What Makes Us Happy?

What Makes Us Happy? During many centuries people were looking for happiness. But the question What makes us happy? still needs the answer. There is no recipe of happiness. It is very individual concept, though there are some general statements that can help person to feel complete and satisfied with his life. These statements were noted in the article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk. Some parts of the text deserves to take the place at the curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. The goal of the paper is to determine the statements that could be useful for students. To achieve the goal I divided this work into short parts devoting separate questions. Every abstract contain the idea and its value. The question What makes us happy? very philosophic and it is not so easy to find the answer. Different people see their happiness in different things. But it is extremely important to understand what happiness means for you. There are a lot of research works and books devoted this question but nobody take the liberty to give the strict determination to this phenomenon. The article What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk contains rather interesting and important information related the question. It says about experiment that had place in Harvard in 1937th and lasted during 70 years. Harvards sophomores agreed to take a part in these researches. They took psychological tests, passed regular medical exams, sat for interviews, everything that were necessary. George Vaillant was a chief curator of these lives, he devoted all his life to this study. He also participated in similar work that was dedicated heroin addicts. W. T. Grant also participated in researches that were directed to identifying the features of successful living. But his work did not last till the end because the chief curator expected the results very fast. But Vaillant was conscious that researches as wine get better after long time. Sometimes the article shortly describes students lives that took part in investigations. It is easy to see that all details of males beings were noted: details about their family, childhood, illnesses, education, social life, marriage life, stressesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Vaillant tried to see the hidden facts that connected or differed all these males, to determine the life facts that made them satisfied with their lives and compare those facts. As it turned out during the researches all the lives were too wired, complicated and big to make any strict conclusion about successful living(Shenk J. W., 2009). After reading and examining the article What Makes Us Happy? I came to decision that it deserves to be mentioned in curriculum of the psychology course with a title The Pursuit of Happiness. But it should take its place among the informational literature as it tells about researches and describes someones experience. This article does not teach us how to be happy or what happiness is! What is important is not to mention all the information that was written in the article. Only some parts deserve students attention. These parts will be given below with explanation of their importance. Physical and psychological health. Joshua Wolf Shenk note about some phenomenon that can be a source of happiness and satisfaction for some people. Some of them are good health, adaptation in society, good family, putting and getting the goals etc. Vaillant pointed at seven factors that can promise healthy aging, he meant psychological and physical health. Employing mature adaptations was one. The others were education, stable marriage, not smoking, not abusing alcohol, some exercise, and healthy weight (Shenk J. W., 2009). This information should take a place at curriculum of psychology course because it throw light upon scientific research fact and shows the importance of living right way of life. The goal of every curriculum is not just to give scientific information but also to make a stress at importance of good habits and right life views. Alcoholism is one of the most serious problems. Vaillant is sure that alcoholism problem is one of the sharpest one: One is alcoholism, which he found is probably the horse, and not the cart, of pathology (Shenk J. W., 2009). He came back to this harmful habit again and again in the article text. This problem must be stressed during curriculum because it spoils both individuals physical and social harmony. After the person become alcohol addictive he ruins all spheres of his life, he loses the respect in society, this causes miserable feelings in his mind plus physical disharmony make person totally unhappy. This fact is very important for understanding happiness phenomenon. Defense mechanisms work to protect people, the rest depends on humans. There is very important idea that goes across the article: humans mind and body are very smart; they change under life conditions to protect us and give good feelings: unconscious responses to pain, conflict, or uncertainty (Shenk J. W., 2009). These processes were also called defense mechanisms (Shenk J. W., 2009). It means that the nature of humans body and mind is perfect, the last depends on human. This fact should make students to remember that individuals life mostly depends on him and in some range on circumstances. Every human should take care of his health, social life, education and other life aspects. He is a master of his life and fate. This kind of information should make student conscious their fortune depends on them and they can make themselves satisfied with their lives. Warm relations with family and society are necessary. The article makes a big stress at family relations. Valliant was sure that this fact is extremely important for every person. It is social aptitude, he writes, not intellectual brilliance or parental social class, that leads to successful aging (Shenk J. W., 2009). Good relationships with parents, cousins, siblings, friends are necessary. As Valliant said in interview: The only thing that really matters in life are your relationships to other people (Shenk J. W., 2009). This statement is one of the leading in the question What makes us happy? It is well known fact that definitely important for every society member. Some statements of the article should be mentioned during psychology curriculum but only as a literature with researches. The question What makes us happy too complicated to give exhaustive explanation. What is necessary is to explain students that such conception as happiness is totally individual. Every person should determine the things that will make him satisfied and happy. There are a lot of fake pictures of happiness that society created. In fast modernization era very hard to determine and fallow individual goals instead of that, people used to accept dictated pictures of happiness. This fact is essential because fake satisfaction never makes human feel harmony. There were million of examples when people committed suicide after getting wrong goals. Imagined feeling of happiness did not make them really happy. This fact says about emotions sincerity that gives the feeling of completeness and satisfaction. This is one of the weighty reasons to define the things that make person truly happy. The philosophic question What makes us happy? is too complicated and multilevel to give exhaustive answer. The article with a title What makes us happy? by Joshua Wolf Shenk presents the information about researches dedicated the identifying main features of successful living. Some statements of the text are worthy to be represented at curriculum of the psychology course, because it contains important information. Thought it should be noted that this kind of information is rather general, every individual can add his own criteria of successful living and happiness. Though it should be noted that all the facts are definitely incontestable. The curriculum of psychology should contain such statements as: physical and psychological health are necessary; alcoholism is one of the most serious problems that ruin both physical and psychological individuals health; defense mechanisms works to protect our body and mind, the rest depends on people; warm relations with family and society are necessary to feel complete and satisfied; extremely important to remember that the concept Happiness is individual; every human must determine the things he needs to be happy. Never accept fake form of happiness otherwise you will never be truly happy.

Romeo and Juliet: Comparing Original Screenplay and Film (Movie) :: Movie Film comparison compare contrast

Romeo and Juliet - Comparing Original Screenplay and Film (Movie)      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Films are made with the directors different personal opinions based on the original screenplay.   For the movie version of Romeo + Juliet (1996), the quote above illustrates this perfectly.   For this essay, I will discuss contrasts between the original screenplay, and the film.   I will be discussing plot changes to adapt to the movie's visual capabilities, changes to the time-frame of the script, and plot changes to different relationships between characters.   I hope you will find this essay informative.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   First, I will discuss with you the plot changes to adapt to the movie's visual capabilities.   If we were just to read this book, the only visual pictures we would see would be in our minds; but since we went to see the movie, the director had to adapt some of the plot to have viewers experience the screenplay visually.   One such example of plot adaptations is when, in the screenplay, Tybalt recognizes Romeo's voice at the Capulet masque.   When Tybalt hears him, he becomes enraged.   This is not so for the film.   Romeo takes off his masque at the fountain and forgets it there.   He returns to the masque and that is when Tybalt recognizes his face.   However, the result is the same, Tybalt becomes enraged and vows to extract his revenge on Romeo since Old Capulet said for him to leave Romeo alone.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Secondly, I will illustrate you some changed to the time-frame of the plot.   This is one of the easier comparisons since you can tell if parts of the plot have been rearranged.   An example of a change to the plot is when (in the book) Romeo first meets Juliet.   Romeo says about fifty words to Juliet and kisses her.   While she is being kissed, the Nurse calls her away because her mother wishes to see her.   In the movie, Juliet is called away even before Romeo talks to her.   Juliet is called away to dance with Paris, but when the dance ends and Paris is watching the fireworks, Juliet and Romeo talk and kiss.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, I will explain to you some of the plot changes to different relationships between characters.   This has to do partly with the visual

Internet Marketing Strategies of Hsbc

In line with HSBC’s aim for development with global focus, the company was able to adopt a strategy, which enhances its technology development through information systems operations. This strategy was able to increase staff retention rates, and decrease staff turnover, which brings greater continuity and efficiency to the company’s projects (Annesley 2006). Moreover, in terms of internet communications, HSBC has a single global center of excellence for e-commerce IT, made up of collocated businesses and staff, distributed in international offices, such as in New Jersey, Chicago, Canada, Hong Kong and London. In accordance to this, HSBC was also able to implement and introduce another feature of HSBC. com, the HSBCnet, which is its developed key global platform, designed for commercial customers in other countries. HSBCnet includes services for global markets, global cash management and investment banking that are being used regularly by corporate customers. Moreover, as an response to the need of security, the company has developed a second-generation internet technologies, exposing customers to intelligent, personalized content and better targeted marketing, and this feature allows the customers to save time, avoid repetition of tasks by pre-filling in application forms, to come back to a product offer, and get to the end of an application process (Annesley 2006). Furthermore, the company has also developed the successful credit card authorization and accounting platform, which consists of linked applications, such as credit assessment, risk-based pricing, card ordering and transaction processing and reporting (Annesley 2006). These strategies enabled HSBC to gain competitive advantage over their competitors, by implementing an effective and efficient Internet-based information system. These strategies become relevant to the problems of Nokia because like HSBC, they can also develop the same strategies and use them for their own advantage

Do children’s shoe sizes get bigger as they get older? Essay

Title:- Do children’s shoe sizes get bigger as they get older? Introduction:- I will be doing an experiment to investigate whether it is true or not that a child’s shoes size increases as they get older. In order for me to prove this, I need to collect some data, I will ask some of my friends and family who has children and could help me with this experiment by completing the questionnaire. My objective is to find out at the end of this investigation whether my experiment on children’s shoe sizes is true or not true. Aim:- My aim is to investigate if children’s shoe sizes increases as they age. I will test my hypothesis by completing the experiment; once I get the results from my investigation I can examine them and see if my hypothesis was correct or incorrect. Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis:- Hypothesis – As children age their shoes size increases. Null Hypothesis – As children age their shoes size does not increase. Method:- I collected my data straight into a table chart. This was quick and easy and saved me recording the information found twice, as I was able to read it straight from this. I also found the data was easy to understand and I could see the slow increase of the shoe increase with age. Design:- I completed the investigation by asking my friends and family who had children if they would help me in this experiment. I found this to be more accurate rather than asking the child or just observing. I explained to the people who involved what they data I was gathering was for and gained their permission to use this. Participants:- I used 10 boys and 10 girls in investigation. The age range varied from two years old to 12 years old. I was prepared to use children’s data from one year old; however none of my friends and family had children of this age. I used this age group as this is generally before hormones start taking place and affecting the child in different ways. I asked the same number of girls to boys as see whether there was a difference in shoe size, to age, and gender. The gender of the participant did not seem to make a difference, as the majority of both genders shoe size got bigger as they got older. Materials:- The materials used were 15 friends and family as 5 of them had 2 children each. I recorded the information given with a pen and paper in a table form so I could understand the results, quick and easy. I made one table for boys, and one for girls. An example of the table is below:- Boys Age Boys Shoe Size Girls Age Girls Shoe Size I then went on to convert the shoe sizes to a European shoe size so this would be easier for producing graphs and using the data collected. I worked out the overall average shoe size for each age, also for both girls and boys. I also worked out the mean, mode and median, which I plotted on a line graph. Using the data I collected from the average of both boys and girls I did a graph so show if there was any difference or similarities. Procedure:- I contacted my friends and family and explained that† I am currently doing my Access to Midwifery and I am doing my Maths at the moment. I am doing an investigation in whether children’s shoe sizes get bigger as children get older, and I need to collect data. If they could be a help in providing what age their child is and what shoe size they are?† I informed them that I would put the data collecting into various graphs and tables to complete and support my conclusion, and gained Consent to this. After collecting the data from various friends and family I thanked them for helping me complete this investigation to the best of my ability. Results:- The flaws in the investigation are that there was a dip in the average shoe size data I gathered. At age 9 the shoe size was greater than a 10 year old. This may have been because of the size of child, the bigger/smaller the child the bigger/smaller size feet they will have. As I used European shoe sizes, this could have been another flaw. The overall results in terms of my hypothesis, is that children’s shoe sizes does increase with age. However the factor due to the individual child, if they are bigger or smaller than the average child, shoe sizes may vary. I feel like overall I gathered a good range of data. If I was to complete the investigation again, I would ask more people and to do this, so I would create a questionnaire that I could forward to various people with children gaining their consent and the relevant details which was needed for the experiment. I would send the questionnaire via social networking sites as I feel this would be more approachable and easier for people. I would ask 20 of each sex and then I would have a clearer view to prove that my hypothesis was correct. I would keep the age range the same as I feel the age range was varied enough. If I was going to complete the experiment again I would find another way to symbolise adult shoe sizes, as this may have been a flaw within my experiment. Conclusion:- The hypothesis is correct; children’s shoe sizes do increase as they get older. However they may be a slight dip in this result if the child is bigger or smaller than the average child. But for the normal average child there shoe size will increase as they get older. European Shoe Size converter UK SHOE SIZE EUROPEAN SHOE SIZE 4 20 4.5 21 5 21/22 6 23 7 24 7.5 25 8 25/26 9 27 10 28 11 29 11.5 30 12 31 13 32 13.5 32.5 1 33 2 34 3 35.5 4 36 4.5 37 5 38 A Graph to show the average shoe size compared to the age A chart to show the data collected for girls participated in the investigation, Age and Shoe Size.

Archaeology of Olive Domestication

Archaeology of Olive Domestication Olives are the fruit of a tree that today can be found as nearly 2,000 separate cultivars within the Mediterranean basin alone. Today olives come in a huge variety of fruit sizes, shape, and color, and they are grown on every continent except Antarctica. And that may in part be why the history and domestication story of olives is a complicated one. Olives in their native state are virtually inedible by humans, although domestic animals like cattle and goats dont seem to mind the bitter flavor. Once cured in brine, of course, olives are very tasty. Olive wood burns even when wet; which makes it very useful and that may be one attractive characteristic that drew people towards the management of olive trees. One later use was for olive oil, which is virtually smoke-free and can be used in cooking and lamps, and in many other ways. Olive History The olive tree (Olea europaea var. europaea) is thought to have been domesticated from the wild oleaster (Olea europaea var. sylvestris), at a minimum of nine different times. The earliest probably dates to the Neolithic migration into the Mediterranean basin, ~6000 years ago. Propagating olive trees is a vegetative process; that is to say, successful trees are not grown from seeds, but rather from cut roots or branches buried in the soil and allowed to root, or grafted onto other trees. Regular pruning helps the grower keep access to the olives in the lower branches, and olive trees are known to survive for centuries, some reportedly for as much as 2,000 years or more. Mediterranean Olives The first domesticated olives are likely from the Near East (Israel, Palestine, Jordan), or at least the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, although some debate persists about its origins and spread. Archaeological evidence suggests that the domestication of olive trees spread into the western Mediterranean and North Africa by the Early Bronze Age, ~4500 years ago. Olives, or more specifically olive oil, has a significant meaning to several Mediterranean religions: see the History of Olive Oil for a discussion of that. Archaeological Evidence Olive wood samples have been recovered from the Upper Paleolithic site of Boker in Israel. The earliest evidence of olive use discovered to date is at Ohalo II, where ca 19,000 years ago, olive pits and wood fragments were found. Wild olives (oleasters) were used for oils throughout the Mediterranean basin during the Neolithic period (ca 10,000-7,000 years ago). Olive pits have been recovered from the Natufian period (ca 9000 BC) occupations in Mount Carmel in Israel. Palynological (pollen) studies on the contents of jars have identified the use of  olive oil presses by the early Bronze Age (ca 4500 years ago) in Greece and other parts of the Mediterranean. Scholars using molecular and archaeological evidence (presence of pits, pressing equipment, oil lamps, pottery containers for oil, olive timber, and pollen, etc.) have identified separate domestication centers in Turkey, Palestine, Greece, Cyprus, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Corsica, Spain, and France. DNA analysis reported in Diez et al. (2015) suggests that the history is complicated by admixture, connecting domesticated versions with wild versions throughout the region. Important Archaeological Sites Sites Archaeological sites important to understanding the domestication history of the olive include Ohalo II, Kfar Samir, (pits dated to 5530-4750 BC); Nahal Megadim (pits 5230-4850 cal BC) and Qumran (pits 540-670 cal AD), all in Israel; Chalcolithic Teleilat Ghassul (4000-3300 BC), Jordan; Cueva del Toro (Spain). Sources and Further Information Plant Domestication and the Dictionary of Archaeology. Breton C, Pinatel C, Mà ©dail F, Bonhomme F, and Bervillà © A. 2008. Comparison between classical and Bayesian methods to investigate the history of olive cultivars using SSR-polymorphisms. Plant Science 175(4):524-532. Breton C, Terral J-F, Pinatel C, Mà ©dail F, Bonhomme F, and Bervillà © A. 2009. The origins of the domestication of the olive tree. Comptes Rendus Biologies 332(12):1059-1064. Diez CM, Trujillo I, Martinez-Urdiroz N, Barranco D, Rallo L, Marfil P, and Gaut BS. 2015. Olive domestication and diversification in the Mediterranean Basin. New Phytologist 206(1):436-447. Elbaum R, Melamed-Bessudo C, Boaretto E, Galili E, Lev-Yadun S, Levy AA, and Weiner S. 2006. Ancient olive DNA in pits: preservation, amplification and sequence analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science 33(1):77-88. Margaritis E. 2013. Distinguishing exploitation, domestication, cultivation, and production: the olive in the third millennium Aegean. Antiquity 87(337):746-757. Marinova, Elena. An experimental approach for tracing olive processing residues in the archaeobotanical record, with preliminary examples from Tell Tweini, Syria. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, Jan M. A. van der Valk, Soultana Maria Valamoti, et al., 20(5), ResearchGate, September 2011. Terral JF, Alonso N, Capdevila RBi, Chatti N, Fabre L, Fiorentino G, Marinval P, Jord GP, Pradat B, Rovira N, et al. 2004. Historical biogeography of olive domestication ( Journal of Biogeography 31(1):63-77.Olea europaea L.) as revealed by geometrical morphometry applied to biological and archaeological material.

Will offering work-life balance programs result in positive outcomes Essay

Will offering work-life balance programs result in positive outcomes for organisations and for employees - Essay Example Work-life balance programs vary widely depending on organisational policy and include such programs as flextime, telecommuting, paternity leave and even job sharing. These programs are implemented so that the organisation can demonstrate a solid commitment to improving employee relations and to allow employees to balance their personal demands with job role obligations. Work-life policies, in most instances, provide exceptionally positive outcomes for the organisation and employees who make use of the availability of these programs, including employee motivation, increased employee commitment, cohesive organisational cultures and reduced employee turnover that satisfies cost control issues at the organisation. The outcomes of work-life balance programs Positive outcomes associated with work-life balance programs can be attributed to social exchange theory, a psychological supposition that human relationships are founded on reciprocal actions and mutual negotiations between two or mor e parties (Emerson 1976). Social exchange theory posits that employees will repeat an action if they find they are rewarded for the behaviour (Robbins, Chatterjee and Canda 2011). Work-life programs are established by organisational leaders in an effort to provide incentives for employees to provide superior effort and motivation. As a result of this reward, employees respond by exerting maximum effort even when the job role involves an intensification of work responsibilities (Kelliher and Anderson 2010). Hence, there is a quantifiable set of positive psychological outcomes under social exchange theory that provides superior return on investment, in terms of increased productivity and motivation, to the employer. Also at the psychological level, work-life balance programs provide greater employee satisfaction which provides the incentive for employees to be more productive. Having some level of personal control over an employee’s working conditions is considered very valuabl e to workers that engage with these programs (Kelliher and Anderson 2010). It is recognised in research studies that when an employer provides workers with workplace autonomy, it is positively linked to job satisfaction (Emery and Barker 2007). This satisfaction leads to happier workers and job productivity increases (Nauert 2011). The research evidence indicating a positive link between satisfaction and higher productive outputs in the job role illustrate that work-life balance programs maintain considerable positive benefits to both the employee and the employer. Employee commitment is enhanced and there is overall better job performance when an employee is able to work in autonomous work environments (Nauert 2011). From the business perspective, the ability of work-life balance programs to provide perceptions of autonomy even leads to lower employee turnover, thus saving the organisation costs associated with recruitment and training of new employees. Work-life programs also prov ide the organisation with much less overhead costs that is sustained through employees working from home (Beauregard and Henry 2009). In a business where employees are not offered work-life programs, such as telecommuting, businesses must absorb a variety of costs, including office supplies, utilisation of electric services, telephony, and many other administrative costs. By having employees work from home, businesses can reduce their daily operational expenses, thereby satisfying budget concerns. This is a positive outcome from an organisation perspective, especially

Governing business activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Governing business activity - Essay Example A firm is an arrangement of individuals, resources – both physical, as well as financial and a great deal of information. They exist to carry out various constructive tasks in the society, through production and distribution of goods and services. These tasks are accomplished by utilizing society’s resources such as land, labor, capital and providing adequate profits for the work done, in return (Hirschey, 2009). Smaller firms are usually managed by a single owner, who is in charge of all the key decisions made and hence are more likely to dominate the decisions in their favor, by taking decisions which are profitable to them. Thus, both the short term as well as long term goals of a smaller firm could be profit maximization alone. Larger firms on the other hand, are owned by the shareholders but managed by "business managers" who are in charge of all key decision making within the company. Thus, as compared to smaller firms, the larger firms may deviate from the conventional profit maximization objective, to pursue other equally important goals such as sustainable development, improving quality of their products, environmental protection etc. which are in the larger interest of the society as a whole. However, such goals are merely short term objectives, as objectives other than profit maximization may serve the community at large, but it does not help the firm in sustaining its competitive positioning in the industry. Furthermore, under the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda, which has recently gained widespread popularity and acceptance, it is considered obligatory for firms, to contribute towards development of the society as a whole rather than pursuing their selfish motives of earning profits. But according to Sternberg (2000, Pp. 41): â€Å"The Social Responsibility of any business is to increase its Profits. For any