The Present Work of Christ in Hebrews Essay Example for Free

The Present Work of Christ in Hebrews Essay David McLeod has written this journal article in large part in response to a number of writers who have charged that the present work of Christ has largely â€Å"been neglected† [1] by systematic theologians of the church today. In McLeod’s estimation such neglect would not be understood by the New Testament authors, as Christ’s present work was one of their most important themes in the New Testament. McLeod states that, â€Å"The purpose of this article is to examine the work of one of those authors, the epistle to the Hebrews, and to outline its contribution to the subject. †[2] McLeod gives three reasons for his study. First, no theme that was central to apostolic Christianity can be overlooked, second, added attention needs to be directed to earlier studies in Hebrews and finally, McLeod’s hope is that material covered in this article will aid those who teach and study the Bible to be more fully informed about the subject of the work of Christ in the Epistle to the Hebrews. Commencement of Christ’s Present Ministry With the purpose of this article being to examine the work of the New Testament author of Hebrews intent, and outline said New Testament’s author’s work regarding the work of Christ, McLeod does so two fold. First, McLeod addresses the Commencement of Christ’s Present Ministry, and secondly the Activities of His Present Ministry. The commencement of Christ’s present ministry begins with His ascension which â€Å"is one of a series of events that marked the beginning of Christs present ministry. †[3] With His ascension Christ entered into the sanctuary where He took up His place of honor in the holy of holies. This place of honor was at the right hand of the father, where Christ was exalted and rested from His completed work. It was at this point that Christ was installed as High Priest and given His present ministry. McLeod writes that, â€Å"The Son of God has obtained a more excellent ministry than that of the Levitical priests who served the earthly tabernacle (8:5-6). †[4] †The perfect tense suggests not only that Jesus obtained this ministry in the past but also that He still possesses it†. [5] Once Christ obtained His ministry, the text in Hebrews suggests that this ministry is still in Christ’s possession and that it continues. Activities of Christ’s Present Ministry The activities of Christ’s present ministry are six fold. As the High Priest of mankind, one of Christ’s present ministries is to stand before God and represent those who have accepted His sacrifice. Representation can be thought of in McLeod’s opinion as Christ being in the immediate presence of God†,[6] representing â€Å"sinners on the basis of a finished sacrifice whereby they have acceptance with God and are favorably regarded by Him. [7] Inauguration, the second of Christ’s activities is to provide a new and living way to commune with God that never grows obsolete. Intercession, is defined by McLeod as, â€Å" the sympathetic appeals and petitions of the ascended, incarnate Son of God to God the Father (on the basis of a finished sacrifice) for the preservation, forgiveness, renovation, and bringing to glory of His people. †[8] Mediation is the activity where Christ mediated His followers p rayers and praise as well, being the medium for the power of God to be released upon His people. Anticipation as defined by McLeod represents â€Å"that quiescent activity of Christ whereby He awaits His return (1:6; 9:28; 10:37), the defeat of His enemies (1:13; 10:13), and His rule as King (1:8-9) over the world to come (2:5). †[9] Benediction is the final of the six activities outlined by McLeod. McLeod denotes that Benediction is â€Å"Christs work of benediction in Hebrews, His future return to His people from His heavenly sanctuary and the fulfillment of the promise†[10] Critical Evaluation McLeod’s argument is centered on the claim that today’s church and systematic theologian’s attention to the present work of Christ has largely â€Å"been neglected†. [11]McLeod’s aim is to examine the book of Hebrews and by doing so reiterate the importance that no theme of the apostolic writings should be neglected; he also wishes to draw further attention to the book of Hebrews and its estimation of the present work of Christ. McLeod’s division in this article outlines the commencement of Christ’s Present Ministry, and secondly the Activities of His Present Ministry. McLeod makes a sound argument for the commencement of Christ’s present ministry. Touching on the end of His earthly ministry, with His ascension, and His installment as High Priest in the holy of holies. McLeod’s evaluation of Christ’s present ministry is just as compelling and does well in addressing the many scholarly views pertaining to the present ministry of Christ. McLeod states that, â€Å"The author of Hebrews wrote of a number of activities presently being performed by Christ as High Priest. Scholars differ over the number of distinct activities and their nature. †[12] In regard to intercession McLeod brings the reader through many views that are held in regard to the present ministry of Christ and seems to amplify that this present ministry of Christ is of the utmost importance to grasp and understand. Conclusion Overall, McLeod has successfully accomplished of his goal of bringing added attention to the present work of Christ and outline the timeline of when His present ministry began. His arguments are sound and thorough, leaving little to question. While reading this article the reader will be brought methodically and precisely through the work of Christ’s present ministry, and in so doing accomplish the goal of the author to provide material that will aid and instruct Bible students who teach and write on Christology.

The Introduction Of Globalization Economics Essay

The Introduction Of Globalization Economics Essay Term Globalization is difficult to explain because it may come with a lot of meaning but according to Griffin Pustay Globalization can be defined as the inexorable integration of market, nation-states and technologies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach out the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before (Griffin Pustay, 2012, p.32) In general, Globalization certainly had many changes in the world we live in; thus, it talks more about the trend towards countries joining together economically through society, politics and education and they view themselves not only through their national identify but also as part of the world as a whole. It is to be said that, Globalization has brought all nations people closer through a common medium like the economy or internet. In the bigger picture, Globalization refers to the growing economic interdependencies among different countries and thus it reflects the increment in business of goods and services and capital flows across the countries border. It provides advantage to companies to function across the globe in different countries and environment. Technological Advancement Transportation: One silent revolution which has brought changes in international business is due to transportation technology. Due to advancement in technology, it`s foreseeable, the amount of reduction in transportation cost in last two decades and has greatly impacted in declining communication cost as well. Across the globe; various businesses and government have adopted technology for faster communication and effective management for overseas business which stimulates fast economic, production and market globalization, resulting in rapid improvement over transportation and communication made trading easier and more over cheap to reach new market anywhere across the globe. The heavy reduction in transportation cost has made companies to move its resources across globally at much lesser rate. However, it`s easy to predict and to say that globalization isnt short of its supporters such as General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT); who is helping in cutting down more and more tariff to bring up more opportunities to increase in overseas trade activities and investment and World Trade Organization (WTO); who is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between the nations. In short, technological transportation changes in past decades has brought not only different countries together but also has given them more opportunities in doing international business. Drivers of Globalization: The obvious benefits of globalization are mostly accompanied by Multi-national Companies (MNC). Globalization has led to an unprecedented  expansion of multinational companies. Thus, they have become very large and powerful. For instance, some companies are worth more than the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of entire country. Mainly Multi-national companies have massive good or ill effect on country whereby they do business. (Tutor2u, 2012) Pros and Cons of Globalization on Asia-Pacific Region: In today`s time Globalization is widely used to recognize worldwide phenomena. It`s gives positive meanings to those who can advocate greater economic integration across the national borders; Resulted in rapidly growing international flows of goods, capital and investments, while it has given threats to. The following discussion is about pro and cons of globalization that has brought into Asia-Pacific region. Pros of Globalization: Economic Growth: Economic globalization is the process of integration of the world`s economy. It refers to the reduction and removal of barriers; such as trade restrictions, quotas, tariffs and restrictions between national borders in order to import goods, services and capital from others nations. Hence, it results to reap more opportunities for a country to promote trades and brings more investments which leads to more economic growth and helps in creating more job opportunities for locals. Employment Opportunities: Globalization led towards developing countries world-wide, as a lot of international companies are locating up their factories in developing countries like ; China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Thus, it helps in creating more job opportunities for the locals especially for countries like India and China whereby there population across billions, resulting in providing not only skilled workers but also a cheap source of labor which captivates certain industries to set up their factories and plants as it also helps in improving their standard of living. More Opportunities for Consumers: Developing countries symbol of an open economy, which emphasizes more on international trade and foreign investments helps in expanding choices for consumers ; As they can have a greater choice of products to purchase than ever before and helps in bring more funds and technologies from abroad. Thus, with increase in choices and technologies helps in raising their standard of living. Example: Numbers of companies in America has actually travelled to Japan to take a look as how Toyota company run its factories. Not only MNC`s but also government agencies from different countries have showed some interest in knowing their methods and practices. Whereby, at the first place, Americans were the one who introduced continuous improvement concept as in today`s time, Toyota is practicing that concept. It`s just not the only example, as there are many other examples; in which one country generates idea and progressively it spreads to other part of globe. This is only possible with the concept of globalization as without it; it would have never been possible. Cons of Globalization: Reduction in Economic Growth: Where Globalization has given a lot of opportunities across the globe in same way it has created some negative impacts over job ratio and economic growth to such countries where ratio of importing is more than exporting. It`s important for countries across the globe to maintain balance of trade, whereby when import by one country is equal to export by the other country in monetary terms if the payments is in excess (Negative Balance) is called Trade Deficits or ;Trade Surplus ; where there`s a positive balance. When any industry gets failed to survive in any country under intense international competition, then that country starts relying more on imports which led to imbalance of trade, resulting in net exports will decrease as well as GDP and economic growth. (Libraryofeconomicsandliberty, 2012) Adverse Effect on Environment: Although globalization has only become a widely recognized phenomena in the last few decades but its effect on environment is apparent. Many viewed global actions as threating not only to environment but also to culture and traditions too. Example; Proposition is fairly simple, the reason why economic growth is at upstretched is due to natural resources such as oil, timber, metal, gold etc. But it`s feasible these natural resources are finite amount of available for human consumption. More importantly, these resources are heavenly used as if n for enormous economic expansion of large developing countries such as India and china. All these facts together makes us realize that sooner or later it would result to degradation of ecological system and possibly become the single most critical threat for continuing of current globalization. (Bernhardsdottir E., 2010) In Relating, High tech industries; computers and electronics have expanded globally, which is contributing to heavy environmental cost due to manufacturing of semiconductors which contains several chemicals that harms human health. Widening Income Gap: The increase in trade and capital flows influenced by globalization led to raise demand of workers and push up their wages for certain skilled labors in various industries which do gives competitive advantage but on other hand, demand of unskilled workers declines, so their wages. This widens the income gap in the country. Countries like India, China, Russia and Eastern Europe have dense workforce available, hence forcing down the wages everywhere. In today`s time, companies tend to invest and locating their plant where they can acquire lowest paid workers. At the same time, due to advancement in technology in each and every sector; demand of skilled workers are increasing as well and on other hand, technology is making a lot of workers jobless. The result is widening income gap is stretching across the world between highly skilled workers and unskilled workers, top one rising rapidly, the middle one rising slower and bottom one ceased or even declining. (Channelnewsasia, 2012) Pros and Cons of Globalization Over Business Organization: Technology advancement had a great impact over the workplace in past few decades. Pros of Globalization over Business Organization: Expanded Marketing: If we look from business perspective, one positive effect of globalization over companies is that of expanded markets which contributes that if a business was selling its product and service locally only, can start selling its product and services overseas as a result expansion in market to take advantage of opportunity and gain a competitive advantage. Globalization has transformed the business environment into a more competitive one and has given a lot of new opportunities for expansion of organization. E-commerce mainly consisting of distributing, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of product and service over electronic communication; internet has given a lot of boost to companies to expand their product or service across the worldwide. Example: In today`s time, several companies doing e-commerce through the use of distribution channel like e-bay, amazon etc. are expanding up their market across the world in a faster way. One reason why marketers prefer e-commerce is due to few involvement of intermediaries in distribution channel, the advantage of this is that fewer intermediaries means fewer middleman involved which eventually allows smooth transaction between manufactures and consumers. Another example, through which companies are able to capture their market is through the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and the list goes on. Today, companies are taking advantage of social media sites by creating their profile and posting regular updated advertisement to capture global market. Gains to Owners: Globalization permits free movement of new communication technologies such as Use of internet, E-mail, Mobile phones and satellite broadcasting offer to people and providing them more opportunity to communicate in groups and gets access to information from both close and distant source quickly from across the world. Having information on fingertips, Multinational companies are tend to respond faster to the changing factor of wages and enables them to shift their units from high-wage country to low-wage country, which ultimately bring benefit to the owner and gain a competitive advantage over others. (Internationaleconomics, 2012) Managing Competition: It`s feasible to say that international business faces more competition than other businesses, as a company on other part of the world may be producing same level of product, information technology provides company speed of communication which enables them to stay ahead of their competitors. (Ehow, 2012) Example: Software like Skype, Voice over instant protocol; allows workers to perform their job from any location via these software which can be access with internet connection. Hence, it removes the barrier and enables companies to communicate anywhere in the world and moreover in today`s time it`s one of the cheapest medium or we can its cost efficient. Cons of Globalization over Business Organization: Dependency: Today`s society are more advanced and relies more on technology, this means more companies are depending on technology like computers and other form of technology for accomplishing their day-to-day activity. So anyhow if any of their machines breaks or computer gets crashes, their work halts for the time until the problem is solved. Hence, this kind of dependency put people at distinct disadvantage.

Free Narrative Essays - Killing Ourselves with Work :: Example Personal Narratives

Killing Ourselves with Work Americans are killing themselves with work. Americans often are sleep deprived, stressed and have problems at home. All of this are most probably caused from over working. I think sleep deprivation is a major problem in the United States. It must make sense that if an American is over working he/she cannot possibly get in the minimum of six hours sleep. Being a college student myself, I often see over worked students sleep through class. These students work and are pressured to keep up good grades. I often here student telling me that they got in about four hours of sleep. If at a college students age, they are sleep deprived, it's logical to think that by the time they hit thirty they will be doing double the workload. Americans are simply not saving themselves from over working. "[N]o labor has been saved," says Juliet B. Schor. To me, being sleep deprived is almost like a vicious cycle: get up for a long day of work, college, family life, or whatever it may be, then people get 5 hours sleep if they're lucky. By the time the next day comes, they're simply too tired to function! from what I have witnessed you simply get student s taking naps in class - not learning! Another problem with Americans over working is the massive stress levels. For many people work alone is often a main source of stress. I know my mom is under a lot of stress to do the house work, spend time with her family and work. According to Schor, "mothers reported it caused either "a lot" or an "extreme" level of stress." To me, this is killing yourself with work. Where's the fun to life? When do we take those relaxing holidays to release stress? Although workers have the option to take a few weeks leave for vacation, I'm hardly convinced many Americans do this. Especially for a married couple, getting time off at the same time must not be an easy task. "Two-earner couples have less time together, says Schor. Consequently, this must cause a great deal of stress for any couple. Exhaustion is another symptom of stress. Many Americans seem to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Fear of Losing Control :: essays research papers

It is common understanding in business that to stay ahead of the competition, change is necessary. Employees are consistently told they must continue to find new ways to achieve better results. The direction is clear – improve productivity, become more effective, get more done with less, get it right the first time. When groups in the middle or the bottom of an organization begin to change how they do their work, does the rest of the organization give them unqualified support? â€Å"Top-Down† vs. â€Å"Bottom-Up† Change   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While much of senior management at large corporations today might claim to want â€Å"self-empowered† employees, the opposite would seem to be the rule. Rarely is change initiated from somewhere other than at or from the â€Å"top† allowed to significantly alter an organization, unless the higher levels of authority within the organization have envisioned the change or, at a minimum, fully sanctioned the proposal for change. One finding in a recent study surveying 4,300 U.S. companies with 100 or more employees seems to support this perspective as forty percent of hourly employees, versus only sixteen percent of managers, cited a lack of management visibility and support as a major impediment to change. (Zoglio, 1998) Organizational politics, which inevitably makes managers fear losing control more than reaching for success, inevitably lead to the demise of changes originating in other ways within the organization. This move to control people often o ccurs when these changes are near or at the point of creating significant benefits for the organization. Organizational Creative Thinking   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to have sustainable, ongoing change, the work must be done with full ownership and accountability of those producing the results. The typical scenario, however, is that employees are given direction and complete work as they are told to do so by those in authority. A dependence on authority to create new ideas gets perpetuated. Perhaps those in corporate leadership positions are self-serving and realize that recognition is given most to those who create and implement profitable new ideas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Unquestionably, leadership is most capable when it is able to keep work aligned with the strategy and direction of the organization. The best executives today have the ability to ensure the company progresses while challenging thinking. The resulting unspoken message to employees is to be creative, but only within the framework of sanctioned thinking. In other words, employees must follow someone else’s thinking while continuously improving performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The direction and resulting message are in conflict.

Sallie Baliunas and the Dangers of Think Tanks :: Global Warming

Sallie Baliunas and the Dangers of Think Tanks Public policy makers increasingly rely on the research of think tank scholars to guide their policy decisions. But who checks the accuracy of think tank scholar research? Unlike academic journal publishing, which follows a rigorous system of peer review and editorial oversight, think tanks publish opinion pieces without regard to the peer review process. Their policy publications are not based on pure academics, but on a complex interaction between academic, political, and economic interests. In Washington, there is no time to focus on the academic details. As Eric Altermann points out in his book What Liberal Media?, think tank scholars â€Å"are expected to spend at least as much time networking with reporters and government staffers as on research.†1 Efficient dissemination of information is as important as the information itself in the think tank business of knowledge. Sallie Baliunas of the Marshall Institute fits Altermann’s think tank scholar profile well. Regarding her involvement in the global warming debate, she has spent less time on the scholarship of global warming and more time advocating the idea that it is simply a myth. She is a senior scientist at the Marshall Institute, which supports her writing of articles against the Kyoto treaty (â€Å"Bush right to oppose [Kyoto] treaty†)2 and the promotion of the idea that global warming is a natural process caused by increased radiation from the sun (â€Å"The Sun Also Warms†).3 Though she has published relatively little in academic journals on the issue, articles such as these are numerous in conservative political forums, such as the website TechCentralStation.com, â€Å"where free markets meet technology.†4 Though she is not considered a global warming expert by professional climate scientists, she is oft quoted by the anti-Kyoto folks as the expert voice that pr oves global warming is a hoax (see any article by Charli Coon of the Heritage Foundation5 or by Chris de Freitas6). Her global warming research has been funded, in part, by corporate oil interests. Think Tanks Baliunas’s association with think tanks does not make her scholarship automatically suspect. However, think tanks dwell in the grey area between scholarship and advocacy, and one must ask in which category Baliunas belongs. Think tanks cannot claim to be completely unbiased, because the majority of their funding comes from corporations, whose interests are not usually only academic, but also economic. Baliunas is an â€Å"Enviro-Sci Host† for TechCentralStation.com, a website sponsored by AT&T, ExxonMobil, General Motors Corporation, Intel, McDonalds, Microsoft, Nasdaq, National Semiconductor, PhRMA, and Qualcomm.

Children and young people developent

There are many transitions a child or young person will have to go through in their lives, this will start from a very early age and continue through to adulthood. The first time away from a main career or parent is a huge transition and can be very traumatic for a child, especially if they are left with someone they don't really know very well. Babies form attachments with mall careers and people they see on a regular basis.It is important for them to realize that their career is going to return, this cannot be explained to a young baby so it is only by the career leaving and then turning that a baby would realize they are going to return. The baby receiving positive attention, cuddles and someone talking to it In a calm manner would help to reassure the baby whilst the career was away. If this was handled negatively within the first few months of a babies' life then it could have a negative impact on their feeling of security and self-worth at a later date.Those children who have e xperienced an Insecure attachment where sensitivity to their needs has not been met or understood respond to challenge with less confidence and face adversity with rater uncertainty. The ability to tolerate and manage change is essential to healthy living and development; however, those children who have experienced an insecure attachment will be less equipped to manage changes than others. (Young minds in school) The birth of a younger sibling is another huge transition for a child and can cause confusion, possible feelings of being pushed out or ignored as oppose to feeling happy and content.When a new baby is born Into a family unit it Is very Important that any existing children are not made to feel left out. If the new baby was to receive instant attention the existing child could begin to feel unimportant, ignored and ultimately unloved which could lead to the child having conflicting feelings about the new sibling and long lasting emotional affects. Although they may be overj oyed at having a younger sibling they could also have conflicting feelings and feel jealous of all the attention the new baby receives.This could cause the child to display anger and Jealousy at times towards the baby which could later lead to problems for the siblings In building a close, positive relationships, fighting to take attention from each there and being overly competitive. It could also have a negative impact on a chills feeling of self-worth and confidence which could cause in-security issues which could last into adult hood. Starting nursery, changing schools, moving house or to a new area can be traumatic and emotional for a child or young person of any age.The feeling of the unknown entity, not knowing what to expect, settling Into a new environment and possibly not knowing anyone and having to make new friends can be a very emotional and upsetting time. It can be very worrying for a child wondering If they are going to fit In, will people like them, are they going t o get bullied. All these Issues can feel overwhelming to a child and If the transition Isn't handled or dealt with sensitively then this could lead to insecurity issues and affect their feelings of self-worth and confidence. Toilet training and completing simple personal tasks like achievement for a young child.Not all children find this as easy to master as others. It is important to praise and encourage any progress the child makes, no matter how small or it could again affect the chills feeling of self-worth and confidence if they re made to feel like a failure or constantly compared with the progress of another child. A child will need constant encouragement in any area they are learning to do things for themselves no matter how small the progress may seem. This will help them to have confidence in their choices and achievements, assist in building security, self-worth and individuality.Choosing study options ready for entering higher education can be a very worrying time for a young person. Support and guidance during this time, choosing what will be relevant to their long term plans ND what they are realistically capable of achieving is very important. This should be handled sensitively so the young person feels they have made their own decisions and confident they are capable of achieving their goals. Negative comments when receiving guidance and support could cause them confusion around how they feel regarding their academic capabilities and leave them feeling unsure and self- conscious.Parental divorce or grief can cause a child or young person huge emotional trauma. It will often cause feelings of blame and maybe even feelings of abandonment. Sometimes when parents become divorced a young person can feel they have to support the parent that is left at home or maybe feel guilty about the parent who has left the family home and maybe lives alone. If a family member has passed away the parents or even siblings may not appear to be coping and the young p erson may again feel responsible for their family members.Their own needs may not be met due to caring for others and their possible feelings of abandonment or blame may not be dealt with. It is crucial a young person feels supported during this transition and receives any help or counseling they may require. If this support is not received then the child could carry feelings of abandonment and blame into adult hood which could have detrimental effects on a young person. They may have issues around trust and struggle building positive relationships.A young person being away from the family home into care is a massive transition and can cause major trauma for a child or young person. The thought of going to live with potential strangers, often only being able to see their family periodically and contact possibly having to be supervised is a huge transition for a child or young person to have to go wrought. They will often have come from homes where there is little or no structure and often no real boundaries for them to follow. This can be very distressing when they are suddenly placed in an environment surrounded by structure, boundaries and routine.If this transition isn't handled sensitively it can have detrimental effects to the young person and their feeling of belonging. Although the home they have left may have been unsafe or unstable it was still their home and what they have been used to. The transition period can often be an unsettled period of time while they lid positive relationships and learn to trust the people caring for them. Building these relationships will hopefully have a positive impact on their future outlook and enable them to have confidence in themselves and any choices they make.It will also help with their self-image and self-esteem and show them that they can rely on someone else to help them with situations they may find difficult. Eventually they will they want does actually matter. Ultimately we aim to not only show a child what is deemed acceptable and appropriate behavior but also that they are as important as anyone else and deserve all the same life chances. Their wishes and feelings are very important and people do care. Along with these changes there are a number of others, such as puberty, sexual awareness and activity.There will be a change in their body and possibly emotionally which isn't always easy for a teenager to understand or deal with. Confusion surrounding sexuality and the unknown entity of sex and discovering who they are can be a very troubling and unsettling for some. Leaving home and adapting to being alone and having to think and do everything for homeless. Budgeting as well as shopping, cooking and cleaning. Not having someone there all the time. The need for developing independent skills such as budgeting and proportioning can be a very traumatic time.Realizing how much things cost when they haven't been used to having to pay for many items within the home. The loss of mobility for some children can be a massive life changing transition. The need to learn new skills in order to complete tasks or even Just to manage getting about, often in a different way to what they have been used to. A number of the above transitions could affect a child's confidence, feelings of security and self-worth if they were consistently handled in a negative way. As we have explored there are many transitions a child or young person will go through.Many can have long lasting effects and if not dealt with appropriately as the transitions arise can be detrimental to a young persons' feelings of self-worth and confidence later in their life. Handling transitions in a positive manner and having support, guidance and someone to turn to they can trust can have a huge positive impact on their future choices in life, giving hem confidence in themselves and hence improving their feelings of self-worth, Many of the children I look after have not been positively supported in many of the above transitions which has resulted in them lacking self-confidence, security and self-worth.They often have very low self-esteem and don't really have the ability to handle emotional situations in an appropriate manner. Instead of being able to discuss feelings they will become abusive or even violent at times. Often seeking comfort by self-harming or running away from any issues and putting themselves in unsafe situations and participating in risk taking activities. We strive to educate the young people and arm them with coping strategies to help them deal with things in a safer, more appropriate manner.By staying firm, not giving up on them and showing them that we care and are there to help them deal with any issues or situations that may arise we will hopefully show them that it is safe for them to trust, build positive relationships and rely on someone else for support. This is often hard for a young person to understand when they have felt constantly let down, unworthy and insecu re. They may have been abused or sexually exploited which has added to their lack of self-respect and self worth.Never really had the chance to build positive, appropriate relationships and don't really understand how to do so. They show promiscuous behavior and can use sex to either get what they want or as a form of personal control or release. The support and secure home base they receive, along with the non-judgmental positive relationships they will be encouraged to build once living in our home will start to equip them with the security and confidence they lions.

Small Objects: a Literary Analysis of Lullabies for Little Criminals

Small Objects: A Literary Analysis of â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals† In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† there are many small objects that are relevant to Baby’s life. Objects can have remarkably profound effects on a person’s life, whether they are of sentimental value or another form of personal meaning, they have an impact on us. An object can mean many things to different people. An abandoned doll in a trash bin could be seen as old and ugly to an average person, but to the person who originally owned the doll; it could have been particularly special.In the novel, Heather O’Neil illustrates the effects of such objects on Baby and their symbolic meaning. In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† there are three objects that represent Baby’s growth and change throughout the novel: the ragdoll, the knee- high socks, and the toy mice. When introducing her new friend Lauren to her room, Baby reflects on her rag doll,  "It was a doll that my mother had bought for me when she was pregnant . . . The doll also made me feel sweet inside, too, because it made me feel that at some point, even before I existed, I had been loved† (O’Neill 97-98).This illustrates Baby’s longing for a loving mother figure, which is a reasonable expectation from a 12 year old girl. Loving care is a critical need of any child. Baby does not have that feeling of being loved; therefore, she finds comfort in the fact that she was once loved. The doll is also representative of her current state of mind. Such as her wishes to be normal: have normal friends, normal parents, normal family; a normal life. When Jules destroys Baby’s rag doll out of anger, it is symbolic of a lost childhood.Her last reminder of the love her mother had for her had been torn away. Baby says, â€Å"Now I was nothing, a real nobody (O’Neill 119). The destruction of her doll meant that her sense of belonging, that she was once part of a family, was now gone. She seems as if she is being pulled into adolescence without having any real sense of true childhood. When the character Alphonse begins to take an interest in Baby, his first attempt to make Baby take an interest in him is to give her a gift. The gift is a pair of dainty knee-high socks.Baby wants nice things, and these socks were, according to baby, â€Å"the first pretty things I’d ever owned† (O’Neill 155). This gift is exhilarating for her. It is an acknowledgment from someone who believed she was attractive, especially coming from Alphonse. According the others in the neighborhood, it was known that Alphonse only looked out for good looking women, so if he took notice of someone, it meant something (O’Neill 148). It is particularly clear to the reader that Alphonse likely has ulterior motives, but to baby Alphonse is simply someone who likes her.The socks remind Baby that she is pretty, and she is proud of the fa ct that an older man found her attractive. In turn, this causes baby to trust Alphonse and fall for his manipulation, leading towards what could be a life of prostitution. The socks are symbolic of Baby being forced into adulthood. Baby is still young and naive; she has no way of understanding what Alphonse is attempting to do. Therefore, the socks may also represent Baby’s vulnerability and lack of ability to judge character.At this point in the novel, Baby has not had a proper childhood or even learned any of what it means to be a teenage person, and now she is already being pushed into adulthood. After Alphonse dies in the hotel room, Baby does not know what to do. She is lost without an adult. She realizes, â€Å"Even though I was making all the money, it seemed that since he was the adult, he was the only one who could get us a place to stay and food to eat† (O’Neill 309). It is clear that Baby is still mentally and physically a child, but has taken on the role of an adult.Since there is no longer an adult in her life, she is immediately overwhelmed. She does not think seeing Jules is a good idea (O’Neill 311), however, for some reason she is compelled to go to the shelter in which he is residing in. It seems that Baby’s situation may be hopeless. Baby’s arrival to the Mission seems to be the crucial turning point in the novel. She is presented with a family of toy mice, which baby believes to be â€Å"by far, the best gift I’d ever gotten† (O’Neill 317). An innocent and beautiful gift, which is exactly what Baby needs, something she has not had in an exceptionally long time.The mice are given along with the knowledge that she will be living Jules’s cousin from now on. The mice represent the possibilities of positive change in Baby’s life. They are symbolic of hope; the possibility that she will find what she needs. In â€Å"Lullabies for Little Criminals,† the use of obje cts to create symbolic meaning is abundantly evident and illustrates the roles Baby assumes as the novel progresses. She does not experience growing up in the same way most children do. She seems to go from child, to adolescent teen, to adult, in approximately a year.The roles she assumes show her growth in a manner that is unnatural to the reader, and the use of symbolism to show how this process is forced onto her is profound. The symbolism of the toy mice representing change shows Baby’s final step towards becoming a â€Å"normal† person. The author’s use of this immediately after the seemingly darkest point in the novel serves to create an emotional uplift for the reader; ultimately allowing the reader to realize that the character is going to be alright. The narrator states, â€Å"Then Janine stepped over to me and squeezed me hard.I could feel my heart beating when she hugged me against her, but now it felt fine . . . Her big blue eyes looked just like Ju les’s, and I guess mine too. Her green winter jacket smelled like rain† (O’Neill 330). The final paragraph of the novel shows that Baby will likely get exactly what she wanted: Love, a caring person, family, belonging, and most importantly, the opportunity to find herself. Work Cited O’Neill, Heather. Lullabies for Little Criminals. 1st ed. Toronto: Harper Perennial, 2006. Print