The Negotiation of Culture in Multi-National corporations Research Paper

The Negotiation of Culture in Multi-National corporations - Research Paper Example The primary respondents and sources of information for this study are the Romanian nationals working for this corporation. Moreover, third party respondents such as spouses and close friends were included in the data collection. The third party would be helpful in disclosing information that employees could not, either intentionally or not. In the collection of data, I relied on networking with employees working for this company. First I collected data from different employees regarding various issues related to culture. This was done through interviews. I addition to this, data was also collected from the company’s HR policies and training programs that I accessed from the organization’s website. Annotation of one of the main articles Schotter, Andreas, and Paul W. Beamish. Intra-organizational turbulences in multinational corporations. This article is published in the book Politics and Power in the Multinational Corporation. by Christoph Do?rrenba?cher and Mike Gepper t in 2011. This is a research article that is based on intra-organizational crises that occur within multinational corporations. The article is aimed at advancing literature on the relationship between multinational corporations and their foreign subsidiaries. ... rganizational conflict in multinational corporations between headquarters and their foreign subsidiaries is not a characteristic of dysfunction and unsuccessful global integration. This is a matter I concur with. Multinational corporations operate in different regions globally. These regions have different cultures under which these businesses are set to operate, hence cultural differences that can cause conflicts. This calls for the management to adopt different strategies when managing relationships between headquarter and subsidiaries. A question that I seek to ask is, if this is the problem, then what is the way forward? According to Schotter and Beamish, global integration measures can be adopted to deal with this challenge. Global integration refers to strategic and organizational activities that seek to reduce organizational and operational differences between a multinational corporation and its subsidiaries (Do?rrenba?cher and Geppert 191). A multinational corporation has to manage many subsidiaries and as a result other factors that trigger conflicts emerge. These factors include global and local competitor strategies, host and home country regulatory requirements, differing market and customer preferences and managerial characteristics and preferences among others. Negotiation is one of the ways through which an organization can resolve a conflict (Adams and Markus 337). A multinational corporation can hardly do away with foreign subsidiaries, since it is meant to operate globally. Cultural differences can result into conflict in multinational corporations; therefore there is need for negotiations of culture in these firms. I find this article relevant to my research topic as it outlines various sources of conflict as a result of foreign spheres of operation.

The Roman Invasion of europe Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Roman Invasion of europe - Research Paper Example The earliest civilization which influenced the development of the West was those of the Mesopotamia. Mesopotamia is the origin of the agricultural revolution that began 10000 years ago with raring of domestic animals such as goats, ships and the plantation of the bread wheat. The Akkadians, Babylonians, Sumerians and Assyrians all thrived in this region (John 43). This lead to the beginning of civilization of the Sumerians and subsequently led to the wide spread of civilization in the coastal region of the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient people of the Mediterranean greatly influenced the beginning of the Western civilization (John 43). The Mediterranean Sea aided easy movement of people by providing reliable shipping routes linking Africa, Asia and Europe. By 3100 BC, the Egyptians were employing sails on the Nile River and the succeeding technology, together with astrological knowledge on wind and stars allowed naval powers such as Greeks, Phoenicians and Romans to navigate long dist ance and control large areas by commanding the sea. This gave rise to great capitals such as Roma Empire, Athens and Jerusalem (John 44). The earliest urban civilization of Europe belong to the Bronze Age Mycenaean Greece and Minoans of Crete, which ended around 11th century BC upon the beginning of the Greek dark Ages. The Minoans were heavily influenced by the Mesopotamia and Egypt civilization.

English Class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

English Class - Essay Example Nevertheless, my visit to the museum was an enriching experience which had me asking for more. The museum leaves no stones unturned to make you feel that you were there when it all happened. With the help of personal audio equipment, there is a touch of reality to the whole experience. There is a lot more to see at the museum. There are various events, programs, tours, lectures, films that talk about the stories of many Holocaust survivors. The exhibition is a single true story, the story of Jay Ipson and his family and how they survived the Kovno Ghetto in Lithuania and settled in Richmond after World War II . â€Å"The museum was built with children in mind†, says Ipson. â€Å"They can relate so much better to the single story†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.six million is just incomprehensible to them.† The outside of the building has an intimidating appearance with brown brick with bright green boarded up windows. All in all, the visit to this museum is a very moving education al experience! The museum puts in a lot of effort to educate the people and promote tolerance towards each and everyone, irrespective of their nationality, religion, race, sex or creed. We cannot turn a blind eye to the humble motive behind the origination of this museum. Therefore, there is a need to preserve this museum for the values it stands for. Established in 1997, Virginia holocaust museum is situated on 2000 East Cary Street, Richmond, Virginia and it is founded by Mark Fetter, Al Rosenbaum, and one of Richmond’s youngest Holocaust survivors, Jay Ipson. In an effort to preserve and educate the people on the atrocities of the Holocaust of World War II, the museum strives on a two-fold mission: to educate young people about the Holocaust and at the same time combat intolerance and anti-Semitism. Keeping this mission in mind, â€Å"Teaching Tolerance Through Education† was initiated. Initially, the museum occupied the unused rooms of the Temple Beth El in Richmon d, Virginia. The museum, then quickly flourished and by 2000, it had its own space. An old tobacco warehouse in historic Shockoe Bottom donated by the Virginia State Legislature became the new house of the Virginia Holocaust Museum. The dedication of this new site was done during Yom Ha'Shoah v'Ha'Gvruah in April, 2003, the day which is known as the Day of Remembrance and Heroism. During the pre-war Kovno, there were about 40,000 Jews, out of which only 3,000 survived. Thousands of children lost their lives in the Kovno Ghetto. Deportation and malnutrition contributed to the deaths of so many lives. Ipson’s sister was one of the children to face death during the war. In 1943, Ipson’s family managed to escape from their ghetto with the help of a local farmer. The poor Catholic Polish farmer had nothing to gain from them nor they had anything to offer to him, nevertheless, he helped them because he knew what the Germans were doing was wrong. This is a perfect example of expression of humanity, regardless of race, religion, caste or creed. One of the interesting exhibitions at the museum is the recreation of the chapter of their lives wherein they escape through the barbed wire of their ghetto. The museum, today boasts of 28 exhibits. â€Å"The Ipson Saga,† is an interesting tale of the Museum Director and founder, Jay M Ipson, which documents his and his family’s story from pre-war Lithuania, their escape and eventually their liberation. Right in front of the building sits a German cattle car

Principles of Financial Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Principles of Financial Investment - Essay Example The effects of these agency problems create agency costs that work against the benefit of all stakeholders as well as for the company. This write up identifies those agency problems, its agency costs, and enumerate the ways to mitigate the agency costs in order to provide maximization of wealth of stakeholders as well as for the benefit of management and the company itself. Definition of agency problem The nature of conduct of business in respect of proprietorships, partnerships, and cooperative societies is that those are owner- managed organizations. But in case of companies the share holders, who are the owners of the companies, are not involved in the management of the affairs of the company. The management of the company is conducted by board of directors. Directors may or may not be professionally trained but they have little or no stake in the ownership of the firm. It is true that there are certain compelling reasons for separation of ownership and management, but a separate structure leading to conduct of management through the agency of board of directors leads to conflict of interest between managers (agents) and the shareholders, who are owners of the company. Therefore the agency problems emerge from this separation of ownership and control. ... â€Å"This pattern of widely held corporate ownership resulted in what came to be known as separation of ownership from control. More recently, the economists have called this as an agency problem or principal- agent problem. The managers of the company are entrusted with the responsibility to make company as profitable and valuable as possible for the benefit of owners. However, the owners (principles) may have difficulty in ensuring that the managers (agents) actually carry out this responsibility.† (Robert Edward Anderson, page 49)i Ownership is concerned with maximization of wealth of shareholders. Therefore owners are always ready to critically assess the actions of the management (agents) so that their slackness anywhere is pointed out so deficiencies are rectified in effort to enhance the wealth. Accordingly enhancement of wealth is possible by making an assessment or sort of observance of the actions of the management. The key factors that are judged in management†™s performance are the composition and independence of board members, transparency of their actions, their outside reporting, observance of accounting standards, and adherence of strategic objective of enhancement of shareholders wealth. This monitoring or observance lead to difference of opinion with reference to strategic objectives of the corporation and give rise to agency problems in the corporate sector of management. Basically agency problems have two aspects. First aspect is the situation where it is not possible for the principal to verify the appropriateness of the actions of the agent. This generally is the case when goals or objective differ and create difficulties to verify what agent is doing. The second aspect of the agency problem is

Explore How Black People Are Differently Treated by the Criminal Justice System Essay Example for Free

Explore How Black People Are Differently Treated by the Criminal Justice System Essay Racial prejudice is not unique to modern day society, it has been with us for a long time, this has been coupled with the belief that certain racial groups are less intelligent, or backward compared to white European stock, nowhere is this more true than in the criminal justice system. In 1869 Francis Galton published a book called Hereditary Genius this contained a chapter called The Comparative Worth of Different Races which considered that black Americans were genetically inferior to white Americans. Galton stated that blacks scored on average 15 IQ points below whites. (Coleman 1987) We can see that within the field of criminal justice, and with Galtons work considered that black people were bound to be treated differently due to a belief born out of misunderstanding of the nature of culture and individual personality differences, the hereditary argument has never been scientifically proved or disproved. The 1991 census showed that 5. 5% of the population were from an ethnic origin, with 1. 6% of these being black from an Afro-Caribbean background. It was reported that a higher amount of the ethnic minorities was of younger people than in the general population, and it can be seen that this alone could be a reason for the proportionately higher level of blacks in the criminal justice system , going on the grounds that in the indigenous population it is the younger generation, those aged 14-25 years that commit the vast majority of crime. Crime by ethnic minorities, and in particular young black males can also be seen to be a social situation, and may be a product of sheer logistics. Many new immigrant families move into what is perceived as a high crime area, particularly inner city areas, where housing may be cheaper and unemployment is higher than at a national level. These areas may receive more police attention than richer areas and therefore the new immigrant families come to the attention of the police more than those in more rural areas. xenophobia may also cause the police to over react when dealing with black families. A study by Goreman Coleman (1982) looking at personality and attitudes within the British police force, showed that the average police constable was indeed racist. They asked in the study for police officers to write a short essay, some of the comments were vigorously racist, comments such as, Certain members of the coloured population that l have met are OK but the majority of youths of the West Indian community are savage ignorant vicious thieving bastards , . most of them are just dirty , over 50% of trouble is caused by niggers , smelly backward people who will never change (Coleman 1987). In the last 10 years most public agencies, including the police force, have formed equal opportunities policies, these apply not only to recruitment but also to the way people are treated, and is especially needed in the criminal justice system where there are disproportionately more blacks than whites in the prison system in comparison to the size of the black population in society as a whole. It was reported in 1982 that black people made up 18% of the prison population, but only accounted for 5% of the general population. The figures are worse for Afro-Caribbean males, 1% of the population, but 11% of the prison population. (Home Office 1982). During the 1980s it became apparent that blacks were more likely to be stopped by the police. The British Crime Survey in 1988 found that 14% of Asians, 15% of whites, but 20% of Afro-Caribbeans reported being stopped by the police in the preceding year (Skogan 1990) The British Crime Survey also reported that there was some evidence that crimes detected by the police and those reported by the public seemed to have a racial bias. Blacks and Asians also complained more than whites about the way they were treated once arrested by the police (Skogan 1990). On the subject of arrest it seems also that blacks are treated differently in this process. A survey by the PSI (Policy Studies Institute) in 1983 found that blacks were disproportionately arrested, they found that 5% of the population of London were black, but 17% of those arrested in London were black. Further studies by Walker (1988) (1989) support these findings. Landau Nathan (1983) reported that there is evidence to suggest that blacks will be cautioned less than whites, a white youngster is four times more likely to receive a caution than a black juvenile. Also black juveniles are more likely to be remanded in custody than whit or Asian teenagers. Walker (1988) also showed that black juveniles are twice as likely to appear at crown court than whites. A Home Office Statistical Bulletin (1986) showed that blacks in prison were more likely to have less previous convictions than white men in similar circumstances, the figure for whites was 62%, Afro-Caribbeans 48% and for Asians 20%. The main finding from these and many other statistics is that black people are dealt with, whether as suspects, offenders or defendants, in a highly disproportionate way, it can also be seen that they are treated more harshly than their white counterparts at virtually every stage of the criminal justice process. It is therefore not surprising that black people have less faith in the police and criminal justice system than white British people. David Smith (1994) argues that the main group in society has a degree of power, seen to be unique and special in relation to religious, social and cultural traditions of the particular society, thus creating an unequal legal system that is biased against ethnic minorities. This can be seen to be the stem from which racial disparities may emerge in the British legal system and criminal process, and may explain why black people are treated differently by the criminal justice system. He (Smith) further argues that the law is a national institution and part of a national identity that is born out of centuries of tradition, and therefore unless changed does not take account of relatively recent immigration of ethnic minorities to this country. It can be argued that there are two main reasons for blacks being disproportionately represented in our criminal justice system, firstly that they commit more crime, and secondly that they are treated in a different and possibly harsher way, so as to be over represented in the criminal justice system. Research in the USA has shown that crime is in fact higher amongst blacks (Wilbanks 1987). This view has been criticised, for example by Reiner (1993) stating that to exclude external variables that effect such findings is almost impossible. Reiner (1989 1993) concluded that it is the way in which black people are treated differently from white people in our criminal justice system that created the disproportionate levels of minorities in the process, although he concedes that this is far from conclusive. Smith (1994) criticises Reiner for this view, believing that Reiner is contradicting himself, with little evidence, suggesting that it is treatment that cause high black representation in the criminal justice system, but stating that this may not be believed by some, and is in fact inconclusive. It is true that blacks are over represented in the criminal justice process, what is not clear is, why. Whether we like to think it or not there is still a great deal of racial prejudice in this country, and this alone feeds societies morals and thus its policing and criminal law, this prejudice and discrimination therefore makes it difficult for minorities to gain employment, especially in times of high unemployment and recession. This can lead to feelings of rejection, lack of self-esteem, poverty, lack of self-respect and insecurity. Blacks, as mentioned above, often live in the poorest areas of the cities and therefore come to the attention of the police far more than white youths, parents may also find it difficult to exercise control over their children in areas where social control is at its lowest. Whatever the reason for higher black crime, whether a statistical wrong, or innate criminality, for which there is little support, it is clear we will never get at the real reason that blacks are treated differently by the criminal justice system, too many people would have too much to lose by finding an answer. 1,407 words. REFERENCES. Coleman, A. (1987) Facts, Fallacies and Frauds in Psychology. London: Unwin Hyman. Galton, F. (1869) Hereditary Genius, an enquiry into its laws and consequences (2 ed. 1978) London: Friedmann. Coleman, A. Goreman, L.. (1982) Conservatism, Dogmatism, and authoritarianism in British police officers. Sociology, 16, 1-11. Landau, s. Nathan, g. (1983) Selecting Delinquents for Cautioning in the London Metropolitan Area. British Journal of Criminology. 23, (2): 128-48. Reiner, R. (1989) Chief Constables. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reiner, R. (1993) Race, Crime Justice, Models of Interpretation. IN L, Gelsthorpe, W, McWilliam (Eds) Minority Ethnic Groups and the Criminal Justice System. Cambridge: Cambridge Institute of Criminology. Skogan, W. (1990) The Police and Public in England and Wales, A British Crime Survey Report. Home Office Research Study no: 117. London: HMSO. Smith, D. (1994) Race, Crime and Criminal Justice. IN Oxford Handbook of Criminology. Maguire, M. ; Morgan, R. Reiner, R. (Eds) Oxford: Claenden Press. Walker, M. (1988) The Court Disposal of Young Males by Race in London 1983. British Journal of Criminology: 28, (4) 441-59. Walker, M. (1989) The Court Disposal and remands of White, Afro-Caribbean and Asian Men(London 1983). British Journal of Criminology. 29. (4), 353-67. Wilbanks, W. (1987) The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System. USA: Brooks/Cole.

Injuries Within Sports Games Physical Education Essay

Injuries Within Sports Games Physical Education Essay A great number of injuries occur in the context of recreational rugby games. It has been generally presumed that after a sports injury, the sports injury management programme is highly depend on compliance to sports physiotherapist recommended rehabilitation regime. Even the best treatment plan made by sports therapist specially designed for the patients could not guarantee that the patient would follow that treatment plan. Effectiveness of the specially designed treatment plan depends on the compliance of the patient. Compliance to the sports injury management program is generally less then hundred percent (Spetch and Kolt, 2001). Bassett (2003) found that 65% of athletes are either, following their rehabilitation program fully or partially and 10% of athletes did not follow their specially designed sports specific treatment plan at all. The  England Rugby Injury Training Audit, the worlds largest continuous injury study in professional rugby union, carried out by Kemp et al (2009) reported that the sixth season of the study recorded 769 match injuries from the Guinness Premiership, EDF Energy Cup and European competitions and 258 training injuries. Simon et al (2009) pointed out that the likelihood of sustaining a match injury increased in the 2008-9 season, reversing the downward trend that had been established since the 2002-3 season. For an early return to sports, when amateur rugby players were injured, they need sports specific injury rehabilitation. Since the sports therapist is the first point of contact after the rugby player is injured on the pitch, they the sports therapist are, therefore in a sole position to analyse the players health status and to impact the sports specific injury treatment. Sports therapy is a vibrant profession that entails a sports therapist to be proficient in a number of different specialities. Although, the sports therapist must be qualified and experienced to take full charge of the physical side of the sports injury treatment, for a sports therapist simply to know how to investigate, analyse and treat a sports injury is not an adequate enough to guarantee that an amateur rugby football player is able to be rehabilitated as swiftly and effectively as possible. An imperative feature of the sports physiotherapist responsibility is to approach concerns of adherence to the sports specific injury treatment, and to communicate effectively with the player to make sure that they endeavour the essential ability to speed up their rehabilitation. The sports therapist acknowledges the significance of psychological factors in sports specific injury management adherence (Board of Certification Role Delineation Study, 2004). It is important that the therapist gets qualification and training in the psychological side of the players injury, although most accept that they did not get any sports psychological rehabilitation training (Roh Perna, 2000). Nevertheless, identifying the variables that are significant in promoting adherence and incorporating approaches to deal with these factors is a complex matters. Shuer Dietrich, (1997) argued that practitioners have investigated sports injuries from orthopaedic standpoint, but psychological treatment of amateur rugby players has not been fully addressed. Fisher, Mullins Frye (1993) argued that literature, concentrating on sports specific injury treatment, could be divided into three distinctive categories; sports therapist communication with the player, sports specific injury management features and injured amateur rugby players characteristics. Researchers have found that the players responses and awareness have been affected by their psychological attribut es. To be close to the sports therapy clinic enhance participation and a friendly atmosphere is favourable to the sports injury rehabilitation adherence (Fisher Hoisington, 1993). Prentice (1994) stated that amateur rugby players opinion of the sports therapist also influence the association between the player and the sports therapist and affect the sports injury adherence. Investigating the perspectives of this professional affiliation can improve the sports physiotherapist concepts of the amateur rugby players attitudes of, and contentment with, their sports therapist (Fisher Hoisington, 1993). Unruh (1998) pointed out that if the rugby player is satisfied with the sports physiotherapist injury rehabilitation management, then he/she would have more self assurance in the sports therapist during the sports specific injury rehabilitation management program. Fitzpatrick (1991) argued that patient contentment studies with their sports therapists supported the principal that if the rugby players are more satisfied with the sports therapist, the more they will trust him/her. Even though, the association between the sports therapist and rugby players is decisive, none of the research examined that how a sports therapist can formulate or constitute a connection to optimize their adherence. Brook et al (2005) argued that in the last decade amateur rugby players got injured at a higher rate. Since a quick return, and continuation in performance, is directly related to the results of sports injuries, how an amateur rugby football player deals with it, then further research concerning the psychological side of players is ever more significant. However, the majority of literature that has focused on injury rehabilitation has concentrated on the musculoskeletal aspects and until recently has ignored the emotional feature that could potentially play a significant role for professional athletes. With some exceptions the psychological research to date has mainly concentrated on specific factors that influence an athletes rehabilitation, such as social support (Bianco, 2001), adherence (pizzari et al, 2002), self confidence (Magyr and Dua, 2000), coping and psychological skills. Tracey (2003) has suggested that both primary and secondary appraisals fluctuate depending upon the personal and situational factors of each individual athlete. However, there are significant relationships between the primary and secondary appraisal and copying strategies. Shelly (1999, p. 306) called for further investigation into the unique perceptions and perspectives of injured athletes during rehabilitation as a means of adding depth to the research. The use of qualitative data collection on multiple occasions allows injured athletes to reflect on their experiences as they happen and to scrutinize changes over time (Podlog and Eklund, 2006). Adherence has been defined as an active, voluntary involvement of the patient in a mutually acceptable course of behaviour to produce a desired preventative or therapeutic effect. Adherence behaviour in sports injury rehabilitation may include clinic-based activities, modifying sports activities, taking medications, and completing home based activities. A number of sources, including surveys with sports medicine professionals, and research studies, suggested that low and non-adherence could be an issue in sports therapy practice. In the last decade the primary focus of the studies, carried out by researchers, to investigate the sports injury rehabilitation was to identify predictors of adherence behaviour. Brewer (2004) argued that in order to draw conclusions about the most significant issues affecting adherence to sports specific injury rehabilitation, additional research is required. Qualitative research proposes a complementary approach to quantitative studies in understanding sports specific injury rehabilitation in amateur rugby football players. Qualitative research also outlines new factors for contemplation and provides further support to previous findings. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore amateur rugby football players experiences and perceptions of adhering to a sport injury rehabilitation program. In this study, the researcher used interviews to investigate their attitudes and contentment with their sports therapy rehabilitation. Qualitative research methodology focuses on individuals lived experiences as they are presented in thoughts, ideas, feelings, attitudes, and perceptions. Stake (1995) suggested that qualitative research gives a new approach to finding out more knowledge into the multifaceted association which took place during sports injury management. This study would explore the status of research on the sport injury rehabilitation adherence. Studies identifying variables that are correlated with adherence would be synthesized to produce a body of knowledge that will aid in the explanation of individual behavioural responses towards injury rehabilitation programs. From this qualitative investigation, using thematic coding of the interview data, categories of variables influencing adherence would emerged. In this study, the researcher would analyse acquiescence among armature rugby football players during rehabilitation. In order to improve amateur rugby football players adherence to the sports specific rehabilitation programme, strategies would be outlined for the sports physiotherapists. The predictors of sport injury rehabilitation adherence would be discussed, strategies to enhance rehabilitation adherence would be reported, and considerations for future research would be suggested. This study would provide valuable information that could be used by researchers and sports therapy practitioners to identify strategies that should enable sports therapists to structure an independent supportive atmosphere that would promote higher levels of self-regulation, enthusiasm, and strength of mind. This will help to improve adherence to the rehabilitation programmes.

Henry David Thoreau :: Biography

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry David Thoreau was bon on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, on his grandmother’s farm. Thoreau was of French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker decent. Thoreau was interested in writing at an early age. At the age of ten he wrote his first essay â€Å"The seasons†. He attended Concord Academy until 1833 when he was accepted to Harvard University but with his pending financial situation he was forced to attend Cambridge in August of 1833. In September of 1833 with the help of his family he was able to attend Harvard University. He graduated college in August of 1837.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Thoreau returned home his family noticed a change in his personality. He was no longer accepting people’s opinions as facts but would shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions. He desired to live his life with the freedom to think and act as he wished. He obtained a local teaching job and refused to Flog children as punishment. Instead he would give moral lectures. The community objected to this method of punishment and forced Thoreau to flog his incorrigible children. That day Thoreau flogged six students and then turned in his resignation. He did so believing that physical punishment should have no place in education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1837 Thoreau’s sister introduced hi to Lucy Jackson Brown. Lucy Jackson Brown was the sister-in-law of Ralph Waldo Emerson. She read some of Thoreau’s work and noticed a similarity between his writing and Emerson’s writing. When she informed Emerson of this news he demanded that the two meet. Upon meeting each other they quickly became friends. Emerson helped Thoreau deliver his first lecture â€Å"Society†. Emerson introduced Thoreau to the rest of the Transcendental Club, which included Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 31, 1839 Thoreau and his older brother, John, left Concord on a boat trip down the Concord river, onto Middlesex Canal, into the Merrimack River and into the state of New Hampshire. This trip left Thoreau with the experiences to write his first Book, A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Early in 1841 Thoreau’s brother John became seriously ill. Not able to deal with the current situation Thoreau moved into an upstairs bedroom in Emerson’s home. On March 11th of the following year Thoreau lost his friend and life long companion, his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 4, 1845 Thoreau decided to go on sabbatical at the nearby Walden Pond. Henry David Thoreau :: Biography   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Henry David Thoreau was bon on July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts, on his grandmother’s farm. Thoreau was of French-Huguenot and Scottish-Quaker decent. Thoreau was interested in writing at an early age. At the age of ten he wrote his first essay â€Å"The seasons†. He attended Concord Academy until 1833 when he was accepted to Harvard University but with his pending financial situation he was forced to attend Cambridge in August of 1833. In September of 1833 with the help of his family he was able to attend Harvard University. He graduated college in August of 1837.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Thoreau returned home his family noticed a change in his personality. He was no longer accepting people’s opinions as facts but would shock people with his own independent and unconventional opinions. He desired to live his life with the freedom to think and act as he wished. He obtained a local teaching job and refused to Flog children as punishment. Instead he would give moral lectures. The community objected to this method of punishment and forced Thoreau to flog his incorrigible children. That day Thoreau flogged six students and then turned in his resignation. He did so believing that physical punishment should have no place in education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1837 Thoreau’s sister introduced hi to Lucy Jackson Brown. Lucy Jackson Brown was the sister-in-law of Ralph Waldo Emerson. She read some of Thoreau’s work and noticed a similarity between his writing and Emerson’s writing. When she informed Emerson of this news he demanded that the two meet. Upon meeting each other they quickly became friends. Emerson helped Thoreau deliver his first lecture â€Å"Society†. Emerson introduced Thoreau to the rest of the Transcendental Club, which included Bronson Alcott, Margaret Fuller and many others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On August 31, 1839 Thoreau and his older brother, John, left Concord on a boat trip down the Concord river, onto Middlesex Canal, into the Merrimack River and into the state of New Hampshire. This trip left Thoreau with the experiences to write his first Book, A week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers. Early in 1841 Thoreau’s brother John became seriously ill. Not able to deal with the current situation Thoreau moved into an upstairs bedroom in Emerson’s home. On March 11th of the following year Thoreau lost his friend and life long companion, his brother.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On July 4, 1845 Thoreau decided to go on sabbatical at the nearby Walden Pond.