Economic Policy Recommendarion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic Policy Recommendarion - Research Paper Example Relative poverty on the other hand, refers to the economic inequality that is experienced in a particular society. In the early times, poverty was a common social problem not only for the developing countries but also for the currently developed nations. The increased poverty level was not only due to insufficient and inadequate methods but also it was largely caused by the low demand of the products thus causing low production in the factories. Absolute and relative poverty are measured in different ways. According to the World Bank, $1.25 per day is the threshold for measuring absolute poverty. However, the threshold has been controversial based on the various thresholds used by some countries. For example, in 2010, the US maintained its threshold at $15.15 per day while China placed its threshold for absolute poverty at $ 0.55 per day (Banerjee and Esther, 2011). During the same year, India maintained that its threshold was standing at US$ 1.0 per day. On its part, relative povert y is depicted by the level of income inequality. It is measured by the percentage of individuals with income that is less than the median income. This paper seeks to discuss the impact of poverty and give policy recommendation on how this social problem can be solved using an economic policy. Impacts of poverty to society Poverty affects a society in different ways. One of the key effects is hunger. Due to lack of adequate funds to purchase food produce as well as lack of sufficient factors of production that includes land, labor, entrepreneurship and capital as a result of poverty, members of the society experience reduced food. The problem of hunger especially in some African countries results to illnesses that are caused by lack of vital nutrients for body growth. Another impact of poverty is unemployment. Despite the increase in population, poor countries have not adequate financial resources to initiate investment that acts as major sources of employment. As a result, high perc entage of the members of the society remains jobless thus leading to low households income and low purchasing power (Babb, 2009). Similarly, due to low income that the poor families are get either monthly or annually, they do not see the need for education. They in most cases use their low income to purchase cheap food products. As a result of lack of adequate education, and vital skills, the poor members of the society are not eligible to be employed thus raising the level of unemployment in a country. Poverty causes discrimination within a society. For example, due to their strong financial position, high income earners segregates their poor counterparts both in schools, hospitals and even in making decisions that affects the entire society. On their part, the poor individuals experiences low self esteem and inferior aspects that deteriorates their condition (Kerbo, 2006). Based on the increased cases of illnesses among the poor countries, the governments incur high costs in the f orm of low productivity and high financial expenditure on health care. Ultimately, such governments have to seek for grants from other countries or by increasing domestic taxes thus exerting more pressure on their economy. An economic policy solution to the poverty problem Based on the negative implications of poverty to the society and to a country as a whole, it is fundamental for

American Revolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

American Revolution - Research Paper Example Rousseau and Montesquieu effectively promoted republicanism, liberal thought, democratic principles and religious tolerance and therefore, served as a major predecessor to the American Revolution (Ray, 24). In addition to significant political basis for the American Revolution, economic relations formed inside American Colonies were more advanced than those in Britain, thus further escalating the movement towards independence. Political movement towards American independence started with the first Continental Congress, occurred in 1774 at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Practically, it represented a convention of delegates from twelve American colonies but the Province of Georgia. The First Continental Congress made two major political decisions with first being boycott announcement of British goods and the second - announcement of Second Continental Congress (Schecter, 39). During the latter, the United States Declaration of Independence has been declared, a major political step to the sovereignty of a young state. Furthermore, this political action triggered the ratification of the Articles of Confederation, which occurred after a year of political discussions. During the American Revolution, political progress has been continuously accompanied with military action, occurring not only on the North America territory but internationally (Higginbotham, 19). British military campaign established against the Revolutionaries has been largely concentrated in Massachusetts. According to historical opinion, the battles of Lexington and Concord are considered the official beginning of the American Revolutionary War (Higginbotham, 22). The so called Boston campaign resulted in two notable events: one of the bloodiest battles of the war - the Battle of Bunker Hill (1775) and unification of colonist militia into coherent regular army by George Washington. From the critical perspective, the early British military strategy in the North American has been recognized as ineffective due in part to the Secretary of State for Colonies Lord George Germain's incompetent leadership. The lack of effective coordination for the total war effort allowed the two main British armies in North America - General Howe in New York and General John Burgoyne in Canada - to act almost as independent forces, rather than a synchronized team (Black, 117-121). In 1777, Burgoyne attempted to sever New England from the middle states by driving south along the Richelieu River, through Lake Champlain, and down the Hudson River (Banes and Charles Royster, 94-99). To resist Burgoyne's movement, George Washington with newly formed Continental Army rushed reinforcements north to Philip Schuyler and Horatio Gates, while keeping his remaining force in New Jersey where he could defend

Racial and Ethnic Groups Essay Example for Free

Racial and Ethnic Groups Essay There are three sociological perspectives of race and ethnicity which are functionalist, conflict, and labeling perspectives. The first one I will discuss is the functionalist perspective. The functionalist perspective emphasizes how the parts of society are structured to maintain its stability. As also described in the reading the functionalist approach is an approach, if an aspect of social life does not contribute to a society’s stability or survival, it will not be passed on from one generation to the next. The functionalist perspective thinks that racial hostility is hard to be admired but the functionalist would point out that it serves some positive functions from the perspective group of the racists as described. In the dominant group there are five functions that racial beliefs have for the dominant group. As described they are the following: 1. A society that practices discrimination fails to use the resources of all individuals. Discrimination limits the search for talent and leadership to the dominant group. 2. Discrimination aggravates social problems such as poverty, delinquency, and crime and places the financial burden of alleviating these problems on the dominant group. 3. Society must invest a good deal of time and money to defend the barriers that prevent the full participation of all members. 4. Racial prejudice and discrimination undercut goodwill and friendly diplomatic relations between nations. They also negatively affect efforts to increase global trade. 5. Social change is inhibited because change may assist a subordinate group. 6. Discrimination promotes disrespect for law enforcement and for the peaceful settlement of disputes. The second perspective is the conflict perspective which is the perspective assumes that the social structure is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups. As described in the reading society is a struggle between the privileged (the dominant group) and the exploited (the subordinate group). There is competition that takes groups between groups with unequal amounts of political and economic powers. A difference is that functionalists are not necessarily in favor of inequality; their approach is helps to understand why such systems persist as described. The subordinate group is criticized for its low status. The dominant group is responsible for subordination which is often ignored. The third approach is the labeling approach. The labeling theory which is described in the reading is a concept introduced by sociologist Howard Becker, is an attempt to explain why certain people are viewed as deviant and other engaging in the same behavior are not. As said in the reading a crucial aspect of the relationship between dominant and subordinate groups is the prerogative of the dominant group to define society’s values. Minorities are believed to have the lack of ability to perform in important positions where subordinate group are locked into society’s inferior jobs. I feel that I can agree with the labeling perspective the most. The reason for this is that it still exists in today’s society. Companies are required to provide equal opportunity employment and cannot discriminate against religion, race, or age. We know that this is still not true. You see that most police officers and firefighters are still mostly men. You still see large amounts of families have stay at home mothers. Another example would believe that if a child is bad in school that it has to be his or her parents that make them that way. I believe that it truly is still an issue among individuals. Part II I choose African Americans and the creation of migration and the consequence of segregation. Migration is defined as a general term that describes any transfer of population. Segregation is described the physical separation of two groups, often imposed on a subordinate group by the dominant group. According to Wikipedia I choose The Great Migration. As described it was the movement of 2 million African American out of the Southern United States to the Midwest, Northeast, and West from 1910 to 1930. They migrated to escape racism and seek employment opportunities in industrial cities. When the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863 less than eight percent of the African American population lived in the northeastern or Midwestern U. S. As described, â€Å"Between 1910 and 1930, the African American population grew by about 40% in Northern states, mostly in the major cities. Cities such as Chicago, Detroit, New York, and Cleveland had some of the biggest increases in the early part of the century. Because changes were concentrated in cities, urban tensions rose as African Americans and new or recent European immigrants, both groups chiefly from rural societies, competed for jobs and housing with the white ethnic working class. Tensions were often most severe between ethnic Irish, defending their positions, and recent immigrants and blacks. † â€Å"African Americans moved as individuals or small family groups. There was no government assistance, but often northern industries, such as the railroads, meatpacking and stockyards, recruited people. The primary factor for migration was the racial climate and widespread violence of lynching in the South. In the North, they could find better schools and adult men could vote (joined by women after 1920). Burgeoning industries meant there were job opportunities. † (Wikipedia, 2010) This in turn caused African Americans to feel segregated and felt they had to be among other African Americans do to how they are treated. There were many fights and riots among different cultural groups due to segregation. Such as the example of African Americans who could not sit in the front of the bus because of their race. In today’s society this is ethnically not acceptable. References: Wikipedia. (2010, October 15). Wikipedia. org. Retrieved October 23, 2010, from Wikipedia: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Great_Migration_(African_American).

Green supply chain management and logistics

Green supply chain management and logistics It has been rising in alertness of the surrounds in the last little decades. Other persons are attentive of the worlds environmental attempt such as overall temperate, poisonous import meeting, and falling in non-replenish property. The management has out movement to carry this problem to people. A number of organization react to this by relate green values to their rumba company, such as using green friendly raw material, reducing the usage of gasoline power, and using the recycle allow for covering. The green principle was complete to much section within society, including supply chain. Green supply chain management (GSCM) was rising in the last little period. This idea covers every stage in industrialized from the first to the last step of life cycle, i.e. starting product plan to recycle. Not just manufacturing, but GSCM can also be used to other business sector such as management, culture and services. The reason of this file was to describe the crash of green to the supply chain management. It started with the meaning of GSCM to the company in different levels or what factor that power the company to agree the GSCM. This factor can be regard as by different drive such as management, whole market, industry, competitor, and inside the company. Since GSCM can be convenient to a variety of areas within the company, this paper also talks about the performance of GSCM to several areas. In addition, some examples of GSCM submission were recognized to support the commencement. Introduction At the current time, many companies have in progress to accept main attempt just before launch Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM) initiatives (Srivastava, 2008; Zhu et al., 2007). The concept of GSCM include green initiative in inbound logistics which counting green purchasing, eco-design, production, outbound logistics which counting reverse logistics. These initiatives engage supplies suppliers, service supplier, vendor, distributors and end users that successful mutually to decrease or get rid of poor green impact of their concert (Vachon and Klassen, 2006). The logistics industry manages the flows of goods, services and in order across consumers and supplier allowing the incorporation of supply chains in which victory in incorporate worldwide supply chains starts with the capacity of firm to move goods across boundaries swiftly, regularly and sensibly. An aggressive and capable logistics sector is central for all economy and is a vital element of do business. So, logistics management plays an important role in GSCM. This is support by Skjoett-Larsen in which he claim that with the fast development of the GSCM, the sense of green organization for the logistics industry has greater than before very much. then, the review done by Capgemini Press discharge show that the greening of the supply chain will have an increasing speak to on in logistics presentation such as network plan, transfer modes used, warehousing, collection of paraphernalia, business process, behaviours and sense of balance. so far, few company swiftness green ability as a make a choice part when choose 3rd celebrations Logistics (3PL) partner in which 46% of respondents thought that the result of supply chain operation on the surroundings was a issue alert when select 3PL (Capgemini Press Release). In order to take produce and services to consumers more environmentally, so, logistics service donor need to talk to extra care on green issue (Murphy and Poist, 2003; Sarkis et al., 2004). For example, United Parcel Service (UPS), a universal logistics service supplier uses route development software and an internet related organization in their logistics service procedure to reduce the release of greenhouse gas as well as to keep oil expenditure (Lin and Ho, 2008). incorporate green innovation into logistics armed is good-looking a significant issue for the logistic urban. Examples of Green Logistics Green transportation: The green transport refers to build up a type of oil with the smallest total pollution as the power to try to put into rehearsal the multi-transportation and part mode. Accurately, repair up the transport can in this way think the litter, inferior the price and lift the part level. Green storage: The green storage space refers to endorsement the urban development in the extension of goods-storing to keep the manpower fee, functioning the environmentally friendly goods to sterilize the storage space goods, receipt the process of centralized-stock to reduce the radicalization to the vicinity and reduce the poor result of the warehousing on the rest. Green packing: The green pack up refers to a type of product pack up that will not cause the green litter. The pack equipment should save the property and decrease the packing dismiss also, it is believed to be used and renew after use as well as live in little ground while bury in tell to be rotten only. Reverse logistics: The reverse logistics is dissimilar to the recognized supply chain, it assign to practically removal or recuperating the price by growth, managing and dominant the raw material, centre stock, final goods and relative in order starting customer put to start directly. Green innovation: The green development refers to recital the improvement such as information and statement knowledge, natural knowledge, monitor technology and a combination of correct technologies in the succession of logistics management. The request of the greater innovation enables the project to get better green management, strongly. However, about to Lin et al. (2009), green innovation is the build up more linked technology with study innovative knowledge by training and educating the employees to suit knowledge employees. These learn but, will only talk to the subject of green innovation in logistics as a centre of this study. It is plan that a green improvement in logistics is a excellent area of study and apply that have the promising to provide imperative income to the firm and the culture. Factors influencing to Introduce Green Supply Management Rapid changes in the business situation, including increased internationalisation and worldwide competition, but also social and environmental trends, such as climate change, population growth and aging, wealth accumulation and distribution, nutrition, health and education, affect companies supply chains in various ways, resulting in new and evolving desires on supply chain design. famous features of chief green supply chains comprise an accent on life cycle appraisal, asset competence, and waste reduction and service innovation and recycling. execute successfully, GrSCM stimulates product and service innovation, improve asset deployment, and deepens customer relationships and service levels through a shared focus on reducing misuse and price. Some examples to show the impact on supply chains Wal-Mart, which in 2005 launch a sweeping business sustainability strategy, recently set the goal of a 5% decrease in packaging by 2013. The retail giant expect the cut in packaging will save 667,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide from incoming the impression. Moreover, the company anticipate $3.4 billion in direct savings and roughly $11 billion in savings diagonally the supply chain; Nestlà © employs an ongoing, company-wide sustainability program that has generate significant environmental and financial profit. The company has apply the plan to its use of product packaging by initiate an incorporated advance that favours source decrease, re-use, recycling, and energy recovery. In exacting, the companys packaging material savings between 1991 and 2006 led to $510 million in savings, worldwide, according to Nestlà ©s corporate website; Heineken committed to reduce fuel and electricity use through its Aware of Energy program. The company said in its 2006 sustainability story that it designed to reduce fuel and electricity costs by 15% between 2002 and 2010. At the time of the Diamond report, Heineken had achieved savings of 6%-even after the achievement of new breweries. Benefit of GSCM Speaking of greening the supply chain, one might think only banning toxic chemical matter usages or reducing release or waste to the situation. However, it is much more than just a plain reducing usage and litter. Accordingly, the profits are not limited only less poisonous consuming or less waste. The GSCM principle can be apply to all departments in the organization. The effect of GSCM expand to all area, both physically and imperceptibly. Some studies mention benefits of adopt GSCM, such as (Stevels, 2002). He established the benefits of GSCM to dissimilar roles of supply chain including environment and society in terms of different categories: material, immaterial, and sensation. For material, GSCM helps lower environmental load for environment, minor cost prices for supplier, lower cost for producer, lower cost of rights for customer, and less consumption of income for society. In terms of irrelevant, GSCM helps overcoming bigotry and doubt for environment, less rejects for supplier, easier to manufacture for producer, expediency and fun for customer, and better agreement for society. For passion, GSCM helps motivation of stakeholder for environment, better figure for supplier and producer, feel good and quality of life for customer, and make industry on the right path for society. He also provides example of company that were successfully adopt GSCM. In (Duber-Smith, 2005), he identified ten reasons that the company should accept the green: aim marketing, sustainability of resources, lowered costs/increased efficiency, product demarcation and competitive benefit, reasonable and supply chain pressures, adapt to directive and reducing risk, brand character, return on asset, employee morale, and the moral necessary. Implementation of Green From product lifecycle idea, the cycle starts at the conniving of product. According to (Srivastara, 2007), literatures connected to green design underline both environmentally mindful design and life cycle assessment. In designing a product, the designing team can alter the raw materials or substances used in the manufacturing to be less poisonous, more environmental gracious. Some terminologies are related to design for green such as design for environment or EcoDesign. An paradigm of green product is cross car. Due to the rising demand and falling amount of fuel, automobile manufacturers needed to redesign the engine that consumes no or less gas. Hybrid car has been initial from day to day. One article about automobile design is (McAuley, 2003), he discuss the green design of automobile, which tend to change to higher lightweight materials and less materials in vehicle design. In designing a product, the manufacturing company needs a high level of support with their suppliers. An example for the research on supplier-manufacturer cooperation in EcoDesign is (Stevels, 2002). He also offered two examples of successful green supply programme between manufacturer and suppliers. In manufacturing process, the company can be relevant green by several methods to reduce the energy and resource expenditure. This is where recycle and recycling are referred. Several papers provided green practices such as (Duber-Smith, 2005). He suggested some practices including reducing energy use, recycle and reuse, using environmental and harmless materials, minimize harmful emission, and minimize or remove waste. In a Chinese sugar manufacturer, Guitang Group can reduce the wastes and improve their financial performance by using waste from the upstream as raw materials for downstream production (Zhu Cote, integrate Green Supply Chain into An developing Eco-Industril Development: A Case Study of the Guitang Group, 2004). Further than design and manufacturing, other department in an organization are concerned with the green. Purchasing could become an main agent for change regarding ecological initiatives in the supply chain (Preuss, 2001). In (Walton, 1998) article, he conducted a qualitative study to survey the main areas for change to increase purchasings impact on situation. As mentioned prior, not only manufacturer, other supply chain roles got impact from GSCM also. For a largest dealer in the U.S., Wal-Mart has an interesting story of adopting GSCM to their organization. In October 2005, Wal-Mart CEO committed the company to 3 goals: to be supplied 100% by renewable energy; to make zero waste; and to sell products that maintain Wal-Marts resources and the situation, and Wal-Mart was launching a business sustainability strategy to considerably reduce the companys impact on the global environment and become the most competitive and innovative company in the world (Plambeck, 2007). In this study, she provide 8 practices occupied with 14 network partner. Barriers of Applying GSCM In (Zhu Cote, Integrating Green Supply Chain into An Embryonic Eco-Industril Development: A Case Study of the Guitang Group, 2004), they studied the addition of green supply in sugar industry. They mention three barriers: maintaining close relations with their main suppliers, obtain a larger market share through opposition with other market share through opposition with other familial sugar refineries by improving product quality and reducing costs, and ensuring the sustainability of their operations including reducing the environmental impact. At the same times, there are some research studied barriers of applying GSCM from suppliers perception. An example of suppliers barrier is (Wycherley, 1999), he conducted a qualitative study on the suppliers barriers of GSCM performance for an environmental-friendly figure products like the Body Shop. Successful Stories Several studies were tentative study about a company succeed in apply GSCM, various in dissimilar industry such as electronics, automobile, furniture, and packaging. An example of Electronics Company is Advanced Micro plans. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD ) wanted to be renowned as a sustainable organization. They required to better mage the risk of a would-be supply chain and work jointly with suppliers to identify option materials and gear to reduce environmental impact. Moreover, they were drove by their customers, investor, and non-governmental organization groups superficially (Trowbridge, 2001). In packaging Industry, results from review showed that green supply chain practice were absolutely related to operational concert. Also, the green supply chain practices were moving the portion of resources amongst 3 types of environmental technologies: pollution anticipation, pollution manages, and management system (Vachon, 2003). Conclusion Studies stress the force on supply chain design to supply products that are environmentally friendly in their source, production, release, usage and disposal. Not just for advertising purposes or green washing. While companies sometimes limit innovation to remote flagship products, benefit their reputation by association, the real brave is to normal them across active product range. Greening the supply chain is an industry issue that will only gain substance over the years to come. Utilising network design, optimisation and planning systems, which include, for instance, carbon footprint consideration, but also source, procurement and end-of-life, will therefore be a vital collaborator in greening the supply chain and provide supply chain executive with a transparent view of the whole supply chain. Although sustainability programs may vary by industry, the essential needs for intelligibility, communication and association are alike.

Socialism and Irish Nationalism :: essays research papers

The 1913 Lockout was the culmination of several years of political organisation and agitation among the unskilled working class, carried out primarily through the Irish Transport Workers Union. The ITGWU had been founded by Larkin in 1909 specifically as a union of the unskilled, long deemed 'unorganisable' by the official trade union movement. The open militancy of the ITGWU was a new departure in the history of the Irish trade union movement and the organisation grew rapidly, from 4,000 members in 1911 to 10,000 by 1913. The ITGWU quickly came up against determined resistance from employers, the police and the British state. However some of the most vitriolic abuse and opposition to this manifestation of the independent organisation of the working class was expressed by Irish nationalist organisations, not only the official Irish Parliamentary (Home Rule) Party but also by the more 'radical' Sinn Fein movement led by Arthur Griffith. While James Connolly declared the indivisibility of the of the struggle for Irish independence from the fight for socialism he was essentially a lone voice whose ideology, based on the application of Marxist principles to the Irish situation, was a radical break from the previous two centuries of Irish nationalism which had laid the foundations for the collection of political beliefs that still dominate the discussion on the 'National Question'. Irish nationalism, as it developed in the 19th and early 20th centuries was an eclectic mixture of aspects of various political doctrines, not necessarily of Irish origin, which were gradually amalgamated in different forms by the groups who adopted a policy of Irish independence. In the 1890-1910 period at least four main nationalist organisations existed, these being the Irish Parliamentary Party, Sinn Fein, the Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Ancient Order of Hibernians. Around these a series organisations, some officially 'non political' had emerged such as the Gaelic Athletic Association, the Gaelic League and a number of bodies promoting cultural expression and the Gaelic revival. The genesis of what can be broadly termed as Irish Nationalism emerged from the ideals of the United Irishmen and the failed rebellion of 1798. All of the above organisations active in the early 20th Century claimed a heritage that stemmed from the radical ideas propounded by Wolfe Tone and his supporters in the 1790's, Sinn Fein and the IRB more so than the Irish Parliamentary Party or the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Social Issues Essay -- essays research papers

Is Mcdonaldization Inevitable? George Ritzer’s, Mcdonaldization of Society, is a critical analysis of the impact on social structural change on human interaction and identity. According to Ritzer, Mcdonaldization â€Å"is the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as rest of the world† (Ritzer, 1). Ritzer focuses on four foundations of Mcdonaldization: efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. These are the commandments of any rationalized corporation. However, they are not carried out from the point of view of the consumer. Efficiency, for example, may entail the placing of great inconveniences upon a consumer for the sake of efficient management. Calculability may involve hiding certain information from the consumer. Predictability and control may involve a company's ability to predict and control consumer behavior, not the consumer's ability to predict what kin d of product or control what kind of service he gets. Ritzer calls such breakdowns "the irrationality of rationalization." Ritzer points out the irrationality of rationality, as all of the supposed benefits of Mcdonaldized systems backfire: waiting in long lines, suspect quality, little or no customer service, little or no customer service, the illusion of large quantities for low prices, and severely limited selection of choice. Throughout Mcdonaldization of Society, Ritzer describes Mcdonaldization as largely negative and often destructive. While Mcdonaldization is rapidly taking over American society and spreading to the rest of the globe, it is not something unjustly imposed on the American people. The consumerist culture of America has groomed the public to seek efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. These principles grow in importance and value in contemporary America. Even when given the choice to avoid a Mcdonaldized establishment or product, peopl e will flock to it. I agree with Ritzer’s analysis of a Mcdonaldized society, but I feel that Ritzer has failed to provide any real solutions to the Mcdonaldization process. I will support Ritzer’s analysis of the Mcdonaldization process, but also show that it is inevitable and essential in the American society to have a rationalized system. Ritzer stresses that â€Å"Mcdonaldization† does not just refer to robotlike assemb... ...ety, companies are looking to maximize profits and managers are looking to maximize sales. Employers want efficiency and predictability from their workers. They want to be able to control their employees. With so much of the day spent at work and commuting, the only way people can get everything done everyday is to rely on time saving methods. With increasing productivity and development comes an increasingly rationalized system. Regardless of who benefits or to what extent, the universal result is homogenization. Rationalized systems have a pronounced tendency to squash individual tastes, niche markets, small-scale enterprise and personalized customer service. Differences are leveled, wrinkles smoothed, knots cut off -- convenience at the expense of character. An overwhelming sameness develops, along with a decrease in responsiveness. The system that seeks to mimic a machine becomes a machine, incapable of making exceptions or taking risks. I believe that the greatest loss is th at most people know of no other society than the rationalized society and therefore cannot even hope to deviate from it. For good or for bad, our social destiny is to live in such prepackaged settings.

One Step to Freedom?

â€Å"100% of the shots you never take, never get in†. In the middle of the arid desert, Colorado. A group of Cypriots and myself among them, crossed through the desert to reach the camping site where we would spend the night. Continuously attacking us, the blazing sun followed our every footstep, as our bodies were melting down like defenceless ice cubes. After a couple of hundreds of metres of walk, my feet started to numb. I was exhausted. My bottle, constantly in my hand, was running out of water. â€Å"Can my day get worse?†, I wondered. What I didn't know was, that these obstacles were nothing compared to the inner conflict I would be going through soon. â€Å"Does anyone want to have a break? Does anyone want to have a swim?†, Michael, our leader asked. Suddenly the feelings of joy and excitement replaced the tiredness and everyone was now smiling; I noticed I was smiling too. Impatiently we all followed Michael. That is when I first came face to face with my own Via Dolorosa. The worst of all is that I was not aware of how difficult it would be for me, that small step I was asked to take, for which I had to grapple hard with my own thoughts and deepest fears which I was not even aware of. How can you fight something you cannot see? Following the flow of my friends and climbing on a small hill, I reached the beginning of my slow and painful torture. I was standing at the edge of a rocky knoll, about three metres above the ground and beneath me, a tiny lake with crystal clear water. I could already picture myself, in the lake, with the cool water fighting off the heat, while my body was enjoying the luxuries of nature. As I lowered my head to face my reflection on the calm surface of the lake, the truth hit me in the face. I will never forget how shocked I was when I realised I was not ready; I couldn't jump; I didn't want to. â€Å"Nicola, are you going to jump or not?†, Shane asked me. The question brought me to my senses like . . . . . . . â€Å"No. Go on. I will go later.†, I replied. While watching them jumping with such comfort, as if it was fun, as if they were enjoying themselves, I felt angry with myself. Why had I stopped? It couldn't be that difficult, after all nobody else seemed to find it challenging, on the contrary they all thought of it as amusing. If they could do it, so could I. All of a sudden I changed my mind. I felt this urge, this push, the desire to jump as well. â€Å"I can do this†, I told myself. Once again I found myself standing at the edge of the hill determined to jump and once again I changed my mind, as my fears came to life; my body froze instantly. It was as if my legs were glued into place, I couldn't move. Out of the blue, the battle started; the battle over which I had no control, the battle which was going on in my head and whose winner would determine my decision. On one side my limiting beliefs and fears joined forces, to stop me from jumping while on the other side my desire to jump was defensively trying to repulse the attack. The damage to the defence lines was unavoidable and since my fears took control over my body, I stepped back instead of going forward. Time was going by so quickly, as I tended to oscillate between the determination of jumping and the fear of falling. Over twenty minutes had passed since my last attempt and I was not looking forward to another one. â€Å"Nicola we will be leaving soon, if you are going to jump, do it now, or else come down so that we can continue.† No! , a voice inside my head screamed. I am not giving up. I am not leaving unless I jump. As these wild thoughts were passing through my head, the sun sank lower. Trying to convince myself that I could do it, I once more stepped at the doorstep of fear. â€Å"You have thirty seconds to jump.† I took a deep breath. â€Å"Come on Nicolas!†, a friend of mine shouted. â€Å"It's only one step!† â€Å"Twenty-nine, twenty-eight . . .† Puzzled as I were, I looked around as if searching for an answer. Suddenly I realised that everyone was staring at me. Was it really only one step? Then what? Freedom? â€Å"Sixteen, fifteen . . .† The countdown continued. â€Å"Hey Nicola, listen to me! Stop thinking so hard. Just jump! It's only one step.† It was of no use. I didn't hear a thing. â€Å"Nine, eight, seven . . .† I looked down at the lake. How could falling equate to freedom? There were fluctuations in my feelings. I couldn't decide. I couldn't even take a small step. â€Å"Three, two, one. Come on Nicolas we are leaving! Come down!† I took a glance at the azure sky as if it was my last one. I took a last deep breath. â€Å"I am coming†, the words burst like bullets out of my mouth. I closed my eyes. I could hear the blood booming in my ears. The cold breeze made me shiver. I found myself trembling like an undersized flower in a furious storm of hesitant feelings and fears. I slowly bent my knees and jumped. Time stopped. My life was passing through my mind like an old black and white movie. I panicked. I didn't want to fall. I regretted jumping. I waved my hands desperately, trying to hold onto something. A rock, a stone anything. Nothing; there was nothing. I wanted to throw up. It was as if air was pushing my stomach up in my chest and out of my mouth. Even today, when I recall the situation and when I picture the whole scene in my mind, the same feelings come up; fear, anxiety, fluctuation, regret. The same feelings which filled me up then, which still do, as if I am there. As if I never left. As if I never jumped. As if it was all for nothing. Although I am not free from my fears, I know it was not for nothing. I took the risk, I took the shot and I ‘m proud of myself. The cheers and the congratulations I received as I came out of the lake, almost made up for the torture I went through. I was still feeling a bit dizzy from the fall so I sat to rest. That is when Michael came and told me: â€Å"100% of the shots you never take, never get in†. Now this quote is one of my favourites. It was actually a quote of Michael Jordan's referring to basketball. When I first heard it, I didn't really understand what it meant, but after thinking about it, I became aware of its true meaning. It means that if someone does not dare to shoot the ball, because it may not go in the basket, he will never score. â€Å"It's risky not taking risks† a wise man said. In the middle of the arid desert, Colorado, I took the risk. I jumped. I may have not been freed from my fears but I learned my lesson. This experience shaped me into who I am today. A man who is not afraid of taking risks, and making steps beyond the limits of fears and limiting beliefs.