Business Communication Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Communication Portfolio - Assignment Example Although the idea of entertainment at Disney Land is typically attractive for children but it is presented in such a way that people from all over the world enjoy visiting it (Jackson, 2011, p.139). In Hong Kong, it has been built with incorporation of International Theme Parks Ltd, The Walt Disney Company and the Hong Kong Government (Hong Kong Disneyland, 2013). The organization is continuously increasing its attractive places while improving the overall entertainment experience. Huge business portfolio often generates great difficulties for Disneyland which subsequently affects customer satisfaction and long term relations with other businesses. For instance, on weekends or public holidays the parks become over crowded which causes immense difficulties for the visitors. This paper aims to present two business-business letters related to Hong Kong Disneyland. Skyline Event Management Company 26th Street, across Southern Avenue Hong Kong October 12, 2013 Mr. Robert James The Operati ons Manager Disneyland Resorts Hong Kong Subject: Complaint for poor resort services. Dear Sir, On October 10, 2013, the students of Foundation School grade 4 to 6 visited the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort along with the teachers and other staff members. It was a school trip primarily arranged to enhance the artistic sense of students while enabling them to understand different stories. Moreover, to help them visualize the classical characters they have been reading about since early childhood. Our aim was to entertain children through best possible means. However, the students did not find Disneyland as appealing as it has been marketed (Haberer, 2010, p.4). Most of the staff members complained about the misbehavior of employees especially those who have been on duties in the Toy Story Land. Hence I wish to complain about the poor services that the school has received from the renowned Walt Disney Company. The visit was arranged by Skyline Event Management Company. After visiting the theme parks, students were required to write a comprehensive review of the entire trip. This was done in order to gain inside knowledge about their perception and ideas related to different cartoon characters. Additionally, they were needed to compose stories with the help of their favorite cartoons. They were also asked by the event managers to fill the feedback forms regarding the entire trip. The feedback forms which we received were significant enough to let us know about the poor services of your staff members. Students were highly de-motivated and even some of the parents complained to the school management regarding the trip. Parents were too much concerned about their children’s safety. Most of them believed that the amusement parks and rides at Disneyland were not safe for young children. Here, I would like to add another important thing that since Disneyland is marketed primarily to the children then why the management has installed such equipment which is prominen tly dangerous for young ones? Moreover, the older people visiting Disney Land behave very rudely with the young children while on the other hand, the managing staff usually do not respond to the customer complains. Even today I had to wait for around two hours to meet you and in the end I was told that you are busy in some meeting and would not be available until next week. All these things have greatly disappointed us and hence I request you to train you staff members while ensuring that older

Computing Research Projects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Computing Research Projects - Essay Example Introduction World Wide Web in our societies around the globe is now a common phenomenon and accessories that facilitate this phenomenon like a web browsers does not only carry an immense business scope but they have become the representatives of the technology itself. Web browsers are the vehicles that carry you along the fascinating world of the web while facilitating the use and eliminating the reliance on any additional software aids. Today’s web browsers are supposed to provide possibly all functionalities that a web site has to offer and a surfer may need to enjoy his web experience. More importantly, web browsers need to meet the requirements of fetching information from all around the globe while warranting a complex integrated security mechanism. 1.1 Scope of Research Design and development of a web browser in the backdrop of technological advancements of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the ever increasing support requirements is a serious underta king. It needs to support the cutting edge technologies, facilitate user while ensuring a pleasurable experience, playing and displaying nearly every possible format of information, securing browsing sessions, speeding up the task completions, adding ability to save sessions and user specific information, building abilities to recover from interruptions and breakups and the list goes on—it knows no limits. While discussing the scope of an explorer Godbole and Atul ( 2008) states, â€Å"It is the responsibility of the browser to display the document on the user’s screen when it receives it from the server. As a result, a browser consists of several large software components that work together that provide an abstracted view of seamless service.† Every day, there is a new change in technology, everyday there are new measures to be taken to ensure existence in the world of web browsing. The continued user support, maintenance and incorporation of updates are the ta sks that demand serious and sustainable project management approach to suit the enormity of task in hand. 1.2 History The history of web browsers is nearly as old as that of the Internet itself. Majority of historians of computer sciences have accepted Tim Berners-Lee as the founder of the explorer technology. However, the Mosaic explorer by Andreessen team in the year 1993 gave WWW technologies a real boost. Later on it was Andreessen who formed Netscape Company that launched first commercial explorer, the Netscape Navigator. It was not before 1995, when the Microsoft jumped into the explorer business with its first version of Internet Explorer to capture its market share. Since then the dominance in the market has been a tough fight among Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Safari and lately Google Chrome. (Cheshire, 2008). The history of web browsers’ development is a fast changing history because it had to keep pace with the technological innovations in the field of computers, software, communications and the Internet. Today, browser development requires not only a bunch of technological expertise but it also demands a methodical project management approach. 2. Literature Review The purpose of this literature review is to investigate the emerging

Poem ulysses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poem ulysses - Essay Example In stanza 2, line 23 in the poem, Ulysses says, â€Å"To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!†, denoting that spirit to feel worthwhile even at an age where people would redeem them useless. It is Ulysses perseverance that makes him wants to make this dangerous journey in his old age and admits better to die during such an adventure than to store in his boring kingdom (Tennyson). The main character in the poem is Ulysses. Ulysses is an old King whom has good memories of his young age and a vast kingdom to rule. Ulysses appears to be bored staying in one place as the spirit of adventure keeps calling him, â€Å"It little profits that an idle king† (Stanza 1, line 1). He opts to leave the kingdom to his son and make a journey to a distant land with his crew of old men. At an old age, many would expect Ulysses to stay in one place and die in peace, but the old man is determined to die while happy on an adventure (Tennyson). Ulysses is seen as a person who does not give up in life, but is determined to hold on onto the one thing that makes him happy. He even makes a move to leave his wife behind and go to the seas with his old crew with whom he has had several adventures

Imperialism in the late 19th century Essay Example for Free

Imperialism in the late 19th century Essay In the late 19th century Americans fully embraced the concept of American exceptionalism, believing the â€Å"United States had a destiny unique among nations to foster democracy and civilization.† With this ideology, Social Darwinism, Anglo-Saxon, naval expansion, and the need for market promoted the rise to imperialism in the United States. When the Americans moved west and defeated the Native Americans they felt matchless because of all the technological and social developments they had over the Native Americans. Americans were able to trade and exchange guns, agriculture, and animals with Europe and Asia. The Americans thought God was making room for them but Social Darwinism is what vindicated the Whites ruling over weaker races. The wealthy used a scientific theory as a comparison to validate their greedy behavior and avoid paying taxes. There were 14 hour days for employees, no annuities, healthcare, or education. They believed the poor should work their way out of poverty. Darwinists assumed some races were inherently determined and that nature should be allowed to eliminate the unfortunate. Their way of thinking is what initiated the Holocaust. They believed that the assassinations of the Jews in World War ll meant they were cleaning out mediocre heredities. Darwinism, not to be addressed so much to Charles Darwin, but Herbert Spencer, came up with the expression â€Å"survival of the fittest.† Darwinism was a feuded rivalry between social groups creating a dog-eat-dog world. The Anglo-Saxon race felt different and that they were the superior and higher ones that were pre destined to rule the world. Josiah Strong, a Congregationalist minister, believed â€Å"The Essence of Christianity is Love.† In order to even consider yourself an Anglo-Saxon, you had to love civil liberty. You had to be a strong spiritual Christian and have a brain for colonizing. You also had to possess a great liveliness toward your own kind. Strong insisted that the Anglo-Saxons spread Christianity and share their material godsends throughout the world. The group was predestined by God. Strong believed that in order to spread out, there needed to be form of connection between the United States and the Philippines. The United States would bring the gospel of Jesus to the unfortunate races. To gain supremacy in the Pacific, they needed to build a  canal across Central America. The Anglo-Saxons needed to obtain power over the Pacific to complete the works of God and the United States needed the islands because Russia’s effect on Korea was growing rapidly. In 1901, expansion became a certainty. Mahan believed the United States economy would be incapable of receiving the vast amounts of industrial and commercial goods being manufactured locally. He then guaranteed the United States an assured access to international markets. Securing access would cause for a stronger navy, a navy that could carry out American commodities across the great highway and high seas. They needed a battleship navy to extinguish opposing navies and a system of naval bases proficient enough to provide fuel and supplies for the expanded navy. Mahan suggested the idea that the countries with the largest navy would attain the world. He was very adamant about the importance of the navy and trying to overcome the world. This was believed to be even truer once Hawaii, Cuba, and the Philippines were acquired. William Seward then strived to endorse an agreement with the Colombian Government to allow the United States to build a waterway through the Panama territory. After the Spanish-American War, the United States attained power over territories that could function as coaling stations and naval bases. The foreign market for American redundant products caused economic expansion to those nations. America was manufacturing way more than they could use. The markets of oil, steel, and agriculture were in major favor of the American expansion. Most demands for expansion were met by large commercial farmers. Vast amounts of raw materials were needed to properly preserve a strong industrial economy. Machinery became a large industry and all kinds of machines were established. Businesses were able to maneuver over wide areas creating chain stores everywhere. The invention of the steamship cut the travel time for shipping goods. The faster shipments arrived, the faster they could take advantage of supplies and sell manufactured goods. Oil was discovered in western Pennsylvania and used as lubricants and kerosene for lamps. Steel mills flourished in places where coal and iron elements could be brought together to produce steel. The American labor movement began to create unions. The unions began negotiating with possessors for higher earnings and  better working environments. The wi de-ranging knowledge of industrial development and scientific development helped enable perception for the creation of new businesses and technologies. Advanced technology strengthened the power and control of industrialized countries. The convenience of prosperity, progression by the unrestricted market of controllable canals, and coastal waterways, the large quantity of natural resources aided cheap withdrawal of goods. This strengthened the power and influence of industrial countries and allowed them higher advantage in war and economic growth. Contribution in the war overwhelmingly reformed the economy, governments, and society of the nation. This created a lucrative report creating work places for large immigrations. The United States had taken its place as the leading world supremacy. Works Cited Henretta, A. James, https://spider.georgetown.college.edu/htalent/border/bs1/berge.htm

Training and Development Issues in Multinational Companies

Training and Development Issues in Multinational Companies 1. Introduction Nowadays Multinational corporations are more and more widespread, but a problem that they still dont have accomplished is how to retain successful employees, and most importantly how to train their employees in order to make them an efficient and successful resource of their enterprises. Some researchers estimated that around 30% of all expatriates sent to undertake overseas assignments return home prematurely (Kim Slocum, 2008; Mendenhall, Dunbar, Oddou, 1987). Failed adjustment of expatriates leads to high amount of economic and social costs for multinationals corporations. Expatriate failure is argued to be the inability of the expatriate to undertake effectively the international assignment, with the consequence of being fired or recalled to home (Tung (1982), therefore it is crucial to identify the ways to reduce and eliminate such failures. Although estimations of the costs of expatriate failure tend to vary in regards to each different country and are not based on a fixed set of criteria, they certainly cannot be neglected by multinationals (Gregersen Black, 1990). This essay aims to explore the strategic issues around training and development that are faced by Multinational corporations. In particular, a definition of what is International training and development will be given, then its importance in MNCs outlined, and the most advocated training programs explained, finally the essay concludes saying that trainees should also take in consideration expatriates spouse and children as the family support is fundamental for an expatriate to perform effectively. 2. What is International training and development? One of the most significant topics of International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is International training and development and its benefits are well recognized in the literature. (Dowling and Welch, 2004; Kamoche, 1996; Mendenhall et al., 1987; Tung, 1982). Kamoche (1996) says: The human resource refers to the accumulated stock of knowledge, skills and abilities that individuals possess, which the firm has built up over time into an identifiable expertise (p. 216). In the management literature, the two words International training and management development are always related to each other. Training has the scope to enhance work behaviour and skills, and development has the scope to gain better abilities for future work (Dowling et al., 1999). The word development in the human resource management area it involves career and abilities development, human resource and management development. Career and abilities development are related to International training and job rotation. Management development aims to identify, forecast and promote International managers. Inside Human resource development is incorporated career and abilities development and management development. Dowling and Welch (2004) argue that the issue for multinationals is how to retain and leverage their employees in order to have at disposal highly trained, internationally oriented human resources to support their strategic responses and concur to their key competencies. Multinationals are increasing their usage of training to improve and assist expatriates activities. 3. The importance of training and development in MNCs Nowadays, a successful international manager has to detain a set of specific abilities in regards to the context, such as managing responsibility skills, cultural adaptability, ability to generate subordinates, ability to demonstrate and to exhibit (Baumgarten, 1992). These skills are regarded as fundamental international ability and characteristics which can be generated with an effective international training and development program. International training is the type of training specifically set for who has been allocated an international assignment. In the international literature the group of international training that has received more attention is Pre-departure training for expatriates, as overseas failure (i.e. the return of an expatriate employee before the completion of the assigned assignment) is most of the time caused by failure to provide adequate international training for expatriates and their spouses. In order to measure the effectiveness of employees expatriation, the expatriate failure rate is a good indicator. One of the reason MNCs have to avoid expatriation failure is certainly because their cost are really high, involving direct (salary, training, travel and relocation costs) and indirect expenditure. The average direct cost per failure to the parent company goes from US$ 55.000 to US$ 80.000, depending to the assignments destination (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986). Whereas indirect costs can be considerable and difficult to quantify, including the damage of the relationships with host countrys government, other organizations and with customers, losing market share and companys reputation, therefore also missing future business opportunities. Some research conducted among Americans multinationals has revealed a high rate of expatriate failure and therefore it remains a recurring problem (Brewster, 1988). Table 1 shows this phenomenon (Shen and Edwards, 2004). The global environment is becoming more and more complex and in continuous change, for this reason it requires flexibility. Therefore organizations have to devise strategic responses with the help of suitably trained and internationally oriented employees. Researches find that there is positive correlation between the rigor of the selection and training process and its expatriate success rate (Tung, 1981). This means that if a company uses a more rigorous training program then it will significantly benefit and improve the performances of the expatriate in the overseas environment, therefore decreasing the failure rate (Mendenhall et al., 1987). Cultural training aims to enables personnel to adjust themselves in the foreign culture and then work more effectively in the new environment (Earley, 1987). Table 2 shows (in descending order of importance) some reasons of expatriate failure in US and Japanese MNCs (Tung, 1982). Table 2. SOURCE: Tung, 1982. From the table its important to note that the more important cause of expatriate failure is not expatriates absence of adequate technical skills, but the inability of expatriates and their spouse to adapt themselves in the new overseas environment and culture. The aims of international management development is to identify, promote and use international managers, and it is forecasted to have a important role in MNCs because it is fundamentally needed in order to develop a cross-national corporate culture and to integrate international operations. Bartlett and Ghoshal (2000), argue that multinational corporations can develop their network by creating a group of international managers from different countries. 4. International training and development programs In Multinational corporations there are mainly two different groups of international trainings. They are divided in: Pre-departure training for expatriates: before an expatriates departure for the international assignment, there will be a preparatory training course, this has the scope to ensure that the expatriate has the right capacity and knowledge to accomplish his assignment in a successful way. Post-arrival training for expatriates: Once the expatriate is arrived in his destination to fulfil his international assignment, he will be provided with on-site training, in order to familiarize with the new working environment. Training for nationals of the host-country (HCNs) and nationals of third-country (TCNs): multinationals will provide training in order to teach them their corporate culture and strategy. 4.1 Pre-departure training Most of the literature is concentrated on expatriate pre-departure training programs and their scope is to provide and develop host-countrys cultural awareness to expatriates. Once expatriates have been selected by the multinational for an overseas task, pre-departure training is the next indispensable step to be taken in order to ensure the successful and effective performance of expatriates assignment in the host-country (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). Pre-departure training programs to be effective have to include different components: cultural awareness training, preliminary visits, language instruction and assistance with practical assistance (Mendenhall Oddou, 1986). 4.1.1 Cultural awareness programs Is generally known that expatriates have to feel comfortable and adapted in the host-country in order to perform effectively their task, therefore is fundamental to provide them with a well-designed cultural awareness training program. Receiving this kind of training expatriates will understand and appreciate host-countrys different culture and can behave accordingly or develop appropriate coping patterns. Without any understanding of host-countrys different culture, expatriates are likely to feel disoriented and face difficult behavioural problems during their time abroad. Therefore, cultural awareness training is considered the most common and important part of pre-departure training. Cultural awareness training programs is formed by different components which may vary according to country of destination, duration of the assignment, purpose of the expatriation, and the provider of such programs (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). 4.1.2 Preliminary visits One method for orientating the expatriates is to send them in the host-country for a short trip. If the trip overseas is well planned can provide a useful preview to expatriates and their spouse about the international assignments destination, and allow them to assess their suitability for the new environment. This kind of trip is needed also to introduce expatriates to the new business context in the host-country and provide them with more information before their departure. Preliminary visit to the host-country can assist in the initial adjustment process when used as part of a pre-departure training program (Dowling, Engler, Festing, 2008). Even if the useful adoption of preliminary visits is well known, some European multinationals do not provide it. The 1997 European study reported what one firm admitted: We do not provide pre-assignments visits where conditions are so poor that nobody would want to go. 4.1.3 Language training Language training is an important component of a pre-departure training program. However its importance is always put after that of cultural awareness training. It is generally worldwide accepted that English is the common language of the business world. The ORC Worldwide 2002 survey discovered that the adoption of language training for expatriates and their spouse, as part of the pre-departure training program is increased. In fact, results say that 59% of the sample firms provided language training before the departure of expatriates, and 74% provided language training once expatriates arrived on the assignments destination. The ability to speak the foreign countrys language is essential to perform better and improve negotiating ability; indeed Tung (1997) discovered from a survey of 400 expatriates that language competence is a critical part of the assignments performance. Language skills are not important only for task performance but also for cultural adjustment. One reason for multinational not providing language training may be the difficulty and long time required to learn even a base level of a foreign language. A solution to this problem for multinationals is to hire a large language competent staff from which they can choose the potential expatriates to send abroad, but multinationals have also to keep an up-to-date information on all employees, and make frequent tests to verify if those language skills have been maintained (Marschan, Welch, 1997). 4.1.4 Practical assistance Providing practical assistance is another component of a pre-departure training program. Practical assistance aims to help expatriates and their family to adapt themselves to the new foreign environment. Many multinationals are paying specialized assistants in order to help expatriates and their family, providing practical assistance in finding a suitable accommodation or school for their children. 4.2 Post-arrival training Some recent research studies and innovative multinational companies practices suggest that there are three main emerging topic that managers working in multinational corporations have to be aware: In-Country, Real-Time Training, Global Mindset Training; and Self Internet-Based Training. 4.2.1 In-Country, Real-Time Training The majority of multinational corporations think that pre-departure cross-cultural training alone can already give expatriate the necessary skills and knowledge to perform well in the overseas environment. But researchers in this area have analyzed the expatriation process from different perspectives and discovered that multinationals thinking is erroneous, and argued that is important to continue the cross-cultural training program in the early stages of the international assignment (Gudykunst, Guzley, Hammer, 1996; Mendenhall, 1999). Living in a totally new environment facing different culture is a complex task and pre-departure training can provide expatriate with skills and knowledge only to survive, not to excel and overcome problematic situations where expatriates dont know what they should do, because pre-departure training methods cannot cover all the specific cross-cultural situations that expatriates encounter during the international assignment. Therefore once arrived in the foreign country is important to provide expatriates with further education and training in order to make them able to process accurately the new environment around them and to undertake wise moves. In-country training suits these specific needs. Global Mindset Training Nowadays it is very important that managers especially for U.S and European firms to develop global mindset in order to help their own companies to operate in the global context even when they have tasks only at local level. Hence increasing number of companies is educating their managers about global business issues. Multinationals have several ways to do this, for instance they can utilize their internal returning managers or expatriates in terms of their overseas marÂÂ ­ket knowledge, intercultural skills, foreign language ability, and so on. Some Multinational corporations organize seminars both on formal way and on informal way and ask repatriates to share their overseas experiences relocating managers and their families to some specific regions. Then companies could also adopt the method of field experience that puts employees in contact with subcultures, in particular with poor people, within their own country during short and compressed time periods. During this time they should learn how to walk in the moccasins of the members of the subculture. This kind of experience provides them a powerful tool to broaden their horizons, to reduce subjective barriers and prejudices, and increase their interpersonal skills. All these activities enhance those competencies to develop a global leader ship and business knowledge. Self Internet-based training Companies also provide CD-ROM edutainment software to support employees and children in activities of large range in order to help expatriates to increase their productivity overseas. It is designed as self training program. For instance you can find software CD-ROM that can give you a country specific interactive guide for business travelers and ordinary dealings with different cultures under the supervision of some trainers through internet connection. Often these software are tailored with different feature to different employees family members. 5. Trainees: Who should be trained? The support of the expatriates family is of critical importance for any international assignment to be successfully completed. From this point of view, is clear that multinationals have to train all family members of the expatriate in order to receive a high and effective performance of the assignment. According to a survey conducted by Organizational Resource Counsellors (ORC), 47% of multinationals offer training program to the entire family of the expatriate, 33% offer to their employee and spouse, and 20% offer training only to the expatriate employee. Different researchers have analysed this phenomenon and argue that the most important and common reasons for which expatriate cannot perform effectively their international assignment is the inability of their spouses to settle well and live in the host culture (Black, Gregersen, Mendenhall, 1992; Adler, 1997; Kohls, 1994). While expatriate are sustained by the workplace with familiar routines and job tasks, the situation of his or her family members is quite different. The spouse is left alone and has to face difficult challenges in a new international environment such as how to deal with relocation logistics, to establish the household, to settle the children at school, to negotiate with the local services, and to become part of a social network. Obviously the level of difficulty depends on spouses level of confidence and skills. According to findings of a research made by Bennett Associates and Price Waterhouse, most of the times all expatriates are married and the accompanying spouse is female, and they have to face the dual-career dilemma situation at the time of the international relocation. When the accompanying partner is in front of this situation, she or he may feel ambivalent about the move and worried about how to find employment once arrived abroad. So all training programs should take in c onsideration these issues and help the spouse in order to have a positive growth and development during the time abroad. Therefore is very important that the spouse feel that he or she is also an active part in the international assignment (Lublin, 1999). Training programs should also include young family members, supporting them to adapt in the new environment. All these programs should be tailored according to different needs of children, and they are particularly useful in case of strong difference between childrens culture and host-country ones. In most major business centres there are international schools that help expatriate community, trying to facilitate their transition from their own countrys environment to the new foreign countrys environment. In other cases, when is not possible to find this kind of international schools, children have to put more efforts in facing new education system, social norms, and the challenges posed by a new language. 6. Conclusions One of the most important issues of International Human Resource Management is International training and development and this is well known by all researchers. From the literature and study done in this field, researchers argue that most MNCs do not provide sufficient or adequate International training for expatriates and their families. It is argued that Multinationals have reported high percentage of expatriate failure and consequently they do not have many effective international managers in the international arena. Researchers said that the components of each different international training has to be decided in regards to the country of destination, the type of task, the duration of assignment and the purpose of expatriation. Pre-departure training and post-arrival training are the most supported in the literature. Therefore, MNCs should provide effective International training and development to expatriates and their family, Host-country nationals and Third-country nationals, in order to gain better economic performance and to be successful in such a competitive environment.

Natty Dreadlocks The Study of the Youth Black Faith and the Bobo Dreads

Natty Dreadlocks The Study of the Youth Black Faith and the Bobo Dreads The most outstanding characteristic of the Rastafarians is then- hair. Although other people view dreadlocks as disgusting, smelly, and as a symbol of craziness, the Rastas see the dreadlocks as part of who they are and what they stand for. The longer and more developed their dreads are represents their status and their faith. They think of their hair as a crown, like the crown of their king, Halle Selassie, or to the main of the lion symbolizing male strength. The Rastas' crowns let people know they are rebelling against oppression and do not want to"fit in"with the people that view them as freaks. They started this trend to go against organizational life and challenge the social and religious norms that were implicated at the time. The Youth Black Faith and later the Bobo Dreadlocks made great contributions to implementing the Dreadlock trend and helped break away from the oppression they endured. In the late 1940's, five brethren, guided by their love for the Rastafarian doctrine. got together to start what would become the Youth Black Faith. These five leaders held their own on the streets. They called themselves Brother Taf, Pete, Brother Firsop, Badaman and Watson. Kingston was expanding rapidly due to peasants leaving the rustic for urban poverty. Back-o-Wall had already entered into Ackee Walk next to the large May Pen cemetery and stretched farther south all the way to the seaside except for an intervening portion that the water commission owned. In Trench Town, also, slums filled up the area with footpaths and alleyways connecting them. It was at one of these slums in Trench Town, Ninth Street to be exacts that Brother Taf and Pete lived. ... ... to Walter Rodney , Africa World Press Inc., 1987 Chevannes, Barry, Rastafari : Roots and Ideology Hausman, Gerald, the Kebra Negast - The-Book-of-Rastafarian Falth--from Ethiopia and Jamaica , St. Martin's Press, 1997 Internet [precise URLs may be in error due to translation, and they are not the fault of the author. -Editor] Jamaica atlas : http: //WWW. t Urknet. coin/ at I as/ 9 7 august/_I am at ca/page2. htni I The Bobo Dread: Beliefs and Rituals : littp:/'/www.envirolink.org/oneworlct/t'OCLts/ettopla/rasta3.litinI Dread History : 'The African Diaspora, Ethiopianism, and Rastafari littp://editcate.si.edLL/nllgrations/rasta/pic I O.html The Bobo Dread : Relations with the Outside littp: /'/www. etiviro link. org/oneworld/t'OCLIs/etiopia/rasta 1. litral The Bobo Dread : littp: //www. envirolik. org/oneworld/ t'OC US/eti Opt a/rasta. htm I

Mind, Intelligence and Spirit :: Psychology Philosophy Papers

Mind, Intelligence and Spirit The mind is a collection of various classes of processes that can be studied empirically. To limit the field of mental processes we must follow the criteria of folk psychology. There are three kinds of mind: human, animal and mechanical. But the human mind is the paradigm or model of mind. The existence of mechanical minds is a serious challenge to the materialism or the mind-brain identity theory. Based on this existence we can put forward the antimaterialist argument of machines. Intelligence is a class of mental processes such that the mind is the genus and the intelligence is a species of this genus. The capacity to solve problems is a clear and definite criterion of intelligence. Again, like in the mind, the human intelligence is the paradigm of the intelligence. There are also three kinds of intelligence: human, animal and mechanical. Searle’s Chinese room argument is misleading because Searle believes that it is possible to maintain a sharp distinction between syntax an d semantics. The reasonable dualism in the brain-mind problem defends the existence of brain-mental processes, physical-mental processes, and non-physical-mental (spiritual) processes. Constitution of the personal project of life, self-consciousness and free volitions are examples of spiritual processes. Usually the intelligence has been considered the most important quality of human beings, but freedom, or the world of free volitions, is a more specific quality of human beings. I. The Concept of Mind Contrary to a long philosophical tradition, it is very important to emphasize that the mind is not a "substance" or res . If the mind were a substance its study would be beyond the empiricist domain of science and would belong to the extraempiricist domain of metaphysics. On other hand, if the mind were a substance it would be something individual. Nevertheless the mind is a collection of various classes of processes that can be studied empirically. These processes are just the so-called "mental processes", in such a way that we can suggest the apparently vicious circle statement: mind is the collection of the different mental processes. In order to avoid the circularity of this statement we have to describe the various classes of mental processes. Using concepts taken from the information theory we can distinguish, in the beginning, four main types of mental processes: 1) perceptions, i. e. organized reception of information, 2) memories or storage of information, 3) beliefs, that is, judgements about the received information, and 4) plans, namely, arrangements of information to act.