Magic Methyl Effect: Transition Metal Catalyzed

Magic Methyl Effect: Transition Metal Catalyzed The insertion of a methyl group, the smallest alkyl group, into a C-H bond has been shown to enhance such pharmacological charactistics as bioavailability and potency.1 Traditionally, incorporation of a methyl group into a bioactive compound has required lengthy de novo synthesis. Consequently, synthetic reactions that allow late-stage installation of methyl groups into advanced intermediates are of great potential value in the pharmaceutical industry. In the past two decades interest in directed C−H activation followed by the methylation led to the development of strategies which use precious metals catalysts forarenes ortho-functionalizations.2, 3 Currently, only a few reactions exist which enable such transformations to be achieved in a single step,1, 4 highlighting the difficulty in converting a C-H bond to C-Me bond. Most of these methods require heavy loadings of precious metal catalysts to obtain the desired methylated product (Scheme 1).4 Moreover, some of them use hazardous and toxic methylating reagents1 with strongly basic reaction media what results in a limited scope1,4 and the uncontrolled formation of both mono- and dimethylated products.2 This reflects the need for new methylation methods which will overcome mentioned limitations. Scheme 1. Ortho-methylation with precious metal To address the toxicity and expense of the precious metal catalysis, first row metal-catalyzed C−H functionalization has recently been recognized as a straightforward and a powerful tool for the formation of Csp2 Csp3 bonds in modern organic synthesis. In addition first row transition metals introduce interesting mechanistic possibilities for ortho-methylation; they are readily available and relatively low toxicity.1, 4 Recently Lu and co-workers reported the cobalt (II)-catalyzed direct C-H methylation of unactivated (hetero)arenes using dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as the methyl source, base and most importantly as an oxidant. Cobalt mediated C-H functionalization is a maturing field; however, there exist only two examples of its application to methylation of aromatics, using N-methyl-1-naphthamide and benzo[h]quinolone substrates respectively. The reaction proved to be mild, functional group tolerant and uses a less toxic methylating reagent. The paper reports effective access to a range of ortho-methylated (hetero)aromatic carboxamides (Scheme 2).5 Scheme 2. Ortho-methylation with cobalt catalysts Chatani and co-workers reported the use of aryltrimethylammonium bromide and iodide as new methylating reagents in conjunction with nickel-catalyzed C-H bond activation (Scheme 3). Changing from a palladium6 catalyst to nickel makes the ammonium salt act as a methyl source rather than aryl source for a range of 8-aminoquinoline aryl amides. Unfortunately harsh conditions make it difficult to control the selectivity between mono- and dimethylation at the ortho positions in some cases.7 Scheme 3. Ortho-methylation with nickel catalyst using aryltrimethylammonium iodide as methylating reagent Nakamura and co-workers have reported two separate iron-catalyzed conditions seemingly solving a lot of issues associated with the previous examples. The direct C-H methylation reaction with a picolinoyl or 8-aminoquinolyl directing groups, an iron/diphospine catalyst, and inexpensive 2,3-dichlorobutane as an oxidant furnished an efficient, robust reaction (Scheme 4).8 Unfortunately the method relies upon superstoichiometric methyl equivalents in the form of the pyrophoric trimethylaluminum. Scheme 4. Ortho-methylation with iron catalyst using trimethylaluminum as methyl source Nakamura and co-workers further optimized the iron-catalyzed C-H methylation reaction by screening ligands.9 The tridentate phosphine ligand NMe2-TP in combination with Fe(acac)3 catalyzed the ortho C-H methylation of simple aromatic carbonyl compounds without requiring additional directing groups. This reaction showed wide substrate generality, functional group tolerance, and resistance to catalytic poisons taking advantage of functional groups inherent to the advanced intermediates (Scheme 4).9 This seminar will discuss the scope and limitations of these recently published methods, and assess the progress towards developing general solutions to the challenge of late-stage methyl incorporation. References: Schà ¶nherr H., Cernak T. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 12256 Lyons T. W., Sanford M. S. Chem. Rev. 2010, 110, 1147 Snieckus V. Chem. Rev. 1990, 90, 879 Yan G., Borah A. J., Wang L. and Yanga M. Adv. Synth. Catal. 2015, 357, 1333 Li Q., Li Y., Hu W., Hu R., Li G. and Lu H. Chem. Eur. J. 2016, 22, 12286 Zhu F., Tao J.-L., Wang Z.-X. Org. Lett. 2015, 17, 4926 Uemura T., Yamaguchi M., and Chatani N. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 128, 3214 Shang R., Ilies L, and Nakamura E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 7660 Shang R., Ilies L. and Nakamura E. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 10132 Minds, Brains And Programs: Analysis Minds, Brains And Programs: Analysis Searle is arguing that a computer couldnt understand Chinese. Is this the right way to describe the view that Searle is arguing for in Minds, Brains, and Programs? If not, why not? In his Chinese Room argument, Searle observes that if manipulating Chinese symbols according to formal rules is insufficient for the person to understand Chinese, it is also insufficient for a computer to understand Chinese-both are engaging in mindless symbol manipulation. However, he isnt arguing that a computer couldnt understand Chinese, but rather that their programs themselves cant understand Chinese-symbol manipulation isnt constitutive of or sufficient for minds. Searle is not arguing that computers/machines cant think. In fact, he believes that only a machine can think (namely brains and machines that have the same causal powers as brains); he says that brains are machines, and brains think. However, according to Searle, whether something thinks depends not only on the program that it is running but also its hardware-the nature of the thing running the program. Simply implementing a program that is formally isomorphic to human thought processes, as in the Chinese Room example, is insufficient for intentionality and consequently thought (in this case, understanding Chinese) since a program can be instantiated without mental states-essentially, Searles argument is that formal computations on symbols cannot themselves produce thought. What is the systems response to the Chinese Room argument? Is Searle correct to think that the response begs the question because it assumes that the system understands Chinese? The systems response to the Chinese Room argument acknowledges that the man running the program does not understand Chinese. However, he is a part of a larger system that is comprised of the complete set of components that is necessary for answering the Chinese questions, and which as a whole does understand Chinese. Simply asserting that although the man wouldnt understand Chinese the whole system would, does beg the question. However, Searle is incorrect to think that the complete systems response begs the question-it counters Searles argument by observing that the Chinese room argument is logically invalid, being as its conclusion does not follow logically from its premise. Inferring that the system of which the man is a component does not understand Chinese from the premise that the man himself does not understand Chinese is invalid, because there is no logical connection between the premise and the conclusion. What is the point of Searles Chinese Gym example? What do you think the right response to it is? In his Chinese Gym example, Searle illustrates a hypothetical Chinese gym, populated by monolingual English speakers that follow instructions in English to collectively produce output indistinguishable from that of native Chinese speakers. It is analogous to the Chinese Room example but with more people and involves parallel processing-it can perform many computations at a time. Its purpose is to oppose Strong AI. Searles main argument is that it is self-evident that the only things occurring in the Chinese gym are meaningless syntactic manipulations from which intentionality and subsequently thought could not conceivably arise, both individually and collectively. Using the same method in which Copeland used the systems response to defend Strong AI and respond to the Chinese Room argument, we can respond logically to the Chinese Gym example. In other words, it is invalid to infer that a system (the gym) which consists of entities that dont understand Chinese doesnt understand Chinese, from the simple premise that the entities that comprise the system dont understand Chinese. There is no logical connection between the premise and the conclusion. Question 3 No amount of knowledge of the neural basis of taste experiences (or any other physical information) will enable you to know what Marmite tastes like. Only tasting Marmite can tell you what Marmite tastes like. Why is this an objection to physicalism? Physicalism holds that everything is comprised solely of its physical properties; that is, only physical things exist and everything is explicable in terms of the physical. The Physicalist would argue, for instance, that what it is like for someone to taste Marmite is one and the same as some physical quality-knowing the pertinent physical facts of the taste of Marmite are sufficient for knowing the actual taste of Marmite itself. Therefore the statement in question is an objection to physicalism being as it implies that there arent only physical properties since only tasting Marmite can really tell you what Marmite tastes like-for every experience there exist subjective, phenomenal qualities that one could not know of solely via knowledge, but only through experience. In other words, one will have experiences for which one has no corresponding concept; experiences extend beyond simple, learnable physical qualities. This is an objection to the physicalists argument that for everything in the universe there exist only objective, physical bases for everything in the universe. How would Lewis respond to the argument in (a)? Is this a good response? The argument in (a) is analogous to the Knowledge Argument, which Lewis would respond to with the Ability Argument. His position on (a) is in the middle. He agrees that there are aspects of ability that do not consist simply of information possession, and that we do call knowledge. However, he contrasts possessing a new fact with possessing a new ability-having a new experience does not imbue an individual with any new propositional knowledge, but only a bundle of abilities (to imagine, remember and recognize: know-how). These are abilities you cannot gain except by tasting Marmite, and learning what an experience is like means gaining certain abilities-he is fine with the argument in (a), but simply distinguishes that abilities rather than special phenomenal facts are acquired via experiences. This is a good response because learning what an experience is like means gaining certain abilities but its up for grabs what, if anything, the causal basis for those abilities may represent. There is no proof that tasting Marmite is the only way to know what it tastes like as the experience allows one to acquire special phenomenal facts which cannot be represented in any other way nor taught, other forms of tasting Marmite that lead to the same brain state may exist. What is the hard problem associated with the taste of Marmite, and how does it contrast with easy problems associated with explaining taste experiences? The hard problem questions how and why neural processes lead to certain subjective experiences. In the context of tasting Marmite, it is associated with the subjective experience of the taste of Marmite-facts about conscious experience that cannot be deduced from physical facts about the functioning of the brain. The problem of explaining the subjective taste of Marmite, or why the experience even exists in the way it does, is hard. In other words the hard problem is the problem of explaining why a brain state necessary and sufficient for having the experience of tasting Marmite is correlated with the experience of tasting Marmite and not with some other experience. Here we have no conceptions of how physical goings-on give rise to experiences. This contrasts with the easy problem of experiences, which concerns the objective mechanisms of the cognitive system-everything can be solved or explained in terms of neurological or physical goings-on that stimulate certain responses. In the context of taste experiences, the easy question would state that the experiences come into existence simply when neurotransmitters activate taste buds.

Child Soldiers Essay

Child Soldiers Essay What is a Child Soldier? Is using Child Soldiers really ok? Some may say that it’s alright to use child soldiers while others are trying to stop some countries in our world from using children as soldiers. Child soldiers are being used in our world today, these children are used to be spies, decoys, cooks, in the front lines of the battles and the girls are many times used as sex slaves. To become a child soldier many times the children are kidnapped from their homes and forced to kill their own family so they won’t have a home to return to. Many people in our world today do not agree with militaries using children to fight battles because it is ruining the lives children and also it is not fair to put a child fighting against a grown man or woman. The United Nations or the UN is trying to put a stop to children being used as soldiers and they have made a goal to have no child soldiers in the world by 2016. Many people believe that using child soldiers is very wrong and messed up, yet some countries use children as soldiers. The number of children being used as soldiers in our world has been growing every year. In our world today the number of child soldiers being used in wars i s close to 250, 000 children. Of all the child soldier in this world about 60% of them are boys and about 40% are girls. Back in the old days when guns were not as popular as they are in today’s world, child soldiers were not as popular. They weren’t as popular because the weapons used during wars were swords or large knifes which were much too heavy for a child to use against an enemy and would not have a chance against an actual adult soldier. Although in our world today the child soldiers are able to use assault rifles that are light enough for a child to handle. The assault rifles that are commonly found being used by the child soldiers are the M16 and the AK47 because these weapons are very light as well as very simple to operate. These weapons are so simple to use that a child soldier at an age of 10 years old can disassemble and reassemble it in a matter of minutes. Groups will use child soldiers during wars because nobody in the world wants to kill a child duri ng a war. The reason children are used as soldiers is because they are very easy to brainwash and manipulate. When an army or group has a child as a soldier they do not need to pay the child as much as they would have to pay adults in the army. Children also have not developed a full sense of danger so the army does not need to worry very much about the children running away from the battle. Since the children do not eat as much as adults the army does not need to spend a lot of money on food. Another reason militaries like to use children as soldiers is because they can be used as spies or even decoys because children can more easily blend into a crowd than an adult spy could because most people look at a child and don’t think they could do any harm to anyone or be an enemy. Children are very vulnerable to recruitment by groups or armies if they are not educated, poor, not with a family, or they live in a war zone. Many children do not volunteer to join these militaries that have child soldiers but instead they have been forcibly recruited by the militaries. Even though many governments have declared that using children as a soldier is illegal, rebel groups and armies still use children as soldiers. Many times in today’s world children are abducted from their homes and these children mainly come out of the country’s poorest villages and cities. A village may be forced to give a required number of their children to the army or group and in return they would be safe from any attacks by that army or group; a tactic that was made popular by the Lord’s Resistance Army which, is a rebel group that originated in Uganda that is known for using children as soldiers. Some children would be forced by their parents to volunteer because the paren ts could afford to pay for the food and shelter of their children, so if the children went into one of these armies then the child would at least be able to have food and water. Sometimes, the group will say that if the child joins the army then the child will be granted protection, food, and even payment but, most of the time the children aren’t given everything they were told they would get. When soldiers are going to go and get new child soldier recruits they many times make the child kill a member of their own family so then they would not be able to back to their family. â€Å"Once recruited, children undergo varying degrees of indoctrination, often verging on the brutal†¦..Some rebel groups in Cambodia and Mozambique turned children into fierce warriors by subjecting them to a brief period of terror and physical abuse—socializing them into violence.† Since many of these children have been outlawed by their village, have been brutal beaten both physically and mentally as well as being drugged multiple times, they are able to go to different villages and do the same thing to other children and recruit them because they have been brainwashed. Girls are used as well but not found as often in the gun fights like the boys. The girls are instead mainly used as cooks and fetching water for the soldiers. Unfortunately the young girls are very vulnerable the re for they are often used for sexual pleasures by the soldiers. (Children as Soldiers.Children as Soldiers. UNICEF, n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2014). The effects on the children after what they have done and been through will stick with them longer than it took their physical scars to heal and for them to recover from their drug addictions. Many of these children don’t think anything of the violent acts they commit, whether that is beating someone or killing someone they do not see what they are doing is wrong. This can damage the child’s brain for the rest of their life because when they were committing all of the violence, their brain was in its developing stages. Even when the children that were one of the child soldiers have escaped or set free, the children cannot return back to the their villages and families because they have been outlawed by their community. These children have been outlawed from their village because when the children were being recruited for the army they had to kill a family member of theirs in order to join. A good amount of the girls that are child soldiers can’t return to their v illages because while they were a child soldier they became pregnant from one of the soldiers and now have a baby, which their village would not allow inside the village. Almost all of the child soldiers have little or no education since they missed so many years of school in the early years of their life. Since they do not have much of an education they do not have a very promising future ahead of them so they will go back to these groups that originally recruited them so that they will at least be able to have food and water. â€Å"In June 2013 the UN set a goal to have no child soldiers anywhere in the world by 2016.There are eight Government armies listed for the recruitment and use of children and six of them have already committed to making their armies child ­free. In 2012, South Sudan, Myanmar, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo signed action plans with the United Nations. The previous year, Afghanistan and Chad made similar commitments. Discussions initiated with the Governments of Yemen and Sudan are expected to lead to action plans in the near future.† Even though most of these governments have outlawed the use of children as soldiers, rebel groups within these countries will still continue to use children as soldiers, (Child Soldiers. Child Soldiers. War Child, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014). The Child Soldiers International is a group of people from around the world that are working together to make sure that all children under the age of 18 are allowed to live in peace, have their rights and grow up in an area where they can thrive and reach their full potential. They believe that if this is to happen then children must be protected from being in any form of military and stay out of the wars. Child Soldiers International says that a child is anyone under the age of 18 years old; also these children must be protected because they are in their most important developmental stages of their lives, where they develop what is morally right or wrong and maturity both physically and psychologically. This international group has set an international law stating that a child under the age of 18 cannot be recruited to be in any form of military or armed group. The use of children through both civil wars and country wars has been obvious over the years. Many times the leaders of these groups and armies give the children false hopes and promises, the children are drugged to kill other people and even kill their own family. Even though using children as soldiers is looked down upon people in our world don’t see the harm it does to the children, they just look at how the children will help them. â€Å"Despite this, in the last ten years over two million children have been killed, over one million orphaned, over six million have been left seriously injured or permanently disabled and over 10 million have been diagnosed with psychological trauma.† There are two arguments when it comes down to the topic of whether child soldiers should be held responsible for their violent acts, (Child Soldiers: Invisible Children Child Soldiers- Defining the Topic. Child Soldiers: Invisible Children. Weebly, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014). One side of the argument says that child soldiers should not be help responsible for their actions. They should not be held accountable because many of them did not have a choice of whether or not they wanted to become a child soldier. Also while they were child soldiers they were brainwashed through the use of drugs. The drugs would allow the child soldier to commit violent acts and not think acts were wrong. Some children would join to get food and water but never would have thought that they would have to do any actual fighting. The other side of the argument is that child soldiers should be held responsible for the violent acts they have committed. Some believe that child criminals and child soldiers are the same thing in a way and should be treated the same and be prosecuted. Child soldiers have been accountable for some of the most disturbing, brutal, and violent acts during a time of war, for example raping and killing large amounts of innocent people in villages and cities. Child soldiers are still being put in jail and put on trial, even though International Criminal Court Article 26 states that anyone under the age of 18 may not be prosecuted in a court of law. It would be a lie to say that all child soldiers are forced to fight because some child soldiers join the fight because they want to avenge a family members death. If a child is not forced to become a soldier but joins by free will then that child should be taken into custody because this child understood what they were doing and that it was wr ong. Some believe that it is not right to the victims of the child soldiers if the children are just allowed to walk free. If child soldiers did not have to be prosecuted for their crimes then their leaders would most likely make the children do all the crimes against others since the children will not be charged with anything. In our world today everyone has different opinions about whether or not child soldiers should be held accountable for their violent acts. The Children and Justice During and in the Aftermath of Armed Conflict report says: â€Å"If a child under the age of 15 is considered too young to fight, then he or she must also be considered too young to be held criminally responsible for serious violations of IHL while associated with armed forces or armed groups.† Children are recruited so much to be a soldier because they are very easily manipulated and intimidated. The children are to young to understand what the consequences of their actions can lead to, in other words they haven’t developed much mental maturity. All of the drugs that are used on the children does a lot of mental damage because their frontal lobes which controls what decisions to make is being significantly damaged and will not develop right. Radhika Coomaraswamy, SRSG for child soldiers, said, â€Å"If minor children who have committed serious war crimes are not prosecuted, this could be an incentive for their commanders to delegate to them the dirtiest orders, aiming at impunity,† ( Humanitarian News and Analysis. IRINnews. IRIN, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014). In my opinion, I believe that child soldiers should not be held accountable for the violent acts. I have learned that child soldiers are many times kidnapped from their families and forced to kill a family member and are given many false hopes from their leaders. The child soldiers are drugged and brainwashed so that they can go around and kill innocent people as well as recruit more children like themselves. I believe that any person, especially a child, should not be prosecuted for their violent acts because they were not aware of whether what they were doing was right or wrong. I believe there is a difference in a child criminal and a child soldier because a child criminal is making a decision themselves and are completely aware of that they are doing, while a child soldier does not. For example, lets say a 10 year old boy kills his baby brother by drowning him in the tub. The 10 year old boy would be considered a child criminal and should be prosecuted because the boy was not for ced to kill his baby brother. Now if a child soldier has killed another person then I do not think they should be persecuted because they were forced to commit the violent act. Instead the child soldier should have to go through rehab. The Truth and Reconciliation Commissions and Disarmament is a much better way of helping children recover from their violent acts as a soldier so that they can go back out into the real world. Rehab programs have been proven to be successful when it comes to people recovering from war. A good example of someone that was a child soldier in Sierra Leone and went through rehab when he was rescued is Ishmael Beah, the author of A Long Way Gone. â€Å"At age sixteen, he was removed from fighting by UNICEF, and through the help of the staff at his rehabilitation center, he learned how to forgive himself, to regain his humanity, and, finally, to heal,† (Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007 . Print). A child soldier has a very rough and confusing life. A child soldier begins without having a family or village anymore because they have been outlawed due to killing a family member. The children are drugged and are forced to commit the most brutal acts of violence such as, raping and killing innocent people. Some say that child soldiers should be prosecuted due to the violent acts they have committed but, most of these children did not even understand what they were doing when committing the crimes. No child should have to kill to survive, if they try to escape the horror that surrounds them then they are killed. Our world today needs to make a huge effort to stop the use of children as soldiers because it is not right to ruin a child’s life for something they do not even understand. Bibliography Beah, Ishmael. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. Print. Cambridge Journals Online The Journal of Modern African Studies Abstract Children of War: Child Soldiers as Victims and Participants in the Sudan Civil War by C. Ryan London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. Pp. 320.  £59.50 (hbk). Cambridge Journals Online The Journal of Modern African Studies Abstract Children of War: Child Soldiers as Victims and Participants in the Sudan Civil War by C. Ryan London: I.B. Tauris, 2012. Pp. 320.  £59.50 (hbk). Cambridge University Press, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.Child Soldiers. Child Soldiers. War Child, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2014. Child Soldiers: Invisible Children Child Soldiers- Defining the Topic. Child Soldiers: Invisible Children. Weebly, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2014. Dixon, Robyn. Former Sierra Leone Child Soldier Helps Other Victims. Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2012. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. Government Forces Commit to End Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the SecretaryGeneral for Children and Armed Conflict. United Nations, 17 June 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2014. Humanitarian News and Analysis. IRINnews. IRIN, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2014.

Montana :: essays research papers

MONTANA BY LARRY WATSON EXTENDEND REPSONSE. 1) In his twelfth year, David discovers the pain of growing up- the fragmentation of the secure world of the innocent though the awareness of truths and realities around him. Discuss. ESSAY In the text Montana by Larry Watson, it is evident that they 12 year old David is growing up. He is a typical 12 year old, loving outdoors, riding his horse, fishing, hunting and exploring (Quote page 23), but by the influences and family around him he has a painful, confusing growing up life. As David an only child, he was not the only one that is growing up. In a way his family are still growing, learning from every part of past and present issues. David’s growing up has a lot of different influences. His father Wes is not a typically loving father. His fatherly love is harming David in a way to believe different in him and his self. Wes, David’s father, has a lot of responsibilities to cover, as he is the Mercer County sheriff. This makes David believe to look after him self and be responsible in a way to show and prove his father, as he disappoints David. (Quote page 17) Even though Wes is the sheriff he is a quite and self-effacing male who puts him self down and this shows that he isn’t the typical male stereotype of a Montana Sheriff. As the Hayden’s were well known and had heaps of power in Bentrock, David realises that he is respected because of his name, not because of himself. He didn’t have to earn it. (Quote page 126). David becomes aware of this when he is going to the grocery store, and that the locals didn’t know what was happening to his family of power. The citizens of Bentrock didn’t know that his father had arrested his own brother for sexually assaulting his patients, and murdering Marie. (Quote page 127) David had shame over his family name. Frank, Wes’ brother and David’s Uncle, has a great influence on David’s growing up. Frank shows his heroism and successfulness and this makes David envy Frank. (Quote page 78) Even though David idolised Frank, his views changed within the text. After the truth about Frank and his patients David didn’t like being alone with him. The thought his own uncle as a criminal. (Quote page 49) David changes his innocents when his is hunting and he shot and killed a magpie.

Psychology: Dreams And Dreaming :: essays research papers

Psychology: Dreams and Dreaming   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dreams, a nightly gift and a part of the natural process of being alive, are being rediscovered by our publisher. The meaning and value of your dreams will vary according to what you and your society decide. Our society is changing. We used to only value dreams in the context of psychotherapy. There are also a few assumptions about dreams. One is that you are always the final authority on what the dream means. Others can offer insight, suggestions and techniques for exploration and expression, but no one knows what the final meaning and value of the dreams will be for you, except you. Another assumption is that dreams come in the service of wholeness and health. If you find an interpretation that does not fit this, perhaps you need to change methods of interpretation. Dream interpretations that lead you toward self-criticism, depression or despair are simply wrong and if these conditions persist you may wish to seek help from others. Finally, there is no such thing as a dream with one meaning. If you feel stuck on one meaning or feel another person is pushing one meaning, it is time to reconsider your methods and approach. (Lemley p. 17).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Clinical dream work is done within the context of psychotherapy and clinical and sleep research have different approaches and goals than peer dream work. (Koch-Sheras p.16).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A dream is a period of spontaneous brain activity usually lasting from about 5-40 minutes that occurs during sleep several times a night usually about 90 minute intervals (Barret p.8).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are also certain types of dreams. There are fantasy, daydream and waking dreams. There are also lucid dreams, nightmares and night terrors. There are also certain stages in the dream cycle. In the first stage, your body temperature drops, your eyes close and your brain waves begin regular alpha rhythms, indicating a relaxed state. Muscles lose their tension, breathing becomes more even and your heart rate slows. Second, random images begin to float through your mind mimicking the dream state. Jolting or involuntary movements will take place at this time. Third, muscles lose all tightness, breathing becomes slower, heart rate decreases and blood pressure falls. At this point, it will take a loud noise or disturbance to wake you up. You are now fully asleep. Finally, you are in a deep sleep. This is the most physically rested period of sleep and longest in duration. (Time-Life Books p. 97). Jubera 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Whether awake or asleep, one of the brain's most critical functions is the construction of the model of the environment that we perceive as our

Surprising Similarities and Striking Differences :: Free Essay Writer

Surprising Similarities and Striking Differences Daniel Defoe wrote Moll Flanders in 1722, almost one hundred years before Charlotte Bronte finished Jane Eyre. Despite the difference in the times of writing, they bore apparent similarities. Nevertheless the writers adopted different techniques to portrait two heroines. The two novels were both growth novels, to a certain extent, which depicted the changes of the heroines as they grew up. In order to illustrate the changes, the authors employed similar plots and writing skills. The two novels both started from foster families and ended with happy marriages. Perhaps the authors wanted to cast some light on the fact that a broken family had a far-reaching effect on a child’s life. Jane Eyre became rebellious and self-isolated in her struggles at Gateshead while Moll Flanders’ childhood foreshadowed her helplessness and powerlessness throughout her life. In fact the two foster homes differed greatly. Gateshead was a hostile place, which cultivated a strong and independent-minded Jane, so that she could overcome various difficulties in her life on her own. Moll Flanders was not so lucky. Her foster mother was impoverished but extremely kind. Therefore after she died, innocent Moll was thrown into an unfriendly world suddenly. Soon she was seduced, which marked the beginning of her miserable life. Both authors carried a strong sense of family. Jane took after her mother to be a stubborn lover. At despair she appealed for her mother ‘s help wh en she was praying for Mr. Rochester. In the end it’s her family that saved her from the edge of death and treated her with enthusiastic hospitality, quite in contrast with the hostile family of Gateshead. Family had a special meaning for her. Interesting enough it’s her family again who made her rich and in some way made it possible for the reunion of the couple. As to Moll Flanders, she went through what her mother did in almost the same way: from a decent woman to a shameless whore then to a thief, at last experiencing a narrow escape from the gallows. Like Jane she met her family at last quite unexpectedly in an exotic place. Despite all the suffering they had born, the endings of the two novels were happy. They could marry their beloved ones and lead tranquil and rich lives. It seemed that a happy marriage and a rich life were the best endings an author could come up with for a woman at that time.

Human Resources Management in the Asia Pacific Essay

Nowadays China becomes one of the hottest market places all over the world. From the viewpoint of the investors, China seems to be the most potential market with the huge market and attractive economic situation. The apparent result is the increase in number of foreign investments put into China. Gentran Machinery (GM) is one of the foreign investors of China. It has a joint venture (JV) in Hangzhou. Although GM has been quite successful in its operations showing an average annual growth of 12 percent in sales volume, net profits and its stock value during the past 20 years, it is noted that the joint venture in China is struggling along and is already way behind schedule. In order to address the possible problems in the JV and find solutions, some issues are to be discussed. Global assignment of managers has been a traditional method of operating international companies. The importance of transferring knowledge, upskilling remote or local managers and instilling best practice throughout a multinational organization has long been recognized as a source of competitive advantage for those firms able to expand successfully. The failure of rate of global assignments, and indeed international expansion, has throughout history been nothing less than fantastic. Although it is obvious that the expatriate managers don’t know the local labour markets and local education system, have the communication, culture, and language problems, they are familiar with the corporate culture, have advanced management skills, and also have stronger informal linkages with decision makers in the parent company. Many companies send their home country employees to foreign subsidiaries (Hutchings 2002). In the GM case, it is indicated that there isn’t a modern management system in the JV and the JV managers are at only the Chinese traditional stage of management development and they haven’t effective and efficiency management knowledge and skills. As a result, it is impossible to reduce the number of expatriate managers. Contrarily, the number of expatriate managers should be increased, because they can input the modern concepts and skills of management, help to build an effective and efficiency management system, and train the Chinese managers so that they are competent for their positions in JV. However, the selection of expatriate managers is important. According to  Hutchings (2002, p. 32), ‘Maximising the performance of expatriate managers can be defined as sending an employee to a host country operation capable of achieving the best results for the expatriate, the organisation and the host country in terms of adaptability and political, business, culture and social sensitivity. To achieving such adaptability and sensitivity, the company should pay significant attention to careful selection of expatriate for the host culture in which they will be employed, and provide on-going support (Hutchings 2002). There are a number of factors which an organisation needs to be taken into consideration to predict expatriate success. These factors include technical competence on the job; personality traits; environment variables; and family situations (Hutchings 2002). The expatriates should exhibit tolerance toward differences in race, creed, culture, customs and values. They should also have high motivations. Another criterion is that of behaviour, being defined as non-judgemental, showing tolerance for ambiguity and displays of respect (Hutchings 2002). Moreover, the expatriate’s spouse and family should be analysed. These include: the spouse’s inability to adjust; the employee’s inability to adjust; the employee’s personal or emotional immaturity; and other family problems (Hutchings 2002). Obviously, Richard Hamel (the controller of JV), who is not the type of manager necessary to facilitate the success and changes needed in the JV because he is not aggressive, innovative, and creative, should certainly be replaced. However, because of the lacks of Chinese managers and the situations discussed above, Hamel should be replaced by another suitable expatriate manager. After successfully selecting the suitable expatriate manager, on-going support is important for them. In the GM case, it is noted that although the physical accommodations are acceptable, the expatriate managers suffer from extreme emotional pressure particularly in the form of loneliness. These managers have only one emotional outlet – work. They cannot speak Chinese and have no alternative forms of entertainment that involve interactions with people. Their lifestyle can best be described as one of ‘prison inmate’. This situation indicates that the expatriate managers have not been supported well. The parent company should solve this problem. Firstly, effective training programmes can help the expatriates adjust to living and  working conditions in the new host country. Appropriate intercultural training and support can help expatriates cope with a workforce and management colleagues with drastically different cultural inclinations and reduce the stress of being alone in a foreign land. Such training should provide a clear picture of the challenges they are about to face, both in their professional and private life. The training should include general country information on the Chinese culture and tradition in written, verbal or audio / visual form as a helpful orientation for the beginning of living and working in the host country; cross-cultural seminars where the trainees can apply and deepen their knowledge of the Chinese culture and mentality; Chinese language courses to introduce expatriates and their accompanying partners some basic language skills; field trip to obtain the first impression of the country, working and living conditions; meetings with experienced expatriates who can give practical tips or useful suggestions directly related to the job or private life in China. Secondly, medical and psychological assistance and counselling should be provided. Thirdly, the on-going support to spouse and the family is important. The importance of providing information housing, health, and schooling has been acknowledged (Hutchings 2002). Fourthly, a local contact person with western culture exposure can help expatriates with their first orientation in the new living and working environment. Finally, the good relationship between the expatriate and local employees can also help to improve the living condition. After successfully selecting and supporting the expatriate managers, another important issue for JV is change the traditional management system in JV and how to train the Chinese managers. Traditionally, for a long time the promotion system in Chinese state-owned enterprises has been based on seniority of workers and staff rather than on performance. For example, a cadre can be promoted to senior ranks but cannot be demoted regardless of his capability or performance. This has resulted in a phenomenon where there are too many high-ranking officials with too few rank-and-file staff, and there is over-staffing with too few staff actually performing work (Chen 1989). Thus, a new incentive system based on performance should be established for the Chinese managers and works. The ‘performance-related pay’ is the key component of the total rewards program – and offers  employees the opportunity to share in the success of the company which is a direct result of the collective performance of each of its employees. When excellent performance is acknowledged and rewarded, people are more motivated and work smarter (Bartol, et al, 1998). Moreover, employees want to work in an environment that is productive, respectful, provides a feeling of inclusiveness, and offers friendly setting (Ramlall, 2004). The good relationships between managers and employees, as well as between employees provide the belongingness and love in the company. In addition, employees prefer to function in environments that provide a challenge, offer new learning opportunities, significantly contributes to the organization’s success, offers opportunities for advancement and personal development based on success and demonstrated interest in a particular area (Ramlall, 2004). The employee’s self-actualization need is fulfilled by open-door policies and â€Å"let’s try† approaches. Competition should be encouraged. These approaches will largely motivate the employees. The managers of JV should also share as much as information with employees, encourage autonomy and participation. Furthermore, to keep equity, the reward system should be managed by expatriate managers until the Chinese manager change their traditional attitude. Finally, the award system can be managed by all level of managers; each level of managers should responsible for their subordinations. The performance based reward system should base on the responsibility system. It is obvious that the distribution of responsibility including management responsibility and employees’ responsibility in JV is not adequate. Company should specify all position, prescribes job descriptions, procedures, routines, and rules. However, the description of procedures and routines is not detail. There are only some suggestions and references. Company’s ‘let’s try’ and ‘accepts failure’ approaches encourage employees to try any ways to accomplish their job. Employees are largely motivated to look for the most suitable way to finish their works. The suggestions and references of the work procedures and routines protect the employees from excessive autonomy so that they would not fell lonely and without support (Bolman, &a Deal, 2003). The authorization system should be established. In this system, each level of managers has their corresponding authority and responsibility which  is clearly identified. The training of Chinese managers is also important. There are external training and internal training. In case of internal training, it should be decided what to teach and how to maximise the learning effect of the participants. The teaching programmes and materials should contain knowledge and skills necessary for effective management performance. Appropriate teaching methods (for example, practical or theoretical learning or the combination of the two methods) in order to achieve the training goals should be chosen. Moreover, the trainees should be able to make use of the technical know-how or management skills after the training: this can be reached through a job empowerment, a transfer to a corresponding workplace or a promotion. In these training, the Chinese managers should also learn the modern concepts of the management. The external training can include the MBA program, exchanging manager to international branch of company, etc. The main purpose of the training is to change the tradition management attitude and to learn modern management skills. In the GM case, the communication of directives, ideas, concepts, and action items, from the American management to the Chinese management and vice versa is a major problem within the JV. Misunderstanding and ineffectiveness of communication are caused usually by faults of both sides: one side expressing its intention vaguely and the other side not listening very attentively. As the case studies show, expatriates may feel unsatisfied with refusal of responsibilities by local employees, while Chinese managers complain about the lack of trust of their foreign bosses. The problem is accentuated by language difficulties. The language issue is the most significant individual obstacle facing the partners in the JV. Although there are currently three translators on the payroll, only one is really a capable translator. The language barrier can be overcome by replacing the unsuitable translators, increasing the number of translators. Also, the Chinese employees can be required to learn English. On the other hand, in the expatriate managers training which is introduced above, the Chinese language course is included to teach the basic language skills to the expatriates. In addition, the culture barrier is another important problem in JV. According to Hofstede (cited in Pan, & Zhang 2004, p. 83), culture is a kind of ‘collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of one category of people from another’. It is obvious that the Chinese culture is different from the West Culture. Because it has been widely accepted that cultural difference greatly affects human thinking and behaviour, the significant differences between USA and China seem to affect some aspects of their management practice (Pan, & Zhang 2004). To overcome this barrier, one of possible solutions is to encourage a cultural adaptation or learning process which may increase the congruence between culturally different partners and ultimately improve the effectiveness of international business relationship (Lin 2004). According to Gudykunst and Kim (cited in Lin 2004, p. 36), adaptation is a ‘process wherein parts of a system move in a direction that i ncreases the congruence or fit’. In the cultural different environment, cultural adaptation occurs when individuals acquire an increasing level of fitness or compatibility in the new cultural environment. Cultural adaptation is expressed in different forms and at different levels. There are three levels of cultural adaptation including understanding, adjusting, and learning (Lin 2004). Cultural adaptation could involve many essentials including language (verbal and non-verbal), economics, religion, politics, social institutions, values, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education. In juxtaposition, smooth transition and successful integration of managers going abroad on business would require the individual’s cultural orientations to be determined. From an international business standpoint it is crucial for the long-term success of a company to establish and manage good relationships across cultures (Lin 2004). Another ways to overcome the communication barrier is relationship. The expatriate managers need to build good relationship with their Chine colleagues. Relationship, the term ‘Guan xi’ is used in China, are very important in getting on in Chinese society. In China, four culture factors are grouped into relationship (or Guanxi): group orientation (the need to live in his/her community, all his/her identity was related to his/her  group); Renqing (if you do me a favour, it means I owe you something. I will pay back someday, as well as you are also expecting me to payback the favour one day.); Ganqing (friendship which implies an expectations and obligation of getting /granting favourable responses from/to ones friends); and Face (the concept of saving face or losing face indicating a person’s social status. Having face means that one has good connection within the community, which makes everything done smoothly. But losing face means one get trouble or feels embarrassed in certain circumstance. (Luk et al. 1996) In China, Guanxi is crucial for employees to gain a sense of being together and a sense of communicating with on anther. Researchers also indicate that the job satisfaction and job involvement may well be related to the quality of one’s Guanxi network (Hong, & Engestrom 2004). As a result, in Chinese JV, Guanxi is unavoidable. Actually, the Guanxi has positive and negative potential consequences (Hong, & Engestrom 2004). On the one hand, even if technocratic qualifications have become more necessary, but at the same time Guanxi is another major factor in determining who should be promoted. Workers and staff who have special ‘Guan xi’ with the superiors in power, either through family connections or forming special clues, normally get promoted over others lacking the relationship (Nyaw 1995). On the other hand, Guanxi can enhance the trust between the managers and employees or within the group of employees. Chinese workers regard good Guanxi with them as one of the most important qualifications of being a good leader (Hong, & Engestrom 2004). This is not conflict with the modern management approaches. In the American-lead JV, the expatriate managers can enhance the trust with Chinese employees through developing the Guanxi with them so that the resistance of changes can be reduced and the performance can be more effective and efficiency. However, the weakness of Guanxi should be avoided by establish a completed set of rules and regulars. According to Bolman and Deal (2003), there are several methods to coordinate individuals and units through a variety of horizontal and vertical linkages. The vertical linkages including authority, rules and policies, and planning and control system enable higher levels coordinate and control the work of subordinates. Firstly, the authority is the most basic and ubiquitous way of integration. Secondly, it is noted that the rules, policies, standards, and  standard procedure limit discretion and help ensure predictability and uniformity (Bolman, & Deal. 2003). The company should allow all employees to discuss the rules and standards and encourages them to make suggestions. Through discussion, the rules and standards become clearer for employees and prevent the lack of creativity. The clear and suitable rules and standards are the base for successful planning and control. There are two major approaches to control and planning including performance control and action planning (Mintzber g, as cited in Bolman, & Deal, 2003). The ‘performance-related pay’ bases on the performance control. Because the rules and standards are clear and suitable, the target are measurable, the performance control measures and motivates. The forms of vertical coordination are typically more formalized. But it is not always effective. Lateral techniques such as formal and informal meetings, task forces, coordinating roles, and network are more flexible and may be used to fill the void (Bolman, & Deal, 2003). Formal meetings are undertaken regularly. Moreover, the task forces or project teams can be always assembled in JV to coordinate development of new products or services. The organizational intranet should also be developed in the JV. The network enhances the decentralization and democracy in the company because the bias of organizational intranet toward decentralization, teaming, and cross-functional, and cross geographical work makes it well attuned to complexity and change (Steward, as cited in Bolman, & Deal, 2003). But the networks are difficult to control. It becomes a challenge for managers. As a conclusion, there are many aspects that affect the way international business is conducted. Differences in social, culture, economic, legal and political conditions can greatly affect the way globalised businesses are managed. Doing business abroad presents enormous challenges simply because countries and societies are so incredibly different. There is a need to appreciate not only that these differences exist, but also to appreciate how these differences impact doing business abroad. Doing business abroad requires flexibility to conform to the value systems and norms of that country. Adaptation can embrace all aspects of an international business’s operations in a foreign country, from the way deals are negotiated, to the appropriate incentive pay systems, to the organization structure, product  names, and relations between management and labour. What works in one country most likely will not work in another. It is also noted that clearly maximising the cultural adaptability skills of expatriates and the avoidance of expatriate failure in host country subsidiaries is of major concern to organisations. Maximising the cross-culture performance of expatriate managers in JV must be an integral element of the strategic human resource management planning of organisations in the 21st century as the pace of globalisation necessitates that an increasing number of organisations must think globally and ensure that their expatriates are prepared and supported to do the same. (Hutchings 2002)

Good Versus Evil Essay

Good versus Evil At first, it appears that the definitions of good and evil are straightforward. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, good is defined as â€Å"that which is morally right; righteousness†; evil is defined as â€Å"profoundly immoral and malevolent. † For centuries there has been an argument among many philosophers on the belief of â€Å"good versus evil† and whether it really exists. Some argue that human beings are the perpetrators of evil. Others argue that the world is not a bad place and that evil and suffering is, in fact, necessary. Throughout the novel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, there is a clear struggle involving good and evil. The reader is introduced to the protagonist and narrator, Victor Frankenstein, at the beginning of the novel. Victor, a family oriented man, becomes very interested in the modern science world and later on believes that he has discovered the â€Å"secret of life. † With this discovery he goes on to create a monster, who remains without a name throughout the whole novel. At first glance it appears that the monster did everything in his power to prevent Victor from having the happy life that he longed for. Mary Shelley purposely chose Victor Frankenstein to be the narrator of this story. Readers only get the story from his point of view. Frankenstein plays on the emotions of the readers, therefore anything he is feeling, readers feel the same way. He is seen as this helpless man who has been through so much in such a short life, and all because he was being terrorized by this heinous creature. â€Å"I entered the room where the corpse lay, and was led up to the coffin†¦ The trial, the presence of the magistrate and witnesses, passed like a dream from my memory, when I saw the lifeless form of Henry Clerval stretched before me. I gasped for breath; and, throwing myself on the body I exclaimed, ‘Have my murderous machinations deprived you also, my dearest Henry, of life? Two I have already destroyed; other victims await their destiny: but you, Clerval, my friend, my benefactor’† (122). However, readers do get a glimpse in to how the monster feels and the struggles that he comes across. â€Å"†¦ She continued her course along the precipitous sides of the river, when suddenly her foot slipped; and she fell into the rapid stream. I rushed from my hiding place, and, with extreme labour from the force of the current, saved her, and dragged her to shore†¦ I was suddenly interrupted by the approach of a rustic†¦ On seeing me, he darted towards me, and, tearing the girl from my arms, hastened towards the deeper parts of the wood†¦ he aimed a gun, which he carried, at my body, and fired. I sunk to the ground, and my injurer, with increased swiftness, escaped into the wood† (95). Mary Shelley’s anecdote of a struggle between good versus evil makes the reader constantly redefine who is truly the good one, and who is evil. At the end of the novel, the reader discovers that it is really Victor Frankenstein that is the evil one. He manipulated the readers thoughts and feelings by leading them to believe that he was the good one, that he was being tormented by this evil beast. In reality, this is how the story really goes: Frankenstein was the creator of this â€Å"beast. † Frankenstein abandoned the beast and treated it as if it were too wretched to be loved. Frankenstein, knowing how the beast felt and what he was capable of, continued to ignore the monster’s requests for a companion. Frankenstein knew that the beast would take away all of his loved ones until he got what he wanted. Victor manipulated this monster in to doing his dirty work for him. Mary Shelley displays this battle between good and evil very well. Candide, written by Voltaire, is a satire which pokes fun at a number of Enlightenment philosophies. The protagonist, Candide, is a good-hearted but naive young man. His mentor, Pangloss, is described as a teacher of â€Å"metaphysico-theologo-cosmolonigology† who believes that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † This belief, which is argued by Leibniz, is the main reason why Voltaire is satirizing his play. Pangloss is an optimist, and believes that no matter what happens, this is the greatest life anyone can live because the good will always be the case. Voltaire mocks the idea that good prevails over evil because he believes that human beings perpetrate evil. He believes that evil does, in fact, exist and ignoring that existence is wrong and dangerous. Other philosophers such as Leibniz believe that the existence of any evil in the world would have to mean that God is either not good or not omnipotent, and that idea could not possibly be true. With this reasoning, philosophers such as Leibniz believe that since God is indeed perfect, then the world that he has created can be viewed as no less than perfect as well. All the â€Å"evil† or â€Å"bad† that people claim exists in the world is only because they do not understand what God’s ultimate plan is. Voltaire strongly disagrees with this idea, as it is evident in his novel. He does not accept the idea that a perfect God exists, maybe a God does not even exist. To prove his point, Voltaire uses a great deal of exaggeration; the biggest optimists in the world, Candide and Pangloss, go through a series of hardships and horrors. These woes do not serve any apparent purpose but to attack this belief that this is â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † A perfect example is when Pangloss tells Candide that he is dying because of syphilis. In chapter four, Candide cries, â€Å"O sage Pangloss what a strange genealogy is this! Is not the devil the root of it? † Pangloss simply replies, â€Å"Not at all, it was a thing unavoidable, a necessary ingredient in the best of worlds; for if Columbus had not caught in an island in America this disease, which contaminates the source of generation, and frequently impedes propagation itself, and is evidently opposed to the great end of nature, we should have neither chocolate nor cochineal. † This part of the novel makes the reader laugh because chocolate is not the result of syphilis; they are in, no way, related. Voltaire then adds more intelligent and rational characters into the story, such as the old woman, who have more pessimistic views about how the world works. By the end of the novel, Pangloss finally admits that maybe this is not â€Å"the best of all possible worlds. † Shelley, Voltaire, and Leibniz all touched on the subject of good versus evil. Voltaire and Leibniz had opposing views on how the world really works. Maybe there is a bigger plan, but evil does exist and evil is created by all of us. Shelley definitely showed how humans can truly be evil. No matter what, there will always be a battle between good versus evil.