Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Systems of Governance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Systems of Governance - Essay Example It is evident from the study that the American economy operates as a welfare state that also enables its economic firms to exist with a reasonable amount of freedom. Changing to a welfare state would not only put too many responsibilities on the government, it would also take away the responsibilities of corporate social responsibility that helps bring back money into the economy for social purposes without the problems that are associated with taxation. This would also force the government to increase the taxes that are levied on its populace and this would lead to widespread discontent that would then lead to an inefficient functioning of the economic apparatus across the country. Following the Great Depression, the American government started a new system of offering benefits to the less privileged sections of the society; people who were unemployed and had to depend on the government for their survival. There were limited benefits that were made available to American citizens in areas that included healthcare as a part of it. The state sponsors part of these expenses for the citizens and this is funded through taxes. An entirely capitalist system would dispense with such schemes and promote the welfare of the capitalists and seek to ensure the well-being of the market and the factors that affect the market. In such an economy, the welfare of old citizens would not be a priority and so wouldn’t the welfare of the other vulnerable sections of the society. ... A state capitalist system, would however, enable both the creation of wealth and the implementation of welfare projects. The flaws of this system would however be the tendency of government firms to lapse into a state of lethargy that, if guarded against, can enable the system to work well. This system too, can only be used in a limited manner owing to the fact that this system may lead to a reduction in the level of entrepreneurship that arises from the people of the country. This may cause a lot of loss in potential for the American economy if this system is adopted. Unlike these systems, the socialist system places the entire burden of enterprise as well as welfare on the state that then has to also implement a system whereby it provides equality for all that is an imposed freedom rather than one that evolves out of natural processes. This economy leads to the stunting of entrepreneurial activity which is the lifeblood of the American economy and needs to be used very selectively. Adopting elements of the Danish state that also employs a mixed economy is a tricky proposition since the dynamics of the social, economic and political situations of the two countries involved are extremely different. Denmark, even though a mixed economy, tilts more towards the model of a welfare state that other Scandinavian countries follow in different degrees, too. The welfare of the citizens is taken care in healthcare and the pensions for vulnerable sections are also attended to by the state. Healthcare insurances are provided by the government. All these welfare projects, however, lead to a high level of taxation that would be unsustainable in a country like the United States of America. Apart from this, Denmark allows the minimum wages to be set by the trade unions and

Monday, October 28, 2019

The well-being of looked after children

The well-being of looked after children Wellbeing is a subjective issue, with many attempting to define it. Recent government policies have attempted to create guidelines to improve services; however looked-after children generally have poorer wellbeing than other children. Looked-after children of school age in my area are allocated a named nurse from the school nursing team. The term looked-after refers to children who are subject to care orders and those who are accommodated voluntarily (The Childrens Act 1989). The focus of this essay will be on the wellbeing of looked-after children of 14-18 years of age, as this is when children are approaching the end of care often a time of great disruption to their wellbeing. Furthermore, the wellbeing of looked-after children is particularly vulnerable during the transition period from childrens to adult services. In 2008 there were 59,500 looked-after children in the UK (Department of Health 2009). Evidence shows that a higher percentage of looked-after children will enter the criminal justice system, become teenage parents and have a higher need for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), with behaviour and emotional problems being linked to frequency of placement moves and lack of attachment. (House of Commons 2009, Department for Children, Schools and Families 2009, Barnardos 2006, Department for Education and Skills 2003, Office for National Statistics 2003). To promote the wellbeing of looked-after children extra help from other agencies is required, with the emphasis on holistic assessment. Commissioned Services introduced statutory guidance and named nurses to address this (Open University 2010, Unit 6, page 82-83). It is important as a named nurse that wellbeing is defined and understood in practice. Gough et al (2006, pp4) states à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦wellbeing is an umbrella c oncept, embracing at least objective wellbeing and subjective wellbeing. Ereaut and Whiting (2008) believe that wellbeing is a cultural construct for what people collectively agree makes a good life. The Scottish Government (2011) identifies that a safe and nurturing environment is fundamental to developing into a confident and resilient adult, looked-after childrens emotional health is often affected by experiences prior to care entry. Dimigen et al (1999) identified that the level of mental health need in looked-after 11-15 year olds were 55% for boys and 43% for girls compared to 10% for other children aged 5-15. Haywood et al (2008) concur that looked-after children enter care with poorer health than their peers due to the impact of poverty and chaotic lifestyles. The UNCRC commissioners guide (2008) recognises the widening gap between rich and poor in the UK, and associated disparities in the childrens wellbeing. A UNICEF report (2007) places the UK bottom of 21 industrialised countries for child wellbeing. Forrester (2008) believes that children in care can achieve equal wellbeing to other children, and advocates the European model that entry to care can be beneficial for a child living in deprived circumstances, rather than the UK view of care as a final resort. A study by Helseth (2010) found that quality of life is about a positive self-image, good friends and family looked-after children often do not have these resources. Graham and Power (2004) state there is evidence that childhood disadvantage is linked to adulthood disadvantage, emphasising the importance of wellbeing during childhood. The Department of Health (2000) considers there are seven dimensions of wellbeing health, education, identity, emotional and behavioural development , family and social relationships, social presentation, and self-care. To measure child wellbeing, the UK governments Every Child Matters system of five outcomes is used: be healthy; stay safe; enjoy and achieve; make a positive contribution; achieve economic wellbeing (Department for Education and Skills, 2003), which aims to intervene before crisis point is reached (Barker, 2009). The outcomes relate to the 1990 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and are co-dependent. If children are not achieving any of the five outcomes, then the Framework for Assessment of Children in Need is utilised (DoH 2000). This assessment is based on needs in three domains: Developmental Needs, Parenting Capacity and Family and Environmental Factors (Appendix 1) and contributes towards the Common Assessment Framework (CDWC 2009). The CAF is used across agencies to prevent children having to undergo multiple assessments and to aid sharing of information. In practice this does not always work, as a social worker may emphasise a childs social needs compared to health issues. 30% of looked-after children are placed outside their local authority, which has implications for commissioned health services (Doh2009). This can have a negative effect on wellbeing of children as their needs may not be met due to the lack of joined up services. In practice safeguarding supervision helps to identify children whose wellbeing may be at risk, but cross-county collaboration would help minimise these risks further. Although looked-after children can achieve all five outcomes on paper, they may not necessarily feel a sense of wellbeing: they may be unhappy, feel different to other children and have upsetting memories (McAuley and Davis 2009, Fleming et al 2005). It has been found that more emphasis may be placed on one outcome depending on an agencys role, creating a disparity in definitions of wellbeing between agencies. Other criticisms of Every Child Matters are that cultural needs, disability, resilience and emotional health are not taken into account (Chand 2008, Sloper et al 2009). Parton (2006) voices concerns that a low mandatory information sharing threshold could compromise confidentiality. Children leaving care have specific needs when it comes to maintaining their wellbeing, having a lasting effect on their adult lives; care leavers are more likely to be unemployed, to become homeless, to spend time in prison and often have trouble forming stable relationships. One in seven young peo ple leaving care are pregnant or are already mothers. They have to learn how to cope financially (Barnardos 2011). A Panorama documentary (BBC 2011) recently showed care leavers struggling with basic living skills. This is supported by what is seen in practice; many foster carers refuse to allow children assist with preparation and cooking of meals, or ironing in case they may burn themselves. It should be raised with the independent reviewing officer that these skills are beneficial, which should then be recommended formally as part of the care plan. Foster carers now attend mandatory training, and are conscious of health and safety regulations. Often they think they are acting for the good of the child or being nurturing, but in reality they are impeding the childs developing life skills to live independently. A looked-after childs statutory annual health assessment is at odds with them living as normal a life as possible other children do not have an annual medical assessment. Fleming et al (2005) identified a low uptake (56%) and few health issues arising from the assessment, questioning its value. Bundle (2001) found that many health assessments were used as a screening exercise rather than a health promotion opportunity. The feeling in practice is that there is a responsibility by the state to ensure that all health appointments and immunisations are up to date looked-after children generally have a poor history of routine health check-ups at entry to care. Furthermore Coman and Devaney (2011) believe that a good quality holistic assessment is the only way to achieve a meaningful measurement of outcomes for a child. The health assessment also provides an opportunity to support the child with other aspects of health which affects wellbeing such as personal issues and emotional health issues which a child may normally go to family members with (Hill and Watkins 2003). Health assessments can be a strain on resources in practice to provide a good quality assessment an hour should be allowed, with the assessment preferably done in the childs home to observe interactions in their home environment. It also provides an opportunity to discuss leaving care, and to ascertain whether the young person is receiving appropriate services and support. This may require acting as an advocate for the looked-after child at their review, to ensure there is an adequate service provision. Therefore, practitioners must keep up to date with government policy, best practice, evidence, multi agency working and services available in their area. The tool used to assess emotional wellbeing is the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997), however this can cause frustration when problems identified cannot be addressed due to lack of services (Whyte and Campbell 2008). Healthc are professional have a duty of care to ensure that the young person leaving care knows where to go and how to make appointments for different health services. Models such as Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (1943) and Roper,Logan and Tierneys Activities of Daily Living (2000) form the basis of the adult Single Assessment Process (Department of Health 2002), however when holistically assessing childrens wellbeing the five outcomes of ECM are used, this can create a situation where as little as a days difference in age could result the SAP being used rather than ECM to assess a young persons wellbeing. The transition to adult services would benefit from an additional framework for assessment for young people between 18 and 25. To assess the wellbeing of an 18 year old using the same framework as for a 90 year cannot be in the best interests of the young person. To develop and introduce such a framework would be costly and cumbersome; however as the importance of health promotion is increasingly recognised by the government, it would be worthwhile investigating this further. Studies of young people leaving care show that their health concerns are s imilar to all young people with the additional stressor of learning to live independently. Local studies identify that young people value approachable healthcare professionals, and would prefer to have specific young person-friendly and accessible clinics (National Childrens Bureau 2008, Stanley 2002 ). NICE guidelines (2010) recommend that there is an effective and responsive leaving care service for young people in transition between age 16 and 25. A key leaving care worker can help with the transition however the level of support is varied (Goddard and Barrett 2008). To help a child with the transition leaving care social workers, pathway plans, open door placements and other services should be provided (DoH 2001), but for a young person leaving care many of the domains which contribute towards wellbeing such as housing, income, family relationships, stability and safety are in turmoil and wellbeing suffers greatly as a consequence. Some looked-after children become very emotionally withdrawn leading up to their eighteenth birthday, when they will no longer be a child in care and make the transition to adult services. In 2008 the UK Childrens Commissioners Report found that children felt pressurised to leave care at sixteen, and recommended that no child leaves care before eighte en. Occasionally foster carers allow the child to stay within the family, however in practice when the financial incentive ends, the child has to leave. Resilience has a significant impact on the wellbeing of a child leaving care, resilience is understood as having the capacity to resist or bounce back following adversity and is generally considered to be made up of individual, family and community factors (Glover 2009). Scudder et al (2008) believe that resilient children have belief in their ability to succeed and achieve their personal goals, and that resilience is a dynamic characteristic that can develop over time. Newman and Blackburn (2002) found that children today are less resilient compared to earlier generations, perhaps because of being sheltered from challenging opportunities, however Drapeau et al (2007) state that resilience can be nurtured in children for whom it does not occur naturally. The practitioner should believe in the childs potential and allow them to set t he level of intervention. Ahern et al (2008) suggests referring children with low levels of resilience to services such as CAMHS or peer-support groups. In practice, by addressing one problem at a time enables the child to experience and build upon success, rather than setting a huge unobtainable goal and setting the child up to fail. Wellbeing is believed to include many factors besides health, emphasising the importance of a good quality holistic assessment and appropriate intervention. There are many additional needs for looked-after children, particularly with emotional health, if they are to achieve wellbeing. They are often poorly prepared for independent living when they leave care, and learning life skills should be emphasised during reviews of children approaching the end of care. Upon leaving care, the transition to adult services can be very traumatic and detrimental to wellbeing for looked-after children. As practitioners we should be encouraging looked-after children to prepare for independence and to take responsibility for their own health. To work towards this goal the statutory child in care health assessment should be an exercise in partnership with the child, rather than a professionally led assessment. For a looked-after child to achieve the same level of wellbeing as other children depends on variables such as resilience, attachment and ongoing support which cannot always be provided by the state. There needs to be more research into factors care leavers consider important for their health and wellbeing, which could inform an interim assessment tool between ECM and the SAP providing enhanced transition services for all children.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Defining Year-Round Education Essay -- Schooling Education Teaching Es

Defining Year-Round Education For decades, the traditional system of schooling has been followed in schools all over the United States. The traditional system uses nine of the twelve months of the year to teach students, and leaves the remaining three to be used as summer vacation for students and teachers. In contrast to the traditional system, year-round education (abbreviated as YRE) is a system that focuses on readjusting the entire year in a way that will lessen the amount of information lost during the traditional three-month long summer vacation and increase the amount of uninterrupted learning by spreading out the summer vacation over the course of twelve months (NAYRE). Year-round education may also be referred to as extended-year education or year-long schooling (ERIC thesaurus). Just because the words "year-round" appear in the name of this alternative program, "year-round education does not mean holding school 365 days a year" (Bailey, 1992). While the goals of YRE are valid, there is still much controversy and debate concerning this method of schooling. Many believe students will benefit from YRE, but there are still others who do not acknowledge any difference in learning for students in YRE schools and traditional school students. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the system of year-round education and its advantages and disadvantages. History of Year-Round Education According to a timeline found on the National Associate for Year-Round Education website, the history of year-round education begins in the early twentieth century. The idea of year-round education surfaced in 1904 in Indiana. A school in the city of Bluffton became a leader in year-round schooling. During the decades from ... ...e Washington Post Op-Ed. Retrieved November 23, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis database. Delaney writes about how Fairfax county was debating about year-round education. He provides a list of various advantages of year-round education, some of them being cost savings and information retention, especially for students who are academically challenged. Ritzel, R. J. (2002, March 7). Year-round schools win few friends; Reidenbaugh parents split on further debates. Intelligencer Journal, A1. Retrieved December 2, 2002 from Lexis-Nexis database. This article from a Pennsylvania newspaper focuses on various opinions concerning year-round schools. Many students say they enjoy year-round education, but other parents feel their children are losing out from learning that takes place during the summer. Ritzel examines the views of both sides of year-round education.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Steven Jhonson Syndrome

STEVENS-JOHNSON SYNDROME: PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, ETIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT. Roberto Carmona Florida International University Abstract: Steven Johnson Syndrome is an inmune disease charactherized by a detachment of the epidermis from dermis. It could be fatal and the pathophysilogy involves a complex hypersensitivity reaction with the participation of T lymphocytes that induce keratinocyte’s apoptosis. The syndrome can be cause by drigs, infections and malignancies. The diagnosis is difficlut due to the abscense of specific manifestations and laboratory tests.There is a genetic predisposition in individuals with certain HLA types. The disease Overview: Stevens-Jonhson Syndrome (SJS)is an immune disease. The disorder was described as a delay hypersensitivity reaction with epidermal necrosis and the participation of infections, drugs and genetic factors. The clinical expression varies from a slight form to a serious systemic process that may implicate life-threatening complica tions and death. In spite of the differences in the severity of the manifestations, the etiology, pathophysiology and genetic influence remain the same (Hazim, 200).The disorder was reported for the first time by Stevens and Chambers in 1922, after observing a couple of boys with fever, diffuse rash and sores in the mouth and ocular mucosa. It was confused with measles. At the beginning of the 90’s after several investigations, the difference between Erythema Multiforme Major SJS was proposed. Further research revealed there were dissimilarities on the cutaneous lesion's pattern, whereas EMM referred to target raised edematous papules. SJS was characterized by blisters on top of an erythematous or purpuric base ( Mockenhaupt et al. 2011). Pathophysiology and Etiology: The development of a hypersensitivity reaction type 4 has been involved in the pathophysiology of the disease. There are groups of patients with certain conditions that lead to a higher risk of SJS: Slow acetyla tors, immunocompromised, and patients with cerebral neoplasia undergoing radiotherapy with antiepileptic medications. Slow acetylators cannot detoxify drug residues, resulting in a build-up of drug metabolites that may trigger an immune response at the tissue level. This mechanism has been shown in SJS associated with sulfas.The metabolite can also cause toxic effects per se. Other mechanisms included the production of Tumor Necrosis Factor that boosts the production of cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CD8+). The mature CD8+ lymphocytes cause tissular damage inducing epidermic necrosis through the discharge of granzyme and perforin. The perforin kills the keratinocytes by forming complex insoluble arrangements. The activation of the cell surface's receptor (Fas), and the subsequent induction of the caspase system, lead to DNA instability and cell destruction.In SJS, Fas ligand has been found with high levels, and it promotes Fas expression by epidermal cells. Finally, the apoptosis of the k eratinocytes leads to a detachment of the epidermis from the dermis, and the inflammatory process will turn more intense and the progressive necrolysis of the epidermis will be extended ( Mockenhaupt et al. , 2011). Several causal agents have been related with SJS. These factors have been grouped in four categories: Drug induced, infections, Malignancies and Idiopathic.Medications have been established as the most common cause of SJS overall. Among the different groups, antibiotics predominate followed by analgesics, anticonvulsants and gout treatment drugs respectively. Sulfas, penicillins, ciprofloxacin, carbamazepine and antiretroviral drugs have been described by researchers as the most important agents related with the onset of the toxic epidermal necrolysis (Hazim et al. , 2008). Viral infections have been reported to be associated with SJS: Herpes virus, AIDS, Mumps, coxsackie, Influenza and Mumps.Other agents linked with the reaction have been: Streptococci, Mycoplasma Pneum oniae, Mycobacterium, Coccidium, Histoplasma and Plasmodium (Finkelstein et al . , 2011). Genetic predisposition constituted an important aspect in the occurrence of the disease. It has been established the role of the Human Leukocyte Antigen with the possibility of developing a drug-induced SJS. For example, HLA-B 1502 has been associated with carbamazepine reactions, and it has been used as a pre-therapy test. Toxic Epydermal Necrolysis induced by sulfonamides has been linked with HLAB7 and HLA-D7 (Phillips et al. , 2011).Ko Tai-Ming et al. (2011) carried out a research where they could demonstrate the role of the T-cell receptor in the pathophysiology of the SJS induced by Carbamazepine in patients with HLA-B1502. The results of the investigation showed an 84 percent of the patients that developed carbamazepine induced SJS were HLA-B1502 positive in the antigen presenting cells that will activate the TCR of CD8 lymphocytes. Diagnosis and treatment: The disease is often misdiagnos ed. The onset of symptoms like fever, sorethorat, and malaise may be interpreted as an infection and treated with antibiotic, which can aggravate the course.The laboratory tests are not specific and do not confirm the disorder. The skin biopsy shows the epidermal detachment and the presence of bullas. The high mobility group one protein (HMGB1) has turned recently in an important instrument for the diagnosis (Nakajima et al. , 2011). The management is focused to treat the skin lesions as burns with the correspondent supportive treatment, infection precautions and fluid's therapy. Antibiotics and immunosuppressive agents should be considered as well as cyclophosphamide, cyclosporine and immunotherapy (Hazim et al. 2008). Conclusions: Steven Jonhson Syndrome is a life-threatening condition characterized by a detachment of the epidermis from the dermis. The pathophysiology involves a complex immunologic mechanism consistent in a hypersensitivity reaction with the proliferation of cytot oxic lymphocytes and the subsequent stimulation of the apoptosis mechanism. Medications and infection constitute the most common factors associated with the etiology of the disease and there is a predisposition in certain HLA genotypes. REFERENCES Finkelstein, Y. Y. , Soon, G. S.G. S. , Acuna, P. P. , George, M. M. , Pope, E. E. , Ito, S. S. , . . . Garcia-Bournissen, F. (2011). Recurrence and outcomes of stevens-johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis in children. Pediatrics,  128(4), 723-728. Retrieved from http://ezproxy. fiu. edu/login? url=http://search. proquest. com/docview/896205631? accountid=10901 Hazim, R. , Ibrahim, O. , ; Hazim, M. (2008). Stevens-Johnson syndrome: pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management. Annals of Medicine,  40(2), 129-138. Retrieved June 7, 2012 from http://www. cbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/18293143 Ko, T. , Chung, W. , Wei, C. , Shih, H. , Chen, J. et al. (2011, December). Shared and restricted T- cell receptor use is crucial for carbamazepi ne-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 128. 6,  128(6), 1266-1276. Retrieved July 3, 2012 from http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pubmed/21924464? dopt=AbstractPlus Mockenhaupt, M. M. (2011). The current understanding of stevens-johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis.Expert Review of Clinical Immunology,  7(6), 803-13; quiz 814-5. Retrieved June 2 from http://ezproxy. fiu. edu/login? url=http://search. proquest. com/docview/900631464? accountid=10901 Nakajima, S. S. , Watanabe, H. H. , Tohyama, M. M. , Sugita, K. K. , Iijima, M. M. , Hashimoto, K. K. , . . . Kabashima, K. K. (2011). High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) as a novel diagnostic tool for toxic epidermal necrolysis and stevens-johnson syndrome. United States: Retrieved from http://ezproxy. fiu. edu/login? url=http://search. proquest. om/docview/893270838? accountid=10901 Paiz, J. M. , Angeli, E. , Wagner, J. , Lawrick, E. , Moore, K. , Anderson, M. , ; Soderlund, L. (2012, May 30). General Format. InThe Purdue Online Writing Lab. Retrieved July 12, 2012, from http://owl. english. purdue. edu/owl/resource/560/01/. Phillips, E. J. E. J. , ; Mallal, S. A. S. A. (2011). HLA-B*1502 screening and toxic effects of carbamazepine. United States: Retrieved from http://ezproxy. fiu. edu/login? url=http://search. proquest. com/docview/884423149? accountid=10901

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Gulliver’s Travels

In order to fully understand Jonathan Swift's central message in Gulliver's Travels, one must examine in detail the book's introduction, and its conclusion. While the second and third books of the adventure are not unimportant, it is the first and final volumes which, when compared with one another, offer the clearest representation of Swift's thinking. The first book subtly reveals some the ideas which fuel the novel's satirical aspect while the same concepts are lucidly communicated to the reader with great poignancy in the fourth book. One of the novel's central themes is the methods man uses to resolve his disputes. The first component of this issue is an examination of how trivial some of man's quarrels are. During his voyage to Lilliput, Gulliver discovers that the Empires of Lilliputia and Blefuscu are embroiled in a major war simply because their ancestors could not agree on which end an egg should be broken: â€Å"It is computed that eleven thousand persons have at several times suffered death, rather than submit to break their eggs at the smaller end.† (36) Swift wants the reader to be shocked not only by the absurdity of the conflict, but by its scale as well. The idea that many wars are started for foolish reasons is humorously conveyed to the reader in book one. In book four, Swift takes another look at the same issue with much more serious intentions in mind. While describing the Yahoos (who represent humanity's basic instincts), the author points out that humans have a natural inclination toward violence. Though humans have the gift of reason just like the morally judicious Houyhnhnms, they always seem to be fighting each other as a method of resolving disputes. For example, when there is a more than sufficient amount of meat for a group of Yahoos, they will fight each other in hopes of acquiring the excess meat. The image of long haired barbarians, rolling around in the mud, wildly struggling for every last morsel of flesh is an evocative one. It stands in sharp contrast to the toy soldier-like humanoids of book one, who, clad in replete military uniform, are fighting each other like the pieces of a chess game. Swift now has us observing a much more visceral scene in which man's primal instincts are on display. Swift's aim of lightly satirizing humanity's tendency towards conflict in book one becomes a much more powerful and memorable message when it is taken to the extreme in book four. Another issue which Swift explores in Gulliver's Travels is the nature of woman. Although the author viciously attacks women in the second book, the first and fourth books also include criticism of what was thought to be the weaker gender during the seventeenth century. The writer's critical analysis of women begins in book one when the palace in Lilliput is on fire. Gulliver, seeing that the humongous palace is in danger of burning to the ground with members of the royal family still stuck inside, begins to urinate on the flaming structure. He successfully puts out the fire, rescuing all those inside. Though Gulliver saved the Empresses' life, she has held a grudge against the giant since he came to Lilliput and thus remains ungrateful. Even though her dignity was dealt a minor blow, it is short sighted of the Empress to be unable to look beyond that and show Gulliver the gratitude he deserves. This is the first example of a woman using Gulliver for her own purposes and not giving him anything in return. Once again, the same idea is carried into the fourth book, and taken to a greater extreme. In the eighth chapter, Gulliver is bathing. A female Yahoo is stricken with desire and leaps at him: â€Å"The nag was grazing at some distance, not suspecting any harm. She embraced me after a most fulsome manner. I roared as loud as I could, and the nag came galloping towards me, whereupon she quitted her grasp, with the utmost reluctancy, and leaped upon the opposite bank, where she stood gazing and howling all the time I was putting on my clothes.† (259) In the above event, a female acts on instinct and desire and does not think of the consequences of her actions. She does what she does solely for selfish reasons. Both the Empress and the Yahoo got something from Gulliver but give nothing back in return. Swift once again introduces the reader to an idea in the first book, and increases his argument's potency in the fourth book. In all four books of Gulliver's Travels, Swift makes a mockery of the politics of his day. The author satirizes not only the politicians who lived during his time, but their methods of achieving political power, and the governmental structure of the British monarchy. The first book is the most political in nature. At a memorable point during the first book, the Emperor of Lilliput is trying to find new officials to occupy government positions. Rather than placing the men whose political aptitude is high in government, the Emperor of Lilliput stages an elaborate festival in which games of dexterity and agility are played. Any sane monarch who has the best interests of his nation in mind would never choose his ministers in such a foolish manner. Here, Swift humorously depicts how administrative decisions are made at the highest level. In book four, the staid tone of Swift's message is far more poignant. In Yahoo society, each herd has a ruler. Every herd's ruler has his own henchman or favourite. He typically gives this position to a good friend of his, or someone who is very similar to himself. The emotional Yahoos become very jealous of the leader's second in command, and thus they take a great deal of pleasure in undermining him at every opportunity. Eventually, the favourite is discarded and replaced with someone else like him. This description of Yahoo politics serves to make a number of important points. Firstly, administrative political decisions are not typically based on candidates' merit; often irrelevant criteria are considered. Secondly, any political system which fails to take into account even the basic needs of its people and angers them to the point of continuous violence is a great failure in Swift's eyes. The fact that the Yahoos are constantly trying to undermine those who are in positions of power and who are supposed to represent them means that their political system is valueless. The author's description of what is done to those who have been removed from political office only serves to shock and disgust the reader to a greater extent: â€Å"He usually continues in office till a worse can be found; but the very moment he is discarded, his successor, at the head of all the YAHOOS in that district, young and old, male and female, come in a body, and discharge their excrements upon him from head to foot.† Not only does this quotation indicate the disgust Swift, and the Yahoos have with their respective political systems, but it once again makes the point that in many cases, humans hate each other and are thus prone to conflict or other methods of expressing that hatred. As a neo-classicist, one the most vital piece of information Swift hoped to convey to the readers of Gulliver's Travels is that human beings have a tendency to rely on their emotions rather than their reason when attempting to solve problems. Similarly, when humans do have the presence of mind to use their reason, they employ logic in order to accomplish immoral objectives. Illogical or immoral actions by human characters suggest this point in book one, and reinforce it in book four. After Gulliver captures the entire Blefuscian navy for Lilliput, he is met by an adoring populace in the Lilliputian capital. Even so, the Lilliputian high council decides that Gulliver should have massacred the entire helpless Blefuscian population and his failure to do so will result in his eyes being gouged out. The fact that he is their greatest weapon and has saved them from a likely defeat against their sworn enemies would suggest that torturing him is both illogical and immoral. This is yet another example of Swift using book one to insert humour into his novel while still conveying a serious message. In book four, the comedic element of tiny men believing they control a giant who could destroy them in one fell swoop is removed. All that remains is the harsh reality of Yahoo life. Instead of working together to improve their quality of life, the Yahoos use their ingenuity against each other, destroying each other's quality of life. The logical course of action, in order to solve a complex problem, is to use all your resources. In book one and book four, humanity narrow-mindedly chooses to ignore chances to solve their many difficulties. At first glance, books one and four of Gulliver's Travels exist simply to begin and conclude the book respectively. Following closer examination of both books, a parallel between them can be discovered: Swift subtly brings forth an idea or thought in the first book and disguises it with a layer of comedy. In the fourth and final book, Swift peels off the mask and the reader has the opportunity to view the idea in its entirety and is thus exposed to what is in Swift's view, the harsh reality of what the human race really is, or is capable of being. Gulliver’s Travels Gulliver's Travel is a fairytale inverted. The little beings are hurtful, the giants have more insight than man, the beasts rule, and humanity is shown, not as triumphant, but as degraded and enslaved. P. Colum Jonathan Swift Gulliver's Travels was written by Jonathan Swift. He was born in Dublin, Ireland on 30 November 1667. He graduated from Trinity College in 1686 and then left for England seeking a job. He was eventually the secretary to Sir William Temple. He thought that humans were disgusting and vile creatures and were a disgrace to life. He wanted to show how malicious, evil, and horrible these small beings in the world can really be. Sadly in 1745 Jonathan Swift died of paralysis, aphasia, and apathy. Fairytale Inverted Gulliver's travel is a fairytale inverted; it is not what you would expect to find in the norm. There is no happiness, love or succession. This is not the ordinary fairytale. In this book there is betrayal, imprisonment, deceit, and deaths. In normal fairytales e.g. Sleeping Beauty the victims always prevail and defeat the evils. In this case the princess didn't die but she fell asleep and she woke up because of a kiss from a prince, so the witch didn't get what she wanted and they lived happily ever after. Other good examples are Snow White And The 7 Dwarfs, Jack And The Beanstalk and 101 Dalmatians. The Little Beings Are Hurtful – Lilliput In Lilliput, there are creatures that are like humans, but they are just smaller in size. In this voyage to Lilliput, Gulliver is the giant who is very virtuous but he acquaints with evil little creatures. You would expect the Lilliputians to be kind and loving because of their size and Gulliver to be mean and aggressive, but being a change from the norm, the characteristics have been swapped. You would think that the Lilliputians are helpless and could never hurt someone by the quote,' I was in the utmost astonishment, and roared so loud, that they all ran back in a fright†¦' That quote shows that the Lilliputians are endearing little creatures and that they couldn't even hurt a fly but as the story progresses the little beings get more vicious and start wars because of silly reasons. Gulliver is found by two small Lilliputians. These small little men are voracious and ravenous for wealth as their plan was to make money off this extraordinary figure, but when the Majesty saw ev erything the two Lilliputians manipulated their plan so that it meant that they wanted to give it to the Majesty. The following quote,'†¦ some of them had the imprudence to shoot their arrows at me as I sate on the ground by the door of my house; whereof one very narrowly missed my left eye,' shows that the Lilliputians are short-tempered and are willing to do anything to get what they want and sometimes fight for no reason. In the following quote a war starts off due to a law which many resented, ‘Which two mighty powers have, as I was going to tell you, been engaged in a most obstinate war for six-and-thirty moons past. It began upon the following occasion. It is allowed on all hands, that the primitive way of breaking eggs, before we eat them, was upon the larger end; but his present majesty's grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers. Whereupon the emperor his father published an edict, commanding all his subjects, upon great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us, there have been six rebellions raised on that account; wherein one emperor lost his life, and another his crown.' In that quote what is said that six rebellions broke out because people had been told that the law had changed and they now had to crack their eggs in the smaller end. This silly law sparked off a war, which wasn't needed over such a petty argument. It shows how hungry for war Lilliputians are. Also Lilliput's way of choosing ministers or promoting them or demoting them is done by a strange method of which each participant must jump over or under or in any manner pass a rod as elegantly or dynamically possibly in which they are judged for their grace. The Majesty thought that it was best that Gulliver chose the punishment. This is the quote in which Gulliver decides upon on what to do with the ringleaders,'†¦ I took them all in my right hand, put five of them into my coat-pocket; and as to the sixth, I made a countenance as if I would eat him alive.' In that quote Gulliver didn't do anything to them he only faked the eating of the Lilliputian, Gulliver is a kind and caring man, although they were aggressive, it is not his nature to hurt people. Normally Gulliver would eat them or kill as he is a giant, but this being and inverted fairytale Gulliver is benevolent. Also Lilliput's way of choosing ministers or promoting them or demoting them is done by a strange method of which each participant must jump over or under or in any manner pass a rod as elegantly or as dynamically possible in which they are judged for their method. This way of choosing ministers to maintain a ‘parliament' was profound, as it needed no education for their job. This way was corrupt and anyone could have power and control and not just for good reasons as they can pervert their country as the wrong people could get the position. In the voyage to Lilliput, Swift was trying to emphasise on how humans are very much alike the Lilliputians. In that we fight for asinine reasons and that rationality cannot be used to solve problems. Instead humans must start war rather than have peace and help others in life instead of killing them. The Giants Have More Insight Than Man – Brobdingnag The second voyage for Gulliver was an encounter with the land of Brobdingnag. Brobdingnag in some sense was alike Lilliput but different in many others. The creatures in Brobdingnag were giant humans and Gulliver was about the size of a Lilliputian, so essentially the sizes of Gulliver have been swapped so he is in small in a big world, rather than big in a small world in Lilliput. When Gulliver reached Brobdingnag he noticed that large creatures surrounded him. Gulliver was frightened and intimidated by their size yet also interested. He was also aghast by the sight of the beings by Gulliver saying,' I was struck with the utmost fear and astonishment, and ran to hide myself in the corn, whence I saw him at the top of the stile looking back into the next field on the right hand, and heard him call in a voice many degrees louder than a speaking-trumpet: but the noise was so high in the air, that at first I certainly thought it was thunder.' The above quote shows how timorous Gulliver is. England. The Brobdingnagians have solutions to all of our problems that are present in Gulliver's England. The giants feel that money isn't needed and it will only cause greed and poverty if it was imperative it is shown by the quote,' I took a purse of gold out of my pocket, and humbly presented it to him. He received it on the palm of his hand, then applied it close to his eye to see what it was, and afterwards turned it several times with the point of a pin (which he took out of his sleeve,) but could make nothing of it. Whereupon I made a sign that he should place his hand on the ground. I then took the purse, and, opening it, poured all the gold into his palm. There were six Spanish pieces of four pistoles each, beside twenty or thirty smaller coins. I saw him wet the tip of his little finger upon his tongue, and take up one of my largest pieces, and then another; but he seemed to be wholly ignorant what they were.' In the following quote Gulliver describes the creatures,' Whereupon seven monsters, like himself, came towards him with reaping-hooks in their hands, each hook about the largeness of six scythe. In the above quote Gulliver is revolted by the not so well clad giants and says that the creatures are monsters, which shows that Gulliver isn't fond of the human body. The Brobdingnagians were easy-going and kind and their look didn't compare to their personality in any way. The Brobdingnagians didn't understand the need for enemies as they thought that having enemies would make life pointless. Many of the Brobdingnagians were disgusted when Gulliver talked about England and how the country was run. The following quote shows that England was not a very well run country and the ministers were corrupt and mischievous in their work,' The king was struck with horror at the description I had given him.' The people of Brobdingnag didn't understand the point of doing what people in England were undertaking. In Brobdingnag Swift tries to show through Gulliver how mean humans can be to one another and destroy each other. In Brobdingnag, Swift clearly criticises the ministers and leaders of the land. He uses Gulliver to portray some of the nature that takes place in England. The same point is being shown in Lilliput as well. Gulliver spurns on the way of the English Parliament run the country. He tries to uncover the scantiness of England through Gulliver and the Majesty of Brobdingnag showing how horrified she is by Gulliver's way of life in England. The Beasts Rule – Houyhnhnms The last voyage for Gulliver sees finds himself on a rather strange island where horses rule the yahoos (yahoos coming across as humans). His first sight of an inhabitant was of the Yahoo. He thought it was a monstrosity that a creature of that appearance could actually exist. That disgust is shown in the following quote,' I fell into a beaten road, where I saw many tracts of human feet, and some of cows, but most of horses. At last I beheld several animals in a field, and one or two of the same kind sitting in trees. Their shape was very singular and deformed, which a little discomposed me, so that I lay down behind a thicket to observe them better. Some of them coming forward near the place where I lay, gave me an opportunity of distinctly marking their form.' The Yahoos acts and appearances are portraying humans from Swift's view on them. On the contrary, when he sees the Houyhnhnms he is impressed and full of delight, this is shown in the following quote,' But looking on my left hand, I saw a horse walking softly in the field; which my persecutors having sooner discovered, was the cause of their flight. The horse started a little, when he came near me, but soon recovering himself, looked full in my face with manifest tokens of wonder; he viewed my hands and feet, walking round me several times. I would have pursued my journey, but he placed himself directly in the way, yet looking with a very mild aspect, never offering the least violence.' The Houyhnhnms are clever horses and are very knowledgeable. Swift shows this because he wants to prove that animals aren't just around to be eaten and to be ridden and then when useless to be killed and thrown away for dog meat. He tries to say that animals have feelings as well and they aren't just in the world to always follow rules by humans. They aren't just a horse and that is what one shouldn't be perceive them as, they are living and don't always want to be bossed around. The Houyhnhnms don't have emotions yet their way of life is much better as they also propose the same views of the common Brobdingnagian- they don't see the point in committing sins and starting wars and fights etc. The Houyhnhnms see the Yahoos as greedy, savage, and vile creatures, this being the criticism of a human and the disgust that Swift sees in humans. He uses a horse to show how shocking a human can actually be. The horses are near perfect as they don't even have a word for the term ‘lie' which shows just how honest their society is, and on the contrary how corrupt the English one is. Degraded And Enslaved – Humans Throughout Gulliver's Travels Jonathan Swift has been outlining and uncovering all of the flaws a human can have. He criticises human nature and how corrupt and dishonest it is compared to the Brobdingnag and Houyhnhnms society, which is near perfect in every way where poverty, hunger, and greed doesn't exist. He talks many aspects within society and criticising it to its deepest depth and proving how distasteful human nature can be. The last voyage is the one that really stirs Gulliver up which makes him sometimes wish he was a Houyhnhnm due to their perfect society. Gulliver's feelings for humans have drastically changed and he now sees them to be malicious, conniving, corrupt, disgusting humans can truly be at their potential. My View On P. Colum's Thoughts I completely agree with P. Colum's statement as the whole book is a fairytale inverted, this is shown by the small Lilliputians going to war, the giants are clever and more insight shown by their diminutive knowledge of war and their society having equals throughout and not having poverty or hunger within their society, and finally the Houyhnhnms ruling the Yahoos (who represent humans), yet the horses still treat the Yahoos adequately, when in England horses are just ridden until age as surpassed themselves and they are of no use. Also I also agree with Colum saying that humanity is degraded and enslaved because humans do take advantage of power and greed is something that triumphs over good will. Humans can't escape selfishness, corruption and malice for they have trapped themselves within these sins.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essays

Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essays Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essay Using relevant theories and examples from organisations Essay Title: Exploitation relevant theories and illustrations from administrations with which you are familiar, explicate why squad work is so of import to modern-day administrationsThe Hawthorne Studies [ 1 ] by Elton Mayo and associates, followed by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations [ 2 ] in the 1950s emphasised the importance of societal interactions/relationships at work, and how these affect public presentation, i.e. working in groups can profit productiveness. Teams are different from other work groups because they are established for specific intents and are a unit’ with shared ends. They have been defined as a figure of people – normally merely a few- with different backgrounds, accomplishments and cognition, and drawn from assorted countries of the organisation who work together on a particular and defined task ( Drucker, 1999 ) [ 3 ] .Initially squad working was associated with bettering quality of working life by providing for employee’s intrinsic demands, e.g. morale, liberty, etc. However, squad working is now recognised as imperative to derive competitory advantage through improved quality, problem-solving/creativity because complex concern environments mean that procedures associated within most industries, e.g. fiscal, fabrication, etc. are normally excessively hard for an single employee to transport out efficaciously.The term tends to mention to the self-managing work units and flow-line engineering that are associated with Nipponese corporations such as Toyota and Nissan and direction thoughts such as entire quality direction, quality circles, just-in-time, etc. Teams normally dominate where merchandise innovation/design are considered imperative to organizational success, e.g. car, chemical industries ( Marchington 1992 ) [ 4 ] . In recent old ages, a greater application of teamwork rules has developed in the service and public sector, e.g. call-centres, teleworking ( Cohen, et Al, 1996 ) . [ 5 ] Proctor and Currie ( 2002 ) [ 6 ] show how squad working was successful in the Inland Revenue through back uping single employee identity’ within the purposes set out for the squad as a whole unit. Clark ( 1995 ) [ 7 ] and Bloisi et Al ( 2003 ) [ 8 ] point out how those corporations show greater success that choose a squad attack in battling challenges instead than single enterprises ; non merely between directors and subsidiaries, but bes ides between providers, investors, clients and other such external agentsAs Oakland ( 2002 ) [ 9 ] notes, squad working is a effect of downsizing, delayering and decentralisation and is as a agency to undertake the troubles originating from countries of end struggle and diverseness that are seen as hindering the aims of the administration ; workers are frequently encouraged to go team’ participants in order to go united in accomplishing corporate ends ( Thompson A ; Wallace, 1996 ) [ 10 ] .Overall, squad working brings greater flexibleness, quality and consciousness in the face of increasing competition. It allows increased communications and co-operation throughout administrations for new developments to win. Arkin ( 1995 ) [ 11 ] explains how Yardley Cosmetics recognised the demand for a move from a traditional functional hierarchy, to one where a demand to better communications and co-operation, every bit good as employee investing, resulted in greater squad working to be tter client services and quality.There is a demand to bear in head that there are assorted contextual factors involved in whether squad working will be successful, e.g. corporate history, worker orientations, control systems at work, engineering, etc. However, as Oakland ( 2002 ) [ 12 ] points out, if the administration has an overall scheme and positive clime, every bit good as construction and mechanisms for the acknowledgment of each single part teams improve procedures, bring forthing consequences rapidly and economically ( Oakland, 2002 ) [ 13 ] . In big corporations, e.g. Motorola and Hewlett-Packard, these types of systems have been established and allow squads to develop when a new challenge emerges.Team working is a agency to augment and better on the constructions that already exist in such administrations and as Hill ( 2003 ) [ 14 ] points out, Without teamwork it is virtually impossible to do and implement high-quality decisions in today’s composite concern enviro nments. Finally, as Oakland ( 2003 ) [ 15 ] argues, betterments to treat jobs can merely be efficaciously dealt with through teamwork through pooling skills/knowledge, improved job resolution and greater occupation satisfaction.Bibliography:Arkin, A. ( 1995 ) More than merely a decorative change’ .Peoples Management. 1: ( 8 ) pp.30-31Bloisi, W. , Cook, C. W. A ; Hunsaker, P. L. ( 2003 )Management and organizational behavior.London: Mcgraw-Hill EducationBuchanan, D. ( 2000 ) An tidal bore and digesting embracing: the on-going rediscovery of squad working as a direction idea’ . In Proctor, S. A ; Mueller, F. ( Eds. ) Team working( 2000 ) London: Macmillan Press.Clark, J. ( 1995 )Pull offing invention and alteration. London: Sage Publications.Cohen, S. , Ledford, C. and Spreitzer, G. ( 1996 ) A prognostic theoretical account of self-managing work squad effectiveness’ .Human Relations. 49 ( 5 ) pp.643-76.Drucker, P. F. ( 1999 )Management: undertakings, duties, pat terns. Oxford: Butterworth-HeinemannDyer, W. G. ( 1987 )Team edifice issues and options.United statess: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. p.7Hill, L. A. ( 2003 )Becoming a director: how new directors master the challenges of leading. Boston: Harvard Business School PressMarchington, M. ( 1992 )Pull offing the squad.Oxford: BlackwellOakland, J.S. ( 2002 )Entire organizational excellence: achieving first public presentation.Oxford: Butterworth-HeinemannProctor, S. A ; Currie, G. ( 2002 ) How squad working plants in the Inland Revenue: significance, operation and impact’ .Forces Review, vol.31, no. 3. pp.304-319.Thompson, P. A ; Wallace, T. ( 1996 ) Redesigning production through squad working: instance surveies from the Volvo Truck Corporation’. International Journal of Operations and Production Management.16 ( 2 ) pp.103-181

Monday, October 21, 2019

buy custom Drug Testing in the Work Place essay

buy custom Drug Testing in the Work Place essay The phrase workplace place drug testing is the process of examining biological substances to identify drugs or their metabolites present in a body. Urine tests are the most prevalent form of drug testing in the United States. However, other tests such as hair, sweat and saliva tests are administered to determine the presence of unnecessary substances. For those people who consume alcohol, breath tests are carried out to determine the level of toxicology. Workplace drug testing takes different forms and carried out at different times, with the common forms being; post-accident testing, random testing of workers and pre-employment testing. The application of drug testing has been extensively used on sports and in the judicial system to curb doping and illegal drug use. In addition, there has been recent media and public deliberations of the possibility of extending the use of drug testing in schools as well as the police service (Steiner and Steiner 16). Work-related drug testing has been on the rise in the United States with prospects of a significant increase in the near future, to some extent, influenced by the marketing campaign of drug testing services to current and potential employers. Workplace drug testing has turned out to be a major safety aspect in the place or work for both safety professionals and human resources. A sizeable number of Fortune 500 companies has embraced and supported drug testing. The intention is to minimize the impact from drug abuse in the place of work. Most drug-use related impacts such as absenteeism, attitude problems, tardiness, and violence have been associated with reduced employees production. According to the United States department of labor, the use of drugs by workers costs employers over $80 billion annually in workers compensation costs, drug-related accidents and healthcare. Another study by Simpson reveals that over 70% of all work-related accidents are linked to drugs or alcohol, and substance abusers exploit health care benefits 18times more than non-abusers. In addition, drug users are over six times more probable to make workers' compensation claims as compared to non-drug users (Simpson 73). The subject of worklace drug testing is compound and has legal, ethical, economic, social and scientific dimensions. Nevertheless, the issues that it raises are not just technical ones for the pertinent experts. They comprise questions concerning the quickly changing nature of leisure and work and leisure in the contemporary world; the equilibrium between the welfare of employers and the privacy of employees; the connection between substance abuse and workplace-related tension. The development of workplace drug testing could have a philosophical impact on all current and potential employees in the United States, and there is a risk that this practice might become a routine in the lack of a proper and full public debate. With the enlargement of the trade amalgamation group and sensitive responsiveness of the significance of personal civil rights, American employees came to persist that being off the employment was their confidential concern not to be inspected by bosses. However, big gaps have started to emerge in the barrier that has alienated time on and off the employment, mainly owing to the introduction of modern technologies that make it likely for managers to supervise their workers' off-duty behavior. Currently, millions of American employees each year, in both the public and personal divisions are forced to engage in urinalysis drug checks as a provision of acquiring or maintaining an employment position (Wadsworth and Smith 35). The American Civil Liberties Union contests unsystematic urine testing since the procedure is both unjust and needless. It is unreasonable to push employees who are not even alleged of using drugs, and whose employment deliverability is acceptable, to "confirm" their virtue through a shameful and doubtful process that defies individual confidentiality. Such checks are pointless, since they cannot discover injuries. Therefore, never improve a boss' capability to estimate or foretell job efficiency. Based on the words of Louis Brandeis, a US High Court Judge, innocent individuals do have something to conceal: their personal life. The right to privacy is appreciated and inclusive of human rights. It is unreasonable to compel workers who are not eveen alleged of using drugs to "verify" their virtuousness through a humiliating and vague system that infringes individual confidentiality. of an individual's urine can reveal numerous facts regarding that individual's personal life other than usage of drugs. It can inform a manager, whether a worker or employment candidate is being treated for a heart disease, dejection, epilepsy or diabetes. It can also disclose if a worker is pregnant or not. All managers must confer with lawful consultants to guarantee that they conform to any appropriate nation or local regulations and plan their analysis course to endure lawful confrontations. In companies where employees are in unions, the execution of checking plans should be discussed. Even at times when testing is compulsory by Federal rules, specific features of how the strategy is executed ought to be consented to through joint negotiations. Most workers in the United States are not obligated to drug investigation and numerous nation and local administrations have laws that restrict or forbid work-related drug tests, unless when needed by country or federal rules for specific reasons. Moreover, drug testing is not necessary in the Drug-Free place of work Act of 1988 (Wadsworth and Smith 33). Drug testing can comprise an essential part in safety-significance and other professions where the community is allowed to anticipate the uppermost values of security and decency. Apart from this, there is no validation for drug checking basically as a technique of regulating the personal conduct of the personnel, nor is it a suitable device for coping with most employee efficiency problems. Even where drug testing is reasonable, it must be performed with vigilance, and executed in a reasonable, obvious and comprehensive approach. The IIDTW winds up that superior inclusive supervision is the most successful technique for realizing increased output, improved security, small truant rates, poor personnel proceeds and a consistent and accountable labor force. For nearly all companies, investment in administration teaching and schemes will have additional effect on protection, deliverability and efficiency than drug testing at workplaces (Steiner and Steiner 23). Buy custom Drug Testing in the Work Place essay

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Free Online Public Schools for Connecticut Students

Free Online Public Schools for Connecticut Students Connecticut offers resident students the opportunity to take online public school courses for free. Below is a list of no-cost online schools currently serving elementary and high school students in Connecticut. In order to qualify for the list, schools must meet the following qualifications: classes must be available completely online, they must offer services to state residents, and they must be funded by the government. Virtual schools listed may be charter schools, state-wide public programs, or private programs that receive government funding. List of Connecticut Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools CT Virtual Learning Center (off-site link) About Online Charter Schools and Online Public Schools Many states now offer tuition-free online schools for resident students under a certain age (often 21). Most virtual schools are charter schools; they receive government funding and are run by a private organization. Online charter schools are subject to fewer restrictions than traditional schools. However, they are reviewed regularly and must continue to meet state standards. Some states also offer their own online public schools. These virtual programs generally operate from a state office or a school district. State-wide public school programs vary. Some online public schools offer a limited number of remedial or advanced courses not available in brick-and-mortar public school campuses. Others offer full online diploma programs. A few states choose to fund â€Å"seats† for students in private online schools. The number of available seats may be limited and students are usually asked to apply through their public school guidance counselor. (See also: 4 Types of Online High Schools). Choosing a Connecticut Online Public School When choosing an online public school, look for an established program that is regionally accredited and has a track record of success. Be wary of new schools that are disorganized, are unaccredited, or have been the subject of public scrutiny. For more suggestions on evaluating virtual schools see: How to Choose an Online High School.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Management consulting-To what extent is it realistic to expect Essay

Management consulting-To what extent is it realistic to expect consultancies to act ethically - Essay Example Consulting is defined as a practice that involves use of multiple talents and expertise to help solve issues in organizations. In the present business environment business consultants have a very important role that provides them with a good influential position in an organization. This has given rise to many ethical aspects that have emerged after a series of frauds that have come to light recently over the few years (Wang, 2008, p.56). The recent case of Mr. Rajat Gupta involved in a series of corporate frauds and unethical practices illustrates the aspect of unethical practices being used by consultants worldwide. The famous and influential consultant who happened to be the managing director of Mc Kinsey and Co illegally and unethically started a parallel consultancy that had his family members in the top management. Mr. Gupta reportedly indulged in unethical practices like leaking sensitive information and insider trading to get unexercised options worth 1.3 million dollars from GE’s subsidiary arm Genpact (Monadnock Research, 2011). It has also been reported that it is the middle management persons that are most often involved in cases of frauds and unethical practices in business organizations (Monadnock Research-a, 2011). ... In the age of capitalism it has often been stated that consultants and consultancies largely act as certifying agents. The auditors largely acted as an assurance agent for external investors and general public towards the aspect of ethicality and trustworthiness of the business organizations. This aspect in itself has given considerable powers and high status to the consultants who normally act as auditors for business organizations (Sikka, 2009, p.3). With the passage of time since the industrial revelation the world has seen many reforms that also include better surveillance and control by the regulatory authorities on public organizations as well as the financial institutions like banks and stock markets. The growth of business organizations was also followed by a commensurate growth in the consultancy industry. However the aspect of regulations and monitoring was completely absent for this sector that has perhaps led to the growth of unethical practices in the industry (Mahoney, 2011, p.5). The aspect of unethical aspect in the consulting industry has been often traced to the aspect of individualism in the industry. It is a common practice in the consulting industry to make individual consultants accountable for their activities that also includes the aspect of providing accolades for their performances. This has been identified as one of the major reasons for the growing influence of the consultants that in turn has given rise to unethical practise in the industry. This aspect of unethical means has also led to the growth of a popular feeling with regards to the trustworthiness of the consultants with regards to their practices in the industry (Mahoney, 2011, p.3). The trustworthy perception of

SAS Enterprise Miner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SAS Enterprise Miner - Essay Example Company has a long list of donors and is involved in the process of sending out mailers to all its donors who have contributed to the Company at one time or another. However, in the interest of making its mailings more fruitful in terms of the returns they are likely to generate, the Company proposes to prune its list down in order to derive a data subset that will take into consideration only those donors in whose case the probability of a donation is higher. Since the list of donors presently is about 5000, the Company is interested in conducting a statistical data analysis and data mining in order to prune down this number. This report will therefore conduct three different forms of statistical data mining to arrive at the information that is sought: (a) decision tree (b) linear regression (c) neural network. The report generated on a preliminary data analysis on the basis of a paired samples test may be viewed in Appendix A. This analysis uses the variables of the average of all gifts received in the last thirty six months and the number of life time gifts to date reveals a is a positive correlation between the two variables that have been selected in this case – the average gifts received in the past three years and the gifts received during the lifetime of the donors. This would appear to indicate that the most likely donors could be among those who have been making gifts in the past three years, since this is related to a lifetime pattern of giving. This can be correlated with the socio economic variables in order to provide a more comprehensive broad based report of other positive correlations. In order to analyze this data, the estimated ratio of responses to promotions is a good independent variable, against which the correlation of dependant socio economic variables may be considered. A Pearson correlation matrix helps to establish the correlation between these various socio economic groups and their average gift giving, and this is set out in

SAS Enterprise Miner Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

SAS Enterprise Miner - Essay Example Company has a long list of donors and is involved in the process of sending out mailers to all its donors who have contributed to the Company at one time or another. However, in the interest of making its mailings more fruitful in terms of the returns they are likely to generate, the Company proposes to prune its list down in order to derive a data subset that will take into consideration only those donors in whose case the probability of a donation is higher. Since the list of donors presently is about 5000, the Company is interested in conducting a statistical data analysis and data mining in order to prune down this number. This report will therefore conduct three different forms of statistical data mining to arrive at the information that is sought: (a) decision tree (b) linear regression (c) neural network. The report generated on a preliminary data analysis on the basis of a paired samples test may be viewed in Appendix A. This analysis uses the variables of the average of all gifts received in the last thirty six months and the number of life time gifts to date reveals a is a positive correlation between the two variables that have been selected in this case – the average gifts received in the past three years and the gifts received during the lifetime of the donors. This would appear to indicate that the most likely donors could be among those who have been making gifts in the past three years, since this is related to a lifetime pattern of giving. This can be correlated with the socio economic variables in order to provide a more comprehensive broad based report of other positive correlations. In order to analyze this data, the estimated ratio of responses to promotions is a good independent variable, against which the correlation of dependant socio economic variables may be considered. A Pearson correlation matrix helps to establish the correlation between these various socio economic groups and their average gift giving, and this is set out in

Friday, October 18, 2019

Marketing Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing - Research Proposal Example The credit crunch currently being experienced provides an opportunity for an understanding of its influence on buyer behaviour. This learning will allow marketing to work out strategies to operate efficiently in markets, where there is a paucity of credit. Such strategies could include giving tangible value to brands and pricing and promotion strategies in a market where there is a paucity of credit. Lenard, 2008 suggests that during paucity of credit, consumers tend to equate price and brand. In other words in the credit crunch have made consumers hypersensitive to price and this provides an opportunity to develop a pricing strategy that capitalizes on this hypersensitivity of consumers to price. Less of brand promotion and more of competitive pricing may be the requirement in such a marketing strategy (Lenard, 2008). Why has price become such a dominant factor in consumer behaviour? Even prior to the credit crunch wages as a share of national income has been showing a downward trend over the last three decades raising the level of the influence of price on purchase decisions. The credit crunch has heightened this influence of price on purchase decision (Harman, 2008). High value capital goods are among the first places to feel the impact of credit crunch. This can be seen in the changed behaviour in car purchases in the United Kingdom, fuelled by the higher prices of petrol and the credit crunch. In the United Kingdom new car registrations fell by 21.8% in September 2008 (Committee on Climate Change, 2008). Consumer behaviour reaction has not just impacted high value capital goods, but almost every product and service. For almost fifty years consumers were given a surplus of credit that enabled them to purchase with the minimal influence of price. The credit crunch changed all that in that it sparked recession in the UK in the final quarter of 2008, which led to an increase in

Recruitment and Staffing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Recruitment and Staffing - Essay Example , when demand and supply have been appropriately determined for each position in each of the owner’s small convenience stores, he could anticipate future demand and design acquisition strategies which integrate time frame elements to ensure that future requirements are placed at an appropriate time. As emphasized in Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller (2012), for small establishments like what the owner has, the method of job analysis that is most appropriate is the job group analysis. As disclosed, â€Å"jobs with similar content, wage rates, and opportunities (e.g., promotion, training) must be combined into job groups, and each group must include a list of job titles†¦ use as job groups the nine categories on the EEO-1 form: officials and managers, professionals, technicians, sales, office and clerical, craft workers (skilled), operatives (semiskilled), laborers (unskilled), and service workers† (Heneman, Judge, & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012, p. 129). It was also stated that the percentage of women and minorities in each group should be appropriated, as required by labor

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Inventory Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inventory Paper - Essay Example The modern context, nonetheless, opposes the form of influence that entails coercion. Instead, effective leaders seek to build relationships with their followers. In fact, just like Blake with his TOMS idea for providing shoes to the children in Argentina, modern day leaders need to put the interest of their followers before theirs. They then forge a win-win situation for both parties. Despite all leadership not being equal, such successful leaders exude unique leadership styles that identify them and seek to lead by example, having developed their inner selves first before instilling the same in their followers. This activity has been useful in appreciating my leadership style. I am democratic and would always seek to have the will of the people prevail. Perhaps, this style is supported by the activity’s acknowledgement of the need for selflessness for success as a leader. In most cases, I seek to lead by example, always doing what I would expect my followers to do. This has made me to cause people to take up tasks they never imagined they would undertake. I am not coercive. This could be a failure on my part because as learnt from the activity, some coercion could help a leader realize the set objectives. However, care should be taken to ensure that a balance between coercion and free will by followers is reached. By being democratic, I have had the undesirable will of the people carry the day. There was this one day when I was charged with the finances for our sports cheering team that accompanied players to a tournament. I proposed that we share the allowances at the end of the tournament. The cheerers wanted it before and I did as they wished. By the time the games started, they had spent all the money and some were even hungry already. They failed to cheer our team well, perhaps the reason we were beaten. Thus, I do not support the postulate from this activity that a successful leader should be defined by a specific style. Instead, a leader should

Training teachers to produce software program and using in their Thesis Proposal

Training teachers to produce software program and using in their classes - Thesis Proposal Example Additional research has demonstrated that 53% of the aspiring teachers who participated believed that they had confidence in their software programming skills in the classroom (Yost et al. 2003). Studies have shown that 50% of all educational professionals apply software educational material in the learning environment. The application of computer aids differs from educational locations. In some locations, the instructor application of software programming approaches 100%. In other locations the instructor application of software programming is nil. Many instructors attribute this deficiency to time constraints, economic constraints and deficiency in instructor preparation (Education World n.d.). The instructor application of software has been proven to increase student’s ability in quantifiable courses. The instructor application of the software programming has yet to be proven to enhance the students’ skills in social studies, language and the arts. Research has demonstrated that software programming consists of various levels which may be assessed distinctively. These implementations may be applied with varying levels of success to quantitative and graphic courses (Roschelle et al. 2001). There are courses which provide effective lesson administration and enable aspiring teachers to aggregate interactive classroom participation in the lesson plan. Those desiring to become educators may acquire the software programming skills in order to properly administrate the lesson plans and connect items to an assortment of web based resources. The web based resources may apply visual and auditory aids in order to facilitate classroom instruction. Aspiring teachers may acquire or enhance software programming ability by the following implementations: The integration of software programs in the classroom by the aspiring teachers

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Inventory Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Inventory Paper - Essay Example The modern context, nonetheless, opposes the form of influence that entails coercion. Instead, effective leaders seek to build relationships with their followers. In fact, just like Blake with his TOMS idea for providing shoes to the children in Argentina, modern day leaders need to put the interest of their followers before theirs. They then forge a win-win situation for both parties. Despite all leadership not being equal, such successful leaders exude unique leadership styles that identify them and seek to lead by example, having developed their inner selves first before instilling the same in their followers. This activity has been useful in appreciating my leadership style. I am democratic and would always seek to have the will of the people prevail. Perhaps, this style is supported by the activity’s acknowledgement of the need for selflessness for success as a leader. In most cases, I seek to lead by example, always doing what I would expect my followers to do. This has made me to cause people to take up tasks they never imagined they would undertake. I am not coercive. This could be a failure on my part because as learnt from the activity, some coercion could help a leader realize the set objectives. However, care should be taken to ensure that a balance between coercion and free will by followers is reached. By being democratic, I have had the undesirable will of the people carry the day. There was this one day when I was charged with the finances for our sports cheering team that accompanied players to a tournament. I proposed that we share the allowances at the end of the tournament. The cheerers wanted it before and I did as they wished. By the time the games started, they had spent all the money and some were even hungry already. They failed to cheer our team well, perhaps the reason we were beaten. Thus, I do not support the postulate from this activity that a successful leader should be defined by a specific style. Instead, a leader should

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Human Relations - Conflict Resolution - MAYER Essay

Human Relations - Conflict Resolution - MAYER - Essay Example It is to be pointed out that the value of this book is more than that of a guide for conflict practitioners, but it helps an individual to withstand conflicts in future. The central issue in this book concentrates on unique perspective of conflict resolution and prevention. The book can be divided into two distinct parts, first deals with conflict, i.e. the problem, and the second part deals with resolution or solution for the problem. Three dimensions of conflict are pointed out, i.e. perception, emotion and action, and it consists of practical vision of understanding conflict. The description of the causes of conflict points out conflict resolution as a social service. Mayer points out that, people’s approach towards conflict is unpredictable because of individual difference. So, the goals and objectives of a practitioner or a mediator must focus beyond mere resolution. The foretold goals and objectives should go ahead of resolution, and it must change the ethical and moral value system of our society. Different types of conflicts are discussed like cognitive, emotional and behavioral. So the role of individuals in conflict is varied and th ey are mentioned by Mayer as-advocate, mediator, expert, arbitrator, or witness. But communication and understanding plays the prominent role in conflict resolution. The next set of ideas mentioned is that of conflict resolution. First of all, Mayer points out three dimensions of conflict resolution. He is with a different idea on mediation as method to resolve conflict. Effective and practical approaches like distributive and integrative negotiation are mentioned but the radical idea is that of confronting an impasse while negotiation. The importance of the role of mediators and their limitations are also mentioned. He further goes beyond the traditional methods of conflict resolution and it leads him to the search for alternative conflict resolution procedures. The

Monday, October 14, 2019

AP Literature and Composition level Essay Example for Free

AP Literature and Composition level Essay  ¡Cruza la frontera ya!There is a serious circumstance that is troubling America: the inability of we Americans to accept our Hispanic counterparts. This is no forgivable matter; it is surrounding our country. Sure they illegally cross the border but is there really a difference between the America-Mexico border and the Texas-New Mexico border? I didnt think so. These citizens who come to America benefit us in so ways; many of which we have never even began to consider. When our Hispanic friends enter the United States they bring with them a whole new culture. These contacts to Hispanic history teach us Spanish. I plan on getting a minor degree in Spanish when I go to college but at this rate I will know the language before I even graduate high school. Not only are we exposed to Spanish but also Hispanic foods. Where would the country, and especially Roanoke Rapids, be without Mexican food? Think people. Chimichangas are the fuels to our minds and they give the sewage companies business. All those clogged septic tanks. The food, which Hispanic Americans bring to this country, creates jobs and by the way this economy is going we are going to need as many jobs as possible. While we are speaking of jobs, let us address the role of Hispanics in the workplace. The entire reason that they cross the border is to pursue a better life. So let them. Allow these border hoppers to take your job or even give them a job. If you own a farm, migrant workers are the new slaves. They are cheap laborers but be sure to buy them as soon as you seem them because they will be gone in a split second. Even if they cannot become a farmhand they can have our jobs. If all of our jobs are taken then we can all sit at home for the rest of our lives, be placed on welfare or unemployment, smoke the tobacco that they plucked for our cigarettes, and live off of the corn that was picked last month from Farmer Joes field. Doesnt that sound like an amazing life? They can even do our handy work. If you need a new coffee table do not go to Sears and spend $50 on a new table let the Hispanic man across the street build you one; hell do if for free. Even if you havent cleaned your house in five months, ask the Hispanic lady who lives on the corner to clean it. She wont charge a fee either. As long as you do not inform the government about the illegal status of your  Hispanic neighbors they will perform any household task that you ask for them to do. It is by far the fairest exchange that happens in the United States. Another exchange happens on every street corner in the part of town you are scared to visit. These immigrants deal the drugs that our young adults would be dealing. Let them sell the drugs instead of our youth, this keeps the American children innocent of drug dealing matters. With our kids getting arrested in fifth grade for bringing marijuana to school, we need some other culture to take over. The charges for dealing drugs are much higher than what we would receive for taking the drugs. Smuggling has always been seen as a problem, but why? They are bringing more drugs for us to use. Without Hispanic drug smugglers the drug count in the United States would be half as small. Consent to their American livelihoods so that our children are safe, from being arrested. Let us look at the other silly laws that are broken by the illegals. Many of our migrants choose to acquire fake Social Security cards. These cards will permit them to receive the same benefits that we are allotted to when we retire. Hey, if we live at home on welfare for the rest of our lives they can receive the Social Security that will deplete in a few years anyway. Their increasing number will probably cause it to drain much sooner at any rate. Driving without a license is also a problem many conservative Americans face with immigration. I cannot see why. The immigrants are so careful not to wreck because they cant be seen without a green card or they will get deported. So naturally, they would be some of the safest drivers in the US of A. Get close to their bumpers and trail behind them. But dont follow them into the bad part of town; you might get confused for a dealer. The presence of these immigrants and their drugs will benefit the government officials. Many more police jobs will be created in order to keep up with the constantly growing migrant number. Police will patrol nightly searching for Hispanic people who are jumping fences; this is considered to be a sign of a true border crosser. Many Americans should feel safer because there will be nightly patrols and true criminals would be caught in the process. By this point I hope you understand how important Hispanic immigrants are to our American existence. We rely on them for much more than you realize. They also save us from many hassles. Soon police will begin to over look all immigrants and so should you. Allow them to take our jobs, plow our fields, sell our drugs, and even deplete our Social Security. The country will be nothing but immigrants and the few true born Americans that are left standing will become the minority. These Hispanic crossers will make Americans feel much safer. Our real criminals are caught and our children are saved from dealing drugs. All this is caused by a few Mexican men who decided to try to cross the America-Mexico border. Their success allowed many other Hispanics to flee to the United States in order to save Americans from ourselves. We should be so grateful of the many sacrifices which Hispanics allow us to create to give them our American Dream

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Ricardo Semler And New Zealand Essay -- essays research papers

Introduction The biggest challenge facing any business today is change. Ricardo Semlars approach to management revolutionized they way in which Secom did business. However it is of question if Semlars model of business can be successfully transplanted into New Zealand’s business environment and change the way in which they operate. This essay will therefore discuss if Ricardo’s unique approach to business, and how it can be successfully used in the New Zealand business environment. This essay will firstly discuss the idea that profit sharing can motivate workers and how this idea is set up in the New Zealand business environment. Secondly the ways in which employee participation work in New Zealand, and how managers can better understand their workers. Lastly the importance of information sharing to a success of a company, and ways in which this idea has helped New Zealand companies find business success. Therefore this essay will show that Semlar’s approach to management can be successfully adapted to the New Zealand business environment. Background Ricardo Semler at the age of 24, implemented three main management schemes to try and successfully run a business. Stated by some as unique, Ricardo Semelr has gone and taken these schemes and used them in his fathers business Semco. After struggling for many years (close to bankruptcy) because of the high Brazilian inflation rate and poor business model, Ricardo was able to turn this all around. Within 8 years Semco had become one of Brazil’s fastest growing companies with a profit margin of 10% on sales of $32 million. Ricardo puts this down to his three core management techniques of profit sharing, employee implementation and the free flow of information.(Semler, 1989) These management schemes are not new, but Ricardo Semler was able to successfully implement these schemes into the Brazilian business environment, while other companies in Brazil and international companies such as Allis Chalmers failed. Thus it is of question if whether or not New Zealand companies can do wh at Ricardo Semler did. Profit sharing The first of Ricardo’s management schemes is the idea of profit sharing and the effect it has on the employee. Profit sharing is formed on the bases that employees should receive a share of the profits of the company. Semler (1889) believes that the idea of profit sharing shouldn’t be a gimmick... ...environment and hopefully more businesses will do so. Reference list Bell, D.W, & Hanson, C.G. (1987) Profit Sharing and Profitability. London. Kogan Page. Foster, B. & Mackie B.L (2002) Weddels Tomoana: A retrospective study of Workplace Reform. The New Zealand Journal of Human Resources Management, 2, p. 1-10 Killian, K. & Perez, F. (1998) Ricardo Semler and Semco S.A (Report No. A15-98-0024. Thunderbird: American Graduate School of International Management Light, E. (1997) Living the Dream. NZ Business. P34-36 Macfie, R. (2001, October 1st) Making it in New Zealand, Unlimited p. 14-17 Maetzig, R. (1999, December 20th) Not to chicken to try new approach. The daily News. P.5 Semler, R. (1989) Managing Without Managers. Harvard Business Review September/October, 76-84 Sinoski, K. (2004) No Incentive. The independent: New Zealand’s Business Weekly. August/September. P. 18 Smith, A. (1996, September 11) The Highs and Lows. The Dominion, p.20 Smith, D. (1977) Worker Participation: A critical appraisal of present practice in New Zealand. Wellington. Victoria University of Wellington Upfront-Unearned Rewards.(2004) Management . September/October. P. 12

Saturday, October 12, 2019

The Growth of Democracy :: European Europe History

The Growth of Democracy In 1850, Britain was an undemocratic country. At this time the electoral system divided Boroughs and Counties. Voting qualifications were different in boroughs and constituencies. The vote was only given to men over the age of 21 providing their property was valued at  £10 or more, or land was more than  £2 per year in rent. Seats were distributed unequally and traditional ruling families usually formed the Cabinet. Furthermore, bribery and corruption were widespread and only the minority of the population were entitled to vote. At this time there was no form of a basic education for the population masses and there was still a lot of power lying within the House Of Lords and not with elected officials. A certain degree of money was necessary to stand for election because this was not a paying job, which, as a result stopped vast numbers of people standing for election because the did not have the finances to support themselves. Nor were they able to afford to stand for election a s due to bribery and corruption, the poor stood no chance of winning as they did not have the money to provide voters with what they wanted in return for their support. For democracy, there needed to be regular elections and although at this time elections were every seven years, this was not often enough. However between 1850 and 1918, progress was made towards Britain becoming a democracy. Now there was better communication and education increasing political interest and this influenced people in trade, industry and finance. Economic changes made people better off and left them wanting to take part in politics, and be represented in parliament. This general desire for the widening of the franchise led to pressure groups forming in 1864. The Extension of the Franchise was helped by the Second Reform Bill passed in 1867. In this act, all householders who paid rates with 12 months residence and all  £10 a year lodgers with one years residence in the Boroughs were given the Franchise. In the Counties, the Franchise was given to those  £5 property owners and all those who occupied property with a rateable value of  £12 or in Scotland,  £14. This act changed the views of The Liberals and The Tories as they now saw that many people backed the idea of a widening of the franchise. Party opinions changed in order to woo voters in the towns, but these changed opinions alone helped in bringing Britain towards democracy as now these political parties wanted to give the people what they wanted and were, agreeing with the populations views on this issue.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Interpersonal Communication Essay

There are many ways that my culture influences my self-concept. First let’s take a look at the many kinds of cultures there are. Culture is defined as the relatively specialized lifestyle of a group of people that is passed on from one generation to the next through communication, not through genes. Culture is transmitted from one generation to another through enculturation, the process by which you learn the culture into which you’re born (your native culture). Parents, peer groups, schools, religious institutions, and government agencies are the main teachers of culture. Through enculturation you develop an ethnic identity, a commitment to the beliefs and philosophy of your culture that, not surprisingly, can act as a protective shield against discrimination. A different process of learning culture is acculturation, the process by which you learn the rules and norms of a culture different from your native culture. In acculturation your original or native culture is modified through direct contact with or exposure to a new and different culture. Cultures, of course, differ in a wide variety of ways; and for purposes of communication, the difference that probably comes to mind first is that of languages. Certainly, cultures do differ in language spoken and understood. Masculine cultures emphasize success and socialize their people to be assertive, ambitious and competitive. Members of masculine cultures are thus more likely to confront conflicts directly and to competitively fight out any differences; they are more likely to emphasize win or lose strategies. Feminine cultures emphasize the quality of life and socialize their people to be modest and to emphasize close interpersonal relationships. Members of feminine cultures are thus more likely to emphasize compromise and negotiation in resolving conflicts; they are more likely to seek win – win solutions. Members of cultures with high ambiguity tolerance do not feel threatened by unknown situations; uncertainty is normal part of life and people accept it as it comes. Members of cultures with low ambiguity tolerance do much to avoid uncertainty and have a great deal of anxiety by not knowing what will happen next; they see uncertainty as threatening and as something that must be counteracted. In an individualist culture members are responsible for themselves and perhaps their immediate family. In a collectivist culture members are responsible for the entire group. In a high context culture much of the information in communication is in the context or in the person. In a low context culture most of the information is explicitly stated in the verbal message. In my every day life I use more of the intercultural communication. Intercultural communication is communication between persons who have different cultural beliefs, values, or ways of behaving. Being that I am African-American and my fiancà ©e is Caucasian my culture changes my self-concept. Being a male you assume that that’s the dominant one in a relationship or what not. I believe that being a male you should set the example for the household. It’s not my way or the highway is the wrong approach. It’s more of a compromise or we agree to disagree. I think that shows masculine. I can say race plays a lot but I would be lying. That would go back to a stereotype. A stereotype is a fixed impression of a group of people. From the outside looking in age would be a stereotype as well. I’ve recently turned twenty-five so that plays into another stereotype. Half way to fifty; what are you doing with your life. Or the stereotype of a black guy with a white woman. You hear it all but its all about your self-concept. I’m comfortable in my own skin. There were more important things of listening that I didn’t realize. One purpose of listening is to learn, something you do regularly as you listen to lectures in college. One of the communication skills most important to healthy relationships is the ability to listen to friends, romantic partners, family members, colleagues, and just about anyone with whom you come into contact with. You also listen to influence other people’s attitudes, beliefs, values, opinions and behaviors. Listening to play music or the rustle of leaves often serves a play purpose. Listening to help is something we experience growing up when our parents listen or, sometimes, don’t listen to our concerns and help us solve our problems. I used the five-stage model of listening as a reference guide. The barrier I noticed I have is receiving the information. By receiving the information wrong I didn’t understand what the other person was trying to get at. On the occasions when I used all five stages of listening correctly; my strong points were evaluating and responding. Which comes back to having good intercultural communication. I noticed how other people listened as well. I think if people would follow the five step process to listening they would have no problem. There would be less confusion as well. Week 5 Journal I have witnessed stages of conflict in one of my relationships by being the one directly involved in the conflict and by being the mediator and actually sitting back and observing. I experienced verbal aggressiveness on a first hand ba sis. It tears a person down from the inside out. I’ve experienced physical aggressiveness. Un like verbal aggressiveness this tears your down from the outside in. I show non verbal power just by the way I carry myself and display my athourity. Im not really sure how I would increase my personal power†¦its more a over time thing than changing it overnight. Nonverbal communication is communication without words. You communicate nonverbally when you gesture, smile or frown, widen your eyes, move your chair closer to someone, wear jewelry, touch someone, or raise your vocal volume, or even when you say nothing. The crucial aspect of nonverbal communication is that the message you send is in some way received by one or more other people. If you gesture while alone in your room and no one is there to see you, then, most theorists would argue, communication has not taken place. The same, of course, is true of verbal messages: If you recite a speech and no one hears it, then communication has not taken place. Body gestures are an especially useful classification in kinesics, or the study of communication through body movement, identifies five types: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, and adaptors. Illustrators make your communications more vivid and help to maintain your listener’s attention. They also help to clarify and intensify your verbal messages. In saying, â€Å"Let’s go up,† for example, you probably move your head and perhaps your finger in an upward direction. In describing a circle or a square, you more than likely make circular or square movements with your hands. Research points to another advantage of illustrators: that they increase your ability to remember. People who illustrated their verbal messages with gestures remembered some 20 percent more than those who didn’t gesture. Affect displays are the movements of the face that convey emotional meaning are the expressions that show anger and fear, happiness and surprise, eagerness and fatigue. Regulators monitor, maintain, or control the speaking of another individual. When you listen to another, you’re not passive; you nod your head, purse your lips, adjust your eye focus, and make various paralinguistic sounds such as â€Å"mm-mm†or â€Å"tsk.†Regulators are culture-bound: Each culture develops its own rules for the regulation of conversation. Adaptors satisfy some need and usually occur without conscious awareness; they’re unintentional movements that usually go unnoticed. Nonverbal researchers identify three types of adaptors based on their focus, direction, or target: self-adaptors, alter-adaptors, and object-adaptors. Self- adaptors usually satisfy a physical need, generally serving to make you more comfortable; examples include scratching your head to relieve an itch, moistening your lips because they feel dry, or pushing your hair out of your eyes.