Reflection on Ethnicity Essays -- Reflection Essay

Our increased mobility has given us greater access to the world and the diverse people that inhabit it. With that mobility comes the shared responsibility to negotiate with people who may initially seem unfamiliar and learn to express the experience. The word â€Å"ethnicity† is used to describe a specific population’s characteristics of fundamental aspects that all humans share. When applied loosely, ethnicity becomes a blanket term to define large populations, undermining the worth and the diversity within that group and emphasizing the differences between cultures. Yet those differences come down to matters of preference and socialization within each culture. The dominant themes that rule human nature persist in every society – wondering where we came from and why we exist, social mores to guide how we relate to people or situations, and primal motivations such as hunger, fear, and a need to be loved and accepted. People communicate with language, have a sense of family structure, practice culinary habits, beliefs, and social values that evolved concurrent with the compounded revisions of a group’s public space and collective perception of reality. Over time, ethnic groups have interacted and negotiated public realms similar to the method each separate population underwent to develop into its present framework. We continue to co-mingle cultures, borrowing tastes that suit our own self-definition and determination. The definition of what is â€Å"right† and what is valued varies fr...

Operation Just Cause Essay -- Foreign Policy

Observing the political path of Manuel Noriega from being a paid CIA operative and ally of the American government, to military governor of Panama, to ousted dictator, to convicted American prisoner, exposes a series of political interactions that culminated in Operation Just Cause on December 20, 1989. Coming in the shadow of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and preceding Operation Desert Storm, this brief military action is often overshadowed by the other world conflicts of the time. How does a county the size of America justify invasion of the tiny Panamanian isthmus? How does a dictator such as Manuel Noriega justify declaring war on the United States. Given the great disparity between these two nations, understanding these questions can help interpret their nature. In order to answer these questions, the events leading up to the violent confrontation help establish each nations’ political position and offer insight into their own justifications to engage in military acti on. The realist and Marxist political perspective theories can be used by analyzing and different levels the justification of armed action involving these two nations. Throughout the 1970s and early 80s, Manuel Noriega was an asset to the United States as he worked closely with the Central Intelligence Agency (The Associated Press). As Noriega’s political strength increased in the early 80s, so did the tensions with the Reagan Administration. These increased tensions led to increasing encounters between Noriega’s Panama Defense Forces and American servicemen and civilians stationed in Panama (Phillips). According to the U.S. Army Center of Military History, â€Å"there were over 300 incidences of U.S. military personnel and family members' having experienced... ...including removing Noriega and his regime from power and re-establishing a democratic government, which may be justifiable from an American perspective, however the 20,000 displaced Panamanian citizens may not concur (Phillips). So justification is subjective only to one’s perspective. Works Cited Mingst, Karen A. Essentials of International Relations. New York : W.W. Norton & Co., 2008. Operation Just Cause. 06 April 2012 . Phillips, R. Cody. "Operation Just Cause: The Incursion into Panama." 1990. Rosenthal, Andrew. "The Attack: U.S. Troops Gain Wide Control in Panama." The New York Times 21 December 1989. The Associated Press. Key dates for ex-Panama dictator Manuel Noriega. 27 April 2010. 7 April 2012 .

Chivalric Code in Beowulf

The Importance of the Retainer and King in the Heroic Code Members of the Anglo-Saxon warrior society subscribed to an ethos that celebrated the heroic code. In the passage from Beowulf, the poet’s interest in the duties of a loyal retainer and the duties of a great king are evident in the specific language he uses to describe Beowulf’s encounter with the dragon. In one specific passage of this poem, Beowulf is portrayed as an ideal retainer by the loyalty, courage and fealty to the king he possesses.At the beginning of this passage, Beowulf reflects on King Hygelac and the many sacrifices and deeds he provided to Beowulf during his youth. A sorrowful mood is brought upon this specific text, as Beowulf reminisces on the death of Hygelac, â€Å"I marched ahead of him, always there/ at the front of the line; and I shall fight like that/ for as long as I live†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Beowulf 2497-2499). Beowulf acknowledges how privileged he is to have a life of luxury and obtain s uch wisdom inherited by Hygelac.If it was not for Hygelac, Beowulf would not have survived such a long, prosperous life, mentoring Hygelac’s son and soon holding the throne himself. As Beowulf prepares to fight the dragon, he easily allows the warriors to stand their place and not go any further. Demonstrating his courage, Beowulf states: This fight is not yours, nor is it up to any man except me to measure his strength against the monster or to prove his worth.I shall win the gold by my courage, or else mortal combat, doom of battle, will bear your lord away. (2532-2535) He believes that terminating the dragon is the duty only he can accomplish as well as longing for a feeling of satisfaction as he seeks the glory of winning the battle and knowing he has demolished the risk of danger his people will have to face. Based on the duration of this poem, Beowulf is accustomed to the warrior duties and later on the lifestyle of a king. These two titles have very distinct roles in A nglo-Saxon society.Beowulf, as a young warrior need not much to worry about status and having the knowledge that his people are safe and satisfied. He then gains wisdom as he witnesses Hygelac’s form of generosity towards him and his people, â€Å"The treasures that Hygelac lavished on me†¦He gave me land/ and the security land brings, so he had no call/ to go looking for some lesser champion,† (2490-2494). Beowulf demonstrates Hygelac as a loyal lord, true to his people; in return Beowulf brings himself forward as a tribute to fight the dragon.As Beowulf earns the chance to hold the throne as king later on in the poem, it is evident that the responsibilities he held were much to his advantage when the time of battle arose against the dragon. His full awareness, â€Å"‘†¦as king of the people I shall pursue this fight/ for the glory of winning, if the evil one will only/ abandon his earth-fort and face me in the open. ’† (2513-2515) Beowul f, as king and warrior only interprets as a right-doing to go into battle with the dragon, knowing his life is at risk.Towards the conclusion of this passage, Beowulf falls and has no choice but, â€Å"to give ground like that and go/ unwillingly to inhabit another home/ in a place beyond;† (2588-2590). Beowulf is true to his fellow citizens and attempts to provide to their needs even if it means losing the battle and sacrificing his life, which was the case in this poem. From this passage, it is evidently shown that Beowulf can not only hold a title of a loyal retainer with his endless amount of courage but also a grand lord, with unlimited sacrifice to his citizens. Word Count: 578

Counselling Skills Essay

1. Briefly describe in your own words what is meant by the term ‘counselling’. Counselling is a type of therapy offered to people who is experiencing any difficulties or troubles in life. Counselling gives them a chance to explore and address their problems and to figure out and decide how to deal with these problems emotionally and move on in their life. 2. What factors may make it difficult for a client to commit to counselling? What could you do to help overcome these barriers? Quite often, some people find it difficult or awkward talking to their family and friends about personal issues and are able when talking to a counsellor lay all their cards out on a table. However some people may find it daunting about telling a complete stranger what’s happening in their lives or perhaps worried about how they are going to be perceived by other people by seeking help. It might simply be because they are a closed person emotionally and is unable to open up. I would try to overcome these barriers by first establishing a lot of trust in my relationship as counsellor and client. When established the trust between my client I would then encourage them to talk openly about their issues and reassure them about the importance of confidentiality and absolutely no-one would have to know that they have been for counselling. 3. What are the ‘Core Counselling skills’? Briefly describe each one. 1. Genuineness – Being true, honest, authentic and completely non fake. 2. Acceptance – Completely accepting the client for who they are and not judging them in any way. Being impartial. 3. Empathy – Putting yourself in the client’s shoes, being able to identify with and understand their problems. 4. In your opinion, what are the most important skills required for effective counselling? Justify your answer. I believe the most important skills that are effective for counselling are Empathy, Acceptance, Compassion and genuineness. I think that if you cannot empathize with somebody then it is almost impossible to counsel them. If you cannot imagine what it is like to be their position then you cannot try to help them. I believe acceptance is important because if you allow your own  personal views and opinions get in the way then this will affect how well your therapy sessions go and what the result will be in the end. I believe it is important to be impartial. This is a principle that I use as a volunteer up the Citizens Advice Bureau. I believe compassion and genuineness are important skills because if the client thinks that you are not a compassionate, caring genuine person then they will not want you to counsel them. It will be almost impossible to gain any trust between the client and they will not open up and talk about their problems. Thus therapy will be a complete and utter waste of time for them. For example if somebody wants counselling for depression and are having suicidal thoughts, and you appear uncaring, then this might add to their own feelings of worthlessness and could potentially make the client worse. 5. Think about a time when you helped someone. Write a transcript of what happened and identify any particular counselling skills you employed. You should also make a reference to SOLER within your answer. I’m a big fan of the social networking site known as ‘Facebook’ and over time I noticed that someone who I’m friends with on there which I am only going to refer to as ‘M’ seemed very depressed and down in the dumps. Nearly everything she posted on Facebook was dark and depressing. At the time I didn’t know her that well and had only seen her around the area which I live. I eventually decided that I would Message M to see if she fancied a chat sometime and that I had noticed from the things that she had been saying that she seemed very unhappy. Over a period of time we started talking regularly, general chit chat mostly, and eventually she told me that she suffered from a mental illness called BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and that she is Bipolar. I decided to research BPD and to try to find out more about it. I learnt that BPD sufferers can have extreme mood swings, going from feeling wonderful one minute to suicidal the next. During our chats online I told M that if she ever wanted someone to talk to then I would always be there to listen. She told me of her feelings of lack of self worth and that in her opinion nobody really cared about her, or wanted to listen, not even her friends would make that much of an effort. She assumed that because of her mental health condition, not many people would be willing to get to know her. I was very persistent with M, reassuring her that I wanted to listen to her problems. I established a lot of trust with M because otherwise she  would not of told me these things. After a while I suggested to M about going for a coffee and a chat. I sat opposite her in the cafà ©, maintaining eye contact with her and leaning towards her slightly, interested in everything she had to say. As we talked I noticed that there was deep slash marks on both of her wrists. I asked her about them and She told me that she had tried to kill herself many times and that it made her feel better by cutting herself. That was when I decided that my own personal goal was to try and inject some positivity into this girls life and maybe over time she would not cut herself anymore? This girl needed to know that people did care about her and she wasn’t the horrible person she thought she was. After that we met up several times and even to this day we talk online, she has often thanked me for listening to her and has made me feel very good about myself. I think she is very appreciative to have someone who is genuinely interested in her thoughts and feelings. I can definitely empathize with M because in the past I have personally suffered from Anxiety and Paranoia, thus making me feel very down in the dumps and I also believed at the time nobody wanted to listen to me either. Iv accepted M for who she is, not letting her mental illness deter me whatsoever. I’ve learnt something new and find mental health very interesting. I think for some people that if they do not understand something then they treat it with ignorance. Hopefully over time I will help to build up her confidence but there is some very serious underlying problems as to why she cuts herself. This is an ongoing progress but I am determined to get there one day.

Child Trafficking

We talked a lot about social issues affecting human service professional since class began. We discussed the approaching of child abuse, poverty, drug abuse, school system and education, health; diverse the population and human service professional is facing every day to serve different races and poverty levels. They realized that the people they serve have differed with different values, needs, want and dignity and respect must be given to them, no matter their condition they might in or race. The human service worker must respect everyone culture and try to work with them. The social problem which I'd like to write is child trafficking. Reviewing text of child trafficking or Sex trafficking of minors refer to a number of crimes, as well as recruiting or transporting minors to sexual exploitation, exploiting them through prostitution, or exploiting them through survival sex (exchange sexual acts for something of value, such as shelter or food) is unlawful and the government need to put a stop to that.† (National Academy of Sciences, 2014). To write on child trafficking because I accept the true that many are not aware of, and they really needs to say something if you know something. Sex trafficking of children is a form of child neglect and child abuse. These problems are sensitive because working with children and seeing how affected they can be and that they suffer from being abused and hurt is something that needs to be stopped. It not only affecting them as a child as they grow into adulthood will continue to affect them. Society is also affected when we have children who by now hurt. There is a need to break this cycle in the U.S. and in other countries. The first article I read is about child trafficking in the United State and how its long term effects have on children (National Academy of Sciences, 2014). There are health issues and social problems can arise when these children to so. The article states that child trafficking is not reported or overlooked because it is happening behind closed doors. Child trafficking is impacting the U.S. because it means the children aren't getting the education, food, or nutrients they need; it becomes a recurring cycle of poverty and continuing the cycle as an adult. The article shares how many exploited children may come from a background of abuse, foster homes, homeless and sleeping in the street. Child trafficking impacts the U.S. and the law because lots of states operation is viewed through prostitution law. This impacts our juvenile system, â€Å"minors can be arrested and charged with crimes instead of treating these sexually exploited minors as victims. These children and adolescents may be arrested, adjudication or conviction, and commitment; they may have permanent records as offenders† (National Academy of Sciences, 2014). Child trafficking and abduction cases in Nigeria are now topic globally. The clarity inside the story in Nigeria of trafficking people is not only base on sexual exploitation, but children are forcefully taken from their homes brought into slavery also, forced to unwanted marriages to a man older than them, and illegal adoptions. The article I reviewed shows how child trafficking has been taken place in the country and what is been prepared to assist the children that has affected by it. Child trafficking in Nigeria is so large now that it is actually bringing the country together to ask why. The matter is pretty huge that the people are annoying and want to involve and call on the government for their support on finding these children who are unlawfully kidnapped by these traffickers. The article also states that this is being done as a â€Å"factory† type of business. The country is impacted because of poverty and lack of legal justice. It influences Nigeria by not having trust in the government. It can also influence a person's trust of whom to trust. So the long-term effects that have been accomplished now in the U.S. to evaluate child trafficking is acknowledging the fact that is happening and something need to get done, we need policymakers to call on state, local, tribal, and protective jurisdictions to expand laws and regulation to push through survivors of sexual exploitation under the age of 18 away from the accusers arrest and prosecute them. Toward systems, agencies, and services that are available to them† (National Academy of Sciences, 2014). I think training for those who work with children is needed to realize the harshness of this matter as a result so they can learn how to help these children. In Nigeria there has been out cries to help stop child trafficking and by going a step further asking for help from the outside agencies and other countries because they do not have any trust in their own country to fix the problem. Another way Nigerians are seeking to fix the problem is having private agencies work with specific areas to try to prevent before it happens. One important thing think could also be accomplish thing that could be done is to indict or prosecuting those who pay for these services. Providing the exploited children services that they need to be successful in society such as education, work, and the proper counseling through their recovery. I also believe that more funding should be remarked to the after care of those kids involved in these misdeeds.

The Duty to Intervene in Conflicts Around the World Essay

The Duty to Intervene in Conflicts Around the World - Essay Example France, Belgium, the United States, and even the United Nations, did not intervene to stop the slaughter, and instead, they decided to pull out 90% of their peacekeeping soldiers and to evacuate all white people from Rwanda (â€Å"Genocide in Rwanda†; Rwanda Genocide Documentary). Some people believe that the U.S. and other powerful nations do not have a duty to intervene. We have a duty to intervene in conflicts around the world because it is right to do something that should be a universal law and because to do so without expecting anything in return is to treat people as ends in themselves who have moral worth. At the same time, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that member states have a duty to promote universal human rights and freedoms. Moreover, I believe that it is wrong to just leave and look the other way or to not do anything, like what happened to Rwanda, because these are innocent people who are unarmed and who have no one else to protect them, no t even their government, so another government should help them out of their humanity where compassion and goodwill live in. We have a duty to intervene in conflicts around the world because it is right to do something that should be a universal law. Immanuel Kant describes in â€Å"Good Will, Duty, and the Categorical Imperative† what it means do what is good. He offers two categorical imperatives, which are commands that must be done unconditionally. The first categorical imperative is to act according to the maxim that it â€Å"should become a universal law† (152). If nations help other besieged people in other countries, this should be a universal law because it is the act of rationality to help others in dire need. It is wrong then for France, Belgium, the United States, and the United Nations to not extend help to the Tutsis whom they were aware were being systematically slaughtered.  

Compare and contrast 2 different transportation modes and 2 different Essay

Compare and contrast 2 different transportation modes and 2 different terminals - Essay Example It is also important to put into consideration the peak and off-peak periods of travel. There are a lot of similarities between air transport and the high-speed rail, more than even the similarity that is there between either the conventional rail. High speed rails tend to compete with airplanes to a large success. As such, the line normally tends to attract a premium class of travelers who give priority to high-value traveling (Hensher, 2004). High speed rail, unlike airports will however require less space. On the other hand, there is a dire need for vast spaces in the case of an airport, and the associated low-density expansion. When major stations have been directly located at the heart of a city, their economic benefit tends to be concentrated from the system. A good example is the San Francisco owned S. F. Airport. A lot of the economic advantage that accrues from this airport is normally to the benefit of the car-rentals, hotels, and restaurants that are located within the San Mateo County, as opposed to the revenue that is collected by the city. Since it is not possible for an airport to be located in San Francisco, the city can however make use of the high-speed rail. ... In addition, they can also act as an important part of a good system of transport. There are also capable of connecting rail stations in a city center to a multitude of other rail stations in other city center, in a record loading and unloading time for passengers of between 3 and 8 minutes (Dempsey, 1999). Conversely, the air transport tends to connect airports that are located in different city centers, and the average interconnectivity of the passengers ranges from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Nevertheless, if the two modes of transportation are properly designed and maintained, they normally tend to complement one another (Song et al, 2006). Usually, journeys that takes between two to three hours are best suited for high speed rail, as in such an average distance of 200 miles, the high speed rails tends to be faster than even air transport. Normally when one is traveling for a distance that is below 400 miles, air transport is slowed down by such processes as security checks, as well as the distance one has to cover to and fro the airport. In the long-run the time spent on an air journey becomes almost similar to that by a high speed rail (Rodriquez et al, 2006). Airport vs. rail terminus The early airport terminal bore the origin of their architectural designs from the then union stations of railroad. The term terminal also bears its origin from the railroad industry. Both the rail and airport terminus bears some similarities. In a case whereby the inter-modal facilities of a terminus are properly designed, it is possible for a passenger to board and exit an aircraft and a train (Dempsey, 1999). In a way, the terminus normally found in an airport tends to differ a bit from the railways terminus