Newell Company Case Essay

Newell Company created corporate advantages by following the company’s mission and philosophy. The philosophy â€Å"Build on what we do best† was started by CEO Mr. Dan Ferguson. This philosophy can be described as Newell focus on selling multiproduct to large mass retailers with high-volume and low-cost. Their mission is â€Å"Newell is a manufacturer and full-service marketer of consumer products for serving the needs of volume purchasers.† The company’s philosophy and mission has a great influence on its strategies. Newell creates various strategies to accomplish the company mission. For example, one of Newell’s key strategies is serving the mass retailer. The strategy of acquisition helps to improve manufacturing processes in order to get high-volume and low cost product. Newell’s strategies align with its philosophy and mission. It can create corporate advantages in the industry. Moreover, the basic strategy of total Newell strategy is t hat â€Å"merchandise a multi-product offering of brand-name staple consumers products, with an emphasis on excellent customers service, in order to achieve maximum results for our stockholders†. The acquisition Rubbermaid and Calphalon enhanced Newell’s strength in terms of merchandise multiproduct offering and rise Newell’s brand popularity. However, with negative feedback of Rubbermaid’s customers, Rubbermaid’s strategy of customer services could not alignment with Newell’s mission and basic strategy that lead to a negative influence on shareholder satisfactions. Even though Calphalon’s competitor Meyer have the lower price than Calphalon, Caphalon is for the younger and more fashion oriented market which is not efficient to use the low cost strategy for the high-end product, because Newell maybe unable to match the cost structure of the firm operating with less overhead and fewer product lines. According to the Newell acquision experience, Newell’s strategy is to acquire and integrate business which is nonfashion product, to acquire the company for the fashion ortiented market is Acquisition Newell’s strategy was to grow and expand their product line. In our opinion, the company is focused on more acquisition strategy than organic growth which represents the true growth for the core of the company. This excludes any growth acquired from takeovers, acquisitions or mergers. Newell acquired different companies in the basics home and hardware products since 1996 (exhibit 3). According to Mergers and Acquisition article, acquisition benefits the company by increasing Company’s value and market power. Two companies together will generate synergy that improves revenue and cost saving of the company. Furthermore, acquisition can create shareholder value as well because two companies together are more valuable than two separate companies. Newell and acquiring companies benefit in many ways from the acquisition. such as, development capabilities. The acquisitions allow Newell to add more products to its products line. It creates complement capabilities which two different abilities of the companies which fit well together. As the result, Newell is able to offer differentiated products of the same category to suit different customers. Moreover, in transferring its technologies to the acquiring companies, Newell has a technology advance such as EDI. The company is able to deliver products according to retailer’s request, making it more efficient, and improving its reputation as a â€Å"Good Shipper†. After acquisition, Newell transfers its technology to acquiring companies in order to deliver the products in an efficient way. Acquiring companies learn new technologies from Newell and they both are able to develop the innovation process. The company put acquiring companies through a process of streamline as known as â€Å"Newellization†. Growth through acquisition is very profitable to Newell’s corpor ate strategy. Corporate governance Corporate governance is about managing company and defined as the distribution of power in the company. Corporate governance is the system of rules, practices and process by which a company is directed and controlled. Newell corporate structure is made to maintain the flexibility in relations between corporate centers. The corporate office control and coordinate different aspects of a huge corporation working together. For example, the top financial responsibilities were divided between two corporate executives  who respectively take charge of the internal operation and external management. The benefit of company is to make sure the integration for the financial. Normally, there is just one person who takes on the financial responsibility of the company which can lead to accounting fraud. At the same time, the two positions have responsibility to report to the CEO which enhances the supervision to the company’s financial situation. In Newell’s company structure, the group president is one level below the company president. This structure benefits Newell because it centralizes subsidiaries and their operations. This centralization structure forms a unique manage method known as â€Å"Newellization†. Newellization: Newellizaiton is the process of streamlining focused on operational efficiency and profitability. Newell got the opportunity to gain market share through the distribution channel from subsidiaries. Acquisition of Corning’s housewares business in Europe, which is alignment with part of the company’s vision of globalization, effectively helped Newell to expand its distribution channels to gain greater the market share in the global market. According to the case article of â€Å"Newell Company†, there are three categories systems to implement Newellization. The first is the integrated financial system, the second is the sales and order processing system, the third is flexible manufacturing system. Normally, Newell acquired subsidiaries to get more opportunities to gain greater access to distribution channels even though subsidiaries possess low-technology, non-seasonal, non-cyclical, and non-fashion products. Newellization was effectively integrated these companies by implementing systems to make the companies more efficiency and profitability. For example, the successful acquisition implement with Newellization is Anchor Hocking Company. Even though sales revenue of Newell was lower than Anchor Hocking’s sales revenue, but profit margin of Newell was higher than Anchor Hocking. Newellization improved the operational efficiency to manage the cost which is efficiency capability to the company. Newell dismissed the high-level Anchor executive, employees, reduced the number of the retail stores, reduced the excess inventory and eliminated the product line. Also, the improved operational efficiency help Anchor Hocking reduced the average length of time needed to fill a customer order which is benefit to increase  the competitive advantage of Anchor Hocking. For Rubbermaid, the Newellization can help the company to deal with the problem on the inefficiency of operation and management. Financial Objectives: In the financial perspective, the first of financial objectives of Newell Company is achieved sales and earnings per share growth averaging 15% per year. However, most of companies were acquired by Newell company are regarded as inefficient on operating. Those acquired companies are manufactured low-technology, non-seasonal, non-seasonal, non-cyclical, non-fashionable products, which have more higher maintains cost in every individual company. Therefore, most of companies have high sales revenue but with high cost that resulting in the less 10% operating margins. After Newell Company made an acquisition, with the consolidation and centralization management, not only bring more profit for Newell Company but also saving more operation cost Also, it is the reason why Newellization is regarded as an efficient operating method by acquisition multiple products. Therefore, the ultimate target is to achieve maximum earning per share (EPS) for Stockholders. Newellization bring a remarkable success for Newell Company, however, with the aggressive of Newellization, the negative business influence show up, such as, in the Exhibit 4, the newell company net sales decrease from 1992 to 1997. According to the article of â€Å"navigating a path to smart Growth†, there are two limits can restrict growth in order to gain maximum growth of company, including financial limits and managerial limits. According to course material of â€Å"merger and acquisition†, the benefit of acquisition for Newell Company is to gather other multiple product strength to increase profit. In details, Newell company can adjust acquainted company’s mislead cost structures in order to make all acquisition consistently with Newell efficient and effective management model. For Newell, Calphalon has a good brand which is benefit for Newell to expand their distribution channel. However, Rubbermaid has the bad reputation on the customer service which will influence the reputation of the â€Å"no problem† supplier in the industry. At the same time, Putting both Calphalon and Rubbermaid under the same roof of Newell is a great risk for integrate the two companies, because it will be hard for Newell to impletment the Newellization which is the mature and experienced method to  integrate the new company they acquired. Resources and Capability One of Newell crucial resources is collecting multiproduct from various industries including hardware, house ware, home furnishings, and office product. In addition, one of Newell’s capabilities comes from the acquisition of other companies. There are example is Newell reward system in 1990; Newell changed its bonus’s structure by adding a bonus for internal growth on the top of existing return on assets (ROA) goals which facilitated Newell is ability it’s to increase their accountability capability. The reason why Newell implemented the bonus structure is that new reward system more related to the performance of the company. The Newell University plays an important role for the company by helping which is benefit for the company to increase the strategic unity capability, learning capability and the leadership capability through training the Newell’s mangers to understanding corporate cultural, focus on core product and profit-orientation. At the same tim e, most of the mid-level executives from other customer goods companies would take the particular management traits before they were accepted by Newell which also build the good foundation for the leadership capacity. Meanwhile, to leverage the resource, Newell deliberately moves managers across the business unites and from the business to the corporate level. This special character for Newell is benefit for the company to increase the efficiency of the resource by the collaboration capacity. Also, McDonough maintained the communication with their major customers to build the relationship which represent Newell’s strong customer connectivity capacity. According to the competitor for Calphalon of Meyer, Calphalon has the better customer service which is their competitive advantage. Meanwhile, after the acquisition, Newell can share the customer connectivity capability with Calphalon which enhance the Newell’s competitive advantage. For Newell to acquire Rubbermaid which has good brand equity, and the product innovation capabilityis benefit for adding the different kind of resource for Newell. Even though Rubbermaid have the innovation capabilitywhich is benefit for the Newell Company, the Rubbermaid products are more technologic than Newell products. This acquision might bring Newell high cost on the research and development. Conclusion Calphalon and Rubbermaid acquisition just partially align with corporate strategies. Newell’s mission is a core purpose of the company that influences to create resources, businesses and organization structure. Many acquisitions fit to corporate strategies enlarge and diversify range of products, but still focus on their core product that low technology, non-seasonal, non-cyclical, non-fashion products. Newellization has a profound influence on Newell growth in terms of managerial, operational, and financial effect, which gathers more capitals from shareholders. Recommendation: 1. To balance between â€Å"Newellization† and protecting the integrity of the Calphalon 2. Use the customer connectivity capabilityto create the good reputation for customer service of Rubbermaid 3. Use part of the Newellization to help Runnermaid to solve the problem of the inefficiency of operation and management 4. Organic growth instead of focuing on the expaning by acquision.

Sociological Perpestives in Health and Social Care

In this assignment I am going to write a report explaining the patterns and trends of health and illness in three social groups: gender, ethnicity and social class. I am also going to explain the pattern and trends of health and illness which looks at measurement of health, morbidity rates, mortality rates, disease incidence, disease prevalence and health surveillance. Measurements of health Health is generally measured in negative terms, such as the level of disease and the number of deaths within a population, rather than by analysis of positive indicators, such as the presence of health.Epidemiology is the study of disease origins or cause and how much information about the number of people within a population. Epidemiological data provides valuable information about the number of people a population that are affected by ill health, who die as a result of particular health problems and which groups of individuals are most at risk of developing and dying from particular types of il lness or disease. This information is used to identify and plan appropriate health and social care services as well as health-promotion activities.The most commonly used indicators are morbidity (presence of illness or disease) and mortality (death). (Eleanor Landridge, 2007) Morbidity rates Morbidity is difficult to measure as the information is gathered from a range of different sources. Data is collected by the government as well as the NHS and local authority social services departments through direct surveys of the population such as specific health surveys, and as a result of administrative processes, for example, when an individual visits a GP or A&E department or has an assessment of needs.Some diseases are required to be reported, for example cancers and infectious diseases and so data is collected via this process. The problem with this information is that to some extent it reflects services that are available rather than the true picture of disease incidence. Individuals have to also express their needs through actively seeking medical or social care services. (Eleanor Landridge, 2007) The general household survey is a continuous government population survey this includes questions about peoples experience of llness both acute and chronic within the two weeks prior to the person completing the survey. The individual GHS 2002 interview includes questions regarding health and the use of health services; this provides information about the individual’s view of their health. The measurement of working days lost due to sickness can also provide a measure of morbidity for those who are in paid employment. As a measure, it is limited as it only relates to paid employment and this excludes many women who are at home caring for children or older people as well as those who are retired and unable to work through disability. Eleanor Landridge, 2007) Mortality rates The Office for national statistics is responsible for collecting and analysing data colle cted from a range of sources including the ten year national population census, the GHS and specific health information gathered through, for example, deaths and disease incidence reporting undertaken by GP’s and strategic health authorities. Mortality rates can be compared internationally because most countries hold similar information. Mortality rate are expressed in several different ways.A basis measurement is to express mortality as a number of deaths per 100 per year. However this does not allow the diversity of age within the population which varies over time and between geographical areas. For example, mortality rates in the south-east of England will appear high as there are a high percentage of older people living there. The standardised mortality ration (SMR) is the method used to compare mortality levels across different years or for different sub-populations within the same year.The SMR is useful because it can be used to identify and for comparisons. Infant mort ality rate (IMR) are also used as a measurement of health as this provides information about the number of deaths that occur in the first year of life per 1000 live births per year. The IMR is strongly associated with adult mortality rates as it is sensitive to changes in preventive medicine and improvements in health services. Gender, age, social class and cause of death are variables that can be assessed through analysis of the mortality rates. Eleanor Landridge, 2007) Disease incidence & prevalence Within epidemiology the term ‘disease incidence’ is the proportion of a group that is free of a condition but who develop it over a given period of time, such as a day, week, month, year or decade. It measures the number of new cases that occur in the population. The incidence of a disease will depends on the cause of the disease, for example, why it occurs.There might be an infectious agent which requires certain conditions for transmission, or it may be that the disease occurs due to some genetic factor, with or without certain predisposing environmental conditions. The prevalence of a disease depends not only on the incidence (how often new cases occur in a particular group of people), but also on the course of the disease, whether it can be treated, how long it would last and if people can die as a result of it.Prevalence studies therefore provide a snapshot of how many people in the given population have the specific disease being measured at a given point in time. Disease incidence and prevalence are related but measure different aspects of disease within the population. (Kelly Davis, 2010) Health surveillance Health surveillance is generally related to occupational health screening methods used to identify occupational health hazards for workers. The description has been widened to include the range of routine health screening strategies and methods which begin before birth and throughout an individuals life.Health surveillance is increasingly available, such as screening for specific cancers (breast, cervical, prostate), diabetes, high blood pressure, raised blood cholesterol levels and bone density. All of these are aimed at early detection of treatable conditions and may be targeted at specific ‘at risk’ groups within the population. In this course of carrying out this surveillance, information about the incidence and prevalence will be gathered as many of these treatable conditions may be without symptoms and so not alert the individual to the presence of a problem. Kelly Davis, 2010) 158,900 males and 156,300 females were newly diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK during 2007–09, equivalent to incidence rates of 427 per 100,000 males and 371 per 100,000 females Around 81,600 males and 74,600 females died from cancer in each of those years in the UK, corresponding to mortality rates of 209 per 100,000 males and 151 per 100,000 females Breast cancer had the highest incidence rate in females (1 24 cases per 100,000 females) and prostate cancer had the highest incidence rate for males (103 cases per 100,000 males) ttp://www. ons. gov. uk/ons/rel/cancer-unit/cancer-incidence-and-mortality/2007-2009/stb-cancer-incidence-and-mortality. html The Black report was a document published in 1980 by the Department of Health and Social Security in the United Kingdom, which was the report of the expert committee into health inequality chaired by Sir Douglas Black. It was demonstrated that although overall health had improved since the introduction of the welfare state, there were widespread health inequalities.It also found that the main cause of these inequalities was economic inequality. The result of the black report stated that risk on death increase with lower social classes. People in lower class were more likely to suffer from respiratory disease. Babies that were born to parents in social class V had a higher chance of death in the first month compared with babies of profession al class parents.The report showed that there had continued to be an improvement in health across all the classes, during the first 35 years of the National Health Service but there was still a co-relation between social class, and infant mortality rates, life expectancy and inequalities in the use of medical services The introduction of the NHS intended to present everyone with free healthcare despite of their income and social class status. The general household survey showed that patterns of morbidity were followed to a related class gradient to that of mortality.This showed that people in lower socioeconomic groups reported ill health more compared to those in higher socioeconomic groups. In addition the black report found that working class people did not use health care services often which resulted to them not receiving the care that they required, whereas middle class people used health services frequently and had better care compared to working class people (Jennie Nadioo/J ane Wills/2001) http://sonet. nottingham. ac. uk/rlos/ucel/blackinequalities/Default. html Ethnicity People from minority ethnic groups were found to self-report poor health more frequently and visit their GP more frequently.People from south Asia especially Bangladeshi and Pakistani origins have moderately higher incidence of coronary heart disease and poorer health than other ethnic groups as shown in the graph. There is also a higher prevalence of diagnosed non-insulin dependent diabetes among south Asians and people from the Caribbean, with mortality directly associated with diabetes amongst south Asia migrants around three and a half times that of the general population. Ethnicity refers to: culture, religion, language and history which are all shared by groups of people and are passed on generation by generation.Ethnicity can carry along barriers that can affect health, for example language barrier. People may find it hard to communicate and may find it difficult to explain ho w they are feeling if they are suffering from ill health, this may lead to illness and disease spreading and causing long term health problems. Language and cultural barriers can have major effect on someone’s live, as they will not be able to make full use of health care services. For example Asian women are sometime dependent to seek medical advice from male doctors or they may have problems in speaking English.Some people may be unwilling to seek medical advices as they have suffered from racism or the fear of racism is worrying to them. Diet can bring along factors that can cause health problems. For example someone people may eat food that is high in fat and cholesterol this can lead to ill health if safety measures are not taken. Lifestyle can also cause ill health for example leading an unhealthy lifestyle and not exercising can cause obesity which can lead to a number of illnesses such as coronary heart disease and diabetes. (Eleanor Landridge, 2007) – (Kelly D avis 2010) Social classEven though official statistics must be treated with care, there is overpowering evidence that health and ill-health and life expectancy vary according to social group and especially according to social class. People from higher social class are living longer and enjoying better health than the people from lower social class. (Kelly Davis/2010) The black report was mainly based around social class that middle class and upper class people have better standards of living, quality of life and health than working class and lower class people, as shown in the graph, people from lower class suffer from more illnesses than those in higher class.Today life expectancy at birth remains lower for those in the lower social classes than in the professional classes. Nearly every kind of illness is linked to class. Poverty is the major driver of ill health, and poorer people tend to get sick more often, to be ill for longer and to die younger than richer people. Those who di e younger are people who live on benefits or low wages, who work in unhealthy work places, live in poor workplaces, who live in poor quality housing, and who eat unhealthy food.In modern Britain, lung cancer and stomach cancer occur twice as often among men in manual jobs as among men in professional jobs, and death rates from heart disease and lung cancer, the two biggest causes of premature death, about twice as high for those from manual backgrounds. (Eleanor Landridge, 2007) Gender Gender is also a factor that can affect health. Men and women have different patterns of ill health but males have a higher rate of illnesses. This can be because men and women are expected to have roles which they adapt from society and because of this males are less likely to access routine screening.However women are seen as the carer of the family therefore is able to access them and other health care services. Because of this potential illnesses in women can be identified earlier. As shown in the graph women suffer from more illnesses then men do. Women are more likely to report physical and physiological problems to their GP so the studies that show that women get ill more often then men may not be accurate. The main reason women may be hospitalised is due to pregnancies, child birth, contraception, menopause and menstruation.They also constitute the majority of people suffering from neurosis. Psychosis, dementia and depressive disorders. Because women have higher life expectancy than men they are more likely to use health services longer/ more than me. Even if women do have higher morbidity rates then men or not they are more likely to suffer from cancer, arthritis and rheumatism then men, where as men are more likely to suffer from circulatory diseases and strokes. Life expectancy has gone up for both men and women in the last hundred years but has increased more for women.The main cause of death among men is heart disease, lung cancer, bronchitis, accidents and other vi olent deaths. For women the main causes of death are breast cancer, cervix cancer and uterus cancer also coronary heart disease. Although smoking prevalence has declined dramatically during the past ofur decades, men are still more likely to smoke then women across all ages. In 1974, 51% of men and 41% of women smoked whereas in 2007 these figures have dropped to 22% and 20% respectively. (office of national statistics 2006a, 2009) (Eleanor Landridge, 2007) – (Kelly Davis 2010)

A Critique of the Flint Michigan Water Crisis

A Critique of the Flint Michigan Water Crisis Several years ago, there began a crisis in Flint Michigan with their water supply. It had been heavily polluted and became very undrinkable. The residents in these areas had water of every color in the spectrum, such as brown, yellow, and black. Such issues occurred because mistreated water eating away at the lead pipes. This lead to toxic levels in the supply, which inevitably made it change color as well as be deemed unsafe for consumption. Many individuals in such areas are still facing these issues, and resolution is not only complex but seems nearly impossible at this point. Even those who are not directly suffering these issues should be sympathetic as well as helpful for those experiencing such issues. I personally have a friend who attends a university in this town. His name is Saud and he is still having many problems with his water supply. Although, he claimed that the color is becoming much better, he still does not trust it to drink. He says that there are many in the same boat as him and that it is taking way too long to resolve such issues. Purchasing filtered water for consumption as well as showering has become a huge expense to him. This problem is so bad that he is actually considering switching universities because he is tired of waiting and dealing with such issues. I not only feel bad for my friend, but for all the others undergoing similar situations. It is highly unfair that anyone is not granted clean water. We all need this to survive and without it we would surely parish. I remember watching something on television with the CEO of Nestle water. The interviewer asked this man if everyone is deserving of clean and clear water and he said only if they are paying for it. This really struck me, and I still think of that from time to time. Here is a guy who has millions if not trillions of bottles of water, and he would not even give some to these poor individuals for free. What a perfect example of corporate greed, while many people suffer, those who can vastly make a difference turn their cheeks to the issues. Although such situations are very sad, they have given me a newfound appreciation for what I do have. Clean water may not seem like a great thing until you do not have it. Clean water is not only an issue in Flint but throughout the world as well. Many third world countries are left without clean water, while many travel miles for dirty brown water. While we simply get free clean and clear water anywhere, even free at restaurants. Often times we take for granted simple luxuries such as water. No one appreciates such things until they are taken from them. I, however, will always be grateful for the clean water supply I have had my entire life. I will pray for these individuals in Flint, and the others throughout the world who do not have good water supplies.

International Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International Relations - Essay Example Realizing the fact that this menace needs to be tackled collectively, a coalition of 136 countries came into existence to fight this new international manifestation. International terrorism can be referred to as the violent activities carried out in a country by any rival country either by means of physically participating in terrorism or by supporting or exploiting the local individuals through brain-washing or the financial support. It is considered as a new form of warfare thereby avoiding physical contact with rival country, hence ensuring safety of men and material that is likely to be damaged during physical war (Netanyahu and Mekhon, 1981). International terrorism is almost same in tactics and techniques like normal terrorism except for the one fact that it is operated from across the geographical borders. It involves use of terrorism across international borders for the purpose of destabilizing the borders or weakening the solidity among the people and their homeland. The un- guarded borders and un-checked cross-border activities make the terrorism comparatively easier. However the effectiveness of international terrorism can be controlled by a number of means. The most important tool available with terrorist organizations is the media. As in case of hijacking, the interviews of hijackers as well as the victims, broadcasted on media support the terrorists to achieve their goals by communicating their agendas to the world as well as showing helplessness of the government as well as security forces. The unrestricted access to media can help in sabotaging the terrorists’ motives and not letting them project themselves as brave people who are fearless to death (Panday, 2006). Terrorism is a global issue, which can only be tackled by mutual support of most of the countries. At present, United Nations is the only organization which is playing its role in bringing countries against terrorism on one grid and fighting the terrorism as a combined dilemma. H owever, there are certain measures which can be adopted at individual country level to minimize the effects of international terrorism. Pre-emption is one of the means to avoid terrorism which is only possible by gathering requisite information about identity, goals, objectives and likely targets of the terrorists and subsequently countering them pre-emptively. Once a state has been proved to be terrorism sponsor state, it should be isolated by international community and be forced to create unfavourable situation for the terrorists operating from their land. The other passive measures that can be taken to prevent the international terrorism, once they have been identified, are by disrupting their supplies and communications. Thereby rendering the terrorists helpless and without sufficient resources to generate any terrorist activity. Besides gathering the information about international terrorists and isolating its sponsoring states, there is a need to develop emergency response ca pability, so as to react promptly to any terrorist situation / activity that have taken place. The main objective of this response should be the damage control along with denying the terrorists’ access to unchecked media. The outcomes from such counter actions must be shared with international community highlighting the hand or support behind the terrorists and they should be brought to international court of justice instead of merely making a hue and cry

Critical of an article (SPSS) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Critical of an article (SPSS) - Assignment Example The study attempted to measure the effects of two independent variables - the subjects' performance standard, and the standard of the class – on the type of comparison made by the subjects towards particular and generic others. It was hypothesised that: 1. Across all classes, students would show a preference for comparing upwards with a particular other. 2. Subjects in the threat condition would make a downward comparison to a particular other. 3. Across all classes, students would make a downward comparison to a generic other. 4. Students in the threat condition were less likely to make a downward comparison to a generic other. Thus, the effects and interactions of the two independent variables were observed on two dependent variables. The first independent variable – the subjects' performance standard – had two levels for the study – high and low. The second independent variable was the performance standard of the class; also divided into two levels â₠¬â€œ high and low. Thus, four experimental groups were formed: i. Student with high performance in high performance group. (Uniform) ii. Student with high performance in low performance group. (Advantage) iii. Student with low performance in low performance group. (Uniform) iv. ... A variety of statistical procedures were carried out in order to test the hypotheses put forth. The study used Two Way ANOVA's, student's t – tests, correlations and the chi square test. Initially, all the sets of scores for the particular comparison other were inter-correlated, and since the correlations were quite high, one comparative index was created for all these scores. The Cronbach's Alpha, - an estimate of reliability, showed that the index would have a high reliability, and could be used without too many concerns. A similar index was also computed for the scores on comparison with a generic other. The Chronbach's Alpha was very high for this index as well. Such systematic evaluations of reliability are important since the data was collected in rating form on a set of dimensions for each dependent variable. Under such circumstances, the consistency and generalisability of the data is best evaluated through reliability testing. Next, for the actual testing of the hypot heses, two ANOVA's were computed. Each was a 2 by 2 ANOVA, and the interaction effects were analysed in order to test the hypotheses. Although none of the hypotheses predicted any main effect differences; in order for the hypotheses to be truly verified, one would see significant main effects as well as the interaction effects. The first 2 by 2 ANOVA was conducted on data about comparison to a particular other. This analysis went towards responding to the first and second hypotheses. The statistical analysis showed that the main effects for both variables were significant; but the one for standard of class (p < 0.001) was much stronger than the one for the standard of subject's performance (p

Technology of the future Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Technology of the future - Research Paper Example Another such implementation will occur in terms of spray-on nano computers. This technology will function as miniscule robots will be sprayed onto the chests of patients. These robots will then be able to record the patient’s health and allow doctors to monitor patients with specific areas of concern. Other prominent computer technology is understood to emerge in terms of quantum computers and artificial intelligence. In these regards, it’s noted that, â€Å"A quantum computer uses quantum mechanical phenomena, such as entanglement and superposition to process data. Quantum computation aims to use the quantum properties of particles to represent and structure data† (Herzog). While quantum technology has already been implemented in a variety of computers, future contexts will be able to implement this technology to much greater extremes. In these regards future quantum technology will allow for the running of a myriad of simulations that will revolutionize the way s that agencies and institutions approach a variety of concerns. In addition such quantum technology can be utilized in processes such as cryptography, modeling and indexing large databases. Artificial intelligence is also believed to have great future potential. While the potential for future artificial intelligence is truly endless researchers have identified a number of specific areas of future development. One of the prominent areas includes gaming technology. Currently artificial intelligence is implemented prominently in a variety of gaming technological devices, both recreationally, as well as for real-world civil and military simulations (Brockman). Future technological contexts will witness... The paper tells that the late 20th century and early 21st century have witnessed rapid progress in terms of computer technology. While significant development has occurred in previous decades it’s clear that substantial change await future contexts. Some of the most prominent areas of development are believed to occur in terms of nanotechnology. There is a broad variety of communication technology that will be implemented in future contexts. Still, a number of notable future communication technologies are currently being developed. In these regards, technology is being developed wherein stolen cell-phones or computers will be able to map the walking habits of the use. Some of the most prominent such changes will occur through reductions in emissions. In terms of alternative energy sources, currently hybrid and electric technology has emerged. Still the most prominent future alternative energy source is argued to be hydrogen fuel cells. The potentials of space technology are a large and well-considered topic. In terms of some of the most sensational and romantic areas of potential future technological advancement include commercial space flights. Currently Virgin Airline CEO Sir Richard Branson has developed Virgin Galactic as a means of developing such commercial transportation. The revolutionary device of the gene chip is regarded one of the most important future benefits of the human genome project. Scientists will be able to utilize this chip to identify specific areas of genetic distress; the chip lights up and indicates these areas.

Employee Assistance Porgram (EAP) Avaiable for the Modern Workplace Research Paper

Employee Assistance Porgram (EAP) Avaiable for the Modern Workplace - Research Paper Example A large number of the employee assistance programs offer training facilities to people owning businesses and the supervisors of these businesses in order to deal and recognize the behavioral crisis inside a workforce. The programs of assisting the employees are not created to grant long term management. According to the Business Week Magazine, the programs give an employee a secure environment for discussing their problems with a particular counselor who in return makes an evaluation that is confidential (S. Philip, 2000). Employee Assistance Program In addition, this evaluation if needed gives a recommendation to a professional of mental wellbeing. The magazine goes on to assert that the owner of a business is supposed to have worries concerning the workers given more value and have good work productivity. Ordinary psychiatric problems take a significant part from abuse of drugs to alcohol infatuation. Yearly, the business cost comes near to three hundred and twelve billion in absen teeism and productivity lost (W. G. Brian, 1997). These employee assistance programs have come out to be important and popular constituents of total advantages packages used for large and small employers who are alike. The employee assistance progressional association affirms that during the late nineteen nineties, there were a close number of twenty thousand employee assistance programs providers that were operating in the United States. They were first designed to respond to the business concerns on the impact to be gotten from an employee drug and alcohol abuse in productivity. Currently, they are planned to deal with various issues that are affecting the modern day workers. The modernized employee assistance programs are created to assist the workers with different problems like stress from depression, marriage and family counseling, financial problems, illness amongst the co workers and crisis organization (W. G. Brian, 1997). A large number of these employee assistance program s have made increased their counseling scope in order to help the workers struggle with the issues concerning eldercare, natural catastrophes, and violence in areas of work. In addition, these programs have increased elements that are proactive to the offering they make. An example is that the employee assistance programs have supported the workplace guidelines and educational efforts of AIDS/HIV. The expansion in the range of employee assistance program is commonly pointed to the United States changes in bigger collective fabric. S. Philip (2000) asserts that changes in technology and demographic changes have assisted in creation of different and new varieties of mental and stress health issues that affect the productivity and health of a large population of the employees in the world. Human beings who have family or personal problems may lack a place to go for an advice than to the advantages the employee assistance program put forward through their places of work. Various compani es have realized that detection of a direct link can be identified amid the productivity and well being of a certain employee. According to W. G. Brian (1997), these companies are also relying on their employees in improving their productivity and their increasing their bottom line despite the advancement of technology in the world. This means that the association existing between the productivity

Stroke, Communication and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Stroke, Communication and Management - Essay Example Unfortunately, this makes stroke the number six principal cause of disability in the entire world. It is indeed the case that the incidence of stroke worldwide is very alarming. Nonetheless, despite its common occurrence worldwide, it is not often obvious to people why this particular illness takes place. Not all are aware of how this disease attacks and causes permanent disability or even death to its sufferers. According to Sims and Muyderman (2009: 80 – 91), stroke happens when the blood supply to the brain is disturbed because of blockage of the blood flow or loss or leakage of blood. Given this, the oxygen supply to the brain cells is interrupted causing damage and death to the cells. Given this case, a permanent neurological impairment is more probably the outcome in which according to Donnan, Macleod and Davis (2008: 1612 – 1620) is due to the improper functioning of the affected area of the brain. True enough, the common disability outcomes of stroke are as foll ows: impairing the vision, paralysis or the lack of ability to move one or more limbs on a side of the body, loss of sensation on a side of the body, difficulties in swallowing, loss of thinking or intellectual capacity, loss of memory, transformation of the emotional aspect and/ or damaging the capacity to communicate competently due to problems in speech, difficulties in expressing words and trouble of understanding (Irish Heart Foundation, no date: 13 – 16). In addition to that, stroke affects its survivors in making them feel frail and weak on one side of their body (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality, 1995: 3). It likewise impacts the individual to have problems with balance and coordination since their muscles are not that strong enough as compared to those muscles prior to the attack (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality, 1995: 3). Oftentimes, as a result of the attack, they happen to be numb, have problems with controlling their bladder and bowel, and make them feel depressed (US Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (1995: 3). Given the permanent damage to the ability of the stroke sufferer to express himself or herself and at some points, to be understood, communication with the sufferer of the particular illness has a certain difficulty indeed. This is because after the attack of stroke, the life of the sufferer has most likely changed. As such, this requires an enormous amount of patience for everyone, in particular to the caregivers and to the family members, who has the most interaction with the stroke survivor. However, this raises a question of what kind of treatment and management should be done by the individuals around the patient who has suffered from stroke when interacting with them, in particular, in terms of communication. To make an effective communication with a person who has suffered from stroke, it is important to note that there are a number of general considerations. First and foremost, it is deeme d important to take into consideration that due to a stroke, the individual sufferer may undergo some impaired movement or skills that can be temporary or permanent. Given such difficulties, it must be understood that this is not easy physically, psychologically and emotionally for the patient. We all know and experience how frustrating it is to feel not understood. This is one of the difficulties that the stroke patient is going

Case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 83

Case Study Example However, economic, political, legal, social, cultural, technological, and international factors are the main factors that the company must influence to better its business (Aicken, 2003). Unlike other Airlines, Air New Zealand offers both domestic and international flights which include both passenger and cargo services. The common destinations of the Airline are Australia, south pacific, Asia, North America, and the UK. The Air New Zealand is situated in Auckland, in New Zealand. Air New Zealand merged with the Star alliance in the year 1999. The star alliance is a global airline alliance that unites different airlines. The airline had started as a flying boat company in the year 1940 before it graduated to the national airline (Aicken, 2003). The airline implemented many strategies that make up the economic environment, For example, the airline made a sum of $182 million dollars profit last year (New Zealand Herald, 2014). Despite several challenges, the airline has strived to beat its competitors and to achieve its targets. The key objectives drive the airline. The first objective is to devise a new method of selling airfares and packages at retail levels and wholesale levels. This will increase their sales and increase their profits by 7%. The second main objective is to define new mechanisms that will increase their returns on its marketing investment (ROI) (Gordon, 2010). The airline has identified several strategies to improve its operation in the company. For instance, a creative strategy where customer holiday needs are understood and met. The strategy focuses on appealing to customers on how Air NZ understands their holiday needs. The airline inspired customers and gave them different ideas on how they should spend their holidays. This helped in increasing the company’s yields. The airline went ahead to execute the strategy

Character Analysis of A Mid Summer Nights Dream Term Paper

Character Analysis of A Mid Summer Nights Dream - Term Paper Example A Round character is defined as three dimensional, complex and life like. The round character grows as the story progresses. The main character in the play is called a round character as it shows a degree of character development. In terms of this definition Puck can be called round as he is the creator of major actions in the play. Though he does not show development in his qualities as the play progresses but brings twists and turns in the life of other characters. He is not the main character or the protagonist yet his character makes the entire play lively and sets the characters in action. Puck is an Individualized character in the sense that he embodies and exhibits the traits of a particular class or group of people. They are also called Type characters and are very unpredictable in their actions and are representative of their class and group to which they belong. Puck is a fairy and is called Robin Good fellow. He is portrayed a bit bizarre, by the master crafts man Shakespe are where as the other fairies are ethereal and beautiful. As the other fairy describes him, â€Å"I mistake your shape and making quite, Or else you are that shrewd and knavish sprite Called Robin Good fellow. Are not you he that frights the maidens of the villager, Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern And bootless make the breathless housewife churn†. ... The character of Puck in the play is Symbolic in nature .As all the plays of Shakespeare confirms the presence of a world outside this world, the beings of that world control the destinies of the poor mortals. They love to play prank on the human beings and laugh at their distress and predicaments. Whether it is fate or destiny in some plays or it could be witches as in Macbeth or Puck, a hobgoblin in Mid Summer Night’s Dream. He is Oberon’s jester and introduce himself as, â€Å"I am that merry wanderer of the night. I jest to Oberon and make him smile...† and delights playing pranks on the mortals. He is swift and willing to please his master, Oberon. When Oberon tells him to bring the potion from the flowers ,he says, â€Å" I’ll put a girdle round the Earth in forty minutes†¦Ã¢â‚¬ His willingness to serve Oberon and please him always, appear in this expression, â€Å"fear not, my lord ,your servant shall do†. In Mid Summer’s Night Dream, Puck’s capricious nature and fun loving humor, evocative language permeates the entire play. By means of his deliberate pranks, this mysterious spirit enjoys his superiority over the humans who are puppets in his hands. He is capricious and fun loving, full of humor and life. These airy creatures are not diminutive human beings with supernatural powers, as quoted in Shakespeare's Fairies: the Triumph of Dramatic Art; they are like young human children and are able to differentiate between right and wrong. They love and quarrel like kids and use tricksters like Puck to avenge themselves. The tricks these Ariel creatures play on the human lovers are like those that children play on one another, without any thought of the suffering they may cause the

A New American Society Essay Example for Free

A New American Society Essay After the Americans gained independence from Britain in 1783 in the revolution. The colonies began to change their economic, social and political system, and began to write their new constitution that lead to the override of the Articles of Confederation in 1781. The major change the Americans accomplished was the separation from the monarchy. Thomas Paine said â€Å"the nearer any government approaches to a republic the less business there is for a king.† (Common Sense 1776) During the process of a new central government, states became independent with their own central government. However, this would give the central government less power over the 13 states. Another huge change in the colonies was the separation from the church. A preacher stated that under British rule that there was a â€Å"Moral obligation, imposed on the world, to answer the purposes of ambitious usurps.† (Lorenzo Dow pg.197) This would later lead to outpouring religious enthusiasm in the colonies and the Great Awakening. An economic issue was that only the states could impose taxes in the states and congress could only request funds to pay off debt. Another factor was that the government did not have a stable money currency in the colonies, which made it difficult to barter or trade with other states. The Northern part of the colonies focused more in manufacturing and the South depended on agricultural needs. Jefferson believed in more of an agricultural economy â€Å"our exterior commerce has suffered very much from the beginning†¦ we have manufactured†¦those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God† (Notes on the state of the Virginia pg. 170). On the other hand, Hamilton believed in trading manufactured goods with Britain and believed in a society of manufacturing. The weak Articles of confederation lead to a new constitution in the colonies. The articles of confederation were ratified in the constitutional convention of 1781 in Philadelphia. Reasons it was considered â€Å"weak† was the lack of checks and balances, government could not impose taxes, and central government was weak and the lack of personal rights of the colonists. â€Å"Make the following declarations, of our humble opinions, respecting the most essential rights and liberties of the colonists† (Declaration of rights pg. 124). James Madison was one of the founding fathers of the new constitution, because of his federalist papers.

Hypocritical Holden Essay Example for Free

Hypocritical Holden Essay Hypocrisy is found in all of us. Many of us have things about ourselves that we don’t want to share with others, and try to hide; perhaps we are trying to hide our hypocrisy. In The Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger expresses through Holden Caulfield that hypocrisy results from not being able to connect with others. Although Holden accuses others of being phony, in reality, Holden is a phony himself and as a result of his hypocrisy, he is unable to connect with others, suggesting that to connect with others one must be able to accept other people’s flaws. Holden defines others as phonies because he is critical and has a negative utlook on the world and the people in it. When Holden makes observations of other people he often defines them as phony. For example, when Holden goes to the movies he observes a lady sitting next to him who is crying during the movie, â€Å"The part that got me was, there was a lady sitting next to me that cried all through the goddam picture. The phonier it got, the more she cried†¦ she had this little kid with her that was bored as hell and had to go to the bathroom but she wouldn’t take him†¦ You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they’re mean bastards at heart.  I’m not kidding† (181). Holden thinks that the woman crying is a phony because she is emotional about a movie which is fake, yet she does not feel bad for the kid who is sitting next to her in real life, who has to go to the bathroom. A woman crying at a movie is what Holden observes and defines as phony behavior. Holden’s negative outlook on the world and the people in it just pushes Holden farther and farther away from people. He is isolating himself. In addition, Holden thinks some words or phrases are phony. When Holden is talking on the phone with a girl he knows, Sally, who says something that Holden thinks is phony. â€Å"I’d love to. Grand. † Grand. If there’s one word I hate, it’s grand. It’s so phony†(106). Holden thinks that the word grand is phony, which may be true to Holden; although the more energy he spends on pointing out â€Å"phonies† the more isolated and unhappy he becomes. Holden is a hypocrite because he is sometimes aware that he is being a phony himself. Holden thinks that he needs to hide his true self from people in order to â€Å"survive†. When Holden is out at Ernie’s and meets up with a girl he knows, Lillian, Holden says something to the Navy guy who was with Lillian that Holden considers phony. Holden addresses the reader, â€Å"I’m always saying â€Å"Glad to’ve met you† to somebody I’m not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though† (87). Holden lies to the navy guy, and also says that he lies to other people when saying this phrase. Although Holden is acting phony, and therefore hypocritical, he is aware of it. He acts phony because he is afraid that sharing his true self with others will interfere with him connecting with others; Holden thinks that he will turn people away because he is different. Holden is different because he is critical, and also eeply caring and emotional. Holden is trying to act like a regular guy so people will like him and be willing to talk with him. Holden is striving to make a connection with someone; anyone. He is just looking for anyone to talk to and make a connection with, but he is afraid to open up to them. Holden tries to fit in with others by being phony when in reality, he hates how most people act. Holden tries not to show his hatred of phonies because then, people would soon realize that Holden is a phony himself. At Ernie’s when Holden meets up with the navy guy, introduced to him by Lillian, Holden hares his true thoughts about the navy guy’s actions with the reader. Holden says, â€Å"He was one of those guys that think they’re being a pansy if they don’t break around forty of your fingers when they shake hands with you. God, I hate that stuff† (86-87). Holden doesn’t like the expectations put on men to act tough; this makes Holden feel insecure. Holden feels that he must hide that he is caring and emotional by being phony. In addition, Holden is sometimes unaware that he is being phony. For example, when he asks his taxi driver Horwitz a question, Holden is unaware that he is being phony. â€Å"Hey, Horwitz,† I said. â€Å"You ever pass by the lagoon in central park? Down by central park south? †Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance (81)? †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ Holden asks Horwitz where the ducks go in the winter time because he is unknowingly comparing his situation to the ducks in the lagoon; Holden wants to know where he goes now that it is â€Å"winter time† and his lagoon, Pencey prep, has frozen. Throughout the book, Holden struggles to find a place where he belongs. He also strives to connect with people. Holden is reluctant to share his true self with people. Asking Horwitz where the ducks go is one of Holden’s â€Å"phony† attempts at making a connection with someone. When Holden acts phony, he shields his true self from people which keeps him from connecting with others. Holden dislikes phonies, and he often criticizes people for being phony, although Holden acts phony himself because he is insecure about himself, which leads to Holden acting phony. J. D. Salinger expresses through Holden that when trying to connect with others, one must act like themselves. Hypocrisy is often inevitable; all of us exhibit hypocrisy.

Real Existing Socialism and State Socialism in Romania

Real Existing Socialism and State Socialism in Romania â€Å"Real existing socialism in the GDR and State Socialism in Romania:  A Comparison Introduction Over the course of the last two decades, following the collapse of communism in Russia and other Eastern Bloc states, there has been a considerable amount of debate in academic and political circle relating to the re-definition of socialism, which as a political ideology then became separated from communism. In its purist form, socialism is perceived as the organisational concept within a society whereby the means of production, including factories and farms, is deemed to be held in ownership terms by the whole of a particular community or nation (Caldwell 2003, p.17). Thus, in theory every worker and citizen should benefit equally from his or her share of that ownership. However, as with every other political ideology, in practice such purism does not exist. However, as with other forms of political ideology, a perfect form of socialism does not exist within any national state. As has been witnessed in the Eastern Bloc countries in Europe, there is a significant difference in the way that socialism manifests itself in individual cultures and nations, and this depends upon the prevailing political structure and cultural environment. For example, whilst there are democratic and dictatorship led countries that exercise a socialist agenda, this does not equate to the method of state socialism practiced in other states, even those within the same region. The purpose of this study is to compare two distinct forms of socialism; at the same time seeking to distinguish between the ways that each is operated in their respective societies. To assist with this objective, it is intended to use two nations that have experienced differing political structures. These are GDR[1], which operates a system known as â€Å"real existing socialism† and Romania, which enjoys a state socialism political environment. Socialism There has been a substantial amount of literature produced that has concentrated upon the study of socialism. Much of this has concentrated upon the various divergent forms of the ideology that have emerged within and outside of a communist environment. Although there is still some debate about terminology for these divergent forms of socialism, the vast majority have adapted the two most prominent as being â€Å"real existing socialism† and â€Å"state socialism.† Real existing socialism The studies that have led to the defining of real socialism only really commenced following the breakdown of socialism in areas such as the former communist block (Von Hirschhausen 1995, p.8). From this it has been found that the foundations of real socialism bore no resemblance to the â€Å"planned economy† message that was being projected by the state, and thus cannot be measured or compared with the political systems that exist within the democratic regimes of the western world. Despite it’s similarity to state socialism, the real existing version has none of the unique elements of capitalism. For example, individual property rights, commodity markets, freedom of capital and labour do not exist. Economics was dominated by politics and the two were therefore closely interwoven. This in itself can be seen as part of the cause for their being a lack of planning within these economies, which resulted in problems in three main areas. Firstly, monetary controls and restraints did not exist in the sense that we know in the West. Instead, paper money formed only a part of issues such as workers salaries, with basic goods at low prices or rationed, as can be witnessed by the fact that the price of bread in 1987 had not changed for over fifty years (Von Hirschhausen 1995, p.9), and the higher priced goods were used as rewards for merit rather than available to the citizen as a right. Secondly, there was no attempt to aim for maximum or optimum output from the countries industrial plants as these formed just a part of the party’s objectives, along with welfare and house and a raft of other priorities. Unlike commercial corporations, those within this socialist environment paid little attention to profit and success. Similarly, the idea of plant closure was contrary to the countries socialist identity and beliefs. In itself, this proves the case that there was no economic basis for the nations industrial production and output. The final aspect is planning. As has been discovered since the fall of communism, the official documents issued by the regimes, which purported to be official plans, none of these where implemented or controlled within the industrial environment. This was partially due to the fact that these plants lacked the basic equipment needed to do so, and also because the state showed little interest in the results (Von Hirschhausen 1995, p.9). State Socialism There are many who would argue that state socialism is actually a misnomer. The reason for this is that in this type of socialist community, although there is a limited recognition of private capitalism, the state itself is the centre of power. This power not only includes their ownership of the â€Å"means of production† mentioned earlier in this paper, but also extends to other significant areas as well. For example, their ownership and control extends to the media, transport and communications and, in addition, to the workers, police and military. Similarly, the state uses its power to control dissidents and â€Å"so-called† reactionaries. During the communist era in Eastern Europe, what stopped the nation that followed â€Å"state socialism† from being described more appropriately as bureaucratic regimes was the fact that the state itself was controlled by the communist party, which was essentially determined as a party for the people and thus their representatives. Case Study GDR and Romania The GDR and Romania have been chosen as a comparison case study for this paper as they operate within the two different areas of socialism being discussed, with GDR following the route of real existing socialism and Romania being a state socialism environment. GDR Prior to its reunification with West Germany, the German Democratic Republic was run by a communist regime and operated a system that has latterly become known as belonging to the â€Å"real existing socialism† The economy was controlled and planned centrally by the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, who also strictly controlled prices within the economy, particularly those of a basic nature such as basic foodstuff and housing. In these cases the party heavily subsidised production to ensure that prices remained low and manageable for the ordinary citizen. As has been indicated to be the case with such political structures, virtually all of the production process were centrally owned and controlled. Even in the small private sector (around 2.8%), these were subjected to oppressive regulations and taxation, sometimes with the latter exceeding 90%. In essence, at least in the early years, and to a large degree up until a few years short of the fall of the Berlin wall, one of the central intentions of the states plan was the â€Å"total governance† of society (Caldwell 2003, p.2). However, this centralisation of control provided an ideal breeding ground for corruption, with many managers within the publicly owned business sector lining their own pockets and those of party officials, thus creating an even worse economic situation in terms of the production output of their factories. In an attempt to address some of these issues GDR ruling party moved to a more autonomous level of social control (Caldwell 2003, p.15). They adopted the slogan of â€Å"real existing socialism† as a way of showing that, although there was still a large degree of state control, the lives of the individual was said to be, to a large degree, independent and autonomous to the state, which stated that its regime allowed their citizens to live unfettered lives in private, although dissidents claimed that this pretence of â€Å"normalcy† was just an attempt to cover up the high levels of repressions that existed (Maier 1999, p.22). In reality the individual’s emancipation was against wishes of the state but by allowing it to occur it had the opposite effect to that which could have been expected, this being a tendency towards more the creation of more conflict and unrest. However, as Maier (1999, p.42) later shows, the lack of substance in the opposition by ordinary citizens was probably quelled by the measures taken by the state to repress their citizens. Whilst in some cases, such as the media, this was achieved by s strict process of censorship, as far as ordinary citizens a â€Å"stick or reward† policy was operated. For example, rationing and the reward system in terms of luxury goods, which were always accompanied by the threat that the benefits gained through these measures, tended to opposition voice down to a muted level (Maier 1999, p.49). Similarly, the dispersal of the states secret police force led to a situation where fear of neighbours replaced trust as many people responded to the implied threat by showing a willingness to report opposition in secret. This was not only done to curry favour but also to avoid becoming embroiled with the police on a personal level. Thus, as Maier (1999, p.42) states â€Å"real existing socialism thus rested on a double distortion. It transformed the public sphere into one of negotiated bargains, while it twisted the idea of a private sphere into a domain of complicity and secrecy.† Similarly, as has been evidenced within the performance of the state, despite its repressive measures, is more closely linked to the ideals that were previously expressed by Mark (2004). Perhaps the one benefit that East Germany has derived from the real existing socialism that has become inherent within the culture, particularly in terms of the previous movement towards members of the public having an element of a certain degree of autonomy to their lives, is that this has made it easier for the nation to become integrated within the larger German nation following its reunification with the Federal Republic of German (Crow 2001). Romania In certain respects the Romanian socialist structures is similar to that of the GDR. This is certainly true in the case of the party’s control of the media, which has yet to find an independent voice and the state ownership of a large number of commercial assets. However, following the fall of the communist regimes in the Eastern Block, this country has retained a communist political regime, which observers feel results from the fact that the general public are reluctant to involve themselves in politics in a direct manner (Carey 2004, p.10). When compared with the GDR it is found that the population of Romania is distinctly different to those of neighbouring countries. The culture is much more centralised in its thinking. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that most citizens within the Romanian society have a bias towards â€Å"paternalistic protection of authoritarian institutions† rather than being concerned with their own democratic freedom and values (Carey 2004, p.14). A similar situation exists within the business sector. At the present time the state controls and owns most of the production organisations and, in addition, all of the financials institutions are in public ownership. It would be difficult to sell the latter, because of the problem of non-recoverable loans and other debt crisis. Similarly, although many of the countries vast production plants are inefficient and losing money, the ethos of the ruling classes is such that closure of these organisations is an unacceptable option (Carey 2004, p.17). Furthermore, there is a reluctance to allow these to move into private ownership. Even if the state were prepared to look at this option, as Carey shows within his research (Carey 2004, p.18), the vast majority of business and other citizens in Romania are of the opinion that â€Å"the privatisation† process was dishonest. The overwhelming preference within the country and its culture is in favour of state control, particularly in resp ect of what are considered to be the most important issues, these being â€Å"prices and wages.† However, despite the views of the population, the state does have to address the issue of corporate control and, although some attempt has been made in this area, this has yet to lead to a stable environment. One of the problems they have in this respect is that the workers are union controlled and, with the current wish for central state control of wages, negotiating a productivity based working environment would, at present, be very difficult to achieve. It is anticipated that it will take some time for Romania to be able to convert either its political structure to a more democratic cultural base or its production and manufacturing industries to a situation of optimisation and a success based agenda (Carey 2004, p.229). Conclusion It is clear that socialism is still in the process of undergoing radical change, particularly following the collapse of communism in areas such as Russia and the former Eastern Bloc countries. However, as has been seen from the case study of the German Democratic Republic and Romanic, the cultural impact of this varies between nations. For example, prior to the 1989 revolutions the GDR was already experiencing a significant amount of unrest, which was being generated â€Å"from below,† in other words from a groundswell of public opinion and active opposition (Kornai 1992). This country is therefore moving rapidly towards a culture of democratic rights and away from their former position of being subject to real existing socialism. Conversely, in the state of Romania, the movement away from state socialism has yet to begin in earnest. For example, the current ruling party is still based upon a communist stance and, despite the fact that it retains control over areas such as production and the media, which in some cases can be seen to be repressive, there is little will amongst the populace to effect a change at this time (Federal Research Division 2004). However, one area that has certainly added to the differential between the two countries in terms of their movement towards a democratic culture and political environment is the location and structural differences. For example, East Germany (GDR) is situated adjacent to a Western democracy, albeit it with socialist tendencies, whereas Romania was previously surrounded by communist and socialist states. In addition, Romania has become an independent whilst the GDR has lost its independent identity within the enlarged German nation. To this extent for the GDR the dissolution of the communist based socialist environment has been a much smoother transition (Maier 1999). References Brie, Michael (1991). The General Crisis of Administrative Centralised Socialism: A Sketch Towards a Theory of Reproduction. Available: http://www.ceeol.com/aspx/getdocument.aspx?logid=5id=15370fa8-8415-4f96-8ae7-a4580ee58991 Caldwell, Peter C (2003). Dictatorship, State Planning, and Social Theory in the German Democratic Republic. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge, UK. Carey, Henry F (ed.) (2004). Romania since 1989: Politics, Economics and Society. Lexington Books. Langham, US. Crow, Graham (2001). Social Solidarities: Theories, Identities and Social Change. Open University Press. Buckingham, UK. Federal Research Division (2004). Romania: A Country Study. Kissinger Publishing. New York, US. Kornai, Jà  nos (1992). The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism. Clarendon Press. Oxford, UK Maier, Charles S (1999). Dissolution, the Crisis of Communism and the End of East Germany. Princeton University Press. New Jersey, US. Nove, Alex (2001). Marxism and Really Existing Socialism. Routledge. London, UK. Von Hirschhausen, Christian (1995). Five years after the collapse: The socialism debate revisited, and the limits of economic thought. CERNA. Paris, France. Available: http://www.cerna.ensmp.fr/Documents/CVH-WP95.pdf 1 Footnotes [1] German Democratic Republic

Causes and Effects of Hate Crimes Essay -- Hate Crime Criminal Prejudi

Blacks were introduced to the North America during the 17th and 18th centuries through the triangular trade route, and were welcomed by chains, ropes, and all the horrors of slavery. Slavery was legalized by the US government and continued for a few hundred years, taking a civil war and sixteen presidents before it was forbidden. Even today, there is still much hatred between blacks and whites despite desegregation and integration; some would argue that the condition of African Americans in the United States is still one of a subservient nature. Federal law defines a hate crime as whenever a victim is attacked on the basis of his or her race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, or gender; hate offenses are made against members of a particular group simply because of their membership in that group (Levin 4). In 1998 an African-American was brutally murdered in Texas. There are over a hundred homicides committed every year, but the manner in which this life was taken and the appar ent motive of his executers leaves no doubt that this crime was filled with hate. In this brutal murder, the motivation is obvious and clear, the explanation is so simple that it virtually hits you in the face. James Byrd Jr.'s death is America's shame: another man tortured for no reason- other than the color of his skin. I will use the Byrd murder to explore the cause and effects of hate crimes, and attempt to draw meaning from it so that a tragedy like this will not happen again. In the early morning of June 7, 1998, a black man was walking by a road in Jasper, Texas. James Byrd Jr. had just left a niece's bridal shower at his parents' house, and was trying to hitch a ride home. A car drove by and the owner of the vehicle, Shawn Berry, offered Byrd a lift in the back of the pickup. Byrd, jumped in one leg, didn't hesitate to accept the actually kind sign; little did he suspect his fate that was to follow. Angered, one of the passengers by the name of John King grabbed the wheel and drove to a dark deserted road outside of town. What happened thereafter certainly has to be one of the most nasty and horrifying crimes this country has seen since the day's slavery was legal. King and the final member of the trio, Lawrence Brewer, got out of the truck and began beating and kicking Byrd until he was almost unconscious. Afterward, they chained him by his ankles to the back of ... ... laws to address the serious threat of hate crime. For educators, it means developing ways to open channels of cultural understanding among children. For neighborhoods, it means strengthening the bonds of community to embrace diversity and reject acts of racism (Levin viii). Society as a whole must accept the fact that we are all a part of the problem, if we are not a part of the solution. Works Cited Bragg, Richard."For Jasper, Just What It Didn't Want." New York Times 27 June 1998: A8. Bragg, Richard."In Wake of Texas Killing, Black Militants and Klan Trade Words." New York Times 28 June 1998: A17. Cropper, Carol Marie."Black Man Fatally Dragged In a Possible Racial Killing." New York Times 10 June 1998: A16. Levin, Jack, and Jack McDevitt. Hate Crimes: The Rising Tide of Bigotry and Bloodshed. New York: Plenum, 1993. Novick, Michael. White Lies, White Power: The Fight Against White Supremacy and Reactionary Violence. Maine: Common Courage Press, 1995. Pressley, Sue Anne. "Down a Dark Road to Murder." Washington Post 12 June 1998: A1. "Racist Murder Leads Texas Town to Probe Its Prejudices." Wall Street Journal 1 October 1998: A8.

On Dis-ease :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites We are all terminally ill. It is a matter of time before we all die. Aging and death remain almost as mysterious as ever. We feel awed and uncomfortable when we contemplate these twin afflictions. Indeed, the very word denoting illness contains its own best definition: dis-ease. A mental component of lack of well being must exist SUBJECTIVELY. The person must FEEL bad, must experience discomfiture for his condition to qualify as a disease. To this extent, we are justified in classifying all dieases "spiritual" or "mental". Is there any other way of distinguishing health from sickness - a way that does NOT depend on the report tha the patient provides regarding his subjective experience? Some diseases are manifest and others are latent or immanent. Genetic diseases can exist - unmanifested - for generations. This raises the philosophical problem or whether a potential disease IS a disease? Are AIDS and Hemophilia carriers - sick? Should they be treated, ethically speaking? They experience no dis-ease, they report no symptoms, no signs are evident. On what moral grounds can we commit them to treatment? On the grounds of the "greater benefit" is the common response. Carriers threaten others and must be isolated or otherwise neutered. The threat inherent in them must be eradicated. This is a dangerous moral precedent. All kinds of people threaten our well-being: unsettling ideologists, the mentally handicapped, many politicians. Why should we single out our physical well-being as worthy of a privileged moral status? Why is our mental well being, for instance, of less import? Moreover, the distinction between the psychic and the physical is hotly disputed, philosophically. The psychophysical problem is as intractable today as it ever was (if not more so). It is beyond doubt that the physical affects the mental and the other way around. This is what disciplines like psychiatry are all about. The ability to control "autonomous" bodily functions (such as heartbeat) and mental reactions to pathogenes of the brain are proof of the artificialness of this distinction. It is a result of the reductionist view of nature as divisible and summable. The sum of the parts, alas, is not always the whole and there is no such thing as an infinite set of the rules of nature, only an asymptotic approximation of it. The distinction between the patient and the outside world is superfluous and wrong.

First Nation Women :: essays research papers

The First Nations women of North America lead a very interesting and complex life. Most of their lives spent as an object of slavery and viewed as a non-person with no rights or feelings. This varied from tribe to tribe depending on social organization, politically, ceremonially, agriculturally, geography, and mythology. In tribes that the government principles reflect on the character of Gods, women were highly esteemed and had some measure of authority. In tribes that the government was based on clan organization. The Gods believed women were supreme being the foundation of tribal society. These principles brought peace harmony and prosperity to those communities. However, these special statuses of women belonged only to a small group. Other women received no consideration, respect, or value to the tribe. All the labor required for the home, work place and community fell into the responsibilities of women. Some other jobs included tanning of skins, weaving fabrics, food preparatio n for winter use, drying and smoking the meat, and making clothes, mats, and baskets. As the man role was to lead the tribe, manage his family, hunt, and fight. One special status as that women held is the key to the reproduction of life and therefore the sowing and cultivating the crops was exclusively theirs. In the Native group, Kutchin, a group of Athaascan tribes in Alaska and British Columbia. The Kutchin is a prime example of how the Native American women were badly treated. If they were to go to war, they were willing to massacre all of their women except a couple young females for wives for the reproduction of the tribe. Women were forced to do all the hard work in camps, and had no voice in family or tribal affairs except when selecting a husband for their daughter or daughters. It was compensatory that the women ate after the men were done eating. They were also required to manufacture weapons, cooking, cleaning, fishing, and building the community. Without adequate shelter or food for themselves. Besides all the bad times, they experienced many happy and fun times. Below shows what their rhythmical dances looked like: However, even through they had some good times of dancing and playing games, most of the Native American tribes agreed on one thing and is stated clearly in the resource book, The Indians of Canada, and proves that they were brutally mistreated: "The hardships the women suffer, induce them, too often to let the female infants die, as soon as born; and they look upon it as an act of kindness to them.

Race & Ethnicity in Our Society Essay

Race and ethnicity are important concepts and plays a great deal among our society. Very few of us are aware of the difference between race and ethnicity. Many of us assumed that is the same definition. In Sociology this terms have a very specific and different meaning. Race: Is your biological features this can include your skin color, eye and hair color, as well as a tendency toward developing certain diseases. Race can’t be changed or disguised. Race does not have customs or globally learned behaviors. In other words race refers to only your genetic history and identifiable physical characteristics that are separate and distinct from other races. For example Hispanics are always generalized as Puerto Rican. Skin color does not necessarily connect to your cultural background. Ethnicity: Is a concept referring to a shared culture and way of life. This can be reflected in language, religion, material culture such as clothing and food and cultural products such as art and music. Ethnicity is often a major source of social cohesion and social conflict. Ethnicity is not just a person’s race. For example the term Caucasian means white, but this term doesn’t describe a person’s ethnicity. We can have three white people from different parts of the world like Canada, Ireland, and England. Just by looking at them we can’t determine from what part of the world they are from. But, if we give them appropriate items from their culture, like religion, language, food preparation and preferences, then is easy to determine their origin. Ethnicity is about tradition, behaviors and customs. We can change our ethnicity but not our race. Ethnic groups have a consciousness of their common cultural bond. Ethnic groups doesn’t exist simply because of the common national or cultural origin of the group, they develop because of their unique historical and social experiences, which became the basis for the group’s ethnic identity. For example prior to immigration to the United States, any group of immigrants did not think of themselves as a distinct group with common interest and experiences. However, the process of immigration and the experiences they faced as a group in the United States, including discrimination, created a new identity for the group. Some examples of ethnic groups include Italian Americans, Polish Americans, Mexican Americans, and Irish Americans. Other ethnic groups are found in other societies such as in Afghanistan and Iraq, whose ethnicity is base on religious differences. Like ethnicity, race is a socially constructed category. A race is a group that is treated as distinct in society based on certain characteristics. Because of their biological or cultural characteristics, which are labeled as inferior by powerful groups in society, a race is often singled out for differential and unfair treatment. It is not the biological characteristics that define racial groups, but how they have been treated historically and socially. Society assigns people to racial categories such as blacks, whites, Hispanics etc. not because of science, logic or fact, but, because of opinion and social experience. Hispanics and blacks are perceived as minority group who share common characteristics like low status in society, there is more poverty among them, and low education standards. A minority group is any distinct group in society that shares common characteristics and is forced to occupy low status in society because of prejudice and discrimination. A group may be classified as minority on the basis of ethnicity, race, sexual preference, age, or class status. It is important to note that a minority group is not necessarily the minority in terms of numbers, but it is a group that holds a low status in relation to other groups in society. (Regardless of the size). The group that assigns a racial or ethnic group to subordinate status in society is called The Dominant group. One of the problems that have an impact on race and ethnicity is stereotypes. It is an oversimplified opinion and judgment about individuals of a social group. It is also a tendency where humans characterize a person of a race or ethnic group based on assumptions criticizing one’s appearance. Some examples of this are: Chinese and Indians are good in math and sciences, but are poor in English and humanities, White Americans are lazy, obese, and judgmental towards other races and are highly materialistic. Italians are always in a mob, Irish people are always drunk and African Americans are drug peddlers, thugs, good dancers, and good at athletics. Additionally, there are other forms of stereotypes such as: gender stereotypes that are based on an individual’s gender and some examples are: men make great business leaders and women make good homemakers, men are masculine and strong, women are good cooks, they want to have babies and make great nurses. Another stereotype is social class that is based on social status in society and some examples of this are: homeless people have behavioral problems, are into substance abuse, lazy and smelly, working class are naive and not street smart, and upper class are judged as being shallow, arrogant and untrustworthy There are several sociological theories about why prejudice, discrimination and racism exist. Prejudice and discrimination are two similar terms that deal with negative misjudgments and disrespect. Prejudice is unreasonable feelings and attitudes toward a social group based on preconceived preference without any knowledge or facts about that group’s race or ethnicity. There have been researches that state the origin of prejudice began from learning and observing manners from peers, parents, and the media. For example, if children imitate their parents complaining against another individual of a different nationality, then that child will mature and think negative ideas about those members of that culture. In the media, movies, magazines, books and newspapers depicted some nationalities in pessimistic images; for example, Japanese Americans were shown as sneaky and untrustworthy and American Indians were presented as scoundrels or submissive characters. As for discrimination, it is a behavior of contempt and insolence against members of a group rather than show consideration for an individual’s merit. An example of this is a landlord doesn’t rent an apartment to someone because that individual is mentally retarded and a property manager checks the credit records of all Hispanics and black applicants and sues small credit problems as an excuse to refuse to rent an apartment, but doesn’t always look at the records of white applicants and overlooks small credit problems in their records. Racism is a term where negative attitudes and behaviors are linked together and makes an individual belonging to a racial or ethnic group as intellectually, socially, and culturally inferior to one’s own group. Furthermore, there are many types of racism that exist in society such as: old-fashion racism, which deals with physical violence; aversive racism, is being stealthy or not interacting with someone of another race or ethnic; laissez-faire racism which occurred after the Second World War and during the 1950s , is a subtle but constant negative stereotyping of minorities, a tendency for whites to blame a racial group for gaps in socioeconomic standings, occupational achievement and educational achievement, and clear resistance to meaningful policy efforts designed to improve America’s racially oppressive social conditions and practices. The next racism is color-blindness because an individual affected by this type of racism prefers to ignore lawful racial, ethnic, cultural and other differences and insists that racial issues in America will go away if only race is ignored all together. Lastly, institutional racism is negative judgment and coercion of one racial or ethnic group by society’s existing institutions based on presumed inferiority of the oppressed group. An example of this is racial filing, where if an African American or Hispanic individual is arrested, they are considered to serve more sentence time than that of Whites and Asians. In fact, an African American or Hispanic who commits a crime, are more likely to get arrested than a White person committing the exact same crime. Yet, there are three types of sociological theories that study on the origins of racism, discrimination and prejudice. They are: functionalists, symbolic interaction and conflict. First, functionalist theory has its origins in the work of Emile Durkheim and it interprets each part of society as a whole. Meaning, that the different parts of society are organized to fill the different needs and each has particular consequences for the form and shape of society. Also, from this perspective, if there is disorganization in the system, such as deviant behavior, it will affect all other parts and create social problems, which later lead to social change. So, in order for society to maintain stability, racial and ethnic minorities must assimilate into society. Meaning, that this perspective assumes that in order for minority groups to be fully pledged members of society, they must adopt the culture of the dominant society and thus give up their own culture. But, assimilation stands in dissimilarity with pluralism, which is the maintenance and perseverance of one’s own culture, language, traits, practices, art, etc. Second, symbolic interaction theories have two types of issues addressing it: one, the role of social interaction in reducing racial and ethnic hostility and second, how race and ethnicities are socially constructed. So, contact theory, which it was originated with the psychologist Gordon Allport, argues that Whites and other minorities groups will reduce racism, discrimination and prejudice with each other, but only through these three conditions. First, the contact must be between individuals of equal status and both parties must interact on equal grounds. Second, the contacts between equals must be sustained; short-term contact will not decrease racism, discrimination and prejudice. Lastly, social norms favoring equality must be agreed upon by the participants. The third theory, conflict theory is based on class conflicts, which are inherent and fundamental part of society. Also, theorists argue that class inequality must be reduced to lessen racial and ethnic conflict in society. The current â€Å"class versus race† controversy has caused concerns of whether class or race is more important in explain inequality and its consequences of whether they are of equal importance. Those focused on class conflict, such as sociologist William Julius Wilson, have argued that class and changes in the economic structure are sometimes more important than race in improving the life chances for different groups. On the other hand, some sociologists such as Bonilla-Silva and Feagin argue the opposite. They say that race has been and is relatively more important than class – in explaining and accounting for inequality and conflict in society and that directly addressing the question of race forthrightly is the only way to solve the country’s race problems. Also, another perspective called intersection perspective refers to the interactive or combined effects of racism, classism and gender in the coercion of individuals. This perspective notes that not only are the effects of gender and race intertwined, but also both are intertwined with the effects of class. So, this is the reason why class, along with race and gender, are integral components of social structure, according to intersection perspective. Lastly, there have been individuals in history that have formed groups and organizations in order to attain ethnical and racial equality. These groups help show everyone that no matter what race or ethnicity someone belongs to, if individuals are willing to fight for civil rights and privileges, then they can make a change in society, no matter what consequences are in store. First, the civil rights movement was based on the passive resistance philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr., learned from the philosophy of Satyagraha of the East Indian Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi (meaning â€Å"leader†). This helped African Americans and black people to fight against segregation through nonviolent techniques, such as sit-ins, marches and appealing to human conscience in calls for brotherhood, justice and equality. Even though African Americans and black people fought for racial justice and civil rights before this movement, this movement brought greater civil rights under the law to many groups: women, disabled people, and the aged. In 1955, African American mistress and NAACP secretary Rosa Parks made an impact in history when she bravely refused to relinquish her seat in the â€Å"White only† section of the Montgomery bus. In addition, most of the bus drivers were African American and thanks to the action of Rosa Parks, the famous Montgomery bus boycott, led by Martin Luther King Jr. initiated. Impetus was given to the civil rights movement and the boycott due to the unspeakable death of Emmett Till in 1954. He was a black teenager who was killed in Mississippi only for whistling at a white woman in a store. So, a group of white individuals rousted Till from his bed at the home of a relative and beat him until he was dead and unrecognizable. Then, they tied a heavy cotton gin fan around his neck and dumped him in a river. Later on, Till’s mother allowed a picture of his misshapen son so that society could contemplate the horrific event that occurred and no one was prosecuted for till’s murder. The next movement known as La Raza Unida Party (The Race Party) was established on January 17, 1970 in Crystal City, Texas by Jose Gutierrez and Mario Compean. It centered on Chicano nationalism and in the 1970s, it campaign for better housing, work and educational opportunities for Mexican–Americans. It was originated by the Workmen of the World and it expanded to other states, such as California and Colorado. However, the novice city council did not implement the parties’ goals due to political and economic attacks from Anglo business, landowners in surrounding counties and political and economic attacks from Democratic and Republican parties. Still, La Raza Unida Party was still active and ran candidates for governor of Texas, Ramsey Muniz in 1972 and Mario Compean in 1974. But in 1972, they ran a candidate in a very competitive US Senate race in Colorado, Secundion Salazar, who received 1. 4% of votes. During the late 1970s, the party changed tactics to a more community based, grassroots, where Revolutionary Nationalist formations were seeking the unity of all Chicanos, Latinos and Native Americans in the southwestern of the United States by the proponents of the views of the Party, but not by non Chicanos, Latinos and Native Americans. Lastly, the American Indian Movement is a Native American activist organization in the United States, founded in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, by urban Native Americans. It agenda focuses on spirituality, leadership and sovereignty and its members in 1968 are: Dennis Banks, George Mitchell, Herb Powless, Clyde Bellecourt, Harold Goodsky, Eddie Benton-Banai, and a number of others in Minneapolis’ Native American community. The group was formed to address various issues concerning the Native American urban community in Minneapolis, including poverty housing, treaty issues and police harassment. In the decades since its founding, the movement had led protests advocating indigenous American interest, inspired cultural renewal, monitored police activity and coordinated employment programs in cities and rural reservation communities across the United States. In conclusion do not judge a book by its cover. Each race and ethnic group brings new learning experience to our lives. Each culture allows us to grow as human beings and this is what makes America a great nation.