What I Learned Traveling in Israel without a Tour Bus

What I Learned Traveling in Israel without a Tour Bus On May 1st, I did something I haven’t done in over 10 years: I got on a plane and flew to a foreign country. I had been to Israel before, but only on pre-programmed tours. Here are some snippets of what I learned as a solo traveler traveling in Israel, visiting friends and giving a presentation as an international speaker at Google Campus Tel Aviv: Day 1: Arrival When traveling in Israel, it pays to have an official European style adapter for a MacBook Pro charger. The only way I could get my charger to work was to find a diagonal plug or a power strip on the ground. Anything else would not hold the bulky charger. Day 2: Hod Hasharon Get oriented. And don’t wander out on a 103-degree day without a hat and sunglasses, without knowing in which direction to take the bus. Don’t be shy about calling your friend for help. She will be willing to take you to the bus stop and save you from sunstroke. The buses don’t come on time. Don’t expect them to. Sometimes you’ll just need to take a taxi. The taxis don’t take credit cards, but they’ll accept U.S. dollars. When attending a yoga class in Hebrew, it’s a good idea to tell the yoga instructor that you don’t speak Hebrew. She’ll be much more likely to throw in English as necessary. Sh’efa, ven’shifah = Breathe in, Breathe out Thought you could get mixed greens in Israel that don’t include arugula? Think again. The buses don’t come on time in the afternoon either. Day 3: Swimming, Shopping and Shabbat If you’re nice to the lifeguard at the outdoor pool at the moshav, he’ll let you in for free, even if you’re not a member. The Central Bus Station in Jerusalem is like a small city. Be sure to have a shekel on hand to use the restroom! â€Å"King (Melech) Halvah† has the best halvah in Israel. And they give tastes! The dates in Israel are 10x better than anything you’ll get in the States. Don’t keep walking in sandals after they have worn a cut on your foot. The bike path in Jerusalem is beautiful, bordered by lavender and rosemary, and a lovely place to walk on Friday night. Do not expect to eat Shabbat dinner before 9pm, and do not expect it to be over until midnight. Expect deep conversation. Light your own set of candles if you’re in Israel for Shabbat, even if at first you think it’s okay to bless candles lit by someone else. Day 4: Shabbat in the Old City and Ein Karem Sleeping late on Saturday is the way to go after a late Shabbat dinner. Those yoga videos you purchased on special and downloaded onto your computer? They are great for a country that shuts down on Saturdays! There are stores and restaurants open on Saturdays in Jerusalem!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The stones on the walkways in the Old City are treacherously slippery. If your shoes slip, wear bare feet. You might offend some people, but at least you will not wipe out. When you see a door you are compelled to open, open it and wander in. You might be surprised at what you find. And your friend who didn’t want to see the art exhibit might just end up having multiple people she knows in common with the artist.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you ask someone if you can pick fruit from their loquat tree, they will probably say yes. Loquats are delicious and pair well with those amazing dates. Always have cash on hand when traveling in Israel. Machines that are supposed to accept credit cards, well, sometimes don’t. Day 4: Dancing and Yad Vashem When assisting at a movement class for the elderly in Jerusalem, wear a high-cut top or some of the ladies might get offended. The men have no problem with it. Plan to spend a whole day at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust Museum) when traveling in Israel. The hours of testimonials are riveting. Four hours just isn’t enough. Don’t put money on your â€Å"Rav Kav† (transportation card) on the Jerusalem light rail if you want to use the money for a bus in Tel Aviv. Day 5: Joy Gym This is the land of the Bible. Where there is lightning, there could be hail. Be on the lookout for shelter. You can run into some interesting characters at Joy Gym in Hod Hasharon, including Eli Danker, an Israeli actor who teaches acting to Martha Graham dancers in New York, and usually plays a terrorist. You can look him up on IMDb. â€Å"Itzuvlates† with Rotem at Joy Gym is one of the best and most challenging fitness classes you’ll ever find! â€Å"Itzuv† means sculpting – so Itzuvlates is a combo sculpting and Pilates. The instructor is really encouraging too! There really is no way to get those light rail tickets converted to normal money on the Rav Kav. Try as you might. The 8-hour time difference between the US and Israel is great for freedom in the mornings; not so great for having any freedom in the evenings or for going to bed at a decent hour! If you take the bus to an address but it’s in the wrong city, you will be very late getting to your cousins’ house and probably not get to play with the baby. A 10-minute car ride can take an hour on 3 buses. Oy. Day 6: Artists and Eateries If you’re in Tel Aviv on a Tuesday, be sure to go to the Artist’s Market. You’ll find some beautiful objects there! I bought a Shabbat set that holds tealights instead of the tall white candles I grew up with, and a turquoise scarf with butterflies! Then wander over to Ouzeria, a restaurant with a Greek twist, patronized by locals – best food I had while I was in Israel! Office buildings in Tel Aviv can look like this: Bargaining is all about the facial expression. Biggest win: A chunk of halvah knocked down from 45nis (shekels) to 30nis. Score! Day 7: Google Campus Tel Aviv Office buildings in Israel can also look like this:   Ã‚   Israelis can be an enthusiastic and challenging crowd! Networking meetings can be set up on a dime. I met the next day with a recruiter who attended my presentation! The Mexican chocolate popsicles at the Sarona Mall are worth the trip. Day 8: Final Day It doesn’t take long to make friends at the gym. Eli Danker was there again! It’s possible to live in Israel without speaking a word of Hebrew. I met another client who lives there and works for the U.S. federal government and she knows one phrase: â€Å"Tax receipt†! Landver might be a chain, but they have really great food, from salads to smoothies to pasta. Yoga classes at Joy Gym are not for advanced students. Stick to EllaYoga! A gathering of 6-8 people can be created on a dime. People show up! Lovely evening at the outdoor seating at Landver. Day 9: Farewell Israel! Taxis come 15 minutes early in Hod Hasharon. Better than 15 minutes late! Your friends in Israel will want you to move there. Refrigerator magnets at the airport are a great way to spend those last shekels. Leaving Israel feels sad. Already looking forward to the next trip. L’hitraot (until we see each other again)! Category:Blog ArticleBy Brenda BernsteinMay 15, 2018 10 Comments Maitri Meyer says: May 15, 2018 at 10:22 am AWESOME Trip! Thanks so much for sharing the tips you learned along the way Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: May 15, 2018 at 11:07 am Thanks Maitri! I added one more line: Remember youre in the land of the Bible. Where theres lightning, there could be hail. Find cover! Log in to Reply Rebecca Herson says: May 15, 2018 at 12:16 pm Great post! Glad to see some of our joint activities made the cut (mmm Mexican chocolate popsicles). And yes, you should definitely move here! Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: May 15, 2018 at 12:19 pm Thanks Rebecca! Of course our joint activities made the cut they were some of the best parts of my trip. Im glad we were able to spend so much time together! Log in to Reply Hayden Fink says: May 15, 2018 at 2:13 pm Israel is an exciting place to visit. I am glad that you had a positive experience and enjoyed your time there. Thanks for sharing the pics and details from your trip! Next time try and visit Safed, one of my favorite places in Israel. Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: May 15, 2018 at 2:15 pm Thank you, Hayden! Yes Ive heard Safed is a wonderful place to spend Shabbat I will definitely go there next time! Log in to Reply Barry Shrut says: May 15, 2018 at 2:43 pm Thanks so much for sharing. Beautiful pix and you rekindled memories of our family trip to Israel about 8 years ago. We booked a private guide and had an exquisite time, visiting Tel Aviv, Haifa, Golan Heights, Beit Shean, Jerusalem and Dead Sea. Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: May 15, 2018 at 3:11 pm Youre welcome, Barry. That sounds like a beautiful trip! Next time I will try to visit more of those sites. I did go to many of them in my previous trips, but that was a long time ago! Log in to Reply Vladimir Starov says: May 16, 2018 at 11:40 am Wonderful notes from your trip! I learned new tips although I visited Israel 7-8 times in the past, the last time almost 10 years ago. Time to go back and visit Landver! Log in to Reply Brenda Bernstein says: May 16, 2018 at 11:50 am Thanks for your comment, Vladimir. Im sure you would teach me a lot more everyones experience is unique and worth sharing! Log in to Reply

Implement Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Implement - Assignment Example The following plan features the implementation level steps involved in the preparation and completion of the course. The facilitators must have knowledge and command over use of email including Microsoft Outlook. The facilitators much have good oral communication skills with high level of patience. They must be able to handle PCs, Laptops and Tablets. The training would be provided by experience marketing professional. They must have qualification as well as working experience in the field of digital marketing so that they can utilize their experience to provide course attendants clear concepts of strategies and tools related with email marketing. The teachers are also required to have working experience of email marketing from the planning to outcome evaluation stage. Seven sessions would be arranged for the preparation of the teachers. Each of the session would be 3 hour long with 2 breaks of 15 minutes each. The training of the teachers would be conducted at the University Building during which the teachers will also check the number of computers, seating arrangements and internet connection required to conduct the training. The wireless connection and other communication devices would be checked and tested so that the teacher would have no problem to handle these during the course. The train the trainer program would be administered by the academy administration officer Derek Jones. He will send the emails to the trainers informing them about the schedule of the training session that will start 2 week before the first class of the course and will end before four days. The trainers would be provided with complete details of the training session and they would be asked to confirm their presence as per the given schedule. The teacher training session will provide clear overview to the goals and purpose of the course. The

Ethcis of Stem Cell Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ethcis of Stem Cell - Research Paper Example Anderson looks at the ethics and religious points of view on the subject. He describes how different religions have different views as to when life begins. Some Hindus for instance take the stance that life begins at 3 months after conception. Other individuals would differentiate between an embryo concieved in a human relationship and this laboratory act of creation. Ideas have altered over time. Thomas Aquinus for instance held the view, put forward earlier by Aristotle, that life began 40 days after conception.. Anderson goes on to point out that there are a number of different ideas involved. First , purely biological life which begins at conception. Secondly animation, i.e the point at which an embryo begins to move independently. Thirdly what he describes as ‘ensoulment’ i.e. the theological point at which an embryo can considered to have a soul. He also discusses such things as value - does an adult invalid have more ‘value’ than a few cells in a pert rie dish? Anderson points out the Roman Catholic Church’s stance which is that government’s have an obligation to protect the vulnerable. Surely this obligation should extend to the severely ill as well as those groups of laboratory bred cells? Duffy, D., ( 2002) Background and Legal Issues Related to Stem Cell Research, Congressional Research Service, Almanac of Policy Issues, Duffy claims that human embryonic stem cells (HESC) from embryos in their earliest stage of development are believed to be capable to transform themselves into differing body cell types than any adult stem cells. Research has therefore centered upon the potential that these cells have for the treatment to treat or mitigate the effects of various diseases as well as generating tissues which could be used to replace faulty cells or even organs. Duffy describes various sources for such cells. These are one week old blastocysts created via in vitrio fertilization; embryos of from 5 to 9 weeks obtained through elective abortion processes; embryos created in vitro purely for research purposes; embryos created by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) i.e. cloning; and finally adult stem cells such as those from bone marrow ore the umbilical cord.. Because the harvesting of such ‘master ‘cells involves the destruction of human embryos it has met much opposition by those who feel i t is unjustified slaughter of potential human beings. It must however be pointed out that these are embryos bred in a laboratory and which whould never have come into existance otherwise, so this is very different from an abortion done perhaps only for reasons of social convenience. In 2002 , according to Duffy, the American Government announced that, with a number of restrictions, federal funds would be made available for stem cell research, but this would be with established strains.

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care Explain How Different Aspects of Organisational Culture, Including Communication and Leadership, Influence Service Provision in Social Care Organisational culture, a theoretical model of business practice, may also used to understand the systems and behaviour of other organisations, in particular the application of organisational culture theory to the understanding of social work practice. This model of business attempts to understand the positive and negative development of an organisation, through conscious and unconscious processes, and how these elements assist or limit the people within the organisation. Applying the principles of organisational culture theory to an environment which is essentially client-focussed is not straightforward, but provides social care theorists with both a way to understand barriers and limitations within the system, and the way that the principles of the organisation is applied to service provision; it may also offer a key to implementing practice reforms and changing the structure of social service organisation from within. By interpreting the social care system through this business mo del, it is possible to avoid the limitations which hinder better practice within social work. As this essay is based upon the terminology of Organisational Culture Theory, it is necessary to begin with a brief introduction to the theory, highlighting its concerns, and considering how this term relates to current understanding of organisational models. After this explanation, the essay will then consider each of the most important terms within organisational culture theory, including leadership, communication, and motivation. These terms will then be used to describe the aspects of organisational culture as they affect the provision of services within social care. A conclusion will discuss the relevance of organisational culture theory to social work, finishing with the consideration of how this business model is being used to alter the way in which social services are practiced, and the values which are utilised by social care. Organisational culture, the â€Å"set of beliefs, values and meanings that are shared by members of an organization† (Austin and Claassen, 2008, 349), is most often understood to refer to the practices and behaviours of a business organization. The term â€Å"Organisational culture† is not easily defined, despite its frequent usage, and theorists have therefore tended to outline the term according to their own interests. Attempts to clarify the meaning of ‘organisational culture† began in 1954: â€Å"The culture of industrial groupsfrom class origins, occupational and technical sources, the atmosphere of the factory which forms their background and finally from the specific experiences of the small informal group† (J. Brown, quoted in Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 3). This term highlights the importance of social bonding in creation of an organisational culture, which serves to unite a company around a common world view. Andrew Brown is one of m any authors who have noted that the same organisation can have different organisational cultures in different countries, reflecting a difference in the social cultures of those companies: â€Å"These differences are most striking when they were detected in the subsidiary companies of the same multinational organisation, because they seemed to suggest that national cultural differences may help shape organisational design and behaviour at a local level† (Brown, 1995, page 2). Later, organisational culture would be more extensively defined by both Brown and Edgar Schein: these two works will be the basis of the remainder of this essay. It is important to note the essential elements of organisational culture theory: that this culture consists of social and localised beliefs about the operation of the business; these beliefs, or mythology, may bind a company together to the extent that it becomes isolated from outside ‘reality’: Brown uses the example of Philips Elec tronics: â€Å"Philips’ cultural inclination to define truth and reality according to its technological bias has led critics to charge that it is complacent, lethargic, inward-looking and risk adverse† (Brown, page 29). He also notes that critics considered the internal culture a definite factor in the economic failure of the business. Brown’s work is a general guide to organisational culture, and offers three main sources of culture within a business: â€Å"The societal or national culture within which an organisation is physically situated† – which might be one reason why multinationals operating in many countries often have a number of organisational cultures; â€Å"The vision, management style and personality of an organisation’s founder or other dominant leader† – leadership and the mythology of prominent leaders being an important influence on the culture of a business; and â€Å"the type of business an organisation conducts and the nature of its business environment† – one would not expect social care to develop the same organisational culture as a company such as Shell or Cadburys (two businesses mentioned by Brown). Schein’s work describes similar factors in a rather more abstract manner. He uses the terms ‘artifacts’, ‘expressed values’, and ‘basic assumptions’ to describe organisational culture. Schein sees artifacts as including all the tangible aspects of a culture – language, surroundings, technology and â€Å"The visible behavior of the group and the organizational processes into which such behavior is made routine† (Schein, 1992, page 17). These are the aspects most observable to outside researcher, although Schein notes that â€Å"It is especially dangerous to try to infer the deeper assumptions from artifacts alone because one’s interpretations will inevitably be projections of one’s own feelings and reactions† (Schein, page 18). Espoused values may help the researcher to better understand the culture; some of these values later become assumptions: â€Å"Only values that are susceptible to physical or soci al validation and that continue to work reliablywill become transferred into assumptions† (Schein, page 20). Consciously espoused values may provide a clue to the basic assumptions of a group; alternatively, they may not: â€Å"One must discriminate carefully between those that are congruent with underlying assumptions and those that are, in effect, either rationalizations or only aspirations† (Schein, page 21). Basic Assumptions are, in essence, what lies beneath; these assumptions are those held subconsciously by an organisation: â€Å"If a basic assumption is strongly held in a group, members will find behavior based on any other premise inconceivable[they] actually guide behaviortell group members how to perceive, think about, and feel about things† (Schein, page 22). With this understanding of basic organisational culture theory, it is now possible to consider in greater detail a number of subjects which are influenced by this culture: motivation, leadership, and communication. Motivation: Business theory is greatly concerned with the motivation of employees, and a strong organisational culture is considered essential to this. â€Å"Most organisations make strenuous attempts to motivate their employeesan appropriate and cohesive culture can offer employees a focus of identification and loyalty† (Brown, page 90). A positive organisational culture has a beneficial effect upon the motivation of the workforce, encouraging staff retention, high performance, and the intake of recent graduates; employees may also experience a better quality of life, or at least working life, avoiding stress-related illness. By contrast, a negative culture may result in loss of motivation, high staff turnaround, workers entering employment with fewer skills or qualifications, and low performance. Leadership: Leadership, particularly charismatic leaders and company founders, have a profound impact upon the organisational culture of a business. Founders, of course, by creating the business, â€Å"usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and solves its external adaptation and internal integration problemsFounderstypically have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the nature of human nature and relationships [and] how truth is arrived at† (Schein, page 213). The creation of the company is usually the beginning of its organisational culture and basic assumptions; and while the espoused values may change, the unconscious basic assumptions may extend back to the foundation of the business. Founders and later leaders are often charismatic, and their decisions may not be challenged directly: â€Å"The emerging culture will then reflect not only the leader’s assumptions but the complex int ernal accommodations created by subordinates† (Schein, 230). The charismatic leader’s personal style will also lead to the development of a mythology. These stories are vitally important in the maintenance of an organisational culture. Communication: The effective communication of ideas is essential in organisations, and often progress can be hampered through poor communication; Schein describes the development of production engineering: â€Å"Without it, engineering often designs things that cannot be built or are too expensiveEngineering is likely to perceive production as lazy and unimaginative, while production perceives engineering to be unrealistic† (Schein, 258). Organisational culture can affect communication, for example in hospitals, where â€Å"Most were discovered to suffer from a dearth of worthwhile formal communication channels† (Brown, 281). An organisational culture which avoids communicating new ideas will undoubtedly make profound mistakes and fail to co-operate. It is possible to see these aspects in the influence of organisational culture upon social care, and particularly how the provision of care is directly affected by leadership, communication, and motivational ideas. As Anderson-Wallace and Blantern explain, the perception of the recipient of care has a basic assumption (unchallenged), as its base: â€Å"One cultural artefact is an emphasis on an assessment of the individual client within their wider social environment. This is underpinned by the espoused value of the importance of a dialogue between practitioner and client. The underlying assumption is of the independent nature of the client in active negotiation with the practitioner.† (Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 8.) The basic assumption also reveals that the emphasis is upon the client, rather than upon the care worker. In such circumstances, it would not be surprising to see care workers being de-motivated; active participation is limited to the client, lessening th e need for effective communication, and also the possibility of blaming the client for errors; against this latter lays the practice of holding social services responsible for all errors in service provision. Motivation is a major problem in social service, revealed through high turnover, poor quality of working life, and work-related illnesses such as stress: â€Å"stress is more common amongst social workers than either the general population or health care workers, due to the sensitivity and responsiveness to the difficult problems presented by clients which their work requires† (Ramon and Morris, 2004, page 7). As noted above, lack of motivation provision within organisational culture not only results in all the complications described here, but is also connected to low job performance. Here, the organisational culture influences service provision in a negative manner, by creating a culture of de-motivation, where the care worker feels impotent: â€Å"The statements indicate the relationships between experiencing stress, level of control, autonomy and flexibility within their job or role† (Ramon and Morris, page 8). There are also conflicting social cultures within the w ider environment which contribute to this absence of motivation: the western world generally emphasises self-help and chastises those who are dependent upon government assistance: â€Å"A further layer was poor morale, associated with an inquiry on child protection (a feature shared with a number of similar departments), and the experience of a culture which tended to view stress as reflecting individual weakness† (Ramon and Morris, 7, but also visible in the wider media). There is in fact very little evidence for leadership as part of organisational culture within the social services, although some research has suggested that leadership culture within social care may be negative: â€Å"This vindication of the pessimistic view of the team leaders group highlights the defensiveness of some senior managers of social services departments who view constructive criticism as an affront† (Ramon and Morris, 19). The account of leadership culture within the social care department suggests an organisation that emphasises leadership above productivity and worker satisfaction – other parts of the essay note staff complaining about impolite and inconsiderate leadership styles. Despite an espoused value of worker importance, the basic assumption appears to be that leadership is most valued, and criticism by lower staff members is not acceptable. Poor communication culture lies at the heart of social care training. Ramon and Morris note â€Å"Improved communication between management and staff† as one of the goals of their research (Ramon and Morris, page 10), suggesting at the very least that the organisation culture of the social services is one of negligence towards communications, other sections of their essay suggest that communication is exceedingly poor â€Å"Poor communication and consultation within the organisational culture was identified as the major cause for stress,. As noted above, this can seriously affect performance, in this instance service provision† (Ramon and Morris, 19). In the following example, the necessary NVQ was preceded by a questionnaire upon the values of the workers involved; these reveal quite different values from those of the NVQ modules – an emphasis upon personal quality of life offered by the workers is altered to education on health care and understanding of residen t’s social issues. â€Å"Almost without exception, role development was identified as impor ­tant; most viewed this to be within the care sector at a higher grade or entering nurse training. Significantly, male staff perceived their role pro ­gression to be to that of care home manager or owner† (Winter and Meehan, 2004, page 6) While most of the workers described personal lives as more important or as important as work, and valued honesty and equal opportunities for staff, instead, emphasis was placed upon NVQs with modules such as â€Å"Fostering people’s equality, diversity and rights†, where the focus was upon the residents’ needs rather than staff equality. Training within the NVQ did not cater for male staff’s ambitions, or for personal quality of life. Here we can see Social Care with a series Espoused Values (care and motivation of staff; better staff retention; valuing employees) which contradict the actions of the area, with it s emphasis upon residential equality and the gaining of IT skills, suggesting that the Basic Assumptions do not match – the basic assumptions might be â€Å"care of the residents is more important than staff satisfaction† and â€Å"IT training will improve motivation and help retention†, or even â€Å"training will improve the care given†. It is worth noting that, while 92% of staff thought the NVQ training would improve motivation, only 50% thought it would improve staff retention – one of the stated aims of the training. Emphasis upon training therefore appears to bear little correlation to workers’ performance; it also does not appear to have improved the motivation or turnover of care staff. The purpose of this essay has been to consider how organisational culture influences the provision of services within social care. One thing that has become clear from this research is that the organisational culture of social services relies heavily upon charismatic leadership to develop the stated values of the department. However, the culture also places limitations upon staff criticisms of leaders, meaning that desirable change may be limited or even prevented: for instance, Michelle Johnson and Michael Austin have suggested that the organization culture of local social services contained barriers to the creation of evidence-based practice, including the fact that there was â€Å"Little history, culture or expectation that evidence is routinely and systematically used to underpin practice† (Austin and Johnson, 87). This problem is undoubtedly one of leadership culture preventing better evidence-based practice from being developed. A secondary problem is that of communicati ons – as Ramon and Morris noted, official communication was resented, being seen as an imposition from above (page 19), and there was limited value placed within the culture for cross-company consultation. These details may seem to relate only to staff members, but clearly they have a role in the outcome of service provision to clients or residents. The lack of motivation experienced by staff members, including stress and feelings of impotence, impact the service they offer to clients, particularly when the unconscious assumption is that these clients are both ‘independent’ of the care provider, and under the control of that same provider. Leadership issues prevent the adequate solving of problems – the basic assumptions of the group meaning that challenges to senior management are dismissed, or regarded as an affront to the leadership. This assumption has prevented the adoption of beneficial policies within the workplace, and has probably limited schemes which would also have aided service provision. Communication between departments within the social services has been justly criticised in the past, and it is clear that a problematic relationship with senior manage ment is also indicative of problems in communication, data being rejected by staff members if it appears to come from management. All of these actions reveal the unconscious assumptions of social workers, both towards colleagues and towards their clients. The application of organisational culture theory to social care offers an opportunity to better understand the role that basic assumptions and values take in the provision of services to clients. Attempts to create a more evidence-based practice have emphasised the importance of a corresponding change in the culture of social work, offering an alternative to the problematic assumptions which can be found in the current organisation’s culture and practice. Works Cited Anderson-Wallace, Murray, and Chris Blantern (2005) â€Å"Working with Culture† in Organisational Development in Healthcare Peck, Edward (ed) Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. Austin, Michael J, and Jennette Claassen (2008) â€Å"Impact of organizational culture: implications for introducing evidence-based practice† Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work Volume 5 no 1-2 (2008) pp. 321-359 Austin, Michael J, and Michelle Johnson (2006) â€Å"Evidence-based practice in the Social Services: Implications for Organizational Change† Administration in Social Work Volume 30, no 3 (2006) pp 75-104 Brown, Andrew (1998) Organisational Culture Essex, Pearson Education Ltd Schein, Edgar H (1992) Organisational Culture and Leadership San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ramon, Shulamit and Lana Morris (2004) â€Å"Responding to perceived stress in a social services department: applying a participative strategy† retrieved 13/09/2008 from http://www.britsoc.co.uk/user_doc/Morris.pdf Winter, Jane, and Lyn Meehan (2004) â€Å"The value of integrated workforce planning across the local health and social care economy: a case study† Clinical Governance Bulletin Volume 5, no. 2 Jul 2004 pp 6-8

Life is beautiful

The main aspects that the film covers are the importance of love and family, the role f imagination and the resilience of the human spirit. Therefore, in the movie â€Å"Life is Beautiful† the director shows Guides personal commitment to being both a protector of innocence for Joshua and a loving husband to Dora that is, at times, essential to filter other people's prejudices in order to be true to who you are. The director shows through Odor's character on how we present ourselves, gets taken in two different ways by people, either in a positive or negative way. Some could be against the prejudice or for it that despite on who's in charge.To Dora, Guide was a hero, but to he Nazis he was nothing more than a dog. To Guide, the Nazis were of no consequence; only the lives of his beloved concerned him. Guides Interests were Dora and making her life into something that no one will ever expect; a magical life full of happiness. For Instance, the romantic, funny scene where Guide o nly looks at Dora instead of the Opera show, shows how Guide forgets everyone around him and only stares at the one he loves, Just like how he did not care what happens to him the moment he needed to find Dora before the German guards did.He did not care what he Nazis did to everyone but all Guide needed to do was find Dora and protect his son, like any husband or father will do for his family. Nazis were only brutal because they were following the orders of their superiors and a leader who was showing hatred towards the Jews; but Dora was not because she was her own person and she Is not the type of person to hate other people because of their culture, which Is why Dora was not that much worry on what happens about being married to a Jews.She wanted to be happy, that Is what Guide made sure that Is what happens In Odor's life very day. Racism, negative comments, Ignorance and hatred affects not Just one's moral values but also their Identity. Many times Individuals struggle while d ealing with prejudice and end up causing self-harm. In this film however, we experience Guilds character In a complete opposite way. Guide Is the type of person who does not choose the path of self- harm but bottles up his emotions Just to see his family alive and happy.For Instance when, he Is forced to carry anvil up the stairs on a dally basis at the camp, he knows that If he asks for a reprieve, he will be killed, and as a season, fall his son and everything he Is working for. Even though he Is weak and dreadfully tired every day, Guide still puts on a smile and carries on the facade whenever Joshua was near. He never allows his son to get the sense that something Is horribly wrong. Guide wouldn't react to pain and he wouldn't show his sorrows whenever Joshua was near.He was suffering deep wealth him but due to his love for his son, he managed to laugh even while In Immense pain. Even when Guide was being taken to the corner to be shot, Guide still managed to march â€Å"playfu lly so as to the game. Guide never let any opportunity occur where his son can start to question his true intentions and reason for lying; he never even let on to Joshua that he was lying. Through the feeling that Dora, his wife, knew that Guide would never allow for their son to face any challenges alone.During the scene where Guide and Joshua speak over the speakers, it was a way to assure Dora that they are both safe and that Guide has fulfilled all the duties as a father by making sure that Joshua is protected from the Germans. Guide was always seen as a hero to Dora, even if others did not UT that did not let Guide stop from believing what is right or wrong. Humans show their true colors and emotions to those who understand its value. However, this differs from age to age.When it comes to children, they tend to be kept hidden from the surrounding negativity only to protect their very innocence that is cherished by all. Throughout the train ride and upon arrival at the dismal ca mp, Guides only aim was to protect his son from the horror which surrounded them. He invents an elaborate game, requiring silence and complete dedication in order to gain the mints necessary to win. Guide didn't want Joshua to know the full truth of racism and hate that occurs on a regular basis around them but instead wants him to know that everyone is equal despite their beliefs.All Guide wanted was to show to his son that nothing is different between Jews and the supposed Aryans. Aryans were considered the supreme beings for having blond hair and blue eyes and free of all external disease, whereas a person with the same internal characteristics but different external appearance were considered less of a human. Once they reach the bunks at he concentration camp, and an opportunity presents itself to Guide to preserve Joshua innocence, he leaps at the chance.He is asked to translate for the German Nazi the rules of the camp, although he doesn't speak German; instead makes it appear to his son that the guard is explaining the rules of the supposed game. This was extremely risky for Guide, as it could land him straight in front of the barrel of a gun, but his intention was primal and he was concerned only of his son's safety. He hid the true reality and their predicament from Joshua for the sole reason of reserving his innocence, and hopefully provide a chance at survival.If Joshua truly knew of the events that occurred all around them on a daily basis, he would have started to hate his father for the wrong reasons. One of the motives Guide could have had for his actions may have been his desire to not have his son, his flesh and blood hate him – for being a Jew, and passing that on to his son. He wanted Joshua to love him for who he is as a human being and not for the faith he believes in. Guide intention was to fulfill the role and responsibilities as a father towards his son.Guide is scared of the concentration camp and the Nazis but he holds himself together for the benefit of his son, demonstrating courage and heroism when dealing with fear. He loves his son so much that he shields him from the harsh reality of life at that time. This shows that love has the power to conquer all. In conclusion, â€Å"Life is Beautiful† is an inspirational film that shows the cruel and hate of many Aryans towards the Jews. Throughout the film you see the different ways racism, and negative comments are being spread towards the Jews as a way to make them feel sees important.It's also about the power of one individual to filter out other people's thoughts and negatively comments in order to be true to who you really are. Just how even though she could have stayed back due to her religious, she choice to be where her family is. The director also shows through Guide the power of being protective to his son and a lovely husband to Dora, at the same time flattering out negative comments around him for the better of his family. â€Å"Life is b eautiful â€Å"has touched the hearts of many viewers and continues to do so.

Greek mythological poem Essay

Subject: the poem is a Greek mythological poem about King Midas of Phrygia who had his wish granted everything he touches turns into gold. The poem is about the consequences of choosing money and greed which is presented to the readers through the wife’s perspective. Duffy presents a wide range of emotions through Mrs. Midas’s persona. Mrs. Midas complains about his husband’s selfishness and greed. Duffy gives a voice to women unheard in history. Duffy takes a historical character and translates them into present day. â€Å"Mrs. Midas† turns the noble king Phrygia into a pathetic greed middle-aged man.  The mood changes as the poem proceeds, reaching its peak of fear in the fifth to eleventh stanza then calmly comes down as Midas draws close to death. The language the character uses informs the reader about the mood of the poem. In the second and third of the first stanza Midas uses personified the kitchen as â€Å"its steamy breath gently blanching the windows†. This sets the calm relaxing atmosphere of the poem before the crisis. The poem is calm because Mrs. Midas uses smoothly and well-skilled sentences. The intonation changes suddenly, the sentences become short and factual lexis is used. For example in the fifth stanza Mr. Midas said â€Å"I moved the phone†. Mrs. Midas does this to make the situation seem more urgent chaotic and panicky. Short sentences are used in this poem to speed p the narration as the chaos happens in the poem. After the crisis is over, she reverts to her earlier relaxing mood. For example she said in last stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"I miss most, even now, his warm hands on my skin, his touch†. The language of the poem used by Mrs. Midas is elevated register. She uses descriptive lexis in the poem. This will be described further in the analysis.  The poem is a universal, therefore everyone can read it. The poem is moral lesson. For example in the sixth stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"it feeds no one† talking about gold. The moral lesson Duffy tries to teach us is money is a means to an end not an end, meaning money can be used to pay food to feed a person but it can’t physically feed a person. Money is not a solution to everything as she addresses the middle class who adore money. The class backgrounds of the characters are middle-classes as they drink Italian â€Å"wine†. Wealth is trivial if not used to solve problems like in this poem. Mrs. Midas uses adverbs such â€Å"gently† to emphasis how calm and relaxed she was before the crisis.  In the first stanza Mrs. Midas uses personification, for instance she said â€Å"the ground seems to drink the light of the sky†. The dynamic verb â€Å"drink† personifies the ground as a human. The quote means the day changes to night. Mrs. Midas uses symbolism in the poem; â€Å"rich† symbolizes gold referring to Midas having to spit out the golden corn out of his mouth. Another symbolism used in the poem is â€Å"work of art† which symbolizes a statue which her husband would turn her into like he touches her. What is Liberal Democracy? Liberal Democracy is an indirect and representative form of democracy whereby the right to rule is gained through success in competitive elections on the basis of political equality. In a liberal Democratic state the people are protected by individual rights such as the civil rights in America and a constitutional government which based on rules set out in a codified constitution like in the US constitution.  Mrs. Midas uses metaphors through out the poem. For example, Mrs. Midas said â€Å"turning the spare room into the tomb of Tutankhamun†. Her husband is turning his room into gold, mythological compared to the Egyptian pharaohs’ tombs which were dressed with gold. What is Democracy?  Democracy is rule by the people. This is reflected in the idea of government by the people therefore key political decisions are made by the people. Democracy reflects the idea of equal citizenship whereby each citizen has the right to influence political decisions. For example, in February 2003 one and a half million citizens took to the streets of London. They are protesting against UK’s involvement in the Iraq war. This reflects ‘people power’ to influence political decisions. England is an example of a democratic state while North Korea is an example of an undemocratic state. Duffy uses a simile to make an internal rhyme â€Å"its amber eyes /holding their pupils like flies†. This intensifies the interior personal life of the woman. Another internal rhyme â€Å"dream/streaming† is used to suggest that she will have a solitary life.  Duffy uses repetition in the poem. For example in the sixth stanza Mrs. Midas said â€Å"have wishes; granted. But who has wished granted? Duffy uses clever wordplay the first phrase is used as to notice that Midas has his wish â€Å"granted† and the second is turned into a question by using the past verb â€Å"granted†. Duffy does this to achieve a verbal humour. Define Representative democracy  Representative democracy is a limited and indirect form of democracy whereby the representatives act and speak on behalf of the people. The representatives can be chosen and removed by the public through elections. In a representative democratic state popular participation in government is limited and indirect to the act of voting very few years for a representative to represent them. There are uses of rhetoric in the poem. For example in the last stanza Mrs. Midas uses a repair â€Å"his hands, his warm hands†. Duffy uses repair to make Mrs. Midas’ character seem more realistic.  The poem is made up of eleven sestet stanzas. Most of the stanza are arranged perfectly to form a stanza. However in the in the fifth stanza the lines are merely joined together to make a stanza they are separated.

The Knights Templar Free Essay Example, 1000 words

After a while, the temple was captured by the Muslims whereby they built their holiest site commonly known as the Temple Mount. Despite controversial that emerged from who possessed the temple, the site remained sacred to the Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Many assumed the temple was significant to Christians since it was the storage of the Ark of the Covenant with other biblical treasures. After twenty years of crusaders conquest of Jerusalem, the noble French knight collected eight knights where several of them were relatives. Their stated assignment was to protect pilgrims of the holy land in service as military members gave their lives fully to the commitment of Christ. The knights were seen as complementary to the society in the sense that, they cared for sick and weary pilgrims while the Templars guarded those approaching and those who left the city. The Knights Templar was emulated by many, particularly the official blessings of the church of the Council of Troyes, which gre w dramatically hence the group was showered with blessings and donations. The group grew exceptionally, and as time progressed, they received land and money to assist the fight in the holy land. We will write a custom essay sample on The Knights Templar or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page