Women s Discrimination And Harassment - 2119 Words

For centuries, women in the U.S. military have had a tough time due to all the discrimination, harassment, and sexual assault just because our society’s fundamental belief is that going to war and protecting our homes is a man’s work. The discrimination and harassment occurs since women are entering an all-male dominated area, and are seen as â€Å"outsiders.† However, as a male in the AFROTC program, I have seen numerous well qualified women who can take charge and lead better than a lot of males can. In fact, the Wing Commander, the person in charge of the entire detachment for the AFROTC program at San Diego State University, is a female. It is time for women to deserve fair treatment in a non-hostile environment in order to further their careers on an equal foot with men since they have gone to extreme lengths in order to be seen as equal. Men have always been in charge of the military, holding all the high ranking positions and calling all the shots, but in recent decades, women have not only been able to achieve high commanding positions, but have also been allowed to fight on the front lines. However, despite these continuing advancements, women still do not have the exact same rights guaranteed to males. Women do not have the same equal opportunity for promotions or careers, and they do not have the same equal opportunity to fight on the front lines or in Special Forces. They also have to worry about being sexually harassed by the same fellow servicemen that they fightShow MoreRelatedGender Discrimination At The Workplace1165 Words   |  5 PagesGender discrimination in the workplace is a recurring issue in businesses today. Employees are given the right by their employers to be protected from discrimination and inequality in the workplace. In just about every business setting today, men and women work together in the same fields, jobs, and projects. However, it has only been up until (relatively) recently that men and women have been in competition for the same jobs. With the predetermined assumptions of the different roles between bothRead MoreImproving Workplace Opp ortunities For Women1590 Words   |  7 PagesA century ago women were excluded from the opportunities which men enjoyed. Today, many countries including Canada have progressed significantly by creating anti-discrimination laws that have performed a critical role in expanding workplace opportunities for women. However, these laws failed to guarantee workplace equality since female workers still face discrimination through significant pay gaps for similar job duties, lack of representation in boards and high paying positions, and also face sexualRead MoreWorkplace Discrimination : Discrimination And Discrimination1588 Words   |  7 Pagestreat others with prejudice because of particular features they possess. Unfortunately, prejudice and discrimination occur even in places which, by definition, should be free of all personal prejudices – specifically, in offices and other business surroundings. This tragedy is called workplace discrimination; not every unfair behavior at wo rk, however, can be assessed as discrimination. Discrimination in the workplace happens when an employee experiences unfair treatment due to their race, gender, ageRead MoreDiscrimination : A Woman Named Maddison Enjoyed Working Essay1009 Words   |  5 Pagesagainst her, but they discriminated against women. Discrimination is a very common in the world today. There are many different types of discrimination such as age, religion, race, disability, and sex. Many people have to deal with discrimination every day of their lives, and so do women. All companies and jobs discriminate against people, especially women. Women are always discriminated in the workplace. Women receive lower pay rates than men. Not only do women get paid less because of their genderRead MoreUnequal Opportunity For Women s Workplace1334 Words   |  6 PagesUnequal Opportunity For Women in Workplace According to Merriam Dictionary Unequal means, giving more advantages, power etc to some people and less to other people for unfair reasons. (Unequal, 2015) According to Covert, Bryce (2013), nearly 30% of the women population are facing discrimination and have reported against it. This data came out via the help of new poll data from the Center for American Progress and Elle Magazine. No matter where the women is, what her position is, she is most likelyRead MoreDoes the Military Continue to Have Sexual Harassment and Discriminati1584 Words   |  7 PagesDoes the Military Continue to Have Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Against Women in the 90s? Yes, the military does have sexual harassment and discrimination against women in the nineties. Firestone and co-researcher Richard J. Hurns analyzed a 1988 DOD Survey of men and women in the military and found that 51.8 % of men and 74.6% of women reported either experiencing or knowing of sexual harassment. Among the women surveyed, 70.1% had experienced sexual talk or behavior at the workRead MoreWomen in the Workplace1627 Words   |  7 Pagesthere has been a drastic increase in the number of women entering and participating in the labor force (Hepburn Simon, 2006). Since early history and the ancient civilization of man, women have played a secondary role, in which women were and still are viewed as less adequate than a man. A women’s traditional role in society is that of raising children, fulfilling duties around the house, and being the primary nurturer of the family. Many women in today’s society want and desire careers and a placeRead MoreA Brief Note On Discrimination And Racial Discrimination1532 Words   |  7 PagesDiscrimination made its way to planet earth way before it could be documented. Racial discrimination happens all over the world both consciously and unconsciously, destroying lives every day. Racial discrimination can best be described as, when a person is treated less favorably than another person in a similar situation because of their race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin or immigrant status. There are many forms of racial discrimination even if we don’t want to face it. Among the mostRead MoreSexual Harassment And The Workplace1697 Words   |  7 PagesSexual Harassment in the Work Place: Building More Awareness In today’s society, sexual harassment in the workplace has become a problem. This problem should have more attention and awareness provided to help stop these situations from happening. Sexual harassment can happen anywhere, at any time, and to everyone. It does not discriminate and effects all ethnicity, genders, age, and races. Due to the larger number of cases presented in courts today, sexual harassment in the workplace continues toRead MoreLack Of Gender Discrimination On The Workplace1203 Words   |  5 Pagestheir female employees from unfair and unlawful discrimination. These prejudice actions made against women are based on gendered stereotypes that ultimately place women at a disadvantage. These â€Å" Gendered stereotypes, shared at the societal level that describe what men and women are known to be like, influences hiring processes in the U.S. law firms†( Cech 7). Employers, who discriminate against others based on their sex, should focus on each individu al`s skills rather than their gender. The false

Discussing Impression Formation Essay examples - 1676 Words

Impression formation and stereotypes First impressions are considered very important. It is very common to hear people talk about the importance of giving a good first impression because that very first moment in which people see or meet someone new, shows them the kind of person they are most likely to be. How is personality impressions formed? Do first impressions have a much greater impact on judgements than subsequent impressions? How first impressions are formed has been a subject of interest by many researchers in the area of psychology. Past research in this subject suggests that primacy effects exist in impression formation. Solomon Asch (1946) conducted a study to see how people form impressions. Participants were†¦show more content†¦Asch’s(1946) data is limited and Studies tend to be artificial and lack ecological validity. Contemporary work shows individuals are more dynamic in their use of data. Impression formation has had an influence on memory. Impression formation has implications for the self fulfilling prophesies and also leads to the question Is there a link to stereotyping? As a society, we are all guilty of stereotyping others in respect of their differences, some of the main stereotypical groups are ethnical, age, culture, religion, sexual orientation, gender and occupation. This psychological research project will be looking at whether different job descriptions will have a positive or negative effect on likeability. A stereotype is â€Å"...a fixed, over generalised belief about a particular group or class of people.† (Cardwell, 1996). The use of stereotypes is a major way in which we simplify our social world; since they reduce the amount of processing, we have to do when we meet a new person. By stereotyping we infer that a person has a whole range of characteristics and abilities that we assume all members of that group have. Stereotypes lead to social categorisation, which is one of the reasons for prejudice attitudes. Researchers in the 1930’s were interested in how attitudes towards large social groups manifested toward individual members.Show MoreRelatedParent-Adolescent Communication (Reaction Paper)1032 Words   |  5 Pageslate-adolescence, which occurs from ages 18 to 22, we become increasingly focused on the formation of our identities. At this point, almost all of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are driven by the exploration of various personal identities in pursuit of discovering who we really are so as to be able to define a sense of individuality among ourselves. For this reason, we tend to conceal or avoid discussing our identities with our parents out of fear of being disagreed with. We begin to confideRead MoreHow First Impressions Are Formed1984 Words   |  8 PagesIndividuals naturally form automatic, initial impressions about others almost instantly, without taking into context further evidence or information. However, using this initial impression without further context to form a complete profile of a person could lead to an inaccurate perception of the individual. There is debate as to whether or not it is actually possible to change our initial first impressions in the light of later evidence, or once an impression is formed, it is too late to change our judgementsRead MoreThe Significance Of The Frontier By Frederick Jackson Turner869 Words   |  4 Pagesaccurate depiction of the history of the United States. Unlike the image that Turner represents in his Frontier Thesis, Native Americans played a large role in the formation of America s history. Turner continuously undermines their presence, referring to them mostly in passing and never giving their race much credit. When discussing the presence of different animals and people on the frontier, he ranks them only one step above animals, saying â€Å"watch the procession of civilization marching singleRead MoreThe Educational Value of Exhibitions in Musuems1189 Words   |  5 Pagesdifferent purpose, target and venue. Furthermore, the presenting order of the contents, the exhibit routes, visiting guides, the displays and the space layout of the exhibit all significantly contribute to the audience visiting experience. Its formation is caused by interpretations from different aspects. In order to convey ideas efficiently, no matter what kind of media or in what way the audience has participated, the display of museum exhibitions would finally return to their presence of mediaRead MoreActive, Inactive, And Dormant Volcanoes915 Words   |  4 Pagesdifferent types of volcanoes and how to tell the differences between active, inactive, and dormant volcanoes. My focus of approach is merely into the research of volcanoes from past to present. First, I’d like to briefly go over some terms we will be discussing and how to identify the difference between each term. There are a variety of volcanoes that we can identify by physical characteristics. Let’s begin with Cinder Cone volcanos, (Siebert, Simkin and Kimberly, 2010) the cinder cone volcano can beRead MoreAnalysis Of The Movie 12 Angry Men 933 Words   |  4 Pagespersonal matters from the facts, the jurors complicate their decisions with stereotypes, past experiences, and opinions. Although they were faced with different perspectives, the men came together to a unanimous consensus. I. The Formation of a Team In the formation of the jurors, the lawyers selected twelve men to integrate varying perspectives with the intention of finding an unbiased verdict. These men came from different walks of life to create a cross-functional team to sort through the evidenceRead MoreBeing English Used to Be so Easy835 Words   |  4 Pagesseems to have remained constant is a great resentment at being overlooked or controlled; a love of freedom: fortitude: a low interest in sexual activity compared with most neighboring societies: a strong belief in the value of education for the formation of character; consideration and delicacy for the feelings of other people: and a very strong attachment to marriage and the institution of the family... The rest of the kingdom comforts itself with the chippy consolation that the English are theRead MoreThe Civil War : The Battle Over Illegal Immigration844 Words   |  4 Pagesthe violent undocumented â€Å"alien† serves a dual purpose of instilling fear into Americans and to view undocumented immigrants as criminals. The opening scene of the documentary shows dark, shapeless figures running across the border. This gives the impression of a foreign â€Å"thing† crossing the border with bed intentions. During another opening shot, a white male congressman with power talks over a scene where there was a gang related shoot out on the border. This illustrates that not only are there undocumentedRead MoreThe Role Of Consciousness And Second Language Learning Essay1624 Words   |  7 PagesNoticing The role of consciousness in learning has been a heavily debated topic. Many researchers have been hesitant to even use the term â€Å"consciousness† when discussing the topic due to its vague nature and its difficulty to operationalize. Schmidt (1992) was one of the first researchers to explore in depth the true relationship of consciousness to second language learning. He operationalized the construct of consciousness under the umbrella term awareness. Awareness encapsulated attention and noticingRead MoreThe Black Panthers As Reverse Racism971 Words   |  4 PagesBeing multiracial and growing up in mainly white spaces, I was not exactly educated on the political party or their accomplishments, I was informed that it was an anti white party. Luckily, the RiverRun Film Festival that would provide me with the impression necessary about the party, so with that came a feeling of excitement.Although there were not many multiracial people in the room, I was not offended or uncom fortable since my motive was to attain knowledge rather than a sense of belonging. The interviews

Agamemnon Vs. Achilles Essay Example For Students

Agamemnon Vs. Achilles Essay Agamemnon vs. AchillesDuring the ancient Greek period the people believed that the gods lived on Mt. Olympus and could do whatever they wanted to. The leader of the gods was Zeus; he was the most powerful god. The gods had the power to intervene with the mortal lives if they felt that it was necessary. The Iliad is an epic poem. In the story of the Iliad the two main characters were Achilles and Agamemnon. Achilles was seen as the great Greek hero, he was the strongest man alive at the time. His father was a god but his mother was only a mortal. He was bathed in the river Styx as a child and he became almost immortal. The only piece of his body that could be injured was his heel. In the beginning of the story we find out that the gods are angry with Agamemnon because he has been mean to a holy man. The gods in turn sent a huge plague down onto the people. The gods Apollo was responsible for starting the plague, he was convinced by the holy man to seek revenge upon the people. Agamemnon was the King of Mycenae; he was very similar to Achilles. Agamemnon was the leader of his army and was very proud of his army. Although he never took any big risks in battle, he always took credit for everything and wanted the largest share of plunder after it was all over. He shows no emotions, and does not trust his army, and is always testing them. Agamemnon is not well liked by his people, but he is respected. Agamemnon is always trying to get something for himself in any situation. This can be seen when the gods request that he returns Chryseis, a prize from a battle that he won. Agamemnon will not return the girl unless he receives Achilles prize of war, Briseis. Agamemnon says to his two servants â€Å" Go along, both of you to Achilles quarters and take his charming Briseis by the hand to bring to me. And if he balks at giving her I shall be there myself with men-at-arms in force to take her- all the more gall for him† This shows his lack of respect and care for other people. He thinks that he deserves anything that he desires, but he is wrong. Chalcas was a seer to the Greeks. He told Agamemnon that he did not approve of his doings, and that he â€Å"brought calamity,† and that Agamemnon was â€Å"from the depths of hell.† These word from Chalcas show that the seer did not think that Agamemnon was very good person, and that what he did was wrong. Everyone on the other hand loved Achilles. Even thought he possessed superhuman strengths, and held a close relationship with the gods he had many character flaws that did not allow him to strive in all aspects that he could have. His flaws did not allow him to act with the nobility and integrity that he could have. Unlike Agamemnon, Achilles shows his emotions, but he cannot control them. He strives to reach glory in every aspects of his life, and when he can’t he becomes angry and cannot control himself. When Agamemnon belittled him by taking his lady away from him, his rage built up inside and he refused to fight anymore. Although Achilles is consumed by the bloodlust, pride and wrath, he also shows that he has emotions in the final book when he allows the desecrated body of Hector to be returned to his family and friends. Even though Hector killed Achilles best friend, he does the noble thing and allows the body to be returned to its original home. Achilles cried with the old man about the loss of loved ones, and he allows the man to take the body. â€Å"As you wished, sir, the body of your son is now set free. He lies in state. At the first site of dawn you shall take charge of him yourself and se him. Now let us think of supper.† This quote shows that Achilles believes in tradition, it is Greek tradition to celebrate the closing of a deal by eating food with the people involved. The tradition of honoring a corpse and returning it to its homeland was also shown. The goddess Hera is on Achilles side, and assists him in his life. Agamemnon does not like Achilles because he knows that he is a better fighter but cannot admit it. He holds a personal grudge against him, but he can’t do anything to change it. .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .postImageUrl , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:hover , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:visited , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:active { border:0!important; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:active , .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1 .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u44d857ef7ebd154306a25860fcfcded1:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Biotechnology1 EssayI believe that Achilles anger is justifiable because he had something taken from him unjustly. Agamemnon stole Achilles lady because he had to return his. This is highly unfair, and everyone knew this except Agamemnon. When he withdrew from the battle though, it only hurt his own name and reputation. Achilles was supposed to be a great fighter, and a real warrior would never withdraw from a battle over a woman. Throughout his life, Achilles strived to make his reputation strong, and by dropping out of the battle he ruined all that he had done that was honorable. I think that Achilles could have proven his point in a better way, and still kept his honor. Overall I believe that what he did was justified. In conclusion I believe that Achilles was the better character in this epic. He tried to be a good person, even thought he had many character flaws that did not allow him to be as great as he wanted to be. Agamemnon on the other hand, was a horrible person and extremely arrogant. Agamemnon tries to manipulate people and situations to best fit his personal benefit. Achilles showed emotions and was able to express how he felt to people; this factor alone will make readers like him more. Agamemnon and Achilles both held leading roles in the story, but Achilles was the main character. Mythology

Tony Fernandes and Airasia Essay Example For Students

Tony Fernandes and Airasia Essay Early years Born in Kuala Lumpur to a Goan father and Malacca Portuguese mother, Dato Sri Tony Fernandes is the son of the late Stephen Edward Fernandes, and Ena Dorothy Fernandez. When he was young, he used to follow his mother, a businesswoman, to Tupperware dealer parties and conventions. He was educated at Epsom College 1977-83 and then graduated from the London School of Economics in 1987. He worked very briefly with Virgin Atlantic as an auditor, subsequently becoming the financial controller for Richard Bransons Virgin Records in London from 1987 to 1989. 1] Tony was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow Member in 1996. Upon his return to Malaysia, he became the youngest-ever managing director of Warner Music (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. Though an accountant, Fernandes is an amateur guitarist and also has achieved grade 8 piano which is where his musical inclination lies. He was responsible for revolutionisin g ethnic music, nasyid and dangdut, bringing them into the mainstream of contemporary Malaysian music. He subsequently became the South East Asian regional vice-president for Warner Music Group from 1992-2001. We will write a custom essay on Tony Fernandes and Airasia specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now When Time Warner Inc announced its merger with America Online Inc. , Fernandes left to pursue his dream of starting a budget no-frills airline. However, his application for a license from the Malaysian government was rejected. Launching AirAsia It was through Datuk Pahamin A. Rejab, the former secretary-general of the Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry that Fernandes got to meet up with the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in October 2001. AirAsia, the heavily-indebted subsidiary of the Malaysian government-owned conglomerate, DRB-Hicom, was losing money speedily. Instead of starting from scratch, Mahathir advised Fernandes to buy an existing airline instead. Fernandes mortgaged his home and sank his savings to acquire the company, comprising two ageing Boeing 737-300 jets (9M-AAA and 9M-AAB) and USD$11 million (RM40 million) worth of debts, for 26 US cents (one ringgit), and transformed it into an industry player. Coming just after the 11 September 2001, undoubtedly the worst day in the history of commercial aviation when nobody wanted to fly, everyone thought that Fernandes had gone crazy, predicting that the company would fail iserably. Yet, just one year after his takeover, AirAsia had broken even and cleared all its debts. Its initial public offering (IPO) in November 2004 was oversubscribed by 130 per cent. Fernandes says his timing was in fact perfect: Since 11 September 2001, aircraft leasing costs were down 40%. Also, airline lay-offs mean experienced staff were readily available. He believed Malaysian travellers would embrace a cut-r ate air service that will save them time and money, especially in a tight economy. That was why he copied one of the worlds most successful no-frills carriers, Ryanair out of Ireland (which in turn is modelled after Southwest Airlines in the United States). Fernandes thinks that about 50 per cent of the travellers on Asia’s budget airlines are first-time flyers. Before AirAsia, he estimates that only six per cent of Malaysians had ever travelled in a plane. Other ventures In 2007, Tony Fernandes has again created a first in Asia by starting a hotel chain, Tune Hotels which is based on the no-frills concept. The first Tune Hotel was opened at the intersection of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Expansions are in the works as more hotels will be opened up throughout Malaysia. Another new Tune Hotel will be opening soon in Bali, Indonesia. As of 2009, Fernandes is also the president of the ABL (Asian Basketball League). Fernandes has stated that it has always been a dream of his to be able to be involved with the development of sports in the ASEAN region. Lotus F1 Fernandes is the team principal of the new Lotus F1 Racing, which has been granted entry into the 2010 Formula One season. .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .postImageUrl , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:hover , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:visited , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:active { border:0!important; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:active , .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43 .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubb6b67395492e39d5013e44326323a43:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: I have a dream EssayHaving initially planned to stand down from the role after the season begins, he has since indicated that he will carry on in this position. On 16 December 2009, Fernandes accepted a challenge from Richard Branson, a fellow airline boss and the owner of Lotus fellow F1 newcomers Virgin Racing, where the losing teams boss should work on the winners airline for a day dressed as a stewardess joking The sexier the better. Our passengers will be delighted to be served by a Knight of the Realm, but knowing Richard, the real challenge will be to prevent him from asking our guests coffee, tea or e? That would be scary. On top of this, the team also produced a poster depicting Branson in an Air Asia uniform. West Ham United Fernandes is a fan of English Premier League club West Ham United and has been involved in talks concerning a takeover of the club. Achievements and awards Fernandes biggest achievement has been to turn the AirAsia airline into an international carrier. Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have open-skies agreements. In mid-2003, Fernandes lobbying pushed Dr Mahathir to raise the idea with the leaders of neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, those nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers. Fernandes has indeed set in motion the advent of budget carriers in the region. Now, Southeast Asia hosts a number of low-price carriers such as: * Malaysias Firefly (owned by Malaysia Airlines) * Singapore’s Tiger Airways (owned by Singapore Airlines); * Singapore’s Valuair and Jetstar Asia (partly owned by Qantas Airways) (both airlines merged in 2005); * Thailands Nok Air; Indonesias Lion Air; * Vietnams Jetstar Pacific (formerly Pacific Airlines), and * Philippiness Cebu Pacific. In 2004, AirAsia formed successful joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia where AirAsia holds 49% stake in both companies. Thai AirAsia, a joint venture with Shin Corporation, Thailand’s largest telecommunication conglomerate, took to the skies in Feb 2 004 and has to date carried over 1 million guests in its first year of operations. PT AWAIR, re-launched as a low fare airline on Dec 8th 2004 and subsequently re-named Indonesia AirAsia, presently serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia. Fernandes has received several awards for his outstanding achievements: * International Herald Tribune Award for the Visionaries Leadership Series, for his outstanding work in AirAsia; * Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003 in December 2003 — a highly acclaimed recognition, so far awarded to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognize entrepreneurial and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of Malaysian corporations. * Named the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American Express Corporate Services and Business Times . Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year in the Ernst ; Young Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards in 2003; * Made the list of Business Weeks 25 Stars of Asia in 2005. * Malaysian Ernst Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006 * Excellence In Leadership Asia Pacific Leadership Awards 2009 Fernandes has also been honoured by the Malaysian government with title Dato Seri and a lso by the government of France with the Legion dHonneur title. Wealth In 2007, Forbes Asia valued Fernandes personal wealth at $230 million ranking him at number 24 on the Forbes list of Malaysias Richest.

The Right to Life essays

The Right to Life essays Abortion, the termination of pregnancy before the fetus has attained the ability to live independently, is morally wrong. The decision of pro-life or pro-choice has been society's most controversial topic for years. Those who support pro-life believe that life itself begins at conception, and that abortion is the actual killing of a human life. Those who support pro-choice, on the other hand, believe that the child's mother has every right to carry out or end a pregnancy, and that the child in the womb is not a person until it is born. This has been proven wrong. The child is a person as soon as it is conceived, it is distinct and different and has its own heartbeat. The moment the sperm unites with the egg, the cells begin to divide into genes that will make the child unique and this can never be duplicated again. Abortion ends the lives of living, breathing, and moving children, and therefore I think it is murder. In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that as long as the baby lived in the womb, it was the property of the mother. Because of this, one out of every three babies in America is killed by abortion, which is 1.5 million per year. In 1969, the abortion laws were changed in Canada, so that it became legal for a doctor to perform an abortion if a committee of three other doctors deemed that continuation of the pregnancy would cause a threat to the health of the mother. Imagine how many potential scientists, teachers, or just unique individuals have been killed by this There are several different forms of abortion, all of which are disgustingly violent and indecent: 1) Vacuum curettage is a powerful suction tube inserted through the cervix and into the womb. The fetus is torn apart by the force of the suction, and the body parts and placenta are then sucked into a jar. 2) Mifepristone is a chem ...

Platinum Facts on the Periodic Table of the Elements

Platinum Facts on the Periodic Table of the Elements Platinum is a transition metal that is highly valued for jewelry and alloys. Here are interesting facts about this element. Platinum Basic Facts Atomic Number: 78 Symbol: Pt Atomic Weight: 195.08 Discovery Its difficult to assign credit for the discovery. Ulloa 1735 (in South America), Wood in 1741, Julius Scaliger in 1735 (Italy) all can make claims. Platinum was used in relatively pure form by the pre-Columbian Indians. Electron Configuration: [Xe] 4f14 5d9 6s1 Word Origin: from the Spanish word platina, meaning little silver Isotopes Six stable isotopes of platinum occur in nature (190, 192, 194, 195, 196, 198). Information on three additional radioisotopes is available (191, 193, 197). Properties Platinum has a melting point of 1772 Â °C, the boiling point of 3827 /- 100 Â °C, the specific gravity of 21.45 (20 Â °C), with a valence of 1, 2, 3, or 4. Platinum is a ductile and malleable silvery-white metal. It does not oxidize in air at any temperature, although it is corroded by cyanides, halogens, sulfur, and caustic alkalis. Platinum does not dissolve in hydrochloric or nitric acid but will dissolve when the two acids are mixed to form aqua regia. Uses Platinum is used in jewelry, wire, to make crucibles and vessels for laboratory work, electrical contacts, thermocouples, for coating items that must be exposed to high temperatures for long periods of time or must resist corrosion, and in dentistry. Platinum-cobalt alloys have interesting magnetic properties. Platinum absorbs large amounts of hydrogen at room temperature, yielding it at red heat. The metal is often used as a catalyst. The platinum wire will glow red-hot in the vapor of methanol, where it acts as a catalyst, converting it to formaldehyde. Hydrogen and oxygen will explode in the presence of platinum. Sources Platinum occurs in native form, usually with small amounts of other metals belonging to the same group (osmium, iridium, ruthenium, palladium, and rhodium). Another source of the metal is sperrylite (PtAs2). Element Classification Transition Metal Platinum Physical Data Density (g/cc): 21.45 Melting Point (K): 2045 Boiling Point (K): 4100 Appearance: very heavy, soft, silvery-white metal Atomic Radius (pm): 139 Atomic Volume (cc/mol): 9.10 Covalent Radius (pm): 130 Ionic Radius: 65 (4e) 80 (2e) Specific Heat (20Â °C J/g mol): 0.133 Fusion Heat (kJ/mol): 21.76 Evaporation Heat (kJ/mol): ~470 Debye Temperature (K): 230.00 Pauling Negativity Number: 2.28 First Ionizing Energy (kJ/mol): 868.1 Oxidation States: 4, 2, 0 Lattice Structure: Face-Centered Cubic Lattice Constant (Ã…): 3.920 References Los Alamos National Laboratory (2001)Crescent Chemical Company (2001)Langes Handbook of Chemistry (1952)CRC Handbook of Chemistry Physics (18th Ed.)

American Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

American Dance - Essay Example American theatrical dance has expanded through a progression of generations numerous build on the work, thus creating a pedigree marked by innovation. This form of dance cannot be neatly defined. It is a form of style of American modern dance evolving through quest of discoveries and shares the communicative potential of human association. In true sense American theatrical dance comprises of Broadway, modern and ballet forms of dancing style. These forms of dance depict the economic and cultural changes happening in the society. From time to time they have enacted on issues of social significance and always conveyed some messages to the audience through their theatrical dance performances. These dancing form pioneered dance in bare foot and elegant costumes. They portray a form of social affirmation and were means of expressing nation’s and society’s power (Brown). The society values theatrical dance as a communicative and bonding experience forming a well-developed str ucture of communication. This essay will focus on the two forms of American modern dance that is Broadway and Ballet, and how are they different to each other. Broadway Theatrical Dance: Broadway dance forms a part of the modern American theatrical dance. It can be classified as an incorporation of jazz and modern style accompanied with theater and music. At the beginning of the Broadway dance people were tricked and amazed by the concepts of Broadway Theater as this pioneered a dancing form with play’s plot. Initially Broadway was not taken as a serious theatrical dance. People were uncertain about the entire structure of the dance form. But later it evolved as a dance form which had a social message for the society. Soon after, Broadway started gaining popularity amongst the audience as fusion of jazz and modern art dance. This form of theatrical dance was incorporated with exceptional movement and unconventional use of body parts. The entire act was supported by the usage of props, integration of personalities, storytelling of a incident. The entire performance was choreographed and presented through lucid expressions. The entire performances take place with music playing backstage. The music is played as per the theme of the subject matter of the performance. With changing time span Broadway musical took off. It popularity enhanced day by day and gained recognition as an artistic form of theater. Broadway dance form exerted profound influence in the New York life tradition and culture. Their themes were realistic with a touch of whimsical feel. As per the critics it attracted the serious theater goers who were deeply moved by the socio-economical concerns of the society. During its early stage the middle class New Yorkers used to be its target audience. Their theme appealed to them to a great extends. Broadway theatrical evolved as an assembly of multidimensional talents. It consisted of a group of singers, dancers, actors, musicians who emerged as celebrities. Famous Broadway personalities included Anna held, Lillian Russell, Marilyn Miller, DeWolf Hoppe, Ray Bolger etc. These eminent personalities had been a part of this theatrical dance from time to time. Robert Alton had been a choreographer of this dance form who brought out the first modern dances closely related to many dance performances in New York stage today. Nowadays dance performances have become dominated in the Broadway theatrica

Compare and Contrast the development of slavery in the US to the Essay

Compare and Contrast the development of slavery in the US to the development - Essay Example According to Nellis (20), slavery in Latin America was characterized as being less cruel and harsh as contrasted to the slavery in the United States and especially in the Southern America. This contrast was mainly due to the influence that the Catholic Church had in the Latin America where it advocated for slaves to possess rights such as seeking relief in the event a master is cruel, having marriage rights and being allowed to purchase freedom to work in their own plantations of sugar or other products. The Spanish and Portuguese colonists were also largely viewed as being less affected by prejudice associated with race as when compared to the United States (Finkelman, 34) and this is one of the main issues that stood out as a contrast. Furthermore, it was believed that the Latin American slavery was less affected by pressures associated with the capitalist economy that was competitive and dominant in the United States lave owners to demand a lot in plantation workings. In many circumstances it was viewed that the Latin American slavery was also harsher and cruel to some extent. This was mainly due to the inability of the courts and the Catholic Church to be able to offer the much required protection to the Latin American slaves as contrasted with American slaves that did not depend on the church for protection. In Latin America there were also many incidences where slaves were tied down and flogged for about ten consecutive days when they failed to deliver the amount of tasks expected of them in the plantations (Digital History, 1). Franklin and Alfred, (20) suggest that when observed from a different view slavery in Latin America seemed even more harsh than slavery in the United States. Latin American Slaves were forcefully required to wear Iron masks when working in the plantations so as not to tamper with products such as sugarcane and tobacco or to engage in alcoholism this incidence was not reported among American slaves. United States

Managing Change in Complex Environment Essay Example for Free

Managing Change in Complex Environment Essay History and Background Introduction The United States Postal Service (USPS) is an independent government organization that generates income through mail services. It is currently the second largest civilian employer in the United States. Its primary task is to deliver mail around the country, at a standard price, regardless of geographic location. Over the last two centuries, the USPS has evolved into an efficient organization that financially sustains itself through its delivery operations. With a monopoly on the delivery of non-urgent mail, the USPS provides delivery service of about 40 percent of the worlds mail, or approximately 200 billion pieces of mail annually. Starting in the 1990s, the USPS faced increased competition from rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the Internet. Presently the USPS is facing a financial collapse. The USPS needs to undergo an essential and systematic change in order to maintain its significance in the 21st century. History/Background On July 26, 1775, members of the Second Continental Congress appointed a Postmaster General giving birth to the Postal Department of the United States. The mission of the U.S. Postal Department was much the same as today, process and deliver first class and non-urgent mail to individuals and businesses within the United States. Congress passed various laws that grant the post office a â€Å"statutory monopoly† on non-urgent First Class Mail and the exclusive right to put mail in private mailboxes. Although these laws grant the USPS a market advantaged they also restrict its ability to compete with rival package delivery and courier services, as well as the technological innovations. How it got started The Post Office Department has origins in America dating back to the 17th century, when there was a need for mail between colonial settlements and intercontinental exchange of information with England. In 1775, the Continental Congress named Benjamin Franklin as the first postmaster general and chairman of a committee empowered to make recommendations for the establishment of a postal service. On September 22, 1789 the post office became a new government branch of the United States. At this time there were 75 post offices and approximately 2,000 miles of post roads. The USPS was critical to national welfare and pivotal in facilitating communications for military, congressional representation and newspapers. From the very beginning, the USPS financed operations from revenue it earned and Congress gave it a monopoly to be the only courier service to deliver mail. Key points in evolution The main focus and the efforts of postal officials from the foundation of the Post Office to the present day have been finding the best methods of transporting information and directing mail. For example, in 1791 George Washington stated that that the importance of the postal routes had increased because the country wanted to distribute knowledge of governmental laws. Also, between 1791 and 1861, the U.S increased from 3.9 million to 31.4 million square miles and postal roads grew from 1,875 to 240,595 miles. The Board of Governors of the USPS sets policy, procedure, and postal rates for services rendered. Of the eleven members of the Board, nine are appointed by the President and confirmed by the US Senate. The nine appointed members then select the Postmaster General, who serves as the boards tenth member, and who oversees the day to day activities of the service as Chief Executive Officer. The ten-member board then nominates a Deputy Postmaster General, who acts as Chief Operating Officer, to the eleventh and last remaining open seat. The USPS is often mistaken as a government organization but it is legally defined as an independent establishment of the executive branch of the Government of the United States. Environmental context The external environment elements that significantly influence the USPS are the United States political system, workforce unions, changing technology and market forces. United States Political System In 1970 the U.S. Postal Department evolved into the USPS through the implementation of the Postal Reorganization act. This act required the USPS to be a â€Å"self-sufficient organization within the U.S. Government†. It also added an additional regulatory body into its chain of command, the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), but did not make any modification to the Postal Department’s Board of Directors or regulatory congressional statutes. The USPS Board of directors is charged with directing the USPS through the control of expenditures, reviewing practices, long term planning and setting policies and service standards. The PRC has 5 commissioners, appointed through the executive branch and confirmed by the Senate, who have the authority to reject, modify and approve any USPS initiated congressional recommendations. Since congress alone retains the authority to change USPS’ rates, service frequency and employee benefits, any market related changes from the Board of directors is routed through the PRC and congress for consideration. Pressure from Unions There are 4 unions representing around 90% of the USPS workforce: National Association of Letter Carriers, American Postal Workers, National Rural Letters Carriers Association and National Postal Mail Handlers Union. These organizations have successfully contracted collective bargaining agreements for its members for compensation and benefits that have come to exceed the USPS’ ability to maintain with its current revenues. These labor unions are very influential in weighing in on most of the decisions that affect the well-being of the USPS labor force. Presently USPS employees enjoy 79% coverage of their health care costs; the most of any federal agency. Strategic challenge Over the years the USPS has transformed its operating model and is now set up and mandated to operate like a business entity generating its revenue through the sale of postal products and services. The largest issue with the current business model of the postal service is its lack of flexibility essential for a business in a dynamic market. Specifically the USPS has not been able to organizationally adjust to a large decrease in the demand for first class mail service has resulted in decreasing net revenue in recent years. Congressional Influence The USPS congressional charter came with both benefits and operating constraints. Among the constraints the USPS is obligated to provide a uniform price for its services regardless of the geographic location and dispersion of its customer base. The USPS is obligated to deliver six days a week to every mailing address regardless of its mail volume. Additionally the USPS is required to provide free mailing service to the blind and facilitate voting for overseas military personnel. A significant amount of the USPS’ operating costs comes from its requirement to pre-fund retiree health benefits (RHB) for future retirees. Key Issues The USPS is suffering from the combined effects of declining mail volume from new technology and increasing labor costs resulting in a loss of net revenue. These declines are projected to extend into the future. The addition of a significant number of new addresses in the United States each year increases the USPS’ operating costs although volume is decreasing. Business Model While the USPS has enjoyed the benefits of the monopoly on first class letter mail services that congress has bestowed, it has a stagnant business model that prevents the USPS from being able to adapt in the face of technological innovation and other market forces that affect its bottom line annually. The major source of revenue for the post office is the postage it charges for first class and non-standard mail. The advance of modern information systems such as email, smartphones, online banking, and other digital communications decreased the demand for traditional mail services. Compounding this issue is the basic economic principle of supply and demand. New technologies offer cheaper substitutes for the services that the post office provides. Stakeholders Postal Workers – The USPS employs more than 500,000 employees making it second only to Wal-Mart as the nation’s largest civilian employer. While every employee is represented by a labor union, employees are legally restricted from striking. Labor Unions The USPS unions are old, influential and politically connected. Collectively, these unions continually fight for increased employee pay, living allowances and health care benefits. Postal Regulation Commission (PRC) The PRC serves as the middleman between the USPS board of governors and congress. The PRC can reject or modify requests before they reach congress for final approval. Congress Members of Congress exercise control over many aspects of the USPS operations including approving the markets for which it competes as well as representing the interests of its constituents whenever the USPS requests changes to its business model. Public Consumer One of the mandates of the post office is to provide mail service of all addresses. The number of addresses has increased by nearly 18 million nationwide in the past decade and continues to climb as the country recovers from the past recession. A vast majority of the consumers are congressional constituents to whom member of congress are responsible. Competitors The USPS monopolizes, via congressional mandates, the delivery of first class mail, non-urgent mail and small packages. As such it faces very little direct competition from other businesses. However, the USPS has seen significant decreases in its mail volume over the years. The decreased volume of mail is directly related to the global acceptance of technology and use of digital communications which displaced traditional USPS services. Market Forces The USPS full time workers cost the USPS 80% of its revenue. Although they still enjoy a monopoly on first class mail, they are in direct competition with smaller, more efficient, companies who deliver large packages and urgent letters. Strategies Used What it Does Now The USPS has improved its efficiency and effectiveness through both technology and reorganization. The USPS made significant investments in the late 1990’s in fuel efficient vehicles and new facilities as well as a $15 million advertising campaign to improve its image as a progressive and modern organization. A decade ago it took 70 employees one hour to sort 35,000 letters. Today in an hour, only two employees process an identical volume of mail. Though the number of addresses in the nation has increased by nearly 18 million in the past decade, the number of employees who handle the increased delivery load has decreased by more than 200,000 (Potter 2010a). It launched delivery confirmation service and priority mail in order to compete with competitors. The USPS now operates more than 31,000 post offices and the largest vehicle fleet in the world, with an estimated 218,684 vehicles. What They Want to Do Concerned with increasing costs and decreasing revenues, the USPS petitioned for the following changes: * Stop Retiree Health Benefits prefunding – in 2011 the prefunding amount exceeded net operating losses. * Retirement System Overpayment – In 2010 Government Accountability Office disputed overpayment freezing approximately $6.9 billion. * Delivery Frequency – Shifting from six to five days weekly delivery would save approximately $3 billion annually. This measure is supported by 75% of USPS consumer base. * Change prices – Mandates currently cap the USPS ability to adjust to market conditions dynamically. * Restructure labor costs – Current collective bargaining decision do not consider the USPS financial health yet mandate compensation and benefits to be paid at levels comparable with private sector organizations with the burden falling on the taxpayers. * Consolidate infrastructure – A proposal in 2009 to close 3,000 postal outlets to reduce excess capacity yielded only a closure of 157 following consumer complaints and congressional intervention. Part II Diagnosis Lewis (2011) states that the USPS’ problems are a result of a restrictive business model and its inflexibility to operate in a dynamic market place. As stated earlier, the USPS response to this problem is a direct plan to cut expenses and increase revenues to overcome their mounting deficit. Although this plan does address the USPS’ immediate insolvency concerns, it fails to address their underlying issues. Through the use of Senge’s system approach and the McCaskey’s Organizational Design model, this paper will expose USPS’ root problems. Strategic Issues/Strategies/Goals-Objectives The USPS’ strategic issues are a loss of revenue due to declining mail volume, extensive costs due to a bloated and expensive unionized-workforce and the use of an outdated-legislatively constrained business plan. Their proposed strategy to mitigate these issues centers on cutting their expenses, consolidating infrastructure, renegotiating labor cost/employee benefits and increasing rates. In addition, the USPS intends to evolve their business plan to incorporate technological innovations. This strategy aligns with their long term goal of providing a â€Å"trustworthy, dependable, reliable and secure means to communicate on a national level† (Lewis, 2011), by implementing a long term sustainable business model that promotes flexibility and economic growth in a dynamic market. Environment In FY11 the USPS’ total revenues were $65 Billion dollars while their total expenses were $75 Billion dollars. Under congressional law the USPS is required to be a â€Å"self-sufficient government agency†. Under this direction the USPS is obligated to cover its costs without government assistance. The USPS does this by generating revenues from a monopoly market while operating more like a private business then a government agency. Its government backed monopoly advantage comes with extensive congressional restrictions on rates, delivery procedures and labor benefits. The USPS’ monopoly restricts the direct competition in the delivery of first class mail, use of specific delivery routes and personal mailboxes. It does not protect the delivery of urgent mail and large packages. FedEx and UPS are direct competitors in this market and have a competitive advantage due to their efficiencies, technological innovations and ability adapt to market needs. Key Success Factors The USPS’ key to success is their ability to meet their customer’s needs, generate enough revenue to cover their costs , maintain the flexibility to adjust in a dynamic market and optimize a scalable infrastructure that facilitates the efficient and economic delivery of their services. Task Requirements There are multiple ways that mail is accepted into the delivery process. For the purpose of observing the USPS organizational structure, the simple method of customers placing the mail in their residential, or post office, curbside mailbox will be examined. In either case this process begins and ends with the customer sending or receiving mail at a mailbox. The mail item is received by the postal carrier, and then consolidated at the local post office, where it is inspected manually or automatically checked for correct postage. It is then routed to a hub for delivery to a particular region in the country. The mail is then sent to a final processing plant where it is sorted for the specific route for delivery. Finally the mail is sent to the distant end post office for delivery to the end customer. The mail is moved in a linear manner between each node in the process chain. Along the interdependency continuum of the USPS’ functional units we observed a sequential relationship. Throughout the process each entity produces an output that is a necessary input for the next link in the chain. The USPS’ key to success in this linear process is the secure delivery of mail for a nominal fee. For their part, the workers must be honest and ensure mail is properly safeguarded as it makes its way through each step in the chain. The workers only have to be ‘good enough’ for their specific task in the process. This means that there is very little incentive for them to innovate or make improvements to the process from within. Any efficiencies gained, in any one link in the process, are not readily propagated throughout because of the sequential nature of the process. Because of the nature of change within the organization, and the employee compensation structure, their only incentive is to maintain the status quo. This analysis is represented in the interdependency/coordination mechanism model below. The analysis shows a misalignment between the levels of interdependence between the functional units and the coordination mechanism used. The USPS coordinates through rules and regulations. Using the systems approach of focusing on successes rather than the failures of the organization, we compared the USPS current coordination level to its closest successful competitor, FEDEX. As depicted FEDEX has a coordination level that aligns with it level of interdependency. The preferred and optimal approach is to align the organization’s level of interdependency horizontally with the coordination mechanism. The USPS needs a higher coordination mechanism to match the current level of interdependence in order to facilitate efficiencies in the system. Process/ Systems Snowfall and showers may not be able to stop postal carriers from their appointed delivery routes, but their financial problems may halt at least 50% of all postal offices. The U.S. Postal Service, weakened by a public turning to digital communications, is down 22 percent in volume from just five years ago, a decline which is expected to continue, driven in part by rigid competition from carriers such as FedEx and UPS. The Postmaster General has responded with a list of cost-cutting proposals, such as eliminating Saturday delivery and closing up to 3,700 local post offices which would be replaced with automated centers operating out of local businesses. The Postmaster General has also proposed laying off as many as 120,000 workers, and pulling workers out of more costly federal pension plans. Pre-funding retiree benefits has cost the Postal Service $21 billion in the last three years. The underlying issue is that all those moves cannot be made without congressional approval. In order to make these immediate and dramatic changes, the Postal Service would require access to its own funds as well as the authority to act as its own corporation. The transition from a government ran entity to a privatized organization requires Congress to give the USPS flexibility to take action and make changes without all the bureaucracy. The below modified Senge Model (Limit to Growth) demonstrates how the USPS is constrained from making changes. In short, the USPS is limited by congress to making quick and reactive changes that focus on the problem rather than the underlying issue. Creating change and making it work are all resisted by a condition called the â€Å"Status Quo† and the USPS is no exception. USPS employees feel protected under the current unionized culture. They feel threatened by the prospect of losing benefits and are unwilling to pay the high personal price necessary for change. We have demonstrated that this change is necessary for the long term health of the organization. The real question is, â€Å"does the current status quo fit the new change requirements?† An organization in dire need to make radical adjustments to become current cannot be fixed with antiquated congressional imposed constraints. PART III Change Management Plan The USPS acknowledges its need to cut costs and increase revenue. It believes this will fix the problems. USPS starts to address this by taking reactionary measures, but fails to take the necessary steps to address the root issue. We argue that there is a more fundamental problem within the USPS organization which requires a systems approach to identify and solve. Senge says â€Å"it is impossible to change the system from inside the system.† By â€Å"complicating up† the USPS management structure we identify the core problem and faults in its system. Due to the short time needed to enact this change we propose a top down approach that pushes change while mitigating assumed employee resistance such an approach will generate. Our plan uses the Lewin and Kotter models to shape the USPS organizational transition. Through the Lewin model we identify a three phase approach to address changes that simultaneously focuses on employee and organizational issues. Throughout each p hase an information plan is propagated to employees to facilitate transition to the next phase. Conclusion The bottom line is that the USPS current costs of doing business outweigh its current methods of productivity. Without changing the strategic management model, the USPS will continue to lose revenue and be unable to react effectively to market demands. Its proposed cost cutting solutions only scratches the surface of the underlying problem of restrictions on organizational management and coordination. Our uses validated organizational change models. We justify our plan which uses the Lewin model and shows a close association to Kotter’s organizational change model. Our plan leads the USPS to long term success, maintains its relevance in today’s market and allows it to make appropriate changes through periodic reevaluations. References Lewis, T., Montgomery C., Shuler, J. , (2011), The US Postal Service , Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA. Senge, P., (1990), The Fifth Discipline, Doubleday Publishing, New York 15May 2012: http://about.usps.com/news/national-releases/2011/pr11_124.htm 15 May 2012: http://www.cato.org/pubs/journal/cj31n1/cj31n1-9.pdf 19 May 2012: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/industries/Transportation-Communications-Utilities/United-States-Postal-Service.html

Death Of A Salesman ~ Arthur Miller Act One 1. How does Arthur Miller :: English Literature

Death Of A Salesman ~ Arthur Miller Act One 1. How does Arthur Miller first present Willy Loman to the audience? Willy is first presented to the audience as an olden and exhausted man; this is portrayed through the 'word sigh' described in the scene description as he places his two large suitcases down. The audience then hears of his traumatic and slow drive home as he realises his daydreams are affecting his driving. Miller presents him here as not only an olden and exhausted man but also a confused man as well: Willy: "I'm tired to the death I could not make it. I just could not make it, Linda." Willy immediately prompts our compassion as the audience see him as both mentally and physically exhausted. 2. How does Miller begin to present the relationship between Willy and Biff? The first indication, which the audience hear of Biff, is by one of Willy's first lines: Willy: "Did Biff say anything after I went this morning?" This portrays his unease with the situation, which he left the house in. We then discover the reason for this argument as Linda pronounces: Linda: "You should not have criticized him, Willy, especially after her just got off the train." This criticism is further explained, as it appears that Willy is somewhat disappointed in Biff and wants better for him. The audience however soon become perplexed as Willy calls biff "a lazy bum" however very soon after he changes his opinion totally by contradicting himself as he says: Willy: "There's one thing about Biff - he's not lazy." Later Willy even says (about Biff) Willy: "He could be big in no time." It appears that the more Linda attempts to excuse Biff the angrier Willy gets. It also is apparent that on reminiscing about a bad point Willy switches his thoughts to his happier and relaxed past, this is only however as he sees it and the audience get many impressions on whether it is the entire truth or not. Miller is here presenting the relationship between Biff and Willy to be a complex relationship, which it appears, not even Willy himself understands. 3. How does Miller present Willy's two sons, Biff and Happy? What contradictions and questions are raised in the minds of the audience by this scene? The first presentation made of Biff and Happy is their reaction regarding their father's premature homecoming and strange behaviour as Happy soon worries: Biff: "Jesus, maybe he's smashed up the car again! Throughout this scene in Biff and Happy's bedroom many contradictions and questions are raised in the minds of the audience, the main question asked refers back to the previous scene as the audience

“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller Essay

Death of a Salesman â€Å"Death of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller is a narration about American society, its expectations and attitudes that shape people’s lives. It is told through the lives of a salesman Willy, his family and several other people who, in some way, have an impact on them. Willy, who falls into his imaginary word of the past frequently during the day, is regretful for some of his actions in the past that ‘prevented’ him of becoming rich. Now, he wants his sons to succeed who are in their 30s and are of different characters. Although the genre of the play is realism, the author uses attributes of surrealism that help in developing the story. The protagonist of the play has an imaginary word that reminds him of his past; thus helping the audience to see the motives of his or his family’s current actions. The play starts when Willy has already gotten into a trouble because of dreaming while driving which suggests that the play is not about an ordinary person. For the reader, the shift from reality to dreams of Willy is sometimes warned by the long speech of his or by the reaction of the people around him. As for the audience, there are visual effects that the author recommends for the play in order to illustrate his story clearly. â€Å"†¦ in the scenes of the past these boundaries are broken, and the characters enter or leave a room stepping â€Å"through† a wall onto the forestage†. Moreover, the play is full of symbols and diverse characters. The ‘new† critic would notice the significance of the names. Some of the names of the characters reflect to their personalities; such as the name of the younger son of Willy whose name is Happy and he is careless and self-assured. Biff (which also means a hit, a clout), is the elder son who has a troubled relationship with his father. He goes against his father’s wish of getting a prestigious job in New York since he finds himself unfit for it. In contrary to his father, he finds his strength and self-esteem in the end of the play. However, the marxist critic would notice the positions and actions of the rich and poor. Uncle Ben who visits Willy’s imaginary world time to time is the brother of his. He became rich after he went to Alaska, and this continues to disturb Willy throughout the play and has a huge impact on his behavior because he had overlooked the chance. Also, Willy faced the bitter truth when he got fired from his job. Although, he had worked f or the company for thirty-four years, he received no sympathy when he asked to stay and work in the town he lived in and be paid a small amount of salary. Consequently, he was worried that his sons won’t think of him good and nobody will remember him. â€Å"†¦Because he thinks I am nothing, see, and so he spites me. But the funeral, Ben, that funeral will be massive! They’ll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont†¦ -I am known, Ben, and he’ll see it with his eyes once and for all†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The feminist critic would observe the behavior and the status of Linda who is the wife of Willy and how she was portrayed. She is caring and patient with Willy. All through the play, she takes the side of her husband and encourages him. She is also presented as humble and tolerable towards their financial and social status. The only thing she dreams of is paying off the house mortgage and the bills so they can enjoy a free life. Despite these ‘perfectâ₠¬â„¢ traits, Linda is passive in her actions and lacks of understanding some situations and her husband’s behavior. After the suicide of Willy, she says, â€Å"Why did you do it? I search and search †¦I can’t understand it. I made the last payment on the house today†¦We are free and clear†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Possibly, Willy’s suicide is part of the consequence of her character. In this play, Arthur Miller introduces a society by developing a story about a salesman and involving several other people. Ironically, those people have some impact on Willy’s fate and his family. Biff loses his self-confidence and drive when he discovers his father with ‘the woman’. He fails math class which becomes the foundation of his future failures and career choices. There is also Willy’s neighbor and his son Bernard who is a friend to Biff and a foil to Willy. However, nothing is told about Bernard’s life until Willy loses his job and meets Bernard on his way to borrow some money from his father. The author lines the scenes and the actions in a way that support in showing the psychological and emotional effects on Willy and Biff. Willy wonders how Bernard became successful, but his son is still struggling and they were childhood friends. Here Bernard ‘reminds’ him of the math class which Biff failed and refused to continue after discovering his father with another woman. Although Uncle Ben is Willy’s brother who shows up in his imagination and gets into a conversation with him, his replies to Willy are more likely Willy’s own answers and opinions about himself. The fact that he could not become more than a traveling salesman and be known and respected is haunting Willy throughout his life. The author tries to show that Willy’s desires and attitude towards life had an effect on those around him and the other way around; the people around him had an impact on his actions and fate. Consequently, this is how a society behaves.

Land Use around the world

Land Use Around the World Created by Jennifer Papacy This assignment Involves you playing a game online, so you will have to open a separate browser or tab to access the website and have uninterrupted time and Internet access to complete. Make sure your read the assignment first to see what you need to focus on, as you will have to do a write up on what you observed. The website is www. Guessers. Com and you can play as many times as you want for freely Each game consists of 5 rounds of where you have to guess where in the world oh are, so play for a while to get used to the controls, and take your time to really explore the locations.Guessers uses the Google Road view imagery to drop you somewhere in the world where you can navigate and explore, and you have to guess where and then click on the world map on the right hand side(you can zoom in) and select exactly in the world where you think it is. It will then tell you how close you were, and then continue on to the next location, f or a total of five rounds per game. The point of this assignment is not to see how good you are at guessing, but to have oh examine land use differences In locations you are dropped Into.Make sure you have reviewed the chapter 12 concepts on land use so you can answer the following questions while demonstrating your knowledge and understanding of those concepts. Also make sure you write down exactly where you were for the assignment! Load the answers into the assignment by either cutting and pasting into the text box or uploading as a link. This is worth a maximum of 50 points, and you will be graded on completeness and demonstration of knowledge of concepts on land use and other lass concepts.After playing for a while, select and tell me the exact two locations you visited that have different land use patterns and compare and contrast in a mini paper/essay explaining if you think the areas have had good land use planning or not, and which area you would rather live and why. Answer at a minimum the following questions In the assignment and Incorporate concepts from the book and class on land use and other topics we have covered (water, energy, etc. ): Intensity of land use with descriptionDid they develop well with the landscape and resources (was it well planned or after the fact) Is area one of the following or something else, with reasons listed why: Suburb, Ribbon Sprawl, Leapfrog Development, Tract Development, urban, Rural, Slum, Farmland? Population Density? Economic factors- do you feel this area is affluent or not, why or why not? Aesthetic Issues? Transportation/infrastructure observed and overall condition Natural Resource condition- do you think the ecosystems are healthy there? What seems good, what seems degraded? Water resources adequate?Other resources? What do you think the ecological footprint of residents would be(low, mid high) and why? Would you live here, why or why not? What could be done to Improve land use planning In this area, or how would you have done It differently? For some of these questions you may have to make a judgment call but explain why you think what you did, I. E. Any evidence. Land Use around the world By Tweets This assignment involves you playing a game online, so you will have to open a internet access to complete. Make sure your read the assignment first to see what ere!Each game consists of 5 rounds of where you have to guess where in the world you examine land use differences in locations you are dropped into. Make sure you following questions in the assignment and incorporate concepts from the book and Suburb, Ribbon Sprawl, Leapfrog Development, Tract Development, Urban, Rural, here, why or why not? What could be done to improve land use planning in this area, or how would you have done it differently? For some of these questions you may have to make a Judgment call but explain why you think what you did, I. E. Any evidence.

How Reporters Can Write Great Follow-up News Stories

How Reporters Can Write Great Follow-up News Stories Writing a single basic breaking news article is a pretty straightforward task. You start by writing your lede, which is based on the most important facts in the story. But many news stories are not simply one-time events but rather ongoing topics that can last for weeks or even months. One example would be a crime story that unfolds over time - the crime is committed, then police search for and finally arrest a suspect. Another example might be a long trial involving an especially complex or interesting case. Reporters must often do what is called follow-up articles for long-lasting topics such as these. The Lede The key to writing an effective follow-up story starts with the lede. You cant write the same lede every day for a story that continues over an extended period of time. Instead, you must construct a fresh lede each day, one that reflects the latest developments in the story. But while writing a lede that includes those latest developments, you also need to remind your readers what the original story was all about to begin with. So the follow-up story lede really combines new developments with some background material about the original story. An Example Lets say you cover a house fire in which several people are killed. Heres how your lede for the first story might read: Two people were killed last night when a fast-moving fire swept through their house. Now lets say several days have passed and the fire marshal tells you the fire was a case of arson. Heres your first follow-up lede: A house fire that killed two people earlier this week was deliberately set, the fire marshal announced yesterday. See how the lede combines important background from the original story - two people killed in the fire - with the new development - the fire marshal announcing that it was arson. Now lets take this story one step further. Lets say a week has passed and police have arrested a man who they say set the fire. Heres how your lede might go: Police yesterday arrested a man who they say set the fire last week that killed two people in a house. Get the idea? Again, the lede combines the most important information from the original story with the latest development. Reporters do follow-up stories this way so that readers who may not have read the original story can figure out what is going on and not be confused. The Rest of the Story The rest of the follow-up story should follow the same balancing act of combining the latest news with background information. Generally, the newer developments should be placed higher in the story, while the older information should be lower down. Heres how the first few paragraphs of your follow-up story about the arrest of the arson suspect might go: Police yesterday arrested a man who they say set the fire last week that killed two people in a house. Police said Larson Jenkins, 23, used rags soaked with gasoline to set the fire at the house that killed his girlfriend, Lorena Halbert, 22, and her mother, Mary Halbert, 57. Detective Jerry Groenig said Jenkins was apparently angry because Halbert had recently broken up with him. The fire started around 3 a.m. last Tuesday and quickly swept through the house. Lorena and Mary Halbert were pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured. Again, the latest developments are placed high in the story. But they are always tied to background from the original event. This way, even a reader learning about this story for the first time will easily understand what has happened.

5 Sentences Demonstrating Whether to Capitalize and Punctuate Quotations

5 Sentences Demonstrating Whether to Capitalize and Punctuate Quotations 5 Sentences Demonstrating Whether to Capitalize and Punctuate Quotations 5 Sentences Demonstrating Whether to Capitalize and Punctuate Quotations By Mark Nichol When the syntax of a sentence containing a quotation is not straightforward, it can be difficult to determine whether the first word should be capitalized and which punctuation marks, if any, should attend the quotation. The following sentences illustrate some of the pitfalls, and discussions and revisions point to their solutions. 1. After years of finger-pointing, Smith says â€Å"enough is enough† and is filing suit against Jones. The statement may seem insignificant, but it is a complete sentence and should be treated as one; it should also be preceded by a comma following the attribution (â€Å"Smith says†): â€Å"After years of finger-pointing, Smith says, â€Å"Enough is enough† and is filing suit against Jones. (Note, too, that no punctuation follows the quotation, because what follows is not an independent clause; it would be one if it included a noun or pronoun after and: â€Å"After years of finger-pointing, Smith says, â€Å"Enough is enough,† and he is filing suit against Jones.†) 2. Clients have begun to ask the question, who will own the process once the change has occurred? The question is something uttered or conjecturally uttered, so it should be enclosed in quotation marks. However, it is not set up with a traditional attribution. No preceding punctuation is needed: â€Å"Clients have begun to ask the question ‘Who will own the process once the change has occurred?’† (A comma after question implies that only one question exists, and it follows.) 3. The question is not â€Å"can it happen?† but â€Å"what is the impact if it does happen, and how will we respond?† Here, the issues in both of the preceding examples are combined in one sentence. There is no attribution to set off with a comma, but each of the two quotations is a complete sentence quoted within the host sentence and must therefore be capitalized: â€Å"The question is not ‘Can it happen?’ but ‘What is the impact if it does happen, and how will we respond?’† 4. He mocked Trump’s slogan, suggesting it was really: â€Å"Make America Hate Again.† A colon sets up an explanation or elaboration. Here, however, what follows really flows syntactically in the sentence, so no intervening punctuation is called for: â€Å"He mocked Trump’s slogan, suggesting it was really ‘Make America Hate Again.’† 5. They ignored the kids’ stubborn insistence that, â€Å"We don’t just look different, we are different.† Here, although the quotation in this sentence was originally uttered as a complete statement, it has been syntactically integrated into the host sentence and is therefore not capitalized: â€Å"They ignored the kids’ stubborn insistence that ‘we don’t just look different, we are different.’† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should KnowTry to vs. Try andParataxis and Hypotaxis

Tissues can convert to stem cells Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tissues can convert to stem cells - Essay Example The difference between the fruit flies and other researched subjects is that the fruit flies larval ovary has an abundant supply of the fruit fly protein that is analogous to a protein (BMP4) involved in germ-cell development in developing mammalian embryos. Secondly, the cells in the larval ovary are unlikely to block reversion, in contrast to the cells that cluster cells encounter normally. Thus it appears that under these two conditions, embryonic stem cell testing can be avoided. My reaction to stem cell research really depends on what it is that is being used. While I have no objection to the use of the umbilicus or adult cells, I am completely against the use of embryonic cell use. A human embryo is a human being. We should not be killing humans. Abortion is an atrocity in this country as it is. The logic behind my position is simple. When a sperm and an egg combine it makes a human being. Even when it is still just one cell it is a unique and individual human being with its own set of unique genes. Every human being is a unique person and human life should be respected. How can anyone say its okay for "human abortions" to be acceptable and at the same time want to "save the whales" It is a horror on massive scale.

Better Place Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Better Place Company - Essay Example The headquarters of the company is located in Israel at the R&D center, at Palo Alto and also in California. The use of such vehicles will reduce the risks that are caused by the harmful emissions of carbon. It is as a result of this that most of the governments, organizations and businesses have prioritised the need for reducing the effects of carbon emissions. Mission. To be a company that is able to hasten the change in the automobile industry from the use of vehicles that are oil based and promote the adoption of vehicles that use electricity- renewable energy. Vision Better Place vision is to be able to create linkages among car companies, utilities, battery companies and also consumers in order to successful promote the adoption of EVs. Stakeholders Stakeholders in a company are mainly the people, groups or organizations that draw certain interest towards the business strategy of a company. Better Place Company is supported by majority stakeholders who have interest in the prod uct that is being generated by the company (Johnson, p153). Stakeholder’s expectations are a major concern that the manager of Better Place had to deal with due to the fact that the success of the adoption of the Electric Vehicles depended on the decisions that were made by the stakeholders. Being an automobile company Better Place stakeholders include car companies, automobile manufacturers, governments, utility companies, battery manufacturers, investors and potential consumers for the Electric Vehicles. Better Place stakeholders can be classified into three groups (Johnson, p155): Technological stakeholders-This group of stakeholders involve the competitors that bring up new technologies with an aim of making improvements in the standards of the industry. Economic stakeholders-They involve the competitors, the suppliers and the manufacturers. In the case of the company it involves the car companies, automobile manufacturers and the battery manufacturers. Socio/political st akeholders-such stakeholders include governments as well as various agencies that are interested in the business strategy of the company. The rollout strategy of Better Place was adopted by various governments such as Japan, Australia, Hawaii, Toronto, Israel and Canada. Despite the go ahead by most stakeholders Better place faced a number of challenges while trying to affect the use of their business model. The first challenge focussed on the company’s reputation: Better Place lacked a convincing marketing strategy and as a result it was quite hard for consumers to adopt its product. The other challenge was focused on the company trying to convince the various stakeholders that the adoption of the EVs as a mode of transport that would be viable. The figure below shows the stakeholder mapping of the power/interest matrix: The customers in segment B are those that are largely supportive of Better Place business strategy. Customers in segment C are those that are hostile and th e customers in segment D are those that are indifferent. The investors, car companies and the government in segment D are of major importance to the company due to the fact that acceptability of the strategy depends solely on them and thus they hold the highest power as the key players. Utility Companies also hold vital role as key players for instance governments were offering rebates imposed on tax on the electric vehicles in order to achieve renewable energy objectives. Manufacturers of batteries and automobile in segment B play the role of ensuring there are adequate supplies of the components required by the EVs. Industry and scenario Analyses

Fuzzy Concepts Discussion Posts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fuzzy Concepts Discussion Posts - Essay Example Apart from recruiting civilians into various factions of the army, the posters were also used to raise war finances through the liberty bond scheme. The reason I’m fuzzy about these posters is that they lied to innocent civilians. The government through posters gave the people a false sense of pride in their countries and they readily accepted to risk their lives. Many were comical and casual and did not reflect the true situation that was at hand. This may be the main reason why many civilians willingly put their lives in an unworthy cause that saw many of them lose their lives. For instance, there is a poster where a young lady wishes that she was a man so that she could join the army. Such a poster was strategically used to invoke the feelings of all men to partake on the war. Some even have explicit undertones like ‘I Want You’ that could only be described as either vulgar or having poor satirical taste. I have to agree with you that Lord Kitchener’s poster was the most copied poster at the time. At the onset of the war, Britain’s army comprised of mostly the trained forces and the country needed to recruit more people into the army. They therefore invented the poster propaganda that was soon copied by other nations. Most British posters had the symbol of St. George slaying a dragon- which represented German. And the messages ranged from honor and pride for the nation to shameful mobilization of civilians. For instance, the poster with the message: ‘Daddy, what did YOU do in the Great War?’ is using children to blackmail their parents. The American approach was not open, direct and blatant as the British posters; however they all served the same purpose. In America, they were chiefly used in raising war funds. The main theme in these posters was portrayal of money as an important ingredient in military

Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting

Mentoring and Enabling Learning in the Practice Setting Introduction The focus of this assignment is on the delivery of mentoring and assessment within nursing practice. The author is a mental health nurse working within a home treatment team in East London. The identified learning need is that of administration of a depot injection, a common element of the nursing role with patients with mental illness. The target audience is a student mental health nurse. The team is a multidisciplinary one with students from different professions all placed within the team for specified learning experiences and time periods. Mentors are usually assigned a student for the duration of their clinical placement. They meet with the student at the beginning of the placement to agree learning outcomes and plan learning needs, and then work with the student for a minimum of 40% of their clinical placement (NMC), and then complete their assessment documentation towards the end of the placement. This usually involves passing the student for competence in identified clinical skills. Part Two – The Role of the Mentor The role of the mentor within the nursing context is complex, because it involves teaching, facilitation, support, guidance, assessment and feedback[1]. Assessment of a student nurse during their training is in relation to key clinical competencies, as defined by the NMC Standards of Proficiency for Pre-Registration Nursing Education[2]. These competencies are then translated into clinical assessment areas as defined by the students University, and assessed against their definitions. The NMC are clear about the expectations of the nursing role in clinical practice, in relation to competence and responsibility â€Å"the nursing role involves a capacity not only to participate actively in care provision but also to accept responsibility for the effective and efficient management of that care† [3]. Therefore, mentoring involves not only teaching discrete clinical skills but the more complex issues of demonstrating the management of care for individual clients according to their n eeds. Mentoring involves the consolidation of theoretical and practical learning acquired during the students academic experience within the University teaching and learning setting, and applying that knowledge to practice[4]. Therefore, it is important that mentors not only act in a way that is appropriate to their professional role and the expectations of their employer, but are also aware that theirs is the standard against which students will measure their own conduct and competence. The role of the mentor is to teach within the clinical setting, therefore, all formal teaching which takes place is clinically oriented and clearly relates to the performance of the professional role[5]. Research by Lloyd-Jones et al[6] seems to indicate that not only do students get the best out of their clinical placements through the student-mentor relationship, but that the quality of their learning and development is linked to the amount of time that they spend with their mentors. Therefore, mentors need to understand that their role involves a commitment to working with their named student and supporting their learning through this close working relationship[7][8]. The role of the mentor also involves assessing the student, against competency standards defined by the NMC and by the students educational institution. The NMC now requires that some mentors are sign-off mentors, which means that they sign-off the student as competent at the end of their training, and share equal responsibility with the awarding institution for that students competence to perform their professional role. In midwifery, all mentors must be sign off mentors. Regardless of this, it is a significant responsibility for any mentor to assess a student and confirm they are competent in key areas of clinical practice, and therefore mentors are educated and supported to understand the teaching and learning processes involved, especially in identifying how to assess competence. Some research shows that assessment can be carried out in a tripartite agreement between student, mentor and a member of the academic staff of the university (usually the students personal tutor)[9]. Thi s kind of close working relationship has many benefits, for the mentor, the student and the academic institution, and in relation to the assessment role of the mentor, provides valuable support[10]. This also shows that another role of the mentor is that of close liaison with academic staff in relation to student progress and assessment, student conduct and behaviour. While not all institutions have this three way set up per se, many use this kind of arrangement to address student problems in achieving the required levels of assessment. Despite there being examples of good practice such as this, however, the demands of the mentorship role mean that there is still a deficit between the theory and practice of mentoring, which needs more attention[11]. The challenges of mentorship from my perspective reflect these issues in the literature. The demands of meeting identified student needs are partly met by the training and support for mentors, but the realities of providing client-centred care whilst supporting student learning mean that the teaching and learning opportunities are not always maxmised. Developing a good relationship with students is also usually easily addressed, but there are times when it is not possible to develop a good relationship with some students and I have been aware in the past that this impacts on the quality of the learning experience. Another issue is managing students who are not achieving their designated competencies, and this process, while supported by the academic staff, is very stressful for all involved. It seems to me that the mentor role is not valued by the employer either, and in a busy workload, the required time for mentors to spend with students to provide the right kind of feedback is not factored in. However, I am also aware that this is an evolving area, and that practice is changing in line with the published standards for the preparation of mentors. Ultimately, as a mentor I have a strong commitment to ensuring the standards of the profession are maintained, and being a mentor allows me to make a valuable contribution to practice and to the profession in this way. Part Three – The Assessment Plan The author set out to assess the students ability to carry out a depot injection, and so set up a teaching plan and assessment plan accordingly (see Appendix). Carrying out this assessment plan involved reviewing the theories of education and learning which are most relevant to the type of assessment, some of which will be discussed here. This author is aware of the theories which underpin nurse education and learning, and will address some of these here, believing that these theories still help explain how student nurses come to develop the abilities, knowledge, skills and capabilities which allow them to fulfil the requirements of the nurses role. Therefore, the teaching plan and the assessment plan build on this theoretical knowledge in order to maximise the students opportunities to learn and become competent in the chosen skills[12]. Behaviourist theories suggest that learning takes place through stimulus response learning, and through operant conditioning, through which student s behaviours are changed through observing, and through reactions to their own behaviours[13]. In order to build on this, the nurse demonstrates the procedure and the kinds of behaviours that are associated with the procedure, including communications behaviours. This would need to be reinforced by discussion of these behaviours, and it is argued that basing learning only on behavioural principles is not adequate to meet the challenges of nursing learning. Cognitive theories are those which also underpin the authors approach to teaching and assessment. Within cognitivism, which is orientated towards scientific and positivist principles, the mind of the learner is equated with theories about computing and how computers work, and knowledge is viewed in terms of symbolic mental constructs, or schema; learning can be said to have taken place when there is a change in the learners internal cognitive schema. Therefore, learning is said to have taken place when the individuals behaviour ha s changed following acquisition of cognitive learning[14]. Within cognitive theories, learning is based around the acquisition of factual information, and while there is no requirement for learning to have been processed on a deeper level, it does mean that the relevant knowledge has been assimilated by the learner [15]. Both of these theories, however, underpin much of the assessment process, because the mentor is looking for behaviour change, based on the students demonstration of behaviours, both physical and more interactive, and also looking for the student to be able to demonstrate the acquired knowledge and facts associated with the skill[16][17]. However, having carried out the assessment plan, the author also learned that it is hard to assess students on their attitude and behaviour with clients. The mechanics of a procedure can be easily observed and evaluated, but the effect of being observed and assessed may affect the way the student nurse interacts with the client. The client is another factor which may affect this process as well, because the client/student relationship, particularly within a mental health setting, may not be well developed, and may be more difficult to establish. However, it is this authors experience that the mentors approach, manner and preparation of the client and student can ameliorate this kind of difficulty considerably. Part Four – The Teaching Plan The teaching plan (see Appendix B) is based on two different theories. The first are the constructivist theories of learning, which suggest that people learn in an active way, and through this process, construct for themselves subjective forms of reality, within which the pre-existing knowledge and reality assimilates any new learning[18]. The second theoretical basis for the learning plan is that of humanism, a theory which supports a more nursing-oriented approach to learning, focusing on self-development and on the individual becoming what they are capable of becoming through the learning process[19][20]. There is, however, some argument that all of the theories discussed so far are eminently applicable to nursing education, because the process is cognitive and behavioural, and combines the acquisition of facts with the competent performance of key nursing skills. Knowledge underpins practice, and helps to develop clinical reasoning, but experience helps students to reconfigure th eir internal schema and their deeper understanding of the world, albeit subjectively. The most important learning theory here which relates to nursing education and, in particular, to the learning which takes place in clinical practice, under the guidance of the clinica mentor, is Bandura fs Social Learning Theory[21], because it seems to be the theory which best describes how adults learn within this context[22]. Banduras social learning theory, suggests that people essentially learn from observing and imitating each other in social situations, and that through this learning process, people model themselves on others, and learn from them not only how to behave, but also acquire attitudes, and an awareness of the probable consequences of the observed behaviours[23]. What this theory offers in particular to understanding how learning takes place in the clinical nursing context is a model which incorporates other influences on learning, including cognitive processes, the ways in which behaviours are modelled on role models, the effect of the learners personality, and the effect of the learning environment [24]. This theory is helps mentors to understand the complexities of nursing competence and its development, which requires the combination of cognitive elements, some of which may be learned in a formal classroom setting, with the modelling of behaviours of student nurses on the mentors who ac t as their role models[25]. While it is clear that the clinical learning experiences of student nurses are key to development of a good knowledge base[26] and proper professional competence[27][28],[29], the quality of mentorship must be considered, because through social learning theory, students come to model themselves on what they are seeing practice[30],[31]. This can present its own challenges, particularly when the students are not being supervised or taught by their primary mentor but by a buddy mentor[32] [33]. There are those who argue that this is necessary, to expose students to different role models and behaviours, so that students can then develop their own critical thinking and judgement[34][35], through observing different forms of clinical reasoning[36]. The assessment processes built in to the mentoring relationship are a very important feature of learning and development, because student nurses must learn from any errors and omissions, and this continues on into their professional practice once qualified[37]. Learning to manage ones own learning and development, identify ways to learn from errors or difficult situations, within the practice setting, reflects the principles of social learning theory[38]. However, the author is also aware of the need for students to develop a realistic understanding of practice, and how the errors and challenges which can arise during their clinical work may be related to them not having the knowledge and skills needed to meet the needs of the clients[39], and thus learning is about identified how to develop to meet those needs nursing l[40]. Ulitmately, becoming a nurse means the ability to meet the standards of the profession, through knowledge,[41] skills, clinical reasoning, critical thinking and application of experiential and theoretical evidence to practice[42], which is quite demanding for all those involved in the training of students. Ultimately, student nurses are socialised into their profession as well as being trained how to perform their role, [43], and while this in itself may not always be an ideal, because the organisational culture may not always be positive[44], it is important for students to learn all aspects of the profession[45][46]. Although there is always the possibility that nurses may learn good as well as bad behaviours, [47], a good mentor would support such students to develop the critical awareness and reflective skill to be able to identify the positive models and reject the negative models as part of their learning journey[48]. Part Five Personal Development and Learning as a Mentor The process of learning to become a mentor has opened new vistas of experience and knowledge for me, as a nurse, as a mentor, and as a person. While it is challenging to hold up a mirror to oneself and appraise what kind of role model you are presenting to the students you are working with, this is a positive experience because it allows you to identify your own strengths, and celebrate them, whilst also identifying your weaknesses, and take steps to address these. In particular, for me it has demonstrated that while my practice is good, my understanding of some issues is not based on the latest evidence available, and working with students who ask about the evidence base for practice really motivates me to seek out that evidence. I have also become aware of my own tendency to make value judgements, labelling students good or bad, and I have examined the qualities which lead to these as well as overcoming this unconscious stereotyping. ~I learned that I wanted to empower students to take charge of their own learning[49], but learning how to do this was a longer process for my own development. Learning about learning is also a process of self-discovery which is then applied to mentorship practice. Understanding assessment principles and learning theories has changed the way that I teach students and really given me insight into how assessment can best be carried out. It has also helped me to understand the terminology used within the clinical assessment documents. The need to develop better working relationships with the academic staff has also emerged as a feature to be applied to my future practice. Overall, this experience has shown me that mentorship, which can be onerous and demanding in the current clinical situation, is also an investment, in the future of the profession and in the future wellbeing of clients. It can enhance my own capabilities, and provide me with more opportunities to reflect and to reconsider my professional personal and competence. Ultimately, I aim to be a good mentor, but in order to do this, I must be a competent nurse. Therefore, the process has been a form of reciprocal learning. References 212337 Andrews, G.J., Brodie, D.A., Andrews, J.P. et al (2006) Professional roles and communications in clinical placements: a qualitative study of nursing students’ perceptions and some models for practice. International Journal of Nursing Studies 43 (7) 861-874. Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) Mentorship in nursing: a literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing 29 (1) 201-207. Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory New York: General Learning Press. Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) Transforming pedagogy in nursing education: a caring learning environment for adult students. Nursing Education Perspectives 26 (4) 227-229. Bauer, J. and Mulder, R.H. (2007) Modelling learning from errors in daily work. Learning in Health and Social Care 6 (2) 121-133. Brammer, J. (2006) A phenomenographic study of registered nurses f understanding of their role in student learning – An Australian perspective. 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Stuart, C.C. (2003) Assessment, Supervision and Support in Clinical Practice London: Churchill Livingstone. Tucker, K., Wakefield, A., Boggis, C. et al (2003) Learning together: clinical skills teaching for medical and nursing students. Medical Education 37 (7) 630-637 Welsh, I. and Lyons, C.M. (2001) Evidence-based care and the case for intuition and tacit knowledge in clinical assessment and decision making in mental health nursing practice: an empirical contribution to the debate. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 8 (4) , 299–305. Appendix A Assessment Plan Competence to be assessed: administration of depot injection Plan Check student knowledge and simulated technique prior to administration Prepare student and client for procedure. Observe student and assess stated assessment points. Provide feedback to student. Assessment Points Student has checked prescription is correct Student has checked prescription against client identity and care plan. Student has discussed procedure correctly and appropriately with client. Student has ensured client confidentiality and privacy during procedure. Student has discussed effects/side effects with client Student draws up correct dose, checks drug properly with qualified staff, and prepares to administer injection in correct site. Student performs injection with correct technique Student communicates with the client appropriately Student records procedure in appropriate records, correctly. Student ensures client is comfortable post-procedure. Student can discuss properties of medication, side effects, route, dose and any contra-indications Student can discuss holistic care of the client. Appendix B 11 Footnotes [1]Andrews, M. and Wallis, M. (1999) [2] Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) p 8. [3] Nursing and Midwifery Council (ibid) p 8. [4] Mattila, L-R. and Eriksson, E. (2007) p 569. [5] Phillips, R.M., Davies, W.B., and Neary, M. (2008) p 1080 [6] Lloyd-Jones, M., Walters, S. and Akehurst, R. (2001) p151. [7]Bankert, E.G. and Kozel, V.V. (2005) [8] Lloyd-Jones (Ibid) p 160. [9] Doughty, R., Harris, T., and McClean, M. (2007) [10]Doughty et al (ibid) [11] Myall, M., Levett-Jones, T., Lathlean, J. (2008) [12]Knight, P. (1995) [13] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (2008) [14] Learning Theories Knowledge base (ibid). [15] Learning Theories Knowledgebase (ibid)