The Fight For Women s Suffrage - 1434 Words

Human rights, coined in the late 1940s, are typically described as entitlements or privileges belonging inherently to all persons regardless of status such as nationality, sex, religion, etc. (TomasÃŒÅ'evski). One fundamental issue with the ability for women to exercise basic human rights lies with baseless stereotyping and corruption within institutions of power that are meant to protect these rights (What Are Human Rights). Many people strongly believe that with time comes advancement. This is true to some extent, but much progress is yet to be seen as revealed by current feminist issues that are undoubtedly comparable to those of the early 20th century. One of the most prominent issues of the early 1900’s was the fight for women’s suffrage, or in simple terms, the right to vote (TomasÃŒÅ'evski). As America established itself as the world’s first democracy, many European laws and social customs were carried over by colonists to the New World (Women and the Equa l Rights Movement). At this time, women were assigned subordinate positions in society that ensured their dependence on men; they were assigned to roles solely within the domestic sphere and unable to develop their education, control their finances, or have any basic level of autonomy. Women provided immense contributions to the country during the Revolutionary War, and yet when pleading for rights, they were ignored and arguably lost more of their rights with the signing of the Constitution. Industrialism andShow MoreRelatedThe Fight For Women s Suffrage Movement1328 Words   |  6 PagesThe Fight For Women’s Suffrage The Women’s Suffrage Movement of the 1920’s worked to grant women the right to vote nationally, thereby allowing women more political equality. Due to many industrial and social changes during the early 19th century, many women were involved in social advocacy efforts, which eventually led them to advocate for their own right to vote and take part in government agencies. Women have been an integral part of society, working to help those in need, which then fueled aRead MoreFrederick Douglass And The Fight For Women s Suffrage1357 Words   |  6 Pagesvoice in the fight for women’s suffrage. Douglass unlike many men believed that women too were people and deserved all of the rights a man was given. He believed this because black men were previously apart from the equality of all men, and they too should be apart in gaining this equality for all. Douglass, along with other strong willed women, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Sojourne r Truth, among others, they became the forefront of Women’s Suffrage in the 1848 ConventionRead MoreDifferences Between The American And Japanese Internment Camps During Wwii, And Women s Fight For Suffrage2229 Words   |  9 Pageshave been ascribed features to people s lives based solely in biological characteristics. From African’s being made to be slaves through the middle passage, the Japanese internment camps during WWII, and women s fight for suffrage against the traditional decree of the founding fathers that only white landowning males could vote, the backlash to the subjugation of different peoples into the outskirts of society is awe inspiring. In today’s modern world, this fight is undoubtedly what inspires writersRead MoreWomen s Suffrage Movement : Women1440 Words   |  6 PagesApril 24, 2016 Women’s Suffrage Movement In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, women were not given the rights they have today and were being mistreated, but because of a few brave women who gave up their lives to fight for what they knew was right, this all changed. Many of these women were educated and brave, but were still denied their rights. Women have suffered through this long battle to get what they knew they deserved and took time out of their lives to fight for what they believedRead MoreWomen s Suffrage Movement : Women1440 Words   |  6 PagesApril 24, 2016 Women’s Suffrage Movement In the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s, women were not given the rights they have today and were being mistreated, but because of a few brave women who gave up their lives to fight for what they knew was right, this all changed. Many of these women were educated and brave, but were still denied their rights. Women have suffered through this long battle to get what they knew they deserved and took time out of their lives to fight for what they believedRead MoreWomen‚Äà ´s Suffrage Movement of Europe1187 Words   |  5 PagesThroughout history, women have struggled for equality in all parts of the world. European women fought for suffrage for an extremely long period of time before they were granted full voting rights. Each country approved women’s suffrage at different times, but it occurred in most European countries in the early 20th century. The first country to develop universal suffrage was Finland in the year 1906(â€Å"Women’s Suffr age in Europe†). One of the last countries to become open about women’s voting rightsRead MoreWomen s Rights Movement During The Nineteenth Century1632 Words   |  7 PagesAPUSH I May 26, 2016 Women’s Rights Movement Women in the nineteenth century began to fight for their rights as they were inspired by other abolitionist movements. Women were denied basic natural rights that were given to men. For example, women were not allowed to vote or own property. They also earned less money than men, even if they were working the same job. Men also had a more variety of opportunities in regarding jobs and careers. Women were expected to care for the children and theRead MoreThe Struggle For Gain Suffrage884 Words   |  4 PagesThe struggle to gain suffrage was not easy: anti-suffragists and the gender norms of society constantly interfered, leading to nearly a century-long battle of rights. Unlike preconceived notions about the suffrage movements of the nineteenth century, not all women wanted to obtain suffrage and women s organizations weren t always focused on the right to vote itself, but rather were radical. Change and new leadership were needed to refocus and improve women s suffrage organ izations in order toRead MoreEssay about The History of the Women’s Suffrage Movement977 Words   |  4 PagesWomen’s suffrage, or the crusade to achieve the equal right for women to vote and run for political office, was a difficult fight that took activists in the United States almost 100 years to win. On August 26, 1920 the 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified, declaring all women be empowered with the same rights and responsibilities of citizenship as men, and on Election Day, 1920 millions of women exercised their right to vote for the very first time. The women’sRead MoreThe On The Battlefield Of Equality1625 Words   |  7 Pagesliterature, music, and patriotism. Women in the 1920s overcame the battle of obtaining suffrage and the advancement of birth control; these challenges led to an embracing of new ideas in fashion, sexuality, and equality. To begin, suffrage for women in America began in the mid 1800s and ended in 1920, when women in America were finally granted with this well-deserved right to vote. In America, suffrage began in the western state of Wyoming in 1869, where women had a slightly more equal role in the

Takeshi Obata †God of the Manga World Free Essays

Takeshi Obata, who was born on February 11th, 1969 in Niigata Prefecture is a Japanese manga aritst. He works as the artist in collaboration with a writer.. We will write a custom essay sample on Takeshi Obata – God of the Manga World or any similar topic only for you Order Now He originally became noticed in 1985 when he took a prize in the Tezuka Award for his one shot 500 Konen no Kaiwa. [1] Joining the Weekly Shonen Jump staff, he mentored under Makoto Niwano before starting his first major series, writing and drawing Cyborg Jii-chan G in 1989. Having difficulty for several years in finding a hit, Obata began collaborating with other writers on their stories.He finally began the series that established his name when he teamed with Yumi Hotta on Hikaru no Go starting in 1998. He is most well-known as the artist of Hikaru no Go, and Death Note. Obata is rare among shonen artists not only for the detail of his drawings, but in his penchant for fashion, the characters he draws often wear stylish clothes and trendy items like the latest fashionable scarf, tie or handbag. Although all his works are based on the others’ scripts, the character designs’re completely decided by himself.His art-style is very unique, I’m sure you’ll be impressed by Obata Takeshi’s vivid imagination, Gothic and Visual Kei fashion in his works once you have the chance to read Death Note, Hikaru no Go or several of his one-shots. Now I want to say something about my favourite manga of all times: Death Note. This is the most popular among his works. It has an interesting storyline, with many impressive plot twists. Light Yagami is an ace student with great prospects–and he’s bored out of his mind. But everything changes when he finds the Death Note, a notebook dropped by a rogue death god.Any human whose name is written in the notebook dies, and now Light has vowed to use the power of the Death Note to rid the world of evil and become God of the new world. But when criminals begin dropping dead, the authorities send the legendary detective L to track down the killer. With L hot on his heels, will Light lose sight of his noble goal or his life? I’ve already finished this series about one year ago, but now I’m still attracted to it because of the well-done artwork. The characters’ emotions are perfectly expressed through Obata Takeshi’s drawing. Death Note’s a masterpiece and to me, Obata Takeshi is God of the manga world.Moreover. he has served as the artist of Blue Dragon Ral Grad, a manga adaptation of the fantasy video game, Blue Dragon from December 2006 to July 2007. In the fall of 2007, he drew a short story, Hello Baby, with writer Masanori Morita, which appeared in Jump Square. This was followed by a one-shot manga with Nisio Isin. He is currently working on a new series with Tsugumi Ohba, Bakuman, which began in August, 2008. Obata Takeshi has contributed well to the manga industry with his bestselling works. I hope that in the future he will be more successful and produce more hits. How to cite Takeshi Obata – God of the Manga World, Papers

Funerals From The Astral Sphere by Midnight Odyssey free essay sample

Dis Pater of Midnight Odyssey, an Australian one-man band, can do it all. His atmospheric black metal music, and especially this album, can make for some spacey adventures. â€Å"Funerals from the Astral Sphere† was released by I, Voidhanger Records and is a 16-track, two-disc, two-hour-long ride that may very well take a while, but you will have fun along the way. The synths, vocals, and drums create a very spacey vibe. Right from the first track, â€Å"Fallen from Firmament,† you can tell that things are going to get epic. The music transports you from lightly floating in space to suddenly screaming because you are running out of oxygen and need help. Eventually you realize that if no one is going to help, you might as well die peacefully. But remember, if you scream in space, no one will hear – unless you’re listening to this massive album. The repetition adds to the excellent atmosphere (as it always does), and the space theme matches the artwork on the cover. We will write a custom essay sample on Funerals From The Astral Sphere by Midnight Odyssey or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I may have to consider this one of my favorite albums of all time. Overall, â€Å"Funerals from the Astral Sphere† is a phenomenal release that anyone should check out. My rating is 9.5/10.

Organic Foods and the Endocrine System

Table of Contents Introduction Organic Foods The Endocrine System How the Endocrine System is affected by pesticides The Way Forward Conclusion Works Cited Introduction The general population is always trying to get means to better their lives by ensuring good health and a suitable environment. Organic foods seem to provide amicable solutions to these two issues. The organic food production makes a huge contribution to supplementing of diets.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Organic Foods and the Endocrine System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More An interesting fact is that organic farming is also proving beneficial for the environment. Though there are certain aspects which need to be considered in respect to organic food production, it has generally been shown that organic farming better than inorganic farming. This paper is going to examine how organic foods aid the endocrine system in ensuring the wellbeing of the body in general. Organic Foods Organic foods refer to those foods produced with the use of â€Å"synthetic chemicals, genetically engineered materials, sewage sludge of irradiation† (NRDC 1). The livestock are also not spared in this campaign either since it is not only crops that provide food. The livestock must be reared with organic feed, in the outdoors and must not have any intakes that intend to influence their growth (FMI 1). For instance in the United States foods termed as organic â€Å"must meet or exceed the regulations of the National Organic Program (NOP)† (FMI 1) and also that of United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, (NRDC 1). This means that organic foods have to meet certain requirements without which they would not certified. The growing interest in organic foods is astounding, statistics as of 2007 showed that 1.2 million people were â€Å"organic producers† and 32.2 million hectares of land globally was certified for organic production (Oates et al. 2). An article in 2005 showed that 81% buy organic food for â€Å"nutritional† reasons, 77% for â€Å"freshness† while 67% to improve their health (FMI 1). It is even evident that there is diversity in reasons that lead to consumption of organic foods. What sparked interest in organic foods? Organic foods owe much of their popularity to people shunning foods that were produced in manners that harm the environment and put their health at risk since they depend on chemicals (NRDC 1). Many people are convinced that these foods can be used as measures taken in order to promote good health thus avoiding diseases in the long run (FMI 2). The environment is a beneficiary of organic production in the sense that since the use of pesticides and chemicals is decreased, then â€Å"local wildlife† is not affected and the farm proves to be more productive since they â€Å"produce less waste† (Birgenheier 1). The question then is how are organic systems connected to the endocrine system?Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Endocrine System The endocrine system is an internal system of glands in the human body (they are also found in animals) whose main work is to produce hormones (GreenFacts 1). These hormones are responsible for â€Å"reproduction, metabolism, growth and development† (Hormone 1). Examples of hormones include insulin and sex hormones i.e. oestrogen (in females) and testosterone (in males). Examples of the glands with various distinct functions in the body are: the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, thyroid gland, pancreas, adrenal glands, pineal glands and the gonads i.e. ovaries and testes (GreenFacts 1). How the Endocrine System is affected by pesticides Pesticides and other chemicals normally used in farms results in their â€Å"residues† being present in the foods harves ted and also in our surroundings i.e. air, water and soil (Ken 64). These toxins have been linked to â€Å"respiratory problems, neurological disorders, cancer and reproductive problems† (NRDC 1). Other undisputable evidences have been confirmed by researchers in different places: at the University of Missouri, research showed men in â€Å"agricultural areas† have a less sperm count compared to those in New York or Los Angeles, at the University of Rochester linked the use of a fungicide to Parkinson’s disease and at the University of Wisconsin, the effect pesticides and fertilizers on the immune and endocrine systems was established (Ken 65). These adverse effects imposed on our health cannot be overemphasized. The toxins will lead to what is known as the endocrine disruption which is the change experienced by the endocrine system as a result of a â€Å"foreign substance induced in the body† (GreenFacts 1). The endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are t he responsible agents of change and they affect our system in the following ways: they attach to the body’s â€Å"hormone receptors and mimic the hormone† (EDCs 1) resulting to the hormones not performing their work hence the body will either produce or stop the production of enzymes that will deal with the hormonal imbalance created (EDCs 1). Some diseases associated with this hormonal imbalance include: â€Å"cardiovascular endocrinology, diabetes, growth disorders, hormone abuse, menopause, osteoporosis, pituitary disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome, reproductive endocrinology, thyroid conditions† (Hormone 1) among others. Since there is an option out, then organic foods are the way to go and all efforts should be directed at suitable alternatives.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Organic Foods and the Endocrine System specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Way Forward There are ch allenges facing the organic production currently. Precise and exhaustible studies comparing organic foods and inorganic foods and their exact health effects are yet to be fully carried out (Oates et al. 5). The current studies at best establish links and results obtained are not standard since they would differ with geographical location. Another challenge is the variation in â€Å"certification requirements† worldwide means there is lack of a set of standard of â€Å"uniformity† (Oates et al. 4). On the consumer’s side, organic foods cost more and otherwise it would even have had more popularity (FMI 6). Efforts are being put in place to counteract this, for example advertising is an effective tool that will definitely catch a consumer’s attention and have positive influence toward organic food consumption (FMI 6). Organic foods are also being incorporated in schools and restaurant menus as it continues to grow (FMI 6). Not all farmers need to seek certi fication provided they are practicing farming that aims at reducing environmental harm and health risks (NRDC 1). Conclusion Organic foods though expensive as of now, with more publicity and continuous use, the prices will come down and consequently enabling people to reap the benefits of its intake. Research pertaining to organic food production is essential in settling consumer’s minds who are accustomed to inorganic foods. Since they definitely prove to have lesser contents of use of pesticides and other fertilizers, people ought to resort to them as they almost guarantee no endocrine related diseases. Certification settles the consumer’s minds because it shows that the foods were made under strict regulations that have been adhered to. There is a need for more research to be carried out to prove that organic food production is not harmful to the body and if it is then way should be developed to make it safe for human consumption. Works Cited EDCs. How EDCs affect o ur Endocrine System. Organic Food Directory, 2008. Web. FMI. Natural and Organic Foods. Food Marketing Institute, 2007. Web.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More GreenFacts. Scientific Facts on Endocrine Disruptors. Green Facts, 2011. Web. Hormone. The Endocrine System: Diseases Conditions. Hormone Foundation, 2011. Web. Ken, Rose. The Organic Food Handbook. New York, NY: Greenwood. Print. NRDC. The Benefits of organic Food. National Resources Defense Council, 2009. Web. Oates et al. Human Consumption of Agricultural Toxicants from Organic and Conventional Foods. Organic System, 2009. Web. This research paper on Organic Foods and the Endocrine System was written and submitted by user Jacob Hale to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Use of Drugs in Cypriot Higher Education

The Use of Drugs in Cypriot Higher Education Free Online Research Papers With the spreading of globalization peoples views of drugs are changing. Various countries are adopting these new circumstances and making policy changes accordingly. This is not the case for Cyprus, as Cyprus has one of the strictest anti drug policies in Europe. Is this called for? Is the exploitation and use of drugs in Cyprus really such a big problem? Motivation Various countries legalizing or relaxing laws surrounding the use of certain illicit substances leads us to believe that Cyprus’s strict anti-drug policy is out of date. Past generations believe in the stereotype that all drugs fall into one category. This category being that all drugs are dangerous and that their use will in turn lead to a life of crime feeding your addiction, and will eventually lead to death. The above view is usually arrived at due to the lack of education and information about drugs. Older people are often overly influenced by the media and overzealous politicians trying to avoid addressing real social and economic problems. People must be educated about the real dilemma in hand. We must look at the main problem here; the majority of illegal drugs use is harmless and merely recreational. The cause of problematic and hazardous drug use is typically the result of poverty and hopelessness within society. These are the core problems in this situation. Only by addressing these problems will the number of problematic drug users be reduced. The way forward is not by banning all drug use; the increased use of drugs over time proves that prohibition does not work. Why then do law makers continue to uphold anti-drug laws and legislation? Our motivation for this research is to prove that the use of soft drugs is widespread and that their negative effects are very limited. Furthermore we must point out that many other substances such as alcohol and cigarettes are a lot more hazardous and damaging to society then soft drugs in many situations. The inspiration of this research is not to advocate the use of soft drugs, or any drugs for that matter but to instead to educate the general public about certain aspects of drug use. Problem. The lack of the public’s knowledge on the issue of drug use in Cyprus, Particularly among younger generations and within higher education. Furthermore the unnecessarily strict laws and punishments, given out to the users of soft, illicit substances such as Marijuana, in Cyprus. Objective. The overall objective of this research is to inform people about the widespread use of soft drugs. This will be done by looking at the number of students attending Intercollege that have used illegal substances in the past. The type of substance they have used. How often they use the substance if they still do, and whether the use of these substances has a positive, negative or neutral effect on them. Research plan. Literature information will be based on a mixture of both primary and secondary sources. Many previous survey findings on issues of drug use were taken into consideration in the formation of the literature review. To add a variety of reports, government publications and other articles played a key role in the formation of the main body. A wide variety of sources most be used so as to maintain precision in literature findings. Research was conducted using a quantitative method. The grounds for the usage of this method are based on our perception that accuracy would me attained to a greater extent with a large survey sample. Thus large survey sample can only be achieved using a quantitative method. Regarding the research method a survey will be used. This as stated above is to allow for a sizeable population to be taken into consideration when conducting our research. Furthermore a survey’s structured collection of data will allow for an easy comparison between data collected and the literature review. The most appropriate form of research technique is that of a questionnaire. By using this method all people will be asked to answer a fixed set of questions in a well prepared sequence. Again this emphasizes the opportunity for comparability. Furthermore in a taboo subject such as that of drugs the sample will be able to remain anonymous and avoid the feeling of awkwardness. As a result accurate results will be achieved. Due to time constraints and the impracticality of researching the whole population, a sample will be taken. The sample method used will be convenience sampling. This method allows for the easy access and availability of a sample population and will be conducted by selecting students through ought the college at random. Within the college everyone has the same probability of being selected thus a picture reflecting the whole will be painted. Due to the time constraint and the narrow scope of the research, we believe a convenience sample will be sufficient. Furthermore due to the topic of the research, face to face research methods such as focus groups and interviews may not be appropriate. Due to sampling error a sample will almost never be completely representative of the population as a whole. This is the case in our research; this problem cannot be overlooked and must be taken into consideration when analyzing results. What’s more due to the time constraint in preparing this paper various other research methods cannot be used, for example participant observation, etc. Literature Review. By drugs we do no refer to legal substances such as alcohol and cigarettes, instead we refer to all illicit substances that are prohibited by law. The last few years the number of drug users (soft and hard) has increased dramatically especially among younger ages. Of course this phenomenon does not occur only in Cyprus, but in a small society like that of Cyprus’s the after-effects are something more than noticeable. All the tables that they are going to discuss below are official statistical records obtained from the Cypriot police force. According to the following tables during the last 9 years there has been a stable increase in the incidents that have to do with drugs. Despite the prohibition, drugs are spreading rapidly from year to year. It also obvious that a great number of the persons involve in drug cases are foreigners. This fact indicates that the mass entry of people from abroad either these are students or people who come here to work or to live permanently, have created dramatic changes concerning drug use. The entry of Cyprus into the European Union and the opening of the boarders with the occupied areas of Northern Cyprus are also considered important factors for the increase in drug related cases. TABLE 1. Moving on, we consider our research as a good way in order to enter deeper into our aim which is to find out about drug use in higher education and to clarify all the substances used in Cyprus. The most commonly used drugs are: cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroine, and morphine. Other kinds of drugs have started entering the market like LSD. Some of them are considered to be soft drugs and do not cause serious damage to the user; like marijuana which is the most common drug that it is used in Cyprus. Some others like cocaine and heroine are considered hard drugs and belong to the category that may cause serious dangers for the health of the user. A key figure that we will clarify further is the scene behind the use of drugs in higher education, as shown in the table that follows. The most important conclusion coming out of this table is that in 2005 the greater amounts of people that make use of drugs are between the ages of 20 to 29. People of that age are usually students that are performing their studies from the first degree (bachelor) to the highest level (Masters, PhD, etc). What we must emphasize is the decrease in the number of users after those at that age group. Again, the foreigner’s involvement in drug cases are in many times more than half, in comparison to Cypriots. TABLE 2. Evidently, the tables shown above are of great importance and have given us a clear picture of how the situation is in Cyprus. The main issue arising from the tables shown above are the increased trend for drugs the last few years. Consequently, we can proceed further and develop some thoughts regarding our topic which concerns people of younger age and specifically drugs in higher education. The most frustrating factor is that these people receive education from the very early stages of their life. They are taught to avoid drugs but instead of avoid them, many of students fall into the trap. Of course, the uses of soft drugs like marijuana are not immensely dangerous or harmful to health as long as they are not abused and used frequently. Whats more cigarettes are proven to be more harmful than marijuana and are widely used, the same goes for alcohol. Additionally, the number of males and females involved in drug cases will give to us a direction in order to acquire a more clear view of the situation. From the following table we can gain a large amount of info about the sex and nationality of those involved with drugs. Fortunately, on the one hand it seems that the involvement of Cypriot women in comparison to men cases are very limited but, if we compare the number of the cases of Cypriot females and foreign females we will observe that the disproportion is very clear. This fact implies that Cypriot females do not use drugs to the extent of foreign females. Unfortunately, on the other hand the involvement of men in drug cases is at high levels and as it is mentioned earlier the amount of males involved with drugs is increasing from year to year. TABLE 3. Evidently, the tables shown above are of great importance and have given us a clear picture of how the situation is in Cyprus. The main issue arising from the tables shown above are the increased trend for drugs the last few years. Reasons people start/use drugs: Through ought history humans, universally have made use of various psychoactive substances. Of around 4000 psychoactive substance yielding plants known today; around 60 have been constantly used somewhere in the world by humans. The earliest known use of drugs was the use of opium by the Sumerians around 5000 B.C. (sky.org/data/politiikka/drughist.html). Humans have used drugs for different reasons over time. In ancient times the use of drugs was more often for medicinal and ritual/ceremonial purposes rather than recreational exploitation as is the case today. Although some drugs are used today for medical purposes, the majority of illicit drugs do not have a function within society. The long term abuse of some substances often creates negative consequences. Why then is the use of illicit materials widespread. Arguments state that a differentiation should be made between the recreational use of drugs and the abuse of drugs. Recreational use of drugs can be defined as the use of psychoactive drugs for recreational purposes rather than for work, medical or spiritual purposes, this usually takes place within a socializing environment. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_drug_use). The difference between recreational and abuse of drugs are not entirely clear, abuse of drugs is usually when excessive amounts are used and/or when a users mental or physical health begins to suffer, this can result or be the result of the dependence on a substance. As the above definitions imply there is a difference between drug use and drug abuse. Thus a differentiation must be made between the reasons why people use drugs and why they abuse drugs. Recreational use of illicit substances usually takes place within a social environment. The main cause for recreational use is simply down to experimentation and curiosity. People are driven by the urge to feel the high and sense of exhilaration that comes with the use of a drug (http://addiction.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Causes_of_Drug_Addiction). This form of use usually never leads to addiction, once their curiosity is satisfied they may never use drugs again. A second reason for recreational use is a result of peer pressure and trying to blend into ones social surroundings. Often in a situation where the majority of a social group are trying/using drugs someone may believe that it is necessary to do the same in order to blend in and feel a sense of belonging. Thirdly people may leisurely use drugs due to the widely held belief that they are harmless, this usually relates to softer drugs such as marijuana. Due to the widespread mediation of drug use in films, etc, people may believe that drug use is generally acceptable and harmless (http://www-health.concordia.ca/pdf/healthinfo/drugs.pdf). A final and also very important reason why people might use drugs is due to the easy access to them. Drugs have become widely available, not only in dark alley ways but in the workplace and even in schools, etc. We cannot eliminate the connection between recreational use and abuse of drugs. In many cases the trying of drugs leads to the person becoming addict and thus abusing drugs. This is most often the case for hard drugs such as Heroin. We must add here that although the above is sometimes the case, more often a problem already exists in the user to cause her/him to be more vulnerable to addiction, i.e. depression. Together with the link between recreational use and abuse there are numerous other reasons why people may abuse drugs: the most significant basis for drug abuse can be rooted to the shortfalls of society. These for example can be unemployment, lack of education, homelessness and many others. Governments don’t do enough to eliminate these problems. As a result people may feel a sense of hopelessness, despair and depression, thus leading to drugs as a means of escape. This very quickly turns into a vicious circle in which the user’s situation is made worse by their addiction but also worsens the situation of society by their negative contributions. Personal problems may also be a route of drug use; these may include family and relationship problems, school problems, stress, etc. Again people may become users for a means to escape reality. Another problem may be that of mental problems. Mentally ill people may use drugs as a means to disguise their disorder, for ex ample â€Å"depressed people frequently use drugs to escape their sad feelings and Schizophrenics find that some street drugs can control their hallucinations† (http://addiction.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Causes_of_Drug_Addiction). Finally we must add the argument that prolonged drug abuse is due to the lack of treatment and rehabilitation. Often those who are most likely to be users are those who do not have easy access to treatment (i.e. homeless) thus their problem goes unnoticed and untreated and their addiction prolonged. To conclude, looking at the above causes of drug abuse the most problematic users are not usually created by there own will but instead are influenced society as a whole. The main problem in hand is to deal with the shortfalls and problems of society to stop people abusing drugs. Furthermore recreational users very rarely become addicts without some other driving force behind their addiction. Thus harassment against these kinds of users should be relaxed. The outcomes of drug use: Amid the various outcomes of illicit substances; again a differentiation must be made between drug addicts and recreational users. To the average recreational user the outcomes are minimal compared to an addict. If they are truly a recreational user the worst situation would be a run in with the law and/or temporary sickness. This in most circumstances is only in the short run and as for the law it usually only results in a warning or fine. Although a recreational user also runs the risk of becoming addicted and thus becoming an abusive user. Abusers and addicts suffer worse consequences, as are the following. Firstly and most obvious are the effects to the users health. This all depends on the substance in question, for example users of hard drugs such as Heroin are at a much greater risk of death then say a cannabis addict. In fact for the case of heroin users â€Å"recent informal estimates are that perhaps 200,000 drug-injecting-related deaths may occur per annum based on the estimated size of the current world population of injecting drug abusers of approximately 5.3 million†. (unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf). The prolonged use of an illicit substance frequently causes the user to become more resistant and thus need a greater hit to obtain a high. This in turn creates a much greater risk of an overdose. Since the subject area of prolonged drug abuse is vast and it’s leading to health problems and often death is universally recognised and proven, we will not go into the subject in much depth. Simply here I would like to add that the most common, lon g run drug related problems are those of heart, lung and brain damage. These problems also include users of cigarettes and alcohol. In the year 2004 Cyprus reported a total of 14 drug related deaths on its shores. A second effect which may occur to a drug user, as mentioned in the first paragraph, is conflict with the law. Despite prohibition of the majority of drugs, law offences linked to the possession and dealing of drugs are on the up. In Cyprus statistics show that drug law offences have increased from 442 in 2002, to 475 in 2003, to 515 in 2004. Of these offences 68.3% relate to the possession of illicit substances while 31.7% relate to dealing or trafficking. Furthermore the fact that in the year 2004 65.5% of drug related crimes were cannabis related and thus may be classed as softer drug relate offences. (http://stats06.emcdda.europa.eu/en/elements/dlotab01a-en.html). It is helpful to point out that if cannabis related offences were eliminated the total number of drug related offences would be dramatically reduced. Furthermore the systematic increase in drug use of the past three years proves that prohibition does not entirely work since people are not deterred from using illici t substances. A third negative effect of illicit materials is the negative impact it may have on education. Since using education is probably the best method known to educate people about the potential hazards of drug abuse and lead them away from the risks of trying drugs. It is particularly important to protect the schooling system and conserve education for all. The results of educating people about the perils of drug use may not be so visible in the short run but show their value in the long run. This may be one of the reasons why education as a method of drug prevention is often overlooked and sacrificed for other more immediate but less efficient methods, such as the illegalizing of drugs. There are various effects that may be relevant to the educational process. For example: â€Å"Use of cannabis may result in preoccupation with the immediate present, an impairment of short-term memory and other mental functions, impaired tracking ability in sensory and perceptual functions, adverse e motional and social development of children and adolescents, and impaired classroom performance.† Furthermore â€Å"drugs can decrease cognitive operations, making it difficult for the youth to develop a functional set of values and ideals. Reduced cognitive efficiency also leads to poor academic performance and a resulting decrease in self-esteem, contributing to instability of the individuals sense of identity† (unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf). Thus various negative effects may take place during any stage of education as a result of drug exploitation. A final negative effect must be pointed out. This is the consequence of drugs on a person’s employment. This takes place after education but is equally as important since with work suffering many worse consequences may be produced. The most common work related problems include â€Å"impaired performance, absence from work, disciplinary problems, Intoxication at work and dismissal† (unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf). The above problem must be assessed since a great deal of productivity is lost through them and also longer term outcomes are a lot more critical. For example the long term effects an employment related drug problem may have, in the long run, on a family, etc. Hypothesis: H1: We hypothesize that drug use among students is widespread especially the use of soft drugs. Furthermore, drug use is more frequent among males from the ages of 20-29 years of age. H2: environmental factors and social situations play a substantial role in the use and abuse of drugs. H3: Prolonged drug use and addiction are universally believed to lead to negative consequences. Comparison Between Hypothesis and Empirical Findings: After conducting a survey the results obtained coincide to quite a great extent with the literature review and our four hypotheses. Fifty questionnaires were given out randomly among students of intercollege. The results support the hypotheses as follows: Hypothesis 1: As the table below shows; out of our sample, 46% of students have tried or use drugs, thus this shows and supports our hypotheses (1) that drug use is widespread among students of the college. Despite the relatively high amount of drug users within the college, only 31% of the sample stated that they still currently use drugs. Furthermore only 9% saying they use drugs on a daily basis, 18% weekly and 9% on a monthly. Out of the 46% of students that have used drugs, 82% were male students while merely 18% were female. Out of the research findings, we observe that males are more likely to use or try drugs. The range of age covered by the questionnaire was touching the youngest age that people tend to start studying (17), and the age that most of the people finish their studies (29+). The main question was; when they first try/use drugs? The results were as follows: 40% during college, 31% during school years and 29% other most of which specified during the army. Taking into consideration the 54% that have not use/try drugs, when asked about what age they believe that people tends to try/use drugs, 69 % responded during school years and 27% at college. Having in mind the hypothesis (1) the main quantity of people who tried or make use of drugs, tend to make more use of the so called soft drugs. Marijuana receives the highest mark with 100% of our sample drug users having used or tried it. Followed by ecstasy with 14% and scarily enough cocaine with 14 %. Consequently our hypothesis (1) is correct. A major number of people who have at least once use/try a soft drug like marijuana was during the college times. This fact implies that all people who make use of drugs have full sense of what they do because they are old enough to think and taking care of themselves. Hypothesis 2: As seen in the literature there are many reasons why people either try or use drugs. Again here the findings from our survey support Hypotheses (2) to a great extent. Referring to the data already mentioned 31% of drug users took drugs for the first time during school, 40% during college and 29% in other circumstances, mainly in the army for the case of Cypriot males. Thus this plays a role in showing that drug use is affected by social surroundings. When asked where they tried drugs, most students (91%) stated this was done with friends. No answers (0%) were received for using drugs while clubbing and being alone, while 9% stated other situations for first time drug use. Thus the above proves that social factors play a large role on people trying drugs with the vast majority trying drugs with friends. We may also add that the wide use of marijuana (100% of drug users), and marijuana being one of the least harmful drug shows that people may use it as a recreational drug that gives opportunities for socializing. When people were asked why they tried drugs the following answers were given: 46% replied out of curiosity, 18% during socializing, 14% due to personal problems, and 22% because of other reasons. Despite the fact that the majority of people stated drug use was out of curiosity (46%) and only 18% during socializing. The fact that as much as 91% of people tried drugs with friends again proves that â€Å"curiosity Trying† was again done with friends and thus was done with friends. When asking non users why people tried drugs the majority (41%) answered during socializing and 32% because of curiosity. Therefore this also stresses social pressures. Another point to make here is that 82% of students stated that they obtained drugs from their friends, with only 22% ob taining from dealers. Thus emphasizing social interaction further. To conclude this Hypothesis we must add that 82% of people that have tried drugs believe that; the trying of a drug will not lead to an addiction. This again shows that most people are simply recreational users influenced by their social setting and numbers of people that believe usage of drugs will lead to an addiction are limited. I thus conclude that are findings support this hypotheses. Hypothesis 3: As stated above the majority of those who have tried drugs believe that the chances of an addiction developing are very limited (82%). Thus as the assertion of hypotheses (3), the chances of â€Å"prolonged drug use† are limited. Nevertheless various interesting findings can be found in our research about the effects of drugs. When people that have tried/used drugs were asked how drugs affected them 45% stated that drugs affected them positively, only 14% negatively and the remaining 41% stated they were not affected by their use of drugs. The above contradicts with the following findings in which people were asked how drug use affected society. Only 9% stated that society was affected positively, 69% stated society was affected negatively and 22% stated there was no affect on society. The above contradiction about negative affects on the user compared to society may be a result of lack of education or the belief of the user that they are always in control. When asking similar questions to non drug users 96% answered that drug use is a problem within society and affects society negatively. When drug users were asked if drug use affected their education 71% of users stated that there was no effect on their education while only 29% believed that there was. This again refers to the above conflict. When asked whether drug use would cause a greater risk of committing a crime 71% replied that it wouldn’t compared to 29% stating that it would. Non drug users expressed a different opinion with 73% stating that drug use would create a bigger chance of you committing a crime. In addition when asked about matters concerning health 55% of drug users stated that their drug use had no affect on their health, 31% stated it affected them negatively and 14% stated it affected them positively. Again this conflicts with non drug users who 92.3% believe that the use of drugs affects your health negatively. To conclude when drug users were asked whether they would carry on using drugs 29% replied yes, 31% no and 40% didn’t know. Thus this shows the picture about the negative/positive impact of drugs is not entirely clear. The view of non users is a lot more negative than the view of those who have tried or use drugs. It is also interesting to point out here that 54% of non users believe the punishment of drug users is justified compared to 18% of drug users. Hence Hypotheses 3 is not entirely clear with a difference in opinion between those who have never tried drugs and those who have. Recommendations and Conclusions: To conclude a lot of interesting information has been gained through this survey on the drug habits of students. Due to the subject being a taboo the relative validity of results may be affected. Despite this, we believe that the fact results remained constant (to a great extent) through ought the survey, thus the results are reasonably dependable. It was very interesting to compare the results between non users and users in the college and quite a large contrast was observed. Due to the fact that very few problematic users were observed and that the majority were merely recreational users. That the problem is minimal, thus recommendations on our part would concentrate more on education about drugs at younger ages (school) and the possible targeting of less privileged people were we believe a greater problem lies. References. 1. sky.org/data/politiikka/drughist.html This is a history of drug use/prohibition based on the Appendix of Ceremonial Chemistry by Thomas Szasz. The book is published by Doubleday/Anchor Garden City, New York, 1975. 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_drug_use recreational drug use by Wikipedia. 3. http://addiction.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Causes_of_Drug_Addiction causes of drug addiction Amy Hoover 2006. 4. http://www-health.concordia.ca/pdf/healthinfo/drugs.pdf The university student guide to drugs. 5. unodc.org/pdf/technical_series_1995-03-01_1.pdf the social impact of drug abuse – prepared by UNDCP – 1995. 6. police.gov.cy/police/police.nsf/dmlstatisticalArchive_en?OpenFormStart=1Count=1000Expand=3.1Seq=2 Drug statistical data obtained from the official Cypriot police website. Drug use within the higher educational setting. NOTE: 1. For those who have tried or used any kind of drugs please complete the left column of questions. 2. For those who have never tried or used any form of drug please answer the questions in the right column. Please confirm your gender: A. female B. male Please confirm your age: A. 17-20 B. 21-24 C. 25-28 D. 29+ 1. At what stage did you first try drugs? A. During school years B. College/university C. Other 2. When was the last time you used drugs? A. Over the past week B. Over the past month C. Past year D. More than a year 3. Do you currently use drugs? A. yes B. No 4. If so how often do you use drugs? A. daily B. weekly C. monthly D. other 5. What kind of drug have you used/tried? More than one answer can be given. A. marijuana B. ecstasy C. cocaine D. other 6. Why did you try/use drugs? A. out of curiosity B. during socializing C. personal problems D. other 7. Where did you try drugs? A. with friends B. clubbing C. alone D. other 8. Were did you find the drugs? A. friends B. dealers C. growing for your own use D. other 9. How do drugs affect you? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Neutrally 10. How do drugs affect society? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Have no affect on society 11. Do you believe drug use is a problem within society? A. Yes B. No 12. Do drugs affect your education? A. Yes B. No 13. Does the use of drugs make you more likely to commit crime? A. Yes B. No 14. How does drug use affect your health? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Makes no difference 15. Will you carry on using drugs? A. Yes B. No C. Don’t know 16. Do you believe the trying of a drug would lead to addiction to it? A. yes B. No 17. Do you believe the punishment of soft drug users by the law is justified? A. Yes B. NO 1. Would you ever try or use drugs? A. yes B. NO C. Maybe 2. At what age do you believe people try or start to use drugs? A. During school years B. College/University C. Other 3. Which of the following do you most class as a problematic drug user? A. Someone who has tried drugs B. A monthly user C. A weekly user D. A daily user 4. Why do people try drugs? A. out of curiosity B. during socializing C. personal problems D. other 5. Are drugs easily available A. yes B. No 6. In your opinion what percentage (%) of the population have tried or used drugs? A. 0-10% B. 10-20% C. 30-40% D. 40-50% E. 50% + 7. In your opinion what percentage of the population currently uses drugs? A. 0-10% B. 10-20% C. 30-40% D. 40-50% E. 50% + 8. Have drugs affected you in any way? A. Yes B. No 9. If so how did drugs affect you? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Have not affected me 10. Do you believe drug use is a problem within society? A. yes B. No 11. How do drugs affect society? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Have no affect on society 12. Do drugs affect your education? A. Yes B. No 13. Does the use of drugs make you more likely to commit crime? A. Yes B. No 14. How does drug use affect your health? A. Positively B. Negatively C. Makes no difference 15. Do you believe the trying of a drug would lead to addiction to it? A. Yes B. NO 16. Do you believe the punishment of drug users is justified? A. Yes B. No Interesting Findings from our Research: 46% of our sample had previously tried drugs while 54% hadn’t. 81% of non drug users stated that they would never use drugs. 69% of non users shared the opinion that drug use starts during school years while only 31% of drug users stated they first tried drugs during school years. 31% of people that have tried drugs currently use drugs. Marijuana is the drug of choice with 100% usage rate by people that have tried/use drugs. No-one (0%) of our sample admitted to trying/using drugs alone. 12% of non drugs users class someone who has tried drugs as a problematic drug user. 96% of non drug users believe drugs are easily available. 30% of non drug users believe that more than 50% of the population has tried drugs. 23% of non drug users believe between 40-50% of the population currently use drugs. 58% of non users believe that by trying a drug you would become addicted to it. While only 18% of users share the same opinion. 54% of non users believe that punishment given to drug users is justified while only 18% of drug users share the same opinion. 45% of drug users believe their use of drugs has a positive affect on them. Research Papers on The Use of Drugs in Cypriot Higher EducationThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andGenetic EngineeringInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesPETSTEL analysis of IndiaResearch Process Part OneAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementHonest Iagos Truth through Deception

Review of the Miracle Ball Method

Review of the Miracle Ball Method The Miracle Ball Method is a method of stretching and realigning your spine using a couple of softly inflated, four inch vinyl balls. By laying down on these balls and adjusting their positions you can alleviate stress, improve your alignment, and stretch hard to stretch areas. Why is it Different? By following the method you can aid your bodys healing and recovery through stretching and realignment without the need of a physical therapist or chiropractor. But unlike most of the self-realignment aids on the market, the balls allow you the flexibility to work your entire body from your neck to your feet. Additionally the balls are safe and foolproof. They do not require any difficult postures or erratic movements. You simply lay on them and breath. Does it Deliver? Yes and no. The method is more of a suggestive anecdote. It seems more like it is there to justify spending $15 for a couple of vinyl balls. But on the other hand Im glad I spent $15 for a couple of vinyl balls. The method is not as scientifically rigorous as your might think it should be. But in reality most people would not get that much benefit from it if it was. The book does a good job of communicating the key point, that the location of your pain may not be the location of the problem. In other words your feet might hurt because your hips are out of place. The book also gives you a couple of good ideas of where to start searching for the problem areas. Once youve flipped through the book you can get started with the balls. For the most part you simply place one or two of the balls under you and lay down on them. Then you take some deep breaths until your muscles stretch. Finding the perfect spot might take some time but it will let you get more familiar with your personal body mechanics and that will reap benefits through out the rest of your life. The balls themselves are great. You can not bust them even when stepping on them. And they are the optimal size for safely stretching and realigning your spine and pelvis. Beneficiaries Quite simply everyone can benefit from a set of these Miracle Balls. Daily stretching helps everyone and the Miracle Balls allow you to stretch areas that most people can not stretch on their own. Some groups that will benefit from these tools are: Back Pain SufferersAthletesSlouchersCouch PotatoesJugglers Summary Get a set of these Miracle Balls. That is all there is to it. Stretching on these balls is meditative and therapeutic. They are compact and adaptable for almost any body part. Additionally you will get more in tune with your body and gain a better understanding of your body mechanics by using them. The book, which contains the method, can pretty much be ignored. The balls, though, are worth it. With the Miracle Balls I can quickly release the tension between my shoulder blades (which previously required a trip to the chiropractor), stretch my lower back and unlock my pelvis (which also required a trip to the chiropractor). Not to mention it relaxes me to the point that I could fall asleep right on the floor.

Vital Knowledge Assets Protection Planning Service Essay

Vital Knowledge Assets Protection Planning Service - Essay Example High turnover rates have caused companies to become stagnant in terms of advancement of knowledge. Knowledge sharpens individuals’ skills, increases association productivity and drives innovation Beazley, H. (2003). Knowledge is highly perishable, increases with sharing and is cumulative Beazley, H. (2003). Retirements of experienced and knowledgeable professionals as well as many employees leaving the organization have caused companies lacking valuable knowledge for advancement. A major consumer products company had to delay the launch of its new products due to technical difficulties and lost a major market share because its competitor had launched the same product during that time period. The agony was that the company had developed the solution to those technical problems, fifteen years ago but those who had developed it and had the knowledge to implement it, had retired. The new professionals did not have the knowledge, nor did they know that the system was in place, Fiel d, A. (2003).Disaster may be termed as a happening or an attack by a malicious attacker or a rival or some mishap that may cause knowledgeable employees to leave the company, O’Sullivan, K. (2010). Such disasters may cause harm to the data that the company possesses or the knowledge that the company has. With competition increasing at such a high pace, complying with ethics is a thing of the past. Disaster may strike in the form of data being corrupted, data being stolen or knowledgeable professionals being lured away. The key question is how a firm may keep itself safe from such disasters and happenings? The first part focuses on the safety of data from disasters. The biggest threat to data security is what the data managers do not know about O’Sullivan, K. (2010). Data storage managers only to cover the basics of security and are exposed to many vulnerabilities. They are exposed to threats from viruses and hackers through their storage web interfaces. In order to avoid this business must have a data recovery plan or DR.

Customer Portfolio Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Customer Portfolio Management - Essay Example Customer preferences and customers’ attributes helps businesses to decide upon what products and services should be offered to the customer segment and how it should be marketed and priced so that it matches customers’ requirements and desires. This research paper would look into marketing concepts and theories, which helps businesses to build and maintain a customer portfolio. For this purpose, the researcher has gone through and understood various theories and research works to elaborate on the concept of customer portfolio management. Content of the Customer Portfolio The content of the customer portfolio enables managers to understand the business-to-business marketing strategies that can be utilized for assessing supplier-customer relationships. With this assessment, managers identify scarce resources of the organization and allocate them accordingly so that maximum profitability can be achieved (Sinha et al., 2002). The content of customer portfolios makes it easi er for managers to optimally compose customer relationships in order to determine, whether the company amongst members of the target market because of its customer relationship tactics or the competitive position of the organization (Ravenscraft, 1983). This is the reason, that customer portfolio management is considered as an integral part of an organization’s marketing functions. ... managing the line of products and brands, by aligning financial and budgetary resources with the resource allocation strategy and creating coordination between organizational teams to ensure implication of business, product and marketing strategy. The product portfolio management consists of taking care of a number of activities such as conducting market research to understand consumer dynamics, aligning key suppliers who will prove to be beneficial, determining marketing and distribution tactics and etc. On the other hand, customer portfolios makes it easier for managers to optimally compose customer relationships in order to determine, whether the company amongst members of the target market because of its customer relationship tactics or the competitive position of the organization. This is the reason, that customer portfolio management is considered as an integral part of an organization’s marketing functions (Sanchez, 2005). Strategic Accounting Management Strategic accou nting management is different from managing financial accounts of a business. Instead, these strategies are related with developing marketing systems that ensures that long-term relationships are maintained with strategic customers of the organization. These strategic customers might include organization’s suppliers of raw material and other vendors. Strategic accounting management is beneficial in a sense, that it helps the business to improve the quality of raw material used by maintaining healthy relationships with the suppliers and also reduces the cost of acquiring new strategic partners in the given marketplace. On the other hand, strategic accounting management also enables the organization to determine the specific needs of strategic customers and tailoring the products according to

Psychology Homework Essay Example for Free

Psychology Homework Essay The argument I have chosen to use is one that was between my friends and I. It was the early hours of the morning and we were at a Jacuzzi party. We were discussing the topic of wages and how much those of us who worked were earning. We then started talking about football players and how they earn millions of pounds for doing a very unnecessary and over paid job; compared to people who offer a service for the country such as those in the NHS or the armed forces who spend all day risking their lives or saving other peoples. The two main points of the argument were: 1. ‘Yes, Footballers are over paid but that is the way it is and that’s how it fits into the national framework’ This point was shared by everyone in the argument, except one person 2. ‘Footballers are paid to much and it should be changed now! ’ This point was shared by one person The people who believed in point 1, myself included showed how their point was valid. They showed that even thought it is not morally right for footballers to earn that much money compared to the amount of work they do or in comparison to people in public services but that is the way it is and with out them Public services would not be able to run as easily. We showed this by explaining the national frame work. The money that is earnt by the footballers is taxed greatly, some as much as 40%, This money is then distributed between education, social security, the NHS and many other things. The other person was still on a one tracked mind that it was just wrong and should be changed. So we explained it again and after much persuasion he started to see things our way. He then started to change the argument and incorporated big companies such as McDonald’s and Nike. His point was that they employ people in under developed countries to work for them because it’s cheap labour and it allows them to make a massive profit margin. The whole group agree that this was wrong but being the well balanced young adults we are, we looked at both sides. Some of our outcomes were that even though to us it seems like an unacceptable wage, the people employed are at least employed. We went far beyond people in Asia and right to where we lived. To other people, 16 and 17 year olds being paid just over minimum wage to work long hours and do jobs other people would say no to, is fine by them. In fact, after this argument a lot of people involved realised it was about themselves. How ironic?

Censorship Gone Too Far :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Censorship Gone Too Far Seven Works Cited Have you ever walked into a music store and seen those parental advisory stickers on most of todays' popular music? Or have you seen those TV ratings on the top left corner of your favorite shows? How about the ratings on your favorite video games? I'm sure you have, but do you really know what those so-called harmless stickers, and images do to the world of entertainment and your freedom of expression for that matter? A recent craze to promote "family values" in the U.S. has caused censorship panels to go entirely too far with the censorship of the entertainment industry including television, radio, the Internet, and even authors. Not only do the customers suffer by having parental bans on their favorite music, but the musicians suffer as well. The musicians are betrayed by their own labels, who are there to support them, not hurt them! The world of music is basically a collage of the artist's thoughts, so banning what they write is a violation of their freedom of speech. (Crowley, 1) One of those artists is three time Grammy winner Sheryl Crow. In 1996, Crow released her self-titled album to her many awaiting fans. When most went to their local Wal*Mart to pick it up, they were turned down because of the contents in the lyrics. (Family-Friendly..., 76) Wal*Mart said the lyrics were offensive and argued that Crow, and her record label change the offensive lyrics. (Family-Friendly..., 76) When Crow and her label refused to change the lyrics, Wal*Mart and many other large-retail stores refused to sell her album. (Family-Friendly, 76) That was not the only time a large retail store refused the sale of an item! In 1986, Wal*Mart stopped the sale of certain rock magazine, including Creem and Rolling Stone. (Family-Friendly..., 76) The company argued that the magazines conflicted with the family oriented atmosphere they tried to maintain. (Family Friendly..., 76) The same goes for the CDs with Parental Advisories. Wal*Mart and most large retail stores like it, will not sell any Parental Advisories CDs. Therefore, they have decided to clean up those CDs before putting them on the shelves, altering them in many ways to get rid of the so-called explicit lyrics.

Nurse Staffing Essay

Adequate nurse staffing for patient care has been a major difficulty in the health care system . Patients’ acuity continues to grow at a fast rate while hospitals continue to struggle with the adequate number for nurse-to-patient ratio, leaving nurses in a very difficult situation while trying to provide the best care possible to their patients. The low nurse-to-patients ratio can be remedied when public and private hospitals realize the negative impact on the outcome of care. This paper will try to point out the negative effects of low nurse-to-patient ratio has on outcome of care. Like other professions that continue to face obstacles, nursing has its own obstacles that it must face from time to time. The world population increases so will the obstacles that nursing will have to face, but good administration can be used to defend the work conditions under which nurses are forced to work. Many studies have been done to point out the problem, with a pile of evidence to support the need to alleviate the burden on the nurses but to no avail. A study conducted in the Chinese hospital by Zhu, You, et al. (2012). Nurse Staffing Levels Make a Difference on Patient Outcomes: A Multisite Study in Chinese Hospitals proved, â€Å"more nursing staff per patient had statistically significant positive effects on all necessary nursing care, nurses’ reports of quality of care, their confidence on patients’ self-care ability on discharge from hospital, patient adverse events, as well as patients’ report of satisfaction (Zhu, You, et al, 2012, p. 266)†. The study was composed of 181 hospitals across mainland China. The sample that was used was 31provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions with level 3 hospitals. To show the strength of the study, the researchers applied statistics to prove their results. As much as the hospitals may not see the need to improve on the nurse to patient problem, the evidence is there. It is something that must be dealt with because it is dangerous to both nurses and patients. Further studies were also conducted on the problem by Nantsupawat A, Srisuphan W, et al. (2011). Impact of nurse work Environment and Staffing on Hospital Nurse and Quality of care in Thailand. This study was to prove the impact of nursing staffing on the work environment, the cause of burnout and the impact on quality of care in Thailand. Research elements was secondary data analysis of 2007 Thai Nurse Survey. The study took place at 13 general and regional hospitals in Thailand using a â€Å"multistage sampling†. Nurses were asked demographic questions about themselves both general and regional hospitals. Results shown the ratio of patient to nurse was 10:1. Nurses who worked in hospitals with fair patient to nurse ratio had less burnout. The study has great significance in nursing practice and can be used as proof to show the impact of high patients to nurses ratio. It was found that nurses in Thailand work environment have high burnout and great dissatisfaction of nurses. Nurse to patient is very low with a total of 1:10 per shift. At times, a nurse ended-up having to care for more patients. The high patients to nurse ratio brought with it adverse outcomes on patients’ care and place the patients at high risk of occurrences such as: mistaken one patient for another, patient falls, medication errors, pressure ulcers, and urinary tract infection. Furthermore, in the study conducted by Cho, June, Kim, et al (2009). Nurse staffing, quality of nursing care and nurse job outcomes in intensive care units. This study measured the proportion number of patients to nurse. As per the authors of the article, â€Å"nurses were more likely to rate quality of care as high when they care for two or fewer patients (odd ratio, 3. 26; 95% confidence interval, 1. 14-9. 31) or 2. 0-2. 5 patients (odd ratios, 2. 44; 95% confidence interval, 1. 32-4. 52), compared with having more than three patients (Cho, June, Kim, et al,, 2009, p. 1729)†. The research use for its design a â€Å"cross-sectional study with survey. Its method included 1365 nurses from 65 intensive care units in 22 hospitals in Korea, using â€Å"A Multilevel logistic regression model†. Two indicators were used, which are the number of patients for each nurse on the ward and the way the staff viewed adequate staffing. The research took place in the ICU units. Hence, the study also reported that in table #4 in the Sole ICU, there were largest number of patient 2. 8 + or – 0. 4 ( Cho, June, Kim, et al, 2009, p. 1733)†. What is proven is that when the ratio of nurses increases and the patient’s one decreases, there is a higher quality of care that takes place on the unit. This study has great significance to nursing and patient care, because nurses here in the U.  S often have similar complaints. In addition, the study from Manojlovich & Sidani (2007). Nurse Dose: What’s in a concept. This is a pathway that the authors believed could alleviate the problem of nurse to patient ratio. The study provided an understanding between the link of nursing care and outcome of care. As stated by Manojlovich & Sidani (20097), â€Å"by clarifying the conceptual and operational definitions of nurse dose, we offer a unified view of the inter-relationships among variables, with the goal of advancing research on nurse staffing and patient outcome (p. 11)†. With this concept of â€Å"Nurse Dose† future nurse staffing may greatly improve. Furthermore, in the research conducted by Al-Kandari &Thomas (2008). Perceived Adverse patient outcomes correlated to nurses’ workload in medical and surgical of selected hospitals in Kuwait. It is understood that the proportion of patient to nurse ratio plays a vital part on the outcomes of care. The study shown that there is clear correlation that exist between the work load of the nursing staff and the outcomes of care. The research elements utilized for this study was â€Å"across-sectional survey conducted between RNs on medical and surgical units in five governmental hospitals. The result shown three major faulty outcomes were reported by nurses from their previous shift which were patients’ complaints and family concerns. The limitation of this study reports were only from the nurses on the units and future researches would need further details (Al-kandari &Thomas, 2007, p. 589). It is impossible for nurses to give adequate care and expect good outcomes when nurses are stocked with non-nursing tasks to do. It was found that patients and families and medication miss dose were the two primary outcomes that added on the nurses’ workload. Second, occurrences tend to increase on the units as the workload of the nurses increased, and non-nursing tasks heavily impacted the workload of the nurses in Kuwait. The study shown great relevance to nursing practice, because it shows that hospitals need to employ other people to carry out non-nursing duties on the unit such as clerical work; which would alleviate the workload from nurses responsibilities. Hence, the article Relationships between Registered Nurse Staffing, Processes of Nursing Care, and Nurse-Reported patient outcomes in Chronic Hemodialysis Units by Thomas- Hawkins, Flynn, &Clarke (2008) shown the importance of a high nurse to patient ratio in hemodialysis units. The authors reported in hemodialysis units, â€Å"higher RN staffing levels have lower odds of experiencing skipped dialysis treatments (Hawkins-T, Flynn, & Clarke, 2008, p. 124)†. The study shows that it is to the benefits of the patients when there is a higher nurse to patient ratio on hemodialysis units because, patient will less likely experience any untoward events that are associated with the side effects of hemodialysis therapy. The study utilized a â€Å"cross-sectional method† for data collection which focused on the hemodialysis patient population. The study demonstrated the importance of having a high nurse to patient ratio in dialysis units. The higher the nurses to patient ratio, the less occurrences the patients will experience during hemodialysis treatment. The research used a type of questionnaire in order to find the most accurate adverse events that took place in the dialysis units. The limitations of this study was conducted with nurses who belong to an organization, the adverse patients’ outcomes were gathered from the nurses’ reports. The findings from this research were as follow: the nurse staffing levels played a significant role on patients’ outcomes during treatment. The ratio between patients and nurses is high, and each nurse had a patient load that consisted of 12 patients and sometimes more. This study has very good relevance to nursing practice due the fact that it shed light on a particular unit because it is a specialized unit. The study also demonstrated the importance of having professional RNs to perform such duties. Nurse staffing levels and Nursing outcomes: A Bayesian analysis, of Finnish-registered nurse survey data by Tero-h, Kiviniemi, et al (2009). Journal of Nursing Management, 17, 986-993. This report pointed out the impact of high patients to nurse ratio have on the nurses and their performance on the unit. Therefore, it is inevitable this kind of nurse staffing would bring negative patients’ outcomes. The design of this study used a survey of date collection from RNs in 46 units at five hospitals. The study found that many elements were contributed to occurrences on the unit such as mortality, failure to rescue, had a very closed correlation to the number of patients to nurse ratio. The study relates significantly to nursing, because it displayed the stress levels that nurses experienced due to heavy patient load assignment. Macphee, Ellis, & McCutcheon (2005). Nurse Staffing and patient Safety. The Canadian Health Services Research foundation. This article brought up evidences of events that may occur in relation to lower nurse patient ratio. It is evident that with a lower nurse to patient ratio, patients are at greater risk of adverse outcomes such as increased rate of mortality, nosocomial infections. It is also proven that with a higher nurse to patient ratio, incidents can be greatly reduced. The study utilized sets of data collected from other researches. No specific population group was chosen for this research but the impact of having high patient to nurse ratio were strongly presented. The article displayed its use to the nursing practice with enough substantial facts. Ke-p. (2003) Relationships between Nurse Staffing and Patient Outcomes. Journal of Nursing Research, 11(3). The study was conducted on a medical –surgical unit in Taiwan with analyzed data from a â€Å"descriptive and multivariate inferential statistics†. The rational of this study was to demonstrate the co-relation that exised between high patients to nurse ratio and its impact on patient care outcomes. The results of this study were astounding. It was found that acquired infections, falls, pressure ulcers were the outcome results of inappropriate nurse to patient ratio. This study definitely has very good relevance to nursing practice. Curtin L. (2003). An Integrated Analysis of Nurse Staffing and Related Variables: Effect on Patient Outcomes. Online Journal of Issues in nursing, 8(3), 10913734. In this his study, the author shows a good co-relation between nurse staffing and the outcomes of care on medical patients. He also pointed out an increase in nurse staffing, that was associated with a reduction of 3 to 12 % in occurrences on the hospitals units. (Curtin, 2003). Here again it shows that the greater is the nurse to patient ratio, the better the outcome. Although, this study did not use a specific design, but the analysis it used shows the importance of having a low patient to nurse ratio. Therefore, it is vital for the hospitals to realize the great pain that are imposed on patients and nurses. It is time to remedy the problem. Aiken L. (2010). Safety In numbers: A mandatory minimum nurse to patient ratio improves outcome. Nursing Standard, 24(44). The author reported, â€Å"International Hospital Outcomes Study revealed that in England and the United States, hospitals with higher nurse staffing levels had lower mortality rates, nurse job dissatisfaction and burnout (Aiken, 2010, p. 2)†. The study was conducted in five different countries which survey 22,000 RNs in 604 hospitals in California, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It was found that nurse in California and the two other states that are closed to California with similar staffing mandatory rules had decreased their workload subsequently providing better care. Duffield C, et al. (2010). Staffing, Skill mix and the model of care. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 2242-2251 dio: 10. 1111/j. 1365-2702. 2010. 03225. The study design was based on secondary analysis collection of data on selected medical/surgical units in 19 hospitals in South Wales, Australia. The experienced nurses worked during the night while the least experienced nurses worked day or evening shift. The limitation of this study was that skill mix RNs was beneficial to outcomes, but the number of years of experience on a unit were not studied. (Duffield, et al, 2010, pp. 2246, 2249)†. The relevance of this study to nursing was that it shows how a unit can benefit from having different levels of experienced skill nurses give care to patients. Sidani S, Manojlovich M, & Covell C. (2010). Nurse Dose: Validation and Refinement of a Concept. Research and Theory for Nursing Practice: An international Journal, 24(3), dio: 10. 1891/154-6577. 24. 3. 159. The study used â€Å"Anonexperrimental, modified survey† a questionnaire was used with four sections that participants used to answer the questions. The targeted population was nurse researchers who are experts in services related to healthcare (p. 163)†. The result of this study shows how important it is for nurses to spend time with their patients to bring an effective outcome. The study shows great significance of this study in nursing. Welton JM. 2007). Mandatory hospital nurse to patient staffing ratios: Time to take a different approach. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 12(3). (13p) (52 ref) This article did not show a specific design that was used. The article stressed another component of the problem, the fact that hospitals are being pressured to increase their staffing without any reimbursement. The article presented two arguments one for and the other against the problem. As a result, hospitals diminished their staff from other area which helped them to compensate for the deficit. Although the acuity of patients continue to rise, hospitals failed to increase nurse to patient levels to enable good outcomes. Currie V, Gill V, et al. (2005). Relationship between quality of care, staffing levels, skill mix and nurse autonomy: Literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 51(1) 73-82. Using a â€Å"cross-sectional analysis design and magnet hospitals, the article poke through between the problem of patient to nurse ratio and the level of occurrences such as, mortality and failure to rescue. The findings were that units with higher nurse to patient ratio experienced lower occurrences. Yes, the article did prove its significance into nursing and patient care. In conclusion, studies are not always conclusive on a particular problem or issue. Further studies are often needed to shed new light on the problem. Hospitals have their parts to play in order to bring a higher nurse to patient ratio to fruition. It still remains that nurses have the responsibility to provide safe and effective nursing care to their patients, regardless of the environment. As a reminder, nursing is a humanistic profession, and its aim has always and will continue to focus on human needs, without regard to ratios. Nonetheless, nurses own it to themselves to be steadfast and never to soften their stand on their demands. Nurses to patient ratio is of utmost importance in the health care and patient outcomes depend on safe nursing staff. It is undeniably true that most professions are facing their own obstacles, and nursing is no different. Nursing has its own obstacles that it has been fighting and must continue to fight for, but a higher nurse to patient ratio is a must win fight, because the end result will be good patients’ care.

Functionalist perspective of family Essay

Functionalists believe that society is based on a set of shared values and norms; this is known as a value consensus. These norms and values socialize its members, which enables them to cooperate with each other so society’s needs are met, this creates social order. It offers a structural and macro view of the family which is top down. Functionalists see society as being similar to a biological organism for example the human body. This is called the organic analogy. The human body is made up of various different parts that function together, each part is necessary for the normal functioning of the whole body. Society is made up of various institutions (for example education or family), Functionalists believe that these institutions rely on each other each other which helps maintain social order. If one institution is quickly modified or fails to work with other institutions, society would be dysfunctional and would end up in anarchy. Functionalists compare this with the human body because if one component is unable to work, this often affects other components in the body, which could result in death. Functionalists believe that a family is a vital institution, which contributes to maintaining social order because it meets the needs of other institutions such as the education system, which enables society to functio n in a unified manner. Functionalists believes that the nuclear family fits society’s needs, however several alternative theories such as Feminism contradict Functionalist ideology. Murdock believes that the nuclear family performs four essential functions for society and its members however he acknowledges that other institutions can perform these functions. He claims that he found evidence of a nuclear family in 250 different societies so he argues that a nuclear family is universal as it fulfills societies needs. The first function is sexual, Murdock believes that sexual intercourse with the same marital partner can prevent social disruption and can strengthen the tie between husband and wife. The second function is reproduction; this allows new members of society to be born which is essential for society because if reproduction did not continue then society would cease to exist. The third function is  economical so the family can provide for its members e.g food and shelter. The final function is the education system, this enables the young to be socialized and educated into society’s norms and values, and this suggests the family is a positive feat ure of society. However Murdock’s research is limited because he ignores diversity. His research is based on a nuclear family, yet in modern society there are many different family types, for example homosexual couples/lone parents. The postmodernist view believes that the nuclear family is no longer the norm and therefore the functionalist theory is not relevant to today’s society. Another criticism would be that Functionalists do not consider the validity of other family structures such as the Nayar or the Kibbutz who can also perform the four functions. On the other hand, a strength of Murdock’s work is it provides an insight of the families’ importance to society, because they examine how a family functions in society. Another positive to Murdock’s interpretations of family life would be that Murdock could generalize his research because he has studied 250 different societies, which demonstrates how a nuclear family can fit societal needs around the world. Another Functionalists explanation of the family comes from Parsons who believes that the functions a family has to perform, will affect its ‘shape’ or ‘structure’. Parson’s identifies two types of family structure: the nuclear family, which fits the needs of modern industrial society and the extended family, which fits the needs of pre-industrial society. Parson’s argues that the extended family was multi-functional so it was a unit of consumption and production whilst the nuclear family fits the key needs of modern industrial society: geographically mobile workforce and the socially mobile workforce. The geographical mobility industries often required people to move to where the jobs were, Parson’s argued that a nuclear family (two generations) would find it more straightforward to move than an extended family (three generations) so the nuclear family is better fitted to the needs of modern industrial society. The social mobile workforce implied that modern society is constantly changing with technology and science also individual status is often achieved (using their own  efforts) rather than ascribed (fixed from birth) e.g. the son may ascribe their own status and move away from home and create their own nuclear family in which they are structurally isolated from other members so Parson’s argues that the nuclear family is better equipped that than the extended family to meet societies needs. Parson’s argues that the nuclear family ‘fits’ (fit thesis) modern society yet he also notices that the changing functions of the family are socially advanced so the family have to fulfill fewer functions for its members, Parson’s argues that the nuclear family specializes in two functions: the primary socialization of children which educates the next generation with basic skills and society’s values. The stabilization of adult personalities is the second function, this enables adults to release tensions so they can return to their place of work and perform their roles efficiently. Parson’s identifies segregated conjugal roles between a husband and wife. The husband has the instrumental role so he is expected to provide for his family whilst the wife has the expressive role and is expected to nurture her children. There are many negatives with Parson’s ideology for instance he idealizes the nuclear family and ignores diversity, as there is more than just the nuclear and extended family in modern society. Another criticism would be that Peter Laslett studied the pre-industrial society and concluded that in this society, the common family was nuclear and not extended as Parson claimed. This was because many families decided to have their children when they were older and short life expectancy conveyed that grandparents were not alive when their first grandchild was born. . However there are some positives about Parson’s research, the first would be that Parson’s identifies how families change in society, another reason would be that Parson’s research shows how families can adapt to meet societies needs so a more stable society is created and he argues that family life ‘fits’ and benefits society e.g. reproduction allows new members of society to be create d so society’s norms and values are passed on to the next generation, which helps create a stable society and social order. More broadly, some feminists such as Oakley argues that Murdock and other functionalists neglects conflict and exploitation in a family (e.g. domestic violence), many feminists also believe that within the family, women are serving the needs of men and they are oppressed, this suggest the family is not functional for women as argued by the functionalists. Marxist’s have a similar conflict point of view as they believe that Murdock ignore the negatives in a family life, as Murdock has an extremely positive view on family life. Marxists ( Engels and Zaretsky)however argue that the family meets the needs of capitalism and not those of family members or society in general, which conflicts with Murdock’s ideology. Furthermore The radical psychiatrists such as Laing argues that the family is dysfunctional as it damages the individual and can lead to mental illness, they argue that the nuclear family is not productive to its members. The New right however supports the functionalist’s view of the nuclear family and suggests they help society to function, however they are an extreme view and have themselves been criticized. To conclude, Functionalists all agree that the nuclear family is the best to fit societies needs, it offers a positive consensus view, however it ignores women’s positions and ignore how the family feeds capitalism, they also ignore family diversity. To understand the family unit, one must look at all theoretical views as functionalism on its own is too limited a view.

Google Organisational Structure and Culture Essays

Google Organisational Structure and Culture Essays Google Organisational Structure and Culture Paper Google Organisational Structure and Culture Paper What are the main factors/HRM procedures that have contributed to the success of Google? Organization’s success is gauged by its performance and performance of organization by its employees. We can see that an individual and the organization are inter-related and interdependent. The link between individual and organization is HRM and managers. Hence, the performance of organization depends on the people it recruits and the managers who diffuse work to teams to produce positive outcomes that contributes towards the success of organization. Figure:1 Illustrating the Interdependency and Inter-relation. The factors that have contributed to Google’s success are: Attraction Selection Attrition (A. S. A): The point to be noted in the following explanation is the inter-relationship between A. S. A and IQ Big 5 traits in employees. Google while hiring its employees is very selective and attract candidates who have performed well academically and have good scores on SAT, GMAT or other competitive exams which proves*(Gottfredson L. S. , (2003), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 4-45) that their IQ level is high. The reason Google considers it important is because it is proven that these tests test the intellectual abilities of a person. A few dimensions for intellectual ability have been identified, which include number aptitude, verbal comprehension, perceptual speed, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, spatial visualization, memory*(M. D. Dunnette, (Chicago:Rand McNally, 1976, quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 45) obviously not all dimensions are needed to be intelligent for example a software programmer hould have the ability to identify a logical sequence in a problem and then solve it, hence, the dimension he needs to essentially possess to perform well in his field is inductive reasoning. Google hires people with diverse skills and qualities, so that they could use these diverse skills to their benefit, in this case innovation. Google being an innovative company prefers fresher from college with good educational background rather than experienced employee. It is said that intelligent people are better job performers*( W. M Coward and P. R. Sackett,(june 1990), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. : A 12 ed. , p. 45), more creative, are able to learn jobs more quickly, are more adaptable to changing circumstances and are better at inventing solutions that improve performance. Hence we can conclude that A. S. A*(Schneider B, quoted in BHM399, Organizational Behavior, p. 112) is adapted by organization to achieve performance. Interestingly while intelligence is a big help in performing a job well, it is not correlated with job satisfaction. Hence, it is important to match ability to job which is also know as ability-job fit and the effect of personality on performance or personality-performance. Performance is inter-related to job-satisfaction. Studies*(Ability-job fit, Person-job fit, Motivational theories) show that: Personality: IQ and Big Five Model As Google hires through A. S. A, Googlers have IQ and possess some or all the qualities of OCEAN*(Landrum G. N, (1993), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 109). The applicable theory for the personality traits/ personality is Big Five model (OCEAN IQ). Personality of the employee is directly related to his/her performance. This can be explained by person- job fit theory*(Holland J. L, (1997), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 130). However, person-organization fit*(Schneider B, (1987), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 132) and the relationship between a person and his work environment (group) needs to considered as well. They most certainly possess Openness, Agreeableness, Extraversion, as employees are open to new ideas are very comfortable with their work relationships and very cooperative and trusting with one another, this can be seen in the trust the top management has on an individual employee to do his work without being managed respectively. Job-Satisfaction: Job satisfaction depends on various factors like ability-job fit*(explained and quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 48), person-job fit* and person-organization fit*; these are three different levels (individual, group and organization). The relationship between people their work environment (including peers) is also linked to job satisfaction. The applicable theory for the level of job-satisfaction in Google is Two-Factor theory also known as Herzberg’s Motivator-Hygiene theory*(Herzberg F et al. ,(1959), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 89, also quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 133-134). This theory assesses the level of job-satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Two-factor theory* proves that Googler’s have high job-satisfaction because the motivator and hygiene factors being met. Explaining the same by the table. |MOTIVATOR FACTORS are met hence, leads to satisfaction. |HYGIENE FACTORS are met hence, leads to no di ssatisfaction. | |Achievement: The sense of achievement is high as millions of |Company policy: The open door policy of company makes employees | |people use what the employees develop for Google. feel worthy, important and heard by anyone they want to approach. | |Recognition: Google employee is recognized respected socially. |Supervision: Leadership style is transformational. This keeps the| |In the company, they feel recognized rewarded^ for their work. |work environment energetic, as employees are highly involved in | |Eg: When an employee innovates he gets to lead the team, this |work and encouraged to think innovatively. | |could be emotionally rewarding with a feeling of advancement in | | |position. | |Note: ^Rewards need not be materialistic rewards, it could be | | |emotionally rewarding as well. In this case emotional. | | |Work: Work at Google is very creative and employees are given |Relationship with boss: The informal culture, transformational | |personal time t o work on their projects. Hence, employees enjoy |leadership style and open door policy makes sure that employees | |working at Google. feel comfortable to express their views. | |Responsibility: As there are no project managers, all engineers |Work conditions: There are no set codes for the way employee | |are project leaders where leadership is on a rotation basis. |wishes to work at Google, hence the employee can make his work | |Also, if something isn’t right in a product that has gone public,|conditions as comfortable as he wants to. Eg: He can even get | |teams fix it without asking anyone. Hence, employees have the |pets to work! If he feels he can work better with his pet next to| |freedom and responsibility for their product. |him. | |Advancement: When an employee comes up with an innovation and |Relationship with peers: One of the main emphasis while | |he/she can back it up, they are given an opportunity to head the |recruiting is, team goals above personal goals. Assuming that | |project. |there could be minimal-average repercussions if any (assuming as | |Eg: Google News, developed by Krishna Bharat in Oct 2002 |nothing has been mentioned on case study). | Motivation: Before discussing about motivation, it is note worthy that individual motivation and group and organizational motivation is inter-linked, this is done by providing the right environment for the employee to perform better. Motivation plays a key role in the performance of an individual. Motivation could either be internal or external, self-motivation and inspiration and encouragement by external forces respectively like co-workers, managers or organization in form of its values, culture, rewards and recognition etc. The applicable theories for motivation in Google are, Expectancy*(IL)(Vroom V. H, (1964), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 208, also quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 134-135) Job enrichment*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 136), Job Characteristic Model*(JCM)(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 137), EI Initiatives*(Provided by Organization) (explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 141-142). Eg: The employees are motivated to work at new ideas (20% of time is given for their self-directed projects), once the idea is successful they get to lead the project. Hence, Leadership: Before starting Leadership styles, Big Five model*(OCEAN, R. R McCrea, (June 1992), quoted in Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. , p. 110, Judge et al. , (2002), JAP, quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 232). At a Group Level (GL) employees at Google are benefited by the leadership style, which is Transformational leadership*(Bass, 1985), quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 243) and People-oriented*(Fiedler’s Contingency Theory, explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 236-237). Transformational leadership style inspires, motivates and stimulates the intellect of employees. Situational Leadership*(Hershey Blanchard’s Situational Theory, explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 237-239) is used in Google, as there is no management structure, Wayne Rosing (VP) for engineering, lets the teams do their work. Hence, Rosing is using situational leadership with the engineering teams as she trusts them and lets them work on their area of expertise. Eg: Through EI Initiative (sparrow program) management could motivate and stimulate the intellect of employees to innovate new ideas. This also helped the job design greatly as every employee got 20% of their time for self directed projects, this helped in job enrichment. Through sparrow employees had skill variety, task identity, task significance (if the idea was selected), Autonomy and feedback on it by other employees at Google. Hence, JCM is used in Google as one of the motivation tools to keep the Googler’s involved and satisfied with their job. Organic structure: Culture of an organization plays a very important role in shaping up of an ndividual working for an organization apart from creating right environment to work for, which ultimately impacts on performance. Even if organization spends huge amounts of money and time in selecting the right people, if it cannot provide right environment to work in, it would fail in its objective to succeed as a company Culture-Organizational Performance* (explained in chapter 17 of Robbins S. P and Judge T. A 12 ed. ,). At an Organizational Level, Google provides an informal and Organic structure*(explained and quoted in quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 72) to its employees, which gives them freedom to manage their work the way they like, ultimately to give outputs that matches with the company’s requirements. Google’s Organizational structure is placed in a way that it is organic in structure however, it borders a bit towards Boundary less organization*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 272). Out of the 7 different types of power Expert power*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 314) is very predominant in Google, employees have this power, this can be seen as a motivator factor for employees. The sustaining culture at Google is due to A. S. A, Top management (their approachability, principles/values and attitudes) and socialization among Googlers and top management is very informal. The Culture Development*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 341) at Google due to the above factors resulted in Organic structure and informal culture. Eg: Google does not have any management structure, which allows the employees to work and behave flexibly, respond quickly to changing and unusual situations by taking responsibility of their project/product. Note: Informal culture has worked Google so far, but with growing employees and the attitude change in employees there is possibility it can pose as a problem in future. Will discuss this in the negative aspects of Google. Reflexivity and Team Effectiveness: Reflexivity and team effectiveness*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 200) are inter-linked to performance of a team on a GL*. Teams are more innovative and effective when they reflect on their objectives, strategies, processes and environments from time to time. They need to then adapt/improve their working style to achieve their task. Eg: A discussion is held every Friday to review the new ideas, feasibility and user-friendliness (team objectives/vision is set after selecting the ideas). While project is being headed team strategies and processes are analyzed and tested (tested among Googlers) before launching the product. As a conclusion, we can say Google was successful in sustaining a zero attrition rate when most of the companies suffered from attrition during the dot. com boom and this was possible because of all the above factors. Describe some of the negative aspects of Google’s culture. Do you think Google needs to change its culture – and, if so, in what ways? Every organization has a culture, which has positive and/or negative influences on its employees. We know that work culture affects us on a day-to-day basis. Organizational Culture is given importance because it has the power to influence, motivate/de-motivate, mold or shape up the attitudes of employees. It also sends a message across to employees about the working standards of a company and how employees are expected to work in a company. Google’s informal culture has positive and negative aspects to it. Negative being it lead to arrogance and laziness among employees and positive being work freedom, which encouraged creativeness, in Google. Negative aspects of Google are: No Management Structure: Google has no management structure (due to organic structure design of organization), which is very evident from the case study. Management structure is inter-linked to the attitudes of the employees as well the informal culture. No management structure could lead to organizational conflict, as there is no status consistency. In Google every engineer was given the title as project manager, this leads to confusion about control and decision making power which could further lead to process loss*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 193). The theories applicable are Organizational conflict*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 316-320) and Process loss*. Further, with a diverse workforce in Google and no formal leader there could be a lot of politics and time taken for a team to go through stages*(Tuckman’s Five-Stage Model of Group, explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 92) could be longer at a GL and this will ultimately effect the ability of a team to perform better. We can also point out the effect this will have on employee attitude, as there is no formal leader everyone would try to dominate the other spoiling the work environment. This might also lead to arrogance in employees. Google has branches all over world this means that th e employees from different branches have to interact with one another at some point, if diversity*(UNESCO, (1999), quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 95-197) is not taken with a positive attitude it cause hindrance in terms of effectiveness and creativity, affecting performance. Informal work culture: Google has a very informal and open culture, Googlers can bring pets to office if they want to can approach anyone they want to, in Google’s case in relation to performance it has worked but failed in shaping employees responsible and respectable behavior. Googlers are known to come late for meetings and don’t pay attention to the meeting, which shows poor respect and carelessness towards clients. This shows negatively on the organization. Sergey backed this behavior by saying that they were working around the clock and hence were not prepared for the meetings. The theory applicable for this is attributional bias*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 115) Fundamental attribution error*. Sergey attributed the late coming and careless behavior to external attribution because they had to work round the clock. Treatment towards contract workers: 30% of Google’s employees are contract workers. These employees are not given any benefit, stock options, nor do they get company’s intranet access, meetings or social events. This obviously shows discrimination, which might lead to conflict, de-motivation, demoralization, and unrest among the employees, and if one is unhappy with his/her organization they tend to talk more about how unhappy they are with their friends and family, which might lead to bad reputation of the company. The leadership style towards contract workers can be explained through LMX*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 240-241). Wherein there is low quality LMX. 12 hr working day as the norm: With all the facilities provided at Google employees work for 12 hrs a day, which is a norm. This could be good for the organization but not for an individual as this affects his personal life and health. This could also mean that Googlers are not utilizing their time efficiently, as their pet or other famous entertainments at Google distract them. Biases: In the case study it is mentioned that while hiring employees, Google prefers a fresher rather than an experienced person. This could be wrong as an experienced person might have abilities and capabilities that a fresher doesn’t possess. The theory applicable for this is perceptual bias*(explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 14). Recommendations: Lewin Theory*( Lewin (1951), explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 343-344) of change can be adapted in this case. As the organizational structure is organic it is not very difficulty to unfreeze the links. Also there was no mention of appraisals in the case study. Appraisals are one of the key methods to see to it that the employee s perform well. It is also a method to motivate employees hence, SMART* (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time bound) goals should be set for the employees (explained and quoted in BHM399 Organizational Behavior, p. 140). Word count: 2,495 words APPENDIX: Note: The appendix contains the explanation of all theories quoted in the above explanation of success and failure factors. Also note IL, GL and OL refers to Individual level, Group Level and Organizational Level respectively throughout the case including appendix. Theories on an Individual Level (IL): Personality: Big 5 Model: OCEAN and IQ OCEAN stands for Openness to experience: Extremely open people are creative, curious and artistically sensitive. Those at other hand are conventional and find comfort in the familiar. Conscientiousness: This dimension is a measure of reliability. Extraversion: This dimension captures one’s comfort level with relationships. Agreeableness: This dimension refers to an individual’s propensity to defer to others. Neuroticism/Emotional Stability: this dimension taps a person’s ability to withstand stress. The Big 5 personality trait gives an insight into a person’s personality and organizations use ASA to see if the person is fit for job and organization. IQ: Intelligence Quotient Perceptual Bias: This is based on perceptions and perception is a process by which individuals select, organize, and interpret the input from their senses. Schemas, motivational state, and mood all play a part in perception. The perception bias can have different effects, like, Primacy, Contrast, Halo and Similar-to-me effect. Attribution Theory: A group of theories that describe how people explain the causes of behavior. It can be attributed to internal or external. Internal attribution: Against the cause of behavior to some characteristic of a person like ability, personality, motivation, etc. External attribution: Against the cause of behavior to factors external to the person like, task difficulty, luck, etc. Fundamental Attribution Error: The tendency to over-attribute behavior to internal rather an external causes or vice a versa. Motivation theories: Two-factor theory/Herzberg’s Motivator-hygiene theory: Categorized factors into those led to job satisfaction and those that lead to job dissatisfaction. When Motivator factors are met, workers will be very satisfied; when they are not met, workers will not be satisfied. Similarly when Hygiene factors are met and not met, workers will not be dissatisfied and will be very dissatisfied respectively. Factors for each have been illustrated in the main text. Expectancy Theory: A process theory about work motivation that focuses on how workers make choices among alternative behaviors and levels of effort. Valence: the desirability of an outcome to an individual. Instrumentality: A perception about the extent to which performance of one or more behaviors will lead to attainment of a particular outcome. Expectancy: A perception about the extent to which effort will result in a certain level of performance. Illustrated in the main text. Job Design: The process of linking specific tasks to specific jobs and deciding what techniques, equipment and procedures should be used to perform those tasks. Job Enrichment: Increasing a worker’s responsibility and control over his or her work; also called vertical job loading. Job Characteristic model: The theory of the Job Characteristics Model is that the core dimensions impact critical psychological states, which in turn impact an individual’s work and personal outcomes. Individual differences and individual perception moderate the effects. An approach to job design that aims to identify characteristics that make jobs intrinsically motivating and the consequences of those characteristics. Core job dimensions include skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. Skill Variety: degree job requires variety of activities Task Identity: degree job requires completion of a whole and identifiable piece of work Task Significance: degree job affects the lives or work of other people Autonomy: degree job allows individual freedom and discretion Feedback: degree to which the job gives clear information about performance Goal Setting: A theory that focuses on identifying the types of goals that are most effective in producing high levels of motivation and performance and why goals have these effects. EI Initiatives: Describes those activities designed to increase the amount of information which employees receive about their organisation and to provide them with the opportunity to contribute to decisions – thereby increasing their commitment to the organisation’s success. Group Level Theories: Tuckman Stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning Forming: Norming: Performing: Adjourning: Process Loss: Is also known as social loafing. This happens when there is no management structure and everyone are expected to be responsible. One person akes it for granted that the other person will do the job and pretend to be busy when he/she is not. This leads to process loss. Diversity: Principles of human diversity as a life-enhancing condition; conflict as a normal process to be managed constructively; and social responsibility as the human capacity to reflect and apply ethical norms to personal and public decisions’. When group attitudes to diversity are positive – exploring and relishing difference – the synergistic effects of diversity on team performance, in terms of effectiveness and creativity are profound Reflexivity: Teams will be more effective and innovative to the extent that they reflect upon their objectives, strategies, processes and environments and adapt these aspects of their task worlds accordingly . Team objectives/vision appropriateness, value, clarity Team strategies detail, alternatives, time span, effectiveness Team processes decision-making, communication, interaction, meetings, feedback, support for innovation, conflict management Leadership trait: Explained by Big 5 model. Leadership traits are directly related to Big 5 model. Transformational leadership: Leadership that inspires followers to trust the leader, to perform at a high level, and to contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. Situational/Contingency Theories Assumptions: This includes People oriented leadership where the leader is more people oriented than task. LMX: Low quality: A theory that describes the different kinds of relationships that may develop between a leader and a follower and what the leader and the follower give to and receive back from the relationship. Managers develop different relationships with their subordinates, which very from low to high quality LMX Organizational Level Theories: Organic Structure/Boundaryless Organization: Organic model . This model looks a lot like the boundaryless organization. It is flat , uses cross hierarchical and cross functional teams, has low formalisation, posesses a comprehensive informational network ( using lateral and upward communication as well as downward) and involve high participation in decision making. Expert Power: Informal power that stems from superior ability/expertise Organizational conflict: There are various types of conflicts in organization in googke we are concentrating on status inconsistency. The various types are: Culture Development: Culture development and sustaining depends on the following factors: Selection (also A. S. A) Socialisation: Social events in an organization brings togetherness and unity among employees. Top management: The top management plays a key role in developing a culture. Lewin Change Theory: Force field analysis (Lewin 1951) is widely used in change management and can be used to help understand most change processes in organizations. In force field analysis change, is characterized as a state of imbalance between driving forces (e. g. new personnel, changing markets, new technology) and restraining forces (e. g. individuals fear of failure, organizational inertia). To achieve change towards a goal or vision three steps are required: First, an organization has to unfreeze the driving and restraining forces that hold it in a state of quasi-equilibrium. Second, an imbalance is introduced to the forces to enable the change to take place. This can be achieved by increasing the drivers, reducing the restraints or both . Third, once the change is complete the forces are brought back into quasi-equilibrium and re-frozen. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Organizational Behavior, 12 edition, by Stephen P. Robbins and Timothy A. Judge. BHM399 Organizational Behavior, Oct 2007, On Campus, Prof Robin M artin and Prof Michael West. ORGANIZATION INDIVIDUAL GROUP Effort = Expectancy Performance = Instrumentality Outcomes = Valence