The Role of Government and Culture on Innovation in Greek City-States :: Essays Papers

The Role of Government and Culture on Innovation in Greek City-States A simple analysis of the culture, structure and technologies of Greek city-states reveals the fact that culture plays a vital role in the development of technologies. More specifically, an analysis of the government of Greek city-states demonstrates the very influential role of culture upon technological development. The democratic form of government first seen in Greece is reflected in the structure of the city-states. The basis for this form of government, which is more sensitive to the needs of the people, can also be seen in some of the more traditional types of technological development. Water supply fits the more traditional definition of technology, shows a concern for public well being, and is apparent in the Greek city-state. Analysis of the Greek city-state is further strengthened by comparison to Sparta. This opposing city was built into a much different culture, and as a result, was structured quite differently and produced different technologies. While it is certain that more than simply culture and form of government influence technological innovation, the evidence highlighting these factors' contributions is ample. Culture influences and is influenced by the form of government in a given region. This government and culture then influence the manner in which the environment in treated, and the innovations that occur. In his chapter on Greece, Colin Chant writes: "The system of cities was also shaped by fundamental political changes" (p. 57). This statement leads into a discussion of the rise of democracy in Greek city-states. An elected assembly wielded the authority in these city-states. Chant states, "Although the development of participatory modes of government might well be seen as a product of enlightened Greek culture, the influence of the Aegean environment must also be considered" (p.57). This assertion deserves some attention, as it insinuates that macro-level forces could be more responsible for governmental evolution than micro-level changes. The statement also walks the fine line concerning the innate political nature of individuals. In his article "The Pentagon's New Map," Thomas Barnett explains that one must be very careful with this type of thinking, as it is a definite generalization to say that something is inherent in a people making them govern themselves in a certain manner. It is a small step from this type of thinking to the statement "those people will never be like us" (Barnett, p.174). Barnett goes on to explain that it was once thought that there was something innate in Russians and Slavs that prohibited them from accepting capitalism and democracy (Barnett, p.

America’s Working Poor Response

Tens of millions of men and women in America struggle because they are stressed out about not making enough money even though they are working as hard as possible. In her book Nickel and Dimmed, Journalist, Barbara Rehiring writes about her research working as a minimum wage employee attempting to get by in Americas tough economy, she describes in depth the struggles that the minimum wage workers suffer through and she witnesses them first hand as she goes under cover and works these Jobs herself.Middle class Jobs are being replaced by low income bobs, the people in these Jobs are referred to as â€Å"the working poor†,and are not able to make ends meet at the end of the month. People in America working minimum wage Jobs struggle on a daily bases to get by, this causes them anxiety due to their lack of a health care plan, living situations, and injuries that occur at work. Health insurance premiums are rising and some employers no longer offer this benefit, the low wage worker s are the ones that are particularly affected by this major issue.Employees without health coverage, are unable to get preventative care r proper treatment for an illness, may become sicker later on. In chapter one of her book â€Å"Serving in Florida† Rehiring describes her co worker Sail's situation, â€Å"Gall, for example,†¦ Is supposed to be on the company health plan by now, but they claim they have lost her application form and to be beginning the paper work all over again. So she spends $9 a pop for pills to control the migraines she wouldn't have, she insist, If her estrogen supplements were covered. (27) Without the company behind them, employees will end up paying more for Individual health coverage than their employers would have paid to put them on group coverage. Similar to Rehearing's situation, Morgan Spurious and his flange Alex attempt to survive 30 days living of a minimum wage salary, as n the TV episode â€Å"30 days: Minimum Wage†. In the ep isode there Is a scene where Splotch's hand Is Injured and swollen because of the manual labor he is doing. Due to the lack of medical Insurance he chooses to try out a free clinic provided by the community for the low Income families Instead of the emergency room.Once he Is there he realizes that getting checked by a doctor wont e so easy since there Is so many people In line and the clinic only takes the first twenty. He then has to resort to the emergency room where he Is charged more that he can afford to pay because of his low Income. Even though the communities attempt to help the working poor, not everyone Is available to take advantage of the benefits. While there Is no easy solution to the problem of health Insurance, It Is obvious that leaving employees on their own to find Insurance, rather than Glenn them the benefit of group rates, Is not the solution.America's Working Poor Response By carpenter kook â€Å"Serving in Florida† Rehiring describes her co worker Sail 's situation, â€Å"Gail, for she spends $9 a pop for pills to control the migraines she wouldn't have, she insist, if employees will end up paying more for individual health coverage than their there is a scene where Splotch's hand is injured and swollen because of the manual labor he is doing. Due to the lack of medical insurance he chooses to try out a free clinic provided by the community for the low income families instead of the emergency room.Once he is there he realizes that getting checked by a doctor wont e so easy since there is so many people in line and the clinic only takes the first twenty. He then has to resort to the emergency room where he is charged more that he can afford to pay because of his low income. Even though the communities attempt to help the working poor, not everyone is available to take advantage of the benefits. While there is no easy solution to the problem of health insurance, it is obvious that leaving employees on their own to find insurance, r ather than giving them the benefit of group rates, is not the solution.

Intercultural Aspect Of Culture Essay

Before evolving an intercultural model of conflict resolution it is important to understand and identify aspects of culture that lead to creation of the framework of conflict. The cultural spectrum holds different shades for a person, a society and a nation, accordingly helping each of them to assimilate and adapt to a common identity that is defined and shaped by culture (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). In the process of evolving this collective identity, culture transcends its traditional role of providing an aggregate set of beliefs, customs, norms, values, ethics, traditions, moral, social and legal codes, perceptions, and philosophy, to become the overall physical framework for the society to function. Culture is strongly related with geographical setting of a place, religion, ethnicity, and race, explaining why different countries have different cultures, and also why places on seashore share common elements of culture that is quite different from culture of mountainous places. The imprinting of culture on ways a person thinks, acts, perceives the environment and models his/her reaction is very strong and virtually indelible, determining every aspect of human behavior and giving rise to cultural identity in addition to individual and national identity. Although the classic rational choice framework says that people are independent in choice of their behavior and approach towards events, its seen that at subtle levels the structural model provided by culture acts as final determinant in predicting a person, a society and a nation. Although culture is dynamic, evolving and continuously upgrading itself, in essence, these changes occur within the context of culture’s own timeframe. One of the most important contribution of culture to human civilization is the orientation provided towards other cultures, making the culture in question receptive, tolerant, indifferent or outright hostile towards different cultures. Societies are seldom mono-cultural, displaying a range of cultural traits, achieved through generations of trades, contact, and cross cultural mixing (Holliday, Hyde and Kullman, 2004). However, although for people belonging to a particular culture, their culture would hardly seem complex, the cultural realities are hidden beneath the surface, difficult to observe and discern from outside. These improper understanding and imperfect perceptions of culture often give rise to conflict when different cultures are required to meet or come across. In the workshops I have attended I have come across people from various cultural background and my first attempt is always to know as much possible as about them; not their individual preferences, but their cultural orientation and philosophy. My this approach has helped me immensely in not only developing an understanding of other cultures, but my own adaptability and flexibility in my relation towards them Conflict and Culture Conflict is an integral part of human culture. When a number of people of interact with their own individual perspectives, view points, ideologies, cultural and social backgrounds and intellectual development then differences and debates are bound to arise as a logical and inevitable consequence of the interaction (Killian and Pammer Jr. 2003, 3). These differences, acted upon by incompatible interests of attaining personal goals, change into conflict within groups, societies and nations. (Rahim, 2001,1) The greater the diversity and richer the profile of a society, the greater is the scope and range of its embedded conflict. Therefore it is essential to educate people on understanding and handling conflict and treat as an integral component of a democratic society that is important for developing a healthy social life (Killian and Pammer Jr. 2003, 3). In every conflict, whether it is individual or at social scale, culture has always an important role to play. Depending upon the actors involved and the context of conflict, the role of culture in conflict can be direct or subtle, but it is always present as the ultimate factor in deciding the scope of conflict, its direction or its outcome. Culture even decides the existence of conflict, for people who are embedded in the culture of seeing world as a harmonious entity, may not be aware of any conflict through their life. In all the major disputes, debates and disagreement taking place around world, differences in cultural identities and perceptions are fundamental causative factors. A further evidence of the role that culture plays is evinced by peace and harmony existing among societies that have same culture, such as observed between USA and Britain, sharing same historical and cultural roots. Every conflict, whether it is trans-generational, geographical, religious, organizational, or personal, has a cultural component involved. People enshrined in their own culture often react with hostility against any cultural identity that appears contrary to their thought process and ideas. It follows therefore that any effort of conflict resolution needs to incorporate cultural understanding and acknowledge the existence and necessity of diversity (ibid). Personally I have encountered cultural difference in perspective of style of communication. Some of my colleagues, belonging to different cultural background, initially took exception to the direct and frank method of communication that is followed in US, as this, according to them constitutes a mild level of effrontery. However, as they assimilated themselves with the general surrounding, they realized that the direct nature of communication is a norm, not an aberration. Communication and Conflict Communication is important, as it is the medium of conveying message, forming the first interface in method of conflict resolution. Communication is almost always within the context of culture, and culture determines the significance of words as well as gestures and non-verbal expressions, affording people with choices of high context or low context communication, depending upon their cultural maturity and ability to handle multi-culturalism and accommodate a range of opinions and ideas other than those familiar to them (Grosse, 2002). During the initial phase of cultural familiarity, communication takes place at low context, meaning that people rely more on direct verbal communication, which is more or less literal in nature. As the cultural relationship progresses, communication interaction moves ahead on continuum to become high context, and it becomes more interpersonal and contextual, minimizing chances of misunderstanding and confusion. Effective cross cultural communication is centered upon knowledge, empathy and intercultural sensitivity (ibid). The correct approach in such cases is be flexible, adaptable and receptive to all views, no matter how contrary or incongruous they appear.. A positive and patient listening attitude is also valuable as it allows people to fathom emotions of others and makes them perceptible to alternate view points. Finally, the most important attribute in cross cultural communication is recognition that every culture is correct in its own context and each has to yield some ground to reach a harmonious consensus (ibid). In my attempts to understand and know about other cultures, I have always relied on effective communication skills, that include both hearing and communicating. Personally I have felt that people from different cultures readily share their cultural background, their beliefs, customs and traditions as I myself do in a multi-cultural environment, as we all want to be well understood and appreciated. Active listening and frank communication skills have greatly helped me in establishing quick rapport in any multi-cultured environment. Discussion on mediation and skills in conflict resolution Effective communication strategies are keys to resolve conflict by providing channels that provide expression of grievances and bring conflicting parties together. In the field of conflict management, communication strategies help through the channels of 1. Negotiation: Negotiation has emerged as an important form of conflict management within organizational and social setups. As such research in communication theory in conflict management has started to pay close attention to communication behaviors, types and strategies towards successful negotiation. Negotiation, as a part of managing conflict, requires interested parties to trade proposals for settlement that include, out of court settlements, business contracts, collective bargaining contract etc (Womack, 1990, 32). As Womack further elaborates, generally the process of negotiation proceeds through motives that are both competitive and cooperative. The approach of communication in the entire process of negotiation is concerned with the messages that are transferred among negotiators and the concerned parties. Communication intervenes in the process of negotiation through its both verbal and nonverbal forms and constitutes the entire base on which the goals and terms of the bargain are negotiated. Communication plays the central role in not only developing the relationship among the parties in conflict, but also in determining its direction. It is also central in every form of bargaining process, whether the bargaining is done for organizational form of conflict management, involves conflict resolution, negotiation on legal agreements or for negotiation in inter-group an intra group conflict. The entire role of communication in negotiation processes and strategies is quite vast and it ranges from defining the conflict issues, selection and implementation of strategies to presenting and defending the viable alternatives and finally helping in reaching on a solution (Womack, 1990, 35). 2. Third party intervention: Third party intervention in conflict situation is a tricky and challenging situation. It is considered as one of those areas that offers real test to the communication skills of the intervening person. Although mediation requires a neutral and third party to bring the disputants on the resolving chairs and solve the conflict, the mediator per se, has no authority and commanding power to force the parties into acquiescing to an agreement. At the best, the mediator can use persuasive and convincing dialogues through which the involved parties voluntarily agree to reach at accord through advises, admonishments, ideas, and views of the mediator and break into meaningful dialogue with each other (Burrel, 1990, 54). Its easy to see that this entire procedure requires very high level of communication skills on the part of the mediator to successfully negotiate agreement among the conflicting parties. I have had the opportunity to mediate in certain cases of cultural misunderstanding in the workshop. I tried to resolve the dispute by completely understanding the issue of contention, and the respective approaches that each party had taken on the issue. Thereafter I clarified the entire situation to them, explaining in the process that their respective approaches where natural consequences of their cultural training and application of that training on the issue in hand. In the process I encouraged them to understand and appreciate each other’s cultural understanding and orientation, they were successful in settling the conflict. Designing a process of Intercultural aspects of conflict resolution In the course to evolve a systematic cultural response to conflict, the first step is to breed familiarity among cultures that adds plurality and multicultural dimension to broaden existing views. In the process of evolving cultural familiarity communication, approaches towards conflict, cultural interpretation of life and identities and roles are identified as essential parameters (Carbaugh, 1990). Out of these, role and range of communication has already been discussed. Now it is time to look at rest of three factors. Responses towards a conflict situation are largely culture dependent, guided by the ways each culture has systemized itself towards conflict. Direct and straightforward ways of approaching conflict, generally acceptable in western society, may seem threatening and offensive in eastern cultures accustomed to third party negotiations. Similarly, cultures that follow calm and reasonable response to conflict, may feel intimidated by emotional and passionate response to conflict situation (Carbaugh, 1990). Cultural interpretation of life sets the starting point for people that forms basis of their thinking, values and philosophy, eventually deciding the role they would play in every conflict and their outcome they come across. It is the cultural orientation that makes societies disciplined or diffused, generalized or specific, value oriented or bohemian, and cooperative or isolated (Carbaugh, 1990). Hence cultural conflict resolution ultimately depends on the depth of understanding attained through interaction. Intercultural differences are very real forces in an environment where multiple cultures are interacting and coordinating on day to day basis. From my learning and observation the nature intercultural differences and their consequences on organizational and group efficiency, these differences can be resolved by taking a more comprehensive, collective and adaptive view of situation, that includes our own cultural vulnerabilities when placed in an unfamiliar social structure. As the workshop trainings and experience has demonstrated, it is very important to know the cultural background of people with whom we interact, fully understand the points where our mutual cultural understanding differ and recognize where they converge. Finally we should also develop a mutual sense of regard and appreciation for our combined cultural diversity. One of the revealing experiences that I have undergone relates to issue of timeliness. While in western culture, schedules are strictly followed and meetings start exactly on designated time, it is normal in many cultures to digress in time by a limited margin. Thus, in a multi-cultured environment, cultural ignorance can lead to conflict on such simple issue of scheduled arrival, while cultural knowledge and understanding would help in ‘looking’ at from other person’s cultural lens. Given the range and depth of cultural impact on overall personal behavior and communication style of people, there are numerous situations where cultural ignorance can directly put people against each other. Hence we should always strive to learn as much about other cultures as possible and continue to update our knowledge. References Burrel, N. A, 1990. Theory and Research in Conflict Management. edit M. Afzalur Rahim – editor. Praeger Publishers. :New York Rahim, M. A (2001), Managing Conflict in Organizations. Contributors: M. Afzalur: Quorum Books. Westport, CT Handbook of Conflict Management. (2003) . Jerri Killian ,William J. Pammer Jr. (edits): Marcel Dekker. New York. Womack, D. F, 1990. Theory and Research in Conflict Management. edit M. Afzalur Rahim – editor. Praeger Publishers. :New York. Leborn, M. 2003. Culture and Conflict. Accessed online on 17. 11. 2007. http://www. beyondintractability. org/essay/culture_conflict/ Grosse, C. U. 2002. Managing Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams Business Communication Quarterly, Vol. 65, 2002. Holliday, A. , Hyde, M. ,, Kullman, J. 2004. Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book; Routledge, Carbaugh, D. 1990 Cultural Communication and Intercultural Contact; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Steps to Create Graphics

This would allow students to envision their own color schemes and not initially be influenced by the colors the model project incorporated. In order to understand the layout of the stage where their set design is intended for, displayed an image of a stage I created using Google draw. I also downloaded artwork from a disk sent to me from the company where we licensed the musical. This was saved and used as the original source of set design inspiration. Finally included in the collection was one Of the first steps of the unit; a pencil drawing of the set design which was also created by a student.I scanned the document to my Macomb and saved it as a JEEP Audience The audience for this instructional unit consists Of 6th graders in my Theatre Arts class at Dutchmen Creek Middle School. The male population of the school is slightly larger at fifty-one percent, than that of the female population, which is approximately forty-nine percent. Fifty-eight percent of the learners are Caucasian. African American students comprise thirty-four percent, six percent is comprised of the Hispanic population, and two percent is of the Asian ethnicity.The students are enrolled in Theatre Arts for a nine week period before transitioning to another related arts course. The school overall has above level standardized test scores, been granted the Palmetto Gold Award for three consecutive years for growth in PASS testing and has been recognized for the prestigious National Schools to Watch award for the 2013-2014 school year. Gifted and talented classes are offered to students, including Geometry and English l, and more opportunities for direct instruction are offered via enrichment classes for remediation and additional academic assistance.Furthermore, the students at Dutchmen Creek Middle School are provided with teachers who train in and implement collaborative instruction and project based learning activities that help to reach each type f learner and bridge learning making it rel evant to the real world. Teams of instructional leaders work diligently to develop strategies to meet challenges the public education system faces today. Recently, the school received an â€Å"excellent† overall rating on their 2014 state report card.Schools are given an absolute – or overall – rating, which is calculated using test scores and a growth rating which grades improvements made from the previous year to the current year. Additionally, the fine arts department performing groups consistently 3 receive superior ratings in Chorus, Band, Orchestra, Theatre and Visual Arts at tideway events. Process The process for this graphics collection, basically entailed 5 steps and are listed below: Step 1: Take a picture of the intended subject, download it and save it as a JEEP.Email it or save it in Google drive where it can be accessed any time, anywhere. Step 2. In order to focus on the project, save the picture to a picture editing tool such as photo, click on the pencil which is the editing tool , click the â€Å"crop† button on the right hand side, move the automated square over the desired portion of the picture, and click on the â€Å"done† button. Save the picture by clicking on the â€Å"save as† from the file menu and label the picture using the word cropped so the original picture will stay intact.Step 4: Transpose the edited picture to black and white, which will allow students to select their color schemes without being influenced by the model. Using photo, click on the on the â€Å"effects† button, select the â€Å"black and white† icon, and add the level 2 â€Å"vignette† option Step 5: Download An image of the original desired set design picture from the disc provided by the Wizard of Oz leasing company Tans-Whitman and save s a JEEP file. This served as the original 1st step in the set design unit.Step 6: Creating an original image was accomplished through Google Draw, which is a fea ture of Google Drive, is very simple to use and utilizes the following steps: a) go to the website HTTPS://drive. Google. Com 4 b) Create a background. I chose to simulate stage lighting using different clip art and lighting streams. These are readily available on Google draw and can be inserted with a simple click of the mouse. C) Insert text using the â€Å"word art† feature simply by clicking on the insert Dutton, choose â€Å"word art†, type the appropriate words into the box provided and place it on top of the background.

Discuss, in detail, the connection of power to political science Essay

Discuss, in detail, the connection of power to political science - Essay Example For instance, a leader over a small number of people is named a master, the director of a home; over a quite greater number, a king or a statesman, as there is the presence of a variance amid a boundless household and a minor nation. Aristotle states that it is not right for a government to have variance in politics and power. In power and politics, there exists six types of constitutions they are divided into here are unjust and three that are just. A constitution can be defined as just in cases where is has advantages to the each and every citizen, on the other hand, a constitution can be referred to as unjust in cases whereby it is of help to the individuals in power only. When leadership is via a single person, this is a monarchy constitution, the ruler has to be good and incases of a bad leader it is referred to as tyranny. In cases where minor elite is the ruler, this constitution is referred to aristocracy when the rulers are respectable and an oligarchy if the rulers are wicked and corrupt. In situation of a government whereby the masses rule, the constitution is termed as a polity if the leadership is good and a democracy if the leadership is bad. Aristotle recognizes that providing full dominion to either the leading body or the regulations might create room for misuses of power and advocates th at a polity is most likely least vulnerable to corruption, particularly in situations where by the laws are assumed higher power than the leading body. He suggests a norm of distributive justice, stating that advantages ought to be discussed upon diverse citizens in a different way, depending on the involvement they make to the happiness of the public. Platos Republic focuses on a modest question â€Å"is it always better to be just than unjust?† Plato defines justice as a virtue of a nation that would aid outline justice as a feature of typical

Five management functions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Five management functions - Essay Example The term O indicates organizing by the establishment of a formal structure of authority and responsibility and creation of various divisions and subdivisions of work which are properly co-ordinated and arranged. S refers to staffing which includes selection, recruitment and training of staff. D stands for directing where decisions are taken by superiors and authority and responsibility is passed on to the subordinates. Co refers to coordination and R for reporting which involves keeping the executives aware of the activities taking place within an organisation. Finally, B stands for Budgeting by carrying out the process of Fiscal planning, accounting and other such financial activities. The essay highlights information about all these functions of management in the light of a company. It will analyze the application of these management concepts in Tesco Plc. It is the British merchandise retailer and multinational grocery headquartered in Chestnut. The stores of the company are headq uartered in United Kingdom (UK), Europe, Asia and North America. Tesco has the highest market share in UK. The management of the company is robust in some branches and few of them have failed irrecoverably (Rowley & Cooke, 2014). The in depth analysis of the management functions is carried out thoroughly in this essay (Wong & Hua-Tan, 2014). The article consists of detailed analysis of the functions of management and the way it is carried out by the British multinational merchandise retailer Tesco Plc. The analysis can provide a comprehensive view of the leadership framework and the functions of management carried on in this company. The execution of few functions of management in Tesco Plc can be explained as follows (Wong & Hua-Tan, 2014). Tesco has a number of branches in UK, Europe, Asia and North America (Rowley & Cooke, 2014). Through proper idea generation and implementation of the

Government Intervention on the Market Assignment

Government Intervention on the Market - Assignment Example Cash dropped suddenly to zero levels and researchers when marketers left in 1962 because of significant finding by market specialists during that time (SEC, 2010). Therefore, prices were destroyed by sudden drop of cash because of strict government regulation. 3. The crash extremely damaged the assurance of stakeholders, who tendered nineteen billion from local equity resources during that time when the increased outflow of cash during the crisis of 2008. The financial challenge contributed to the current financial crisis affecting the economy. 4. The phrase â€Å"like a balloon† means that the flash crash in the market is similar to a balloon when squeezed from one point the problem emerges from another point (SEC, 2010). Therefore, as the congress tries to fix the system by adding more regulation, in turn will contribute to several problems instead of solving them (Kramer and Corcoran, 2010). Apart from this, the crash contributed to a expansion with potential long-term impact on economic markets. It also contributed to proposed ways of controlling future flash crash in the market prices using computerized procedures to control the stock markets. Such crashes happen abruptly and fast spread through the market affecting monetary flows. 5. Rules established by the government contributed to the flash crash. Several rules and regulation will make business persons become voracious marketers replaced by machines. This will make the situation worse by not having any support during increase of flash crash. Therefore, specialists noted that the society needed up creating a cheap price to unknown, difficult situation (Kramer and Corcoran, 2010). In reality, the crash complex the disintegration of market cash undermining the essential price innovation process for evident stocks. The last regulation had been presented to aid the events of large supply market contestants, as well as a lot of