Scoliosis Research Paper

Karmin Extra Source Paper Scoliosis is a complex deformity or curvature of the spine and entire torso and has been recognized clinically for centuries (Asher, Marc A. ). â€Å"For a few of the patients an underlying cause can be determined, including congenital changes, secondary changes related to neuropathic or myopathic conditions, or later in life from degenerative spondylosis. However, the cause of most scoliosis is not known and since about 1922 such patients have been diagnosed as having idiopathic scoliosis (Asher, Marc A. ). Based on the observation of three distinct periods of climax, scoliosis has been sub-divided into three groups; infantile, before the age of 3; juvenile, age 5 to 8; and adolescent, age 10 until the end of growth. This categorization is now extensively used. â€Å"Eighty percent or more of idiopathic scoliosis is of the adolescent variety. As it is often not possible to determine the age of onset, age at presentation/detection is more accurate (Canaves e, Federico). † â€Å"The prevalence is very dependent on curve size cut-off point, decreasing from 4. 5% for curves of 6 degrees or more to only 0. 9% for curves of 21 ° or more. It is also very dependent on sex, being equal for curves of 6–10 ° but 5. 4 girls to 1 boy for curves of 21 ° or more (Asher, Marc A. ). † Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis can probably best be considered as a complex genetic trait disorder. There is often a positive family history but the pattern of inherited susceptibility is not clear. Current information suggests that there is genetic heterogeneity. This indicates that multiple potential factors are acting either dependently or independently in its pathogenesis (Asher, Marc A. ).Up to moderate deformities, recognized at a 40 degree curvature, bracing is the most common treatment. Brace treatment has been mainly simulated by directly applying external forces on the rib cage and on the lumbar spine. However, its ef? ciency in prev enting the progression of scoliotic deformities is still controversial and the biomechanics of brace treatment is still poorly understood. For instance, there is still no concurrence about the favorable design of a brace. The shape of the brace, the location of pads attached to the brace, and openings vary amongst orthotists (Clin, Julien).Nevertheless, brace treatment is favorable in comparison to no treatment at all. For example, the Scoliosis Research Society conducted a study in 1985 to scrutinize the correctness of the bracing treatment. â€Å"Patients of the same age, same curve pattern and severity were divided into two groups: one treated with bracing; and the other, untreated. Results published in 1993 demonstrated that brace treatment is effective compared to natural history (Canavese, Federico). † Studies conducted on the number of hours per day of brace-wearing show that the more hours per day the brace is worn, the better the result.The brace is usually prescribe d for fulltime wear with some time set aside for bathing, swimming, physical education and sport. The patient should be encouraged to be pursue sporting activities while continuing to wear the brace if possible. Contact sports are not allowed with the brace to protect other participants, as the brace can significantly injure another if contacted the right way. These activities generally represent an average of two to four hours a day to ensure that the brace is worn 21 to 23 hours daily (â€Å"Minimally Invasive†).Other treatments of scoliosis include surgical treatment to straighten the curve of the spine (Asher, Marc A. ). â€Å"Surgical treatment was initiated in 1914. When the results were evaluated in 1941 they were found to be poor. As a result of the untiring work of John Moe, Paul Harrington, and many others these results had considerably improved by 1962. Due to advances in surgery the number of scoliosis curves greater than 100 ° had dropped considerably by 1973. The indications for surgery as an adult are pain, appearance, and pulmonary problems, i. . shortness of breath. However, it is unusual for these symptoms to be severe enough to warrant surgery. In addition only those with surgery had pain management problems (Asher, Marc A. ). † Although there are some risks associated with surgery they have decreased substantially. Death is very unlikely but can occur, especially in patients operated as adults (Horn, Pamela). â€Å"Knowledge of the natural history of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has expanded greatly in the last two decades.It has become clear that only about one in ten curves progresses to the point that treatment with bracing is warranted, and only one in 25, or 0. 1%, to the point that surgery is warranted. Bracing appears to prevent about 20% to 40% of appropriately braced curves from progressing 6 ° or more. Surgery, consisting of instrumentation and arthrodesis has virtually eliminated large thoracic curves. Altho ugh most patients are satisfied with their results, follow-up at 20+ years shows significant, clinically relevant decrease in function and increase in pain compared to controls.Re-operation is required in 6 to 29%. And, a very few have pain management problems (Asher, Marc A. ). † Works Cited Asher, Marc A. , and Douglas C. Burton. â€Å"Scoliosis. †Ã‚  Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Natural History and Long Term Treatment Effects  1 (2006): 1-10. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Clin, Julien, Carl-Eric Aubin, Stefan Parent, and Hubert Labelle. â€Å"Biomechanical Modeling of Brace Treatment of Scoliosis. †Ã‚  Effects of Gravitational Loads  (2011): 743-53. International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering 2011, 02 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Sept. 2012. Canavese, Federico, and Andre Kaelin. â€Å"Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis: Indications and Efficacy of Nonoperative Treatment. † Indian Journal of Orthopaedics 45. 1 (2011): Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 3 Sept. 2012. â€Å"Minimally Invasive Scoliosis Surgery: An Innovative Technique In Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis. † Scoliosis (17487161) 6. 1 (2011): 16-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Sept. 2012. Horn, Pamela. â€Å"Scoliosis. † Clinician Reviews 22. 8 (2012): 16-22. Academic Search Complete. Web. 23 Sept. 2012.

Summary and Analysis of two EEOC laws

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is The United States Government enforcement mechanism for Federal legislation regarding discrimination in the workplace. Two recent Acts of Congress under the management of the EEOC have particularly wide-ranging effects and potential effects for the American people. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is considered a landmark Act and a platform for future legislation of its type. The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act 2008 is part of a continuing line of anti-discrimination legislation.Its full impact probably will not be seen for decades to come but its potential impact in closing a new avenue for discrimination is great. As Federal Acts these laws instantly have more impact than any pre-existing state laws. They set nationwide standards for businesses, labor unions and employment agencies. A business cannot relocate itself in a state where anti-discrimination laws are less strict or where enforcement is lax. Individuals can exp ect the same rights and protections nationwide, except in cases where certain industries have been granted exceptions for safety or national security reasons.Traditionally, the Federal government has been hesitant to regulate private business. In the case of discrimination it has made exceptions when it became clear that discrimination was either unconstitutional, hurting national productivity, or both. The Civil Rights Movement was a catalyst for much of the anti-discrimination legislation we regard as commonplace today. Background The social upheaval of the 1960s triggered substantial changes in American law. Those changes were mirrored in actions of the United States Congress and Judiciary.An increasing emphasis on the securing of individual rights for all Americans led to a series of new laws crafted especially to protect historically discriminated against minorities. Laws designed to even economic and societal playing fields for African-Americans and women were enacted in the 1 960s and 70s. In the 1980s and 90s new laws focused on the rights of the disabled. About the same time individual privacy concerns came to the forefront. In this scientific and technological age, personal information is more readily available than ever. Genetic information could be spread widely in the blink of an eye.This information could then be used in discriminatory ways. Researchers worry that a new spectrum of discrimination has been opened up based on a person's genetic potential to become ill. A perceived genetic black mark could effectively label a person in much the same way as minorities, women and the disabled have been labeled in the past. Three laws: The Civil Rights Act of 1964, The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) are part of a continuum of nondiscrimination laws designed to mitigate the effects of such labeling or prevent it all together.The latter two laws were essentially a product of the first. Th ose two laws will be analyzed here. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) This Act came about from a growing cultural realization that people with physical disabilities have every right to full participation in American society. In many cases their contributions are equal or greater than able-bodied citizens. Instead of being seen as an embarrassment or a drag on society, they should be seen as valuable assets that should be cultivated rather than wasted.Historically speaking, the disabled were not accommodated in this purpose. Instead they were excluded from employment and many of the other functions of the American society. This exclusion was often based on erroneous assumptions about the capabilities of disabled people, the reticence of others to accept them, etc. Framed in the legal context, the question was whether American society and government were systematically violating the constitutional rights of the disabled by not guaranteeing an equal playing field.Disabl ed individuals already have much to overcome. Allowing discrimination to make their lives all the more difficult was morally wrong and, eventually, unconstitutional as well. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 piggybacked upon the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and several other laws. It attempted to codify, in clear terms, the rights of the individual disabled citizen as well as the rights and responsibilities of various agencies, governmental organizations and private businesses dealing with the physically disabled. Purposes (ADA)The Congress of The United States has determined that â€Å"Census data, national polls, and other studies have documented that people with disabilities, as a group, occupy an inferior status in our society and are severely disadvantaged socially, vocationally and educationally† (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1990). Given those realities the potential impact of anti-discriminatory legislation is enormous. In some cases pr eventing discrimination is as simple as removing physical barriers. In other cases it requires a long-term attitude readjustment in opinions about the disabled and what they can or cannot do.Discrimination has also occurred because businesses have irrational fears about what it will cost them to have employees with disabilities. This Act is designed to clarify what businesses can and cannot do in regard to the disabled. In a clarified landscape businesses can effectively keep costs down. The subtitle of the act describes its purpose this way: â€Å"To establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability† (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1990).In its statement of Findings and Purposes the Congress concluded that disabled people have suffered unjust discrimination and needless denial of opportunity. This discrimination has effectively relegated the disabled to â€Å"second class citizen† status in the United States. Modern medicine and recognition of the accomplishments of disabled Americans has led to a shift in perspective. In the past, qualified students were excluded from education by outdated attitudes or because of something as simple as physical barriers. The same was true in employment.When disabled Americans were not plugged into these two critical facets of life, they would often end up excluded from society as a whole. In addition to being the â€Å"right thing to do†; this act is the result of a simple cost-benefit analysis. The cost of making attitude adjustments and simple accommodations pales in comparison to the potential societal benefits of having disabled people fully participating in society (Pickering, 2000). In addition to justifying the act based on evidence of past discrimination, the Congress also notes the financial toll of discrimination on the basis of disability.Individuals suffer the costs of not having an equal chance to make a living. Society then suffers as well because many become dependent on government and other aid when equal opportunity might have made this unnecessary. Thirdly, the nation loses the productivity that many disabled people are capable of. Provisions (ADA) This act regulates what companies may and may not consider in the hiring, firing and promotion of employees with disabilities. Disabled employees cannot be classified as such if it, in any way, unfairly hinders their chances of success at the corporation.The fact that the employee has a physical disability cannot be the deciding factor in whether or not an employee is hired or promoted, except under a very narrow set of criteria. Disabled employees are entitled to equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work. Reasonable accommodations must be made for the disabled employee wherever necessary. â€Å"Reasonable† is a term that is subject to ongoing interpretation. In some cases it can mean something simple as adding a wheelchair ramp or widening a bathroom door.In other cases it can mean an alteration in the job itself. Employers have some leeway in this area. Courts have ruled that when accommodations would cause a â€Å"disparate† hardship on the company it may be granted a waiver from the â€Å"reasonable accommodations† standard. During the application phase, the employer may not ask about disabilities except in the context of the applicant's ability to perform job-related tasks. If there is a pre-employment testing process the employer must make reasonable accommodations for each applicant to take the test.Medical tests can be done on a voluntary basis. The results can only be used for hiring/firing decisions when a clear inability to do the job is apparent. The employee also may not be coerced or retaliated against when requesting accommodations mandated under this act. This prohibition also applies to any employee or other individual who may have helped a disabled person exercise their rights. Notices of this act must be posted by emplo9yers agencies and labor unions in an easily accessible place for employees to read.Enforcement of the Act is handled by the Office of the Attorney General of the United States and The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Sub agencies like The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and others may become involved if a particular case warrants. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) By the turn of the twenty-first century a great deal of legislation aimed at securing the rights of minorities, women and the disabled had been enacted and had passed constitutional scrutiny. Meanwhile, a new technological age was emerging.The world was rapidly becoming more interconnected. The science of genetics was also experiencing explosive progress. A new and nearly infallible method of identifying specific people animals and plants was discovered and refined. Genetic testing of individuals has been around for a while. In recent years this testing has become more refined, more widely available and less expensive. This type of testing can identify genes or gene disorders that are associated with a wide array of health conditions. This does not mean that the person will get the condition; it only means that the potential is there.In 2008 Congress acted upon public worries that genetic testing and information could be used for discriminatory purposes. Employers might try to use genetic information for hiring, firing and promotion purposes. Insurers might also use that information for denial of coverage, rate changes or other purposes. In contrast with the ADA (1990), the Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 is an attempt to target potential discrimination before it becomes widespread. In addition to protecting the rights of individuals this Act is designed to create a friendlier environment for medical and scientific research.According to Hudson, Holohan and Collins, â€Å"Along with the benefits it provide s to individuals, the new law should have positive effects on the fields of clinical research and health care delivery† (2010). Purposes (GINA) The stated purpose of this Act is: â€Å"To prohibit discrimination on the basis of genetic information with respect to health insurance and employment† (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008). This is similar to the purpose stated in the ADA. Because of the nature of genetic science enforcement methods differ. Discrimination in this area can have wise-ranging effects.Hudson et al. Also believe that genetic discrimination has had a chilling effect on potential research subjects. â€Å"Fear of genetic discrimination has also put a damper on patients' willingness to consider genetic tests†¦ or to have the results of such tests included in their medical records† (Hudson, Holohan and Collins, 2010). After fourteen years of Congressional debate GINA was finally passed in 2008. During the time this Ac t was under consideration, a number of states enacted their own laws on genetic testing and the transfer and usage of genetic information.As the genetic science industry grew many of those laws have been repealed however. This triggered a renewed effort by the Congress to pass a set of uniform standards. In theory, genes are neutral indicators of human beings. In practice genetic information can be used for de facto discrimination against individuals. Provisions (GINA) In section 1 of the Act, The Employee Retirement Security Act of 1974 was amended to provide additional protection against genetic-based discrimination. Insurance companies may not set group premium rates based on disease potententiality identified through genetic testing.Insurers can take into consideration diseases that have already manifested themselves in the group population. Heath plans may not require genetic testing as a policy condition. Under a narrow set of circumstances they can request genetic testing if it can assist in clarifying the health situation of a certain individual. It cannot request or mandate testing of the entire group. A genetic test is defined as: â€Å"an analysis of human DNA, RNA, chromosomes, proteins or metabolites that detects genotypes, mutations or chromosomal changes† (United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 2008).Fines for noncompliance begin at $100 daily for each employee. For example, if ten employees were mandated or coerced into genetic testing as a condition of maintaining insurance coverage, the federal government would levy a $1000 fine to the insurer retroactive to the time the coercion began. For violations more serious than de minims, the fines are higher. Genetic information may not be used for eligibility, maintenance of policy or as a pre-existing condition. Employers must comply with many of the same restrictions on genetic testing.Hiring, promotion and firing decisions cannot be based on genetic information. Also the em ployer may not acquire or purchase genetic information about an employee without specific written permission. Even when permission is given all other restrictions still apply. Similar requirements also apply to employment agencies and labor organizations. One notable exception exists for labor organizations. If the purpose is to monitor the effects of toxins in the workplace, the collecting of genetic information may be allowable if certain requirements are met.The employees must be notified and provided with individual results; and the actions must be compliant with OSHA, the provisions of this Act and any other federal laws. Section 206 of this Act addresses confidentiality, an issue of growing concern for many Americans. The Act strengthens confidentiality standards set forth in state and federal legislation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). Under this Act remedies and enforcem ent vary according to the type of violation and which statute the employee is covered under.Analysis and Conclusion These are two Acts of Congress which may appear different on their face. They were enacted nearly twenty years apart. One targets a legacy of past behavior while the other is preventive in nature. One is based on very human issues while the other is concerned with the cutting-edge of science. Despite their differences, the two laws boil down to one issue of concern to every American – discrimination. These acts are part of a continuum not to create equality but to ensure equal opportunity. These laws are recognition of two of the greatest strengths of America.This nation grew from humble seeds by expanding opportunity, over time, to those would not have received it before. The contributions of those citizens then fueled America's rise to power. Secondly, the Acts are indicative of a nation's willingness to right its past wrongs. This has been done many times in the history of the nation. Making these changes is not always easy, but it is necessary for the continued growth of the country. The impact of The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 remains to be seen. It is very likely that as genetic science continues to grow the law will need to evolve.Its ability to do so will be the measure of its ultimate impact. It will be a challenge for the law to keep up. In 1995, there were about 300 genetic tests for diseases and conditions. Most of these tests were done in the context of scientific research and were not readily available to the public. Today over 1500 tests are available. They are much more widely accessible and cover a wide range of conditions from rare to commonplace. The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act puts the scientific community on notice by setting privacy and ethical standards and creating an enforcement apparatus.The safeguards in this Act may ultimately benefit science by making citizens more willing to participate in researc h. More importantly, it potentially closes doors to an entirely new and damaging form of discrimination. There are potential financial benefits as well. According to Hudson, Holohan and Collins â€Å"It will accelerate research†¦ and allow Americans to finally realize the benefits and health care savings offered by gene-based medicine† (2010). This act is an early step for preventing discrimination in a burgeoning field. It is not comprehensive though.The safety and reliably of genetic tests is one potential area for future regulation. Marketing of genetic testing services is another. When Congress considers regulatory acts of this nature there are many factors to take into consideration. It must consider effects and potential effects on a wide array of stakeholders. Preventing discrimination on one group without causing discrimination or undue hardship on another is a narrow line to walk. The ADA and GINA have made progress in preventing unjust and unnecessary discrimin ation.The ADA has brought a large population of people out of society's shadows. The Act will become all the more important as people can now live longer and be productive with disabilities. Our aging population also means that the law will impact an increasingly large group of people. The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act shares philosophical similarities with the ADA and The Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination, whether based on race, disability or genetic makeup is not true to the United States' Constitution. As a result of these laws individuals and society will benefit socially and economically.America itself will benefit by having the contributions of the citizens' affected. The nation benefits when the largest possible majority of its citizens enjoy the individual right to maximize potential. In a dynamic society, Congress will need to revisit and amend these laws in perpetuity in order to fulfill their true promise. References Hudson, Kathy, M. K. Holohan and Frances Collins . (2010). â€Å"Keeping Pace with the Times: The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008†. NEJM. Retrieved May 29 from: http://content. nejm. org/cgi/content/full/358/25/2661Pickering, Francis. (2000). Americans with Disabilities: exploring implications of the law for individuals and institutions. New York: Routledge. United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (2008). â€Å"The Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2008†. EEOC. Retrieved May 29, 2010 from: http://www. eeoc. gov/laws/statutes/gina. cfm United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). (1990). â€Å"Titles I and V of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990†. EEOC. Retrieved May 30, 2010 from: http://www. eeoc. gov/laws/statutes/ada. cfm

Baroque Agead

Tu se’ morta is a piece sung by Orpheus accompanied by a basso continuo after he is told of Eurydice’s death. Orpheus wants to bring her back from Hell as he offers a distressed goodbye to the earth, sky and sun. The style of singing is simple and intended to bring a dramatic delivery to the audience. The vocal line is rhythmically free and the phrases are more irregular. The song is flexible because it is suggesting a sad and passionate farewell to the person he loves. To express this farewell, the song reaches the climax several different times and then drops away.Dido’s Lament is also accompanied by a basso continuo and has a mournful setting as well. The song opens with a descending chromatic line, the ground bass, which is repeated eleven different times throughout the piece. Dido repeats â€Å"Remember Me† several times as well also reaches the highest note of the aria. The dynamics were constant and not notated and the tempi were slow and constant. The woman who sang the song portrays a haunting and sorrowful mood for the listener. The song comes to a conclusion with a descending violin melody which expresses the tragedy.There are several similarities in these pieces. One of the main similarities is that both songs give the listener a haunting, sorrowful, distressed and sad feeling. Although one song is expressing the sorrow of a loved one’s death and the other is expressing the tragedy of one’s fate; they both put off a sad vibe. They both at one point or another reach a climax and then drop, which keeps the listener entertained and interested in the song. Tu se’ morta and Dido’s Lament are both accompanied by a basso continuo.Last but not least, the texture of both of these pieces is homophonic. The main difference, in my opinion, is how different they sound from one another because one is sung by a female and the other by a male. The deep, powerful voice of Orpheus as he sung Tu se’ morta compared to the high, thrill voice of the female who sung Dido’s Lament puts a whole new outlook on the songs. Even though both songs give a haunting feeling to the listener just the fact that one is a female and the other is male changed the mood slightly.In my opinion, it is hard to point out many differences. All in all, both pieces were interesting. The intensity of both Tu Se’ Morta and Dido’s Lament were compelling and put the listener in the exact mood that they were portraying. Haunting, sorrowful, sad and depressed was the mood I felt after listening to both. Personally, Dido’s Lament was my favorite out of the two. Her chromatic notes which created tension and stress kept the song fascinating and the want to hear more. In conclusion, both pieces were wonderful, but Dido’ Lament was absolutely amazing to the ears!

The Importance of Warming Up Prior To Playing Golf Essay - 1

The Importance of Warming Up Prior To Playing Golf - Essay Example When observing the game of golf one has to wonder what preparation and strategy take place prior to one actually stepping onto the course to play. To the eye of an observer, golfers tend to appear to approach the sport with a calm aloofness and confidence. Even with this restrained countenance, there is certainly a set of masterful skills at work as well as preparation to take on a game that requires an inordinate amount of focus for success. Strategic preparation and pre-game warm up contribute to this confidence. Though the game of golf appears a relaxed and laid back sport it also in its own right can be intense, requiring great focus, physical endurance, and excellent visualization skills. So it is one must know what to do to prepare physically to garner this focus and perform at peak performance on the course while avoiding injury.Warming up prior to a game of golf not only enhances flexibility, it prevents injury and improves one's’ game. By warming up ones’ body otherwise tight muscles are stretched and lengthened decreasing the chance of pulling and straining while allowing for optimum performance during ones’ swing. In today’s society, golfers range in ages from teens up to seniors. Certainly, as we age our flexibility decreases and our bone structure changes creating greater challenges physically. Age does not necessarily have to be a detriment to one’s game. It is the approach and preparation that must change. One must treat the body as a finely tuned instrument.

Business skills - Interpretation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business skills - Interpretation - Essay Example The United States segment is the least contributor to the company’s profits as its best performance is operation at break even point (Mowen, Hansen, & Heitger 2015, p. 122). All of the segments, however, reported volatile trends that also declined over the period. The following chart shows average profit contribution of all the segments over the considered years. The UK contributed an average of 61 percent of the company’s profits over the years and can be projected to continue being the main source of profits in the short run while The United States operates under losses and is likely to continue in the trend. The UK is the significant revenue generating segment and this explains its profit significance. In addition, revenues from the UK has the same trend as that of total revenue and this means that it is core to the company’s income. The trend in revenue is also less volatile and increasing, and an indicator of sustainable growth. The difference shows that expenses that the group incurs in its activities are more volatile than are revenues because profit is a factor of expenses (Porter & Norton 2012, p. 70). The existence of the UK as the source of revenue and the trend that suggest profitability in the other segments also means that the company can expand its operations in the UK and in the other segments, as an optimization strategy. The United States, unlike other segments, however, is not promising to the group as the following chart shows for average revenues.

Essay Interview Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Interview - Essay Example Although my country also provides good educational opportunities, yet they cannot be compared to Canadian standard of education. I believe in high-end quality in education. I believe in seeking that kind of education and degree that is recognized worldwide. My own homeland also has many reputable universities that are recognized around the globe, but my dream was to seek education in Canada since I was a little child. I can find highly flexible learning opportunities in Canada. There is a wide variety of courses available there. Although I may sound like demeaning the education of my own homeland, but the truth is that I am a very patriotic person; yet, I cannot compromise on sensitive issues like education. I had to choose what was best for me, and therefore, I chose Canada. Among many other choices which I was considering about immigration for the purpose of education, I found Canada to be a country which provides protection to its citizens much more than any other country. We can call it a safe country. I feel comfortable in any part of the country without the threat of terrorism or violence. People are guaranteed protection even in bigger cities like Ottawa and Toronto. I do not feel as if I am being neglected because I am not in my own homeland. There is Canadian social help system which does not make me feel unaccompanied when I am facing difficulties settling down. There are a lot of government sponsored programs and courses that I can seek help from in my hard times. For example, if I lose my job, I shall be supported through a government funded program to back up my finances until I find a new job. Another important point that I considered was that Canada is one of the developed countries whose economical infrastructure is very strong. I can be sure to find a suitable paying job in this country. Most of the jobs are well

Funding Cuts on District Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Funding Cuts on District Schools - Essay Example To ensure that each child is catered for including the disabled and special needs children, district education boards assisted by the federal governments have over the time funded these schools. The district education board also recognizes that aspects of growth in a child are related; which means that the emotional, physical, social and intellectual needs in a child have to be catered for (Farguhar & Fitzsimons, 2007). This has forced the district boards to use massive budgets in employing different types of teachers and other instructors in the different fields to ensure a smooth growth in children under district schools. These areas of child growth make the idea of having several early childhood instructors an important undertaking in all district schools. However, currently, with the economic crisis in federal governments and the overall spending cuts by the central governments, there has been a crisis where the budges under the district schools required to runt these operations have been subjected to massive cuts and strict control in funding of these schools. This has been viewed by many as lack of a strong grip by the federal government on the education system, while others have feared that such massive cuts will affect the quality education for all children in these schools. However, considering the alternative approaches that district schools can apply to balance the effects of budget cuts, these budget cuts would not affect the quality of education in these schools. In most cases, schools are faced with serious budgetary constraints in their performance, which has been explained by many to affect the learning quality especially in early childhood education, where special care has to be taken in offering the children quality care that attributes directly to their growth.

Economics (Asian Development) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Economics (Asian Development) - Essay Example The planning mind set is in turn linked to previously discredited theories. Such as that poverty is due to a poverty trap which can only be alleviated by a large inflow of aid from rich country to poor countries. The aid inflow is of course administered by this same planning apparatus. This is a bad news for worlds poor as historically poverty has been ended by central planners. It is only ended by searches both economical and political who explore solution by trial and error. Have a way to get feedback on the ones that work and then expand all of these in an unplanned spontaneous way. Examples of searches are firms in private market and democratically Of course there are hard questions about directions of casualty and exactly which attributes of political and economic freedom are most crucial for development. However to deal with the 1st problem. Since researchers know a little bit about the determinants of bad govt studies can explore whether bad govt causes poverty. The research is less successful at identifying which aspect of bad govt matters such as democracy versus corruption vs. economic freedom. Different dimensions of good govt tend to come together in packages, so it is hard to tell which is causing economic development. This last issue is much harder to resolve but the correlation are at least supportive of strong theoretical priors that democratic and market accountability go with economic success not to mention the vast historical and case study literature that supports this conclusion. The variance of outcome is much higher at low levels of political and economic freedom than at high levels. For countries with nearly complete freedom all of them are rich within a narrow range. For countries with intermediate level of freedom there is a vast range of development outcomes. A few years ago what most people had in mind when they thought of India was land of tigers, the land of taj mahal and a land of

Ethics paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ethics paper - Essay Example Thus, considering working in a highly collaborative team as well as peer review is strongly recommended as it helps in protecting the data from potential falsification. Researchers must rationalize each step in their study and provide reasonable answers to questions when needed. Being open to discuss any concerns and issue that are addressed by activist side by side, will avoid halting the study (Bennett, 2010). The main objective of a research is to comprehend the unique contributions of each member of the team from the word go, effective communication, and the willingness to share any findings or an idea with the other team members. This helps in avoiding conflicts of interest and consequently study failure. Researchers should keep in mind all the research ethics so as to ensure a smooth and successful study. First, any respondent should be free to accept or decline to participate in a research question. Soliciting respondents with gifts such as money so as to participate in the research is also unethical. A non-voluntary consent such as, giving the participants money to enroll them in the study is unethical and considered as coercive (Moodly, 2007). Where the information might be sensitive, respondents views should be confidential, and anonymity can be another

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

Professional Journal Paper - Essay Example During the course of reading of the article, it seems that in spite of comprehensive review of literature; the author failed to provide a proper framework of study. The article missed the quality of coherence. The author discussed the patterns of crimes in logical manners. He, even, did not ignore the nature of crimes in different states of the United States. In his opinion, these crimes can be rooted out from the society after the elimination of the causes of the crimes. However, he did not discuss reasons in proper context. For example, he considers the increasing cases of theft as the natural consequence of ‘split families’, but he ignored the view of biologists who traced the roots of theft in human genes. The author conducted a survey to ascertain the problems of judicial system. Open ended questions have been included in the questionnaire of the survey which enhanced the scope of the research. The respondents of the questions are mainly adolescents, which raised a figure at the credibility of the research as mature opinion is missing in the research. The writer explained the social phenomenon of crimes in good context. He traced the roots of crimes in the social problems of the society. For example, commenting upon the recent mass shooting incident at a college of New York, he blamed stress and depression of the teen agers as the major cause and stressed upon the need of the promotion of more recreational activities to develop competition among teen agers. While analyzing, he ignored the efforts of the rehabilitation department and analyze the incident superficially. The suggestions for the overhauling of the criminal justice system can be declared as old wine in new bottle. (Sameul 1977) However, the article carries new information for the practicing lawyers. They can use this angle of information for the benefits of their clients. He discussed the various clauses and articles of the constitution in different contexts thus contributed to the

The Cuban Missile Crisis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

The Cuban Missile Crisis - Research Paper Example This contest had been going on since the conclusion of World War II in 1945 (The Belfer Center, 2012). This variable game of â€Å"one- upsmanship† continued, resulting in the Soviet government successfully launching Sputnik into space and being the first to put a man into orbit. This outcome terrified Americans. They feared that the Soviets had gained the advantage in technological advancements and that the Russians were winning the Cold War. This only heightened the United States’, nearly, universal fears concerning communism (Thompson, 2010). Tensions were already high when John F. Kennedy came to the office of President of the United States in 1961 and would soon find himself in a crucial position while nuclear war hung in the preverbal balance. In early October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane was able to capture photographs showing a potential Soviet missile base on the island of Cuba. To date, there had been no known military installations in this rather remote an d sparsely populated area – an area where the Cuban citizens had been evacuated and the area labeled â€Å"restricted† (Yale Law School, 2008). The President opted to keep this knowledge quiet while he conferred with his select group of advisors, who would be called ExComm, the Executive Committee. The decision made was to place a blockade of ships, ringing the Cuban island, which would prevent the Soviets from reaching their military site. This â€Å"quarantine† came with the demands for the removal of the missiles and the destruction of the base. This did not happen immediately. In fact, the Soviets had been working very hard to keep the location of the Cuban base a secret, even from its own lower-ranking officers. The secret project had been titled ANADYR, which also happened to be the name of a river near the Bering Sea where a known Soviet bomber base was located. Even after the pictures were presented, they continued a volley of denials and misinformation, which is referred to as â€Å"disingenuous diplomacy† (Hansen, 2008). The President then alerted the American people, in a public broadcast, detailing the presence of the missile site in Cuba, the blockade that had been implemented, and that, as of that moment, no resolution had been reached (John F. Kennedy, 2012).

The Pythagorean Theorem Essay Example for Free

The Pythagorean Theorem Essay In the world of mathematics, the Pythagorean Theorem is one of the most popular theorems and is widely applied in many problems and applications because of its basic and simple concept. It is a relation in Euclidean geometry relating the three sides of a right triangle. The theorem is named after the Greek mathematician and philosopher, Pythagoras, who lived in the 6th century B.  C.   It is one of the earliest theorems known since the ancient civilizations. The Pythagorean Theorem states that: â€Å"In any right angle triangle, the area of the square   of   the side opposite the right angle i. e. whose side is the hypotenuse   is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares of the two sides that meet at a right angle i.e. whose sides are the two legs.† In other words, â€Å"The square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.† Consider a right triangle ∆ABC with right angle at A. BAC = 90 degrees Then, the square drawn on BC opposite the right angle is equal to the two squares together on BA and AC. Thus,   the sides of a right triangle are related by the squares drawn on them. The Pythagorean Theorem is a statement about triangles containing a right angle. It states that: The area of the square built upon the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares upon the remaining sides.          Illustratation by numbers Let the sides of the right angle triangle be 3, 4, and 5.    Then the square drawn on the side opposite the right angle is 25, which is equal to the squares on the sides that make the right angle:   9 + 16. The side opposite the right angle is called the hypotenuse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus the theorem can be expressed as the equation: 32 + 42  Ã‚   = 52. This proves the earlier statement which is â€Å"The square on the hypotenuse is equal to the sum of the squares on the other two sides.†    Proofs    This is a theorem that may have more known proofs than any other. Consider a right triangle with sides a, b, and c as hypotenuse.                         Let a, b, and c arrange four of those triangles to form a square whose side is a  +  b as shown above in Fig.  1. Now, the area of that square is equal to the sum of the four triangles, plus the interior square whose side is c. Two of those triangles taken together, however, are equal to a rectangle whose sides are a, b.   The area of such a rectangle is a times b:   ab.   Therefore the four triangles together are equal to two such rectangles.   Their area is 2ab. As for the square whose side is c, its area is simply c ².   Therefore, the area of the entire square is c ² + 2ab   .   .   .   .   .   .  (1) At the same time, an equal square with side a + b (Fig. 2) is made up of a square whose side is a, a square whose side is b, and two rectangles whose sides are a, b.   Therefore the area of that square is a ² + b ² + 2ab But this is equal to the square formed by the triangles, line  (1): a ² + b ² + 2ab = c ² + 2ab. Therefore, on subtracting the two rectangles 2ab from each square, we are left with a ² + b ² = c ². This is the Pythagorean Theorem Works Cited Bell, John L. The Art of the Intelligible: An Elementary Survey of Mathematics in its Conceptual Development. USA: Kluwer, 1999. Dunham, W. Euclids Proof of the Pythagorean Theorem. Journey through Genius: The Great Theorems of Mathematics. New York: Wiley, 1990. Maor, Eli. The Pythagorean Theorem: A 4,000-Year History. Princeton. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2007. Morris, Stephanie J. â€Å"The Pythagorean Theorem.† 2008. The University of Georgia Department of Mathematics Education.   1 May 2008 http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/emt669/Student.Folders/Morris.Stephanie/EMT.669/Essay.1/Pythagorean.html. Spector, Lawrence. â€Å"The Pythagorean Thoerem.† The Math Page. 2008. 30 April 2008 http:// www.themathpage.com/aTrig/pythagorean-theorem.htm. Weisstein, Eric W. â€Å"Pythagorean Theorem.† MathWorld. 1 May 2008. Wolfram Web Resource. 3 May 2008 http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Pythagorean Theorem.html.

Masculine And Feminine Roles In Relationships

Masculine And Feminine Roles In Relationships The transformation of masculine and feminine roles overtime is due to society, genetics, and families. Gender roles stand for the attitudes, behaviours, values, that cultures define as proper for males and females. A change in masculine and feminine roles has altered the perception of relationships in the 21st century. Masculinity and femininity determine the quality of relationships. According to Thornton, Axinn, and Xie the change of perception in gender roles in relationships is due factors such as the level of education, lifetime earnings, religious beliefs, and family history. Thornton, Axinn, and Xie observe that there are emerging cases where couples prefer cohabitation to legalised marriages based on their personal experiences, circumstances attitudes and family history (Thornton, Axinn, and Xie 36). Masculinity and femininity are socially determined components of gender. They define behaviours and characteristics observable in either male or female beings. Many times masculi nity is associated with maleness while femininity is associated with femaleness Masculinity and femininity being a component of gender is a complex issue. According to Lippa, the concepts surrounding the subject of masculinity and femininity transform over time. Some of the factors responsible for these changes include family influences, biological influences, social influences, cultural influences, peer influences and individual feelings and influences. There is proving that parental socialization of boys and girls in interaction with biological predispositions defines how boys and girls interact with their peers. These interactions determine the femininity or masculinity characteristics that children adopt during their development (Lippa 187). There has been a transformation in the social perceptions of what it means to be feminine. Traditionally femininity entails being nice, submissive, unengaged and reliance. Masculinity and femininity determine the interaction among peers. Masculinity and femininity has also been associated with personal interest. Accordin g to psychologists individuals who exhibit masculine characteristics tend to show interest in mechanical and scientific subjects whereas individuals exhibiting feminine characteristics enjoy cultural and art related subjects (Lippa 44). Lippa argued that there are arguments that femininity is considered good for men and masculinity is considered good for women. This concept stands to explain the evolving nature of masculinity and femininity into instrumental traits and expressive traits. Instrumental traits include independence, dominance, assertiveness, and leadership abilities whereas expressive traits include sympathy, warmth, sensitivity and compassion. The instrumental traits define masculinity whereas the expressive traits define femininity. The instrumental traits explain why there are women who take up huge roles like taking care of the family, pursuing competitive such as managerial positions and politics. Individuals with expressive traits are considered feminine (Lippa 45). Men who possess expressive traits tend conform to feminine roles. Men who possess expressive traits taking up careers that are considered feminine such as nursing, teaching, and art related careers. Men with expressive traits have no p roblem raising taking care of the family while their women work to provide for the family. Roughgarden states that culture and society are responsible for imposing on individuals the appropriate way of expressing their sexual identity. According to Roughgarden masculinity and femininity defines appearance, and behaviour humans. Roughgarden states that masculinity and femininity determines how an organism carious out a sexual role. Biologically masculinity and femininity differentiates the the characteristics possessed by males and females. However, Roughgarden points out the cross gender manifestation and behaviour is acceptable (Roughgarden 28). Roughgarden states that masculinity defines the physical appearance of male species as well as their behaviours. Roughgardens idea of cross gender manifestation suggests that if a female possesses male characteristics it is acceptable to refer to her as a masculine female. On the other hand, if a male possesses feminine characteristics it is acceptable to refer to him as a feminine male. The idea of cross-gender challenges the bio logical definition of gender based on male and female gametes (29). Bennetts looks at feminism in the traditional marriages where the role of a woman in the relationship was child rearing and taking care of household duties. The man on the other hand provided for the financial needs in the family. According to Bennetts, giving up ones career ambitions for motherhood is a feminine mistake. Bennetts explains that economic dependency is bound to hurt or destroy the relationship (Bennetts132). Bennetts explains that relationships suffer immeasurably in the event of a divorce, a spouses retrenchment, illness, or widowhood especially when one party was dependent on another. It is evident that there is an evolving social phenomenon of masculine and feminine roles in relationships. The transformation disregards the traditional concepts of gender roles and adopts an egalitarian structure to explain masculine and feminine roles in modern relationships. Roughgarden considers the responsibility of masculinity and femininity in facilitating gender sex roles. Roughgarden mention that social selection theory explains the success of sexual interaction among and between sexes. Roughgarden states that an effective social interaction depends on sexual play among or between sexes. According to Roughgarden behaviours such as promiscuity, cheating, competition, are all part of social selection. It is evident that cases of separation, divorce form part of social selection. Lippa explains that parents serve as role models to their children. According to Thornton, Axinn, and Xie children tend to marry early if their parents married early. It is evident that children cohabit if their parents at some point did cohabit (Thornton, Axinn and Xie 55). These observations point out the transformation of the western marriage. The rise in divorce cases, acceptance sexual minority group all point to the transformation in the society that explain the change in masculine and feminine roles in relationships. For example, the divorce cases result in a rise of single parent family structures where we have a single mother who takes up the feminine as well as the masculine role in the family. The woman becomes a caregiver, decision maker and financial provider in the family. On the other hand, if we have the father taking up the full custody of the children the father assumes a feminine role of being the caregiver, nurturer and at the same time, he retains his masculine r ole. Cultural models in the 21st century are transforming and homosexuality has gained acceptance in different societies. The gay, Lesbian, bisexual and transgender groups have societal support as well as federal protection that protects them from any form of harm. Desjardins considers same-sex marriage in the United States. According to Desjardins, the acceptance of same-sex marriage in the United States is evident from the wide support the issue has received from the public and politic figures. Desjardin states that there are states, for example, Maine where sex marriage is constitutionally accepted (Desjardins Snowe supports same-sex marriage). Lippa explains that the traditionally the feminine role in relationships involves the nurturing activities. Lippa considers masculine and feminine roles in homosexual relationships. According to Lippa, research shows that gay men exhibit feminine characteristics than heterosexual men. On the other hand, it is evident that lesbian women show masc uline characteristics when compared to heterosexual women (Lippa 41). According to Lippa, parents and the society are responsible for teaching children on gender roles and behaviours. Goldberg, Smith and Maureen state that same-sex marriages tend to shift the perception of masculine and feminine roles in relationships. According to Roughgarden, the existence of same sex relationships deviates from cultural conformation of gender relationships. However, Roughgarden mentions over 300 cases homosexual behaviours existent among animals. Roughgarden explains that competition in the animal kingdom explains the rise in cases of homosexual characteristics. It is due o such finding that we note that society has widened its definition of sexual orientation. According to Roughgarden the western society, acknowledge bisexualism, homosexuality and transgendering as normal sexual orientation. The acknowledgement of other forms of sexual orientation has led to the redefinition of masculine and feminine role in relationships. In some cases, men take up feminine roles and women take up masculine roles. In same sex marriages, adopting children to raise a family is a way of experien cing a normal life (Goldberg, Smith and Maureen 814). Research studies indicate that gay, lesbian; transgender, and bisexual parents adopt children to experience normal relationships like heterosexual families. Studies also show the same sex parents, for example, gay fathers exhibit better nurturing qualities than heterosexual fathers do. The same sex marriages provide good example of egalitarian family structures. Goldberg, Smith, and Maureen explains that same sex parents value equality and both parents work together, share responsibilities for the benefit of the family (Goldberg, Smith and Maureen 815). Lippa explains that there are women who take up masculine roles in modern relationships, for example, the case of single mothers, widowed women, lesbian and transgender relationships. In other cases, involving heterosexuals, lesbians, gay, transgender, and bisexuals egalitarianism plays a significant role in the definition of the masculine and feminine roles in the relationship. In such an arrangement, there is an equitable division of roles involving house chores, child rearing and income generation. Children learn marriage, social, and education values from their parents. Thornton, Axinn and Xie explain that studies confirm children learn and adopt values from the family, school and society (Thornton, Axinn, and Xie105). Children who grow up in a family where parents adopt egalitarianism as a means of raising their families will end up raising their families in the same structure. Bennetts explains that children who have both their parents working benefit from having a secured future in terms of finance and career (Bennetts 98). Bennetts criticises the decision of professional women to give up their careers for their traditional roles as nurturers, home keepers. According to Bennetts, women who give up their careers for the family end up suffering. On the other hand making a career come back is a greater challenge they face later in their lives (Bennetts 102). Traditional marriage set-ups required women to submit to their husbands wishes. However, this has changed with the empowerment of women society now produces women who have a better education, women who compete with men for top paying positions, and women participating in influential activities such as politics. Feminine roles change when women decide to pursue their career. Studies show that women who pursue careers have less time for relationships and families. Those who manage to raise families struggl e to balance their careers and being there for the family (Bennetts 125). Although the family benefits from financial security, the mother faces health complications resulting from stress especially if her husband is unsupportive in the provision of primary care giving. Research shows that women who take up masculine roles like providing for their families influence their family structures. Women who dedicate their time to build on their careers influence the size of their families. Bennet states that it is impossible for a woman to take care of a large family and at the same time pursue a successful career. According to Bennetts, women opt to sacrifice their careers to raise a family (Bennet 32). On the other hand, the role of fathers in the modern families has changed. The masculine role of aggressiveness has evolved to a compassionate and nurturing role. This is evident especially in same sex marriages involving gay adopting parents. In modern families, fathers desire to spend more time with their families. There is the evidence where fathers alter their work schedules to make them flexible in order to create time for their families. Another example of a change in masculine role is depicted in the media where we get examples of male resistance to job relocations this is to avoid separation of fathers from their families. It is common to families where the mother is the breadwinner and the father takes up the role of taking care of the home and rearing the children. Roughgarden offers a different perspective on the matter of family size form an evolutionary standpoint. According to Roughgarden, the female determines the family size depending on the parental investment she expects to provide. In this case, the female does not consider the male investment. This view deviates for the traditional view where a controlling male determined the family size. Roughgarden explains that a cooperative solution provides a reasonable means of determining family size (Roughgarden 119). A cooperative solution seeks to establish mutual trust among individuals in relations rather that display the masculine qualities of the controlling male. Modern families determine family sizes depending on a mutual understanding between the persons in the relationship. The mutual understanding evident in determination of family size proves the change in masculine and feminine roles in relationships. When women take up their positions in the work force, their children suffer. The masculine and feminine role of imparting social qualities upon their children is interrupted. It is important for women to perform their role of providing continuous affection and nurturing children at their early stage of development (Lippa 124). However, the womens fight for equality has rather reversed this role. Children in modern families tend to be left in the care of baby sitters. Lippa explains that parental rearing is important for children to understand socialisation and the differences regarding masculinity and femininity (Lippa 124). The absence of parents during the initial stages of socialisation the children can suffer from mental distress. Since 2010, there has been a rise of mens right movements in regions around Europe and the United States. These movements seek to advocate for the rights of fathers, and support the changing masculine roles in relationships. According to research studies, the women have outnumbered men in high paying jobs; it is evident that in the modern family set ups a large number of men are taking up the feminine roles. Women in modern relationships have become assertive and a significant number of men exhibit feminine characteristics. Goldberg, Smith, and Maureen mention cases of transgender who struggle to express their identity. Transgender male or female who get into marital relationships without confirming their identity suffer from the stress of struggling to lead a normal life in their secretive life. Disclosing ones identity enables once to take up the roles that conform to their identity (820). It is impossible to ignore the societal transformations that play a big role in transforming relationships. The concept that same sexuality destroys a couples role in breeding it is evident that same sex sexual orientation promotes friendship. Although sociologist consider homosexuality as a complex social behaviour they view that homosexuality, heterosexuality, transgendering and bisexuality represent diverse forms of human interaction. The modern family set ups provides a perfect example of the changing masculine and feminine roles. However, it is important to note that the masculine and feminine roles both play a significant role in the growth and development of children. Therefore, even with the changing roles it is important for families to maintain their roles as role models for their children. This prevents cases of mental instability that may arise when parents priorities their careers instead of their childrens needs. Goldberg, Smith and Maureen mention some positive parenti ng qualities that GLTB exhibit society can embrace this and learn on how to merge their masculine and feminine roles to benefit the family.

Engaging Employees In Organizational Change Management Essay

Engaging Employees In Organizational Change Management Essay Let it sink in: Rosenberg (1993) states that people need time to adapt to the idea of change. It is best to announce the change management plans much before the actual implementation begins rather than springing up the announcement as soon as the actual transition is about to take place; in most cases it has been noted that individuals were unhappy with the rapidity at which the change management course was employed rather than the idea of change itself. If for example a company plans to layoff 20% of its staff by the end of the week; no prior announcement of this action might result in severe chaos, anger and frustration by the employees who would have to deal with the situation there and then which could result in severe emotional and mental trauma. Teach the staff well: People are usually comfortable with the familiar and suspicious of the unfamiliar. For this purpose individuals might resist changing over to a new system or procedure of doing things simply because they are afraid of making mistakes and would prefer to work according to the tried and tested procedures. Management here needs to ensure that individuals are encouraged to experiment under the new system and are allowed to learn from their mistakes rather than being reprimanded for their behavior. Relinquish some control: Rosenberg (1993) has mentioned time and again in her article that to bring about an effective change, it is necessary to give autonomy to individuals so that they feel that they are also in control and play an integral role in the course of managing change. Again resistance is not necessarily to the change itself; rather than the way the change was implemented. A good manager would always involve his employees in the change management process to garner their full assurance and support to the change being implemented. Communication is the key: This is a very important aspect as employees want to be constantly kept in the loop regarding what changes are taking place in the organization. Both the employees and their managers have to keep an fluent mode of conversation so that the queries and grievances of the employees can be addressed by the managers and the managers are also aware of the strategies they would have to use in order to compel their workforce to remain committed to the cause. If managers want to successfully overcome resistance to change then these are some of the few viewpoints they have to keep into consideration when being involved in a change management process. Kimberling (2006) has suggested four simple steps for overcoming resistance. For todays management one of the growing challenges is overcoming employees resistance to change. It is widely assumed that people dislike change. There are some ways of overcoming employees resistance to change as given below: Identify change agents early in the project/program Train, train, train Involve employees in the change enabling process Over-communicate According to Brown Cregan (2008), Cynicism tells regarding employees opinion of their organizations management and it is derivative of employees familiarity with the environment, it may require considerable efforts by management to trim it down. Engaging employees is one of the ways of managing Organizational Change Cynicism (OCC). Sharing information has been considered as the approach is suitable top-down form of engaging employees which has important and negative association with OCC. It is believed that information passed down by the management is based on employee accepting of management decisions and thus reducing level of OCC. Taking inputs from employees validates that employees and employers have differing interests in the employment relationship. Delegating the role of decision making reflects shift in the form of employment terms. Managers and employees work in a cooperative environment where solutions/ decisions may emanate from either side and no more managers are the only authority holders. Engaging employees in decision making reduces levels of OCC. This helps employees in understanding the fall out of managerial decisions as nothing comes to them as a surprise this undermines the potential of cynicism to develop. This point of view is further supported by other researchers who state that constant communication and employee involvement is the key to a successful change management process. Communicating decisions justifies change, improves sense of employee effectiveness, and makes clear the changes to employee responsibilities (Young and Post, 1993). Besides, it provides employees information on how the intervention will happen and its fall out and hence allowing them greater control over the process of change. Successful Change: Paying Attention to the Intangibles Adams (2003) asserts that though bringing about any sort of change is a challenging and daunting task, confrontation to change can be combated and an organization can make the transition to a new environment successfully. Adams (2003) further states that while there would be approximately 10-15% of an organizations employees who would be resisting change; there would also be another 10-15% who would be supportive of the change. Organizations who have implemented the change management program successfully in their vicinity have done so by involving these proponents of the change management program from the beginning stages in order to garner their full support. This does not mean that these organizations did not face any sort of resistance; resistance to change was there just like any other change management program but it was dealt with in a smart manner so that the hostile and negative feelings of the employees did not take over the entire process. The basic factors that have been identified by Adams (2003) for successful change implementation are: accepting the need for change, faith that change is both favorable and probable, enough fervent assurance, explicit deliverable goals and a clear starting strategy, structures or mechanisms that require a repetition of the new pattern, feeling supported and safe, patience and perseverance, clear accountability, the responsibility of others in the organization (not just change agents) and rewarding of new behavior. All of these factors combined have worked together in bringing about a successful change program in various organizations that applied these theories or factors either entirely or used combinations that supported their organization structure. The basic premise of bringing about a successful change program has been that it is possible to overcome resistance if a clear strategy if firstly identified and secondly people are managed in such a way so as to develop feelings of en thusiasm and commitment towards the process of change. It is how these intangible factors of change are managed that determines the successful implementation of any change management program in the world. Simultaneously, with fast pace of change organizations are currently experiencing, there is parallel increasing interest in the role of organizational trust within these processes. (Mayer et al., 1995). Lower level of trust in organization will make change look doubtful and upsetting. Change agents need to take a closer look at trust and control factors in order to comprehend better how a constructive association among employees and employers can be continued. Triumphant organizational change can take place if employees stick to the processes sketched by organizational leaders. Non-acceptance or refusing attitude towards change may harm the relation between individual and organization (Ferguson Cheyne, 1995). On the other hand, control is seen as a regulatory process by which the basics of a system are made more foreseeable by making standards in the pursuit of some preferred goals or state (Leifer Mills, 1996, 117). This means that when employees have a high sense of control over a change intervention, it means they predict the result associated to it, hence they feel comfortable increasing the probability of sticking to the change. Some authors have treated trust and control as substitutes (e.g. Inkpen Currall, 1997; Leifer Mills, 1996), such that the more trust there is in a partner, the less need to control its behavior. A different approach is presented by Das Teng (1998) which state that these parallel phenomena hold a supplementary character. According to them, If employees perceptions of control over change represent how comfortable and familiarized employees are concerning the change, what is the impact of lower or higher control in the relationship between employees and organizational agents? Although the stronger is employees trust in their supervisor, the more committed these employees are to their organization, we believe trust has differential effects on work outcomes depending on how employees perceive change (i.e. how much they feel they control the change process). For this purpose Das Teng (1998) explain the concept of organizational change interventions. Organizational change interventions are situations in which both perceptions of trust in the supervisor and control over change are high stake factors because of the risks entailed in them. A situation in which employees have low perceived control over an organizational change intervention is a situation where trust concerns are increased. If an employee has lower control over the change, a trusting relationship with his supervisor will help him maintain his level of commitment to the organization. As a consequence, not only employees with low perceived control over change and low trust in the supervisor are expected to have the lowest levels of organizational commitment, but also the relationship between trust in the supervisor and affective organizational commitment is stronger for employees with lower perceptions of control over the change intervention. Brockner et al. (1997) found that when trust concerns become more prominent, the level of employees trust in organizational authorities is more likely to influence their support for the organizational authorities and their organizational commitment. The Hard Side of Change Management The DICE Factors Sikrin et al. (2005) has a different opinion on which factors to focus on when bring about the change. Recently the gurus of change management tend to pay more attention and emphasis on soft factors such as culture, leadership and motivation. These factors play an integral role in making an organization attain success but one cannot focus on these factors only when an organization needs to be transformed. Such basic factors do not always affect the change management programs in organizations. For example, a good leadership is essential to the success of any organization but is not the sole affective factor. Communication plays a major role when bringing about any change but again, is not the only factor to severely affect the change process. The most difficult factor to change is changing the mindsets of individuals; individuals and organizations have certain perceptions and behaviors that are so deeply inculcated in their personality that it is very difficult to steer them in a diff erent direction. Sikrin et al. (2005) also states that while surveys can be conducted to understand the effect of such soft factors such as culture and leadership, it is difficult to quantify such soft factors. An emphasis on the unconventional outlook of change management, the hard factors, is also important to be taken into consideration. These factors have three important characteristics which are as follows: Organizations are capable to evaluate them in straight or circuitous methods. Organizations can simply correspond their significance, both inside and outside of the organizations. And possibly mainly vital businesses are able to influence those essentials rapidly. Such important factors that directly affect the change process are the time span taken to undergo a process, the individuals necessary to carry out the various job requirements and ultimately the financial returns that such an activity leads to. There are numerous researches that depict that hard factors play an essential role in bringing about any sort of change process, else the organizations face failure. (Sikrin et al., 2005). On the other hand it is also necessary for the management to pay an equal amount of attention to the soft factors. However, if organizations do not firstly emphasize on the hard factors, the entire change process would result in severe failure. Sikrin et al. (2005) write in their article that they gained an insight into a new aspect when they studied and identified the basic factors of change that all processes shared. They conducted a hypothesis that studied how various organizations conducted similar transformation programs. For this purpose the authors studied various industries in various countries in order to take out the common elements. 225 companies were part of the research conducted where it showed that there was a directly related relationship between the outcome of a change process and tough four elements: plan life span, specifically the time between plan feedbacks; performance veracity, or the abilities of project teams; the dedication of both higher staff and the lower staff whom the transform will influence mainly; and the extra attempt that peoples must make to manage with the alteration. They named these factors as the DICE factors since we could stack them in support of projects accomplishment (Sikrin et al., 2005). According to Sikrin et al. (2005) We finished our learning in 1994, and in the 11 years since then, the Boston Consulting Group had used those four elements to forecast the results, and direct the completion, of more than 1,000 change management stances globally. Not only has the association held, but no other elements (or combination of these factors) have forecasted results as well. The Four Hard Factors Organizations work with the four factors in different ways in order to create new combinations. On one end of the continuum, there are projects that will ultimately face success than the ones that are going to face failure on the other end. For example, Sikrin et al write, At one end, a small plan led by a capable, ambitious, and consistent team, led by top management and implemented in a division that is open to the change and has to put in very little further attempt, is destined to thrive. On the other end, a lengthy, designed plan implemented by an unskilled apathetic, and incoherent groups, without any higher management sponsors and aim at a function that disapproves the alteration and has to do a excessive efforts, will be unsuccessful. Through this process the organizations can then find out which change program fell at which end of the continuum. However, most of the change processes ended up in a neutral position where it was difficult to find out if they were a success or if they had failed. It is the responsibility of executives to conduct an in-depth analysis of the DICE factors to decipher which direction the change program go. Following are the DICE factors: D. The time span Duration required concluding a transformed plans if it has a limited duration; if not limited, the longevity of time between feedbacks of objectives. I. The plans teams performance Integrity; that is, its skills to finish the program on time. Which are linked to teams abilities and expertise as per plans necessities. C. The Commitment to revolutionize that top hierarchy (C1) and staff affected by the transformation (C2) display. E. The Effort other than the routine work that the transformed initiative necessitates from staffs (Sikrin et.al., 2005). This study therefore goes to show that there are multiple methods that could be adopted in order to bring about an effective change management process. Furthermore, case study research shows that there are multiple methods adopted for managing change. While many prescriptions, guidelines and models exist, managers responsible for executing the changes are selective in the way they use these ideas (Storey, 1992). Keeping in mind the above mentioned point of view we can assume that to a major percentage of the change varies from person to person. Those who see themselves as creating organizational change as an intentional process (i.e. top management formally leading change) will have a different perspective to those who are on the receiving end of change (Kanter et al., 1992). Change Management Around the World Change Resistance in Bureaucratic Organizations in Jordan To understand why employees resist change Khassawneh (2005) highlights the reasons and causes behind employees resistance to administrative change in various bureaucratic organizations in Jordan. There were eleven factors, were identified as being major causes of change resistance in bureaucratic agencies. These factors include: inadequate financial and non-financial incentives offered to government employees, lack of employees participation and involvement in the change process, distrust between employees and higher management, expectation of more control and supervision from higher management, expectation of additional job demands and requirements, comfort with status quo, disruption of stable work standards and social relations, lack of goal clarity, lack of employees conviction in the goals of change, fear of loosing job and/or job prerogatives, and the sudden and confused manner in which change is introduced (Khassawneh, 2005) According to Khassawneh (2005) the most significant reason of resistance to change was found out to be lack of employees participation in the change process. This factor was assessed on the basis of two parameters: seniority in organization and number of training programs attended by employees. Senior employees who were part of the organization for five years or less resisted strongly due to lack of participation in the change process than their seniors who had served in the organization for periods ranging from 6-20 years. Employees who had served for five years or less in such government institutions made up 32% of the sample (133 respondents). These individuals were involved in activities concerning of an executive nature and therefore played a significant role in the running of the bureaucratic organizations. Employees who had not attended any training program felt that lack of involvement led to resistance to change. Therefore this attitude goes to show what an important role the training programs play boosting employee morale and involvement as training enables individuals to discover their strengths and weaknesses and also instill in them a sense of belonging in their organization. Therefore the respondents who did not get an opportunity to participate in any training programs claimed to have low sense of involvement with the organization treated the management with greater suspicion, than those who took part in certain training programs. Another major cause of resistance to change was as found out by Khassawneh (2005) was lack of proper incentives for employees. This lack of proper incentives was correlated to five of background characteristics of respondents which were namely; seniority, administrative rank, number of training programs attended, age and level of education (Khassawneh, 2005). Younger, low level ranking employees resisted more due to lack of proper incentives. Employees who have served for longer periods of time tend to receive greater incentives as the longer they remain in a government organization. Resistance to change also came about when the employees viewed the management with suspicion and distrust (Khassawneh, 2005). Younger employees working at a low level position who did not get adequate decision making authority or those who did not attend enough training programs were mainly the individuals who highly resisted any sort of change. Khassawneh (2005) states that if such low ranking employees are also not given enough information regarding the change process, then such employees would always create issues in the organization. Change Management in Indian Banks Hegde George (2002) in their study further highlight reasons of why employees resist to change of shifting towards automated services in the banks. Before the privatization wave began in India, the public sector commanded a major chunk of the economy. Though there was excessive regulatory mechanism there was widespread corruption, a high cost economy and poor performance from the state owned enterprises. State-owned banks were also run in an extremely inefficient manner due to interference from political quarters and as a result these banks were frequently caused to go through bankruptcies. Employees in these banks too were not ready to accept any new changes as they preferred the old practices and lived happily under the umbrella of State protectionism. Hegde George (2002) conducted this at Goa, in which a sample of 100 branch managers (BMs) with the objective of finding out the factors that motivate or inhibit BMs in servicing customers. They also focus on the reasons why employees resist any sort of new change taking place in the organization. Transition to a new work methodology was cited as a major factor contributing towards employee resistance. Since the traditional bureaucratic banking practices did not focus so much on customer service, the employees had to be given intense training in how to deal with the customers, how to respond to their queries regarding new services and how to respond to complaint situations. This required a whole new work ethic and attitude to be developed among employees as well as they were not equipped to deal well in the customer dealing sphere. Along with this the staff had to also be trained in the new technological aspects of the innovative banking solutions as well (Hegde George, 2002). Secondly the researchers found out that lack of technological know-how/training also contributed to resistance to change. Branch managers admitted that they were not aware of all the workings of the new banking system and could not answer customer queries regarding ATM machines as they were not knowledgeable about the workings of ATMs. Added to this computerization was another major woe of the employees as they employees were give inadequate training where they learned through a trial and error process which resulted in delay and frustration with the work at hand. Furthermore the top management frequently decided to change the software being used so the employees had to go through the whole process of learning through trail and error again. Lack of communication and inadequate training resulted in a high level of de-motivation and resistance from the employees who were not willing to accept the new changes as they felt that the new process created more confusion and damage rather tha n resolving the issues. Hegde George (2002) also discuss how the staff was downsized by the management in order to cut down on its cost where a Voluntary Retirement Scheme was introduced in order to let the staff go. This resulted in paucity of staff a the branches where the few remaining staff was overworked and underpaid which led to further resistance and de-motivation of the staff, many of whom quit their job as they felt exploited by the new change management process introduced by the top executives. Through the course of their study, Hegde George (2002) find out that the key to customer satisfaction is firstly employee satisfaction as employees who feel de-motivated and discontented of their jobs and companies exhibit their feelings via not serving the customers properly and even by speaking bad about their company in front of the customers. The main reason why employees resist changing is because the reasons and benefits of the change are not communicated to them, adequate training to deal with new procedures is not provided and furthermore staff is laid off without any prior warning which creates feelings of insecurity and mistrust towards the organization. Finally resistance to change could have been overcome if the management proceeded to bring about the change process in a systematic manner. If all the employees were communicated the plans of the management right in the beginning and the benefits of the change to the employees and the organization were made common knowledge, then the employees would be more emphatic towards the change process. An organization is nothing without the support of its employees and in order to bring about any sort of change the organization has to make sure that its internal customers are satisfied before the external customers are serviced. The IBM Making Change Work Global Study IBMs (2008) research department addressed the issues as to why most organizations cannot bring about a change successfully in an organization. IBMs research was conducted using a sample size of more than 1,500 key practitioners through surveys and detailed interviews. The purpose of the research was to find out why implementing a change management program was met with resistance by the employees and why the program failed to be implemented in most organizations successfully. The study revealed that 44% the projects failed to be completed on deadlines, or within budget or without decided quality of end goals, while 15 percent either ceased or failed to meet any of the objectives. The reasons cited for these failures range from lack of clarity of goals, failure to execute the project successfully from the perspective of the top management and lack of employee involvement, age factor, educational level and fear of new change from the perspective of the employees. The major challenges to change were divided on two parameters; soft factors and hard factors. The soft factors of resistance to change included: changing mindsets and attitudes, corporate culture, complex nature of the change process, lack of dedication from the side of upper level management, and deficiency of motivation of employees involved. While the hard factors of resistance to change included: shortage of resources, lack of change information, not much transparency because of incomplete or unreliable information, change of process change of IT systems, technology barriers. Its was found out from this study that while the hard factors play an important part in hindering the process of change, surprisingly it was the soft factors that was harder to get right. Altering thinking, behaviors and norms of an entity typically need different methods and skills that are applied time after time and over the time. Sometimes they require being applied over a series of consecutive assignmen ts and even some of them often continue after the project has been finished formally. (IBM, 2008). In order to overcome these resistances, the study then focused on the parameters that made a change successful. While leadership, employee engagement and honest communication were cited as the major areas providing impetus for change; again the list was divided into hard and soft factors that made a change management process successful. The soft factors comprised of: higher managements commitment and support, employee motivation and participation, open and accurate communication on timely basis, organization environment and culture that motivates and promotes change. The hard factors included: efficient training programs, adjustment of performance measures, efficient organization structure and monetary and non-monetary incentives. The major responsibility of implementing the change was that of the top management. The results of the research revealed that Practitioners firmly place key responsibility for the fate of change projects in the executive suite an overwhelming 92 percent na med top management sponsorship as the most important factor for successful change (IBM, 2008). Therefore it can be concluded from this study that while employees would always be suspicious of any kind of change and would resist the efforts of the management out of this fear and suspicion. It depends upon the top management to ensure timely communication, encouragement of employee involvement and appointing of professional change agents would pave the way for a successful change management process for any organization. Factors Affecting Resistance to Change: A Case Study of Two North Texas Police Departments Gaylor (2001), tried to explore the issues that affect conflict with change. For this purpose a law enforcement agency was chosen as the case in point i.e. two North Texas Police departments where the police consequence of mature education and expectation on the police teams level of opposition to change and the results of contribution and mutual understanding on reliance were examined. There were 5 factors that were identified as very influential on organizational change. These factors were: 1) Employee participation in resistance to change, (2) Trust in management, (3) Communication process, (4) Quality of information available and (5) Education (Kent, 2001) Research resulted that factors that affect resistance from employee side are involvement in the process, believe in management, processes of communication within organization, and exchange of information. The synopsis by Kent (2001) states that employee involvement in the process of change encourages him to feel to be owner for the new system and therefore, boosts the level of comfort and trust between employees and the management. Secondly, the organization needs to have a proper system of communication for employee remedy and support. This also increases the level of trust between the two stakeholders. Third, employees must be provided with accurate and timely information so as to reduce the level of chaos that is normally created at the time of change in any organization. And finally, to feel secure about their jobs and statuses and other issues of change process, employees have to have a high level of trust in management. Leading and Coping with Change Woodword Hendry in 2004 undertook 2 surveys to look at different perspectives in research on how change is being managed in financial services institutions of Londons. These involved representatives of senior management personnel who were responsible for initiation of change in the organizational and all other employees inclusive of managers experiencing change while serving at different levels. The aims of the study were: To define the skills and attitudes required to lead change and those needed effectively to cope with change and To develop a model to show how change is absorbed within the organization They organized their findings in five parts as described below, which have been arranged in the following manner. In the 1st section, as people keep on seeking to explore that what is going on in their organization, states what the employees and employers consider as the main pressures for change, their formal boss responses, and in what ways these changes have impacted them. Then, as conventional ways of working are tempered, in parts two and three they show how people cope and what different resources are required in terms of skills and competencies to perform well in this new changed environment. Then in part four they describe specific qualities required by the change managers to cultivate with respect to employee needs. Finally, they state what the organizations do in order to support their employees through out the change process, and how senior management and employees percieve this. The results of

What is LinkedIn? Essay -- Website, Professionals, Networking

LinkedIn LinkedIn is a website specifically established for the professionals all around the world to network. The website allows people to search for business contacts, manage their professional identity, research firms, join industry groups and identify desired career opportunities. This website is also being leveraged by the brands and recruiters and many corporate profiles have been established on LinkedIn to recruit candidates and develop a pool of potential candidates through networking (Lewis, 2012). Is the organization doing well? Despite the increasing competition in the internet sphere, LinkedIn has been performing since its establishment in 2003. LinkedIn is always going to have the benefit of being pioneer in launching a website that targeted the specific niche of professionals for networking and recruiting. As of March 2012, LinkedIn was declared as the largest professional network on the internet with revenue of $522.2 million in 2011. By 2012, the website has more than 150 million members in over 200 countries. The success of LinkedIn can be determined from the fact that it is the first major U.S. social networking company that completed its initial public offering in 2011 by raising an aggregate of $270.2 million for general corporate purposes and working capital (Our Social Times, 2012). The main reason for the success of LinkedIn has been its ability to offer innovative products and services to all its members. The individual profiles and corporate profiles are provided with different range of products through which they can affectively leverage the potential of LinkedIn. The company has targeted all areas in the specific niche of professionals around the world and has diversified its portfolio to r... ...ed Marketer, February 2009, pp. 17-18. Steyn, P., Salehi-Sangari, E., Pitt, L. and Berthon, P., (2010). The SocialMedia Release as a Public Relations Tool: Intentions to Use Among B2B Bloggers. Public Relations Review, 36(1), pp.87-89. Thackeray, R., Neiger, B., Hanson, C. and McKenzie, J., (2008). Enhancing Promotional Strategies Within Social Marketing Programs: Use of Web 2.0 Social Media. Health Promotion Practice, 9(4), pp.338-343. Venkatesan, Rajkumar, Kumar V., and Bohling, Timothy, (2007). â€Å"Optimal Customer Relationship Management Using Bayesian Decision Theory: An Application for Customer Selection†, Journal of Marketing Research, 44(4), pp.579-594. Verhage, Bronis, (2010). Marketing Fundamentals. Noordhoff Uitgevers bv., Groningen. Ward, David, (2009). â€Å"Needs Seeded Strategies†, Journal of Applied Economic Sciences, vol. IV, iss. 3(9), pp.441-456.

The Development of Video Games Essay -- Technology, Arcade Games

In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that revolves around technology and connectivity, developers and educators have already been able to produce fun and interesting games that can teach and train people. Video game developers and educators should continue to collaborate in order t o create more positive, educational, and appealing games. Society in the 1980s saw games as distraction and a waste of time. Arcade games in 1981 were regarded as a reason for cutting classes. Children and the youth were banned from playing arcade games during school hours and past ten in the evening on weekdays, and past midnight on weekends. Laws against children playing in arcades during the banned hours were implemented in order to prevent further disturbances in their studies (Kent 152). Games to the people in the 1980s were merely forms of entertainment that brought about many video game addicts. However, in the early 1980s video game consoles and personal computers were globally popular. This was because most of the machines that had enough power to... ...design and use of learning games through promoting collaboration among scholars, teachers, developers, producers, and so on.† LGN also hopes to educate the youth through well-designed and developed educational games. They help arrange partnerships with developers, educators, and media specialists, and they try to expand the educational gaming field. Presently, video games aren’t merely toys that negatively influence the youth. They have become an alternative means for people to learn and train for work. Games teach values and essential information, and motivate its players to achieve goals. Soldiers and doctors benefit from video games as well. The collaboration of game developers and educators helps improve the quality of educational games. At present, as technology progresses, one can truly see that video games have become an important factor in learning.