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Melting Pot free essay sample

The blend has been utilized allegorically to depict the elements of American public activity. Notwithstanding its spellbinding uses, it has ...

Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Go Hand in Hand Essay

It’s a brisk November morning like any other day, but today isn’t any other day, today is the first day of firearm deer season. Shots are going off everywhere like world war three declared on deer. I’m wrapped in every hunting garment I own but winters cold embrace always finds its way in. My cheeks are rosy red and my breath was thick in the air. As I raise my shotgun and pull the trigger, my heart races and my hands shake. As I race after my prize, the sounds of leaves crunching beneath my feet are muffled by the ringing in my ears. I’m walking face to the ground like a hound on a trail and then my eyes caught it, my very first whitetail. I will never forget my first deer and the joy I felt sharing it with my family. Hunting†¦show more content†¦Do not leave gates open or mess with livestock. Leave everything as it was or how the farmer tells you to leave it. When you are hunting deer with a firearm or your just in the woods during firear m season you must wear blaze orange . Deer hunters can only harvest two bucks a year and as many does they want as long as they have tags. If the buck has antlers three inches or less you can stick a doe tag on it (Dnr.Illinois.gov). In some rare occasions does can have antlers and if harvested one must put a buck tag on the deer, if its antlers are bigger than three inches. Albino deer cannot be shot, but pieball deer can. In Illinois you can use a pistol, muzzleloader, shotgun, bow or crossbow to take down a whitetail. All of them have certain calibers and weight that are legal to shoot a deer with. A pistol needs to be at least a .38 caliber. A shotgun can’t be smaller than a 20 gauge and use a slug. An archer must be pulling a weight of forty pounds at least to shoot a deer. There is no deer rifle hunting in Illinois. A hunter should be a certain distance away from a road or a highway (Dnr.Illinois.gov). Another way to learn is to go hunting with a avid hunter or outdoo rsman that’s had experience. Hunting safety in general is mostly common sense. When taking your hunters safety course it will teach you and show you the does and don’ts of hunting. A good hunter is a safe, legal, and moral hunter who knows what he or sheShow MoreRelatedHunting : The Benefits Of Wildlife Conservation1237 Words   |  5 PagesThe Benefits of Hunting Conservation is the protection and preservation of nature (Peterson 53). Hunting is an important part of the conservation of wildlife. Hunting is widely considered a crucial part of wildlife conservation. Hunting benefits wildlife by controlling the population, raising funds for wildlife conservation, and protect wildlife. In America, there are 15 million hunters annually (â€Å"Hunting conservation†1). Hunting is a common activity around the world. Hunting is performed for severalRead MoreHunting Conservation : Wildlife Management Tool875 Words   |  4 PagesHunting is viewed as a sport or hobby in which the activity of hunting wild animals or game is the goal, especially for food or sport. On the other hand is Conservation, which is the action of conserving something, in particular. Preservation, protection, or restoration of the natural environment, natural ecosystems, vegetation, and wildlife are just some of the examples in which conservation is exercised. If you were ask anyone, usually you would view Hunting and Conservation as two opposites. ButRead MoreHunting: an Act of Conservation1175 Words   |  5 PagesAugust 4, 1025 Hunting: An Act of Conservation Some would say hunting is simply a sport, while others would say it provides assistance in conservation efforts. â€Å"Conservation is defined as a careful preservation and protection of something; especially planned management of a natural resource to prevent exploitation, destruction, or neglect† (Merriam-Webster, n.d.) Hunting serves as an act of conservation, by assisting in population control, while also providing funding for wildlife management through Read MoreThe Big Hunting Game By Ernest Hemingway And Theodore Roosevelt1372 Words   |  6 PagesThe Big Hunting Game Since ancient times, humans for the necessity of food, hunted wild animals, as they did not know how to organize a farm. They lived as nomads following the movement of their prey. Then the man began to breed animals, and this allowed him to have a fixed residence and hunting was no longer necessary, though not as much. Now, the hunt is no longer practiced for food, but for fun and sport, called Big Hunting. Captured and killed for trophies sport in Africa, the hunting of animalsRead MoreA Debate On Owning A Gun1516 Words   |  7 Pagesgovernment. Another reason for owning a gun, as an American citizen, is the bonding as a family while hunting. Hunting is a way for families to get away from the stresses of life and electricity, and back to nature. Firearms are an important part of hunting. There are several positive reasons for hunting.. Hunting has been a traditional source of food for humans since the beginning of man. Hunting also provides skins for cloths and leathers that colder regions use to keep warm or for trade. Big gameRead MoreWhat Efforts Are Being Taken Wildlife Protect Endangered Wildlife?1244 Words   |  5 Pages What efforts are being taken to protect endangered wildlife? The animals are in trouble, and we need to help. Whether you want to believe it or not, animals seen all around the globe are slowly dying out. We can t fully stop this devastating loss of life, but we can prevent animals dying from causes like pollution, deforestation, and hunting. What does endangered mean to you? Does it mean some unimportant animal is dying out or does it mean that part of our world as we knowRead MoreThe Importance Of Animal Conservation1723 Words   |  7 Pages There are many animals that inhabit our Earth that are nearing extinction. Conservational efforts are made to help ensure that animals continue to reproduce normally and do not go extinct. The crisis between economic growth and allowing normal animal patterns is an ever-growing issue in today’s modern world. Roads must be built to allow transport which brings economic growth to cities. On the downside, roads often lead to animal casualties. Agriculture brings wealth and food to villages but is o ftenRead MoreWildlife Conservation and Biology Essay1571 Words   |  7 Pagesland mammals. Wildlife biologists get the privilege of studying and spending time with these animals as their everyday life. I should be a wildlife biologist so I can study land mammals. Wildlife biology is a field of biology in which land animals are studied. It deals with all animals with backbones and studies individual species of wildlife, their habitats, and surrounding ecosystems (Fitzgerald). It also studies how animals may interact with their ecosystem. Without wildlife biology we wouldRead MorePoaching Of Alberta And Its Effect On All Living Unites1027 Words   |  5 Pagesneeds to be addressed: poaching in Alberta. Hunting holds great importance within Alberta. As a tradition and a sustainability resource, residents of Alberta thrive off of either the thrill of hunting or the resources it provides. Controversies aside, hunting is an important activity for the Alberta lifestyle. We (as a whole) live off of the culture of its community or the products of the sport. Our industries, our lifestyles, are benefitted by hunting, whether you’re a hunter or not. However, weRead MoreLaw Is An Integral Part Of A Functioning Society Essay1924 Words   |  8 Pagesunable to defend themselves from the likes of man, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s officers and biologists create and enforce regulations to maintain and protect natural resources. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission consists of 2,118.5 full-time-equivalent employees, including 853 sworn law enforcement officers. All personnel work together to protect and manage more than 575 species of wildl ife, 200 species of freshwater fish and 500 species of saltwater fish

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

Essay on A Portrait of Duke Ellington by Tracy Frech

A Portrait of Duke Ellington By Tracy Frech Duke Ellington is considered to be one of the greatest figures in the history of American music. Edward Kennedy Duke Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on April 29, 1899. His parents were James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. They raised Duke as an only child, until his sister, Ruth, was born when Duke was sixteen years old. Duke, even as a teenager, had a great talent for music. In the beginning of his musical life, Duke began to take a promising interest in a new type of music that would later be called jazz. Choosing to base his career on a new idea may not have been smart, but Duke did take this chance and in turn became one of the most famous musicians in America. Dukes†¦show more content†¦In the Autumn of 1927, luck had crossed paths with Duke again. The manager of Dukes band, Irving Mills, had heard that the prestigious cotton club was looking for a new band and immediately Irving began campaigning for Duke. Duke and his band opened on December 4, 1927 to meet a mad rush of spectators who eagerly awaited to hear Dukes newest pieces. Dukes band became very prosperous and they had their own spot on the Cotton Club floor with special lighting and accommodations. At the year of 1928 the band consisted of Bubber Miley, Freddy Jenkins, and Arthur Whetsol on trumpet, joined with Tricky Sam Nanton, and Juan Tizol on trombone. Johnny Hodges, now on alto sax, with Barney Bigard doubled on tenor sax and clarinet, and finally Harry Carney at seventeen years old joined on bari sax. Carney was known as one of the first people in a band ever to use the bari sax as a solo instrument. While Dukes band was performing at the Cotton Club, his band participated in more than sixty-four recording sessions. In 1931 Duke grew so tired of the show-business routines that he decided to try his luck again on his own. When he arrived in New York his band grew to almost three times what it originally had been at the Cotton Club. Duke feared that this would become a very serious problem considering how the stock market crashed in late 1929 and millions of people across the United States were out of work. Somehow, though,Show MoreRelatedEssay on A Portrait Of Duke Ellington By Tracy Frech1748 Words   |  7 Pages A Portrait of Duke Ellington By Tracy Frech Duke Ellington is considered to be one of the greatest figures in the history of American music. Edward Kennedy quot;Dukequot; Ellington was born in Washington D.C. on April 29, 1899. His parents were James Edward and Daisy Kennedy Ellington. They raised Duke as an only child, until his sister, Ruth, was born when Duke was sixteen years old. Duke, even as a teenager, had a great talent for music. In the beginning of his musical life, Duke began to

Monday, December 9, 2019

The impact of the approach on the segment - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss aboutThe impact of the approach on the segment. Answer: Disclosure of impairment of assets The AASB 136 defines impaired asset of companies to be those assets whose market values are less than the values, which are recorded in the balance sheets of the concerned companies. If an asset is impaired, then the carrying value of the same is found to be larger than the value recoverable of the asset (Guthrie and Pang 2013). If there are indications regarding the presence of impairment in any asset of the company, then it becomes a responsibility of the concerned company to estimate the recoverable amount of the suspected asset at each accounting periods end. Though, impairment tests are carried out annually, however, in presence of high chances of impairment in any asset, the company can test the asset for impairment more frequently (Christensen and Nikolaev 2013). In some cases, if it becomes non-feasible for the company to calculate the recovering value of the concerned asset, then for the purpose of impairment calculation, the company can estimate the recoverable value of the particular cash-generating unit containing the concerned asset (Bugeja, Czernkowski and Moran 2015). There exists several indications, both external as well as internal, which provide evidences towards the presence of impairment of assets. Like that of the conduction of impairment tests on its asset, the procedure of disclosure of impairment in assets is also of immense significance and there exist several norms for disclosure of impairment for each of the different classes of assets, which are discussed in the following section of the essay, as per the regulations of AASB 136. By the term Class of assets, the groups of assets of similar nature, which are used for the operations of the concerned company are meant. Therefore, if impairment tests are taken for a class of assets in a company, then as per Para 126 of AASB 136, the company needs to disclose the amount of loss arising due to the presence of impairment, in the profit or loss, in the current period. The disclosure is also supposed to include the line item or items of the comprehensive income statement, which include the impairment loss. Along with these, the company also needs to disclose the reversal amounts for the impairment losses, which are recognized in that period in the profit or loss, along with the line items of the comprehensive income statements including those impairment losses. The disclosure also includes the impairment loss amount on the revalued assets, which are recognized in the other comprehensive incomes in the current period, and the reversal amount of the same on the revalued assets during that period. However, if a company reports segment information as per the AASB 8, then in each of their reportable segments, the company needs to disclose the impairment loss amounts, which are recognized in the profit/loss and also in the other comprehensive incomes of that particular period. Apart from that, the reversal amounts of impairment losses are also supposed to be included in their disclosure (Faras and Rodrguez 2015). The impairment disclosure of the companies, for each of the material impairment loss, which are recognized or are reversed in the current period, for any goodwill including asset or any cash-generating unit should include the details of the circumstances and events, which have led to the reversal, or the recognition of the loss arising out of impairment. These are in accordance to the Para 130 of AASB 136. The impairment loss amount, which are recognized or reversed, is also required to be disclosed. The disclosure also needs to mention whether the recoverable amount of the concerned cash-generating unit or the individual asset is the value in use of the same or its fair value less the costs (Bond, Govendir and Wells 2016). In case of the presence of the fair value less cost being the recoverable amount, then the basis, which has been used for the determination of the same, has to be mentioned in the disclosure of the company. In the cases where the recoverable value of the assets or the units are in use, then the disclosure needs to include the discount rates which are used in the current and the previous estimates of the value in use (if any). However, there lie several differences regarding the nature of disclosure for the individual asset and for the cash generating unit. In case of the individual asset, the disclosure should include the nature of the assets and also the reportable segment which includes the asset, as per the regulations of AASB 8. On the other hand, the disclosure for the impairment loss for a cash-generating unit should include the description of that unit, regarding its product line, business operations and the geographical domain (Kang and Gray 2013). Along with the same, the reversed or recognized impairment loss by the class of assets is also required to be included. There may be the presence of change in the assets aggregation for the purpose of identification of the cash-generating unit after the previous calculation of the recoverable amount of the same. In these cases, the disclosure needs to contain a description of the aggregation methods of assets (current and former) and the reasons of the change in the ways of identification of the cash generating units. There may be several companies which do not disclose the impairment loss in accordance to the Para 130. Then for aggregate impairment losses and the aggregate reversal of the same, which are recognized in that period, as per the assertions of the Para 131, the company needs to disclose the primary asset classes which are affected by these losses and those affected by the reversal of such losses. The disclosure should also include the circumstances and events, which has led to recognition or reversal of the concerned impairment losses (He, Evans and He 2016). Para 84 depicts the situations which may arise in case of the goodwill allocated cash generating units. According to this Para, if any part of the goodwill which is acquired during a particular reporting period, is not allocated to the concerned cash generating unit by the end of the concerned reporting period, then the disclosure needs to state the amount of the goodwill which is unallocated along with the reasons behind the same (Ji 2013). References Bond, D., Govendir, B. and Wells, P., 2016. An evaluation of asset impairment decisions by Australian firms and whether this was impacted by AASB 136. Bugeja, M., Czernkowski, R. and Moran, D., 2015. The impact of the management approach on segment reporting.Journal of Business Finance Accounting,42(3-4), pp.310-366. Christensen, H.B. and Nikolaev, V.V., 2013. Does fair value accounting for non-financial assets pass the market test?.Review of Accounting Studies,18(3), pp.734-775. Faras, P. and Rodrguez, R., 2015. Segment disclosures under IFRS 8s management approach: has segment reporting improved?.Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting/Revista Espanola de Financiacion y Contabilidad,44(2), pp.117-133. Guthrie, J. and Pang, T.T., 2013. Disclosure of Goodwill Impairment under AASB 136 from 20052010.Australian Accounting Review,23(3), pp.216-231. He, L., Evans, E. and He, R., 2016. The Impact of AASB 8 Operating Segments on Analysts Earnings Forecasts: Australian Evidence.Australian Accounting Review,26(4), pp.330-340. Ji, K., 2013. Better late than never, the timing of goodwill impairment testing in Australia.Australian Accounting Review,23(4), pp.369-379. Kang, H. and Gray, S.J., 2013. Segment reporting practices in Australia: Has IFRS 8 made a difference?.Australian Accounting Review,23(3), pp.232-243.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

THE POLITICS OF MY WAY Unlike The United States, With Its Generalissim

THE POLITICS OF MY WAY Unlike the United States, with its generalissimo politics-Washington, Jackson, Grant, Eisehower- the martial arts have been conspicuously absent from Canadian politics. But there in one exception: in 1968 Pierre Elliot Trudeau became the first Canadian leader to bring the gunslinger-Lone Ranger ethos to Canadian politics. Trudeau introduced to Canada the refined art of single combat; it was the politics of "Doing It My Way"-the politics of going my way or being left behind. Single-combat confrontation implied much mor than the loner or renegade in power, and far far less than the shaman black tricks of Mackenzie King. Trudeau was always far more the solo Philosopher King engaged in intellectual trial by combat than the Magus Merlin conjuring up solutions by puffs of smoke, sleight of hand or divine intervention. Ouijaboard politics was the occult domain of Mackenzie King, a man virtually devoid of policy, a political palm reader forever checking the wh ims and moods of his powerful baronial-Ralston Howe, St. Laurent-and sometimes Byronian colleagues to see how best he could placate them, or calm them, or Heap his beatitudes upon them. Trudeau, from day one , was always more samurai than shaman. Even in his pre- leadership days, Trudeau's love of trial by combat was predominant. Mackenzie King would have never touched the unholy trinity of divorce, abortion and homosexuality: each one of these issues is a sleeping dog best left to lie; each could only infuriate conservative Canada from coast to coast. Since King dared not touch them seriatim he certainly would not have touched them together-in an omnibus bill. This, Trudeau did joyously. The myths-makers have it at this was Trudeau's first deliberated joust, the kingship being the final prize. But Trudeau had no leadership aspirations at the time; all that he had, still has, was the love of combat for the sake of combat and religious scruples be damned. Trudeau the Catholic z ealot tackle divorce, abortion and homosexuality active Prime Minister in this country's history, liberated the homosexual practitioners of black acts totally abhorrent to him; ironically, in the process, Trudeau gave irrational Canada a pretext for branding him a homosexual too. P.E.T. has always hated the consensus building of Mackenzie King; even the populist following of a Diefenbaker was an anathema to Trudeau. The single-combat warrior "doing it my way" is always alone; he leads the people but is not of them; like the prophet he wanders either in dessert or lush green pastures and often, like the prophet, he watches his people march into the Promised Land without him. For Trudeau, being alone is to be free; victory is a consequence of solitude; companionship an act of weakness, cronyism even wise. It is ironic that Trudeau, a devout Jansenist Roman Catholic, emotionally and philosophically opposed to both divorce and abortion, should grant Canadians greatly expanded divo rce rights and their first right to legale abortion. Trudeau took the unholy trinity then disturbing the bedrooms of the nation because all three were trial combat, all three required one strong man to push them through. In this minefield Canada's political loner had walked alone and apparently loved it. Canada's other solo flyer, John Diefenbaker, may or may not have been a renegade in power, but the input his holitics received from Senate cronies and Kitchen cabinets was enormous. The letters and advice that daily poured in to the chief were a populist input that Diefenbaker slavishly adhered to. Trudeau was no Diefenbaker; he was neither a populist nor a renegade. Trudeau was simply a man who brilliantly massaged and manipulated others so that his single will appeared to be the will of many, so that his will be always done. The theme of my-way politics sheds much light on the vrai Trudeau, the Trudeau that is, rather than the Trudeau people think there is. Trudeau has ne ver been the privacy-demanding recluse, the reluctant leader that herdsmen of Canadian journalism insist he is. In secular life Trudeau is no trinitarian; he has chosen his oneness because, from the earliest politics, oneness worked for him so spectacular. Trudeau's personal handling of the constriction crisis was a "my way" all the way. Trudeau, the self- proclaimed socialist

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Free Essays on Gimpel The Fool

. During adolescence he is apprenticed to the town baker. At the bakery he learns a valuable trade skill and grows into manhood. As he grows he learns that people tell him falsehoods, yet he continues to believe them. He thinks that anything is possible. He is taught by the word of the Father’s that, â€Å"It is written, better to be a fool all your days than for one hour to be evil. He who causes his neighbors to feel shame loses paradise himself.† Then one day the towns’ people come to Gimpel and tell him of a woman. They say that she is â€Å"virgin pure† but has a limp, though that it is a deliberate act of coyness. Gimpel knows that she is really sexually promiscuous. He proclaims, â€Å"You’re wasting your time. I’ll never ma... Free Essays on Gimpel The Fool Free Essays on Gimpel The Fool A Sense of Redemption Isaac Singer’s Gimpel The Fool is the story of a Jewish man who is as naà ¯ve as a child. Gimpel is portrayed as the town fool and is considered unworldly. For his ignorance he is underestimated and exploited by his peers, yet he always seems to prevail. He shows through his many situations that the meek do inherit the earth. His wife Elka is just the opposite. She is a woman of considerable experience in handling the affairs of life. A calculated woman with a sense of avarice, she is cunning, manipulative, and sinful. She is a Jew though and in the Jewish Orthodox faith there is no redemption; for a sin, there is hell. This faith is based on the Laws of Jehovah and the Pentateuch. This story questions the Law of Jehovah. We are told that the Lord gives no repentance, but in the end Elka comes to Gimpel in near angelic form. Isaac Singer breaks away from Judaism in this story and expresses ideas of Christianity, which show that he may have not held traditional Jewish v alues. Gimpel is an orphan who has lived with his grandfather since an early age. Because of this he never learns the harshness of reality. Instead he learns to trust people and believe in their words. During adolescence he is apprenticed to the town baker. At the bakery he learns a valuable trade skill and grows into manhood. As he grows he learns that people tell him falsehoods, yet he continues to believe them. He thinks that anything is possible. He is taught by the word of the Father’s that, â€Å"It is written, better to be a fool all your days than for one hour to be evil. He who causes his neighbors to feel shame loses paradise himself.† Then one day the towns’ people come to Gimpel and tell him of a woman. They say that she is â€Å"virgin pure† but has a limp, though that it is a deliberate act of coyness. Gimpel knows that she is really sexually promiscuous. He proclaims, â€Å"You’re wasting your time. I’ll never ma...

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Womens History

Jane Fonda in North Vietnam - Myths of Women's History They started coming in the winter of 1999: emails asking me to do something about the book, written by Barbara Walters, already published and the basis of a television special reviewed on this site: 100 Women of the Century. (Ive never been clear how one does something about a book thats already been published and sold. I dont think these people really wanted to seize and destroy all copies, did they?) The protest was over the inclusion of Jane Fonda in the book and special. Id quoted Fonda in my review, this way: Who did Jane Fonda say popped into her mind as the most influential woman of the century? Coco Chanel! Fonda explains: And heres why: She freed us from the corset. Frankly, I thought anyone reading that quote was likely to come away with this conclusion: Jane Fonda was not exactly the brainiest commentator on the history of women in the 20th century, and not exactly a prime candidate for selection as one of the 100 most influential women of the century! But, I guess because I included Jane Fonda in that review, these Jane Fonda emails started to pour in. There are fewer of them now, though they continue to come, and unfortunately I suspect Ill get more after publishing this article, from correspondents who dont read carefully. An example of one I received, after writing the above words, from a Carl R. Brucker, includes these words: How can a woman who patronized the Vietnamese Army during war time be honored? You media publicicts need to have your heads examined and your patriotism questioned, maybe even your citizenship! What upset these writers so much? Heres the email that they sent to me - its also reproduced in many places on the web: Jane Fonda is being honored as one of the 100 Women of the Century. Unfortunately, many have forgotten and still countless others have never known how Ms. Fonda betrayed not only the idea of our country, but specific men who served and sacrificed during Vietnam. Part of my conviction comes from personal exposure to those who suffered her attentions. The first part of this is from an F-4E pilot. The pilots name is Jerry Driscoll, a River Rat. In 1968, the former Commandant of the USAF Survival School was a POW in Ho Lo Prison - the Hanoi Hilton. Dragged from a stinking cesspit of a cell, cleaned, fed, and dressed in clean PJs, he was ordered to describe for a visiting American Peace Activist the lenient and humane treatment hed received. He spat at Ms. Fonda, and was clubbed and dragged away. During the subsequent beating, he fell forward upon the camp Commandants feet, which sent that officer berserk. In 78, the AF Col still suffered from double vision (which permanently ended his flying days) from the Vietnamese Cols frenzied application of a wooden baton. Col Larry Carrigan was in the 47FW/DO (F-4Es). He spent 6 years in the Hilton - the first three of which he was missing in action. His wife lived on faith that he was still alive. His group, too, got the cleaned/fed/clothed routine in preparation for a peace delegation visit. They, however, had time and devised a plan to get word to the world that they still survived. Each man secreted a tiny piece of paper, with his SSN on it, in the palm of his hand. When paraded before Ms. Fonda and a camera man, she walked the line, shaking each mans hand and asking little encouraging snippets like: Arent you sorry you bombed babies? and Are you grateful for the humane treatment from your benevolent captors? Believing this HAD to be an act, they each palmed her their slivers of paper. She took them all without missing a beat. At the end of the line and once the camera stopped rolling, to the shocked disbelief of the POWs, she turned to the officer in charge... and handed him the little pile of p apers. Three men died from the subsequent beatings. Col Carrigan was almost number four. But he survived... which is the only reason we know about her actions that day. I was a civilian economic development advisor in Vietnam, and was captured by the North Vietnamese communists in South Vietnam in 1968 and held for over 5 years. I spent 27 months in solitary confinement, one year in a cage in Cambodia, and one year in a black box in Hanoi. My North Vietnamese captors deliberately poisoned and murdered a female missionary, a nurse in a leprosarium in Ban me Thuot, South Vietnam, whom I buried in the jungle near the Cambodian border. At one time I weighed approximately 90 lbs  - my normal weight is 170 lbs. We were Jane Fondas war criminals. When Jane Fonda was in Hanoi, I was asked by the camp communist political officer if I would be willing to meet with Jane Fonda. I said yes, that I would like to tell her about the real treatment we POWs were receiving, which was far different from the treatment purported by the North Vietnamese, and parroted by Jane Fonda, as humane and lenient. Because of this, I spent three days on a rocky floor on my knees with outstretched arms with a large amount of steel placed on my hands, and beaten with a bamboo cane every time my arms dipped. I had the opportunity to meet with Jane Fonda for a couple of hours after I was released. I asked her if she would be willing to debate me on TV. She did not answer me. This does not exemplify someone who should be honored as part of 100 Years of Great Women. Lest we forget...100 Years of Great Women should never include a traitor whose hands are covered with the blood of so many patriots. There are few things I have strong visceral reactions to, but Hanoi Janes participation in blatant treason is one of them. Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can. It will eventually end up on her computer and she needs to know that we will never forget. For starters: any email that says Please take the time to forward to as many people as you possibly can is probably at best an exaggeration, at worst an outright scam. (I always check similar emails at  http://urbanlegends.about.com  before passing them along, and I check out allegations of viruses at  http://antivirus.about.com  as well. Most of those panicked forward this everywhere emails are hoaxes or long-expired petitions.) Checking It Out When I started getting these Jane Fonda emails, I forwarded one to David Emery, Abouts Guide to Urban Legends.  David carefully checked out the stories  in the Jane Fonda  email,  and discovered that  the first two are false  - the ones where servicemen actually died. I repeat -   those stories have been debunked, and their falsehood confirmed by the supposed sources of the stories. The last one - where a serviceman was beaten because he said hed meet with Jane Fonda and tell her honestly about conditions in a POW camp - is confirmed as  true,  but did not involve Fondas direct action at all. Its fascinating, though, to see how persistent these Jane Fonda legends remain, despite the attempts of Davids site and others to debunk them. I vividly remember Jane Fondas trip to North Vietnam, as reported in the media. I remember proponents and opponents of the war alike finding her actions distasteful, ill-thought-out, and profoundly disrespectful of Americans serving in Vietnam. But I certainly didnt think that her act would generate such energy nearly thirty years later. When I wrote the review of Barbara Walters book in 1999, I thought that including Jane Fonda as one of the most influential women of the twentieth century was rather silly, an example of the preference for entertainers that Walters showed in her selections. Barbara Walters included several women even more notorious than Jane Fonda: Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance. The book was about influential and important women - not simply wonderful women who should be held up as role models. Walters says in the book that she included Fonda for her contribution to bringing exercise into wide practice among women - not for her political views! Nevertheless, I didnt think Jane Fonda deserved inclusion as one of the 100 most influential women of the century. But the persistence of this Jane Fonda email, and the clear passion of the many who continue to distribute it and who continue to believe that Jane Fonda should be tried for treason for her trip to North  Vietnam,  have convinced me otherwise. Jane Fonda is influential far beyond what Id  thought,  if she can continue to generate this level of activity! The  whole  story on this email legend and why the first two-thirds is not believable:  Hanoi Jane Rumors Blend Fact and Fiction Update As of this writing, several years after first publishing this article, the waves of distribution of the Jane Fonda email have diminished somewhat. Perhaps this article has been able to play a part in getting people to think more carefully about an issue that carries a lot of emotional  weight. But whenever Jane Fonda is in the news, the erroneous emails return. To use the example of Mr. Brucker, whose email I excerpted on page 1 of this article: Hes still apparently convinced that Im honoring Fonda despite reading an earlier version of this article, failing to understand the difference between writing about someone and honoring them (or still being confused about the difference between myself and the author of a book I mentioned). Worse than his misunderstanding is the implication that anyone who publishes something about Fonda may need to have their citizenship questioned. What an insult to those people who have served in Americas military, thinking they were doing so to promote a free society, in which dissent is possible, and certainly where the writing about a controversy isnt reasonable grounds for challenging ones citizenship or patriotism. Whats next? Burn Barbara Walters book, bringing to mind  Fahrenheit 451? Burn Barbara Walters, bringing to mind medieval witch hunts or the Inquisition? I wish I could say that Mr. Bruckers tirade was unusual, and indeed some correspondents do read and write more carefully and without advocating closing down free speech. But unfortunately, too many seem to have difficulty understanding two major points: (a) listing several people as influential is not necessarily an honor, much less mentioning that a book listed someone as influential;  and in this case  the continuing venom only demonstrates Fondas continued influence; and(b) even if someone did honor Fonda for her other achievements, proposing to punish disagreement with the authors perspective by removing a writers citizenship or shooting the writer is not exactly in keeping with the reasons that many served bravely in Americas wars. On the other hand - whether Jane Fondas actions in North Vietnam fall into the realm of treason is still a matter of debate. The 2002 book  Aid and Comfort: Jane Fonda in North Vietnam,  by attorneys Henry Mark Holzer and Erika Holzer (compare prices) comes down on the side of yes. Fondas had few defenders recently - her fitness videos of the 1970s and 1980s (compare prices) have largely been replaced by newer videos by new fitness gurus, and Thomas Kiernans 1982 biography,  Jane Fonda: Heroine for Our Time  (compare prices), is out of print. Barbara Walters 1998 book,  100 Most Important Women of the 20th Century  (compare prices), in which Jane Fonda plays a minor role, is still a readable if light version of 20th century womens history, in which celebrities play a disproportionate role and which includes a few women who were influential but not exactly positive role models (Madame Mao and  Leni Riefenstahl, for instance). A Later Update This story has unfolded over many years.  I get far fewer emails now - because the email has morphed since the 2008 election into a story about Barack Obama instead of me co-writing this book with Barbara Walters.  I think I should be honored to be transformed into a President.  Dont believe that Obama is responsible for this, either.  Its you who will look ignorant.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Performance Improvement Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Performance Improvement - Research Paper Example Evidently, there is a weak link between healthcare spending and patient experience. In this context, it is advisable for health organizations to review their health delivery policies and think how their health budget could effectively enhance patient experience. Evidences suggest that efficiency of workflow is the key to improve patient experience, and in turn a number of factors such as time, process designs, and procedural efficacy may influence workflow efficiency. This performance improvement paper will discuss how improving workflow can contribute to enhanced patient experience by reducing wait-times. The paper will also address the outcomes of a one on one meeting with the finance team, patient experience team, and patients. The term workflow refers to the sequence of administrative and other processes through which a particular healthcare work passes from initiation to completion. As mentioned already, time is a crucial component of workflow such that a long wait time would contribute badly to patient experience. According to a Press Ganey article (2010), US patients have been experiencing the longest wait times in emergency departments since 2002. The report says that in 2009 a US patient spent an average of four hours and seven minutes in the emergency department from the moment he entered the room until the time he was discharged. This average time spent was 31 minutes more than the national average in 2002 and indicated an increase of four minutes compared to 2008 (Press Ganey, 2010). Previous researches have established a clear negative relationship between long wait time and patient satisfaction. According to one finding, â€Å"patient wait time for medical care has a direct impact on patient sa tisfaction, medical compliance, return show rate and patient attitudes toward clinicians, staff and clinics in general† (Cuevas & Joseph, n.d). To illustrate, researchers including Anderson, Camacho, and Balkrishnan (2007) conducted a study to evaluate the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The topic will be in the instruction plus the attached file Essay

The topic will be in the instruction plus the attached file - Essay Example In the U.A.E, and indeed across the world, the problem should be tackled before the situation gets worse. Tackling the obesity issue effectively demands the appreciation of the root causes of the problem. Experts agree that the main factors behind rising obesity prevalence levels across the world are sedentary lifestyles (lifestyles devoid of exercise) and poor eating habits. In respect of eating habits, it is worth noting that the consumption of too much fatty, sugary, junk, and salty foods easily lead to obesity. To this effect, individuals should eat less of junk foods, consume more vegetables, and exercise more as ways of preventing and dealing with obesity. As a way of dealing with obesity in schools, the ministry of health plans to introduce physical exercise (P.E.) lessons as part of the school curriculum. By having three lessons of P.E. a week with each lesson taking 40 minutes, school children will become more active and burn excess fats in their bodies that would otherwise lead them to become obese. Secondly, the ministry plans to regulate the kinds of foods that children are given in school and those that are available in school canteens. The ministry will work toward ensuring that schools offer balanced diets and that canteens stock no junk foods. Cleland E. (June 16, 2013) â€Å"Obesity is a growing problem in the UAE, says health expert†. The National. http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/health/obesity-is-a-growing-problem-in-the-uae-says-health-expert Saberi Mahmood (July 6, 2012). â€Å"UAE the fifth most obese country in the world†. Gulf News. Retrieved from

Sunday, November 17, 2019

How Do Economic Incentives Affect Social Preferences and Behavior Essay Example for Free

How Do Economic Incentives Affect Social Preferences and Behavior Essay For decades economic theories have relied heavily on the effectiveness of material incentives (Fehr Gachter, 2001). According to the traditional exchange theory all people are exclusively motivated by their own material self-interest. It predicts that the introduction of a penalty will reduce the occurrence of the behavior that is subject to the fine. On the other hand it states that introducing a material incentive will lead to an increase of the behavior related to the bonus. Based on economic theory, incentives have become increasingly popular and are used to increase certain behaviors in various fields including environmental policy (Andersen Sprenger, 2000; Barde Smith, 1997; Baumol Oates, 1988; Kahn, 1995; all cited in ThOgersen, 2003), household surveys (Singer, 2002) and education policy (Fryer, 2011). On the other side, penalties have been used to reduce free-riding (Feldman, Papadimitriou, Chuang, Stoica, 2006), and crimes (Akerlof Dickens, 1982). There is much evidence that supports the basic premise of economics that incentives are effective (Gibbons, 1997; Prendergast, 1999; Lazear, 2000; all cited in Benabou Tirole, 2004). However, a large body of literature in psychology has shown that explicit incentives lead to decreased motivation and reduced performance in the long run (Deci Ryan, 1985; as cited in Benabou Tirole, 2004). Titmuss (1970, as cited in Benabou Tirole, 2004) was the first who claimed that people might adopt a ‘market mentality’ when they are exposed to explicit economic incentives. He found that paying blood donors for donating blood could actually reduce supply. In the beginning there was little hard evidence that social preferences affected individual behavior, but empirical and theoretical advances over the past decades provide the basis for more support. For example, Gneezy and Rustichini (2000a) found that introducing a monetary fine for late-coming parents in day-care centers led to a significant increase in late-coming. There was no reduction in late-coming after the fine was removed. Also Fryer (2011) didn’t find evidence that providing financial incentives to teachers to increase student performance had any effect. Partly because of these findings, terms as trust, reciprocity, gift exchange and fairness have appeared in the empirical study and modeling of principal-agent relationships (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). This highlights the importance of the influence that social preferences have on incentives. Based on the contradictions mentioned above I conclude that a more thorough analysis is needed in order to understand the influence of incentives on behavior. I’ll focus on the interplay between incentives and social preferences and how this affects behavior. In this paper I will review several mechanisms that can explain how incentives can be less effective than economic theories predict and how they can even have counterproductive effects. Furthermore I will indicate the implications of the (non-)effectiveness of incentives for economic policy. Overview of past research According to the definition of Bowles and Polania-Reyes (2012), social preferences refer to â€Å"motives such as altruism, reciprocity, intrinsic pleasure in helping others, inequity aversion, ethical commitments and other motives that induce people to help others more than would an own-material-payoff maximizing individual† (p. 4). Fehr and Fischbacher (2002) have indicated the most important types of preferences that have been uncovered by the literature. I will shortly review them below. The first important type of social preference is the preference for reciprocal fairness or reciprocity. An individual is reciprocal when he responds kindly to actions that are perceived as kind, and when he responds hostile to actions that are perceived as hostile. Whether some action is perceived as hostile of kind depends on the unfairness or fairness of the intention and on the consequences that are associated with the action. A second social preference type is inequity aversion. According to Fehr and Schmidt (1999; as cited in Fehr Fischbacher, 2002) â€Å"inequity averse persons want to achieve an equitable distribution of material resources† (p. C3). Inequity averse persons show altruistic behavior if the other persons’ payoffs are below an equitable level. However, if the other persons’ payoffs are exceeding the equitable level an inequity averse person want to decrease the other persons’ payoffs. There are a lot of similarities in the behavior of reciprocal and inequity averse individuals, since both concepts depend in some way on the perception of fairness. Pure altruism is the third type of social preference, which is very different from the former two. Altruism can be seen as an unconditional form of kindness (Fehr Fischbacher, 2002), as an altruistic person would never take an action that decreases another person’s payoff. The problem with pure altruism is that it cannot explain conditional cooperation, that is, people want to increase their voluntary cooperation in response to cooperation of others. The last social preference type that Fehr and Fischbacher (2002) mentioned is envious or spiteful preferences. An envious or spiteful person always values the payoff of other agents negatively. Therefore the envious person is willing to decrease the other agent’s payoff even if it brings along a personal cost to himself. This happens irrespective of fair or unfair behavior of the other agent and irrespective of the pay-off distribution (Fehr Fischbacher, 2002). However, spitefulness can’t explain why it is that the same individuals sometimes are willing to help others at a personal cost, while sometimes they harm other people. Over the past decades, many studies have confirmed that a significant fraction of individuals engage in reciprocal or altruistic behaviors (Buraschi Cornelli, 2002; as cited in Benabou Tirole, 2004; Fehr Gachter, 2000). Thus, many individuals do not only care about the material resources allocated to them, but also care about material resources allocated to other relevant agents. To give an overview of the incentive effects on preferences, two distinctions are made: the nature and the causes of incentives (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). Concerning the nature of incentives, people often respond to the mere presence of incentives, rather than to their extent (Gneezy, 2003; as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). However, the extent of an incentive may also play a role. Therefore the effects of incentives on social preferences can be either categorical or marginal or a combination of the two. Bowles and Polania-Reyes (2012) also make a distinction between 2 causes of incentive effects on preferences. First, incentives can affect the environment in which preferences are learned. When this happens, the preferences are referred to as endogenous preferences. Second, the extent or presence of incentives affect the behavioral salience of an individual’s social preferences. When incentives constitute different states, we refer to social preferences as state-dependent preferences. There are three mechanisms that make social preferences state-dependent. First, by implementing an incentive, the principal discloses information about his intentions, about his beliefs about the target of the incentives and about the targeted behavior. This information might affect the agent’s social preferences which in turn affect the agent’s behavior. Second, incentives provide situational cues for appropriate behavior. Finally, incentives may lead to a crowding out of intrinsic motivations. The crowding-out effect is based on the intuition that the presence of punishments or rewards spoils the reputational value of good deeds. This creates doubt within the individual about the extent to which he performed because of the incentives rather than for himself. This phenomenon is also referred to as the ‘overjustification effect’ (Lepper, Greene, Nisbett, 1973; as cited in Benabou Tirole, 2004). In the next part of this paper I’ll give experimental evidence for both endogenous preferences and for all 3 mechanisms that make preferences incentive-state-dependent. Furthermore, I’ll give examples of experiments where crowding in has been found and explain the underlying mechanisms. 1. Endogenous preferences: incentives alter how new preferences are learned Preferences are endogenous if someone’s experiences lead to durable changes in motivations and eventually result in a change in behavior in certain situations (Bowles, 2008). In most cases, experiments have a few hours duration and therefore it’s unlikely to uncover the mechanisms that are involved in the process of durable change of preferences. Although it’s hard to explore the causal mechanisms at work, there exist some experiments that do show a durable learning effect (Irlenbausch Sliwka, 2005; Falkinger, Fehr, Gachter, Winter-Ebmer, 2000; all cited in Bowles, 2008). Gneezy and Rustichini (2000a), for example, examined if the introduction of a monetary fine for late-coming parents in day-care centers would lead to reduction of late-coming. However, the amount of late-coming parents didn’t decrease, but increased significantly. Thus incentives led to more self-interested behavior. More importantly, after the fine was removed no reduction in late-coming parents was shown, meaning that there was some durable learning effect going on. 2. State-dependent preferences: incentives provide information about the principal When an incentive is imposed on an agent, he may infer information about the principal who designed the incentive. He may, for example, infer information about the principal’s beliefs regarding the agent, and about the nature of the task that has to be done (Fehr Rockenbach, 2003). This information can lead to a negative response to fines that are imposed by principals. Fehr and Rockenbach (2003) designed a sequentially played social dilemma experiment and examined how sanctions intended to prevent cheating affect human altruism. Participants in the role of ‘investor’ could transfer a certain amount of money to another player, the ‘trustee’. The experimenter tripled this amount. After tripling the money, the trustee was given the opportunity to back-transfer some of this money to the investor. The investor could indicate a desired level of the back-transfer before he transferred the money to the trustee. In the incentive-condition the investor even had the option to impose a fine if the trustee would send a back-transfer that was less than the desired amount. Instead of imposing a fine the investor could also choose to decline the use of the fine. The decision of imposing or declining the fine was known to the trustee. In the trust-condition the investor could not make use of incentives. Fehr and Rockenbach (2003) found that generous initial transfers by investors were reciprocated with greater back-transfers by trustees. However, the use of the fine reduced the return transfers, while renouncing the fine in the incentive-condition increased back-transfers. This means that sanctions revealing selfish or greedy intentions destroy altruistic cooperation almost completely (Fehr Rockenbach, 2003). In another experiment by Fehr and Schmidt (2007), principals could choose between offering a bonus contract or a combination contract (which was a combination of the bonus contract with a fine) to the employee. What they found was that agents perceive that principals who are less fair are more likely to choose a combined contract and are less likely to pay the announced bonus. Furthermore the effect of effort on the bonus paid is twice as large in the pure bonus condition compared to the combined contract condition. The positive response to the principal’s renunciation of the fine option can be seen as a categorical effect. The threat of a fine led to diminishment of the trustee’s reciprocity. 3. State-dependent preferences: incentives may suggest permissible behavior The experiments that will be described here, differ from the experiments mentioned above in the way that here incentives are implemented exogenously by the experimenter. This means that incentives do not provide any information about the beliefs or intentions of other experimental subjects. In a lot of situations people look for clues of appropriate behavior. These are often provided by incentives. These framing effects have been investigated in many studies. Hoffman, McCabe, Shachat and Smith (1994; as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012) found that by making a game sound more competitive after relabeling it, generosity and fair-minded behavior in the participants were diminished. In some other studies (Ellingsen, Johannesson, Munkhammar, Mollerstrom, 2008; as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012) the framing effect even appeared to have changed subjects’ beliefs about the actions of others. Framing effects can also be induced in other ways than simply renaming the experiment. Providing an incentive may already provide a powerful frame for the decision maker. In an experiment of Schotter, Weiss and Zapater (1996) subjects played an Ultimatum Game experiment in which player 1 is given an endowment and asked to propose a part of this endowment to player 2. Player 2 can either accept or reject this division. If he accepts, the proposed division is implemented. However, if he rejects both players receive nothing. Schotter et al (1996) found that if a market-like competition was included in the game, that is, subjects with lower earnings would be excluded from the second round in the game, player 1 proposed less generous divisions to player 2. Furthermore, lower offers were accepted by player 2. The authors interpreted these results as that implementing market-like competition â€Å"offers justifications for actions that in isolation would be unjustifiable† (p. 38). Thus, providing incentives in the form of a competition can lead to moral disengagement. The framing effects of incentives can occur in cases of government-imposed incentives as well. An example comes from an experiment from Cardenas, Stranlund and Willis (2000) where they studied the effects of external regulatory control of environmental quality. Participants were asked to choose how much time they would spend collecting firewood from a forest, while being aware that this activity has a negative effect on local water quality. Two treatments were considered to examine whether external control may crowd out group-oriented behavior. All subjects played eight initial rounds of the game without any treatment, that is, without being able to communicate with each other and without external regulation. After the initial rounds, one subset of groups played additional rounds in which they were able to communicate. The other subset of groups was confronted with a government-imposed regulation. The regulation also involved the possibility of imposing a fine to subjects that would withdraw too much of the firewood. Although standard economic theory predicted that the regulation would increase group-oriented behavior, this wasn’t the case. When subjects were able to communicate they made way more efficient decisions. However, regulatory external control caused subjects to make decisions that were closer to their self-interest. This means that the fine, although it was insufficient to enforce the social optimum, extinguished the subjects’ ethical aptitudes. 4. State-dependent preferences: incentives may compromise intrinsic motives and self-determination A third reason why social preferences may be state dependent is because providing incentives may lead to motivational crowding out. As Bowles (2008) put it: â€Å"where people derive pleasure from an action per se in the absence of other rewards, the introduction of explicit incentives may ‘overjustify’ the activity and reduce the individual’s sense of autonomy† (p. 607). According to Deci (1975; as cited in Bowles, 2008) the underlying psychological mechanism appears to be a desire for â€Å"feelings of competence and self-determination that are associated with intrinsically motivated behavior† (p. 1607). There is a large body of literature on the psychology of intrinsic motivations going back to the early work of Festinger (1957; as cited in ThOgersen, 2003) and his cognitive dissonance theory. In the past decades a lot of experiments have been done to test the crowding out of intrinsic motivation. One of these studies comes from Gneezy Rustichini (2000b) who tested the effects of monetary incentives on student performance. 180 students were asked to answer 50 questions of an IQ test. They were all paid 60 NIS (New Israeli Shekel) for their participation in the experiment. The students were divided into 4 different groups, which were all corresponding to 4 different treatments. The students in the first treatment group were only asked to answer as many questions as possible. The students in the second group got an extra payment of 10 cents of a NIS per question that they answered correctly. Subjects in the third group were promised 1 NIS, and subjects in the fourth group 3 NIS per question that they answered correctly. The average number of questions correctly was approximately 28 in the first group and declined to 23 in the second group. Furthermore, the number increased to 34 in both the third and the fourth group. The differences in performance were significant. In a second experiment Gneezy Rustichini (2000b) tested the effect of incentives on volunteer work performed by high school children. 180 children were divided into three groups. The subjects in the first group constituted the control group and they were only given a speech about the importance of volunteer work. The second group was given a speech as well, but was also promised to receive 1 per cent of the total amount of donations collected. The third group was promised 10 per cent of the amount collected. The average amount collected was highest in the first group and lowest in the second group. The average amount that was collected by the third group was higher than that of the second group but not as high of the amount that was collected in the first group. Also these results were significant. It appears to indicate that the effect of incentives can be detrimental, at least for small amounts. In another experiment, Falk and Kosfeld (2006; as cited in Bowles 2008) tested the idea that control aversion based on the self-determination motive is the reason that incentives reduce performance. They used a principal-agent game where agents could choose a level of production that was beneficial for the principal, but costly for themselves. If the agent chose to produce nothing, he would get a maximal pay-off. Before the agent’s decision the principal could decide to leave the choice f production level completely to the agent or to impose a certain lower bound on the agent’s production level. The experimenter varied the bounds across the treatments and the principal could only choose to impose it or not. Results showed that when the principal imposed the bound, the agents chose a lower production level than when the principal didn’t impose a bound. The ‘untrusting’ principals earned half of the profits of those who did trust the agents and thus didn’t impose a bound. In post-surveys, the agents indicated that imposing the lower bound was perceived as a signal of distrust. The results of this experiment suggest that the desire for self-determination and control aversion are not the only effects of imposing the bound. Imposing this minimum was informative for the agents about what the principals’ beliefs were regarding the agents: the principals who imposed the bounds had lower expectations of the agents. Thus, the results in the experiment of Falk and Kosfeld (2006; as cited in Bowles 2008) seem to be the result of both negative information about the principal (or incentive designer) as well as the result of self-determination. 5. Crowding in Although a lot of experiments show that providing incentives has a negative effect on social preferences, there is also some evidence that crowding in can occur, that is, social preferences and incentives enhance the effect on each other. This might happen when an incentive provides good news about the principal’s type or intentions, for example when he offers the agent a reward rather than a fine. It is also seen in experiments where the incentive designers are peers in a public goods game who pay to punish free riders in order to sustain cooperative behavior (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). The phenomenon of crowding in is interesting since it indicates how policies could be implemented optimally and how incentives and social preferences could become complements rather than substitutes (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). Besides that, it appears that crowding in happens often in Public Goods games and Common Pool Resources games, which display the same characteristics as public policy settings. Below I’ll give an example of an experiment in which crowding in was found. Fehr and Gachter (2000) conducted a public good experiment with and without the opportunity to punish. In the no-punishment treatment the dominant strategy is complete free-riding. In the punishment treatment free-riders could be punished by their altruistic peers, since it was costly for them to punish. Therefore, if there were only selfish individuals, as assumed in economic theory, there wouldn’t be a difference between the two treatments. However, in the no-punishment treatment the contributions of the players were substantially lower than in the punishment treatment. This suggests that powerful motives drive the punishments of free-riders. Furthermore there was evidence that the more free-riders deviated from cooperation, the more they were being punished. There are several mechanisms that can explain the effect of crowding in. In the first place when a peer imposes a fine on a free-rider, this may activate a feeling of shame. Barr (2001; as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012) found that just a verbal message of disapproval already can have a positive effect on the free riders’ contributions. A second mechanism that appears to be at work it that nobody wants to be the cooperator while all others are defecting. Shinada and Yamagishi (2007, as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012) found that students cooperated more in a public goods experiment when they were assured that defecting free-riders would be punished. They just didn’t want to be exploited by defectors. A third mechanism underlying crowding in was consistent with the findings of an experiment by Vertova and Galbiati (2010, as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). They found that when a stated obligation was introduced, this produced a larger effect when it was accompanied with a small monetary incentive, rather than with a big incentive or than when no incentives were offered. The authors interpreted this phenomenon as that the salience of the stated obligation is enhanced by large explicit incentives. The latter phenomenon was also found in Ireland, where a small tax was imposed on plastic grocery bags (Rosenthal, 2008; as cited in Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). After two weeks there was a 94% decline in the use of these bags. This result can be explained by the fact that the introduction of the tax was preceded by a large publicity campaign. Thus, the incentive was implemented jointly with a message of social obligation and it seems that it served as a reminder of the importance of one’s civic duty. Implications for policy Many policies are based on the self-interest hypothesis that predicts that all individuals are self-regarding. However, as we have seen social preferences play an important role as well when it comes down to behavior. This would mean that a lot of current policies are non-optimal. Therefore a big challenge is facing the mechanism designer: how to design optimal fines, taxes or subsidies when the individual’s responses depend on his preferences which in turn are determined by the incentive imposed? In most experiments the effects of incentives were studies and afterwards the mechanisms were identified that could explain the results. However, one of the problems that the designer is facing is that he must determine beforehand how incentives will affect behavior. Based on the experiments that have been done, several guidelines can be drawn. The first is that when crowding out is found, social preferences and incentives are substitutes. This means that a negative effect of incentives is less likely to be found when the social preferences are minimal. In contrast, when social preferences are prevalent among a society, it may be more convenient to reduce the use of incentives. Also, policies that are implemented in order to enhance social preferences will be more effective when incentives are little used. The second stems from Titmuss’s claim that if the crowding out effect is so strong that the incentive has an opposite effect than intended, incentives should be used less. However, in many cases the effectiveness of incentives is not reversed, but blunted and then the implications for the optimal use of incentive isn’t that obvious (Bowles Hwang, 2008). How Bowles Hwang (2008) state it: â€Å"the reduced effectiveness of the incentive associated with crowding out would entail a larger incentive for a planner designing a subsidy to ensure compliance with a quantitative target† (p. 4). Present evidence is insufficient in providing enough guidelines to the policy maker who wants to know ex ante what the effects are of the incentives that he considers to implement (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). What we do know is that the same incentives imposed by individuals who have no personal benefit but only want to promote pro-social behavior (as in the experiment of Fehr Gachter, 2000) are more likely to increase contributions than when imposed by an untrusting principal (Fehr Rockenbach, 2003). Furthermore it seems to be important to let the agent understand that the desired change in behavior would be socially beneficial rather than that the incentive is perceived as a threat to her autonomy or reflecting badly on the designer’s intentions (Bowles Polania-Reyes, 2012). Conclusion The self-interest hypothesis assumes that individuals are only motivated by their own material self-interest. This assumption is used in the design of many policies. However, in the past decades a lot of experiments have shown that other-regarding social preferences rather than self-regarding preferences play a role in behavior. We have seen that some mechanisms can induce pro-socially oriented individuals to behave as they are selfish. On the other hand, there are also examples of experiments in which mechanisms induce self-interested individuals to behave at a more pro-social level. Thus, incentives can lead to both crowding out and crowding in phenomena. Whereas negative information about the principal and the over-justification effect may lead to crowding out of intrinsic motivation to contribute to a good, altruistic punishment by peers who do not benefit personally is more likely to increase contributions. Furthermore it seems important to make individuals aware of their civic duty, as was shown in Ireland where a small tax was imposed on plastic bags. Regarding to public policy, we have seen that small differences in institutional design can lead to many different outcomes. This imposes a big challenge on the policy designer who has to know ex ante what the effects of the incentive that he is considering to implement will be. When social preferences are not present, incentives may have a positive effect, predicted by economic theory. However, in areas where social preferences do play a role, the use of monetary incentives needs to be reconsidered.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Dust Heaps in Our Mutual Friend Essay -- Charles Dickens Victorian Era

Dust Heaps Dust develops. The famed Dust Heaps in Our Mutual Friend are simply large mountains of †¦ well, dust. One cannot fully judge the purpose of Dickens’ incorporation of dust heaps in his novel without background information on them. The question being what is a dust heap? Apparently the answer â€Å"heaps of dust† is not good enough. In the Victorian era dust heaps were filled with useful garbage. Dust heaps were made up of many different things. One such ingredient – also the main ingredient – was fine cinders and ashes. These items, along with some soil, were sold to brick makers for making bricks, and to farmers for manure – especially for clover. The next item tended to be pieces of coal which were usually there because a servant’s carelessness. The coal was either resold or simply used. Another portion of the dust heaps was made from ‘breeze’. According to â€Å"Dust; or Ugliness Redeemed†, breeze was named after the cinders which were â€Å"left after the wind has blown the finer cinders through an upright sieve†. These ciders were also sold to brick makers, but for burning the b...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Invention of Telephone

Why did Alexander Graham Bell invent the telephone? * Mrs. Bell was deaf and Mr. Bell was always trying to help those who could not hear. The telephone was one of his attempts to create a device for the deaf, to assist their ability to hear. * Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone so that people can communicate with other people anywhere in world. * To facilitate verbal communication over long distances. * He invented the telephone because he is an inventor and he wanted to find a way how to communicate with other people apart from talking to them face-to-face. Bell originally started looking into the telephone as a way to speak to the spirit world. As with many inventors and inventions of the age, there seemed to be a great belief in spirits and the need to communicate with them so that items such as radio waves, telephones and televisions all started out as a means of communication with the other world. * Previous communication technology was limited to the telegraph. The te legraph was inefficient because it relied on Morse Code to relay messages.Only a few trained professionals were taught Morse Code, and not everybody could translate with it. Whereas a telephone would allow people to speak directly to one another without a step in-between. Bell sought to solve this problem. * There is a report that says that Alexander Graham Bell invented the phone to help his few family members as they suffered from hearing problems. But at the same time his father in law did not agree with it. He said it was a toy, that no child would be interested in.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Comparing China with the West: What Hofstede taught us about Cultural Consequences Essay

The world today is a smaller place than it has ever been, thanks to the rapid and ongoing development of the global economy; we have become a borderless and cyber-connected community (Hofstede 2001; Kottak 2008; Mead, 2009). This has resulted in greater links and more and more interchanges between different nationalities. The ease at which we can physically communicate and travel has allowed for the free movement of goods and services across borders increasing trade and investment in foreign countries. International commerce, travel, migration and the media are the forces behind globalisation (Kottak, 2008; Craig and Douglas, 2006). Globalisation has a phenomenal effect on the business world; it opens up businesses to potential new markets, allowing them to increase their supply of consumers. Setting the stage for international collaboration (Hofstede, 2003) and while doing so, it is reshaping the global economic outlook (World Investment Report, 2005). In despite of this, Osland (1990) points out, that one of the barriers to international business success ‘Is the one erected by culture’ (p.4). Each civilization breeds its own social-political-economic systems. Essentially, each culture has its own method to conducting business. Such methods are intrinsically cultural bound. In order to understand how the different systems work one must first understand the values that underlie it. Thus, managers, employees, business partners and other corporate stakeholders must recognise that the methods they use, to make their decisions, solve their problems and deals with other people are all done by reflecting on their cultural backgrounds and perspectives (Mead, 2009; Mott, 2004; Hofstede, 2005). As acknowledged above, globalisation leads to problems in cross-cultural communication. We live in a world where a cultural competency is essential for global business profitability. Over the years there have been many studies conducted on culture. In the 1950’s Kroeber and Kluckhohn, where one of the first scholars to provide a theoretical framework for explaining culture as a system of integrated values they wanted to characterize differences between national cultures (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1963). Since then, many scholars have focused their attention on how national differences affect the decision-making practices of professionals and have produced some tangible guidelines for cross-cultural understanding (Hofstede, 1980; Adler & Graham, 1986; Black &  Mendenhall 1989; Trompenaars, 1994; Triandis, 1994; House et al, 2004). One of the first of these studies, and perhaps the one which has had widespread implications in helping scholars and professionals interested in cultures, is Hofstede’s Five Dimension model (5-D). Its primary innovation is to class national cultures along a number of dimensions. The underlying thesis in these studies is that there are nationally influenced differences in work placed values (Hofstede, 2001; 2005). This presented scholars with insight into the composition of national culture and according to Hofstede culture-focused research is becoming more prominent, and understanding culture is becoming increasingly vital (Hofstede, 1994). Even though, Hofstede was not the first study on cross-cultural research, his study succeeded in putting cross-cultural research at the forefront of international business research (Hofstede, 2001). It is considered valuable in international business and management and due to the growing interdependence among nations; the need for a better understanding of cultural influence on organisational practices has never been greater (House et al, 2004). A cross-cultural understanding is a prerequisite to an effective entry into an international market (Morder, 1999) as businesses operating in different cultures must maintain a multifaceted approach, developing appropriate skills and compromising the interacting cultures, adjusting their norms, practices and perspectives to work within another culture’s border (Morder, 1999; Selmer, 2009). There have been many documented cases of cultural incompetence, (Selmer, 1999; 2000; Hutchings, 2005), outlining how a lack of cultural competence can have devastating effects to the success of business ventures. Thus as we move to a more connected world some might expect a convergence on a cultural level, to match the significant business transactions that globalisation has inspired by the fact that trade, travel and education has helped facilitate the global economy (Scarborough, 1998). Nonetheless, one must concede that there remains a gulf between cultures created by the different nationalities in the world today. The roots of culture are so deep that they have produced highly divergent values systems, (Scarborough, 1998) and without reconciling these differences and working around them then there is no hope of successful business relationships between the ones cultural counterparts (Uniser & Lee, 2005). Through the literature, it is suggested that a  comparison be conducted between cultures helping to promote better working relationships (Torres and Jones, 2011; Tsang, 2011) The focus of this paper is the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as it is emerging as a particularly dominant player in the global economic market and the process of globalisation brings us in a global community China will play a central role in this. Thus, understanding it is of the greatest importance. Over the last three decades, China has positioned itself in the epicentre of the global market and the world is paying close attention to this new economic giant. (Detert et al, 2000; Scarborough 1998; Dent et al 2000) More references. Before this prosperous period began, China’s business environment and economic stability had been predominately controlled by the state. More recently, the country has seen a tremendous surge of economic success due to the relaxing of the state in relation to foreign direct investment (Euromonitor, 2012). Leading to the increase of the number of foreign business people working within China, resulting in an unprecedented growth in Sino-foreign joint ventures and wholly owned foreign firms (Selmer, 1999; Detert et al, 2000). Currently there is an opportunity for growth and prosperity in China, which seems endless and has attracted businesses and professionals to move to China to live and work. The country is now considered the ‘new hub’ in the international migration order (Pieke, 2011, 40). All this force in the Chinese Business environment has engendered much scholarly attention in exploring and understanding how the Chinese operate in a business manner, (Detert et al, 2000). Thus, those involved have become acutely aware of the great divide between the Chinese cultures and other cultures. The differences in the way one thinks, one’s beliefs and how one behaves (Scarborough, 1998). A basic understanding of the core component of China’s culture is particularly noteworthy given the magnitude of China as a trading partner to the rest of the world (Pieke, 2010). Until recently, China was viewed as a mysterious nation that was literally impenetrable (Lightfoot & Almeida, 2007), because they draw their culture from a distinctive, indigenous and philosophical cultural heritage, that dates back thousands of years consequently it is unlike any other economic giant in the global market (Rinder and Starbuck, 1997; Selmer, 2009). Thus, they can bewilder other nationalities that encounter them (Chen, 2001) because they do not identify with the Chinese practices and cultural traditions. It has  been suggested that from, a Western perspective, China can be considered ‘the most foreign of foreign places’ (Selmer, 2009, 42). Thus, in order to infiltrate this dynamic market, one must learn to accept and adapt to, the distinctive business culture that makes China unique (Bond, 1991). China China is the oldest empire in recorded history; it has a continuous recorded history of about 5000 years (Hofstede, 2005) and it is one of the world’s earliest and thus oldest civilisations. It is now one of the fastest growing and vibrant economies in the world, (Wang et al 2008) and the world is now paying close attention to this gigantic influential country. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded on October 1st 1949. (National Bureau of Statistics, 2012a) Below are some facts about the enormous and enigmatic county. Bibliography Adler, N. J., Campbell, N. & Laurent, A. (1989) ‘In search of appropriate methodology: from outside the People’s Republic of China looking in’, Journal of International Business Studies, 20, 61-74 Bohlander, G. W., Snell, S., & Sherman, A. W. (2001), Managing Human Resources. (12th ed.), South West College Publications. Bond, M. H. (1991) ‘Chinese values and health: A cultural level examination’, Psychology and Health: An International Journal, 5, 137-152 Bond, M. and Hofstede, G. (1989) ‘The cash value of Confucian values’, Human System Management, 8, 195-200. Black, J.S. and Mendenhall, M. (1989), ‘A practical but theory-based framework for selecting cross-cultural training methods’, Human Resource Management, 28(4), 511-39. Bratton, J., Sawschuk, P., Forshaw, C., Callinan, M. & Corbertt, M. (2010) Work and Organisational Behaviour, New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Brown, A. (1998) Organisational Culture, 2ed., London: Pitman Publishing. Cardon, W. P. (2009) ‘A model of face practices in Chinese business culture: Implication for Westerners’. Thunderbird International Business Review 51, 19-36. Chen, M. J. (2001), Inside Chinese Business: A Guide for Managers Worldwide, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press China National Tourist Office (2012a) ‘About China’, [online], available: http://www.cnto.org/aboutchina.asp [accessed 8th August 2012]. China National Tourist Office (2012b) ‘Foreign Arrivals by Purpose: Jan/Dec 2010’, [online], available: http://www.cnto.org/chinastats_2010ArrivalsB yPurpose.asp [accessed 8th August 2012]. Chinese Culture Connection (1987), ’Chinese values and the search for culture-free dimensions of culture’, Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 18, 143-64. Child, J. (2009) ‘China and International Business’ in Alan, M. 2nd ed., The Oxford Handbook of International Business Oxford

Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Challenger Tragedy Essays - Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

The Challenger Tragedy Essays - Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster The Challenger Tragedy Introduction to the Accident It was a clear sunny day at Kennedy Space Center in Florida with a temperature of 36 degrees which was 15 degrees cooler than NASA has ever sent a shuttle to space. Aboard the space shuttle was a civilian school teacher which made the Challenger such a publicized event. After being delayed five times from bad weather the Challenger was schueled to be launched at 11:38 AM Eastern Standard time on January 28, 1986. Seventy-three seconds after leaving the launch pad 39B the Challenger would explode. The Challenger Tragedy The problems started .6 seconds after ignition. With the temperature at 15 degrees below the NASA experience mark, a black smoke started to come out of the bottom field joint of the right SRB. The black smoke was the O-Rings and the joint insulation being burned. The smoke averaged at about three puffs per second. Then the last puff of smoke was seen was at 2.7 seconds which was an indication that the field joint was not sealed correctly. The arrow points to the black smoke. The second problem was at forty-five seconds when three bright flashes were seen on the Challenger's wings. Each flash lasted approximately one thirteenth of a second. When the film was enhanced it is clearly visible that the flashes were coming from the right SRB. The three hundred and five degree flame was coming from the aft center of the aft joint of the SRB. The flame was the gas burning that was coming out of the SRB. At fifty nine point three seconds the flame was clearly visible with the naked eye. As the flame increased in size, the flame had begun to push against the external tank by the rushing air around the orbiter. This made the struts that held on the SRB very weak because of the heat. Sixty four point seven seconds was the first sight that the flame was hitting the external tank. The color of the flame changed. The flame color change indicated that the flame was mixing with the hydrogen substance that the external contained. The top tanks we re oxygen and the bottom was hydrogen. The flame also indicated that there was a leak in the hydrogen portion of the external tank. A small glowing light appeared between the external tank and the Challenger's black tiles forty-five milliseconds after the color change. The small orange glowing light is visible. When the clock was at 72 seconds there was a sudden chain of events that destroyed Challenger and the seven crew members on board. All of these events happened in less than two seconds. By now the lower strut, that connected the right SRB to the External Tank was very hot and very weak. With the amount of force given by the SRB, the lower strut broke off and away from both the right SRB and the External Tank. Which allowed the right SRB to rotate freely around the top struts. The SRB was out of control, the bottom of the SRB swung around hitting, burning and denting Challenger's wing. At 73.12 seconds into flight a white vapor was seen from the bottom corner of the right SRB. The External Tank was weak because of the intense heat which the flame had produced. The dome structure under the External Tank failed and fell. The hydrogen inside the external tank acquired a hole and started to release liquid hydrogen contents. Since the hydrogen was out of it's tank the tank shot forward hitting the oxygen tank which also burst. The white vapor seen was the hydrogen and the oxygen mixing. Milliseconds after the white vapor was seen there was an explosion. The challenger was traveling at the speed of Mach 1.92 and at 46,000 when the hydrogen and oxygen exploded. Before the challenger exploded there was a cloud of gray smoke that engulfed the challenger which grew larger but under the gray cloud there was a red smoke which was the control system burning from the wreckage of the challenger . All sorts of debris was falling off of the challenger towards the ocean. Both of the SRB's flew off of the challenger in opposite directions. The

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Battle of Cannae in the Second Punic War

Battle of Cannae in the Second Punic War The Battle of Cannae took place during the Second Punic War (218-210 BC) between Rome and Carthage.  The battle occurred on August 2, 216 BC at Cannae in southeast Italy. Commanders and Armies Carthage Hannibal45,000-54,000 men Rome Gaius Terentius VarroLucius Aemilius Paullus54,000-87,000 men Background After the start of the Second Punic War, the Carthaginian general Hannibal boldly crossed the Alps and invaded Italy. Winning battles at Trebia (218 BC) and Lake Trasimene (217 BC), Hannibal defeated armies led by  Tiberius Sempronius Longus and  Gaius Flaminius Nepos. In the wake of these victories, he moved south plundering the countryside and working to make Romes allies defect to Carthages side. Reeling from these defeats, Rome appointed Fabius Maximus to deal with the Carthaginian threat.  Avoiding direct contact with Hannibals army, Fabius struck at the enemys supply lines and practiced the form of attritional warfare that later bore his name. Unhappy with this indirect approach, the Senate did not renew Fabius dictatorial powers when his term ended and command passed to the consuls  Gnaeus Servilius Geminus and Marcus Atilius Regulus.   In the spring of 216 BC, Hannibal seized the Roman supply depot at Cannae in southeast Italy. Situated on the Apulian Plain, this position allowed Hannibal to keep his men well fed. With Hannibal sitting astride Romes supply lines, the Roman Senate called for action. Raising an army of eight legions, the command was given to the Consuls Gaius Terentius Varro and Lucius Aemilius Paullus. The largest army ever assembled by Rome, this force advanced to face the Carthaginians. Marching south, the consuls found the enemy encamped on the left bank of the Aufidus River. As the situation developed, the Romans were hampered by an unwieldy command structure which required the two consuls to alternate command on a daily basis. Battle Preparations Approaching the Carthaginian camp on July 31, the Romans, with the aggressive Varro in command, defeated a small ambush set by Hannibals men. Though Varro was emboldened by the minor victory, command passed to the more conservative Paullus the next day. Unwilling to fight the Carthaginians on the open ground due to his armys smaller cavalry force, he elected to encamp two-thirds of the army east of the river while establishing a smaller camp on the opposite bank. The next day, aware that it would be Varros turn, Hannibal advanced his army and offered battle hoping the lure the reckless Roman forward.  Assessing the situation, Paullus successfully prevented his compatriot from engaging. Seeing that the Romans were unwilling to fight, Hannibal had his cavalry harass the Roman water-bearers and raid in the vicinity of Varro and Paullus camps.   Seeking battle on August 2, Varro and Paullus formed up their army for battle with their infantry densely packed in the center and the cavalry on the wings. The Consuls planned to use the infantry to quickly break the Carthaginian lines. Opposite, Hannibal placed his cavalry and most veteran infantry on the wings and his lighter infantry in the center. As the two sides advanced, Hannibals center moved forward, causing their line to bow in a crescent shape. On Hannibals left, his cavalry charged forward and routed the Roman horse. Rome Crushed To the right, Hannibals cavalry was engaged with that of Romes allies. Having destroyed their opposite number on the left, the Carthaginian cavalry rode behind the Roman army and assaulted the allied cavalry from the rear. Under attack from two directions, the allied cavalry fled the field. As the infantry began to engage, Hannibal had his center slowly retreat, while ordering the infantry on the wings to hold their position. The tightly packed Roman infantry continued to advance after the retreating Carthaginians, unaware of the trap that was about to be sprung. As the Romans were drawn in, Hannibal ordered the infantry on his wings to turn and attack the Roman flanks. This was coupled with a massive assault on the Roman rear by the Carthaginian cavalry, which completely surrounded the Consuls army. Trapped, the Romans became so compressed that many did not have space to raise their weapons. To speed the victory, Hannibal ordered his men to cut the hamstrings of each Roman and then move on to the next, commenting that the lamed could be slaughtered later at the Carthaginians leisure. The fighting continued until evening with approximately 600 Romans dying per minute. Casualties and Impact Various accounts of the Battle of Cannae show that 50,000-70,000 of the Romans, with 3,500-4,500 taken prisoner. It is known that approximately 14,000 were able to cut their way out and reach the town of Canusium. Hannibals army suffered around 6,000 killed and 10,000 wounded. Though encouraged by his officers to march on Rome, Hannibal resisted as he lacked the equipment and supplies for a major siege. While victorious at Cannae, Hannibal would ultimately be defeated at the Battle of Zama (202 BC), and Carthage would lose the Second Punic War.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Write about a time when you failed and what did you learn from it Essay

Write about a time when you failed and what did you learn from it - Essay Example The fact that I was going to join a private school in Nashville only made the whole experience more difficult. My parents felt that joining Ensworth would provide me with better education and a safer learning environment. In addition, they felt that the school environment would give me with the opportunity to develop enriching relationships. I wish they were right, but they were not. It subsequently took a whole year for my parents and me to agree that the school was not the ideal environment for me. I spent my entire freshman year at Ensworth trying to fit in the social circles. I discovered that I was working too hard to fit in. This was made difficult by the fact that I did not agree with conforming to different values from those I believed in, just to fit in. I did not know who to trust or relate to. I slowly realized that the students there had developed their friendships over the years, some since kindergarten. This made me an outsider, and on their part, they had difficulty letting in a new person into their groupings. It was then that I started to talk to my parents to transfer me to a public school. My parents were extremely reluctant to entertain this idea. This made me feel like a failure. I was disappointed in myself and I felt trapped. Over a period of time, my parents came to appreciate my predicament. It took long and painful discussions, some fighting, and frantic begging on my part. Eventually, they let me switch schools to Hillsboro High School. Hillsboro High School is a large, independent public school with a very diverse student population. After moving from Ensworth, I no longer had the gourmet lunches. There were no large spacious classrooms and state of the art fitness centers. However, I felt truly happy at Hillsboro. The refreshing burst of diversity and realness became two key principles in finding many friends and ultimately, my self. I quickly loved the feeling of not being judged or criticized for my thoughts and

Thursday, October 31, 2019

The importance of HBCUs in the modern world Research Paper

The importance of HBCUs in the modern world - Research Paper Example Equality was often the cry. Nowadays, when people think they have achieved the desires of their old folks, social issues such as discrimination or racism are seriously examined on every corner of the world. With the acceptance of the merging of different races towards a global goal, it is being considered if racism has indeed been eradicated or if there is still the scars of racism that show that in the modern world, racism still exists. One of the things being closely examined in relation to this issue is the existence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) in a world wherein such racist impositions are greatly criticized. In this paper, it will be studied if the HBCUs are still relevant or if they should be dissolved just as slavery has been dissolved in order to get rid not only of the pains of racism but also its memories and scars. In order to consider well the different angles of the HBCUs, it is important to learn about the history of the colleges and universit ies. According to the title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, an HBCU is a school of higher learning whose principal mission was and is the education of African Americans accredited and established before 1964 (thurgoodmarshallfund.net). The Higher Education Center on the other hand specifically mentions that it is any historically black college or university (higheredcenter.org) and continues with the definition mentioned earlier. The first HBCU was established in 1837, twenty six years before the end of slavery (Coleman), in Pennsylvania and named Cheney University. The school catered to African Americans who have just earned their freedom from their slavery, who wanted to earn an education which they believed would grant them better lives. It was birthed by a Quaker who was also known to be a philanthropist, who yearned to educate and train free Blacks to become teachers (Coleman). For years, HBCUs stood for the educational rights of African American citizens and provided them with quality education that helped them actively participate in their communities. Among them are Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University organized in 1875 through the efforts of a former slave, William Hooper Council; Bowie State University which boasts of its dedication to the advancement of knowledge through teaching, research and service; and Lincoln University, known as the oldest historically black university founded in 1854 (thurgoodmarshallfund.net). The Historically Black Colleges and Universities boast of quality education that made way for a lot of African Americans and other cultures alike to succeed in the educational arena not only for undergraduates but also for graduate studies. It is claimed that nine out of ten of those who earn doctoral degrees are from HBCUs. Moreover, the HBCUs also boast about the high percentage of practicing professionals to be their graduates and African American Medical school applicants from HBCUs to have outnumbered the applic ants from Johns Hopkins, Harvard and the University of Maryland, combined (thinkhbcu.org). Among others that make HBCUs proud about their achievements are the significant number of their African American degree holders and doctorate degrees awarded for communications. HBCUs also boast that they are excellent institutions falling in line with the top ten colleges and universities for African American, even placing in the top six

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

People Resourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

People Resourcing - Essay Example Planning and better management of human resources is an issue that cannot be ignored in a country’s development strategies. Human resource planning is the critical evaluation as well as identification of labor requirements for planed projects to meet the social and economic targets in the society. The most efficient approach to good human resource planning starts with attaining information on a particular human resource function, the selection or recruitment of workers, training, motivations, work place diversity, and compensations when need rise. Human resource planning is indicated by sufficient man power, comprising of all categories of workers and diverse skill and talents. The workers should be available in specific locations and perform their duties when required. This discourse is about the importance of attaining labor market prevailing conditions before human resource planning. There is need to observe the labor market trends to correct the in balance between its dema nd and supply. Labor market can be categorized as either internal or external. Internal labor market refers to a pool of workers within a certain organization. It could also mean a mechanism through which employees are assigned to certain roles within the organization. The number of employees is determined by the human resource policy put in place like job security, investment levels, sophistication levels in the organization departments, and the business approach adopted. Available internal labor market information can assist the human resource planning team in greater ways (Pilbeam, 2010). Prior to annual recruitments, the company may decide to retain the existing workers and offer trainings to meet the current demands. The retained employees can be motivated further by developments, creation of better employment terms, and salary reviews. This would increase their productivity hence increase turn over to the company. This would be cheaper than hiring new employees who may require time to adjust to the company’s environment and working policies. Classical model of internal labor market is associated with sophisticated and structured pool of workers. Such employees have established experiences and complex technological skills that are ideal to the daily operations of a certain organizations’ department. Such pool of workers have limited interactions with the out side stake holders due to fears that they could be lured to join other organizations at higher salary hence they are motivated by annual incentives, job promotions, and securities so that they stick to their companies. Having full knowledge of such workers is a great deal to the human resource planning team to assist in their retention within the company. Having full knowledge of existing employees may determine who to be out sourced to external companies and generate more income to the company. A company may cut the annual expenses by reducing the existing labor. It will be wise for the human resource planning team to evaluate the existing employees before the retrenchment operations. It would be a great loss to the company to lose a vital team member due lack of internal labor market information. Internal labor market information is much easier and cheaper to be obtained than the external labor pool. External labor market represents the pool of workers available outside (externally) a certain organizations. The type of workers required by a firm is determined by