A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

The play â€Å"A Raisin in the Sun† by Lorraine Hansberry has many intriguing characters. As I would see it, the most interesting character is Ruth Younger, in view of her numerous feelings and dazzling identity. She experiences outrageous feelings in the play, for example, happiness, trouble, outrage, push, and so on. In the play, Ruth is extremely independent, kind, and adoring. Ruth has a captivating identity. She is exceptionally adoring towards her family. She will do all in her capacity to enhance the way of life of her family. Ruth endeavors to make the best of things. As successfully depicted in the film using high contrast, the loft needs daylight and the glow a home needs and individuals hunger for. In the midst of her grim life in the confined flat, she coordinates all her vitality toward the joy of her child and spouse. She is baffled since life has not satisfied her desires. Because of her stale position, she is â€Å"known among her people a ‘settled lady'†. She agrees to fulfillment instead of searching out satisfaction. With lease to pay and a family to think about, she has surrendered any considerations of a superior future for herself. Rather, she raises Travis and backings Walter with an end goal to think about their fantasies. She attempts to veil her own discontent in plans to fortify the family soul and urge them to see the positive qualities in the revolting. Her dynamic commitment to deal with the family is customarily misused and negated by Mama. In their real scene, a significant number of Ruth's activities are addressed by Mama including her treatment of Travis. Having her maternal endeavors overridden by Mama wounds Ruth's mind. Subsequently, she frequently feels uprooted. Her activities appear to be futile in light of the fact that she isn't permitted to totally accept the familial job of mother. In her disappointing cycle of benevolent activities to disregard the unforgiving substances Ruth even thinks about a premature birth to shield her family from another troublesome issue. She leaves herself to the choice on the grounds that â€Å"a woman will do anything for her family† regardless of how revolting it might be. At the point when Mama informs the family concerning the house, Ruth gauges the positives and negatives of the decision, decides this is a change for her family, and endeavors to fortify the great characteristics about the move. It likewise helps that she sees the change as something to be thankful for herself as she cheerfully expresses â€Å"this is my time in life†. Actually, it is, yet she is clashed on the grounds that Walter isn't content with the choice which undermines her objective to guarantee her family satisfaction. For her, development and additionally change of any sort is a change, so she grasps the choice in spite of the fact that it is one that achieves another arrangement of issues because of negative race relations. Gratefully, she can enjoy the house and see Walter cheerful as Mama hands over the job of leader of the family to him. The restored certainty of Walter prompts a retouching of his and Ruth's relationship and her job as guardian, spouse, and mother.

Acculturation, Biculturism and Marginalization Essay

Ross-Sheriff (2011) commented that international migration patterns have * changed as a consequence of broad social, political, economic, and environmental * trends and explained the causes of the driving forces were including war, * globalization, urbanization, and changing cultural norms regarding social roles and * responsibilities (Ross-Sheriff, 2011). With these complex trends of migration * patterns, Van Hear (2010) viewed migration as a process which was an integral part * of broader social transformations, but which also had its own internal dynamics with * other factors related to the migrating process, shaping social transformation in their * own way. Migration was also linked in complex ways to class, gender, generation, * ethnicity and other social factors, which were embodied in positions in home and host * communities, and in work and domestic relationships, all of which might be * transformed in the course of the migratory process (Van Hear, 2010). To understand this complex process of migration, especially under changing circumstances of one culture to another, it might be useful to build conceptual tools for understanding these transitory processes in migration studies and in social science more widely (Van hear, 2010). They also include mediating agents and transitions that need also to be accounted for, as well as intersections among class, gender, generation, ethnicity and other social ruptures as well as the main driving forces of migration (Van Hear, 2010). Of course there were other important concepts such as relations between time and space, between dynamics or processes and outcomes, and between structure and agency that needed to get attention (Van Hear, 2010). However, it is impossible to discuss all different theoretical concepts involved in different types of migration process in the current limited study. Rather, this study tried to focus on psychological impacts such as ethnic identity and self-esteem on migration through acculturation processes particularly on family- related migration because different patterns of migration produced different communities and resulted in producing different migrant identities including varying levels of psychological distress (Jones, 2008). Further, few empirical studies have focused on migrant adults populations. Most migrants identification related literatures tended to relate more for adolescents or young children because identity formation might be particularly challenging in this cohort, especially when the values and beliefs of their natal culture differed significantly from those of the host society (Sodowsky, Kwan, & Pannu, 1995; as cited in Farver, Narang, & Bhadha, 2002). Therefore, this study focused on ethnic identity and self-identification issues of adult migrants’ themselves within a family structure according to different theoretical models relevant to adaptation of new cultures, because family was the basic instrument in the society (Nesdale, Rooney, & Smith, 1997). In fact, most cultural acquisition theories developed and evolved in 1990s when international migration became a key issue in international politics at the beginning of 1990s. As Castle (2002) argued that migration, development and international relations were closely connected as migration was a major factor of transformation for both sending and receiving countries for different types of migrants (Castle, 2002). With this perspective, this study generally focused on those migration culture acquisition theories developed in 1990 rather then looking at current perspectives in the most recent literatures, which actually have evolved from these original theories in 1990s (Castle, 2002). As the findings from these research studies has had been mixed or sometimes contradictory, it was important to understand the exact nature of the relationship between migrant ethnic identification and the acculturation process both need to be specified and assessed properly with coherent measurements and theoretical assumptions (Nesdale et al. , 1997). Important theoretical concepts: ethnic identity, acculturation, biculturism, and marginalisation. According to Phinney (1990; as cited in Farver, Narang & Bhadha., 2002), ethnic identity and acculturation were related but separate constructs. Ethnic identity involves an individual’s self-identification as a group member, a sense of belonging to an ethnic group, attitudes toward ethnic group of membership, and degree of ethnic group involvement (Farver et al. , 2002). The term acculturation was defined in anthropology as those phenomena, which resulted when groups of individuals having different cultures came into continuous first-hand contact with subsequent changes in the original pattern of either or both groups (Redfield, Linton, & Herskovits, 1936; as cited in Birman, 1994). Although acculturation was a neutral term in this context (that is, change might take place in either or both groups), in practice, acculturation tended to induce more changes in one of the groups than in the other (Berry, 1990a; as cited in Berry, 1997) Berry (1997) argued that in all plural societies, cultural groups and their individual members, in both dominant and non-dominant situations, must deal with the issue of how to acculturate. According to Berry (1997), four acculturation strategies were introduced: assimilation, separation, marginalization, and integration. When individuals do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interaction with other new cultures, the assimilation strategy is defined. In contrast, when individuals place a value on holding on to their original culture, and at the same time wish to avoid interaction with others, then the separation is defined (Berry, 1997). When there is an interest in both maintaining one’s original culture, while in daily interactions with other groups, integration is the option; here, there is some degree of cultural integrity maintained, while at the same time seeking to participate as an integral part of the larger social network (Berry, 1997). Last, when there is little possibility or interest in cultural maintenance (often for reasons of enforced cultural loss), and little interest in having relations with others (often for reasons of exclusion or discrimination) then marginalization is defined (Berry, 1997). However, this acculturation categories model has been criticized methodologically (Rudmin, 2003, 2009; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010) because all four of Berry’s categories were represented in the same way by creating the two by two matrix of acculturation categories between high and low. However, the cut off point between high and low was arbitrary and would differ across samples, making comparisons across studies difficult, resulting in the fact that all four categories existed and were equally valid (Rudmin, 2003; as cited in Schwartz et al., 2010) and suggesting that not all of Berry’s categories might exist in a given sample or population, and that some categories might have multiple subtypes (Schwartz et al. , 2010). In particular, Berry (1997) viewed the term â€Å"biculturism† as referring to acculturation that involved the individual simultaneously in the two cultures that were in contact in integrative ways, which appeared to be a consistent predictor of more positive outcomes than the three alternatives of assimilation, separation, or marginalization. Berry and his colleagues (Sam & Berry, 1995) assessed the acculturation strategies of various immigrant groups in North America and the results showed that bicultural individuals experienced less acculturative stress, anxiety and fewer psychological problems significantly, while marginalized individuals suffered the most psychological distress, including problems with self-identification and cultural alienation, which adversely affected their self-esteem (Farver et al. , 2002). However, Shiraev and Levy (2007) explained acculturative stress as a negative feeling that a marginalized person might experience as a distressing psychological reaction to any unfamiliar cultural environment based on the assumption that person and groups undergoing any social and cultural change should experience a certain amount of psychological distress. Generally, many early definitions of acculturation focused on exposure to two cultures simultaneously as a culture shock, which was a reactive state of specific pathology or deficit, rather than taking advantage of being bicultural (Berry & Annis, 1974; Shiraev et al., 2007). The validity of marginalization as an approach to acculturation by Berry (1997) was also questioned (Del Pilar & Udasco, 2004; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010). Schawartz et al. argued that the likelihood that a person would develop a cultural sense of self without drawing on either the heritage or receiving cultural contexts would be less likely to. The marginalization approach might be true only for the small segment of migrants who rejected both their heritage and receiving cultures (Berry, 2006b). Indeed, studies using empirically based clustering methods have found small or nonexistent marginalization groups and scales that attempted to measure marginalization typically had poor reliability and validity compared with scales for the other categories (Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995; Unger et al. , 2002; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010). As described earlier, the impact of migrant ethnic identity on psychological distress had comparatively diverse points of views if they were either negative or positive reactions, depending on different theoretical frames. For example, Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 2001) and Self-Categorization Theory (Turner, 1987) emphasized more on the importance to individuals of their identification with particular social groups. Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 2001; as cited in Yip, Gee, & Takeuchi, 2008) viewed a possible explanation for why ethnic identity might buffer the effects of discrimination. According to this theory,individuals chose from an array of possible social identity groups and, once those groups were chosen, individuals focused on the positive aspects of their in-group, which helped to boost their own esteem, suggesting that ethnic identity was more important to their overall identity (Yip et al. , 2009). In contrast, if ethnicity was a central component of one’s identity, it might actually exacerbate the effects of discrimination, resulting in a greater negative impact on mental health, according to self-categorization theory (Turner, Hogg, Oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987; as cited in Yip et al., 2008), suggesting that people should be more in tune with environmental cues that were relevant to an important aspect of their identity. That is, experiences of racial discrimination might be such a cue relevant to their ethnic identity. Indeed, research suggested that African American adults and adolescents who reported strong racial centrality were also more likely to report experiences of racial discrimination (Neblett, Shelton, & Sellers, 2004; Sellers, Caldwell, Schmeelk-Cone, & Zimmerman, 2003; Sellers & Shelton, 2003; as cited in Yip et al., 2008). However, despite this emphasis by social theorists, they tended to forget the larger literature that involved with both ethnicity and the acculturation process (Liebkind, 1993; 1996; as cited in Nesdale, Rooney & Smith, 1997). First of all, these different findings resulted from lack of inclusion of acculturation itself as a variable methodologically when acculturation was considered as a phenomenon in research designs (Sam and Berry, 2006). Without including acculturation as a variable, the explanations for human behavior similarities and differences across populations would remain incomplete (Sam et al. , 2006). Second, a further criticism of the acculturation literatures was that the same two acculturation processes, and the same four-acculturation categories, characterized all migrants equally—regardless of the type of migrant, the countries of origin and settlement, and the ethnic group in question, according to Berry’s (1980) model and other similar approaches (Sam et al., 2006). Finally, the vast majority of studies in the acculturation literature have focused on behavioral acculturation (Schwartz et al. , 2010). That is, most widely used acculturation measures included primarily (or only) items assessing language use and other cultural practices (e. g. , Cuellar, Arnold, & Maldonado, 1995; Stephenson, 2000; Szapocznik, Kurtines, & Fernandez, 1980; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010) due to accepting the fact that cultural practices might provide only a fair proxy for cultural adaptation (Schwartz et al., 2010). Theoretical frameworks for acculturation research Shiraev & Levy (2007) claimed that cross-cultural psychologists usually used three approaches to examine human activities in various cultural settings. They were the sociobiological approach, the sociological approach and eco-cultural approach (Shiraev et al. , 2007). In particular, the eco-cultural approach emphasized both the environment and the individual were seen as open and interchanging systems (Shiraev et al., 2007), introducing John Berry whom originally developed this theory further in contemporary cross-cultural psychology. Shiraev et al. (2007) also pointed out that specialists should to be able to explain how, why, and to what extent people differed from one another, when ecological, biological, cultural, and acculturation factors were identified and taken into consideration (Berry, J. W. , Poortinga, Y. H. , Segall, M. H. , & Dasen. P. R. ,1992; as cited in Shiraev et al. , 2007). In related to the concerns pointed by Shiraev et al. (2007), Berry (1997) argued earlier there were important links between cultural context and individual behavioural development, demonstrating what happened to individuals who developed in one cultural context when attempting to re-establish their lives in another one through his acculturation research framework, by confirming the fact that acculturation was one of the most complex areas of research in cross-cultural psychology because the process involved more than one culture and in two distinct senses (Berry, 1997). According to Berry (1997), the concept of acculturation was employed to refer to the cultural changes resulting from different ethnic groups encountered, while the concepts of psychological acculturation and adaptation were employed to refer to the psychological changes and eventual outcomes that occur as a result of individuals experiencing acculturation. In another words, acculturation phenomena resulted from contact between two or more cultures and research on acculturation had to be comparative in order to understand variations in psychological outcomes that were the result of cultural variations in the two groups in contact (Berry, 1997). In particular, this framework viewed the integration model of acculturation strategies the most desirable among other strategies, considering it the same as the biculturalism model (Berry, 1997). For example, Berry and his colleagues (Berry, 1980; Berry, J. W. , Kim, U. , Power, S. , Young, M, & Bujaki, M. , 1989; Berry, Kim, Minde, & Mok, 1987; Sam & Berry, 1995 as cited in Farver et al., 2002) assessed the acculturation strategies of various immigrant groups in North America and the result showed that integration was the most psychologically adaptive attitude, arguing that integrated or bicultural individuals experienced less acculturative stress and anxiety and manifested fewer psychological problems than those who were marginalized, separated, or assimilated, whereas marginalized individuals suffered the most psychological distress, including problems with self-identification and cultural alienation, which also affected their self-esteem (Farver et al. , 2002). However, Phinney, Cantu, and Kurtz (1997) found that American identity was associated with self-esteem only for non-Hispanic Whites, but not for other ethnic groups. These mixed results as explained above raised two issues in the acculturation literatures. First of all, cultural practices might offer only a substitute for cultural adpatations, as Portes and Rumbaut (2001 as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010) mentioned that many Asian American young adults in their sample were not proficient in their native languages, even though they still perceived their identification with their parents’ countries of origin and maintained many of their values (Schwarz et al. , 2010). Secondly, most researchers on biculturism did not sufficiently define an accurate operational definition of biculturism so that interpretation of those research results were problematic (Birman, 1994). Indeed, one finding in the United States, was that self-identification as American was markedly higher in non-Hispanic Whites than in ethnic minority groups (e. g. , Devos & Banaji, 2005; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010) and many White Americans did not perceived themselves as members of an ethnic group (Schildkraut, 2007; as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010). In brief, different operational definition problems of acculturation arose from different theoretical models of acculturation regarding to their assumptions (LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993). LaFromboise et al. (1993) assumed acculturation as one of substitutes among the biculturism models. Biculturism as defined in this theory was viewed as the alternation model, which implied an individual in two culture contacts could be competent in both cultures without losing one of the cultures’ competencies in distinct cultural contexts as alternation model, whereas, fusion model meant a blended cultural identity, consisting of a synthesis of aspects of both cultures (LaFromboise et al., 1993). However, Berry’s (1997) integrating approach of biculturism differed from the bicultural model (LaFromboise et al. , 1993; as cited in Birman, 1994) and it emphasized more on the relationship between the two cultural groups based on its implicit assumption that one of two cultures were higher than the other within a single social structure (LaFromboise et al. , 1993). Benet-Martinez and colleagues found that â€Å"blended† bicultural individuals tended to report higher self-esteem and lower psychological distress than a marginal population (Chen et al. , 2008 as cited in Schwartz et al. , 2010) because the consistent availability of both cultural flows within the person’s everyday life increased the ease of activating the correct cultural schema in accordance with their environmental situations (Schwartz et al. , 2010). In contrast, Tadmor, Tetlock, and Peng (2009) argued that the bicultural model considered those marginal individuals in positive ways, when there was little interest in cultural maintenance and little interest in having relations with others, suggesting positive aspects of being a marginal person might be (1) sharing his or her condition with others of the same original culture; (2) engaging in institutional practices that were shared by other marginal people; (3) experiencing no major frustration from social expectations; and (4) still perceiving himself or herself to be a member of a group (LaFromboise et al., 1993). According to Sam and Berry (2006), many studies of how migrants coped with intercultural contacts had discrepancies in the ways in which they were operationalized and measured. As no standardized or widely accepted acculturation measures existed, it was necessary to design a clear and explicit formulation of acculturation instrument in order to assess acculturation adequately (Sam et al. , 2006). Further Sam and Berry (2006) pointed out that most empirical studies widely used a self-report type of questionnaires that had been recognized limitations such as social desirability, emphasizing obtaining divergent validation by source of information other than the respondents’ reports. Therefore, it is vital to understand each theory within its specific assumptions and not to generalize across all situations regardless of their similar findings (LaFromboise et al. , 1993). As this study discovered migrants’ acculturation processes so far within specific theoretical frameworks, literature findings in different research were mixed as to whether individuals could be highly acculturated and at the same time be strongly identified with their ethnic group (Farver, Narang, & Bhadha. , 2002). These confusing problems initially evolved because of the context in which migration arrangements and their acculturation processes were fundamentally transformed and increasingly uncertain due to globalization (Landolt & Da, 2005). Shiraev & Levy (2007) suggested a new approach to cross-cultural psychology in the twenty-first century, which was linked to the concept of globalization. Globalization was defined as a proliferation of cross-border flow and transnational networks due to new technologies of communication and transport that allowed frequent and multi-directional streams of people, ideas and cultural symbols (Castle, 2010). Castle also argued that globalization leads to major changes in the character of international migration. In other words, the context for migrant incorporation has already changed radically and will continue to do so. The rise of multiculturalism itself rather than assimilation or biculturism is one sign of this, but is not the end of the story: new forms of identity and belonging go beyond multiculturalism (Castle, 2010). Even though there is limited empirical evidence for clear statements for globalization, there probably are highly cosmopolitan groups who feel at home everywhere such as global business and professional elites might correspond with this image. But most members of transnational communities fall between these extremes, and probably have contradictory and fluctuating identities (Castle, 2002). Conclusions This study explored that a special case of cultural psychology was the study of how individuals respond to situations where they were in transition between their original culture and another that differed from it in some respects in terms of acculturation, especially within a specific theoretical frame that could apply to the specific situation (Adler & Gielen, 1994). There was no single theory widely accepted by all social scientists to agree with the emergence and perpetuation of international migration patterns in the world under globalization (Van Hear, 2010),suggesting that the contemporary migrating context in which such migrating arrangements were realized fundamentally kept transforming so that it became increasingly uncertain (Landolt and Da, 2005) Although the topic of cultural contact and individual’ change has attracted considerable attention in contemporary cross-cultural psychology, the field has been characterized by a lack of theoretical coherence, definitional problems with key constructs, and single sample studies that limit the external validity of empirical cross-cultural research (Ward and Kenney, 1994). As acculturation is a process which takes place over time, and which results in changes both in the culture and in the individual culture changes, it would be ideal o compare two sets of data are compared over time using the same people. However, in practice, it is impossible in most acculturation research settings (Sam et al. , 2006). Instead, a common alternative to longitudinal research is cross-sectional research in which a time-related variable, such as length of residence or generational status can be used for the generalizability of acculturation theories (Sam et al., 2006). In general, researchers of migrating studies need to be aware that it is the selective nature of the sample that happens across all migrating research. That is, individuals who chose to migrate would be different from those who do not (Sodowsky, G. , Kwan, K. , & Pannu, R. , 1995; as cited in Farver et al. , 1997). Finally, acculturation research generally focused on immigrants assumed to be permanently settled in their new host countries. As a result, the terms â€Å"migrants† or â€Å"international migrants† referred to the same type of migrants collectively. Moreover, many countries were both sending and receiving countries for different types of migrants, or in the process of transition from one type to the other (Castel, 2002). Therefore, where applicable, it is viable to design acculturation research studies classifying different types of migrants. References Adler, L. L. , & Gielen, U. P. (Eds. ). (1994). Cross-cultural topics in psychology. Westport: Praeger Publishers. Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In Triandis, H. C. , & Brislin, R. (Eds. ). Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (pp. 211-279). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Berry, J. W. , Kim, U. , Power, S. , Young, M, & Bujaki, M. (1989). Acculturation attitudes in plural societies. 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Theories of migration and social change. Journal of Ethic and Migration Studies, 36(10), 1531-1536. doi: 10. 1080/1369183X. 2010. 489359 Yip, T. , G, C. G. , & Takeuchi, D. T. (2008). Racial discrimination and psychological distress: The impact of ethnic identity and age among immigrant and United States-born Asian adult. Dev Psychol, 44(3), 787-800. doi: 10. 1037/0012-1649. 44. 3. 787.

Intervention strategies and assessment for disasters in japan and Essay

Intervention strategies and assessment for disasters in japan and proposed ways to deal with associated difficulties - Essay Example Vulnerability is envisaged as both a biophysical hazard and a social response which is specific to a geographical domain. According to Brillinger (2003) risk analysis can be defined as a way which is used for estimating the probabilities of some rare events and the magnitudes of damage that comes along with them. The papers considered risk analysis of different natural disasters like earthquakes, floods and wildfires. Risk can be defined as probability that some hazardous event or catastrophe can occur. Statistical methods are the basic ways to assess risk and used for the computation of insurance premiums as well. These methods are favourable as they use probabilities and data which can help in risk management. McEntire (2005) discussed the positive and negative aspects related to different views about the disasters and he suggested that the concept of vulnerability can be used for finding for academia and make policy guidance for different professionals in different fields especially for the natural hazards. Paton (2007) worked and examined the relationship between people and sources of information that provide information which can influence people’s perception about the hazard/ disaster preparedness. To analyze this relationship between trust and the hazard preparedness a regression analysis was conducted. The study showed that there exists a relationship between people and the community services/civic agencies and the information they provide is very important and should be a part in planning risk communication. Strà ¶mberg (2007) examined and suggested that societal factors affect and place an important impact on disasters. This papers takes into account many of the natural disasters taking place that includes volcanoes, floods, tsunami as to where they take place and what their development with the period of time. Then this paper discusses that how come societal factors act in favour of people by

Reflection Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 10

Reflection Paper - Essay Example sues of division of powers between the federal government and the state governments have been debated and amended all along since the republic was founded. Nevertheless, the powers of the federal government have remained on the top and ever increasing since the civil war period (Baumer & Van, 1989). However, there has been success in the actions undertaken by the congress and constitution interpretation to control the powers of the federal government. The philosophy of applying checks and balances has been the base for the success and the stance of the federal government. The congress has the powers of making laws, while the presidency has the veto powers in any legislative act. Additionally, the president has the powers to nominate judges of the Supreme Court, though they have to be verified by the congress. The Supreme Court has the powers to overturn any law that has been passed by the legislature. The essay seeks to describe and reflect on the current status of the key institutions of the federal government, namely; the presidency and the congress (Marshal &William, 2008). The executive branch is also known as the presidency. The federal government powers are bestowed on the president of the United States. The presidency is made up of the cabinet, the vice president, president and other officials, who the president delegates the powers to (Baumer& Van, 1989). The United States president has a unitary executive theory that is provided by the American constitution. The unilateral executive enables the president to have the power to control the whole executive branch. The provision is found in the Article Two of the United States Constitution. The powers that are bestowed by the constitution are universally agreed with the citizens of the United States of America. Nevertheless, these powers have for long faced criticism. In my point of view, they are dangerous and inappropriately granted. The separation of the powers among the various arms of the government

You will choose a current event topic from the last 20 or so years and Essay

You will choose a current event topic from the last 20 or so years and explain how this current event links back to the Industrial Revolution - Essay Example This often affects society negatively as the importance and sacredness of communication is undermined. Society has changed from a proactive population of outdoor people to more reserved technology conscious individuals. This problem is compounding the more human beings evolve, and it seems to be a long-term issue (Palfrey and Urs 52). The problem is linked to the Industrial Revolution as one sees large groups of laborers fill the industries to make these products on a large scale, similar to the Industrial Revolution (Brownsword 58). This issue seems to be compounding and is one, which will complex as the demand for technological gadgets is on the increase. There is a similarity between both revolutions. The industrial revolution included a change from traditional methods to use of machinery while the Digital Revolution has seen the mass production of new advanced equipment aiming at changing and improving

Math HW11 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Math HW11 - Research Paper Example Management estimates that the average cost of replacing or repairing a defective unit is $20. The units sold and units defective that occurred during the last 2 months of 2008 are as follows. Joyce Kieffer's regular hourly wage rate is $15, and she receives a wage of 1 times the regular hourly rate for work in excess of 40 hours. During a March weekly pay period Joyce worked 42 hours. Her gross earnings prior to the current week were $6,000. Joyce is married and claims three withholding allowances. Her only voluntary deduction is for group hospitalization insurance at $25 per week. Compute the following amounts for Joyce's wages for the current week. (1) Gross earnings. (2) FICA taxes. (Assume an 8% rate on maximum of $90,000.) (3) Federal income taxes withheld. (Use the withholding table in the text, page 483.) (4) State income taxes withheld. (Assume a 2.0% rate.) (5) Net pay. (Round answers to 2 decimal places.) According to a payroll register summary of Ruiz Company, the amount of employees' gross pay in December was $850,000, of which $90,000 was not subject to FICA tax and $750,000 was not subject to state and federal unemployment taxes.

The significance of cross-cultural negotiation skills for the success Essay

The significance of cross-cultural negotiation skills for the success of international mergers and alliances - Essay Example This is where the term ’cross-cultural’ acquires significance in discussing negotiating skills essential for the success of international mergers and more specifically for success in acquisitions and alliances. More often than not, mergers and acquisitions are types of corporate businesses which amalgamate to form one single legal entity. The word alliance may cover activities like joint ventures, technology sharing agreements, and (seemingly in danger of violating anti-trust laws by price fixing) cartels, but not necessarily forming a single legal entity. Mergers and acquisitions among business firms have occurred within state boundaries before they became an international phenomenon. It perhaps speaks volumes for the lack of negotiating skills by one party or the other, when it is reported that 60 - 70 percent of M&As failed to deliver on what had been expected financially, as the outcome of the liaison. Less than a fifth of international M&As are said to create added value to the resulting organization. At the least, domestic mergers and acquisitions can expect shared traditions, regulatory laws, and custom and practice, which presumably make it easier for two or more parties to agree on common business aims and work towards achieving them.

Physical Activity and Energy Pathways Coursework

Physical Activity and Energy Pathways - Coursework Example When I make healthy everyday exercise choices, I tend to make better food choices. Fruits and vegetables replace candy bars and chips in my diet when I am making better food choices. In my mind, I feel exercise should not be sabotaged by poor food choices. This affects my social activities as well. Instead of going to the movie with friends and family, I chose to do more physical activities. For example, I will go bowling or skating. I like to be more active. This is all due to my effort to walk a couple of miles a day. The three fitness activities in which I have been involved and in which I will describe Energy Pathways will be running, swimming, and tennis. The three Energy Pathways are ATP-CP, LA, and O2. ATP-CP can be defined as Adenosine Triphosphate which is a chemical compound formed with the energy released from food and stored in all cells, particularly muscles. The energy released by the breakdown of this compound can make the cells perform work. The breakdown of ATP produces energy and ADP. CP or Creatine Phosphate is a compound stored in the muscle, which when broken down aids in the manufacture of ATP. The combination of ADP and CP results in ATP. LA or Lactic Acid is a fatiguing metabolite of the lactic acid system caused by the incomplete breakdown of glucose. O2 is when in aerobic running ATP is produced from food mainly fat and sugar. This system produces ATP in abundance and is the prime energy source during endurance activities. When endurance running the Energy Pathways used are 10% ATP-CP and LA, which occurs in the first 1-45 seconds. The LA-O2 Energy Pathways are used 20% in the 45-120 seconds. The O2 is used 70% for the rest of the activity. During swimming the Energy Pathways used are 10% ATP-CP and LA, which occurs in the first 1-45 seconds. The LA-O2 Energy Pathways are used 20% in the 45-120 seconds.

Hyperinflation in Germany Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Hyperinflation in Germany - Essay Example Another factor which contributes to the cause was the reparations for the destruction caused after the World War I which had no returns. It was largely believed by Seflon Delmer that Germany's strategy of financing the war on credit basis leading to huge deficits caused the degradation of mark. The most important point to be noted is that Havenstien, Director of Reichsbank, whose inability to understand the causes for situation, instead of finding blamed it on reparations and increased the flow of money which is clear indication of deregulation from the economic point of view. Alex also argued on the role of industrialists in their effort to increase the inflation as most of the industrialists prospered during this period. All these factors laid the foundation for the rise of inflation in Germany during 1923 after World War I. (Alex De Jonge) During the period of hyperinflation, there was social unrest in the society. Alex in his articles using appropriate examples has tried to explain what the value of money was during this period and the government and capitalist intervention in regulation policies. Alex in his work mentioned that workers were paid five times a week due to weak performance of currency. From the economics perspective, the supply and demand are the most important factors and termed as wheels of the economy. Inflation is referred as a situation where level of prices increase and value of money declines. This was clearly reflected in the works of Alex De Jonge through an example of an author receiving advance payment for his work. But the time money reaches him, it is worth paying off the bills of postal charges. How much the value owed to the public can be understood from this example cited by Alex, wherein a Mayor presents a donation of 1,000,000,000,000 to Berlin couple, the value of which was no more t han half penny. The value of money was undervalued in such a way that currencies were found in gutter thrown away by the beggars. Due to the inflation crisis and loss on money value, many cities and individual firms started printing their own notes secured by food stocks and eventually gave rise to barter system of market trade after 500 years. This gives clear indication of laissez faire in the German economy where government's interference was almost negligible. Barter market gave rise to commodity value and commodities were exchanged giving rise to theft and burglary of mailboxes, door handle, telephone wires, shoes, etc. The article indentifies certain issues wherein government interference was necessary but did not act. The inflation was a period of prosperity wherein rich grew richer and poor were exploited heavily as in capitalist economy. Alex in his paper has tried to explain the causes and effects on Germany's economy which gave rise to once ancient barter system. The currency value lost its real value to such an extent that even beggars didn't had confidence in keeping it. According to Alex's view, Germany was cheaper to foreigners than to its own citizen. (Alex de Jonge) III. Socioeconomic and Political developments in Germany Post

How Gazda Cars and Bomino Printing approach the management of their activities Essay Example for Free

How Gazda Cars and Bomino Printing approach the management of their activities Essay Advantages * Its Organised * Their pay is related to their performance, which will motivate them perform better. * Work is carried out in controlled environment. * Its seen as social which motivates workers. * Managers convey moral elite, trustworthy, broadly motivated to organise influence others. * Employees have more control of their work (live to work). * Take interesting staff giving feeling of involvement, security job satisfaction, related to high achievement Disadvantages * Scientific approach used (work to live). * Communication between workers is bad. Not approachable, no influence. * Managers defined as rational economic, primarily motivated by just money. * Being too nice to staff makes managers look weak. Managers need that power so everything is in control. * Staff can abuse their manager if their needs are not fulfilled, e.g., they can strike. People can respond to many different types of management strategies, but there is no single strategy that will work for all everyone all the time. Therefore, Gazda Cars should refer to Fielders Contingency Approach to management. This theory supports the view of the complex man- i.e. the motives that man has which changes over time and in different situations, can be seen as personal hierarchy. It defines situational favourability, or the ease of influencing followers as the combination of situational factors: leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Fielder argued that leadership style was innate and that the above three situational factors determined whether task or relations oriented leadership was more appropriate. The main ideas about Contingency Theory are: 1. There is no universal or one best way to manage 2. The design of an organisations and its subsystems must fit with the environment 3. Effective organisations not only have a proper fit with the environment but also between its subsystems and 4. The needs of an organisation are better satisfied when it is properly designed and the management style is appropriate both to the tasks undertaken and the nature of the work group. The contingency approach opens the door for the possibility that leadership could be different in every situation (Saal and Knight, 1988). It provides a more realistic view of leadership by allowing for complexity and situational specificity of overall effectiveness. As organisations today are faced with continuing changes in technology, environment conditions, and internal processes, this approach can offer a more sophisticated understanding of the leadership process and emphasise the idea of flexible, adaptive leadership that may contribute to the success of a company. However, the various models in contingency theory have been criticised largely for the difficulty in testing the contingency variables selected since variables may affect each other or be influenced by a leader. The complexity of situational factors and various combinations of task and subordinate characteristics makes a single comprehensive test of the model impossible (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 1992). As it is entirely possible that different leaders in the same situation may reach different conclusions about the situation, which may in turn cause them to take very different actions, the practical use of this theory in business is quite limited. Gazdas Mechanistic Structure Bominos Organic Structure Operates in a competitive fast changing environment but is not seen as exiting or fun. They are separate departments for production, sales, marketing, research and development, data processing, accounts and human resource management. Each member has their own specific role. Obedience to superiors and loyalty to the organisation are assisted upon. This structure is old fashioned. The communication usually comes in the form of instructions decisions issued by superiors and the performance feed back requests for decisions sent from subordinates. Work is carried in a controlled environment. Control authority relationships are structured in a vertical hierarchy. Operates in a highly complex environment. Tasks are highly specialised. Employees are not clear on how their tasks contribute to accomplishing organisational objectives. Distributes inkjet laser printing systems, which is a fast moving product, economically productive. Department are separated for all the main business functions. General roles are defined for each member. Authority relationships control are structured in a network rather than a hierarchy. This approach is to do with being nice to staff. Commitment to organisational goals is recommended more then loyalty or obedience. Teams are set up to work on new product development. Tasks are modified often redefined by means mutual adjustment among task holders. Workers have a variety of tasks which are broad and independent. Relation of task performance to attainment of organisational objectives is emphasised. Gazdas Role culture Bominos Task culture There are usually job descriptions, rules procedures to govern behaviour as well as procedures for all activities. Pay is related to performance. A role culture is one which emphasises conformity to expectations. As Harrisons theory states, such organizations can be said to be rational instruments for the achievements of specific goals. People work most effectively efficiently when they have relatively, simple clearly defined, circumscribed measurable tasks. However the company operates in a highly complex fast changing environment. Here management is seen as completing a succession of projects or solving problems, often as a part of a team. It is project oriented, bringing together the right people. The staff get a feeling of involvement; security general job satisfaction are closely related to high achievement. Performance is judged by results. Job satisfaction tends to be high, to the degree of individual participating group identity. Though the current tall structure and Role culture at Gazda internally complement each other, one can question whether those are the most efficient with regards to the dynamic and highly competitive external environment. Role culture and tall structure is perfectly suited in a stable external environment but cannot maintain maximum productivity in an unpredictable and rapidly changing external environment. Such structures and cultures lack the flexibility to quickly adapt to external influences; it is commonly known that if one cannot adapt to ones external environment then one is in great danger of becoming extinct. It is important to identify the need for reorganisation culture, process and structure. If reorganisation can be justified than the most feasible and effective approach should be implemented to replace its predecessor. The structure at Gazda is a much closed system where information processing and co-operation are slow. It can be said communication is the way to success, hence in order to achieve maximum efficiency champion manufactures need to increase levels of cooperation and information processing to improve the internal environment. Maybe a more organic approach, being an open system which emphasis is placed in group actions; co-operation and team work should be integrated into the present structure and culture along with lateral relationships. The pre dominant advantages of integrating these two new elements are firstly, allowing direct contact between employees and those higher up the hierarchy, hence problems are addressed quicker and time is used efficiently both the current structure and culture will successfully take the business further. In contrast to a tall organisation, a flat organisation will have relatively few layers or just one layer of management. This means that the Chain of Command from top to bottom is short and the span of control is wide. Due to the small number of management layers, flat organisations are often small organisations similar to Bomino Printing. A task culture refers to a team based approach to complete a particular task. They are popular in todays modern business society where the organisation will establish particular project teams to complete a task to date. A task culture clearly offers some benefits. Employees feel motivated because they are empowered to make decisions within their team, they will also feel valued because they may have been selected within that team and given the responsibility to bring the task to a successful end. I say they are both related because the informal structure relates to a particular task carried out by particular groups of individuals working together this is of a similar nature to a task culture. Decision making at managerial levels is more efficient as fewer people need to be informed/included in this process. Thirdly, staff motivation is increased at higher levels of co-operation means employees are not constantly being given simple direct orders by managers. This has a boosting affect on morale and motivation. Last but not least with a free flow of information present, all departments can be encouraged to succumb to change, therefore enabling the organisation to respond to influential external factors. Bomino Printing should remain loyal to the present culture and structure because this will help them build and progress further in the future. Bibliography Human resource management Ian Beardwell and Len Holden Management James A.F Stoner (Fifth edition) Organisations and behaviour Patrick Corner Principles of scientific management Fredrick W. Taylor Web sites http://www.northstar.k12.ak.us/schools/ryn/projects/inventors/taylor/taylor.html http://www.business.com/directory/management/management_theory/contingency_and_system_theory/ http://www.uniqindex.co.za/maslows.htm

About power supply

About power supply Type of Power Supply and their applications Power supply is a device used to provide the electric energy to operate the devices running by electric power. It has many special way to provide electric energy to a specific system â€Å" it is mother of the system â€Å" ( Brown, 2001, p.1 ). The basic function of power supply is to convert Alternative Current voltage to regulated   Direct Current voltage that required by electronic devices. A typical power supply has four different modules each of them has a specific function. Transformer is the first module and its function is to convert high voltage Alternative Current   to low voltage Direct Current. The second module is Rectifier and its main function is to convert low voltage Alternative Current to Direct Current. The third module is smoothing, the Direct Current produced by the rectifier is varying, so smoothing reduce this varying to small rippling. Last module is regulator, it set the Direct Current voltage to constant value by remove the ripples. This is a basic design of power supply. The design can be huge and complicated based on the requirements. This essay will present the four major types of power supply which are Linear Regulators and Switching Mode Power Supply, Programmable Power Supply, Uninterruptible Power Supply. The first type of power supply is Linear regulated power supply. It is the basic type of power supply. It produce the regulated output voltage by drop the input voltage. â€Å"it is though, a very electrically quiet power supply† (Brown, 2001, p.11). they are often used in ground based equipments and distributed power system. Linear regulated power supply function is to convert varying Alternative Current input to regulated Direct Current output. The typical circuit use in this type has tow range. One allow more voltage at low current and the other allow more current at low voltage. Linear regulated power supplies come in tow basic forms called series regulators and shunt regulators. Series regulated power supplies are most common form of linear regulated power supply. The power dissipated in series regulated device is the product of power supply output current and the voltage drop. Shunt regulated power supplies are simpler form of Linear Regulated power supply, but they are less efficient.   Simplicity is the main advantage of linear regulated power supplies. It is used in systems that require extremely low noise. They are more suitable and cost effective for low power applications. It is used in ground based applications and distributed power systems. Since the linear regulated power supply has very low power output voltage ripple, it is used in low noise / low ripple applications such as communication and radio device where noise is very sensitive. It is more efficient in the application which output voltage is nearly equal to input voltage. Second type of power supply is Switching Mode. It operates in ON-OFF mode. It uses switching circuits and energy storage elements such as capacitors and inductors to get the regulated output voltage. â€Å"These circuits are ideally lossless with 100% energy transfer† (Johnny, 2006, p.1). The main advantage of Switching Mode Power Supply is the higher efficiency because of low power dissipation. Switching Mode Power Supply is used in domestic products which often have universal inputs. Mobile phones have changed their power supply technology from linear regulated to Switching Mode Technology. It is widely used in aircraft electric power such as airplane ground support. Third type of power supply is Programmable Power Supply. It provide the power through a computer interface. It generally depends on both Linear regulated and Switched Mode technologies to produce accurate output power. Programmable power supplies are mainly used in automated equipment testing. They are also used in ultrasonic vibration measurement tools. Last type of power supply is Uninterruptible power supply. It is widely known as UPS or power back up. It is widely used as backup power to protect the devices from crashing due to sudden power loss. There are three major categories of Uninterruptible power supply, offline -standby, online and line-interactive. Offline /standby Uninterruptible power supply provides surge protection and battery back-up up to 20 minutes. When the input power supply falls below the starting level, then Uninterruptible power supply turns on its power circuit providing power backup to the device up in certain time (In this type 20   minutes). Line-Interactive Uninterruptible power supply generally uses only one main power convertor to generate the power. The typical protection time varies from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. The operation of Online Uninterruptible power supply is very similar to Standby or Line-Interactive type. The typical protection time varies between 5 minutes to 30 minutes. But, it provides electrical firewall between incoming utility power and sensitive electronic equipment. They are mainly used for surge protection and back power for computers, data centers and telecommunication equipment. They are used to provide the electric isolation for the equipments which are sensitive to power fluctuations. In conclusion, there are different sources of power being used to provide the power to the systems effectively and efficiently. For example, solar energy and wind power are being converting to electric energy to provide the power to large industrial applications. Power supplies are the heart of any system which requires electrical energy. They not only provide power but also provide the protection to the system against outside disturbances. Therefore, design and development considerations of a power supply are more important. As technology is growing, more advanced power supplies are being invented to provide best protection and efficient power to the devices. References: Brown, M. (2001), Power Supply Cook Book, MA, U.S.A, Butterworth- Heinemann. Bennet, C, Johnny (2006), Practical Computer Analysis of switched mode power supplies, FL, U.S.A, CRC Press. Hoff, Michael. and Samstad, Jeffrey, Technical Comparison of On-Line VS. Line-Interactive UPS [online]. Available: http:\www.apcmedia.com/salestools/JSII-5YQSBR_R0_EN.pdf [accessed February 18, 2010] Unknown. http://www.circuit-projects.com/power-supply/uninterruptible-power-supply-ups-basic-circuit-diagram.html, [accessed February 18, 2010] Understanding Linear Power Supply Operation, Application Note 1554 [online]. Available: http://cp.literature.agilent.com/litweb/pdf/5989-2291EN.pdf, [accessed February 16, 2010] Unknown. http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/powersup.htm, [accessed February 17, 2010] Zhang, J, Henry. Linear Regulating and Switching Mode Power Supply Basics[online]. Available: http://www.techonline.com/article/pdf/showPDF.jhtml?id=1931034931[accessed February 15, 2010]

Using the Biological Approach to Explain Lottery Addiction in Children :: essays research papers fc

Using the Biological Approach to Explain Lottery Addiction in Children Britain is producing a generation of child gamblers hooked on the Lottery and fruit machines. Disturbing research by two eminent academics shows that hundreds of thousands of children-some as young as 11- are now addicted despite the supposed legal restrictions. The findings will fuel warnings from lottery critics that the country is storing up social problems and is likely to trigger pressure for a uniform age limit of 18 on all gambling." (Reproduced from AQA A specimen material.) In the A level examination you will be required to explain a target behaviour using any approach. The aim of this activity is to offer you, the candidate, the opportunity to express your true understanding of the approach by your ability to use it in a novel situation. How would you explain lottery addiction in terms of the biological approach? The currency of the biological explanation is brain activity or brain anatomy, nervous impulses and neurotransmitters, hormones, and various organs in the body. A possible explanation could be as follows: (a) Why are young people hooked on the lottery and fruit machines? A psychologist might use the biological approach to explain this behaviour. Such a psychologist would explain the behaviour in terms of brain activity and the action of the central and autonomic nervous systems. The psychologist might also mention hormones. An answer like this would attract relatively few marks as it does little more than sketch out the possible elements of a biological explanation and has not demonstrated a true understanding of the approach. In order to do this you really need to try to put together an explanation of the target behaviour. (a) An explanation of lottery addiction using the biological approach would focus on how biological systems can be used to explain and understand this behaviour. When an individual stands in front of a fruit machine the flashing lights are physiologically arousing, creating a sense of excitement and probably pleasure. Physiological arousal causes the body to produce certain hormones that prepare the person for fight or flight. We can also understand the individual's behaviour in terms of nervous impulses. The eyes watch the pictures on the fruit machine go round and send impulses to the brain where they are interpreted and further messages sent to the hands to press a button at an appropriate moment to stop the machine. In the A level examination you will be given an opportunity to evaluate one of your explanations so you can take the opportunity, as below, to indicate in what way the explanation offered in the first part of the question is lacking.

Racial Equality and the Abolition of Slavery in France :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Racial Equality and the Abolition of Slavery in France When Abbà © Sià ¨yes wondered, "What is the Third Estate [or are slaves]? Nothing. What has it [have they] been until now in the political order? Nothing. What does it [do they] want? To be become something†¦" (65), he could have just as easily spoken of slave's misery rather than the Third Estate's plight. While, his scope was limited, his pains were not. Following their first revolution, the French National Assembly helped to change the world. Enlightened, they saw, they defined, they tried to ease all of mankind's suffering. Finally, the term man began to transcend color. If man has rights, they must apply to all men. And thus, the concept of racial equality is born. I will argue in order to achieve this end, and to prove the necessity of racial equality, Enlightened thinkers exposed flaws in current social philosophy, demonstrated the logical conclusions of their progress, and finally addressed the implications of abolition. Marquis de Condorcet was an outspoken advocate for all forms of human rights-religious, gender, political and especially racial. In his "Dedicatory Epistle to the Negro Slaves" he writes: My Friends, Although I am not the same color as you, I have always regarded you as my brothers. Nature formed us with the same spirit, the same reason, the same virtues as whites†¦Your tyrants will reproach me†¦indeed, nothing is more common than the maxims of humanity and justice†¦ Reducing a man to slavery†¦[takes] from the slave not only all forms of property but also the ability to acquire it†¦ (56). Condorcet employs the technique of de/humanizing his subjects to display the arbitrary nature of slavery. Moderates, slaves, and whites-anyone could achieve slave status under these random means. Society needs to prevent subordination. The white Condorcet speaks almost in apostrophe; the style of his introduction greatly resembles an ode. Addressing the slaves in this manner gives even more deference to the lowly slaves. Similarly, the slaves have been elevated to "My Friends," further humanizing their cause. Although Condorcet was a well-respected member of the National Assembly, he relates to the slaves how "he is not one of the them." The ordered diction again serves to equate a white man to a slave. This segment's tone lacks both condescension and sarcasm. He nearly supplicates to the slaves for their quintessence. His friends-the blacks-are his brethren. If he shares spirit, virtues, and reasons with slaves, what is to distinguish them?

Digital Fortress Chapter 55-58

Chapter 55 â€Å"You're in my seat, asshole.† Becker lifted his head off his arms. Doesn't anyone speak Spanish in this damn country? Glaring down at him was a short, pimple-faced teenager with a shaved head. Half of his scalp was red and half was purple. He looked like an Easter egg. â€Å"I said you're in my seat, asshole.† â€Å"I heard you the first time,† Becker said, standing up. He was in no mood for a fight. It was time to go. â€Å"Where'd you put my bottles?† the kid snarled. There was a safety pin in his nose. Becker pointed to the beer bottles he'd set on the ground. â€Å"They were empty.† â€Å"They were my fuckin' empties!† â€Å"My apologies,† Becker said, and turned to go. The punk blocked his way. â€Å"Pick 'em up!† Becker blinked, not amused. â€Å"You're kidding, right?† He was a full foot taller and outweighed the kid by about fifty pounds. â€Å"Do I fuckin' look like I'm kidding?† Becker said nothing. â€Å"Pick 'em up!† The kid's voice cracked. Becker attempted to step around him, but the teenager blocked his way. â€Å"I said, fuckin' pick 'em up!† Stoned punks at nearby tables began turning to watch the excitement. â€Å"You don't want to do this, kid,† Becker said quietly. â€Å"I'm warning you!† The kid seethed. â€Å"This is my table! I come here every night. Now pick 'em up!† Becker's patience ran out. Wasn't he supposed to be in the Smokys with Susan? What was he doing in Spain arguing with a psychotic adolescent? Without warning, Becker caught the kid under the armpits, lifted him up, and slammed his rear end down on the table. â€Å"Look, you runny-nosed little runt. You're going to back off right now, or I'm going to rip that safety pin out of your nose and pin your mouth shut.† The kid's face went pale. Becker held him a moment, then he released his grip. Without taking his eyes off the frightened kid, Becker stooped down, picked up the bottles, and returned them to the table. â€Å"What do you say?† he asked. The kid was speechless. â€Å"You're welcome,† Becker snapped. This kid's a walking billboard for birth control. â€Å"Go to hell!† the kid yelled, now aware of his peers laughing at him. â€Å"Ass-wipe!† Becker didn't move. Something the kid had said suddenly registered. I come here every night. Becker wondered if maybe the kid could help him. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Becker said, â€Å"I didn't catch your name.† â€Å"Two-Tone,† he hissed, as if he were giving a death sentence. â€Å"Two-Tone?† Becker mused. â€Å"Let me guess†¦ because of your hair?† â€Å"No shit, Sherlock.† â€Å"Catchy name. Make that up yourself?† â€Å"Damn straight,† he said proudly. â€Å"I'm gonna patent it.† Becker scowled. â€Å"You mean trademark it?† The kid looked confused. â€Å"You'd need a trademark for a name,† Becker said. â€Å"Not a patent.† â€Å"Whatever!† the punk screamed in frustration. The motley assortment of drunken and drugged-out kids at the nearby tables were now in hysterics. Two-Tone stood up and sneered at Becker. â€Å"What the fuck do you want from me?† Becker thought a moment. I want you to wash your hair, cleanup your language, and get a job. Becker figured it was too much to ask on a first meeting. â€Å"I need some information,† he said. â€Å"Fuck you.† â€Å"I'm looking for someone.† â€Å"I ain't seen him.† â€Å"Haven't seen him,† Becker corrected as he flagged a passing waitress. He bought two Aguila beers and handed one to Two-Tone. The boy looked shocked. He took a swig of beer and eyed Becker warily. â€Å"You hitting on me, mister?† Becker smiled. â€Å"I'm looking for a girl.† Two-Tone let out a shrill laugh. â€Å"You sure as hell ain't gonna get any action dressed like that!† Becker frowned. â€Å"I'm not looking for action. I just need to talk to her. Maybe you could help me find her.† Two-Tone set down his beer. â€Å"You a cop?† Becker shook his head. The kid's eyes narrowed. â€Å"You look like a cop.† â€Å"Kid, I'm from Maryland. If I were a cop, I'd be a little out of my jurisdiction, don't you think?† The question seemed to stump him. â€Å"My name's David Becker.† Becker smiled and offered his hand across the table. The punk recoiled in disgust. â€Å"Back off, fag boy.† Becker retracted the hand. The kid sneered. â€Å"I'll help you, but it'll cost you.† Becker played along. â€Å"How much?† â€Å"A hundred bucks.† Becker frowned. â€Å"I've only got pesetas.† â€Å"Whatever! Make it a hundred pesetas.† Foreign currency exchange was obviously not one of Two-Tone's fortes; a hundred pesetas was about eighty-seven cents. â€Å"Deal,† Becker said, rapping his bottle on the table. The kid smiled for the first time. â€Å"Deal.† â€Å"Okay,† Becker continued in his hushed tone. â€Å"I figure the girl I'm looking for might hang out here. She's got red, white, and blue hair.† Two-Tone snorted. â€Å"It's Judas Taboo's anniversary. Everybody's got-â€Å" â€Å"She's also wearing a British flag T-shirt and has a skull pendant in one ear.† A faint look of recognition crossed Two-Tone's face. Becker saw it and felt a surge of hope. But a moment later Two-Tone's expression turned stern. He slammed his bottle down and grabbed Becker's shirt. â€Å"She's Eduardo's, you asshole! I'd watch it! You touch her, and he'll kill you!† Chapter 56 Midge Milken prowled angrily into the conference room across from her office. In addition to the thirty-two foot mahogany table with the NSA seal inlaid in black cherry and walnut, the conference room contained three Marion Pike watercolors, a Boston fern, a marble wet bar, and of course, the requisite Sparklett's water cooler. Midge helped herself to a glass of water, hoping it might calm her nerves. As she sipped at the liquid, she gazed across at the window. The moonlight was filtering through the open venetian blind and playing on the grain of the table. She'd always thought this would make a nicer director's office than Fontaine's current location on the front of the building. Rather than looking out over the NSA parking lot, the conference room looked out over an impressive array of NSA outbuildings-including the Crypto dome, a high-tech island floating separate from the main building on three wooded acres. Purposefully situated behind the natural cover of a grove of maples, Crypto was difficult to see from most windows in the NSA complex, but the view from the directorial suite was perfect. To Midge the conference room seemed the perfect vantage point for a king to survey his domain. She had suggested once that Fontaine move his office, but the director had simply replied, â€Å"Not on the rear.† Fontaine was not a man to be found on the back end of anything. Midge pulled apart the blinds. She stared out at the hills. Sighing ruefully, she let her eyes fall toward the spot where Crypto stood. Midge had always felt comforted by the sight of the Crypto dome-a glowing beacon regardless of the hour. But tonight, as she gazed out, there was no comfort. Instead she found herself staring into a void. As she pressed her face to the glass, she was gripped by a wild, girlish panic. Below her there was nothing but blackness. Crypto had disappeared! Chapter 57 The Crypto bathrooms had no windows, and the darkness surrounding Susan Fletcher was absolute. She stood dead still for a moment trying to get her bearings, acutely aware of the growing sense of panic gripping her body. The horrible cry from the ventilation shaft seemed to hang all around her. Despite her effort to fight off a rising sense of dread, fear swept across her flesh and took control. In a flurry of involuntary motion, Susan found herself groping wildly across stall doors and sinks. Disoriented, she spun through the blackness with her hands out in front of her and tried to picture the room. She knocked over a garbage can and found herself against a tiled wall. Following the wall with her hand, she scrambled toward the exit and fumbled for the door handle. She pulled it open and stumbled out onto the Crypto floor. There she froze for a second time. The Crypto floor looked nothing like it had just moments ago. TRANSLTR was a gray silhouette against the faint twilight coming in through the dome. All of the overhead lighting was dead. Not even the electronic keypads on the doors were glowing. As Susan's eyes became accustomed to the dark, she saw that the only light in Crypto was coming through the open trapdoor-a faint red glow from the utility lighting below. She moved toward it. There was the faint smell of ozone in the air. When she made it to the trapdoor, she peered into the hole. The freon vents were still belching swirling mist through the redness, and from the higher-pitched drone of the generators, Susan knew Crypto was running on backup power. Through the mist she could make out Strathmore standing on the platform below. He was leaning over the railing and staring into the depths of TRANSLTR's rumbling shaft. â€Å"Commander!† There was no response. Susan eased onto the ladder. The hot air from below rushed in under her skirt. The rungs were slippery with condensation. She set herself down on the grated landing. â€Å"Commander?† Strathmore did not turn. He continued staring down with a blank look of shock, as if in a trance. Susan followed his gaze over the banister. For a moment she could see nothing except wisps of steam. Then suddenly she saw it. A figure. Six stories below. It appeared briefly in the billows of steam. There it was again. A tangled mass of twisted limbs. Lying ninety feet below them, Phil Chartrukian was sprawled across the sharp iron fins of the main generator. His body was darkened and burned. His fall had shorted out Crypto's main power supply. But the most chilling image of all was not of Chartrukian but of someone else, another body, halfway down the long staircase, crouched, hiding in the shadows. The muscular frame was unmistakable. It was Greg Hale. Chapter 58 The punk screamed at Becker, â€Å"Megan belongs to my friend Eduardo! You stay away from her!† â€Å"Where is she?† Becker's heart was racing out of control. â€Å"Fuck you!† â€Å"It's an emergency!† Becker snapped. He grabbed the kid's sleeve. â€Å"She's got a ring that belongs tome. I'll pay her for it! A lot!† Two-Tone stopped dead and burst into hysterics. â€Å"You mean that ugly, gold piece of shit is yours?† Becker's eyes widened. â€Å"You've seen it?† Two-Tone nodded coyly. â€Å"Where is it?† Becker demanded. â€Å"No clue.† Two-Tone chuckled. â€Å"Megan was up here trying to hock it.† â€Å"She was trying to sell it?† â€Å"Don't worry, man, she didn't have any luck. You've got shitty taste in jewelry.† â€Å"Are you sure nobody bought it?† â€Å"Are you shitting me? For four hundred bucks? I told her I'd give her fifty, but she wanted more. She was trying to buy a plane ticket-standby.† Becker felt the blood drain from his face. â€Å"Whereto?† â€Å"Fuckin' Connecticut,† Two-tone snapped. â€Å"Eddie's bummin'.† â€Å"Connecticut?† â€Å"Shit, yeah. Going back to Mommy and Daddy's mansion in the burbs. Hated her Spanish homestay family. Three Spic brothers always hitting on her. No fucking hot water.† Becker felt a knot rise in his throat. â€Å"When is she leaving?† Two-Tone looked up. â€Å"When?† He laughed. â€Å"She's long gone by now. Went to the airport hours ago. Best spot to hock the ring-rich tourists and shit. Once she got the cash, she was flying out.† A dull nausea swept through Becker's gut. This is some kind of sick joke, isn't it? He stood a long moment. â€Å"What's her last name?† Two-Tone pondered the question and shrugged. â€Å"What flight was she taking?† â€Å"She said something about the Roach Coach.† â€Å"Roach Coach?† â€Å"Yeah. Weekend red-eye-Seville, Madrid, La Guardia. That's what they call it. College kids take it 'cause it's cheap. Guess they sit in back and smoke roaches.† Great. Becker groaned, running a hand through his hair. â€Å"What time did it leave?† â€Å"Two a.m. sharp, every Saturday night. She's somewhere over the Atlantic by now.† Becker checked his watch. It read 1:45 p.m. He turned to Two-Tone, confused. â€Å"You said it's a two a.m. flight?† The punk nodded, laughing. â€Å"Looks like you're fucked, ol' man.† Becker pointed angrily to his watch. â€Å"But it's only quarter to two!† Two-Tone eyed the watch, apparently puzzled. â€Å"Well, I'll be damned.† he laughed. â€Å"I'm usually not this buzzed till four a.m.!† â€Å"What's the fastest way to the airport?† Becker snapped. â€Å"Taxi stand out front.† Becker grabbed a 1,000-peseta note from his pocket and stuff edit in Two-Tone's hand. â€Å"Hey, man, thanks!† the punk called after him. â€Å"If you see Megan, tell her I said hi!† But Becker was already gone. Two-Tone sighed and staggered back toward the dance floor. He was too drunk to notice the man in wire-rim glasses following him. Outside, Becker scanned the parking lot for a taxi. There was none. He ran over to a stocky bouncer. â€Å"Taxi!† The bouncer shook his head. â€Å"Demasiado temprano. Too early.† Too early? Becker swore. It's two o'clock in the morning! â€Å"Pidame uno! Call me one!† The man pulled out a walkie-talkie. He said a few words and then signed off. â€Å"Veinte minutos,† he offered. â€Å"Twenty minutes?!† Becker demanded. â€Å"Y elautobus?† The bouncer shrugged. â€Å"Forty-five minutos.† Becker threw up his hands. Perfect! The sound of a small engine turned Becker's head. It sounded like a chainsaw. A big kid and his chain-clad date pulled into the parking lot on an old Vespa 250 motorcycle. The girl's skirt had blown high on her thighs. She didn't seem to notice. Becker dashed over. I can't believe I'm doing this, he thought. I hate motorcycles. He yelled to the driver. â€Å"I'll pay you ten thousand pesetas to take me to the airport!† The kid ignored him and killed the engine. â€Å"Twenty thousand!† Becker blurted. â€Å"I need to get to the airport!† The kid looked up. â€Å"Scusi?† He was Italian. â€Å"Aeroporto! Per favore. Sulla Vespa! Venti mille pesete!† The Italian eyed his crummy, little bike and laughed. â€Å"Venti mille pesete? La Vespa?† â€Å"Cinquanta mille! Fifty thousand!† Becker offered. It was about four hundred dollars. The Italian laughed doubtfully. â€Å"Dov'e la plata? Where's the cash?† Becker pulled five 10,000-peseta notes from his pocket and held them out. The Italian looked at the money and then at his girlfriend. The girl grabbed the cash and stuffed it in her blouse. â€Å"Grazie!† the Italian beamed. He tossed Becker the keys to his Vespa. Then he grabbed his girlfriend's hand, and they ran off laughing into the building. â€Å"Aspetta!† Becker yelled. â€Å"Wait! I wanted a ride!†

Explication of “Dulce Et Decorum Est” by: Wilfred Owen Essay

The tone is very harsh and he speaks very direct. He uses words that will shock you and leave you with a sick feeling. In the first stanza, the first two lines of the poem are, â€Å"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks/Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge†. This represents the men bent over carrying their belongings through the mud. They are being compared to as old beggars & hags, (miserable ugly old women). However, these men were young. In the third and forth lines, â€Å"Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs/And towards our distant rest began to trudge†, represents the tired soldiers heading back to camp. In the fifth and six lines, â€Å"Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots/But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;† this shows how tired the men were as if they were marching in their sleep. Many have lost their boots and their feet are bleeding. In the seventh and eighth line, â€Å"Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots/Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind. † This shows that the soldiers are so tired and can’t get away from the explosives that are falling behind them. In the second stanza, the first two lines of the poem are, â€Å"Gas! GAS! Quick boys! -An ecstasy of fumbling,/Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;. † These lines reveal that their enemies have released toxic gas into the air to try to kill them. All the soldiers were struggling to get on their gas masks as quickly as they could. The third and fourth lines of the poem are, â€Å"But someone was still yelling out and stumbling/And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime †¦Ã¢â‚¬  These lines describe a soldier who was stumbling all over the place due to the toxic gas. This man didn’t get his gas mask on in time. The fifth and sixth ines of the poem is, â€Å"Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,/As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. † These lines give you a mental image of the toxic gas. Another soldier is witnessing this man slowly dying. In the third stanza, the first two lines are, â€Å"In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,/He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. † These lin es show how this man is haunted by the sights he witnessed of his fellow soldier dying from the toxic gas. The third and fourth lines of the poem are, â€Å"If in some smothering dreams you too could pace/Behind the wagon that we flung him in,. In these lines, the speaker wants you to be able to witness and see what he actually saw during this war. He wants you to be able to picture it in your mind. Soldiers didn’t have time to mourn or care where to dispose of the dead bodies. The fifth and sixth lines of the poem are, â€Å"And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,/His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;. † These lines describe soldiers dying. Their eyes are rolling back in their heads and they are questioning everything that they’ve ever been told about dying for your country. The metaphor â€Å"like a devil sick of sin† implies how horrible everything was and the terrible sights that they’ve witnessed. A devil is never sick of sin. The next four lines of the poem are, â€Å"If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood/Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,/Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud/Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,. † These lines give you a mental image of how disgusting the effects of the gas have on your body after it kills you. Your body breaks out in sores like cancer moving at an extremely fast rate. This was really a horrible way to die. The last three lines in the poem are, â€Å"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest/To children ardent for some desperate glory,/The old lie: Dulce et decorum est. † These lines are saying that you wouldn’t tell your child with enthusiasm what really goes on during the war. It isn’t at all what it’s cracked up to be. It takes a lot of mental and physical strength to be in the army. â€Å"The old lie: Dulce et decorum est† means â€Å"It is sweet and fitting to die for one’s country. †

Internal and external forces that impact organizational behavior Essay

Most organizations have a focus on where they are going to be in a given time, this is often known as strategic planning. The organization’s mission covers various areas of interest including the service expected as well as the upkeep of the organization to attract potential customers. It is known to most companies where they are going; often all employees can view and read the philosophy of the mission statement, it is also placed in an area easily accessible for that purpose. A mission statement also leads to the vision of the corporation, more on a long-term basis thus, providing a pathway by doing marketing research in the market of interest. To keep ahead of the competition the mission must be implemented as well as trying new methods of operation. The vision must be able to measure with the value of the organizational operation in specific areas of interest such as customer service and employee relations. As mentioned earlier these areas can be measured via surveys, this will allow areas, which need improvement to be easily corrected. There is an area of interest and it is the value of the organization’s mission. Without the vision and value, the organization lacks foundation. The value counts for how much this organization is to each individual, whether customers or employees. The level of care and interest; as well as, input and output to get the correct value for the improvement of the organization. Organizational behavior is described as the study of group or individual dynamics within an organizational environment (Wikipedia, 2004). A company’s work environment is created and produced by the groups or the individual people who work within it. Employees often find themselves conforming to their ever changing environment. The economics of the world has a significant influence on both the modern business and the organizational behavior of that business. For any company to be successful, it is crucial to understand the elements that can affect the economy that supports its business. The economy can be affected by many different kinds of issues or measurements, like the interest rate, inflation rate, and employment rates. The businesses of the twenty first century face the trials of functioning in a global or multinational market. Each business will labor intensely to locate the markets in the world that offer the best  services for the least costly prices. These same companies know that worldwide events will affect all businesses. On the other side of the economy, there are the companies that offer services and products, which struggle to achieve the premium positions in the market. They are willing to transform and change their organization to meet the challenges of the changing marketplace. The organizational changes are often initiated from the top and trickled down through the ranks. The changes can range from the way selections are fulfilled to decisions made. Jobs are often redefined. People employed for these restructuring businesses can find this to be painful, but necessary for their company to succeed (Randolph & Sashkin,2002). Companies that are negatively affected by the economy could show signs of opportunity constraints. This could cause the organizational behavior to change and become less concerned with profits and more focused on surviving or moving on to a more secure location. Listed below are some of the businesses that have changed from the past goods mentality to the modern times of offered services. They have fundamentally revised their businesses from companies that had a foundation in trading merchandise to businesses that now supply services. These services are offered by companies like AOL, Cross Country Group, AT&T, Cox Services, Clarion Hotels, and many more (Lusch et al., 2004). However, these changes in business now bring competition to the table. This can forcefully affect the economy in any country. Many countries offer cheaper labor and tax breaks by offering outsourcing services. Some on the companies mentioned before have already taken advantage of the cost-effective changes, by moving part of their business overseas (Chip shots). In the call center environment today, there is an abundance of competition. The competition lies within the call center itself; in addition, there is rivalry with other call centers. For instance, Tucson happens to have approximately between twenty to twenty-five call centers in the area alone. The call centers compete with each other for the associates, by offering better pay, more flexible schedules, and superior benefits to try to convince people into working for them. People tend to jump from one call  center to another, which may be offering something that the other one is not. They also compete with each other technologically, trying to be up to date with the latest and greatest computer programs, having the best quality and customer service. Call centers also compete for industry awards. Within the call center there can be major competition between departments and employees. Employees compete for, job advancement, call handling time, and quality. Call centers are infamous for offering incentives. Centers are always trying to improve on their statistics and be the best, and the way they do this is by offering the employee incentives to motivate them to perform at the highest possible level. Incentives might range from money bonuses, televisions, DVD players, vacations, and they have actually given away cars. Not only do call centers have incentives monetarily they also like to recognize good performers by giving them awards, thus a big factor of competition ensues. Associates like to see who can get the most awards, best quality certificates or who can get the most pictures on the board. Departments may compete to see who will have the best attendance for the month, or the best attrition rate. Upper management might even challenge the Human Resources department to a friendly game of volleyball, just to keep things lively and motivate even the toughest of management. Customer demands can directly affect organizational behavior in a business. These demands can be stressful and challenging and may create a series of issues that may well lead to harmful affects or end results that could negatively and directly affect an organization. Internal and external forces of customer demands can affect behavior in an organization in several ways. External forces, such as stress in an employee’s personal or home life may cause a series of effects on their quality of work. A demanding or unremitting workload accompanied by inadequate staffing to support a hefty seasonal increase in business, in addition to a person’s distressed personal state of mind, can cause the external and internal affects to collide with one another creating a precarious wind of disarray in the workplace. These combined forces have a real impact and can negatively affect and weigh heavily on an employee;  ultimately affecting the organization. Consumer demands are usually just that- demands. The business of consumer assistance may not always result in supplying what the customer thinks they deserve. Sometimes these demands may be justified; yet, more often than not, these requests are simply unrealistic. Ultimately the end result may be advising a consumer that they have exhausted all requests and will not be receiving what they want or what they think they are entitled to. Worse yet, if they indeed will be receiving what they want, they may not be receiving as expeditiously as they may be insisting upon. These demands and effects on the members of staff can lead to, or include a loss of sleep; consequently, leading to lack of overall productivity, loss of an ability to remain focused on work or the task at hand; hence, leading to mistakes or inadvertent poor judgment. Additionally, the external stressors may cause one to react indifferently or antagonistically toward their co-workers or customers; as a result, generating a negative work atmosphere and unavoidably leading to providing poor customer service, or an overall deficient quality of work. Some Internal forces that might have an influence on organizational behavior could include: an overbearing boss or superior, or a person placed in charge of a group of employees that may not necessarily be an adequate leader. A manager or superior that is inconsistent with the enforcement of policy or discipline amongst employees can be very bad for morale. Workers may notice these types of inconsistencies in an insufficient manager and they may take offense to the preferential treatment given to a select few. When workers are filled to capacity with a constant flow of consumer demands, insufficient staffing, and heavy workload, the result may be inevitable – a less than positive or productive environment producing an overabundance of negative organizational behaviors. Change is the only dependable constant. Methods to produce success are created on a daily basis. In order to maintain success within any  organization it is necessary to research new practices that will accommodate these changes. When the time comes to reorganize a company it is important to make sure the new strategies match the values of the company. It is important that every person at each level of employment understand how their role affects the company. The benefits of reconstructing an organization may not be initially evident; however, the long-term benefits will be realized through the company’s success. The strategies for obtaining success within any organization have changed throughout time. In a call center environment, reconstruction is very frequent. All shareholders of the organization are taken into consideration when these decisions are made. The representatives speaking to the clients are the most valuable assets to the company. It is necessary for the company to offer a competitive benefits package that attracts prospective employees; as well as, provides incentive to retain talent. There are many call centers that need positions to be filled. Matching pay, benefits, and other employee needs with competitive employers is a large task. Once an employee is hired, it then becomes a challenge to maintain that employee’s interest. It is very common for a person to obtain employment in a call center, acquire experience, just to move on to another center. Every position in the company plays an important role in contributing to the company’s success. Surveys are often used to determine the needs of the representatives in order to enhance the company’s performance. The results will assist the upper management with making decisions on how they can make their employees happier, while increasing or maintaining productivity. It is very common for a call center to work in a team environment. These teams usually consist of the front line representatives, team leaders, and supervisors. The front line representatives are the first contact the consumer will encounter. The team leaders are those who exhibit exceptional skills in handling those client’s concerns. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the people in those positions continue productivity while  supporting the company’s goals. They are many internal and external forces that impact organizational behavior. Reconstructing, organizational mission, economy, competition, and customer demands are examples of the many effects that can move, create, and drive organizational behavior.