Working for Ones Passions free essay sample

I believe that neither passion without exertion nor drive without interest is enough to achieve true happiness. I believe that no matter your talent, upbringing or luck in life, if one works hard for something you believe in, one will always achieve Jefferson’s so-called â€Å"pursuit of happiness.† I see people out there with firm devotion yet no work ethic to reach their goals. They sit down every day with their dreams, and believe in their own hypocrisy that mere enthusiasm without drive will get them to their dreams. I have little respect for those who say but do not do. But it is the latter group of people, those with work ethic but not belief, which are more common and more severe an issue in our lives. With relative ease, I can think of many people with pertinence to said group, including my own family. My parents were born in China with little money. We will write a custom essay sample on Working for Ones Passions or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Back then, and in China today, competition between your peers was fierce; my mom and dad spent every waking moment studying past the curriculum to achieve enough academic ranking to come to America and work as computer programmers making six-digit salaries. But I’ve long since figured out that they did this out of necessity and pressure, and not out of passion. I admire their hard work, but when I look deep down into their hearts, the work they do is more a paycheck to them than a pursuit of inner gain. Neither of these paths seems like the correct lifestyle to achieve life’s true goal of happiness. But then I see people of all different classes, who have both passion and drive. I see people from all different income levels, from kindergarten teachers to doctors to musicians, working hard for what they truly want to do. Salaries are not what drive them; the job itself does. My history teacher was a remarkable example of just that. Born and raised as a child prodigy, she went to a special private school and later double majored at Harvard. And while she taught university for a while, she now teaches high school history. Many people have trouble seeing a Harvard PhD working as a high school teacher, but I admire it. She does it out of her passion for teaching, and does it well past the job requirements, working hard to do what she believes in, not to earn a huge salary. Once, my history teacher told her class, as she was recommending students for the honors class next year: â€Å"If you are considering this because you want a higher GPA and nothing more, please leave as there is no chance you will succeed in said class.† From her I realized that despite the undividedly hard-working environment in which our education system pertains, the true reason to be in school isn’t for the opportunity to go to higher education or getting a good job, but to learn the skills you need to truly find and work for your passion. And today, I work as hard as my parents did, but not for the pure goal of financial success but the dream of truly learning, so that one day, I might come up with enough wisdom from those before me to find a true passion of my own.

Ethics and Land Use Behavior

Ethics and Land Use Behavior Introduction Ethics refers to a code of conduct that defines how individuals should behave or interact with others and the surrounding environment (MacKinnon 15). The code of conduct is informed by the principles of right (good) and wrong (evil).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics and Land Use Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Engaging in ethical behavior involves making a choice between what is deemed to be right or wrong. An ethical individual must be able to distinguish right from wrong, as well as, good from evil. Furthermore, the individual must make a commitment to do only what is right or good (MacKinnon 18). Making ethical decisions is often difficult due to the values and attitudes that are held by individuals. Moreover, the professional, economic and social contexts in which a person operates can challenge his ability to pursue ethical goals. In this paper, a distinction will be made between rig ht and wrong behaviors in the context of land usage. This distinction will be underpinned by the premise that an ethical individual must do what is right to do rather than what he has a right to do. Land Use Behavior In most communities, individuals have competing values that create difficulties and contentions in the process of making land use decisions. Generally, land ethic is used as a principle for prioritizing the possible uses of the available land. Concisely, it helps community members and decisions of conflict of interest in land management initiatives include the following. To begin with, commissioners can enjoy personal financial benefits by voting for decisions that affect a region where they own large pieces of land (Sanghera and Satybaldieva 96-114).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ethics and Land Use Behavior specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, a commissioner can vote against controlled deve lopment in a municipality where he owns land so that he can construct as many buildings as possible. Conflict of interest can also occur if the decision taken by a commissioner can benefit any of his blood relatives. The benefit can be in the form of financial gain or unfair acquisition of land. Finally, conflict of interest can occur if land use issues are used by politicians as a complain agenda in order to attract voters. In this case, politicians make land use promises which might be popular but not beneficial to the public. According to the principle of common good, any act that leads to conflict of interest in land use or management is wrong. A common good is achieved when land management decisions enhance social welfare in the community (MacKinnon 89). It is also achieved when land management decisions promote peace and security. In the contrary, conflict of interest often leads to tensions and confrontations. For instance, biased land use policies led to bloody confrontation s between Africans and whites in South Africa during the apartheid period. The principles of land ethic should be upheld in situations where conflicts of interest are likely to arise. In this regard, the behavior of a decision-maker is deemed to be right if he abstains from taking any decision or action regarding land use that directly benefits him or his close relatives at the expense of the society. For instance, a land commissioner should disqualify himself from voting in a decision-making process that affects a region where he owns a relatively large piece of land. Finally, ethical obligations should be applicable in the local and the adjacent jurisdiction (MacKinnon 112). It is apparent that communities do not exist in isolation. Thus, their land use behaviors are likely to affect neighboring communities. For instance, farming along the upstream banks of a river will lead to water pollution which eventually affects the downstream communities. This is likely to happen if the riv er is an open access water resource (Sanghera and Satybaldieva 96-114). Even though the upstream communities have a right to use the river’s water for farming, their action is wrong since it hurts the downstream communities. If the upstream and downstream communities belong to different jurisdictions, the right action will involve enforcing land use policies that are binding in both jurisdictions. Concisely, each community must take responsibility for its behavior by refraining from any action that pollutes the river. Conclusion Ethics refers to principles and guidelines that govern the behavior of individuals in the society (Brassard 497-500). In the context of land use and management, these principles help individuals and communities to distinguish between right and wrong behaviors. However, community members often disagree on what should be classified as right or wrong land use behavior due to underlying values and attitudes.Advertising Looking for essay on ethics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Thus, certain behaviors can be deemed to be right and acceptable by some individuals. However, the same behaviors can be considered to be immoral, inappropriate and unacceptable by others. Consequently, the community must agree on common ethical standards that will guide the behavior of its members in regard to land use. This leads to the conclusion that an ethical individual must do what is right to do, rather than what he has a right to do. Brassard, Paul. Social and Land Use Ethics Surrounding Land Trusts. Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economcis 42.2 (2000): 497-500. Print. MacKinnon, Barbara. Ethics: Theory and Contemporary Issues. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print. Sanghera, Balihar and Elmira Satybaldieva. Ethics of Property, Illegal Settlements and the Right to Subsistence. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 32. 1 (2012): 96-114. Print. Wotapka, Dawn. College Housing Firms Aim Upscale. Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones and Company. 23 Oct. 2012. Web.

Feasibility Report Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Feasibility Report - Research Paper Example The university offers various facilities to facilitate the learning process that the students partake, hence, making it the fourth largest University in the state of Texas. The campus has a retention rate of approximately 63% of first-time freshmen; however, the number of students anticipated to increase with the execution of the admission principles. The new buildings, the renovation and the proposed housing solutions will indeed help in achieving the rise in retention rate. This will increase the University’s growth in the number of student receiving its full potential. Students’ retention at the University of Houston Downtown has proven to be a challenge. Over the years, the University has found it hard to preserve the large numbers of student intake. This paper is a feasibility report on a research that was initiated to find possible solutions to the addressed challenge. This report will scrutinize the possible solutions and offer recommendations and a conclusion. P roposed solutions The university of Houston downtown is the fourth largest university in the state of Texas. This shows the stretch of the high number of students using the university’s facilities. However, most of the students who join the University of Houston Downtown have trouble finding hostels or apartments within the school. The pressure of the growing population means that the administration has to find solutions in order to accommodate increasing numbers of student (Geiger Mass & College Prowler Firm, 2011). This has led to the three possible solutions that include; the leasing of off-campus apartments that are owned by the university; retaining first years by means of on campus housing program, renovating of the old buildings around the school for spacing and accommodation purposes (Geiger Mass & College Prowler Firm, 2011). Research Methods The following are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunity and threats (SWOT) analysis of these proposed solutions. Leasing of o ff-campus housing for students. According to my investigations, the university has considerable support from the neighboring properties owner but at a rate agreeable to both parties. The properties have the capacity to house approximately 12% of the students in the campus. The properties are in decent shape and are secure. The owners are interested in making a deal with the university; hence, the university has a chance to make the leasing agreement possible. The cost of the leasing can range from a minimum of 9% to 14% of the university’s income. The effectiveness of leasing oof-campus houses will be determined by terms of agreement by the University and the property owners. The implementation of this program is both time and money efficient. The deals also provide a threat to the successful implementation of this program. The parties involve may have disagreements over the rent rates (Simha & Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2003). Either, charging some of the lease r ent to the student or focusing on the properties owners prepared to cooperate