How People Make Economic Decisions Paper Essay

How People Make Economic Decisions Paper University of Phoenix Eco 212 May 29, 2011 Economics plays a role in every person’s day-to-day life. One aspect that it plays apart in is decision making. For every decision that is made economics is applied. There are principles that relate to decision making. First is that for every decision made there are tradeoffs, to get one thing something else is given up. The next principle is for every decision made there is a cost. The cost is what was given up. The third principle is people think rationally and rational people think on the margin, meaning that the decision is not made unless the marginal benefit exceeds the marginal cost. The final principle is that people respond to incentives. Behavior changes when cost or benefits change. These principles explain how the economy functions as a whole. Since resources are scarce people have to make decisions based on benefiting themselves on how to spend their time and money. To make rational decisions people must interact with the environment and other decision makers. These interactions lead to the best allocation of resources. When people interact with one another they make trade for resources when the benefit is mutual. For example buying a soda the buyer is thirsty and enjoys soda so he or she will benefit from the soda, and the vender will benefit from the money for the soda so the trade has been made. These interactions are affected by the economy system present. In a centrally planned economy central authorities make decisions for what would be the best use of their goods and resources. The state can set prices of goods and determine how much to produce. Therefore, decisions are not voluntary. Decisions are voluntary in a market economy where the pricing of goods and services are guided solely by the interactions of a country’s citizens and businesses. In a mixed economy system where there is a variety of public and private control decisions are voluntary as well. No matter what economic system is present for a decision to be made the marginal benefit must out way the cost. To fully understand how the decision making process works the writer of this paper will provide an example. The decision is rather she should take the assistant manager position offered to her or not. Her first choice was to decline the offer but she began to think about the marginal benefits. The benefits would be a raise in pay, a step up in the career ladder and new learning experiences . The advancement would be a step towards her goal of becoming a human resources manager for Applebee’s. Also she would gain closer relations with corporate managers. Next she had to weigh the benefits against the cost. The marginal cost in accepting the position would be more responsibility, and it would be mandatory to work longer hours. For her the marginal benefit was greater than the marginal cost so she decided to take the position. If the circumstances were different her marginal benefits and marginal cost would have changed leading to a different choice. For example, season at her restaurant is out so money on tips has decreased. If the restaurant was still in season and tips had not decreased then there would not have been a pay raise so that benefit would have been eliminated. Another factor was she wanted one managerial shift a week if her boss had not agreed to that then she would not have taken the offer, either. Many people are not aware that when they make a decision rather it be to take the day off work or buy a house they are applying economics. Even the simple transaction of buying a soda is a part of economics. It can be concluded from this example and the facts provided that economics is implemented in day-to-day life. Reference Hubbard, R. , & O’Brien, A. (2010). Economics. The University if Phoenix eBook Collection database.

The meaning of beauty essay

I believe that beauty Is In the eye of the beholder. What one person would consider a flaw; another might think it an adorable quirk. Since no one is Identical, this means there's no true definition of beauty. It's all based on our perception. First of all, the way we perceive beauty Is affected largely by the media. Growing up In a heavily media Influenced culture; many people believe that being beautiful Is synonymous to being â€Å"hot†.In movies, the ugly† girl rarely ever â€Å"gets the guy'. The way television portrays beauty Is wrong, and hurtful, because It reinforces the Idea that to be beautiful, you must be attractive. Beauty Is more than Just skin deep. The word â€Å"beautiful† encompasses the mind and soul of a person, not Just their body and face. Regardless, people may argue that the meaning of beauty Is Ingrained In us biologically. What we find â€Å"naturally attractive† helps us define who an Ideal mate would be.But now that the arrival of our race doesn't depend on our reproduction, we can redefine the definition of beauty to suit our psychological needs. People have ruined their health and taken unnecessary risks, since they're willing to do whatever it takes to be â€Å"beautiful. † In conclusion, saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder would embrace the fact that there are infinite definitions for this word. For this reason, I celebrate that beauty is more than what is merely on the outside.

Current Strategy of Apple & its Competitive Advantage Case Study

Current Strategy of Apple & its Competitive Advantage - Case Study Example Later on, from 1980s many of the companies decided to diversify their business so that they both can be provided as a complete package. Among these companies, IBM was the first to emerge as the market leader in manufacturing personal computer, different software and other computer-related accessories (Bergin, 2001, p.25). In this report, the prevailing competitive strategy of Apple Plc will be evaluated in the light of internal as well as external strategies and policies followed by the company as well as its competitors. After analyzing the findings of the research, the key strategic issues related to the Apple will be discussed and then a few alternative opinions will be suggested that will assist the company to retain a sustainable competitive position in the computer and electronics industry. The history of Apple has not been very encouraging. Profitability had eluded the company for long and its market shares were hardly commendable. In the mid 90s, the company faced stiff competition from its rival operating in the same industry. The CEO of the company took all possible actions to expand its market share by minimizing the operating cost through outsourcing and other such allied activities. Despite these efforts, Apple was fast losing its appeal among the customers as a product that promises innovation and creativity. As soon as Steve Jobs took up the position of CEO, the market position of Apple saw an immediate reversal of fortunes. The CEO, with its maverick leadership style, made Apple one of the names to be reckoned in the international market. The core strategy of Apple can be summed up as constant innovation leading to the eventual betterment of its product offering. Steve Jobs firmly believes that innovation is not just a science but it is also an art. Such philosophy has lent Apple technological superiority along with aesthetic appeal. The CEO of the company maintains a ‘closed miniature technology-economy’ that assists the company to develop its unique environment.

Case Analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Analysis - Case Study Example These are to integrate it with the already existing aids’ databases, which are HIPPA and EHRs (Rusiecki, et al., 2014). It is not clear why the government and majority of medic panels have not embraced the idea despite seeing the approach being helpful and valid. Based on the above analyses, it is quite evident the approach avails adequate information meant to enhance and manage evacuees’ varied predicaments. However, mitigations for these predicaments their respective solutions evident in Figure 1 are attainable with minimum involvement of resources (Mordini & Green, 2013). This is also quite evident in Figure 2 though relaying both â€Å"For† and â€Å"against† forces whereby the former prove to be strong than the latter. Hence, implying KatrinaHealth.org is quite effective (Stehling-Ariza, Park, Sury & Abramson, 2012). Rusiecki, J. A., Thomas, D. L., Chen, L., Funk, R., McKibben, J., & Dayton, M. R. (2014). Disaster-Related Exposures and Health Effects Among US Coast Guard Responders to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A Cross-Sectional Study. Journal Of Occupational & Environmental Medicine, 56(8), 820-833. doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000000188 Stehling-Ariza, T., Park, Y., Sury, J., & Abramson, D. (2012). Measuring the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Access to a Personal Healthcare Provider: The Use of the National Survey of Childrens Health for an External Comparison Group. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 16170-177.

Art Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Art Education - Essay Example It is dated from 1964 and it is indicative of Johns’ shift away from maps to ‘grand’ works (paragraph 2). 6. Cotter suggests that paintings such as â€Å"Watchman† â€Å"invite lively interactions.† While on the other hand, â€Å"According to What† is considered standoffish. The painting seems to be a collection of elements which are not cohesive (paragraph 4). 10. Cotter questions whether Johns’ painting â€Å"According to What† is a great painting. He says that though the paintings greatness is questionable, it is important and interesting because it defines Johns’ career. It is interesting because Johns uses techniques which will later be copied by other artists (paragraph 7 & 8). 13. Cotter concludes by stating that â€Å"All the pieces of a complex and enticing puzzle are there.† Like other paintings the audience is left to themselves to figure it out for themselves (paragraph 8). 1. John Russell reviews Jasper Johns’ work by first discussing the painting â€Å"The Seasons†. He states that the painting is a â€Å"benchmark in the history† of America (1). The painting is displayed at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York. 2. Russell describes â€Å"The Seasons† as an art with â€Å"deviation or concern†. The other paintings by Johns, including â€Å"Spring, Fall, Summer, and Winter† are described as â€Å"distinct from the invented† (3). Johns’ art style as â€Å"immutable, like the American flag† (3). 4. Russell analyzes the relationship between â€Å"The Seasons† and other works by stating that â€Å"The Seasons†¦is directly related to a painting by Picasso called â€Å"The Minotaur Moving His House† (5). 5. Russell discusses the similarities between Picasoo and Johns’ paintings. The similarieties include ropes and ladders. Russell notes that Johns has used this material before but he uses it in a whole new context (6). Russell notes

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 5

Management - Essay Example A similar pattern of social influence was also reported by those who were identified as in-group members and as protà ©gà ©s. In-group members and mentored individuals reported greater use of expert and referent power than out-group members and non-mentored people. Further, out-group members and non-mentored individuals both reported a greater use of coercive power than did in-group members and protà ©gà ©s. Research interest in mentor/protà ©gà © relationships developed during the 1980s. It arose largely without articulated conceptual links to other topics in social/organizational psychology such as leadership, social influence, pro-social behavior, or social exchange. The first studies of this developmental relationship were descriptive and exploratory, such as Krams early research (2003) which identified two functions that mentors provide their protà ©gà ©s: career and psychosocial. More recent research (Noe, 1998a, 458) has examined the process and outcome of formal assigned mentor-protà ©gà © pairings and, in particular, the difference in outcomes between formal and naturally developing informal mentoring relationships (Chao, Walz, & Gardner, 2002, 619). Noe (1998b, 68) reviewed work on mentoring as it pertains to womens career development. He recommended clarifying the nature of the mentoring construct, suggesting several research questions about the development and effectiveness of these relationships. Noe also stated that "the use of leader-member exchange theory may further understanding of the dynamics involved in the formation of mentorships" (p. 73). Consistent with Noes recommendations, the present study was designed to investigate the convergence of mentoring relationships with another construct in social/organizational psychology: high-quality leader-member exchange (LMX). To explore the convergence of LMX and mentoring, we propose that

White paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

White paper - Assignment Example EPA primarily covers legislations for pollution in air, water, land, management of hazardous waste and protection of engendered species. EPA provides public awareness campaigns as management at such a huge level is not possible without individual participation (Simonsen, 2010). For air, a limit is imposed on the exposure of certain air pollutants in all areas. EPA can also ban a certain air pollutant from emission like from chemical plants, mills and utilities. By limiting exposure of dangerous air pollutants, EPA helps keep the air clean and livable for all creatures and human beings. EPA takes responsibility of cleaning up land or underground waste that has a threat on the environment. Mostly land is cleaned in industrial areas where wastes are dumped and they pose threat to living beings in that specific vicinity. In order to keep the land free of dangerous chemicals and providing a healthy diet, pesticides are registered and tolerance of each pesticide is set for usage. To monito r toxic substances in the environment EPA conducts tests and gathers relevant data for future analysis other than controlling its exposure. Waste disposal and recycling of it is also regulated by the EPA. Water is treated for safe and healthy usage and water waste management is also conducted to ensure it remains pollution free. EPA has also set regulations to manage waste or release of hazardous material by accident in emergency conditions. Another category termed cross cutting issues is dealt by EPA. It covers several aspects ranging from environmental justice to climatic change. To make sure the above mentioned regulations are actually followed, EPA follows a compliance process. Compliance department assists local bodies by providing tools and training to combat unexpected situations. They also impose penalties to businesses that fail to comply with the environmental safety regulations. During their audit procedure they also reduce or completely eliminate penalties

Current Issues in Information Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Issues in Information Technology - Essay Example The study will analyze and evaluate the impact of social media on business performance. In this case, the social media provides a platform for doing business where business companies can reach greater market and make their products and services visible on the global scale. The invention enables all companies to reach target market at minimized costs, therefore providing opportunity for competition on an equal footing for small sized businesses (Gilmore and Altan-Erdem, 2008; Baker and Hart, 2007; Barker et al., 2013). The overall research design for this study will be more descriptive in nature applying semi-structured interviews and surveys to solicit information from participants (Bryman and Bell, 2011; Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Primary research will include semi-structured interviews with business managers from different departments such as sales and marketing. Secondary research will be used in the analysis of company policies and providing background on organizations under study. At the same time, the method will examine information communication technology evolution within the corporate sector (Wilkinson, 2003; Kuter and Yilmaz, 2001; Patton,

Brazilian Music and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Brazilian Music and Culture - Essay Example Accessibility of music is thus a complex phenomenon that encompasses these features and others that will be explored by this paper with specific reference to the Brazilian carnival and how it relates to the social conditions of the country. Eisentraut asserts that to understand music, it can be categorized into physical, personal and participatory classes1. Accordingly, this paper will start the scrutiny commencing with a draft description of the Brazilian culture and music for the period of the carnival. Globalization has led to more contact with music and in particular to spread of the allure of the carnival across very many nations, with as much 500,000 guest attending the Rio de Janeiro carnival in the year 2013. Historical Background of the Carnival Brazil usually host some of the most vivacious and exuberant carnival celebrations in the world, though other countries most notably china also host carnival celebrations. The carnival celebrations in Brazil can be traced back to Cat holic countries in Europe, these were parties hosted before the Lent (these were the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness). The celebrations were customarily concluded on Ash Wednesday during which people appreciated the phase of non-indulgence for forty days. The term ‘carnival’ is said to have been derived from the Latin word carne levare, which means ‘to remove meat’, during the Lent eating of meat by Catholics is forbidden. The carnival has since moved from the religious nature of the party to a more of a street party composed of lots of music, dancing and elegant displays of costumes. It has retained the celebrations, as they take place before the Ash Wednesday that is between Saturday and Tuesday. The world’s most famous and arguably, the biggest street carnival is the Rio de Janeiro one, Salvador does also host a comparatively big street carnival. Street celebrations do take an array of styles throughout the country, different towns and ci ties across the country have street carnivals where live bands march along the streets playing sambas and marchas, and they are then followed by very many carnival enthusiasts. Music component in the carnival Music genres played during the festival varies across the country with each region’s style an indication of European, African and Indo-American influence2. The genres reveal significant differences in the styles and music played between the North Eastern region and that of the South Eastern region. The music performed in the North Eastern areas is generally samba, samba-reggae and axe. This music style derives a lot of influence from the African music more specifically from the Yoruba slaves brought from West Africa; they composed and performed their song in a bid to show union amongst themselves and to denounce slavery3. As early as in the late 1800s the black population in this region began commemorating the festival with their own unique style. In the streets of Olind a and Recife, the music played during the carnival is mostly the local favourite genre the frevo, in addition to this genre maracatu, samba, samba reggae, axe amongst others are also played. In the state of Bahia, during the carnival it is common to spot trio electricos- these are long Lorries full of musicians playing loud and deafening music

Finance Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finance Planning - Assignment Example Their monthly expenditure on insurance for their properties is high and does not comprehensively cover their assets since some assets such their stereo is not insured. The critical issues raised above should be addressed in their order of priority. Recommendation for the emergency fund would be to sum up Mark’s 401(k) contribution and bank savings as previously intended, since they are available. Then the Lanes should top up the remaining amount from reductions in their expenditure and by that their emergency fund objective will have been met. Recommendation for the second and middle term objective would be to make a fixed income investment and channel the proceeds to a child education fund. The long term goal of purchasing a house should be met by freeing up money that was used to pay debts and once these are cleared they can channel the income towards payment of a mortgage. They have a short fall of $18,877.5- $3,070= $15,807.5 Recommendation for funding the shortfall includes implementing the proposed debt management plan so as to reduce debt expenses such as payment of credit card interests. The proceeds realized can then be channeled to the emergency fund. The Lanes have been having a poor debt management plan as they have a negative balance sheet and a negative cash flow balance. They should consider implementing the proposed debt management plan as it will assist them clear their debts systematically from the smallest to the largest debt. In order to save a monthly amount for retirement at the age of 55, both Mark and Ava should cut down on their expenditure and reduce their insurance expenditure. In order to do this, they can consider the emergency fund as a form of self-insurance then save the amounts used to pay insurance premiums to save for retirement. The Lanes should not sell any of their investments to

Culture of Armenia - history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs Essay Example for Free

Culture of Armenia history, people, women, beliefs, food, customs Essay (I am trying to make art that relates to the deepest and most mythic concerns of humankind and I believe that, at this moment of history, feminism is humanism. Judy Chicago, 1990) Armenian traditions and culture made an Armenian woman unable to work outside of their homes for several decades. As women were supposed to marry at very young ages there was no need for personal and professional growth except being excellent households. In the first stage (0-19 years) of their lives, they were dependent financially on their families, especially fathers, after that they were depended on their husbands. As lives of many of Armenian girls were already decided before they were born, there was no room for education and career. However, even in that kind of situation, there were several motives for pushing women to education and workforce. Industrialization and technology development were some of those reasons. So, we may think that women were not utilized entirely by the society, that’s way with the development the role of women in the family decreased hence increased in the society. And as women started to enter the workforce and get out of their â€Å"home† comfort zone, the need for secure rights and respect increased by them. So, why it was not important to have rights within the family? Here come tradition and culture. Armenian women were always thought from their young ages, that family is the most valuable thing that can happen in their lives and family wife, the mother must always sacrifice their happiness, dreams and overall lives to build a strong and â€Å"ch ild-friendly† environment within their families. As families were big (6 10 members) there was no time left for the women to think about their long-term goals and dreams. They were entirely taken by day-to-day household activities and child’s upbringing, however, I personally think that if girls were taught about other values from younger ages, the society would change itself even with very little steps. It is a cyclical system and all starts from the childhood. There is another argument, that we may also consider: women were accepted as the â€Å"tool† of continuing the nation with next generation. Women were blamed when they were not married because they will not be able to give a birth to a child, especially a boy. And those women who decided not to marry were forced to wear old, black clothes and they needed to cover their faces. There is another crucial fact, as many towns and villages couldn’t provide a primary education mothers were supposed to teach their children as well. So, the way that child’s brain and imagination will be shaped was in the hand of their mothers. At the first glance, we may think that women in poverty or girls who were married by force were the main engine of driving the society into feminist ideas. Because they were the ones who had no voice in the family and society, most of their husbands migrated to other towns to make money. In villages especially, women were publicly harassed for their speech in front of another man. However, the history showed us that feminists were from the elite class of the society, we can see lots of cases both in Armenia and worldwide. So, why were feminists from the highest social class, if they could have anything that they needed? There are several reasons for that, but in this paper, I will consider just two of them: being able to afford higher education; free time. A good education has always been an expansive experience. Even now, when almost every city has its own school and at least one university, for graduating you need to have money. What about 19th centuries? When people started to value the education and wealthy families were seeking to give their children the best education, both for their status and for their next generation’s welfare. Graduates from all institutions that provided higher education were from wealthy families. And only the most wealthy families will spend money for their daughter’s education. From that institutions, girls got only knowledge but a dream of getting more than just having husbands and children. They wanted to use their talents and knowledge to change something in this world. Education â€Å"educate† people to move forward and always take into account one’s individual ways of thinking, sometimes feelings and even just intuition when making decisions. However, all these cannot be i ntegrated into typical Armenian Family\s daily routine. Most of the decision was made by the man and sometimes never advised with the women. Even if the issue is really crucial and important for family’s future. So, the women are a subordinate, just an active resource that can be used based on man’s decision. Some people argue that while the feminist movement certainly opened up jobs and opportunities available to women, it ultimately harmed women, children, and family because it devalued motherhood. I would agree with some part of this statement, however, I will change a word in it: As the feminist movement certainly opened up jobs and opportunities available to women, it ultimately changed women, children, and family because it devalued patriarchal families. With the increase of women in the workforce the birth rate decreased. And women got less time to provide to their personal lives and more importantly number of children born by a single woman decrease.When women Ð °cquired greÐ °ter clÐ °ss stÐ °tus and power without conducting themselves differently from mÐ °les, feminist politics were undermined. Middle- Ð °nd lower-middle clÐ °ss women who were suddenly compelled by the ethos of feminism to enter the workforce did not feel liberated once they fÐ °ced the hard truth that working outside the home did not mean work in the home would be equally shÐ °red with mÐ °le partners. So, what is the reason? Is there any solution that could combine a working mother and more children in one family? Yes, in my point of view, there is one. If the life of a woman changes during decades, a routine of man was stable. They haven’t met any crucial changes in their daily routines and plans with this development. And here is the problem. If the father took some of the women’s activities and concerns within the family, everything would be balanced. Because the woman changes entirely after having a child, and in the workplaces, it is not always guaranteed that women could get her job back after maternity leave. Some countries found the solution: paternity leave. Fathers have equal rights to get leave for the newborn baby, and the problem is somehow solved. So, how is this connected to social status? Women from higher social classes have the opportunity of choosing. It can be just an ability to choose a dress or choose a life partner. Along with this, they have more time available (they have servants) for their own interests, so instead of doing household activities they are building their personalities and constructing their own lives. There are lots of examples of wealthy feminists from the history both worldwide and in Armenia. One of the most famous Armenian feminists was Serbouhi Dussab. She was a good example of well-educated, self-confident Armenian women. She was well-known in her time because she had a social status, and it made her voice to be heard. In the traditional Armenian society, it was not always easy to express your opinion as an individual, especially in novels. In her second novel (Siranush, published in 1884) she talked about family life, marriage and women’s right in Armenian families. She stepped into the sphere that was never touched deeply by women. Every question, especially regarding genders, have at least two viewpoints, and it is not always to be in the â€Å"middle†. Women should look into the question of gender equality with a cold heart and sharp mind, or else feelings will make a decision instead of them. This is what we can see in writings of Ms. Srbouhie Dussab. However, in Armenian society women were not only making a difference in literature but also found several charitable funds and organizations, which changed the society’s way of thinking step by step. Some of those organizations were: The School-Loving Ladies Society, founded in 1979 by Ms. Nurik Simanian, Ms. Taguhie Paltazarian, and Mrs. Armaveni Minassian. The goal of the society to promote education of Armenian girls and train teacher for provinces, set private free schools for Armenian girls ; â€Å"Education-loving Ladies†, founded in 1880 and society’s goal was to take care of poo rs, orphans, widows ; â€Å"Union of girls and young men† founded in 1919, an example of joint man and woman organization and â€Å"Armenian Women’s Association† founded in 1919, aimed to contribute to Armenian women’s moral intellectual, material and physical development, establish cooperation between all Armenian women, use Armenian potential to promote the Armenian Cause. The Armenian women’s charitable society of Tiflis Was the largest and long-lived women’s organization. On 4th of December, 1879 114 ladies gathered in the conference hall of the Mariamian-Hovnanian girls’ school, organized fundraising, raised 407 rubles for sending to Constantinople. On 31st of December, 1881 Society’s Charter was adopted. According to the Charter, the goal of the Society was to promote the education of women: a. by opening and maintaining a private school for females at its own cost b. by supporting parochial schools for females with its own funds as well as by assisting those women that wish to become teachers in parochial schools\. The society also granted scholarships for unmarried women to study education or medicine. Within first 10 years, Society organized 11 balls, 6 performances, 3 concerts, 2 public lectures, all of which proved quite successful as fund-raisers. One of the most memorable organizations was Armenian Society â€Å"Meghu† in Tiflis â€Å"Meghu† decided to stop poverty by waging war against women\s unemployment. First, there was the issue of cheap labor. The number of job-seekers is constantly on the rise and fear of starvation forces workers to accept lower wages. Second, there was a danger of the flaw of living at the expense of someone else\s labor. The founders of the Society divided those living at someone else\s labor into two groups, evil-doers or robbers, and beggars. \A beggar with his rags and nakedness does the same thing as a robber: beggary, too, is a trade and a mask, which can be used to peacefully rob someone without running any risk.\ A power was needed that would help them at the time of despair and would encourage them. The class came to the conclusion that the existing charities were powerless to fight against a huge force of economic crisis. Those women came up with an idea of establishing a purely democratic association that would be able without hurting people\s self-respect to provide the unfortunate victims of our materialistic age, especially women. Armenian female workers are the most oppressed, ill-used and exploited social class because, on the one hand, of their shyness and, on the other hand, of the overall economic situation. Women earned their living with home-craft (ex. sewing, and they would make kopecks).The Society set a goal of establishing the \House of Work\ (workshops) and of assisting in promoting the cause of eliminating illiteracy of poor women. Workshops, such as dress-making, dry-cleaning, cardboard, artificial flowers, basketry, cooking. For 13-17 years old-sold girls society opened a school. The final decision was that only girls that have a level of knowledge equal to the graduates of the parochial elementary school shall be admitted to the school at the Meghu House of Work. As mentioned before, a good education and self-confidence can have a cyclical effect and attract more women to take their lives in their hands. Maybe the engines of feminism revolution were a wealthy woman, but they helped the society to understand the importance of equality in every sphere of life. They changed the world by writing novels, founding organizations, societies, and schools. Importance of a good education is rising day-by-day and feminists have a huge role in it by their activities. They brought the problems of women from top to the lives of people and made middle- and low- social class women to think about their futures by themselves.

Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation

Leadership Management and Motivation in Organisation As the century unfolds, new realities are becoming clearer. New models of Leadership and Management are blossoming, some with unfounded success. For instance, focusing on working better as teams and empowering those closest to the customers to make important decisions have led to great accomplishments (Kurtzman, 2010). Management is often referred to words like efficiency, planning, paperwork, procedures, regulations, control, and consistency whereas Leadership is often associated with words like vision, creativity and risk-taking (Yukl, 2005). It has also been said that management is basically a control-laden activity; whereas leadership is basically a value-choosing, and thus a value-laden activity (Bass et al., 1990). Overall Management is defined as The organizational process that includes strategic planning, setting objectives, managing resources, deploying the human and financial assets needed to achieve objectives, and measuring results (Burgoyne, 1989). Leadership is defined as A process in which leader and followers interact in a way that enables the leader to influence the actions of the followers in a non-coercive way, towards the achievement of certain aims or objectives (Rollinson and Broadfield, 2002) In Kotters (1996) view Management relates to planning, controlling and organising whereas leadership relates to visioning, networking, creating, coping with change and building relationship. Leadership is often considered grander, more lucrative and admirable, in a word: better, than the less visible, fundamentally based, management (Hughes et al., 2009). The relationship between management and leadership is summarised in Appendix 1. From this we can argue are managers leaders or vice versa. As Zaleznik (1977) claims that in a bureaucratic society which breeds managers may restrain young leaders who need mentor and emotional interchange to develop. But Raelin (2004) argued that managers are not excluded from leadership. He says there is a potential for leadership to emerge from any individual under the right sets of circumstances. I would argue from my personal experience that managers can be leaders and vice versa depending on individual capabilities, skills and adapting change, as in Lloyds banking Group (LBG) we have managers as our team leaders and are quite successful in switching their roles and understanding the responsibilities of both managers and leaders. The concept was that as managers have some formal authority to influence subordinates behaviour they can easily occupy the role of leadership. However, just because the authority was there, it did not mean that subordinates will willingly assent to its use. There had been issues initially when they find it hard to switch over and look from leaders point of view, which caused problems in bonding with employees and lack of motivation. This resulted in getting all the managers trained on leadership programmes and understanding the needs or requirements of employees from their leaders. This was again based on how individual managers reacted to situations where they were able to keep their managerial ego aside and think as a team. Some of the managers were very good at switching over and thinking from a team perspective whereas some struggled. Overall we can argue that Zaleznik argument regarding management and leadership requires different types of people can be true, if an individual cannot cope with the changing organisation requirements. But in LBG we have seen that managers successfully play leaders role and vice versa to save cost or to adapt change and thus falsify Zalezniks argument. But as Rollinson and Broadfield (2002) often focus on managers can be leaders, this is not an inevitable state of affairs. Even though it is widely assumed that leadership can be taught to anybody, it is probably far more realistic to regard management and leadership as two complementary activities (Kotter, 1988), each one having its own unique functions. Motivation Quality work being top priority in organisations all over world as the use of contingent workers is on the rise. Managing knowledge workers continues to perplex experienced managers across divergent industries. And globalization and the challenges of managing across borders are now the norm instead of the exception. These changes can have a profound influence on how companies attempt to attract, retain, and motivate their employees (Steers et al., 2004) Motivation, in contrast, results when the person believes that engaging in the behaviour will result in some desired experience or outcome. Motivation is then differentiated into intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Herzberg et al., 1957) Intrinsic Motivation is where people may be motivated by the relationship between the worker and the task. It takes place when people feel that the work they do is interesting, challenging and have opportunities for advancement and growth. Extrinsic Motivation takes place when people may be motivated by factors in the external environment such as pay, supervision, benefits, and job perks The process of motivation is broadly based on a number of motivational theories. In this paper we will asses few motivational theories (Appendix 2) and asses these theories to identify what motivates people. Instrumental Theory: Initially in the second half of 19th century a concept of Instrumental Theory stated that people work only for money. Motivation using this approach is exclusively based on system of external control and fails to recognise a number of other human needs (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Maslow Needs Theory: The basic of this theory is the belief that an unsatisfied need creates tension and disequilibrium. Maslow (1954) formulated the concept of hierarchy of needs and believed that reasons people go to work changes. It starts from the fundamental physiological needs and leads through safety, social and esteems needs to the need for self-fulfilment. He believed that only an unsatisfied need can motivate behaviour and the dominant need is the prime motivator of behaviour. Herzbergs Two-Factor Model (Motivation-Hygiene): Herzbergs (1957) theory sates that the factors giving rise to job satisfaction are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. His research led him to conclude that hygiene factors such as pay, status, security, company policies and administration were rarely high motivators. People tend to take fringe benefits and good working conditions for granted, but when they are removed they had a highly demotivating effect. A salary increase had a short-term motivating effect when it was felt to be deserved, while what was felt to be an unfair salary was a long-lasting demotivator. Overall all these theories adopt a psychologically universal view, which assumes that everyone has a common set of needs and conveys the impression that people are predictable in terms of what motivates them. Moreover all these theories mostly ignore the crucial issue of individual differences and also to the potentially powerful effects of different national and organisational cultures as factors that can shape human needs (Bagher, 2010). In a work environment, it is sometimes viewed as the difference between what people can do and what they will do. In the practical workplace LBG uses various motivation models one of the highly used motivational models is Support and Challenge Principles Model. Support and Challenge Principles Model (Sheppard Moscow, 1980): This model suggests that to achieve working relationship requires a balance of appropriate and agreed supportive and challenging behaviours. The two axes of support and challenge when put together create four potential workplace environments as shown in fig below: High Support Comfortable high S performance performance U environment environment P P O R T apathetic stressful performance performance environment environment CHALLENGE High Challenge To get the most from your working relationships, it is important to agree how best to work together to maximise performance and minimise tension. One way of thinking about this is to think of in the terms of developing a way of working that is both challenging and supportive. The list of behaviours in each of the categories is detailed in Appendix 3. Different roles and situations will use different mixes of these two categories and depending upon the situation, the same individual can find any of these conditions or characteristics supporting or challenging. If the workplace situation remains very comfortable or alphabetic for a long time, then additional challenges will stimulate the move towards high performance. On the other hand if the workplace situation remains very stressful for too long, then support to help manage the implications is highly effective. Though, there will be times when short periods of high challenges or high support are appropriate e.g. at the end of a particular busy period, comfort is a reward and high challenges can be very stimulating and energising in short bursts (LBG, 2011). Managements main interest in motivation is in the prospects it offers for bringing employee behaviour under tight control. Thus what interest managers most is not the process of motivation but employee behaviour. However we can hardly blame managers for believing that motivation theory offers this opportunity, because content and process theories both imply that if we know o persons needs, the person can be motivated (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005). Thus from the above we have seen different aspects of motivation and it might appear that there is an element of contradiction in what they say. Content theories deal with the needs that give rise to motivated behaviour, but perhaps oversimplify matters because they tend to portray human beings as having a homogenous set of needs. Nevertheless, as long as due allowance is made for individual differences, this does not detract from their potential usefulness. Process theories have a different emphasis: they seek to explain the dynamics of the motivation process and so much greater account is taken of individual differences (Bagher, 2010). Leadership Historically, leadership has been conceived around a single individual in a specialised role, the relationship of that individual to subordinates or followers, and the individuals actions. There are several major paradigms of leadership (Appendix 4), such as the traits (great man), skills and styles approaches, situational and contingency approaches, charismatic and transformational approaches (Northouse, 2007, p2; Bass, 1990). Action-Centred Leadership The action-centred theory of leadership is based on extensive research by John Adairs (1984), which focuses on the group and the needs that leader must meet. Adair argues that there are eight functions you must carry out, to meet these needs. These functions can be learned, practised, observed and refined. Source: (Bagher, 2010: 186) Task need: A team leader needs to bring together the group to achieve a task by providing clear instructions and reasons so each member must know and understand what is expected of them. Team need: Good leaders create groups which function best when they share the sense of purpose along with collaborating work efficiently, effectively, with a sense of pride and responsibility by maintaining or setting new standards. Individual need: People or individuals are heart of any team but they have physical and psychological needs like better working conditions, status, opportunities to develop, build confidence and motivation. From this it follows that being effective as a leader is not just a matter of choosing a specific style of behaviour, but arriving at an appropriate balance between the three functions. Encouraging communication between team members is key to creating a team that will continue to work well when the leader is absent. This resilience is valuable and might be referred to as team sustainability. Leadership Power The link between leadership and power is a strong one and many of the theories of leadership can equally be framed as theories of power. Effective leading depends on relying on different power bases at different times as per need. At its simplest, the way you wield power to get compliance can be appropriate or inappropriate. Appropriate use of power can be described as influence, while inappropriate use can be described as bullying. Source: French and Raven (1960) References Armstrong, M. and Stephens, T. (2005) Employee Reward Management and Practice, London: Kogan Page Limited. Bagher, M. (2010) Organisational Behaviour: a contemporary approach, 2nd Edition, Harlow: Pearson. Bass, B., Bass, B. and Stogdill, R. (1990) Bass Stogdills Handbook of Leadership, New York: Simon Schuster. Burgoyne, J. (1989) Management Development: Context and Strategies, Aldershot: Gower. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B. and Snyderman, B. (1957) The Motivation to Work, New York: Wiley Hughes, R., Ginnett, R. and Curphy, G. (2009) Leadership, 6th ed., Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Kotter, J. (1988) The Leadership Factor, New York: Free Press. Kotter, J. P. (1996) Leading Change, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. Kurtzman, J. (2010) Common Purpose: How Great Leaders Get Organizations to Achieve the Extraordinary, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Maslow, A. (1954) Motivation and Personality, New York: Harper Row. Raelin, J. A. (2004) Dont bother putting leadership into people, Academy of Management Executive, 18(3): 12-28. Rollinson, D. and Broadfield, A. (2002) Organisational Behaviour and Analysis: An Integrated Approach, Harlow: FT Prentice Hall. Steers, R., Mowday, R. and Shapiro, D. (2004) The Future of Work Motivation Theory, Academy of Management Review, 29(3): 379-387. Yukl, G. (2005) Leadership in Organizations, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Zaleznik, A. (1977) Managers and Leaders: are they different?, Harvard Business Review, (May/June) 55(3): 67-77. French, J. P. R., and Raven, B. (1960) The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright and A. Zander (eds.), Group dynamics (pp. 607-623), New York: Harper and Row. Appendix 1 A Comparison of Management and Leadership Competencies. Source: Northouse, 2007, p. 10. Appendix 2 Summary of Motivation Theories and their practical implications Theory Theorist Summary of theory Practical implications Instrumentality Taylor People will be motivated to work if rewards and penalties are tied directly to their performance. Conceptual basis of incentives and pay for performance schemes. Needs Maslow Unsatisfied needs create tension and disequilibrium. To restore the balance a goal is identified which will satisfy the need, and a behaviour pathway is selected which will lead to the achievement of the goal. Only unsatisfied needs motivate. Identifies a number of key needs for consideration in developing total reward policies. Two-Factor Herzberg The factors giving rise to job satisfaction (and motivation) are distinct from the factors that lead to job dissatisfaction. Any feeling of satisfaction resulting from pay increase is likely to be short-lived compared with the long-lasting satisfaction from the work itself. Makes a distinction between intrinsic motivation arising from the work itself and extrinsic motivation provided by employer, e.g. pay. A useful distinction is made between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation which influences total reward decisions. The limited motivational effects of pay increases are worth remembering when considering the part contingent pay can play in motivating people. Expectancy Vroom Motivation is likely only when a clear perceived and usable relationship exists between performance and outcome and the outcome is seen as a means of satisfying needs. Provides the foundation for good practice in the design and management of contingent pay. The basis for the concept of the line of sight which emphasises the importance of establishing a clear link between the reward and what has to be done to achieve it. Goal Latham and Locke Motivation and performance are higher when individuals are set specific goals, when the goals are difficult but accepted and when there is feedback on performance. Provides a theoretical underpinning for performance management processes to ensure that they contribute to motivation through goal setting and feedback. Equity Adams People will be better motivated if they are treated equitably and de-motivated if they are treated inequitably. Emphasis the need to develop an equitable reward system involving the use of job evaluation. Source: (Armstrong and Stephens, 2005) Definitions of key Job Dimensions Job Dimensions Definition Work Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with work, including opportunities for creativity and task variety, allowing an individual to increase his or her knowledge, changes in responsibility, amount of work, security, and job enrichment (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990; Smith et al, 1969) Pay Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee forms an attitude toward pay based on perceived difference between actual pay and the expected pay. Expected pay is based on the value of perceived inputs and outputs of the job and the pay of other employees holding similar jobs or possessing similar qualifications (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990) Supervision Satisfaction: The extent to which an employee is satisfied with his or supervision, as measured by consideration and employee-centred actions of the supervisor and the perceived competency of the supervisor by the subordinate (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al, 1957) Satisfaction with promotions: The degree to which an employee is satisfied with the Companys promotion policy, including frequency of promotions, and the desirability of promotions (Balzer and Smith et al, 1990, Herzberg et al 1957) Co-workers Satisfaction: The work-related interaction and the mutual liking or admiration of fellow employees (Bazler and Smith et al, 1990, Smith et al, 1969, Alderfer, 1969) Overall Job Satisfaction: The extent to which an individuals desires, expectations and needs are fulfilled by employment (Szilagi, Sims, and Terrill, 1977) Appendix 3 WHEN SUPPORTING EXPLORE Ideas Build on STRENGTHS Offer HELP and guidance Ask OPEN questions LISTEN actively Give PRAISE DISCLOSE similar experiences TRUST intentions WHEN CHALLENGING Ask PROBING questions Point out AVOIDANCE behaviour Offer ALTERNATIVE opinions Tell people what you EXPECT Share FEELINGS State COSEQUENCES Set STRETCHING targets ASSERT your views Having Things Like Resources Time Funding Direction Guidance Assistance Ideas Tools or Methods Willing collaborators A climate of openness and honesty Emotional support Having Things Like Confronting feedback from others New opportunities Unfamiliar grounds Doing things in a different way Working with fresh people Learning new behaviours New tools or processes Demanding stakeholders High work volumes Tight timescales Personal ambition

A Case Study On Terrorist Database Screening Information Technology Essay

A Case Study On Terrorist Database Screening Information Technology Essay introduction When the FBIs Terrorist Screening Center, or TSC, was created following the 9-11 attacks, the goal was to consolidate information about suspected terrorists from different government agencies into a single list. This was intended to enhance communication and decrease processing times. Subsets of the TSC watch list, such as the No Fly list, were added to reduce the wait for airplane passengers by screening only those who may be prevented from air travel. However, several problems have prompted questions regarding the quality and accuracy of the consolidated list. For a security measure reliant on identification of dangerous individuals, a lack of information regarding the names of suspects is a key issue. Because the list may include duplicated name entries or terrorist aliases, obvious non-terrorists such as former Senator Ted Kennedy have been subject to travel delays because of names that resemble those of suspected terrorists. According to the case study, a single name on the list may have as many as 50 duplicates. This contributes to the over 750,000 records that make up the TSC watch list. A major cause of name similarity or duplication is the process to be included on the list. Various government agencies perform sweeps of traveler information, utilizing misspellings and variations of terrorist names. This often contributes to inclusion of innocent individuals who do not belong on the list. Once an individual is on the list, there is no quick fix to be removed. According to the case study, over 24,000 requests to be removed from the list have been made, including requests from innocent travelers. Only 54 percent have been resolved due to an extensive processing time of 40 days. The Department of Homeland Security developed the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program to help innocents remove themselves from the list and avoid the extensive screening and questioning that results from being a traveler noted on the TSC watch list. Privacy and profiling have also been concerns surrounding the creation and further development of the watch list. To improve the screening process and reduce instances of erroneous inclusion, more detailed and personal data would have to be gathered about individuals on the list. This information may cause sensitivity and safety issues and contribute to existing criticism of the list because of its potential ability to promote discrimination. Some individuals on the list attest that they are marked on the list as suspected terrorists due to their race or ethnicity. However, without including private and sensitive data, the requirements for inclusion on the list will remain minimal and contribute to more false positives. The TSC is working to improve data and data management procedures. Improved communication between intelligence agencies in the future may greatly contribute to advances in the quality and accuracy of the list. But, as of now, the list stands as a major air travel security measure despite its flaws. According to the case study, Given the option between a list that tracks every potential terrorist at the cost of unnecessarily tracking some innocents, and a list that fails to track many terrorists in an effort to avoid tracking innocents, many would choose the list that tracked every terrorist despite the drawbacks. Background A compilation of information from various articles served as the basis for this case study. Journalists from prominent publications internet sites such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, CNN.com and Businessweek.com contributed to the creation of this case study through articles they wrote regarding the watch list. These articles, as well as those who wrote them, serve as the case study firm. Analysis The TSC watch list has demonstrated a variety of strengths and weaknesses since its creation in 2003. Benefits of the list include safer air travel for passengers and reduced screening time, but this has come at the cost of inconveniences and cases of mistaken identity for many innocent travelers. Data redundancy and inconsistency have contributed to questioning of the lists accuracy and quality. A minimal lack of data and information has contributed to name duplication and erroneous inclusion of innocent travelers. In order to eliminate these false positives, or cases of mistaken identity, more information regarding each suspected terrorist on the list must be gathered. However, attempts to gather this necessary information have led to outcries of privacy invasion issues which have in turn caused continual delays in data gathering processes. Individuals do not want to be inconvenienced by the accidental inclusion on the list that is the result of lack of information, yet they do not want to compromise private information to ensure that they are not falsely named as a suspected terrorist. In this aspect, it seems as if there is no decent standard for the amount of data to include that is a balance of enough, but not too much, information about a particular individual. Another issue that may contribute to inaccuracy is a lack of communication among government agencies. Non-FBI agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives do not view themselves as contributors to the watch list process, or they may disagree with what the FBI says constitutes terrorist activity. Some Department of Justice offices access information that may be necessary to include on the watch list but neglect to share that information with the FBI. Improved communication and coordination of sensitive and important information would greatly improve the quality and accuracy of the list. The government has made significant improvements through the initial creation of the consolidated watch list, but this could be further improved upon by better management practices and a shared information system. Creating a management team specifically to monitor the watch list and the information supplied by other government agencies would improve the quality of the watch list as well as communication with vital contributors. This group could also ensure that innocents are not falsely included on the list. Combining the gathered data into communal information system would allow all the organizations who utilize the watch list access to important data and would create a watchdog effect as well as increased safety measures. Discussion What concepts in this chapter are illustrated in this case? The concepts from this chapter that the case uses are file organization, and problems with the traditional file format including redundancy and consistency, data management and systems to manage the data, and ensuring data quality. Why was the consolidated terror watch list created? What are the benefits of the list? The consolidated watch list was created to slow down the time of processing names in the computer. A No Fly list was created as a subset of the terrorist watch list to lessen the time passengers are waiting at airports by only screening those who are specifically not allowed to get on a plane. According to the article Director of Terrorist Watch List Says Government Has Technical Capability to Screen all Passengers Against Full List Before They Board Planes, by Fred Lucas of CNSNews.com, the No Fly list contains about 3,400 names, but the computers have the capability to screen the entire list if necessary. The article also states that about 14,000 names on the list are put in to another group that must have extra screening before the board an airplane. The benefits of a smaller list definitely decrease the time to look up names in the system. With over 750,000 names, many of which are actually duplicated, shortening the list makes using it much more efficient. Some also believe that the criteria for getting on the list may be too broad, and that shortening the list to include only the most necessary names to watch for will help decrease the amount of people who are mistaken as terrorists. Describe some of the weaknesses of the watch list. What management, organization, and technology factors are responsible for these weaknesses? One of the main weaknesses of the watch list is the lack of information associated with the names on the list. This problem has led to many people wrongly identified as terrorists, and duplicates of names. The case study said that one name may have up to 50 duplicates. The length of the list is also getting longer and longer, which may make it less effective. The case study explains that the organizations that play a role in developing the list need to have more consistent rules for what information is required to get a name on the watch list and understand what other groups need to know who has been added so that a name is not duplicated. The organizations need to work together by sharing information to decrease these duplicates and make the list more detailed and informative for its users. The government could invest in some sort of ERP system that will update each organization when one name has been added to the list, so that each group can update the name with the known information about that specific terrorist. If you were responsible for the management of the TSC watch list database, what steps would you take to correct some of these weaknesses? The first step I would take to improve the list would be to have more research done on each name that the list includes. One of the main complaints of the list is that people are unsure of how a name gets added and why they are added. If there was a specific group of people whose job was to maintain the list we would be able to have more information show up when a name is found to be on the list to ensure that the person being screened is in fact a terrorist and not a person with a similar name. If this group was formed, they would also be responsible for removing unnecessary names on the list that create false positives for innocent passengers. The case study explained that many of the people who requested their name to get off the list are still waiting and face extra scrutiny every time they try and fly. Keeping these names on the list also increase its size and inefficiency. Lastly I would invest more technology into updating and maintaining the list. I think that this tool will be extremely helpful for airlines and keeping the world safer from terrorist attacks, but it must be easier to use and more reliable to increase its potential. After the Christmas Day Bomber almost successfully detonated a bomb over Detroit while his plane was about to land, it is easy to see that we have a long way to go to protect ourselves from this treat. Do you believe that the watch list represents a significant threat to individuals privacy or Constitutional rights? Why or why not? Currently, I do not believe that this list is threatening to an individuals privacy or Constitutional rights. The list is too broad right now and doesnt include very much information about the suspected terrorists. However, if they decide to do more research when pulling the list together people may feel that the government is being more invasive. Even with this extra research however, I do not think that it violates their Constitutional rights. If people want to be able to fly safely all around the world, they will need to give up some of their privacy to do so. Conclusion The Terrorist Watch List was created to monitor those flying on domestic and international flights after the attacks on America on September 11, 2001. Currently, the list is not very detailed and very long, creating many problems. These problems include duplications of names and false positives causing hassle for passengers who are mistaken as terrorists. The list is also growing rapidly which makes screening for names take longer and longer. The government agencies responsible for the list are also slow at removing false names. While this list is a great start to protect passengers while flying, there are still many advances that will need to be made. The names on the list need to have more details and research corresponding to them, and the agencies working with this list need to work together to cut down on duplicate information. They will also need to work on the length of the list, and sub-lists, to make sure that it is used effectively to prevent terrorist attacks.

The New Republic and the Issues It Faces :: Writing Politics Governmnet Essays

The New Republic and the Issues It Faces The New Republic is a weekly British political journal that focuses quite a bit on the internal workings of the US government and issues dealing with foreign policy and issues outside of this country. The New Republic is very broad with its political orientation, but tends to be more liberal with some conservative tendencies. The United States edition is published from Washington DC. The major pieces of information I gathered about the New Republic (TNR) were information about some recent issues the publication itself is facing. The magazine’s major emphasis has been dealing with international issues in the context of the US government and how the US is handling certain aspects of these issues. The New Republic has been seen as a traditionally liberal magazine, but some sources have recently said that the magazine has developed a neo-liberal view. The website http://www.ctheory.net/text_file.asp?pick=111 defined Neo-liberalism as â€Å"a political philosophy which originated in the advanced countries in the 1980s. It is associated with the idea of "liberal fascism": free enterprise, economic globalization and national corporatism as the institutional and ideological grounds for the civil disciplining of subaltern individuals, "aliens" and groups.† The New Republic has also been seen as a very intellectual New York style of magazine. This means that TNR has more of a center on the New York culture and tries to amplify that in the text and articles. Much of the content is put forth toward these intellectuals who have a real sense of politics. The editor in chief is Martin Peretz. His biography on the New Republic web site says that Martin Peretz â€Å"has been editor and chief and chairman of the New Republic since 1974. Simultaneously he has kept up his teaching at Harvard University where he has been a part-time lecturer in Social Studies since joining the New Republic.† The website also goes on to say that he holds many awards and distinctions such as the Jerusalem Medal and the Medal of Distinction of the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism. Mr. Peretz’s biography also states that he â€Å"is co-founder and co-chairman of The street.com, a publicly traded company of the NASDAQ†, and â€Å"was a co-founder of Leukosite, a biotechnology and pharmaceutical company.

The History of Computers in Education :: Technology in Education Computers Essays

The History of Computers in Education Computers were first introduced into schools in the late 1950, however, at that time they were only used by large universities for clerical work such as accounting, payroll, and for storing student records. Computers began to emerge more and more in the 1950, but it was still uncommon to see computers in schools. Today, one will find that quite the opposite exists. Since 1977 there has been a rapid growth in the use of computers throughout schools. Today the average public elementary school has 110 computers and 98% of these schools have access to the Internet. The ratio of students to computers, as of the year 2000 is less than five students per computer (Kafer np). Since their first appearance they have greatly changed education and have proved to be useful, valuable resources both in and out of the classroom. In the mid 1960 through the early 1970 the cost of computers decreased, while the availability of the machines increased. This allowed more schools and colleges to buy and use computers. With this new technology, teachers, administrators, and other school personnel could complete required tasks in less amount of time. One main benefit of computers in schools was that they saved the time and the energy of those who operated them. When computers were first introduced into schools they were largely used for secretarial tasks and administrative purposes. Records of the school students and faculty could all be stored on a computer. Also, inventory control and accounting could be done with a computer now. Computers allowed schools to keep and produce accurate records, which helped avoid financial disputes. Grades and attendance could now be stored on a computer drive, which also prevented disputes over miscalculations that might have occurred if records were kept by hand. Another administrative convenience introduced with computers was the ability to process and print student schedules. School resources, such as library books could now be managed through a computer system, monitoring what books were on loan and what was available. Having computer access in schools was extremely beneficial for administrative purposes.

Essay --

Michael Naoum Professor Gurfien INBS 250-04 12 December 2013 Exports vs. Imports Exports and imports may seem like two simple words throughout the English language. Many individuals understand exports and imports as straightforward concepts that are used on an everyday basis. However, these terms have more personality then the normal dictionary definition that the average person abides by. Exports and imports have a weighty impact on the consumer and the economy around them. Currently, the world is changing into a global economy this means, that every countries economy has an impact on another. For example, if the United States economy were to collapse, this would have a large effect on the Chinese economy due to the fact that, exports and imports play a large role in this. This may be a hard concept to grasp but topics such as, effects on economy, effect of exchange rates and the effect of inflation and interest rates are areas which when explained, will clear up most grey areas for the average individual. To begin, gross domestic product is a key concept to understand which invo...

Sociology of Sport Film Review

Bend it like beckham is based on Jess, a 17 year old British born, Sikh girl who has an undying passion for football, her favourite player is David Beckham and he is exactly who jess wants to be. But jess’s parents have taken every effort to stay in touch with the families Indian heritage. Jess' father and mother are after their daughter to go to law school, learn to cook a traditional Indian dinner, and settle down with a nice Indian boy — the latter of which is high on the agenda of her older sister Pinky, who is soon to wed her long-time beau Teetu. However, her family is unaware that Jess has a secret passion ,football. Her parents don't know that in her spare time she likes to play a friendly game in the park with some of the boys in the neighbourhood. One day, while Jess and her pals kick the ball around, she meets Jules, who is quite impressed with Jess' skills. Jules plays with a local semi-pro women's football team, the Hounslow Harriers, and she thinks Jess has what it takes to make the team. Jess knows that her parents would never approve of their daughter playing football, so she doesn't tell them, and starts spinning an increasingly complex series of lies as she tries to keep up a double life as a student and a footballer. Jess soon discovers a number of her new friends have their own problems to overcome; Jules dreams of playing pro ball in America, but has to deal with her stubborn and disapproving mother, while Joe, Hounslow's Irish coach, still struggles with the disappointment of a career as a professional athlete which was dashed by a knee injury. Throughout Bend it like Beckham, clear sociological factors all appear, from stereotypical ideologies through to race, class and gender, bend it like Beckham is a enjoyable, funny film that can be used to explain more clearly how ideologies, identity, power and social influences all have a part to play in everyone’s lives. Ideologies are beliefs and ideas that people form to give meaning to their life experiences and make sense of the world, there are different types of ideologies, including class, race and gender ideologies and these ideologies form identities. Identity is about belonging, about what you have in common with some people and what differentiates you from others. At its most basic it gives you a sense of personal location, the stable core to your individuality. But it is also about your social relationships, your complex involvement with others’ (Weeks 1990 p. 88 cited in Rutherford 1990 p. 88) Class ideologies are the beliefs that people have to understand economic inequalities, identify them in terms of their class position and evaluate the manner in which economic inequalities are and how they should be integrated into the organization of social worlds. Class ideology is not an as important factor in the movie as the other forms of ideology but it picked up upon slightly when the father mentions that they are not rich, also the environment in which the movie is filmed portrayed her family as working class, however she is planning to go to university and wins a scholarship at the end so her education is pretty good. Racial ideology is one of the main ideologies depicted in the movie, it is a set of ideas and beliefs that people use to give meaning to skin colour and to evaluate people in terms of racial classifications. Racial ideologies vary around the world, but they are powerful when people use them to classify humans into racial categories. In the film, jess is Sikh, this means the family generally follow strict cultural life preferences due to their religion and these preferences cause restrictions in jess’s freedom, she shouldn’t even show as much skin as a football kit reveals in general, let alone play football itself, with girls from other cultural backgrounds, she is seen as disgracing the family for her participation. Racism is touched upon in a scene during which she retaliates to a tackle and receives a red card, only to find out that she was called a ‘paki’. The coach explains to her that he also received discrimination due to him being Irish. This informs us of the constraints of racial barriers still produced now, even in today’s multi-cultural society. Another factor in the movie is that Jess and Joe ( the Irish coach) end up falling for each other which is another racial barrier that is not regularly crossed due more to the beliefs and culture of jess and her families religion. Gender ideology is also a set of ideas and beliefs but that masculinity, femininity, and male-female relationships. It is the Basis for defining what it means to be a man or a woman, evaluating and judging people and relationships and determining what is natural and moral related to gender. The main issue relating the gender ideologies in this film relates to the race ideology and that is that she opposes the obvious stereotype of an Indian woman, An Indian woman’s identity is created by the tradition’s of an Indian woman, for example according to ideologies her job is to cook and look after the house and children. however her interest is not a family and learning how to cook, but to become a professional female footballer and attend university to study for a degree. By Jess opposing this gender ideology, she is creating her own identity as an Indian woman footballer, trying to keep her femininity by falling for the Irish coach, sticking to her Indian traditions by wearing the clothes and learning to cook, however she does this all and still able to play football up to a scholarship standard, doing the best job to define her own identity. She also defies the stereotypical footballer, which for a start, is male, and is rarely Indian, in English society anyway. , emphasising on her identity as a woman footballer, not a man. Jess opposes her parents and other groups of people with the same traditions and beliefs, who feel that women shouldn’t play football, and this is a clear example of femininity, also during a scene where jess is involved in a match, the same is being watched by 4 of jess’ male friends who shout sexist remarks at the team members, not in a malicious way but this still shows the males idea of women as an object, during this scene, jess’s secret gay friend ( who is also Indian and therefore causes another constraint in that omosexuality is frowned upon more than it is in other cultures) asks the boys, which are also his friends, as to why they can’t see the woman as footballers, and they all just laugh, which emphasises peoples stereotypical thoughts of women. In the film they also talk about the opinion that even Indian boys should not play football, so for a female Sikh to play is deemed as even worse, Jess is completely contradicting two ideologies, her ge nder ideology, and her race ideology. But this way creating her own identity, its is a struggle for Jess to fight all the ideologies present to achieve her goal. Ideologies of women in sport mean that there are several gender barriers to overcome people still feel that sport is male dominant and there are certain sports that are for men, and certain sports that are for women, and bend it like Beckham contradicts this belief. Power is also noticeable in the movie and there are different power hierarchies, the football coach is male, so still portrays the male dominance in the sport as he is seem as the leader and the team of females still have to do as he says. Also the parents have different levels of parent, jess’s mother seems to have influence over the father, and they both have influence over their daughter. Jess feels that she is being constrained and sees the football team as a social structure; Identity is formed in the relationships between ‘social structures’ and an individual ‘subjectivity’ (Hughson et al 2005 p. 110). She feels she can use this social structure to assert her agency; Jess knows that sporting achievement is a sign of social mobility, therefore she knows that her constraints could decrease in society if she can achieve high in a football career, barriers would decline and she would exceed expectation due to the stereotypes she is grouped in and op portunities in life would come more easily. So Jess is taking her individualism as a Sikh female to create a relationship with a social structure, which is the football club. and she can achieve all this by the opportunity to play football. The film shows she achieving this to her best of her ability as she gets scouted and wins a scholarship to a top university to play football, where she can individually change peoples perception of Indian woman, and also influence other Indian females to start playing football. The one key moment in the movie that I felt best exhibits all the main sociological factors of identity, ideology and power comes on 6 minutes into the movie, jess is walking through the local park when her male friend sees her and asks her to join in, as soon as she starts playing to can see power and gender ideologies already, the group of men that she is playing have there tops off for a start, and being able to take there tops off to play football shows male dominance and masculinity, which shows power is present as the men believe they are in charge because they are male. Also they say sexist comments to jess about her football capabilities as a female for example, one of the men say â€Å" can you chest it like Beckham, you know, give it sum bounce (emphasising on her chest) , it wasn’t malicious as they were all friends but it was another means so showing the gender ideology and male dominance, as well as gender discrimination. The movie continues and jess gets hold of the ball and takes it round all the boys before scoring, unknowingly being watched by Jules, her soon to be football partner and best friend. Jules runs off and Jess continues to play football. The movie then continues into Jess’s room where she talks to her poster of David beckham, she says â€Å"its not fair that the boys never have to come home and help† what she is saying is that because of her families religion, there are rules that must abided to and one of them is that the women are the ones in the home, for cooking and cleaning and the boys are the ones who work.. This is one of the main barriers to participation she has, her ethnicity means she is going against her families beliefs by playing football. She also asks the question, of if she had an arranged marriage, would they let her play football? This emphasises on the constraint that her ethnicity causes for her participation in the sport. Her father then walks in the room and starts to moan about all the posters of ‘a bald man’ on her wall, the opposite of how a man should look like according to her religion. The clip carries on into the engagement party located at her house, and by the large amount of people in the house, which is small as it is, this can be looked upon as defining her class ideology of a working class family, as they may not be able to afford a bigger area of the night. Now jess is dressed in all her traditional Indian clothing, a big contrast to her shorts and Manchester united top she wore down the park. Jess is handing out a plate of food and an old lady, says to her that it will be her turn soon to get married and does she want a proper Sikh with a full bear and a turban, the direct opposite to David beckham, this links to race ideology as saying that their religion has a typical man and that her marriage and Sikh life in evitable, it also just hints on the barriers she must overcome to achieve her dream, she doesn’t want the traditional normal life of a female Sikh, she wants to be a professional footballer. This key moment continues but now the scene is set back at the park, again she is playing football with the same group of topless men, whereas three girls who know jess, are watching on, checking out the men. Jess makes this a stark contradiction to the stereotypical scenario because even though she is female, she is playing football, in her football shirt, with the lads, rather than sit with the girls. She contradicts her own stereotype by playing football, she is not the Sikh girl everyone wants her to be. Jess finds it easier to fit in with the girls by knowing the boys, he is very much a tomboy who would rather be out getting muddy than buying new clothes. Again contradicting her own gender ideology, she also comes across as gay to many of the Sikhs because of her unorthodox activities. While playing football Jules goes over to jess, and in front of the lads asks her if she plays for any team, immediately afterwards one of the males says â€Å" yer like who, Southport united sari squad† this is a dig at her ethnicity not at her gender or sex, so this explains my point that she has to overcome two main barriers that are her gender and her ethnicity, both ideologies constrain her from participation, and also male dominance and masculinity also don’t help with her problem of her being a female footballer either and the power influence can be seen underlying the movie. This is where my key moment ended. In summary, I have learnt that social identities and ideologies are formed from sport societies, in today’s world, Groups and societies are characterised by shared values and conflicts of interest and sports forms are culturally produced, reproduced and/or transformed, sports forms are social constructions that change as power relations change and as narratives and discourses change. n relation to identity, ideology and power, Bend it like Beckham touches on several key sociological dimensions, it mainly focuses on how her cultural identity constraints her from participating in the sport she loves as her parents strict beliefs and traditions and they feel that she should be a proper Sikh and learn to cook Indian food, not play football. She should be focusing on becoming a lawyer according to her parents. She also has to deal with the fact that she is a woman and football is a male dominated game, therefore, for an Indian female to wanting to play football, she must overcome social barriers and constraints to achieve her goal, and the film is based on her attempt to achieve this. Sport is a very important influence in everyone’s social lives, it effects peoples participation, culture and social groups, is a reflection on peoples social life.

Georges Marvellous Medicine Essay

Roald Dahl is an imaginative writer and does create vivid images in the readers mind. i do agree with this statement. Roald Dahl has used many narrative techniques such as imagery, vocabulary and humours illustrations. Georges Marvellous Medicine should be read by all students, because of all the techniques and key features used. Georges Marvellous Medicine is a story about a young boy who’s tempted to do â€Å"something† about his so called â€Å"grandmother†, and by something he means searching around the house collecting all kinds of horrible ingredients that will make grandma disappear, but instead, of disappearing she gets bigger !.The story affects on themes such as groth, family, good people, bad people, understanding people jealousy and greed. An important theme is good people because, being evil / bad, doesn’t pay out later, what goes around comes around an example would be grandma to George. Roald Dahl was the best storyteller in the 20thcentury. He used fantastic plots that matched by the extraordinary events in his life. He played with the vocabulary, and invented his own words. Roald Dahl stories have brought delight to millions of people.He was born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13th 1916. His parents were Norwegian and he was the only son of a second marriage. His father Harald and his elder sister Astri died when Roald was only three. He remembered his mother as â€Å"a rock, a real rock, always on your side whatever you’d done. Roald Dahl died on the 23rd of November 1990. An interesting narrative technique Roald Dahl used to make his stories entertaining and creative were his own words / vocabulary. An example of them would be: Squigglers, jacky jumpers, heigh – nonny- no and spissing.These words present imagery which makes all Roald Dahl’s stories imaginative and entertaining. Italics is also another narrative technique style Roald Dahl used to emphasise a word. An example of an italic would be: No wonder, good. He slants these words, to make their voices have expression, for example, sarcasm. No wonder : Obviously he had left something out of the medicine. The illustrations by Quentin Blake are another narrative technique, used by Roald Dahl in his novel, Georges Marvellous Medicine. The illustrations help the reader to picture the key events and storyline.These illustrations are quick sketches, in black ink which support the fast rate in the storyline. An example would be, when Grandma hops out of her chair once George hands her the medicine. This book cover Georges Marvellous Medicine created and designed by Quentin Blake is effective as a visual text as it illustrates the key ideas in the novel. This book cover aims to target at children promoting a light and comical storyline and themes. For example, the childish font in the cream coloured box has forms of abstract and vector lines which would attract children’s attention.The large saucepan is a salience im age because of the size of the pan. It makes you wonder the many ingredients put into it and the power of this potion. The ladle on which George is holding, guides the viewers eyes around the book cover. This is a form of vector lines. In conclusion, Roald Dahl is an imaginative writer and does create vivid images in the readers mind. Roald Dahl’s novel Georges Marvellous Medicine is an entertaining and imaginative novel with its made up vocabulary and humorous illustrations.Quentin Blake, the creative illustrator of this novel. is one of the finest illustrators in children’s literature. His illustrations are original and easy to follow. Once again, Georges Marvellous Medicine, by Roald Dahl is an entertaining novel and should be read by all students because of all the key features used. The moral / coda of the book Georges Marvellous Medicine, is that grandma had learnt her lesson for being so cruel and wicked to George, as they say, what goes around comes around.

City and Village Life Essay

1. Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle. It is also referred to as one’s elder.. The age of 60 or 65, roughly equivalent to retirement ages in most developed countries, is said to be the beginning of old age. Â  Village life is better than- city essay 2. Old age homes are meant for old aged /senior citizens who are unable to stay with their families or are insolvent. Some old age homes also have residential medical facility performs multiple functions catering to the needs of the old age people’s. 3. There are 728 Old Age Homes in India today. Detailed information of 547 homes is available. Out of these, 325 homes are free of cost while 95 old age homes are on pay & stay basis, 116 homes have both free as well as pay & stay facilities and 11 homes have no information. Kerala has 124 old age homes which is maximum in any state. 4. For the elderly & senior people this is very important issue because we need utmost medical care & look after when we grow old whether we are in or anywhere in the world. There are many reasons for looking for old age homes such as migration or location of Peoples due to their work / lack of time in youngsters / neglect / family problems etc. 5. Those elderly who are abused by children, may feel the old age home is heaven. But later they feel they wish to go back home. Because no place can beat a home, however painful it is. A home means family, and family means belonging. Those who do not have any family, for them old age homes can be a blessing. But those who have family, for them being sent to old age home is like condemning them to death. 6. This Old age homes supply a number of needs they want as they get older. First among these is security, both financially, physically and medically, though not necessarily in that order. The elders are seeing old age homes as an alternative to care in the context of lack of family care. Among such elders, on the one hand we have elders from the upper class staying in paid homes enjoying all and active life.

Family Diversity

Reasons being there has been an increase in divorce over the past 30 years. Also, the growing proportion of household that are composed of 1 person. 2) Allen & crow- identified 2 key points for single parent families. -increase in divorce -significant rise in the number of never married women. Beanpole families are long and thin. These are multi-generational families where there is more intergenerational contact (grandparents and grandchildren) than intergenerational contact (cousins). 1) Brannon- sees them as being like a beanpole. Reason for less intergenerational ties. Gig divorce rates causing breakdown of contact between extended families – falling fertility rates couples having less children, so there will be fewer relationships. Reason for more intergenerational ties. -grandparents live longer provide extra care e. G. (babysitting) 2) Grungy & Henrietta- uses the concept of ‘sandwich generation' to refer to women aged between 55 and 69 who offer assistance between their needy parents and their own children. Research shows a growing number of women will be in this position. An extended family contains kin beyond the family.This could be through vertical extensions with additional family members from a 3rd generation (grandparents) or horizontal extensions (wife's sister). 1) villains- showed how working class peoples live that lived in east London was still dominated by the values and traditions of extended kin. 2) McConnell- used survey findings and discovered that in the 1 ass's contact with relatives was still frequent. Extended family was an important source of support, for practical support such as helping with jobs. E. G. Times of illness and financial tasks. A reconstituted family is when families merge together and form a new Emily.For example a couple with children split up, the children remain with the mother who forms a new family with a new partner and who also has children. National statistics 2004, an estimated 10% of all famili es were reconstituted. 1) Smart – researched children experiencing co-parenting, found that children value having both parents in their lives. By moving from houses as a routine since young age. Some religious people are more likely to have children living with them than others. Religion can also influence the way that children are socialized in families.

Freedom Rider Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Freedom Rider - Essay Example It may be that we are in poverty- after all, we were once slaves. Our ancestors left us with no riches to inherit and no lands to claim but their legacy remains skin deep: our freedom to voice out what we feel and think. This legacy has been brought about by the history of our people who have been burdened by issues such as slavery and persecution and yet we have chosen to rise from our conditions. Our history has made us strong and persevering in the face of obstacles and in times of crises. All these we inherited from our ancestors and with all these attributes that I have called into mind, I ask you not to fear for my life in my participation of the freedom rides. Like our ancestors, I am strong, I will persevere, I shall rise above our prejudiced conditions, for the main reason that I want to voice out what I feel and think is right. Being a â€Å"freedom rider† is a paradox of some sort. As you might know already, we will be riding interstate buses into the segregated southern United States. I assure you that we’re not riding with the flow of current events, that is, were not just riding on the issue about segregation in the south just to get mileage. Instead, what we really aim to do is to challenge the status quo of having racially segregated waiting rooms and terminals. Though we know that we face arrest by authorities and possible attacks from mobs, we choose to fight back with non-violence and willful determination. We choose not just to go above our social conditions such as racial bias and injustice, but we choose to be above those who have fought with much bloodshed and violence, precisely because we have freedom. We are free to choose our goals and our means to achieve those goals, and we choose to be peaceful just like many who have come before us. This is a learning experience for me as it is a learning experience for our society. Our very ways will show society that the end doesn’t necessarily justify the means. On my part, I hope to realize

SEE ATTACHMENT4L Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

SEE ATTACHMENT4L - Essay Example Finally, conflicts with a friend is best resolved using analytical skills to determine the root of the problem, and to eventually compromise, on the basis of the terms agreed upon. What are the barriers to win - win solutions? Win-win solutions mean that the terms and conditions are agreeable and amenable on both parties. The barrier to this type of solution therefore is finding a middle ground which would enable both parties to compromise on an agreement. How do you agree to disagree with someone? Agreeing to disagree with someone entails cognitive skills that would have enabled one to assess the source of conflict on issues being discussed. When the argument being asserted does not conform to one’s believes, values, and preferences, then; it is best to disagree with the contentions of the other party. Where they effective in resolution? Some of the avoidance tactics, such as deferring the discussion of the issue to future dates is effective, only in terms of preventing exacerbating the conflicting situation. When anger or emotional intensity have subsided, then, both parties could try to resolve the issue using other conflict resolution strategies, such as problem-solving, or compromising, as

Rip Van Winkle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rip Van Winkle - Essay Example ‘Rip Van Winkle’ (Irving, 1996) He was a very productive writer and that is the reason why he was able to become wealthy as a professional writer. As rightly quoted by (Wagenknecht, 1962) Washington Irving was an expert stylist and other writers took him as a model. The mainstay of Irving’s stories lies in the depiction of his characters which draws the reader to identify himself with it, and how he views the world and interacts with it. The character of Rip Van Winkle is unique and brings out the essence of realization that the author tries to bring to his reading audience. â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† sets the terms for what was to come in the following years, especially for male authors (Wagenknecht,1962) Most female writers dedicated themselves to writing sentimental novels, while male writers preferred Gothic and Historical themes (Wagenknecht, 1962) In making a comparison between sentimental and romantic themes (Bryant, 2009) states that the ‘historical romance was fond of setting the Rip Van Winkle marks the ushering in of American literature with a narrative framework and this pattern of masculine fiction is seen crystallized in the story of â€Å"Rip Van Winkle† who goes to sleep for a 100 years, only to wake up and find a very different world around him. This story is also Ð ° reflection of people who lived in Europe and decided to migrate to America, an unknown land – ‘to the savage side’ (Bryant, 2009) Rip is not very comfortable with women and ‘he is unhappy with his wife and decides to live on his own.’ (Irving, 1996) He also takes his dog with him named â€Å"Wolf† (Irving, 1996) The protagonist satisfies two of his desires – escaping from society and also escaping from the institution of marriage. However, the hero comes back to society after Ð ° transforming experience and then we see the characteristic changes in his persona (Wagenknecht,1962) Rip Van Winkle is a well constructed story that opens with a panoramic view of the serene