Free Essays on Fidel Castro And Cuba

Fidel Castro and Cuba When Columbus came to Cuba in 1492, he and his predecessors would probably never have imagined of this island’s outcome within the centuries ahead. From conquering the country, to its independence, to the rise of the current totalitarian regime, all these major events have made the island what it is today. Before giving the whole story about the Communists, one must understand how the country was born so here’s a little bit of a background history: Spain had conquered Cuba in 1511 under Diego Velasquez. Frequent insurrections failed to end Spain’s harsh rule. From 1868 to 1878 occurred the Armed rebellion known as the Ten Year’s War, led by plantation owner Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, a co-author of Cuba’s declaration of independence. After the loss of more than 200,000 lives, the revolt ended in failure. In 1933, Fulgencio Batista led a â€Å"sergeants† revolt† that toppled the despotic rule of Gen. Grarado Machado and it was at that t ime that Batista became the most powerful man in Cuba. He was elected president in 1940 and made himself chief of state with dictatorial powers. Years of corrupt government, terrorism and embezzlement made by the United States led to a revolt in 1958 under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Batista fled to the Dominican Republic and the Fidelistas were in control of Havana. Castro then became Cuba's leader at the young age of 32. At first people applauded the downfall of Batista and hoped that Castro could bring the country the prosperity it had wished for. Unfortunately, before long, people came to realization that the new regime had embraced Communism. In Cuba, Castro’s regime has created the most repressive police state apparatus in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba is like the George Orwell nightmare predicted in the book â€Å"1984† except that this time the country is set in the tropics with Big Brother sporting a beard and cigar. Cuba never believed in Human Rights as C as... Free Essays on Fidel Castro And Cuba Free Essays on Fidel Castro And Cuba Fidel Castro and Cuba When Columbus came to Cuba in 1492, he and his predecessors would probably never have imagined of this island’s outcome within the centuries ahead. From conquering the country, to its independence, to the rise of the current totalitarian regime, all these major events have made the island what it is today. Before giving the whole story about the Communists, one must understand how the country was born so here’s a little bit of a background history: Spain had conquered Cuba in 1511 under Diego Velasquez. Frequent insurrections failed to end Spain’s harsh rule. From 1868 to 1878 occurred the Armed rebellion known as the Ten Year’s War, led by plantation owner Carlos Manuel de Cespedes, a co-author of Cuba’s declaration of independence. After the loss of more than 200,000 lives, the revolt ended in failure. In 1933, Fulgencio Batista led a â€Å"sergeants† revolt† that toppled the despotic rule of Gen. Grarado Machado and it was at that t ime that Batista became the most powerful man in Cuba. He was elected president in 1940 and made himself chief of state with dictatorial powers. Years of corrupt government, terrorism and embezzlement made by the United States led to a revolt in 1958 under the leadership of Fidel Castro. Batista fled to the Dominican Republic and the Fidelistas were in control of Havana. Castro then became Cuba's leader at the young age of 32. At first people applauded the downfall of Batista and hoped that Castro could bring the country the prosperity it had wished for. Unfortunately, before long, people came to realization that the new regime had embraced Communism. In Cuba, Castro’s regime has created the most repressive police state apparatus in the Western Hemisphere. Cuba is like the George Orwell nightmare predicted in the book â€Å"1984† except that this time the country is set in the tropics with Big Brother sporting a beard and cigar. Cuba never believed in Human Rights as C as...

The Developing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words - 2

The Developing Manager - Assignment Example rther, this report examines my current position in terms of personal development needs, current performance and future needs in the excellence of this career. Managers have different skills and aspects which help them when dealing with different issues in order to bring out the best out of a situation. Skills of a manager should be aligned with the need to achieve the set goals of the organization. I’m a team leader and I have been involved with leading and coordinating people to achieve the set objectives of the hotel where I plan to work as a manager in the future. My knowledge, strengths, and abilities have enabled me to influence control in most of the groups in have worked with. This is because I’m a transparent, honest leader with high public relation skills. This has enabled me to communicate effectively with my team. I have also managed to use my skills to motivate hard work which has seen my team provide enormous support to our target. As a leader, I’m internally motivated and my resilient capacity allows me to go on even at tough times which are mostly prevalent in the disadvantaged places (Sandra, C., 2009) . I have good conflict resolution skills. While I have successfully managed to be a very effective facilitator, my efforts are mostly dragged behind my criticism which threatens to wreak havoc while we are working. Some members may offer criticisms which are not well taken by the recipient resulting to conflicts. My knowledge, strengths, and abilities as an effective leader allow me to be effective in such areas as conflict resolutions, delegation capacities and organizational skills. This helps me organize and manage tasks without being perceived to be unfair by some members. I believe that possession of such abilities enables me to improve the performance of my groups to achieve our purpose as outlined in our objectives. Organizational skills help me manage the team’s resources properly as our situation requires as to be very economical and

The Strategic Management Process of a Major Apparel and Denim Brand, Case Study

The Strategic Management Process of a Major Apparel and Denim Brand, Levi Strauss - Case Study Example In this paper, the case of â€Å"Levi Strauss- The Boss and the Yogi† as published in the Economist in the year 2014 is analyzed through the application of relevant business and corporate strategy models with the aim of identifying the current strategic position of the brand, understanding the core and contemporary strategies taken up by the company in the recent years, identifying the success of the employment of the new strategies and finally for recommending a suitable future strategic direction for the company. Levi Strauss uses the generic strategies of cost leadership and cost focus in which the company is trying to reduce the overall expense of the business by developing more efficient logistics and procurement systems in their global operations, trying to increase the profit levels by decreasing the operating costs while at the same time maintaining the product prices as per the industry standard. The company is also using the cost focus strategy to ensure that it can leverage on the customer sentiments associated with the brand and maintain the high prices of the products while at the same time remaining sufficiently competitive in the markets of operation. The intensity of competitive rivalry: The intensity of competitive rivalry is extremely high for Levi Strauss. Over the last few years, both the revenues and profits of the company have dropped by considerable extents due to the high degree of competiveness in the industry and the internal weaknesses of the company itself. Currently, the company is experiencing a declining market share in the American as well as global denim markets. The shares of the company have decreased from 7.2% to 5.3% in the period from 2004 to 2013. The threat of new entrants: The threat of new entrants is medium for Levi Strauss. This is because  there are many established big and small players in the denim market which create high entry barriers for a new player in the market. Also, this market is so intensely con centrated that there is hardly any market gap left for a new company to enter into and position itself.  

Developing a Nursery That Meets the Needs of a Child

Developing a Nursery That Meets the Needs of a Child Foundations to Psychology This essay will look into how the designs of nurseries, in light of relevant research will contribute to meeting the cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of children aged three to five years old. The aim of this essay will be to provide a range of activities that nurseries could in cooperate into their timetable to meet these needs. Cognitive The key elements of the cognitive theory is to try and explain the method and processes by which an infant, and then a child will develop into an adult, who can think and reason using hypotheses (simplypsychology.2009.) Cognition consists of the development of perception, attention, language, memory and thinking. As children develop they acquire the cognitive structures that stay with them throughout their lives. Psychologist Jean Piaget viewed cognitive development as maturational process which focuses on childrens interactions with the physical word, and how they view it in their mind. He suggested that children think differently than adults and that they actively try to explore and make an understanding of the world. (simplypsychology, ND.) There are four stages to Piagets cognitive theory, but the one that is most relevant to a nursery caring for three to five year olds is the preoperational stage. This is the idea that children cannot conserve because they like to please people (psychologyabout,  ND.) To test if children were egocentric, Piaget used the three mountain tasks, where children were shown a mountain that had snow on it and a hut on the other side, they were then asked what could be seen from a different perspective (simplypsychology,  ND.) A child of age three to five is beginning to think with numbers and symbols and develop memory strategies. An activity relevant to developing this would be placing counters in front of a child and asking them how many counters they have, this is encouraging them to think logically. Piaget believed that each child moves from stage to stage at their own pace, and that in the classroom you have to look at what stage each child is, to move them forward. So ones who are at a further stage would be able to do more complicated counting tasks. Another activity would be mouse trap, children would have to work together to keep the mouse from being trapped, making the children having to see someone elses point of view and developing their inability to conserve according to Piaget. (littlechildren,  ND.) Lev Vygotskys theory for cognitive development relies on the zone of proximal development. The three different levels are what I cant do, what I can do with help and what I can do. This is known as Vygotskys scaffolding theory and it was to try and explain that social interaction is important for cognitive development. (simplypsychology,  2007.) Vygotsky suggested that having interaction with older people would be an effective way to develop skills. So nurseries could pair up a five year old child with a three year old child and they could work together to complete a puzzle, this would give the three year old the help from an older peer which could help them to complete the puzzle on their own eventually (simplypsychology,  2007.) Piagets contributions to cognitive development in children are not flawless. Piaget didnt take into account who he was talking to, children of that age like to say whatever would please someone, so if a child is asked what is two add two, the child will answer four, but then if they are asked now what is two add two the child will think that they have answered the question incorrectly and will give a different answer. Physical The key elements of physical development in children is the physical maturation of an individuals body up until it reaches the adult stage. A childs physical and measurable growth such as weight and height are taking place. Physical development concerns the development of our bodys structure and processes during life and how these developments help of hold back how we think and behave socially and emotionally. Everyone develops physically at roughly the same age but the physical changes that occur may vary from one person to another. (psychologyabout,  ND.) According to theorist Mary Sheridan, at three years old, a child will be able to walk up the stairs, cut with scissors and turn while running and pulling toys, so they are able to multi task. At four years old, a child can turn sharp corners, they can run, push and pull, and they can hop and climb. Then at five years old, they can skip and dance and hop (childdevelopmentchart,  2013.) Sheridan also suggests that in terms of other physical developments a child of aged three to five years would be able to give their name and address, they can help with dressing themselves, use their fork and spoon, be able to draw a person and be able to speak roughly 1500 words. (childdevelopmentchart,  2013.) Sheridan says that children between aged three and five should be able to draw figures, so nurseries could cater for this type of physical development by having art sessions where children can draw or paint family portraits. This would also improve their fine motor skills such as fingers and hands. Another theorist Arnold Gesell identified the importance of the role of nature and heredity in childrens development. There is a psychology debate about whether our nature (biological heritage ) or our nurture (the environment we are brought up in.) Gesell believed that a timetable could be used to outline the developmental growth of every child. (ehow,  ND.) Gesell indentified the typical behaviours of children through their childhood. He categorized these behaviours into different areas which he called the gradients of growth. The ones that would be mostly used at a nursery would personal hygiene, motor characteristics, school life and play and pastimes. (education,  ND.) In terms of physical activities to help a childs development and to help work on their gross motor skills (arms and legs,) nurseries could provide a playtime, where children have the chance to interact with each other, play games and have a run around. This would be part of the play and pastimes section on Gesells timetable. (developmentalpsychology,  ND.) Gesells theory of development has been accepted as it is still used today, however there are criticisms of his theory because his timetable only went up to the ages of five, so there is no developmental stages for the childhood beyond that age (ehow,  ND.) Emotional Emotional development is how an individual develops emotional competence, for example how they deal with emotions and how their identities develop. For a child, hints of their personalities will start to show, so if they are upset of angry they may kick and scream as a way of dealing with that emotion. How a child is treated and their relationships contribute to their emotional development. Psychologist Wolcott believed that if a child brings in a toy that reminds them of home and their mother they will still have this attachment. This toy would be the mother substitute because they are recognising it as something from being at home. So if the child became upset from missing home which children tend to do when they are going to nursery for the first time, they have something to remind them of home. (psychologytoday,  ND.) A more interactive activity that would strengthen a childs emotional development would be a persona doll. A persona doll is a puppet and could be used at nurseries to put on a show where different situations are created and the children would be asked how they would feel if such a situation happened to them. This would help a child to understand emotions and how they might feel. (personadolltraining,  ND.) Michael Rutter believed that you have to have a mother or a mother substitute in the first five years of life. Rutter conducted a study on children at an orphanage of whom had suffered emotional deprivation. He looked at adopted children and how when they were adopted into families their weight and their IQs had improved dramatically (pbworks,  ND.) Michael concluded that if a child doesnt develop an emotional attachment this is privation whereas deprivation is the loss of an attachment. (simplypsychology,  ND.) John Bowlbys attachment theory looked at the attachment relationship between parents and their children. Bowlby believed that if an infant was unable to develop a warm relationship with their mother, the child would have difficulty forming relationships with other people (bowlbyattachmenttheory,  ND.) Bowlby was convinced that the mother and baby bond was formed on a biological basis and that the baby is born with the need to form their bond and the mother has the instinct to form this bond. Bowlby suggested that a child would form only one attachment, normally their mother and this figure would act as their secure base when they explore the world. This one attachment acts as a starting relationship for future relationships that the child may have. (simplypsychology,  ND.) In light of what Bowlby and Rutter say about the importance of having the mother of the mother substitute, nurseries could assign carers or teaching assistants to groups of children or to each child if there is enough. Bowlby in particular said that consistency is important, so by assigning a carer to each child, there would be the mother substitute always there for that child. (littlechildren,  ND.) The implications of Bowlbys theory are that he suggested that the mother should be the constant carer therefore implying that the mother should not go out to work as she should be at home looking after the children and keeping this consistent bond (simplypsychology,  ND.) Social The key element of social development is socialisation, how individuals develop social abilities by building relationships and how they form friendships. For a child they will develop same sex relationships known as vertical relationships, and they will form friendships by playing with other children. Social development looks into our moral development, groups and peer group influences. Theorist Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory. Erikson had eight development stages, but the one that applies to a child of aged three to five is initiative vs guilt, this is where children start to understand purpose and the meaning of different things (currentnursing,  ND.) During the initiative vs guilt stage, conscience and imagination develops, children begin to understand what people expect of them whether it be at home or at school. Children can begin to assert some kind of power and control through direction of play which can include fantasies. (childdevelopmentchart,  2013.) The best way to in cooperate Eriksons psychosocial theory would be with indoor activities. At a certain time of day at a nursery, children could have the chance to have a play time indoors where there are sandpits, a play kitchen and a play house. The children would be in groups and they would rotate so that they could have the chance to play with each thing. This would give the children a chance to interact with each other and use their imagination to play restaurants or mummys and daddys with the play house or kitchen (jubed,  ND.) Albert Banduras social learning theory emphasized the importance of observing behaviour. Most human behaviour is learned through modelling by observation. The social learning theory explains that human behaviour is interaction of different influences; behavioural and environmental. Bandura believed that an individual is more likely to adopt behaviour if it results in outcomes that are valuable to them. (instructionaldesign.ND.) Banduras theory is supported by the bobo doll experiment. Children observed an adult attacking a bobo doll to try and knock it down, the children then imitated this behaviour (simplypsychology,  ND.) When meeting childrens social needs in light of Banduras experiment on the bobo doll in which behaviours are learned, a nursery would ensure that children behave correctly, and that no violent or aggressive behaviour is tolerated. Also children would learn to put their hand up when they want to speak. This way they are learning how to behave when they are at school. Criticisms of the social learning theory are that they rejecting the differences in individuals such as genetics, brain and learning differences which could affect how they perceive and respond to behaviour. With the bobo doll experiment, critics have argued against saying that children manipulated into responding to the attack on the doll. Children were further teased because they could not knock the doll down (criminology,  ND.) This is the way to go about creating a nursery that would meet the cognitive, social, emotional and physical needs of children aged three to five years old. There is a lot of evidence from doing experiments such as Piagets three mountains experiments and observations like Rutters orphanage study that supports the theorists and their theories, therefore strengthening the ideas on how a child develops in each criteria. Essentially every child develops differently and at a different pace, but looking collectively at children aged three to five years, there are certain activities that nurseries could use to help children thrive emotionally, socially, physically and cognitively. Reference List bowlbyattachmenttheory.(ND). Retrieved from http://explorable.com/bowlby-attachment-theory instructional design. (ND). Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-development.html childdevelopmentchart.(2013). Retrieved from http://pgcegroup3.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/child-development-chart.pdf psychologyabout.(ND). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/ss/early-childhood-development_2.htm jubed.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.jubed.com/youth_ministry/view/Animal-Farm/?s=106 simplypsychology.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html simplypsychology.(2009). Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html developmentalpsychology.(ND). Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/developmentalpsychology/ss/early-childhood-development_2.htm littlechildren.(ND). Retrieved from http://littlechildren.wordpress.com/2007/11/29/cognitive-development-activities-for-3-to-5-year-olds/ irrpublic.(ND). Retrieved from http://lrrpublic.cli.det.nsw.edu.au/lrrSecure/Sites/LRRView/7401/documents/theories_outline.pdf simplypsychology.(2007). Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/vygotsky.html pbworks.(ND). Retrieved from http://as-psychology.pbworks.com/w/page/9174253/DeprivationPrivation currentnursing.(ND). Retrieved from http://currentnursing.com/nursing_theory/theory_of_psychosocial_development.html psychologytoday.(ND). Retrieved from http://therapists.psychologytoday.com/rms/state/VT/Wolcott.html personadolltraining.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.persona-doll-training.org/ukhome.html education.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.education.com/reference/article/arnold-gesell-child-learning-development-theory/ ehow.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.ehow.co.uk/info_8593772_criticisms-gesells-maturation-theory.html childdevelopmentchart.(2013). Retrieved from http://pgcegroup3.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/child-development-chart.pdf criminology.(ND). Retrieved from http://www.criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/bandura.htm

The First Artificial Heart Transplant :: Barney Clark Health Medical Essays

The First Artificial Heart Transplant History was made on December 02, 1982 when Barney Clark became the first recipient of an artificial heart transplant, which was performed by the medical staff at the University of Utah Medical Center. Although Barney Clark was the center of attention, there were many events that led up to this historical moment. The development of the artificial heart began in the early 1950’s. The initial prototype, developed in 1970’s by the artificial developmental staff at the University of Utah, allowed 50 hours of sustained life in a sheep. Although this was called a success, the implantation of the artificial heart left the sheep in a weakened state. It wasn’t until late 1970’s and the early 1980’s where the improvement of the artificial heart actually received attention as a possible alternative to a heart transplant. The remodeled product of the early 1970’s did more than just the 50 hours of sustained life; it enabled the cow to live longer and to live a relatively normal life, with the exception of a machine attached to the animal. With this improvement, Dr. Willem J. Kolff, the head of the artificial developmental program at the University of Utah, and Dr. William DeVries, the head cardiac surgeon at the University of Utah, decided to take this device further. They wanted to develop a heart based on the heart tested in farm animals, to place into a human. This was done with the help of Dr. Robert Jarvik who developed the Jarvik-7. This device was made of plastic and aluminum. With all that they had accomplished, the staff at the University of Utah’s artificial development program still had to wait 2 years before they found the right candidate for the project. Often, when the heart of an individual fails, the brain, the intestines, and the lungs will usually fail as well. Thus in choosing an individual, they had to find a person who only had cardiac complications and no associated organ failure. They also had to find a patient that was not eligible for a traditional heart transplant.

Motivating Employees in an Organisation Essay

Motivating Employees in an Organization S Santosh Contents Chapter 12 Chapter 25 Chapter 310 Chapter 415 Chapter 1 Motivation: Concepts and Theories Defining motivation The word â€Å"motivation† comes from the Latin word movere – â€Å"to move. † And managers often view motivation in exactly those terms (â€Å"I need to get my people moving! â€Å"). Motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action. General motivation is concerned with effort towards any goal, whereas effort towards Organizational goals reflects work-related behavior. Many contemporary authors have also defined the concept of motivation. Motivation has been defined as: the psychological process that gives behavior purpose and direction (Kreitner, 1995); a predisposition to behave in a purposive manner to achieve specific, unmet needs (Buford, Bedeian, & Lindner, 1995); an internal drive to satisfy an unsatisfied need (Higgins, 1994); and the will to achieve (Bedeian, 1993). For this paper, motivation is operationally defined as the inner force that drives individuals to accomplish personal and organizational goals. We mainly deal with the motivating employees in an organization towards the organizational goal for the benefit of both the organization and the employee. Understanding what motivates employees and how they are motivated was the focus of many researchers following the publication of the Hawthorne Study results (Terpstra, 1979). Motivation Theories and concepts While there are many theories on motivation, the seven major approaches that have led to our understanding of motivation are the following: †¢ According to Maslow, employees have five levels of needs (Maslow, 1943): physiological, safety, social, ego, and self- actualizing. Maslow argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need would motivate employees. †¢ Herzberg’s work categorized motivation into two factors: motivators and hygiene (Herzberg, Mausner, ; Snyderman, 1959). Motivator or intrinsic factors, such as achievement and recognition, produce job satisfaction. Hygiene or extrinsic factors, such as pay and job security, produce job dissatisfaction. †¢ McClelland’s Theory of Needs which focuses on three needs, namely need for Achievement, Need for power, Need for affiliation.

What Does TTC on a French Receipt Mean

The French acronym TTC stands for toutes taxes comprises (all taxes incuded), and lets you know the grand total that you will actually be paying for a product or service. Most prices are quoted as  TTC, but not all, so its best to pay attention to the fine print on your receipt. European Union VAT The main tax in question is the TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutà ©e) or VAT,  a  value-added tax  on  goods  and services that  European Union  (EU) members like France must pay to maintain the EU. The EU  does  not collect the tax, but  each  EU member state  adopts an EU-compliant value-added tax. Different rates of VAT apply in different EU member states, ranging from 17  to 27 percent.  The VAT each member state collects is part of what determines how much each state contributes to the EUs budget. EU VAT, known by its local name in each country (TVA in France)  is charged by a business and paid by its customers. Businesses pay VAT but are usually able to recover it through offsets or credits. The final consumer does not receive a credit for VAT paid. The result is that each supplier in the chain remits tax on the value added, and the tax is ultimately  paid by the end consumer. If VAT is Included, Its TTC; Without, Its HT In France, as we mentioned, VAT is called TVA (taxe sur la valeur ajoutà ©e). If you are not charged TVA, your receipt will provide a total due thats  HT, which stands for hors taxe (the base price without  TVA).  If the receipt itself is HT, it might say, total partiel;  HT  in English might be any of the following: subtotal, without tax, net price, pre-tax. (In the case of online purchases, HT does not include shipping charges either.) Youll usually see HT in promotional flyers and stores for big-ticket items, so you have to remember that youll actually be paying considerably more. If you want to know more, read  La TVA, comment à §a marche  ?  (How Does the TVA Work?) French TVA Varies From 5.5 to 20 Percent The amount of TVA owed varies according to what you are purchasing. For most goods and services, French TVA is 20 percent. Food and non-alcoholic drinks are taxed at 10 percent or 5.5 percent, depending on whether they are intended for immediate or delayed consumption. The TVA on transportation and lodging is 10 percent. For details on rates for other goods and services as well as information about the rate changes that occurred on January 1, 2014, see  Comment appliquer les diffà ©rents taux de TVA  ? (How Do You Apply the Different TVA Rates?) A TTC Conversation If youre not good at math, you can either request the prix TTC (tax-included price)  or use an online calculator at  htttc.fr. Here is a typical exchange between customer and salesperson about calculating TTC:Le prix pour cet ordinateur-là  , cest TTC ou HT  ?   Does the price for that computer include tax or not?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cest HT, Monsieur.   Its before tax, sir.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pouvez-vous mindiquer le prix TTC, sil vous plaà ®t  ?   Could you please tell me the price including tax?