, he must gather his men and travel from his home to the land of the Danes. This element of the adventure requiring the “leaving his homeland” is yet another characteristic of the Monomyth. When Beowulf arrives in the land of the Danes, he enters a world rife with monsters, initiating his “descent into hell”.

As he descends further into this hell, he not only has to defeat Grendel, he must also face Grendel’s mother afterwards. As he progresses through these tasks, his reputation is cemented as a great hero among not only the Geats, but among the Danes as well. Not only has he faced the perils of hell, he has returned virtually unscathed. In reward for undertaking these tasks, he is rewarded with glory and gratitude from the Danes and several gifts that they bestow upon him.

Not only that, he is made king when he returns home, fulfilling the Monomyth requirement of “returning home with gifts”. However, a character cannot become a true hero until his death. At some point during Beowulf’s reign, his kingdom is attacked by a dragon. Being the hero that he is, Beowulf must stand to defeat the menace to his homeland. During the struggle between Beowulf and the dragon, however, the two bring each other down to death. With his heroic death, Beowulf becomes a true hero as decreed through the Monomyth structure.

In the 19th century the Canadian government believed it was responsible for educating and caring for the country’s aboriginal people. It though that native peoples best chance for success was to adopt Christianity and Canadian customs. Thus, in 1857 the Gradual Civilization Act was passed to assimilate natives. Children were the main targets, because it was believed that it would be easier to mould a young child as opposed to an adult. By assimilating the aboriginal children into the lower fringes of mainstream society, they hoped to diminish or abolish native traditions within a few generations.

Schools run by churches upon government funding were created in order to separate these children from their homes. They were later named residential schools and were established with the assumption that aboriginal culture was unable to adapt to a modernizing society. In 1920, attendance became compulsory for all kids ages 7-15. Agents were employed by the government to ensure all native children attended. Many were taken by brute force and others separated from their siblings. In all, about 150 000 kids were removed from their communities and forced to attend the schools.

At the peak of the residential school system, there were 80 schools in operation. It was common belief that if the kids learned English or French, they would be able to succeed in society. Students were forbidden from speaking their native language or playing any of their traditional games. If they were to be caught performing either of the latter, they were severely punished. The Department of Indian Affairs wrote in its 1895 report: “So long as he keeps his native tongue, so long will he remain a community apart. ” Even letters written home were to be in English, which many parents couldn’t understand.

Essentially, children underwent 10 months of physical, emotional, and in some cases sexual abuse at these schools without any outside influence. They did not experience what normal life was like. Even when returning home for 2 months, the students felt distanced and as if they didn’t belong. No longer did they possess the skills to help on the reserve nor would they fit into an urban setting because of the schools substandard teaching. On June 11, 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made an official apology to the former students of the residential schools. He apologized for the role of the government in the residential schools.

In the apology, Harper recognized that the residential schools were wrong, harmful and damaging to the students. Liberal leader, Stephane Dion, NDP leader, Jack Layton and Bloc Quebecois leader, Gilles Duceppe also made statements apologizing for the residential schools. The aboriginal community accepted the apology through speeches from former students. The government will fund a Commemoration initiative with a total of $20 million over 5 years, they gave The Aboriginal Healing Foundation $125 million in compensation for the human rights violations that the aboriginal students suffered.

The churches who were involved in the administration of the residential schools will give up to $100 million in cash and services to aid healing initiatives and a Truth and Reconciliation Commission was founded to examine the legacy of the residential schools. DIFFERENCES Then: The global community believed that the government and the church were doing the right thing by assimilating the first nations people. They believed that educating them in residential schools would ‘civilize’ them and save them by forcing them to become Christians.

Now: The Anglican Church, the Catholic Church and the government have all formally apologized for their role in the abuse the children suffered in the residential schools. They recognized that the residential schools were wrong and caused great harm, as well recognizing the negative consequences of the schools. A Typical Day •The boys doing morning chores (milking cows, feeding animals, etc. ) got up at about 5:30 am •Everyone else got up at 6:00 am, washed •Went to chapel for Mass •Breakfast A sticky porridge cooked by students the night before, a piece of bread with some butter and a glass of milk •Morning cleaning duties •Classes •The first hour was religious studies •Two hours academic studies •Lunch •A mush of potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage and chunks of meat •Fridays – mashed up fish •Work Time/Chores •Girls learned to sew, cook and clean •Boys learned to farm and grow a garden •Some boys learned basic carpentry and shoe repair •Cleaning groups cleaned their designated part of the school (boys and girls) •Study Hour •Supper •Clean-up •Recreation Time •Prayers •Bedtime