Nutrition and The Journey of Life Essay Example for Free

Nutrition and The Journey of Life Essay Caring for and fueling our bodies requires for the mother to take prenatal vitamins in order to meet us to keep a balanced nutrition. Just as our bodies The nutritional needs of the growing fetus. need the right nutritions so does a embryo, futons and baby in order to grow and develop properly. Nutrition and pregnancy The mother must make good nutritional The first eight weeks after fertilization which choices such as eating foods such as the ones is known as the embryonic stage the embryo gets its illustrated above rather then processed foods and nutrition from the lining of the uterus, but after week snacks that will provide little nutrients, these good 9 of development the growing fetus will get its nutritional habits can be practiced after birth and oxygen and nutrients from the placenta. Can be taught to the baby. The fetus is growing everyday which requires a If the nutritional needs of the fetus are not met variety of nutrients such as calcium, copper, folic acid, several health concerns may occur such as iron,vitamins A, B6, C, D and E. The demand for these Complications with fetal development, fetal size nutrients by the fetus will have to be met by having a organs, brain, and may cause a miscarriage and proper and Healthy diet, but it may also be necessary death of the infant and or mother. Post Birth Nutrition Additional Information From conception to birth the process of creating Having the proper knowledge of the nutritional baby requires a lot of energy and nutrient for the mother needs of the body before conception and post and the developing fetus, after the birth of the baby the child birth is very important for the well being newborn will continue to need nutrient in order to grow of the mother, fetus, and baby. The are several and develop. The baby will receive it nutrient from milk resources that people can use to learn more for the first year of its life so it is important to decide about the nutritional needs of the mother and weather the baby will consume breast mil or formula. fetus, listed below are some of these resources. Breast milk VS. Formula 1. Chosemyplate.gov Breast milk is the perfect food for babies it contains all 2. Medline Plus webpage and call center the nutrients that the baby will need to grow and 3. Baby center develop . Unlike formula breast milk contains properties 4. Seek the advice of your doctor that protect against infections such as white blood cells  also breast milk can pass on immune shots that the mother  may receive such as a flu shot. Formula are getting better  through he years to mach the ingredients found in breast   milk such as DHA and ARA. References Choose my plate. (2016). Retrieved from http://www.choosemyplate.gov/pregnancy-breastfeeding/pregnancy-nutritional-needs.html Grosvendr, M., Gmolin, L. (2012). Visualizing Nutrition Everyday Choices (2nd ed.). Retrieved from .

Challenges to HR Managers at British Gas

Challenges to HR Managers at British Gas Challenges to HR Managers at British Gas 1.0 Q 1 . Business Environment is changing everyday and bringing new challenges to the HR Managers. What are the challenges forces by HR Managers at British Gas in the UK? Ans.: With the increase in business competition locally and globally, organizations must become customer-focused to succeed. Therefore HR professional has to work out to become a strategic partner and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, Human Resource must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organizations big picture and be able to influence key decision and policies. In general the focus of todays HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. And they will also promote and fight for values, ethics, norms and beliefs within the organization. In a 2004 Deloitte Research Study, Athey (2004. p1) noted that, organizations in recent days have to deal with many external forces which influences the way they do business and how they develop and implement a business plan. Some of the external influences that impact an organizations business planning are: government, natural disasters, terrorist threats, local and community, vendor, competitors, transportation etc. Therefore it is important for British Gas to have their business continuity plan. If British Gas able to do so then they can reduce their small and large unknown affect in their daily operations. That is why HR Manager of British Gas should evolve with the change in competitive market environment and realize that they must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. So, in this global business environment crisis what kinds of challenges are faced by the British Gass HR managers? In UKs market the companies like: EDF energy, EON energy, N power, Scottish Hydrogen are consistently competing with British Gas. If these companies reduce their prices to attract more customers then it will be a challenging issue for British Gas. If this happens then, British Gas can reduce their prices at the same time manage their customers with quality services and make them happy with offering some bonus facilities. For doing this British Gas has to hire skilled employee and place them in a challenging position, Otherwise they might face the retention challenges. Secondly, looking at some political challenges like: regulation of counter policies country tax; Since the whole world economy is unstable and to make some positive changes in UKs economy govt. might impose some extra taxes to the big companies like British Gas. And if this is happen then British Gas management might think about to reduce their workers salary or layoff some workers. Thus how to plan the HR competency towards British Gas employee then? Then again some social factors like: attitude of workers towards the management is a problem. Example: workers are not giving their best effort, may be they are emotional or not satisfied with their job. Sometimes the workers bring their family problem in work. So how the HR manager will handle these issues? Then again, when British Gas hire employee from different culture sometimes the hired people dont know the English very well but they have the competency of holding the offered position. So its a kind of challenge for HR manager tha t which trainings are given to the employee and how that employee will be fitted to the specific position. A part of that, every single day new technologies are coming up. So how the British Gas HR will fit the workers with their new technologies, which training they can provide to the workers then? Then the late ages workers are not that skilled of using the technical staffs but they are well efficient towards their manual works. Thus how HR will fix this problem. According to Cox, (1993) suggests that a HR Manager needs to change from an ethnocentric view (our way is the best way) to a culturally relative perspective (lets take the best of a variety of ways). This shift in philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources. Now we should look forward to how globalization changes the HR policies and a part of that, what kind of challenges are facing by the HR Managers. So globalization can be defined based on ongoing political, economical, social and technological issues and with the help of these issues business environments have been greatly changing from last few decades. Thus organizations are required to respond in a strategic manner to the changes in order to survive and progress in this competitive world. And for surviving well into the market the HR manager should be integrated with the strategy and strategic need of the firm. Then HR policies should adjust, accepted and used by line managers and employee as part of their daily work. According to the above statement, the British Gas has already focused on macro based oriented, productive, and long term goals. Nowadays Human Resource function faces many challenges during the globalization process, including creating global mind-set within the HR g roup, creating practices that will be consistently applied in different locations while also maintaining the various local cultures and practices and communicating consistent corporate culture across the entire organization. In this circumstance British Gas Managers should meet these challenges and the whole organization should consider the HR personnel not as just the administrative service but as a strategic business. As an expanding business of British Gas, HR managers will face some problems like: Health Safety policies, EU regulations, huge demand for quality service to the customers. Therefore British Gas can developing health safety policies by conducting risk assessments which indentify hazards, carrying out health safety audits and inspections, implementing occupational health programs, managing stress, preventing accidents, communicating with employee about the health safety practices etc. And for fulfilling the customer demand, those who are working for British Gas needed more technical training, people skills training. And the HRD of British Gas also can come up with some global training programs like: Cross cultural technology transfer, international protocol and presentation, Language training etc. If British Gas trains their employee with a global perspective then the trained employee shall be improving job satisfaction and retention of overseas staff and enabling a newly assigned employee to communicate with colleagues abroad. These kinds of training will not only help them to develop their skills and knowledge but also work as motivational and building block to organizational success. Q2. Comment on how HR activities contribute to the success of British Gas. Use any 2 HRM Models to explain your answer. Ans.: Nowadays effective and efficient HRM is a big challenge to all HR professionals. And the sole purpose of HR is to help humans via mediator between employees and employer. Thus British Gas has to determine what benefits they are willing to offer to their employees and what portions the company is willing to pay for those benefits vs. what they may mandate their employees to share costs in those same benefits. Since HR professionals are playing a very vital role for British Gas therefore its important to know that how the HR strategies align with British Gas business strategies. Since British Gas is a huge company and lots of technical workers are working with them thus in this company there is a need to attract, retain and motivate employee because it is heavily dependent on the knowledge base and expertise of the employee and such there is a need for building a kind of high performance culture based on a strategic mission. HR activities contribute to the success of British Gas in the following way: Recruiting both skilled and unskilled employee which have to go through the training and development called traineeship, which provides a way the new employee/recruit learns about the gas industry, gain relevant skills and qualification to ensure that organization objective to meet consumers high demand for quality services and competitive price for products and services. HR train their engineers throughout that career which ensure that its employees are kept up to date with new information and technology to enable them provide the best possible service. HR has strategy of retaining its people by offering a mix of financial and nonfinancial benefits. This is in line with the organization strategy. As well as the good pay and pension scheme also providing each employee the opportunity of buying shares in Centrica. From the analysis above, it is clear that we can say British Gas adopts two models, namely: Fit model Holistic/dialogue model. Fit Model: represent recognition of the importance of the people in the achievement of organizational strategy. Employees are seen as key in the implementation of organizational and HR strategy is designed to fit the requirements of the organizational strategy. British Gas uses this method to align their HR strategy with organization strategy also it aligns the interest of the workers (pension scheme, investment opportunity, development and training, salary interest)with the interest of the organizations (to maintain the competitive position the company has within the energy market, ensure returns on investment by making profit by share holders) end goal. Harvard Framework for HRM: Harvard model (Beer et al) of HRM developed by Michel Beer, Richard Walton, Quinn Mills, they argues that human resource policies are to be influenced by two significant consideration, first, situational factors, second, shareholders interest. And Harvard framework also explains the significance of the HR policies in the organization which recognize external environment and refers that if its properly used would lead to organizational effectiveness. It also can be used a good fit between organization environment and HR policies and it would lead to various element like employee commitment, cost effectiveness in product and services and congruence which are all covered by the Harvard model and the British Gas holds firmly these elements in dealing with its employee as one of its organizational; objectives. The following elements will give us the idea that how the HR in British Gas apply this to the organization. Competence: The HRM of British Gas has a policy that reflects to the organisational objective in selection of their workforce. HR department not only concern about recruiting skilled engineers but also give attention to go through its assessment centre before appointing an employee for his/her job, which can determine the core competence and life skill of that employee. Personal skills that are created an impact on the customers experience when someone is to work on the field. Core competencies involves team working, leadership skills, listening skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills(such as properly dealing with customers), motivation skills, innovation skills and responding to changes. These are crucial skills that can affect the way an individual fits in and works within an organisation and also important because these skills can determine the companys lose or gain more customers. And if British Gas loses then the customers will be shifted to their rivals. Commitment: according to Bratton, John and Gold, Jeffrey (Beer et al: Human resource management Theory and Practice second edition: page 19). Refers, one way HR of British Gas can contributes to the company is that the employee are made to invest high interest to their work within the organization, which will give up two aspects: First, it will enhance self respect and value, at British gas the HRM has a policy that counter on employees, for those offered a job, With Human resource strategy British Gas provides the job benefits including a market competitive starting salary and van from outset. And with British Gas development offers technical comprehensive training for all its engineers throughout their career by their training academy. And the training ensures that employees are kept up to date with new information and technologies and provide best services possible. Second, it will accelerate the employee loyalty and performance towards their work. When British Gas offers employee to invest in the company with having to their own shares in its Parent company (Centrica), also offering good pension scheme after retirement which increase the commitment of the job and good sense of responsibilities. And its the plus point of promotion to management level, which is a strategy of the HR in retaining its suitable people for promotion to higher role, because it needs managers to plan, organise and co-ordinate the teams of engineers. Congruence: here it states that there must be agreement between and amongst various HRM policies and practises in operation. At British Gas HR need to keep in mind the fact that having a company policies of recruiting people from different background and sex as is seen in the case, the company in trying to meet with a recruitment process that is all embarrassing (being recognised by operation now, wining the prestigious award for inspiring the work force of the future, an award for women into science and engineering etc) must consider not just overall employee numbers but ensuring that it attracts and retain the skills that will be required within the business. British Gas managers articulate a programme of forecasting to assume how much the UK market for domestic gas service will grow and this helps the company to decide how many additional engineer they will require in the near future. Cost effectiveness: At the same time HR policies must be evaluated in terms of wages, benefits, turnover etc. In this segment British Gas HR implements its strategy that confront to the organisational strategy in developing and recruiting their employees to become capable and competent employees. And future managers can ensure the organisation turnover remains increasingly high and implement in their salary policy that is highly competitive. Thus, HRM knows it is much more cost effective to retain trained staff than recruit and train up new people therefore this strategy which is in line with the organisations strategy of minimising cost and maximising quality staff retain ship through offering a mix of both financial and non financial benefits helps the organisation achieve its goals. Lastly, looking at long term scenario, the organisation tries to differentiate between three levels: social, organizational and individual. In organisational level increased effectiveness and ensure the survival of the organisation. By providing top-class service at lower price to its customers and ensuring for a well define working environment, and also developing job training and a good pension scheme for it employee at the British Gas. At individual employee level the long term output comprises the reward receive by the workers for their efforts. In the societal level some of British Gas societal goals (employment and growth) are attained, offering exciting career paths for people of all backgrounds. This is how HRM at British Gas can achieve the success. Q3. Describe Recruitment Selection Strategies that have been taking by British Gas to enhance organization performance? Ans.: For British Gas workforce planning is essential because it analyze an organizations future needs for people in terms of numbers, skills and locations. It allows the organization to plan how those needs can be met through recruitment, selection and give them proper training. It is vital for British Gas to plan ahead because the company wants to satisfy their diversity customers by recruiting socially inclusive workforce. It seems that their HR personnel are little too much busy with the recruitment and selection process to meet its future demands for staff. It allows a business time to train existing staff to take on new responsibilities and to recruit new staff to fill vacancies or to meet skill shortages. But due to the recession, many organizations including British Gas not willing to expect so much on recruitment. Thus is this circumstance what are the strategies they are following in their recruitment and selection process. Recruitment strategies: British Gas recruitment involves attracting the right of applicant to apply for vacancies. They follow some ways of recruiting people. They first looks at its internal talent plan to fill a vacancy. This is a process that lists current employees looking for a move within the same level or gets a promotion to the next level. Since they need to make happy diversify customers thus they need to search people from the different regions peoples. So they can help their customers by offering different language, cultural value, norms ethics. They also emphasis on recruiting female engineers so that they can handle the female customers. This is just because sometime some female customers do feel comfortable to talk to the male one. And for some other external recruitment, British Gas advertises vacancies (like: apprenticeship) via their specialist Sky channels like parliamentary project TV, radio, newspapers, DVD for schools and British gas website. Selection Strategies: involves choosing the most suitable people from those that apply for a vacancy, while keeping to employment laws and regulation. For British Gas screening candidates is a very important part of the selection process. This ensures that those selected for interview have the best fit with the job requirements. Ref: The Challenges of Human Resource Management..:The Challenges of Human Resource Management. 25th November, 2009

Disneylands Fiftieth Anniversary :: essays research papers

Over the past fifty years, the Walt Disney Company has proven itself over and over again to the world. The Walt Disney Company as a whole consists of over twenty smaller companies: ABC, Miramax Films, and ESPN to name a few. Within the past half century the Disney Company has built eleven theme parks, three water parks, and countless resorts and hotels as well as a cruise line which cover the globe. Expanding from Anaheim, California to Hong Kong and Tokyo, the Disney theme park line expounds the globe. But let Walt Disney’s original â€Å"Magic Kingdom† not be forgotten as the globe celebrates the â€Å"Happiest Homecoming on Earth. Fifty years ago, Disneyland, the â€Å"happiest place on earth† opened to the public. But this dream was no snap of the fingers, no, it took years of hard work and money. Walt Disney, a man from the small town of Marceline, Missouri, had a dream. He wanted a place where both the typical American family could spend a day together in a clean environment and also that they may have some form of entertainment while they were together. Walt was already an accomplished filmmaker and had the funds he needed, of course not all of the funds. His proposed idea was no more than a small park right across the road from the Disney Studios in Burbank that consisted of no more than a train ride and a carousel. This was far from what Disneyland initially became but nonetheless, it was a start, and a start is all that Disney needed. Work began. Walt Disney’s dream had begun. One-hundred sixty acres of citrus trees had been cleared and several houses torn down in what would soon be the site of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Work was long and difficult in the hot California sun making construction take a lot longer than expected. Unlike Walt’s other project in Florida, which would not come until much later, the Disneyland project was by no means a secret. The ABC television company made a deal with Disney to allow Disney to produce a weekly show that was â€Å"coincidentally† titled Disneyland and â€Å"coincidentally† had Walt as the host. Walt saw television as an open market to promote movies or in this case, Disneyland. Disneyland the show was fairly cheap to make and produce as Disney already had the film equipment necessary for filming.

Reconciling Religious and Scientific Perspectives of Creation Essay

Reconciling Religious and Scientific Perspectives of Creation â€Å"In the beginning was the big bang,†[i] writes John Polkinghorne, a physicist turned theologian. As the reader follows through the remainder of his cosmic creation story, the reader is intrigued at how mystical and religious the story sounds. â€Å"The space boiled, in the rapid expansion of the inflation era, blowing the universe apart with incredible rapidity in the much less than 10-30 seconds that it lasted. . . . The world suddenly became transparent and a universal sea of radiation was left to continue cooling on its own . . .†[ii] Then, the story unfolds to tell of the creation of hydrogen and helium and the creation of stars. The death of stars follow, which in turn gives rise to conditions that are favorable for the formation of life.[iii] Though seemingly mystical, the story of the cosmic creation is also the epitome of logic. As we rewind the story of creation, we see a definite causal link between one event and another. Why do we have life? Because we have carbon. Why do we have carbon? Because of the chemical reaction in stars. Why do we have the chemical reactions in stars? Because . . . and this chain will continue, explaining one phenomenon as an effect of another. The story is in fact the triumph of human reason. However, if we rewind the story long enough, we find ourselves reaching a dead end – â€Å"In the beginning was the big bang.† A beginning is where there is no before. However, how can something be when there is no prior? The question of the origin is further complicated when we see how finely tuned the universe is. For the emergence of life, the universe had to have initial conditions at the point of origin ... ... with a whole number amount of spin (as opposed to half a spin). [xxxviii] Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, pp. 354-353. [xxxix] Polkinghorne, The Faith of a Physicist, p. 75. [xl] Ferris, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, p. 351. [xli] Ferris, The Whole Shebang, p. 224. [xlii] Greene, pp. 357-358. [xliii] Ibid., p. 358. Brian Greene then says that Brandenberger and Vafa verified this phenomenon through detailed calculations. [xliv] Ibid. [xlv] Ibid., p. 362. The Nugget that gave rise to our universe is one of the many nuggets that were formed in prehistory of our universe. This theory is still a speculation and is not widely accepted like the string theory. Therefore, the theory about the cosmic prehistory should be taken as a possible solution and not as the definite answer. [xlvi] Found in Davies, p. 148. [xlvii] Davies, p. 232.

Political Novels of The Jungle and Johnny Got His Gun Essay -- Politic

Political Novels of The Jungle and Johnny Got His Gun Introduction: Although writing has been around for thousands of years, the medium of books is a relatively recent phenomenon. In the mid 15th century, German Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press that made multiple, cheap copies of works that were easily available for the masses. With the help of other technological developments including the linotype in the mid-1880’s, the printing process became easier and faster and therefore books became cheaper and more available. Also in the mid-1880’s the development of public education increased the demand for books making them even more popular and ensuring them as a permanent form of media for the masses. But most books over history remained focused on religion or non-fiction. But with Samuel Richardson’s Pamela in 1740, the novel was born. The novel differs from pure non-fiction as the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines the novel as â€Å"an invented prose narrative that is usually long and complex and deals especially with human experience through a usually connected sequence of events.† Novels over the years have moved people personally, but political novels especially, incite mass movements including the famous example of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, whose book’s impact was so great that Abraham Lincoln famously told her at the start of the Civil War, â€Å"So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War!† For this paper, I chose to read and examine Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle and Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun. Written in the height of the muckraking era, The Jungle exposes the terrible conditions of the meatpacking industry and influenced the American public... ...e Database. â€Å"Johnny Got His Gun.† . Internet Movie Database. â€Å"The Jungle.† . Kriegel, Leonard. â€Å"Dalton Trumbo’s Johnny Got His Gun.† Proletarian Writers of the Thirties. Ed., David Madden. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1968. 106—113. â€Å"Novel.† Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. 10th edition. 2002. Olsson, Karen. â€Å"Welcome to the Jungle.† Slate. 10 July 2006. . â€Å"One by Metallica Songfacts.† 20 Nov 2006. Sinclair, Upton. The Jungle.  New York: Bantam Books, 2003. Singer, Peter and Bruce Friedrick. â€Å"The Jungle Revisited.† People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. 14 Feb 2006. Trumbo, Dalton. Johnny Got His Gun. New York: Bantam Books, 1970.

Algerian War

Most of the African countries have at one time of another been engaged into warfare, either as a struggle for liberation from the colonialism or as a response from the bad governance which has characterized most parts of this continent. I believe that some of these struggles are justified since they led to liberation of the masses. For example the fight to draw away the colonialist was a noble cause since it brought independence in this region. The colonial powers were only up to satisfy their greedy appetite for resources from Africa leaving the continent bare with depleted resources.They were determined to milk Africa dry and perhaps this explains why they clung to the colonies for so long such that they had to be thrown away either through armed struggles or through international pressure. Some of the colonies were determined to make African countries their overseas territories so that they can continue oppressing the Africans. One such rule was the French government which wanted to extend their unwelcome stay in Algeria culminating into a struggle which had massive effects some of which are still felt today.One of the countries in Africa where the struggle for independence was quite remarkable and will for ever be in the history books is Algeria. In this paper I will attempt to explore the causes of this war that brought hope to the Algerian people and changed the course of their history forever. I will explain the course of the war analyzing the events which took place, and finally look at the effects of this struggle both in Algeria and France. (Windrow, M and Chappell 1997 5) This country was colonized by the French who occupied it for since early 1830s. They ruled this country for close to one hundred and fifty years.By 1954 the Algerians had become tired, weary and fed up by this occupation. They have had enough and they were ready to liberate themselves. In 1954 they waged a war which went down to the history as one of the fiercest in the history of i ndependence struggle. This was the climax of their aggression and humiliation they had undergone for the last one hundred years. They were so determined such that nothing would have turned them back. The forces were ready, they enjoyed massive support form the international bodies more so from their Arab neighbor who also wanted to see one of their neighbor redeemed from the chains of colonization.This conflict erupted exactly fifty years ago, despite being an independence struggle; a war is a war, something which leads to loss of life and destruction of property. It was an ugly war that dominated the world press to almost the same extent as other wars that have been fought in the world in the recent past. (Windrow, M and Chappell, M 1997 p3) The war ended with a win for the French side but the situation in Algeria had changed, despite the win they had to grant the people of Algeria the freedom they had been yearning.A question crops up, what could have happened if the Algerians won the war? Would they have tried to extend their territory beyond the curved borders? These are pertinent issues whose answers can not be direct. For one it would have been almost impossible for the Algerian freedom fighters to win given the level of the armies for the two sides. The French ha d a well coordinated force while Algerians only depended on militias who were not properly coordinated. Again the issue of weapons comes up; the French had access to modern and sophisticated weapons which Algerians could only have dreamed of.This war had many unique features; it was a three- and finally four-edged struggle between the French government, the European colonists and the Algerian nationalists and finally Charles de Gaulle. All these parties to the contest were pursuing different interests. The war left Algeria deeply bruised as a nation. It had some serious implication that no one could have imagined, its effect were not only felt in this North African country but also way back in France. (Shields,J 2007 27) Causes of the WarTo understand the real causes of this conflict it is important that we try to get a real situation of Algeria at that moment and in the past. This information will shed some light on why the Algerian people wanted to be free. Windrow and Chappell argue that the conflict was purely economical and social â€Å"some seventy five percent of the Muslims population were illiterate and they suffered chronic unemployment†p3. Therefore for these people to be liberated from the serious problems they were facing they had to get rid of the forces which they felt that were undermining their efforts to lead a better life.By the time the war was erupting Algeria had been under French occupation for close to a century where the territory was being reoffered to as a French overseas province. Windrow and Cappell observed that only a small percentage of the Muslims population in this country enjoyed the French citizenry rights where one was privilege d to own property. By this time the Muslims population had rose to eight millions. This population could not have survived under the conditions that prevailed in Algeria where the economy was not performing well and then their condition was not all that good.This level of poverty which has been described as abject greatly contributed to this conflict. I believe that when a society is subjected to conditions which are inhuman they will rise up and demand what is rightfully theirs. This is exactly what happened in Algeria. The people were generally tired of being subjected to suffering by foreigners, they wanted to live a decent life, though they wanted to solve things in a peaceful manner conflict could not have been avoided since the French government was adamant and they wanted to continue with the occupation of this resource rich country.(Shields, J 2007 28) The Algerians were dissatisfied with the treatment by the French government as second class citizens. They felt that this be ing country and they had every right to live in it and more so like any other person. In my research I have gathered that this is a problem that existed in all the African colonies where African faced serious discrimination. They were treated badly and subjected to unimaginable sufferings. Most of these people did not enjoy the privileges which the other races were entitled to.They were regarded as low class who should be civilized though the process of assimilation. When people are treated in such a horrible manner as happened in Algeria, eventually they will be fed with the situation and demand what is rightfully their. This is what the Algerians did; they were tired of such an environment where they could not enjoy full rights like anybody else. They had to look for a way to solve their problem, they did not foresee a situation where for the French colonial government would grant them independence through a silver platter.They were determined to go all the way and ensure their fr eedom. Algerians were determined to pursue their independence; it is in this struggle that nationalism and its elements are shown. The Algerian War was started mainly revolting Algerian mobilization which sought freedom on the premises of bad polices which segregated the people especially those cultures which did not speak in French. (Nehma, A and Zeleza, P 2008 56) During the Second World War, Algerians were actively involved both local and those of the European descent, they fought for France.In return they were supposed to be handsomely rewarded for their efforts. This is a promise that the French government never kept. These world war soldiers were disoriented since when the colonial government did not keep its promise. They felt betrayed; they had to find alternatives so that they can survive the hard time that ensued. They were easy target for the recruits because of their hostility to the government that never kept its promise. These soldiers were actively involved in the fre edom struggle for Algeria, perhaps to punish the French colonial government for neglecting them.This something that happened all over the continent, Africans were enrolled to fight for foreign countries and in the return they were to get some favors from the colonial governments. In Kenya the freedom fighters who were popularly known as the Mau Mau were mostly soldiers who had been recruited to fight for British overseas. On return they were supposed to be given land. Just like the French counterparts in Algeria the British colonial government did not honor its promise. The soldiers formed the group to fight for the freedom in that country and also to teach the colonial government a lesson (Windrow, M and Chappell 1997 5)My argument is that nationalism played a big role in the struggle for independence in this country. The Algerians were motivated by their desire to maintain cultural freedom and also reversion of the state to the rightful owners, who were the Algerian people. When t he French people set their foot in this land they were determined to get this country. they used all manner of tactics to subject the indigenous people to their rule. Rapes,killings and many other barbaric acts were committed to the Algerians in the name of conquered the country. The French army burned harvests emptied granaries and many other unfortunate things.This caused great resentment between the two groups, this hate grew reaching climax during the freedom struggle. Algerian resistance was vigorous though it was only for a short time; they were not prepared to fight foreign forces who wanted to take what is rightfully theirs. When it came to the freedom struggle they had learnt their lessons and were more determined than ever to ensure they were left free to rule their country as they wished. From the resistance which was mounted during the colonization period an insurgency which will later come to liberate the country was born.There arose some cultural tension between the Mu slims and the French people a type of resentment that lasted until this period and later came to yield to the type of aggression witnessed during the independence war. (Nehma, A and Zeleza, P 2008 58) Course of the war In the wee hours of 1st November 1954 the group called National Liberation Front was ready to start the liberation struggle, they launched massive attacks in different areas of Algeria They targeted the military and police posts, public areas among other crucial areas controlled by the colonial government.The group called on all the Muslims in Algeria to rise up against a regime that was oppressive and bring back sanity own their country where all people especially the indigenous Africans could be treated with respect. What would have happened if the people of Algeria did not rally behind this call to liberate themselves? I believe that the colonial government was very much determined to retain this country. Once it is rich in oil resources among other minerals. There fore by granting independence or ceasing power would transfer control of these resources to the Africans.Settlers would not have liked the idea since they had grown to, like the country and what they were getting from here. (Williams, N et al 2007 78) The government responded with massive force against this insurgency from the people who were labeled as terrorists. Would people who were fighting to liberate the masses be labeled as terrorist? In my opinion the FLA fighters were not terrorists rather they were group of people who were responding to an oppressive regime. Many leaders have been labeled as terrorists but times have proved them right.One such leaders was the former freedom fighter from South Africa who later became the President and one of the most popular and respected men in the world. Nelson Mandela was a terrorist according to the apartheid rulers of South Africa but to his people he was a hero. The same case applies the freedom fighter in Algeria the French governme nt declared these people as terror agents but to the Algerians they were heroes who can be relied on to make their motherland free once more. (Williams, N et al 2007 79)As the FLN spread their activities across the country, many European farmers in the country side were forced to sell their farms and belonging and shifted to the capital where they sought refuge. Here they pressured the government to take a stern action against the militias. The colons started organizing their own form of retaliation where they grouped some militias whom would attack the FLN members allover the country especially in Algiers. The Europeans called on the government to declare a state of emergency so that it can deal with the situation properly.(Williams, N et al 2007 78) The war took an ugly twist when the FLN fighters started to attack the civilians. This happened way back in August 1955,a great massacre of the civilian was reported near Phillippeville,the attack was carried out by the freedom fighter s. Intially the group had an operation tactic where it was only targeting the military and government properties. Now with the direct target of the people they were supposed to be fighting for complicated the matter. Perhaps this happens in every war. The civilians who in most cases are innocent get bruised.This killing was largely condemned and it prompted the French government to step up its effort on the war. Innocent lives had been lost including those who were not involved inn the war, the children and women. In response to this attack the government claimed to have killed more than one thousand guerillas. FLN gave some conflicting reports by claiming that more than twelve thousand Muslims died on retaliatory attacks coming from the French colonial government and the colon vigilante groups. (Alexandar, M and Keiger, J 2002 78)By 1956 it is estimated that the French government had already commission more than 400,000 troops to help crush the resistance that was mounting in this colony. They realized that it would not be an easy task to fight the groups that were coming up more so when they were using guerilla tactic and applying terrorism methods to fight the French government and its supporters. In the freedom fight there were Algerians who supporting the government . There were close to one hundred and eighty Muslim Algerians who were in the French forces and most of them were fighting as volunteers.In my opinion I believe that these people were supporting the government because they wanted the status quo to remain. They were already benefiting from the system and changes where freedom will be granted their normal lives will be affected. Most of these volunteers have been assimilated into the French system and have been accorded full French citizenship. To them they were fighting for their country but to the rest of the Algerians they were traitors, who had betrayed the noble cause to liberate the country. In 1956 and 1957 the violence escalated, it took a complete new dimension where the civilians were not spared by two warring sides.The military arm of the FLN used the tactics of hit and run where they recorded huge success. They avoided direct attacks or confrontation with the French troops. I believe that the group did this to avoid a situation where they would be overwhelmed by the French might. It is a known fact that the French troops had superior weapons than the militia groups. The war was proving to be complicated affairs for the French troops since the adoption of the hit and run tactics. It was becoming hard for the forces to get them since they were mixing with the civilians once they have launched an attack.This tactic has been used by many fighters who believe that the enemy has the power and the might to defeat them. To their advantage they rely on the expertise of their fighter’s training them on the tactics which can be described as terrorist like where they attack the enemy in the areas where attacks are l east expected. Kidnapping was also used, those commonly targeted were the collaborators especially the officials and those civilian who refused to support the revolutionary movement were not spared either, they were murdered. (Alexandar, M and Keiger, J 2002 79)The fact that the revolutionary group was forcing people to support them clearly shows that not all the Algerians supported the war as a means to get what they wanted. They are those who believed that there are other avenues which could have been employed and the ugly situation that prevailed at the moment could have been avoided. To some extent I tend to agree with this group which preferred peaceful means to the struggle against freedom, may be the destruction that was being witnessed at this moment would have been avoided. So many lives had been lost and yet freedom had not come by this year.Would it have been possible for the French government to enter into the negotiation with the so called militias? Perhaps this seemed like a mirage but eventually this happened later. The use of coercive methods on the fellow countrymen shows that the group had not inspired the whole Muslim population to rally behind them in the course. The group continued to gain ground by having control over region which were previously government controlled. In these regions they instituted some temporary authorities where they were able to collect taxes and also recruit fighters. The groups had to do this so that it can get some revenue to support itself .This was very vital for their survival. (Alistair, H 2006 18) French troops were forced to go back to the drawing board and come up with the new methods of fighting. In 1957 French General instituted a system where the country was divided into the sectors. Each sector was allocated a troop which had a role of suppressing the rebels’ activities. This method proved to be effective since the revolutionaries activities were greatly reduced in some of the areas. Barriers we re also placed in the borders so that the fighters who were coming from the neighboring countries could not gain access.Morocco and Tunisia being close neighbors to this North African country were hosting some of the fighters and even helping the revolutionary groups’ finacially. This type of help has been common in every part of Africa. There are wars which are financed by the neighboring countries when they have some vested interest. For these two countries they were obliged to help since a friendly Muslim community needed liberation. (Alistair, H 2006 18) The French military started to ruthlessly attack those areas that they thought had been supporting the rebels.They applied the principle of collective responsibility where all the villages cooperating with guerillas in any way whether sheltering or paying taxes to them were bombed. Those villages which were unreachable remote areas were raided through the air. A supervisory system where these villages were put on all time surveillance was instituted. This was to prevent the villagers from helping the rebels inn whatever way. There were areas especially in the mountainous region of Algeria where close to two million people were removed and transferred to the plains.This shows the determination these forces had to completely finish the revolutionary movement. If the French government was so determined to see to it that resistance has been crashed would they have used less time and resources negotiating with the so called rebel group? I believe this is an option that they were not ready to explore since they wanted to continue calling the shots in this country and again they would have been seen as a weak country entering into negotiation with a weak group-so they thought. In my observation France was afraid of repeating the same mistake as was in the Indochina war.They did not want to be seen as a though they were losing their grip and hence their position in the world political arena. They had to fig ht this war till the end and losing to them was not an option. (Yasher,F 1989 98) Back home in France there was a feeling that the situation has to be brought in to contol. Many were calling for the return of Charles de Guella return to power so that he can sort out the situation to the favor of his motherland and avoid a humiliation that will bruise the image of this mighty nation. (Hurd,E 2007 55).Charles was seen as the only figure that would rally the nation and give it the proper direction. Indeed his return was greeted by many as a good sign where the hostilities would be ended. His return was perhaps greeted with almost the same jubilation Americas president elect Barrack Obama got when he was elected the forty forth occupant of the white house. The Muslims in Algeria were now tired of this warfare which had destroyed most of what they had. They wanted a break from this ugly situation. And the man occupying the top seat in France was the solution to their problem.(Yasher, F 1 989 98) By the 1958 the rebels had been pushed to the wall, the French army was gaining grounds. They had won the military control in almost all the regions in the country. In the preceding year’s pressure was mounting on France to grant Algeria its independence. Charles was determined towards this course but he was getting some opposition from the settlers who felt that he had betrayed them. They even attempted unsuccessfully to topple him. Talks with rebels were instituted paving way for a free nation. The aftermathAlgeria's people dream to be an independent nation was finally granted. But I would ask was it worth this much? Many people had died in the course of this war. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. This is a situation that could have been avoided if men and women had let reason to prevail but man being a selfish animal who is determined to destroy had to do all that he can to ensure he is not humiliated. France was fighting for her position in the global politics ,on the same hand Algeria was fighting for recogniton in the world map as a sovereign nation.Their course was the same only that one was being denied by the other a chance to fulfill its course. (Hurd,E 2007 55) One conflict gave rise to another,it is funny how we solve one problem and in the process antoher crops. No wonder one philosopher said â€Å" man lives to solve problems without them life has no meaning†. The problem in Algeria was deepened by the crisis which engulfed the movement that was very vocal in the freedom struggle. Ahmed Bella was becoming very popular and in the process he wa challenging the leadership of the prime minsiter Ben Khedda.He later came to be elected the premier in an electionwhich was described as one sided. He announced that Algeria was not going to support any side as far as the world politics were concerned. He made friendship with Kennedy,Castro and many other leaders. This was in the an aim of consolidating his power and at the same time make Algeria a daring to those countries who could have provided aid. In an African style he did not last long he was desposed and put in a house arrest. This dispostiton was masterminded by the elements who were not happy with the Algeria’s progress.They are the vestigial elements that were left by the colonialist. Most of the problems being experienced in this nation can be traced way back to the algerian war and colonisation. The determination of the FLN government to hold on power and the oppositon mounting fromm the muslim fundamentalst groups have made this nation to be at war. (Hurd,E 2007 55) William ,N et al(2007) describe the Algerian war as nastier than the vietnam independence war(p44). Algeria as a french department had a lot instake. It was home to milions of settlers from europe who wanted to protect their intersts at all the cost.They felt betrayed by the man many thought would bring a solution to the algerian problem. They were not ready to enter in to the n egotiation or yield to any demands made by the Algerians. French government which has beeen described in many occasssions as half hearted reform did not convinvce the people of Algeria otherwise. The analysis of the situation indicate that algerians were more determined than ever,the repression directed to them by the french forces only gave them more energy to continue with the struggle. The situation in Algeria threatened to break France as anation .A couple was planned where a regime that was seen as incapable of handling the situation was to be replaced. The situation was saved by Charles de Guella who was called upon to rescue the nation. French positon in the global positon was in an all time low. (William ,N et al 2007She has been humiliated again,she was losing her colonies in a very horrible way. Her ego had been seriously bruised. This greatly affectred the nation pride,even Charles government was not soared either despite his popularity. He was facing more problem than on e could have imagined.He was losing colonies,immigration and unemployment was rising. Voilent strikes broke out in paris,this was a common thing from know on. These events can be traced back to the aftermath of the Algerian war which left the nation image seruios injured. Perhaps this was more serios than the defeat frace suffered during the Pro-Russian wars. (Hurd,E 2007 55) Conclusion The Algerian war represents the African struggle from the oppressive colonial regime but a question crops up when I look at the situation in most of the African countries.Some of them are in a bad shape than they were during the colonial time. What happened in this countries is that colonialist were subsituted by dictatorship. A good example is Zimbabwe,the county is on its knees due to the years of misrule,many other nations are in the near blink not because of the foreign domination but from the mismanagement which has characterized these nations for along time. It is high time that africa as a con tinent wake up to reality,rise up and embrace the true democracy. the one which will end the civil war in algeria and many other parts of Africa.The solutions lie within,pressure from the outside world can only bring temporary solution but the bigger picture lies within the continent to come up with solution that will bring conflicts to an end. The solidarity exprewssed by the people of algeria and the determination to gain independence should serve as an example to all those nations experiencing chaos.Work citedWindrow,M and Chappell,M. Algerian War 1954-62,Osprey Publishing co. (1997).Shields, J. The extreme Right in France,Routledge(2007).Nehma,A and Zeleza,P. The Roots of African Conflicts,The cause and Costs,Ohio University Press(2008).Williams,N,Berry,O ,Fallon,S and Catherine,N. Algerian War,Lonely Planet(2007).Alexander,M and Keiger,J. France and Algerian War,Taylor and Francis (2002).Alistair,H. A savage War of Peace:Algeria 1954-1962,New York Books(2006).Yashir,F. The Medi terrenen:Prospects of a New Intergration,New York,United Nations University Press(1989).Hurd,E. The Politics of Secularism in international Relations,Princetown,Princetown University Press.

Bicentennial Man

Bicentennial Man is a film that depicts philosophical musings in a science fiction story. It relays the story of a robot named Andrew Martin and his unique sense of self-awareness as he discovers the remarkable qualities of humanity, and how such exposure seizes him to aspire for human-likeness.It lingers on the idea of free will, which struggles to find its place in the being of Andrew, a robot who can rationalize things. The movie’s premise revolves on the concept of humanity and how an object such as a robot could be considered as a rational being, rather than what it was originally intended to be which was to serve human beings.The film goes through the motions of Andrew’s arrival in the Martin family and the interactions he had experienced toward them that contributed to his fascination about humans. As the story progresses, Andrew becomes immersed in his ability to fully understand the human condition that he becomes like one.The dilemma in this film is seen when Andrew attempts to insist upon his human-likeness by behaving in a rational manner, which agitates human beings who do not understand his exceptionality. Analysis At the beginning of the film, it was projected that Andrew’s sole purpose was to serve and obey the Martin family.Like all robots, Andrew’s function was to cater to the needs of the humans he was assigned to serve. The political theorist, Jeremy Bentham, describes this relation as the concept of utilitarianism. Bentham explains that the utilization of an object or individual is relative to the benefit, advantage, pleasure, good, or happiness produced by the object or individual for the party concerned.In its simplest terms, it defines the use of an object, or even individuals, as a means to an end. The purpose of using anything depends on the notion of pleasure and pain as the former is seen as good while the latter is seen as evil (Nelson 205).The fundamental principle of utilitarianism derives its condition from the assumption that individuals act according to their own self-interest which sought pleasure and avoided pain. This line of thinking anticipates an individual’s actions or behavior since it recognizes the imperfection of humanity and how individuals need objects or other human beings to survive (Nelson 207- 210).In the context of the film, Andrew’s initial role was merely a utility that produced pleasure or happiness for the Martin family. This was shown when the family ordered him to do things for them, which was exactly what he was intended for.However, over the course of his interactions with the members of the Martin family, especially with the youngest daughter Amanda, Andrew became more self-aware of his state and his comprehension of the beings he was obligated to. Mr. Martin’s influence on the growth of knowledge that Andrew received through the books he was given to read and the conversation pieces that they had, created a lasting impact on Andr ew’s capability to understand and imitate the complexities of humanity. Andrew developed a unique consciousness that led him on a quest for self-realization.He had demonstrated a capacity to function beyond his means, through the creation of objects by carving, his fondness for music that led him to learn how to play the piano and his special interest in the human condition. His ability to develop creativity on his own volition, which is considered a human trait, places him in an awkward light that dimly reflects the uncertainty of his being. The concept of free will clearly operates in this section of the film as it portrays Andrew’s ability to reason and act in reference to the way he understands his situation.Immanuel Kant defines free will as a direct experience of reality brought about by introspection. It relies on the faculty of volition that pushes an individual to decide or act on something without being coerced to do it (Nelson 117).Andrew had demonstrated th e concept of free will in the scene where he asked Mr. Martin if he could obtain his freedom. This correlates with Kant’s discussion about how freedom is seen as autonomous. Kant defines the laws governing autonomy as conditions under which the will of one individual could be combined with those of others, according to a general law of freedom.In obeying this general law, an individual was following an internal moral law which is the result of her or his reasoning. The individual is said to carry out an act for the purpose of being aware of her or his capability to act (Nelson, 118).Furthermore, the concept of sovereignty is magnified in this scene as Andrew was able to assert himself as a rational being when he requested for his freedom since he believed that he had the right to ask for it. According to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Freedom is a sovereign right.It is aspired by rational beings who view themselves as beings of worth. For Andrew to have been allowed by Mr. Martin the privilege of acknowledging that signifies his acceptance of Andrew’s rational sense of being (Nelson 133). Andrew also validated his human-likeness when he exercised his free will to build his own house and live on his own to find his destiny. He made the decision not because someone ordered him to leave, but he did it out of his interest to discover more things about himself and the world around him.Another revelation in the film supports the philosophy of Kant when it emphasized that an action should be done from duty to have moral worth. Kant maintains that duty does not depend on the realization of the object of action, rather on the principle of volition in performing the action which disregards any object of desire (Nelson 120 -125). Andrew’s duty to still serve the Martin family after being acknowledged as free establishes his moral worth since he performed them out of his own will and not because he was obligated to.The fact that he did things according to his own understanding of them connotes how his behavior and line of thinking has changed from the beginning of the film up to that point Kant also stated that the greatest good or morality of an act should only be identified under the conception of the existing internal moral law, which can only be found in a rational being. Since Andrew’s actions were mostly dictated by his own judgment of things, his behavior reinforces him to become rational, which is the only trait that is ascribed to humans (Nelson 120 -125).Andrew’s realization of his conflicted being came into light when he stopped referring to himself as â€Å"one† and started to use â€Å"I† in the latter part of the movie. â€Å"I† is a term used to identify humans while â€Å"one† is commonly used in identifying a thing or referring to another person. The transition from â€Å"one† to â€Å"I† is a vital indication that Andrew saw himself as a rational being. This occur rence gave Andrew the opportunity to assert his self as though he was part of the human race.There are a lot of peculiar characteristics that outlined Andrew’s uniqueness from other robots. He displayed a higher understanding about human beings because he too exhibited qualities that were considered flawed when compared to other robots of function. He had developed an inclination toward emotionality and creativity, identifiable traits that are uniquely present among human beings. It is essential to take note of this since the very idea of Andrew’s immortality and perfect composition is questioned because of the human-like traits that he possessed.Andrew’s distinct ability to portray human characteristics and personalities makes him a very interesting character to study since he defies the natural laws of reason regarding free will. His possession and understanding of such ideas like emotions, mortality, free will and discernment creates tension within his nature as it was not expected of him to possess such qualities. The film tackled the very notion of humanity, arguing how to determine the boundaries of being human.In the movie, Andrew contended that being human should not only be based upon the physical attributes that defines humanity; it should also be rooted on the principles of individual comprehension and the concept of death.Andrew gave up his mortality in order to be accepted as human. Although in the film, it would seem that Andrew’s nature cannot be changed for his metaphysical make-up is a robot, his assertion of his self and the idea of being recognized as part of the human race is a trait of a rational being.Kant lucidly explains the complexities of the human condition when he states that all individuals should be treated as ends and never merely as a means. He stresses that the rights of an individual must be upheld through the pursuance of equality before the law and the acquisition of education that leads to enligh tenment. Based on this statement, rationality is characterized by the ability to see oneself as an entity of worth. It is to apply reasoning to verify his or her existence. From the film’s perspective, Mr.Martin had demonstrated Kant’s edict with regard to his involvement in Andrew’s mental progress since he gave Andrew the chance to achieve something that was beyond a robot’s nature. Mr. Martin’s support formulated Andrew’s exceptional voice that lends a humanistic view on life. Andrew’s appreciation for life was borne out of Mr. Martin’s subjective treatment of the robot as a being of worth. All of these things mentioned by Kant are found within Andrew’s being. If this is what defines humanity as a whole then Andrew is very much human despite his origins.It is through Andrew’s expression of freedom that affirms his humanity. Conclusion The film attempts to blur opinions about morality and humanity; both terms ar e used interchangeably to affirm the existence of human beings.It takes apart human reasoning through the being of a robot and relays its sentiments about the world in a self-imposing way. The views of Bentham, Rousseau and Kant explain partially the complex nature of humanity found in the film and how it has affected the way people have defined their existence.It is a movie that challenges each individual to look closely at her or his imperfections and render appreciation for the uniqueness each one possesses. As difficult as it is to fully grasp the concept, it is important to analyze the film as a tool of introspection into the consciousness of our rationality as humans since it questions the very essence of how we understand our existence. Work Cited Nelson, Brian R. Western Political Thought: From Socrates to the Age of Ideology. 2nd ed. New York: Prentice Hall, 1995.