Knowledge Worker Paper-Sheila Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge Worker Paper-Sheila - Essay Example ry assets of organizations in recent decades, more so, because of the highly competitive nature of the business environment which constantly pushes businesses to engage in the development of strategies, tools and techniques to maximize efficiency. This paper addresses the key questions regarding the concept of knowledge workers and traces their development from a historical context. Moreover, the analysis also examines the functions of knowledge workers as a part of the wider organizational framework through the application of a comparison matrix. For the purposes of understanding why organizational needs and requirements have been shaped in such a manner where the need to recruit knowledge workers has become so indispensible, it is important to identify a simultaneous rise in the significance of knowledge creation and accumulation in the organization. In current circumstances where competitive standings have prompted organizations to secure technologies and techniques to contribute towards the enhancement of their operations, the acquisition of knowledge remains a top priority. As noted by Lewis (2004), organizational needs to advance the establishment of knowledge systems can be identified in the development of models and frameworks which support this need. For example, models such as transactive memory systems or TMS contribute towards the knowledge worker spectrum and represent the progress which has been achieved in this regard from the starting point. Additionally, the realm of knowledge acquisition and creation has thus far developed into a system whereby individuals do not essentially comprise of the system but in fact, ‘knowledge worker teams’ are being formed to cope with the rising demand for knowledge acquisition and creation across firms. Moreover, it also important to identify how the development of the knowledge worker concept has began to integrate itself within the scope of human resource practices. This aspect coincides with the

Assess the contribution made by the Jesuits Essay Example for Free

Assess the contribution made by the Jesuits Essay The Jesuits are not only indicative of the developments in Catholic faith and theology but they also made a significant contribution in the Counter Reformation movement. On a theological level, the Jesuits helped the Catholics to express their faith- a critical ingredient to Catholic revival. The Jesuits made the Church infinitely stronger and better equipped to face the future in 1600 than it had been half a century earlier. Spain, Italy and Portugal remained firmly Catholic while ground was recovered all over southern Germany and the Habsburg lands and eventually Poland and Rome were won back to Rome. Seeing as the Reformation was on a theological plane, the Catholic response also existed along a theological plane. The Jesuits were part of a wide movement in the Church that had existed since the fifteenth century where a high level of interest was place in meditative prayer and charitable works. When these two concepts overlapped, the notion emerged whereby spiritual satisfaction could be expressed in a methodical way of life. The Jesuits were a vehicle through which this could happen. After the Council of Trent the Catholic Church, armed with its Tridentine decrees, placed renewed emphasis on continuous prayer, self-control and improvement, and particularly charity. The Church was looking for a more practical religion where people could be actively involved, as argued by John Bossy. An organisation that was a manifestation of these developments were the Jesuits. By joining the Jesuits ones sense of spirituality was enhanced and such theological challenges that were desired would be provided. Norvegus was one such Jesuit who undertook the spiritual challenge were he did the challenging task successfully of persuading Scandinavian theology students in the 1580s to be Catholic. The Jesuits had great security in their faith, shown, for instance, by their willingness at one point to do charitable works in Hamburg only to be lynched. The Jesuits had such devout members for their methods of the four main stages of training, or weeks as they were knows, were totally unique. The Jesuit would take the individual and train them up to moral standard whereby they could be presented to the church at the end of the process as someone who was spiritually and ethically strong. The members of the Jesuits were thus indifferent to the world and its pleasures yet were equipped to work within it. The Church, to its great advantage, was thus equipped with members who were certain of their faith and in their knowledge of God. The Jesuits were important in a spiritual sense for through their spiritual exercises they emphasised the important theological issue derived from an Aristotelian idea where the mind is employed to contemplate suffering of Christ and God. Loyola takes this a stage further when he proposes that the mind can be used to motivate us into good and charitable apostolic action. From Loyolas contemplation for achieving love he outlines how you can meditate to understand, as suggested when he said, Take my freedom, my memory, my understanding and use me as you wish. The ultimate outcome is that individuals had increased understanding of God that it was possible to become totally servile. With such members, it was inevitable that the Catholic faith strengthened. The Jesuit theology was important in justifying Papal dominance. A great manifestation of the developments towards a more practical faith was the spiritual exercises. In theological terms, the spiritual exercises placed a great emphasis on Papal hierarchy. Hierarchy within the Church could now be justified by theology and this validation of this much disputed factor to Catholicism enabled the Church to produce a strong front. Such comments of Loyola as I will believe that the white object I see is black if that be the will of the hierarchal Church suggests the importance of obedience and hierarchy which the Jesuits so promoted. The Jesuits were part of the move towards Catholic revival not only through realising the importance of the Churchs abuses and poor administration but also through challenging the Lutherans. An essential role of the Jesuits to aiding the Catholic faith was the recovering of lost souls in Lutheran territory as well as persuading people out of Europe to convert to Catholicism. A fine example was set by Francis Xavier who became the best know Christian missionary of modern time. He tried to educate the people of the East, particularly in Japan and India on the values of Christianity. The conversion of non-Christians was Loyolas initial motivation in founding his Society and he realised its importance right back in the 1540s when the Jesuits were established. The Papacy also viewed the order as one where their principle function was converting individuals to Catholicism, but particularly those who were Lutheran. As shown by the title given by the Papacy, Regimi militantis ecclesiae, when the order was founded in 1542, they were viewed as an almost militant organisation who could counter the Lutherans with their total obedience to the Pope. The Jesuits would not have received the Papal Bull and this particular title if the Catholics did not realise there would be a spiritual armed struggle between the Jesuits and Luther.

The Problems of Southern California Essay -- essays research papers

From reading the author’s book â€Å"Ecology of Fear,† Mike Davis’ main thesis for writing this book was to make readers become aware of the underlying problems and threats which have existed or currently exist in Southern California and how these problems shape the way we live today and in the imminent future as well. Although Davis did not really provide us with any remedies for the problems facing Southern California, this book made it very clear to the readers that problems do still exist, although at times they may sound subtle in nature. Of the numerous problems which do exist in Southern California, I will discuss only a handful of the problems that Davis provided us insight to. In the following paragraphs, the main problems of Southern California that I will discuss about are suburbanization and how it made Southern California lose its natural beauty and the effects of overdevelopment, the wild fires which occur and similarities and differences the rich and poor communities faced in terms of adversity, how suburbanization brought people closer to the wildlife, and how numerous books and movies portrayed Los Angeles as the center for calamities. The culmination of all these problems clearly shows that there are many glaring weaknesses of Southern California that need to be closely examined. One of the main issues that the book, â€Å"Ecology of Fear,† discussed about were the inherent dangers and problems that suburbanization imposed upon the landscape of Southern California. Although suburbanization in theory and in reality did create abundant benefits to a great mass of people, especially to those who wanted to avoid the daily nuisances of urban city life, its negative consequences were quite grave indeed. Suburbanization led to a complete eradication to the natural landscape of many areas in California. The book’s vivid accounts of how the lush, green landscape was bulldozed just to build tracts of homes were a painful reminder of the beauty that was lost due to suburbanization. â€Å"In 1958 sociologist William Whyte – author of The Organization Man – had a disturbing vision as he was leaving Southern California. ‘Flying from Los Angeles to San Bernardino – an unnerving lesson in man’s infinite capacity to mess up his environment – the traveler can see a legion of bulldozers gnawing into the last remaining tract of green between the two cities’.† (Davis, p. 77)... ...larly to Los Angelenos, that disaster could become a reality of Los Angeles if people start ignoring the warning signs that permeate throughout Southern California. From reading Mike Davis’ book â€Å"Ecology of Fear,† my personal impression of his argument of making Southern Californians to become aware of the underlying threats and problems which exist today or have existed in the past is a commendable act on his part, but I really feel Davis overanalyzed the problems Southern Californians face. Throughout the book, Davis painted a very gloomy picture of Southern California and he never really brought a positive spin on the problems that exist in Southern California and how we can take steps to remedy these problems. Also, Davis should have recognized the fact that problems exist in other parts of the United States as well and they are not just confined to Southern California. The problems of Southern California is not all that different from the rest of the nation, which faces similar disasters that are comparable to earthquakes and wild fires, such as tornadoes, floods, thunderstorms, etc. So, in essence, problems exist in all societies and cultures and that is the reality of life.

Why Was Slavery Abolished in 1807/1833?

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade which began in the early 16th century, gained ground in the following three centuries and was eventually abolished in the 1800s. By the late 18th century, the British population began to find the slave trade both morally and financially disagreeable. The four main factors which contributed to the abolition of the slave trade were the campaigns of the white middle class, the mass support from the white working class, the protestations by the black slaves and the economic impracticality of the trade. The abolition was successful mainly due to the effort of the middle class, which surged ahead in its demands for the freedom of the African slaves and was amply backed by the other three factors. _____________ One could argue that the white middle class campaigners were the prime influence in the abolition of the slave trade, as they initiated and persisted with the anti-slavery movement. The campaigners ranged from uneducated yet enlightened people like Granville Sharp, through Methodist clerics like George Fox, to established politicians like William Wilberforce. They were appalled at the inhuman treatment meted out to the African slaves and took it upon themselves to fight for their freedom. This contributed greatly to the final abolition of the trade. George Fox, the pioneer of the movement, founded a group called the ‘Quakers’, which comprised of evangelical white campaigners who believed in the Christian values of equality in the eyes of God. In 1783, they sent their first petition to the Parliament in which they wrote ‘that a nation professing the Christian Faith, should so far counteract the principles of humanity and justice as by a cruel treatment of this oppressed race, to fill their minds with prejudices against the mild and beneficent doctrines of the Gospel’; aiming this argument towards the religious members of Parliament. A similar petition was sent to Parliament two years later. Their speeches, essays and letters conveyed that their ‘fellow-creatures’ who were held in ‘cruel bondage’ were ‘entitled to the natural rights of mankind’, thereby appealing to the moral passions of both the Parliament and the public. While the written word was used to persuade the Parliament to pass the bill, the spoken word was used to raise awareness and convince the masses to join the cause. Granville Sharp, a prominent abolitionist, was an apprentice to a Quaker linen draper until he quit after learning about the treatment of black slaves. He took up the case of a slave, Jonathan Strong, in 1765. Strong ran away after being brutally beaten by his owner. Sharp was moved by Strong’s condition and took the case to court where justice was served to Strong after three years. After the case gained publicity, Sharp became more involved in the abolition of the slave trade. William Wilberforce, a member of the House of Commons and a famous abolitionist also played an important role in the campaign as he gave the blacks and the public a voice in the Parliament. He personally knew William Pitt, the prime minister, and therefore had a lot of influence in the Parliament, which helped him gain support for the campaign. In addition to the abolitionists, white working and middle class women involved themselves in the movement. Names of Mary Birkett, Hannah More, the writer of the ‘Sorrows of Yamba’ and Mary Wollstonecraft are worthy of mention. The cause of the slaves gave women the opportunity to stand up for something they believed strongly in. They, along with the men, boycotted slave-grown products like sugar, rum and cotton. That they contributed considerably to this movement is borne out by the fact that 10% of the subscriptions to the Abolition Society were women. Art and literature also played an important part in the success of the white middle class campaigns. The middle class’ targeted the educated and the Parliament through art and literature. They argued that poets such as Wordsworth and Coleridge also wrote about slavery in their works. The abolitionists cited poems like William Cowper’s ‘The Negro’s Complaint’ to convince the Parliament that if ‘enlightened’ romantics like Cowper and Wordsworth found the slave trade unacceptable, they ought to be taken seriously. Josiah Wedgewood, a potter by profession, created the Wedgwood medallion. From 1787 until his death in 1795, Wedgwood actively participated in the abolition of slavery cause. His ‘slave medallion’ with the inscriptions Am I Not a Man and a Brother, showing a black man in a supplicatory pose attracted the public’s attention. It soon became an identity of the campaign and was seen everywhere, on ornaments, tobacco pipes and hair pins. The white middle class campaigners tried to appeal to as many sections of society as possible. Their Christian teachings attracted the evangelicals; they gained mass support from the working class with their speeches and introduced the movement to the upper class and Parliament with petitions. They focused on raising awareness and their emotional arguments convinced the public to espouse the cause of the slaves. _________________ Another factor that greatly affected the abolition of the slave trade was the support of the white working class. Their support was gained through the influence of the white middle class campaigners. The working class took action by signing petitions which were sent to the Parliament. In 1788, over one hundred petitions defending African slaves were presented to the House of Commons in the span of three months. The sheer number of people who had signed these put the Parliament under pressure to comply and deliver to the masses what they wanted, for fear of revolts and rebellions. The British regime had to manage rebellions in the slave colonies of Barbados, Haiti, Cuba, America and such like and could not afford their own people revolting. The working class used mass support a means of forcing the Parliament to agree to their proposition to abolish slavery. In Manchester in 1778, 10,000 people signed a petition to the Parliament and one year later, an additional 10 thousand people signed yet another petition. In 1792, 592 letters and proposals were sent to the Government, once again urging them to take proactive measures. _______________ Because of the vital role the African slaves played in the struggle for their freedom, it could be said that their influence was most crucial to the abolition of the slave trade. Their discontentment and rebellions pushed the Parliament to consider abolition of this trade. They resisted capture and imprisonment and black mutinies, such as the infamous mutiny on the ship Amistad which carried black slaves, were not an uncommon occurrence. Many pregnant slaves preferred abortion to giving birth to a chattel slave. Very few people in Britain knew about the maltreatment of slaves until some slaves like Olaudah Equiano bought their freedom and spoke of their wretched lives in the colonies. Equiano wrote an autobiography titled ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African’ in which he exposed the atrocities perpetrated on slaves, including the mass killing on the slave ship Zong. The impression he made on the British populace inspired many other black slaves to revolt and buy their freedom. Toussaint Louverture, another slave, rebelled against authorities by leading the Haitian Revolutions which put a lot of pressure on the Parliament which feared a chain reaction of similar events. The Parliament could not, however, take action because they had not yet taken a legal stance on the trade. No laws or bills had been passed to legalise the slave trade, nor had any been proposed to abolish it. The Parliament had to make a decision, which they did in 1807, and their choice to abolish the slave trade was influenced greatly by the riots and rebellions of the African slaves. _________________ In addition to reasons cited above, the economic impracticality of continuing with the slave trade contributed to its abolition, although it was relatively less important. With America becoming independent in 1776, it was no longer obliged to trade with British sugar colonies such as Barbados and Jamaica, and instead traded with the French and the Dutch. The import of sugar in Britain also decreased dramatically and was replaced by cotton, causing the textile industry during Industrial Revolution to flourish. The Industrial revolution which began in 1750 and picked up pace by the early 1800s relied on the growth of technology, therefore making manual labour redundant. These economic reasons finally gave everyone a reason to abolish the slave trade and therefore, in 1807 the first bill against slavery was passed. ________________ Of the four factors that spurred the Parliament to abolish slavery, the campaigns made by the white middle class were most important. The revolution was sparked off by the campaigners’ efforts to raise awareness of the condition of the slaves. Although the slave expressed their discontentment through revolts, they did not ruffle the feathers of the Parliament. It was not until the middle class protested against the practice that the Parliament considered abolition of the slave trade. It was the middle class’ campaigning that not only emboldened the black slaves to step up the intensity of their protests, but also swept up the support and empathy of the working class for the cause. The middle class, headed by Wilberforce, also submitted petitions to the Parliament, making them aware of the demands of the public. The middle class campaigning, however, could not have achieved what they did without the support of the masses and the persistence f the black slaves. The fact that the slave trade was not economically viable too was important and finally gave the Parliament a reason to abolish the slave trade. The Parliament had little to lose and could also support a movement that sweeping the nation and therefore, the economic factors created a big change in the Parliament’s final decision to abolish slavery, but had the white middl e class campaigners not initiated the movement, slavery may have taken a considerably long time to be eridicated and this abhorrent practice may have still been alive today. The efforts of the white middle class campaigners, the empathy of the white working class, the perseverant struggles of the African slaves and the realization by the Parliament of the economic futility of continuing with the slave trade bore fruit and the abolition act of 1833 was passed.

Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave: The Experience of Reality Essay

The Allegory of the Cave In the Allegory of the Cave it is explain how reality is different for everybody. Not all of us have the same view of what reality is, most of us believe in what we see and that is the reality we know and the one we believe in. In this allegory we hear the story of prisoners who are chained in a cave just looking at a wall in front of them, behind them there is a fire and between that fire and them there is way, here is where people pass by and when this happens, the prisoners are able to see their shadows and this, for them is the reality. Then a prisoner is freed, and he is allow to go out of the cave and see the real world, here is where they learn that the shadows are not at all the reality, they learn more things about the world and then he goes again into the cave to tell his friends but they don’t believe this, because they only see him as a shadow and the stories they heard from him they are not even able to hear them. I believe that everybody has a different point of view of what reality is; everybody has their own theory of how they see life and how they experience it. In my opinion I think that most people believe that reality is what they see and that there is nothing else beyond that, but of course there are people that believe there is something beyond than what we see.

Pablo Picasso Essays (390 words) - Pablo Picasso, School Of Paris

Pablo Picasso Essays (390 words) - Pablo Picasso, School Of Paris Pablo Picasso Pablo R. Picasso is generally considered in his technical virtuosity, enormous versatility, and incredible originality and prolifically to have been the foremost figure in 20th-century art. Pablo Picasso delivered at 11:15 P.M. in Malaga, a city in southern Spain, on October 25, 1881. He almost died at birth. If it had not been for the presence of his uncle, Dr. Salvador Ruiz, the infant might never have came to life. He could not draw a breath, so his uncle blew cigar smoke into his face. It would be his first triumph over death. Picasso was the son of Jose Ruiz Blasco, an art teacher, and Maria Picasso y Lopez. Picasso was a genius at a very early age. Academically Picasso was an incredibly meager student and did not excel in math. He would draw in class rather than work, his attention span was very short. It was thought later that he had dyslexia. In 1895 a professor at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona offered to trade positions with his father, so the family moved to La Coruna. Soon after the family settled down, his father decided it was time that Pablo undertook the formal study of art. As a faculty member his father pulled some strings. He convinced the school officials to allow his son to take the examination for admission into the advanced classes, which were meant for students far more sophisticated then Pablo. The exam required two charcoal drawings of living models. His uncle Salvador paid models to pose for him so that he could paint realistically. He completed his drawings within a weeks time, a quarter of the time most students took. An awed jury admitted the young candidat e to the school immediately. He won a gold medal for his unbelievably realistic painting of a doctor, a nun, and a child at a sick woman's bed entitled Science and Charity. In 1897 Picasso passed the entrance exam at the Royal Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. To be derived from other work of art and not directly from nature Pablo Picasso's Meaning of art. Pablo Picasso, probably the most prolific artist of all time, has expressed himself with equal virtuosity in painting, drawing, sculpture, graphics and ceramics. He has influenced artist in every medium to which he has put his hand.

How To Use Si, the Word for If in Spanish

How To Use Si, the Word for If in Spanish Usually, if and its Spanish equivalent, si, are used to form what are known as conditional sentences. Although the rules of Spanish grammar for conditional sentences can get complex, in the vast majority of cases the main thing you need to know is which verb tense to use after si. Verb Tense in Spanish If Sentences The first thing is to remember that except in very rare cases, si is never followed by a verb in the present-tense subjunctive mood. That said, there are basically two types of si clauses that become part of a sentence: Sentences in which the condition is likely or reasonably likely. This is known grammatically as an open condition. For example, in the clause si llueve (if it rains), rain is seen as a distinct possibility.Sentences in which the condition is contrary to fact or is unlikely. For example, the clause si lloviera can be translated as if it were to rain. Note the difference in meaning from the example above; in this case, while rain is a possibility, it is seen as unlikely. An example of a contrary-to-fact condition is a clause such as si yo fuera rico, if I were rich. Grammatically, contrary-to-fact and unlikely conditions are treated the same way. The correct verb tense following si can be observed in the above examples. In open conditions, conditions where the possibility is reasonably likely, si is followed by the present indicative tense (the most common tense, probably the first one you learned as a Spanish student). If the condition is unlikely or false, a past subjunctive (usually the imperfect subjunctive) is used. This is the case even when the condition is something that refers to the present. In Spanish, as in English, the si clause can either precede or follow the rest of the sentence. Thus a sentence such as si llueve voy de compras (if it rains Im going shopping) is the equivalent of voy de compras si llueve (Im going shopping if it rains). Sample Sentences Using Si Here are some examples of open conditions: Si tengo dinero, me irà © de viaje. (If I have money, Ill go on a trip. The fact of having money is seen as reasonably likely.)Si la casa es usada, le aconsejamos que un profesional la inspeccione. (If the house is used, we advise that you have a professional inspect it. A sentence like this might be used in giving advice, where the condition here is seen as a real possibility.)Si lo quieres,  ¡pà ­delo! (If you want it, ask for it!)Van a salir si el presidente y los otros ladrones ganan las elecciones. (They are going to leave if the president and the other thieves win the elections.)Si sales, salgo tambià ©n. (If you leave, Im leaving too.)Si gana Sam, voy a llorar. (If Sam wins, Ill cry.) Here are some examples of unlikely or contrary-to-fact conditions: Si yo fuera tà º, tomarà ­a una responsabilidad propia. (If I were you, I would take appropriate responsibility. There is no possibility that I will become you.)Si yo tuviera dinero, irà ­a al cine. (If I had the money, I would go to the movies. The speaker is saying she doesnt have the money. If the present tense were used, si tengo dinero, she would be saying there is a reasonable likelihood of having money.)Mi hermana irà ­a muchas veces a la playa si supiera nadar. (My sister would go to the beach often if she knew how to swim.)Si ella hubiera tenido dinero, habrà ­a ido al cine. (If she had had the money, she would have gone to the movies.)Si ganara Sam, llorarà ­a. (If Sam were to win, Id cry.) A Quick Note About Writing The word si should not be confused with sà ­, a common word of affirmation, often translated as yes. The latter word is always spelled with a written or orthographic accent to distinguish the two, although they are pronounced identically. Key Takeaways When si (meaning if) is followed by a verb, the verb is in the present indicative if the condition stated is true or probable.When si is followed by a verb, the verb is in a past subjunctive if the condition stated is false or improbable.The past subjunctive is used for improbabilities even if the condition stated is one that applies to the present time.