In-class Internet Use and Grades Essay

The use of internet in a classroom has provided only a few visible advantages to the students: search immediate answers to questions asked by the instructor, and familiarity with the use of technology, which may be used by them in the later stages of their professional career. However, an in-class internet use has several adverse consequences, including, distraction to oneself, neighboring students as well as the instructor, and abuse of internet technology when the students watch porn, or indulge in chatting, whereas their attention should be on the valuable focused content being taught by an experienced professor. Based on the findings from University of Colorado in Boulder, Fischman (2009) reported that a professor was instrumental in reducing the use of laptops in her classroom when she proved to the students that their grades were lower when they used the laptops in the classroom, while the grades were much higher when they stopped using the laptops in the classroom. Fischman highlighted that the internet connectivity of classrooms was a major problem all over the country since the students distract others by watching movies in the classroom. As a result, several universities had banned the use of laptops in the classrooms, while some had declared laptop-free zones. Anderson (2006) summarized the shocking results of a survey conducted by Michigan State University, which revealed that 20% of students using excessive internet, had either withdrawn from a course, or had shown lower grades; in comparison to only 8. 5% students with alcohol abuse problems, who had shown poor academic performance. Timmer (2009) claimed that in-class internet use spoils discipline in a leaning environment since the students from US Military Academy at West Point were distracted when they indulged in internet chatting. Thus, it can be concluded that in-class internet use is more of a bane than a boon for the inquisitive students as well as the experienced instructors. References Anderson, N. (September 20, 2006). Internet replaces Jack Daniel’s as â€Å"Best excuse for a C Average. † Ars Technica. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://digg. com/d12unJ Fischman, J. (March 16, 2009). Students stop surfing after being shown how in-class laptop use lowers test scores. Wired Campus. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://chronicle. com/wiredcampus/article/3662/when-shown-how-in-class-laptop-use-lowers-test-scores-students-stop-surfing Timmer, J. (March 16, 2009). In-class laptop use sparks backlash, possibly lower grades. Ars Technica. Retrieved April 21, 2009, from http://arstechnica. com/science/news/2009/03/in-class-laptop-use-may-be-sparking-a-backlash. ars

Blood Promise Chapter Nine

â€Å"I thought you were a dream,† I said. They all remained standing, the dhampirs fanning out around the Moroi in a sort of protective formation. Abe's was the strange face I'd seen while I'd been going in and out of consciousness after the fight by the barn. He was older than me, close to Olena's age. He had black hair and a goatee, and about as tan a complexion as Moroi ever had. If you've ever seen tan or dark-skinned people who are sick and grow pale, it's a lot like that. There was some pigment in his skin, but it was underscored by an intense pallor. Most astonishing of all was his clothing. He wore a long dark coat that screamed money, paired with a cashmere crimson scarf. Below it, I could see a bit of gold, a chain to match the gold hoop earring he wore in one of his ears. My initial impression of that flamboyance would have been pirate or pimp. A moment later, I changed my mind. Something about him said he was the kind of guy who broke kneecaps to get his way. â€Å"Dream, eh? That,† the Moroi said, with the very slightest hint of a smile, â€Å"is not something I hear very often. Well, no.† He reconsidered. â€Å"I do occasionally show up in people's nightmares.† He was neither American nor Russian; I couldn't identify the accent. Was he trying to impress me or intimidate me with his big, bad reputation? Sydney hadn't been afraid of him, exactly, but she'd certainly possessed a healthy amount of wariness. â€Å"Well, I assume you already know who I am,† I said. â€Å"So, the question now is, what are you doing here?† â€Å"No,† he said, the smile turning harder. â€Å"The question is, what are you doing here?† I gestured back to the house, trying to play it cool. â€Å"I'm going to a funeral.† â€Å"That's not why you came to Russia.† â€Å"I came to Russia to tell the Belikovs that Dimitri was dead, seeing as no one else bothered to.† That was turning into a handy explanation for me being here, but as Abe studied me, a chill ran down my spine, kind of like when Yeva looked at me. Like that crazy old woman, he didn't believe me, and again I felt the dangerous edge to his otherwise jovial personality. Abe shook his head, and now the smile was gone altogether. â€Å"That's not the reason either. Don't lie to me, little girl.† I felt my hackles going up. â€Å"And don't interrogate me, old man. Not unless you're ready to tell me why you and your sidekicks risked driving that road to pick up Sydney and me.† Abe's dhampirs stiffened at the words old man, but to my surprise, he actually smiled again-though the smile didn't reach his eyes. â€Å"Maybe I was just helping out.† â€Å"Not from what I hear. You're the one who had the Alchemists send Sydney with me here.† â€Å"Oh?† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Did she tell you that? Mmm†¦ that was bad behavior on her part. Her superiors aren't going to like that. Not at all.† Oh, damn. I'd spoken without thinking. I didn't want Sydney to get in trouble. If Abe really was some kind of Moroi Godfather type-what had she called him? Zmey? The snake?-I didn't doubt he could talk to other Alchemists to make her life even more miserable. â€Å"I forced it out of her,† I lied. â€Å"I†¦ I threatened her on the train. It wasn't hard. She's already scared to death of me.† â€Å"I don't doubt she is. They're all scared of us, bound by centuries of tradition and hiding behind their crosses to protect them-despite the gifts they get from their tattoos. In a lot of ways, they get the same traits as you dhampirs-just no reproductive issues.† He gazed up at the stars as he spoke, like some sort of philosopher musing on the mysteries of the universe. Somehow, that made me angrier. He was treating this like a joke, when clearly he had some agenda regarding me. I didn't like being part of anyone's plans-particularly when I didn't know what those plans were. â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I'm sure we could talk about the Alchemists and how you control them all night,† I snapped. â€Å"But I still want to know what you want with me.† â€Å"Nothing,† he said simply. â€Å"Nothing? You've gone to a lot of trouble to set me up with Sydney and follow me here for nothing.† He looked back down from the sky, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes. â€Å"You're of no interest to me. I have my own business to run. I come on behalf of others who are interested in you.† I stiffened, and at last, true fear ran through me. Shit. There was a manhunt out for me. But who? Lissa? Adrian? Tatiana? Again, that last one made me nervous. The others would seek me out because they cared. But Tatiana†¦ Tatiana feared I'd run off with Adrian. Once more I thought that if she wanted me found, it might be because she wanted to ensure I didn't come back. Abe struck me as the kind of person who could make people disappear. â€Å"And what do the others want? Do they want me home?† I asked, trying to appear unafraid. â€Å"Did you think you could just come here and drag me back to the U.S.?† That secretive smile of Abe's returned. â€Å"Do you think I could just drag you back?† â€Å"Well,† I scoffed, again without thinking, â€Å"you couldn't. Your guys here could. Well, maybe. I might be able to take them.† Abe laughed out loud for the first time, a rich, deep sound filled with sincere amusement. â€Å"You live up to your brash reputation. Delightful.† Great. Abe probably had a whole file on me somewhere. He probably knew what I liked for breakfast. â€Å"I'll make a trade with you. Tell me why you're here, and I'll tell you why I'm here.† â€Å"I already told you.† In a flash, the laughter was gone. He took a step closer to where I sat, and I saw his guardians tense. â€Å"And I told you not to lie to me. You've got a reason for being here. I need to know what it is.† â€Å"Rose? Can you come in here?† Back toward the Belikov house, Viktoria's clear voice rang out in the night. Glancing behind me, I saw her standing in the doorway. Suddenly, I wanted to get away from Abe. There was something lethal underneath that gaudy, jovial facade, and I didn't want to spend another minute with him. Leaping up, I began backing toward the house, half-expecting his guardians to come kidnap me, despite his words. The two guys stayed where they were, but their eyes watched me carefully. Abe's quirky smile returned to his face. â€Å"Sorry I can't stay and chat,† I said. â€Å"That's all right,† he said grandly. â€Å"We'll find time later.† â€Å"Not likely,† I said. He laughed, and I hastily followed Viktoria into the house, not feeling safe until I shut the door. â€Å"I do not like that guy.† â€Å"Abe?† she asked. â€Å"I thought he was your friend.† â€Å"Hardly. He's some kind of mobster, right?† â€Å"I suppose,† she said, like it was no big deal. â€Å"But he's the reason you're here.† â€Å"Yeah, I know about him coming to get us.† Viktoria shook her head. â€Å"No, I mean here. I guess while you were in the car, you kept saying, ? ®Belikov, Belikov.' Abe figured you knew us. That's why he took you to our house.† That was startling. I'd been dreaming of Dimitri, so of course I would have said his last name. But I'd had no idea that was how I'd ended up here. I'd figured it was because Olena had medical training. Then Viktoria added the most astonishing thing of all. â€Å"When he realized we didn't know you, he was going to take you somewhere else-but grandmother said we had to keep you. I guess she'd had some dream that you'd come to us.† â€Å"What?† Crazy, creepy Yeva who hated me? â€Å"Yeva dreamed about me?† Viktoria nodded. â€Å"It's this gift she has. Are you sure you don't know Abe? He's too big-time to be here without a reason.† Olena hurried over to us before I could respond. She caught hold of my arm. â€Å"We've been looking for you. What took so long?† This question was directed to Viktoria. â€Å"Abe was-â€Å" Olena shook her head. â€Å"Never mind. Come on. Everyone's waiting.† â€Å"For what?† I asked, letting her drag me through the house to the backyard. â€Å"I was supposed to tell you,† explained Viktoria, scurrying along. â€Å"This is the part where everyone sits and remembers Dimitri by telling stories.† â€Å"Nobody's seen him in so long; we don't know what's happened to him recently,† said Olena. â€Å"We need you to tell us.† I flinched. Me? I balked at that, particularly when we emerged outside and I saw all those faces around the campfire. I didn't know any of them. How could I talk about Dimitri? How could I reveal what was closest to my heart? Everyone seemed to blur together, and I thought I might faint. For the moment, none of them noticed me. Karolina was speaking, her baby in her arms. Every so often she'd pause, and the others would laugh. Viktoria sat down on a blanket-covered spot on the ground and pulled me down beside her. Sydney joined us a little while later. â€Å"What's she saying?† I whispered. Viktoria listened to her sister for a few moments and then leaned closer to me. â€Å"She's talking about when Dimitri was very young, how he used to always beg her and her friends to let him play with them. He was about six and they were eight and didn't want him around.† Viktoria paused again to take in the next part of the story. â€Å"Finally, Karolina told him he could if he agreed to be married off to their dolls. So Karolina and her friends dressed him and the dolls up over and over and kept having weddings. Dimitri was married at least ten times.† I couldn't help but laugh as I tried to picture tough, sexy Dimitri letting his big sister dress him up. He probably would have treated his wedding ceremony with a doll as seriously and stoically as he did his guardian duties. Other people spoke, and I tried to keep up with the translations. All the stories were about Dimitri's kindness and strength of character. Even when not out battling the undead, Dimitri had always been there to help those who needed it. Almost everyone could recall sometime that Dimitri had stepped up to help others, going out of his way to do what was right, even in situations that could put him at risk. That was no surprise to me. Dimitri always did the right thing. And it was that attitude that had made me love him so much. I had a similar nature. I too rushed in when others needed me, sometimes when I shouldn't have. Others called me crazy for it, but Dimitri had understood. He'd always understood me, and part of what we'd worked on was how to temper that impulsive need to run into danger with reason and calculation. I had a feeling no one else in this world would ever understand me like he did. I didn't notice how strongly the tears were running down my cheeks until I saw everyone looking at me. At first, I thought they considered me crazy for crying, but then I realized someone had asked me a question. â€Å"They want you to talk about Dimitri's last days,† Viktoria said. â€Å"Tell us something. What he did. What he was like.† I used my sleeve to clean my face and looked away, focusing on the bonfire. I'd spoken in front of others before without hesitation, but this was different. â€Å"I†¦ I can't,† I told Viktoria, my voice strained and soft. â€Å"I can't talk about him.† She squeezed my hand. â€Å"Please. They need to hear about him. They need to know. Just tell us anything. What was he like?† â€Å"He†¦ he was your brother. You know.† â€Å"Yes,† she said gently. â€Å"But we want to know what you think he was like.† My eyes were still on the fire, watching the way the flames danced and shifted from orange to blue. â€Å"He†¦ he was the best man I've ever met.† I stopped to gather myself, and Viktoria used the opportunity to translate my words into Russian. â€Å"And he was one of the best guardians. I mean, he was young compared to a lot of them, but everyone knew who he was. They all knew his reputation, and lots of people relied on him for advice. They called him a god. And whenever there was a fight†¦ or danger†¦ he was always the first one to put himself out there. He never flinched. And a couple months ago, when our school was attacked†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I choked up here a bit. The Belikovs had said they knew of the attack-that everyone knew about it-and from the faces here, it was true. I didn't need to elaborate on that night, on the horrors I'd seen. â€Å"That night,† I continued, â€Å"Dimitri rushed out to face the Strigoi. He and I were together when we realized they were attacking. I wanted to stay and help him, but he wouldn't let me. He just told me to go, to run off and alert others. And he stayed behind-not knowing how many Strigoi he'd have to take on while I went for help. I still don't know how many he fought-but there were a bunch. And he took them all down alone.† I dared to look up at the faces around me. Everyone was so quiet and still that I wondered if they were breathing. â€Å"It was so hard,† I told them. Without realizing it, my voice had dropped to a whisper. I had to repeat myself more loudly. â€Å"It was so hard. I didn't want to leave him, but I knew I had to. He taught me so much, but one of the biggest things was that we have to protect others. It was my duty to warn everyone else, even though I just wanted to stay with him. The whole time, my heart kept saying, ? ®Turn around, turn around. Go to him!' But I knew what I had to do and I also knew part of him was trying to keep me safe. And if the roles had been reversed†¦ well, I would have made him run too.† I sighed, surprised I'd revealed so much of my heart. I switched back to business. â€Å"Even when the other guardians joined him, Dimitri never backed down. He took down more Strigoi than almost anyone.† Christian and I had actually killed the most. â€Å"He†¦ he was amazing.† I told them the rest of the story that I'd told the Belikovs. Only I actually forced a little detail this time, telling them vividly just how brave and fierce he had been. The words hurt me as I spoke, and yet†¦ it was almost a relief to get them out. I'd kept the memories of that night too close to me. But eventually, I had to tell them about the cave. And that†¦ that was the worst. â€Å"We'd trapped the escaping Strigoi in a cave. It had two entrances, and we came at them from both sides. Some of our people got trapped, though, and there were more Strigoi than we'd expected. We lost people†¦ but we would have lost a lot more if Dimitri hadn't been there. He wouldn't leave until everyone was out. He didn't care about the risk to himself. He only knew he had to save others†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I'd seen it in his eyes, that determination. Our plan had finally been to retreat as soon as we were all out, but I'd had the feeling he would have stayed and killed every Strigoi he could find. But he'd followed orders too, finally beginning his retreat when the others were safe. And in those last moments, just before the Strigoi had bitten him, Dimitri had met my eyes with a look so full of love that it was like that whole cave filled with light. His expression had said what we'd talked about earlier: We can be together, Rose. Soon. We're almost there. And nothing will ever keep us apart again†¦ I didn't mention that part, though. When I finished the rest of the tale, the faces of those gathered were grim but filled with awe and respect. Near the back of the crowd, I noticed Abe and his guardians listening as well. His expression was unreadable. Hard, but not angry or scary. Small cups began circulating through the group, and someone handed me one. A dhampir I didn't know, one of the few men present, stood up and raised his cup in the air. He spoke loudly and reverently, and I heard Dimitri's name mentioned several times. When he finished, he drank from the cup. Everyone else did too, so I followed suit. And nearly choked to death. It was like fire in liquid form. It took every ounce of strength I had to swallow it and not spray it on those around me. â€Å"Wh†¦ what is this?† I asked, coughing. Viktoria grinned. â€Å"Vodka.† I peered at the glass. â€Å"No, it isn't. I've had vodka before.† â€Å"Not Russian vodka.† Apparently not. I forced the rest of the cup down out of respect to Dimitri, even though I had a feeling that if he were here, he'd be shaking his head at me. I thought I was done being in the spotlight after my story, but apparently not. Everyone kept asking me questions. They wanted to know more about Dimitri, more about what his life had been like recently. They also wanted to know about me and Dimitri as a couple. They all seemed to have figured out that Dimitri and I had been in love-and they were okay with it. I was asked about how we'd met, how long we'd been together†¦ And the whole time, people kept refilling my cup. Determined not to look like an idiot again, I kept drinking until I could finally take the vodka down without coughing or spitting. The more I drank, the louder and more animated my stories became. My limbs started to tingle, and part of me knew this was all probably a bad idea. Okay, all of me knew it. Finally, people began to clear out. I had no idea what time it was, but I think it was the middle of the night. Maybe later. I stood as well, finding it much harder to do than I'd expected. The world wobbled, and my stomach wasn't very happy with me. Someone caught a hold of my arm and steadied me. â€Å"Easy,† said Sydney. â€Å"Don't push it.† Slowly, carefully, she led me toward the house. â€Å"God,† I moaned. â€Å"Do they use that stuff as rocket fuel?† â€Å"No one made you keep drinking it.† â€Å"Hey, don't get preachy. Besides, I had to be polite.† â€Å"Sure,† she said. We made it inside and then had the impossible task of getting up the stairs to the room Olena had given me. Each step was agony. â€Å"They all knew about me and Dimitri,† I said, wondering if I'd be saying any of this sober. â€Å"But I never told them we were together.† â€Å"You didn't have to. It's written all over your face.† â€Å"They acted like I was his widow or something.† â€Å"You might as well be.† We reached my room, and she helped me sit down on the bed. â€Å"Not a lot of people get married around here. If you're with someone long enough, they figure it's almost the same.† I sighed and stared off without any particular focus. â€Å"I miss him so much.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† she said. â€Å"Will it ever get better?† The question seemed to catch her by surprise. â€Å"I†¦ I don't know.† â€Å"Have you ever been in love?† She shook her head. â€Å"No.† I wasn't sure if that made her lucky or not. I wasn't sure if all the bright days I'd had with Dimitri were worth the hurt I felt now. A moment later, I knew the truth. â€Å"Of course they were.† â€Å"Huh?† asked Sydney. I realized I'd spoken my thoughts out loud. â€Å"Nothing. Just talking to myself. I should get some sleep.† â€Å"Do you need anything else? Are you going to be sick?† I assessed my queasy stomach. â€Å"No, but thanks.† â€Å"Okay.† And in her typically brusque way, she left, turning off the lights and shutting the door. I would have thought I'd pass out right away. Honestly, I wanted to. My heart had been opened up to too much of Dimitri tonight, and I wanted that pain to go away. I wanted blackness and oblivion. Instead, maybe because I was a glutton for punishment, my heart decided to finish the job and rip itself completely open. I went to visit Lissa.

Ethics and Intervention Techniques Essay

Using all three e-Activities and with reference to Intervention Techniques For Integrating Ethics Into Agency Operations in Denhardt, Chapter 4, select the two most effective of the 13 Intervention Techniques for Integrating Ethics into Agency Operations and defend your choices. Denhardt explains that ethics is a process by which we clarify right and wrong and act on what we take to be right. Instead of having employees follow a certain set of rules that management is exempt from, Leaders need to behave by example to reset an ethical culture. Consequently, I would consider ethical values and character in recruitment to be the first important and effective intervention techniques to be mentioned. I would require management to develop a statement of management philosophy for the organization (Denhardt) and a code of ethics like the federal government. In the recruitment of new employees, I would integrate a personality assessment for new applicants that will give the employer insight i nto the genuine ethics and integrity of the applicant before adding them to the organization. For existing employees, I would secondly follow this intervention technique with both compliance and integrity training and counseling. I would begin by developing training programs and/or other devices for communicating those ideals (Denhardt). Intermittently, during employment, I would integrate refresher courses for all employees, including management. It is imperative for new and continuing employees to sign off with a signature that confirms they understand the policies set forth and agree to comply during their tenure with the company. Stillman’s Chapter 16 Case Study describes the ethical tensions that may accompany leadership in the public sector. Analyze the ways in which George Tenet was challenged ethically, and present and assess at least two resolution strategies he used to handle these challenges. Although the goal of any firm should be to increase its owners’ wealth, to do so requires the public’s trust. Ultimately that trust depends on ethical business practices. George Tenet was described in many ways by observers and peers. Stillman describes Tenet as effective and efficient. However, some staffers felt he would oversimplify difficult issues. During the Clinton administration, he worked so hard that he had a heart attack during his term. Before Tenet joined the CIA, he was pretty much inexperienced which would be cause for concern because the CIA was in disarray. There was low morale, high turnover, outdated computer technology and major budget issues because there was no central accounting of funds spent. Tenet immediately began to rebuild. He worked hard to bring in funding and great staffers and recruits to support the upgrades in technology. As time progressed, Tenet became more involved in peace talk negotiations with Yasser Arafat and the Israeli Prime Minister which many thought was inappropriate was an ethical concern. All the while, the CIA continued to have major intelligence failures. People began to question have grave concerns with activity regarding war and attacks in other countries. Then the terrorist attacks in American with the World trade center s, Pentagon, etc†¦All of a sudden President Bush gave Tenet millions of dollars, resources and increased powers to take down our enemies. In my opinion Tenet decided to take a back seat like a coward and take a low profile. When Bush was pressing to go to war, he had an opportunity and an obligation of loyalty to speak up but rather down played crucial information that could have possibly prevented that war. To me Tenet failed with the ethical dilemma of being honest to his colleagues, field officers, and most significantly the entire nation by knowing that the statements about Saddam Hussein and chemical weapons were false. This decision cost American families over four thousand lives. There was a reference in our readings by Stillman that as public administrators climb higher in organizational hierarchy, they must contend with an increasingly intense tug and pull of competing ethical obligations, which in the end caused George Tenet to resign and also the decline of CIA. Two resolution strategies he used to handle these challenges were to resign from the CIA and influenced the government to restructure the agency more effectively and in a better position in the government. http://fs.huntingdon.edu/jlewis/Syl/PA/306StillmanStudOuts.htm Stillman, R.J. (2010). Public administration: Concepts and cases: 2010 custom edition. (9th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin – Cengage Learning

Enterpreneurship...read the requirement i send you carefully Essay

Enterpreneurship...read the requirement i send you carefully - Essay Example They can be differentiated from other group of professionals in terms of certain special characteristics including their leadership styles, self confidence levels, unique thinking process, devotion to a particular goal and flexibility. Apart from these skills, innovation is one of the vital characteristics, which must be possessed by each and every entrepreneur in the 21st century context to establish and manage a business to flourish. According to Peter F. Drucker, innovation is the change which drives the entrepreneur towards a better performance (Selman, n.d). The best example of the innovation strategy adopted by entrepreneurs is the invention of an unconventional online retail store, Amazon.com, by Jeff Bezos in 1995. Jeff Bezos is one of the successful entrepreneurs in the world who had pioneered the trend of online stores, initially by selling books and other products. His early interests in computers and the study of computer science and electrical engineering further led him to the setting up of the biggest online store. Amazon began its journey by selling only books in the US market and other regions of North America. Just after two months of its set up, the company started marketing its products in the other regions of the world following its rapidly growing customer demand and changing trends. Jeff Bezos also started diversifying its products from books to other items such as the CDs, electronic items, clothing and many other household products following which, Amazon today is renowned as a market leader (Gitman & McDaniel, 2008). Evidently, these activities, ranging from expansion of the business and diversification of its product line can be examined as the integral part of innovation demonstrating the innovative skills of the employees. Thus, taking the example of Jeff Bezos, this research will intend to elaborate on the significance of innovation to ensure entrepreneurial success in the 21st century context. Literature Review Innovation is one o f the vital characteristics of an entrepreneur, which makes him different from others. According to Andriopoulos & Dawson (2009), innovation is the process of transforming the ideas into a newer and useful product or service, as laid down by the Department of Trade and Industry. As argued in Andriopoulos & Dawson (2009), the Department of Trade and Industry defines innovation as the ability to make successful and positive utilization of newer ideas to satisfy the gap persisting in the current market. Conceptually, innovation is commonly classified into four types, including hypothetical innovation, production innovation, position innovation and process innovation. The theoretical perspective to the concept reveals that innovative skills of the entrepreneur have become quite imperative over the past decade. Again, as Andriopoulos & Dawson (2009) note, in the year 1961, a study was conducted by Burns and Stalker to analyze the organizational innovation. With reference to this study, i t can be argued that the importance of organizational innovation is immense in determining the efficiency of a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial skills to define organizational innovation also tend to design the firm’s potentiality and adaptation to a chaotic environment. However, a critical perspective to this context reveals that many of the organizations have confusions between the concepts of

Analysis of Section 2-204 of the Uniform Contract Code Assignment

Analysis of Section 2-204 of the Uniform Contract Code - Assignment Example The offer has to be accepted and this acceptance has to be communicated to the other party. The acceptance has to be with respect to a particular consideration. Such consideration has to be in respect to the contract which is formed. The consideration is the purpose behind which every contract is formed. After the acceptance and the communication of the same, the contract starts to exist. Purpose and Function of Uniform Commercial Code: â€Å"The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a comprehensive code addressing most aspects of commercial law, is generally viewed as one of the most important developments in American law.† â€Å"This body of law, created by a private author, aimed to create a uniform scheme applicable to the sale of goods and commercial transactions. The UCC applies to the sales of goods and commercial transactions. The sales of goods involve the buying and selling of tangible items, such as boxes of a product. Commercial transactions include primarily banking tra nsactions and are considered debt instruments.† Understanding from the above notions with respect to the Uniform Commercial Code, we can ascertain that the Uniform Commercial Code governs and manages all the contracts formed within the different territories of the United States of America. The Uniform Commercial Code basically creates a uniform scheme and system for all the contracts which are formed in the United States of America. The Uniform Commercial Code, therefore, is a procedural and a substantive law which overlooks the affairs of all the contractual obligations taken forwards in the realm of the contract law in the United States of America. Contract of Sale: In order to understand the contract of sale, here is an example which shall help explain the infer functioning and the working of the contract for sale. Don, who is a shopkeeper, has an Apple showroom. He is running the Apple showroom in Oklahoma and manages all the Apple products.  Ã‚  

Analyzing an Ad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyzing an Ad - Essay Example In the life of a human being in today’s world the advertisements implant different ideas in our minds from childhood to adulthood with some having devastating results. These ideas influence our perceptions towards life with a majority of the ideas resulting in fuzzy perceptions. Some advertising works of today portray ideas that stimulate the imagination of the audience to capture their attention and drive the message home. This essay seeks to show how the people behind the adverts incorporate this technique to sway the market consumers into purchasing their products. The Oreo advert manipulates the audience into thinking that their products improve family bonding by portraying scenes involving good family relations because of the use of the product. This idea is the basis of many ideas in various prints and TV ads like the Oreo Bedtime advert  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Advert description The advert tells the story of a small girl and the feeling she gets from eating an Oreo cookie, which the advert describes as â€Å"wonderfilled†. It uses images and text to spread its message of a young girl who would like to spend time with her father over an Oreo cookie so that they can bond and maybe talk to her grandma  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). ... reo cookie as a tasty product fit for the kids that improve family ties and bonding while stimulating the creativity of the children  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Implied messages Family Other than the cookie itself, the advert tries to sell other messages to the audiences, which support the marketing of the cookie. The first message that the advert implies is family. The advert starts with the girl asking â€Å"what if she had shared an Oreo cookie with her father, would he have sent her to bed?† she concludes they would still be up â€Å"telling jokes and watching monster movies†   ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). They would sing and play while eating more cookies. This tries to bring out the importance of family in every setting. Although the little girl has gone to bed, she still feels the need to stay up with her father and do fun things. This shows that Oreo cookies promote bonding among family members and keeps the fun going beyond the bedtime hours. This gains further support as the girl continues to say they would play and call â€Å"grandma† after eating the cookies. This portrays the importance of keeping in touch with all family members and not just those who live around you. It also shows that Oreo encourages good relations with family as the little girl remembers to call her grandma after sharing cookies with her dad  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). Importance of play In the advert, one of the key arguments portrayed is play. In the larger portion of the advert, the little girl is playing various games. She starts by jumping on the bed, before playing with dolls and drawing before she finally goes to sleep  ("Oreo: Bedtime | Ads of the Worldâ„ ¢"). All this comes after she â€Å"twists, dunks† and eats the Oreo cookie. This shows

Letter of Recommendation Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter of Recommendation - Personal Statement Example Haney’s determination and persistence to overcome the problem. Sgt. Haney has also successfully completed joint substance abuse program training; his commendable performance in the program has earned him the post of the unit prevention leader. Training NCO at the 2nd BN 200th Regiment OCS in the Alabama Army National Guard. He is no less than an asset for his regiment as his passion to work for the country makes him excel in everything he does. Apart from his work, his compassion for others reflects in the fact that he serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors at Waldo Volunteer Fire department. His pledge to give back to the community is also apparent from the fact that he is an active member of Stockdale Baptist Church. Kindly grant Sgt. Haney the opportunity to prove the changes that he has made in his life and cease the suspension on his driving

Leadership & Innovation in public services Essay

Leadership & Innovation in public services - Essay Example In fact, becoming a leader of a state is not only confined with managing the affairs within the state territory, but requires cooperation and collaboration with the leaders of other nations in order to maintain peace and security. Very few leaders can be classified as selfless and made sacrifices for the people. Few individuals assume the role of the leader with no other motivation but to serve the people. True leaders recognize that the power of a leader comes from the people who can take it back. Leadership Theories The general classifications of leadership theories are the Great Man Theories, Trait Theories, Behaviorist Theories, Situational Leadership, Contingency Theory, Transactional Theory, Transformational Theory (Bolden, Gosling, & Marturano, 2003), and Servant Leadership (The Robert K. Greenleaf, 2005). Each group of theories has been developed by individuals that contribute to the enhancement of a particular theory. According to Bolden et al. (2003), the schools of thought developed under the earlier models focus more on the personal characters and behaviors of the leader. Later schools take into consideration the participation of the followers in the development of the leader (Bolden et al., 2003). The Great Man theories proposed that leaders possess some exceptional innate qualities that destined them to lead. While the Trait Theories provide a list of traits and qualities that a leader should have, the Behaviorist Theories focus on the set of behaviors of a leader. Situational Leadership provides that leadership is seen according to the situation where the leader exists and includes the tasks and goals to be accomplished, as well as the willingness of the person to attain them. Contingency Theory provides the predictive variables that would make the leadership style appropriate on certain circumstances. Transactional Theory expounds on the relationship of the leader and the governed, the benefits they derive from each other, and the reward and ben efits given by the leader in exchange for the loyalty of followers. Transformational Theory focuses on the role of the leader in envisioning the transformation of the organization (Bolden et al., 2003). Servant leadership espouses that a leader is a servant to the people, with no other motivation except to serve the people (The Robert K. Greenleaf, 2005). Participative leadership refers to the involvement of other persons in decision-making and implementation of the same (Culture and Leadership, 2006). Participative leadership, also referred to democratic leadership (Spillane, 2005; Ogbonna & Harris, 2000), is a more successful kind of leadership (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000). Distributed leadership, a recent model, is the antithesis of the â€Å"heroics of leadership† wherein the leader is seen as the sole actor in leading the organization (Spillane, 2005, p. 143). Issues in Public Leadership Many studies were conducted on private organizations but they are likewise applicable in the public sector. Leadership in the public sector is critical in the current generation amidst the complex problems and issues confronting the governments on all fronts. Leadership issues entail survival of the followers, poverty or death. Leading a group also requires the application of strategic approaches to facilitate

Boston University as One of the Institutions of Higher Learning Essay

Boston University as One of the Institutions of Higher Learning - Essay Example Since I was young, I had been yearning to join a medical school which will enable me to achieve my long-term goal. Boston University is one of the institutions of higher learning with a very good medical school. Therefore, joining this institution will provide me with an opportunity to interact with sharp minds and people whom we share the same dreams. In addition, the institution has invested heavily in research materials. Medical courses require extensive reading and research. Therefore, the university has the best platform to enable the students to carry out their researches. Moreover, it is well known for being the best university when it comes to the sciences. This is because it has well-equipped science laboratories, libraries, and other important facilities to support science courses. The school is also known for having highly qualified lecturers who are able to get the best out of the students. Therefore, being in this institution will be a rare opportunity to be taught and s upervised by the best minds that we have in the country. The location of the university meets my personal plans. The university is located in the city and near my house. This will lower my cost of being in the institution (Kydd 34). Besides the location, the university offers the best academic and consultations services that help the student to choose the right classes that ensure that they succeed in the medical school. Therefore, I am looking forward towards joining the alumni of this renowned institution who are known for their remarkable contribution towards making the society a better place to live in.

Mind mapping Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mind mapping - Research Paper Example Likewise, power providers such as the one displayed in Monster’s Inc. do not necessarily have to concern themselves with competition due to the fact that their competition does not spring up overnight because the entry cost into the market is so incredibly high. As was the case with McDonalds, consumer tastes, the price of food, the performance of the economy, the time of year, and the time of month have massive impacts on overall total sales levels. For this reason, firms like McDonalds are much more beholden to the swings of the external environment than say a power provider. However, at the end of the day, both companies must be mindful of the external environment because to ignore it is to ignore the future viability of the firm. Within Monsters Inc, the viewer is presented with secretaries and administrative staff, the CEO, HR and quality control, machinery technicians, janitorial staff, primary agents (the Scarers), and security and disaster remediation staff. Whereas at a regional McDonald’s location you do not see the stratified corporate footprint as was exhibited in Monster’s Inc.; instead, you see the cooks (technicians), the drive through staff (sales and customer service), cashiers (finance), and shift supervisor (management) (Bacon, 2011). Within Monsters Inc, you are aware of a training department, a quality assurance department, an HR department, a CEO, and a security team. Likewise, when working at McDonalds, the corporate footprint was less stratified. Because of the fact that I was working in the franchise operation, I was not necessarily aware of the larger operations taking place outside my field of view with reference to McDonalds as a corporate entity. Sadly, the environment within McDonald’s was an abysmally miserable one from my personal experience. It was so bad in fact that I chose not to continue my employment with the company longer than the

Security and Loss Prevention Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Security and Loss Prevention - Essay Example The risks and dangers involved, both on-the-job and off-the job determine job selection. The time of exposure to the risk, safety and precaution measures in place to enhance personal safety serve as an enticement to the job (McKay, 2007). In the case of an Executive Protection Officer, the minimization of risk exposure by the availability and allowed use of bulletproof vests gives an assurance of safety. The carrying of a concealed automatic weapon would further ensure both on and off the job security, just in case the security situation gets out of hand. The main aim of working constitutes the need and desire to get spending money (McKay, 2007). The salary and allowance package attached to the job need to reflect the commitment, dedication and risk involved. Further, in cases of loss prevention jobs, the remuneration needs to take into consideration the involved goods, services or property. In cases of Executive Protection, the extra training, putting life on the line for the execut ive and the extra hours spent with the executive, at the expense of family, require consideration to ensure a pleasurable package. The doing of perfect and satisfactory jobs relies much with the satisfaction of the workers involved (McKay, 2007). Job satisfaction drives workers to enjoy the job and its surroundings and make them to forward to another day at the workplace. Personal satisfaction, and not fate or lack of any other occupation, goes a long way in determining on-the-job performance.  

Energy Drinks Essay Example for Free

Energy Drinks Essay Energy drinks are part of the human life nowadays especially to the younger generation. Like other activities such as smoking and drinking, the consumption of energy drinks also goes on increasing. Most of the energy drink manufacturers target the youths for their marketing strategies and hence the advertisements are mostly aimed at attracting the youths. Millions of dollars are spent for the energy drink advertisements. Most of the world famous celebrities like film actors/actresses and sports personalities are the brand ambassadors of energy drinks. Energy drink Advertisements The advertising campaigns are mostly ranges from extreme sports activities like, cliff-diving, surfing, windsurfing, snowboarding, racing, and break dancing to art shows, music, and video games. Most of the international cricket teams and football teams are sponsored by energy drink manufacturers like Red Bull, Pepsi, and Coca Cola. For example Pakistan cricket team was sponsored by Pepsi for a long period. Some of the American Football and Basket ball teams were sponsored by Red Bull. Some energy drinks manufacturers sponsor marathon races across the countries to promote their product. Their intention is to spread the brand awareness in two ways. First, they know that a marathon rays will cover a long distance across the country and hence it will attract many people. Second they know in sports like marathon race, the participants Energy Drinks 2 need lot of stamina and energy to complete the race. So they will utilize the stamina of a marathon racer to their advantages. â€Å"Energy drink slogans are as different as the drinks themselves, but they all work to appeal to the ideal consumer crowd. Energy drinks, unlike other beverages, are traditionally marketed to a very small, specific consumer group. For example, some energy drink brands focus on extreme sports enthusiasts, others cater to students and their energy needs, and still others try to attract the video game crowd. † (Facts expert) Mouth publicity is considered as one of the most effective marketing strategy and hence attractive slogans are used in the advertisements of energy drinks. Youths are especially very much interested in songs and slogans and they will give mouth publicity attractive to the songs or slogans which they may feel special. So the ad agencies are very keen in introducing some slogans in their marketing campaigns of the energy drinks. â€Å"If most energy drink slogans are responsible for a large part of a brand’s advertising, it is essential that they be catchy and memorable. Some of the drink names themselves act as slogans—either officially or unofficially—like Crunk and GoFast!. Because most energy drinks are appealing to the younger teenage and twenty-something generation† (Facts expert) The success of a slogan campaign lies in lyrics of the slogan. The slogan must be simple and easy to say. It should reflect the theme of the energy drink to attract the customers. The lyrics should be persuasive, attractive Energy Drinks 3 and it should motivate the target people to repeat it again and again. There should not be any abusive or dirty words in the slogan. It should ignite the minds of the target people so that they will be motivated to give mouth publicity to it and thereby the brand awareness of the energy drink will be increased. Youths are always interested in taking risks and also playing adventurous sports. They need things to be happened at a rapid pace. Because of their enthusiasm and the psychological level, they like fast life and like to have more energy in their veins. So they will participate in anything and consume anything because of the reasons mentioned above. Advices to the Marketers It is a good habit to utilize the possibilities of sports and games in the marketing of the energy drinks. The modern youths are experiencing lack of physical activities and hence most of them have obesity and overweight which result in lack of self esteem and other health related problems. The marketing campaign through sports activities will definitely improve the awareness about the physical activities which is essential for the modern world. So the energy drink manufacturers should continue the marketing campaign through sports activities. â€Å"Some of the energy ingredients in the variety of energy drinks include: Royal Gelly, (Honey bee byproduct), Ginseng (Herbal root very popular in Asia), Ashwaganda, (Member of the pepper family also known as Indian ginseng), Horny Goat Weed (Chinese plant), Skullcap (North American perennial herb), Energy Drinks 4 White Willow (North American tree bark, natural alternative to aspirin), Black Seed (Ancient herbal remedy in Asia, Africa and the Middle East), Guarana (Fruit vine found in Amazon Basin with a powerful caffeine bean), Taurine (A naturally occuring acid)Additionally, healthy ingredients such as green tea and fruit juices are being added to capitalize on the better-for-you trend. Green tea and pomegranates are some of the more obvious recent attempts to tie in products that are currently hot trends in healthy eating with a traditional energy drink. † (Agri-Food Trade Service) At the same time the energy drink manufacturers must improve their commitments to the society by enriching the energy drinks with some essential nutrient which is lacking in the modern fast food culture. Most of the essential vitamins required for the health are vanishing from the current food culture and hence the energy drink manufacturers must take that social responsibility to enrich their drinks with essential vitamins required for the health. â€Å"Energy drinks – usually a mixture of caffeine, taurine, carbohydrates, B-complex vitamins and gluconolactone – have become very popular in recent years† (Energy Drinks Do Not Help Maintain Alcohols Buzz) Some of the marketing techniques of the energy drink manufacturers include: Tension, stress relief, Sobering effects, Improved love life, Stamina, Reflexes, Alertness, Virility, and Stimulates metabolism (Agri-Food Trade Service) Neither of the above mentioned claims from the energy drink Energy Drinks 5 manufacturers are proved scientifically yet. But still they keep on using the same slogans in their ad campaigns to attract a specific segment of the society and they must think of stopping such slogans. Conclusions Most of the energy drink advertisements are misleading. The manufacturers offer so many things which will never materialize through the consumption of it. The ad campaigns utilizing sports activities will definitely create awareness about the physical activities among youths. The energy drink manufacturers must think of including certain essential vitamins in their drinks which is diminishing from the modern world due to fast food culture. They should stop utilizing caffeine like ingredients in their drink. Energy Drinks 6 Works Cited 1. Facts expert (2005), Drink Advertising and Energy Slogans, Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://energydrinks. factexpert. com/905-energy-drink-slogans. php 2. Agri-Food Trade Service (2008), The Energy Drink Segment in North America Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://www. ats. agr. gc. ca/us/4387_e. htm 3. Energy Drinks Do Not Help Maintain Alcohols Buzz, (2004) Retrieved on March 5, 2009 from http://alcoholism. about. com/od/college/a/blacer0409

Reflective Practice in Social Work

Reflective Practice in Social Work Reflection is central to good social work practice, but only if enhanced action result from that reflection (Williams, 2006: xi) The underlying principles for this assignment are to critically evaluate my professional development in a practice placement setting and record reflections for future learning. Within this essay, I will include my reflections on the social work process of assessment, planning, intervention and review, and will critically analyse what I feel was successful and unsuccessful in each process, with efforts to identify what could be changed to enhance future practice. I will also include my knowledge, skills and values incorporated into my practice with two service users and my group work, while explaining my efforts to promote anti-oppressive practice. Throughout my assignment I will endeavour to portray my learning journey from the beginning to the end of my placement and conclude with future learning needs, to enhance my practice as a social worker. Introduction: The practice placement I acquired was a Court Childrens Officer (CCO), based at the Belfast Family Proceedings Court. It forms part of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. My role as a CCO, formerly known as a Child Welfare Officer, was to use my training and experience to ascertain the wishes and feelings of children and their families in private law matters. The role falls within family and child care services and determines that the childs interests remain paramount in court proceedings. As a CCO my role was to deal with cases where assistance was needed to help parties focus on the needs of their children, as opposed to continuing the incriminations as to who was responsible for the breakdown of their relationship. As a CCO I was then asked to present the information to court in oral or written report format. The CCO is used if other efforts to get the parties to reach a decision in the interests of their children have failed. This is to prevent the court process itself cont ributing to a lengthy breach in contact before it reaches a decision. As a CCO I was also responsible to act as liaison officer between the court and HSS Trusts, or other agencies (e.g. NSPCC etc) in respect of the courts decisions. Although employed by the Trust, I was responsible to the court. Before commencement of this placement I had limited understanding of the court process, and the legislation involved in private law cases. I was excited about the prospect of the experience I would gain having undertaken law and court modules, and attended court for certain flexible learning days, but I was also anxious about identifying the social work role within such a specific placement. I feel nervous and uncomfortable. Im finding the role intimidating being surrounded by legal professionals and legislation (being just a student). Im worried about having to provide oral and written evidence to the court, and perhaps having to disagree with the legal representatives views in court. I feel deskilled and anxious (PPDW: 21/01/10). After this initial anxious stage I began researching private law and knowledge, and used my practice teacher and on site supervisor to ask questions. Having completed a practice placement last year I already knew of the benefits of using reflection as a crucial aspect of my practice and learning. Thompson (2005) explains that it is important that practitioners use not only established theories, but use their own knowledge and experience to meet the needs of service users. He claims that reflective practice should help us to acknowledge the important links between theory and practice and to appreciate the dangers of treating the two elements as if they were separate domains (Thompson, 2005: 147). I was anxious to identify the social work process within my placement, as it was not evident on commencement. I was already familiar with the process of assessing, planning, intervention and review having had a previous placement with adults with learning disabilities. Within a court, however, this was very different, as a direction of the court determined my involvement with service users. Schà ¶n (1987) identifies that more than a process is needed with service users practitioners need to incorporate experience, skills and intuition for outcomes to be successful. The knowledge and skills that I identified, within my Individual learning plan, were skills in working with children, assertiveness skills, report writing and presenting skills, organisational skills, and group facilitation skills. I also wanted to enhance my value base as my previous placement helped me challenge issues around learning disabilities and the current placement is a very different setting. I wanted to devel op my values around childrens feelings about parental separation, and also working in partnership with children to ascertain their wishes and feelings about contact issues. I have outlined below the three cases I intend to use that will help identify my professional development within my placement setting. I will use these to provide an analysis of how my knowledge, skills and values have been developed through the social work process. Family C: Polish origin Child C (Age 7) currently resides with her father. The parental relationship lasted for seven years. Mother (Ms C) moved out of the family home to gain alternative accommodation when the relationship broke down. Ms C and the childs contact have been very sporadic since. Contact has not taken place since December 2009. Mr C is concerned with Ms Cs new accommodation being unsuitable for the childs safety staying overnight claiming alcohol misuse and the child coming home smelling of smoke. Ms C requires an interpreter and is seeking a Contact Order. As directed by the court I carried out an assessment of Ms Cs home, and also used mediation and counselling when meeting with the parties to focus on the childs best interests. The childs wishes and feelings were also ascertained. Family E: Child E (14) currently resides with his father (Mr E). Mother (Ms E) is seeking a Residence Order. Father currently resides with the child in a family hostel provided by the Belfast Housing Executive, which Ms E is concerned about. Court direction stipulated me to ascertain the childs wishes and feelings about residence with his father and contact with his mother. In addition to this I used mediation as an intervention to try to help the parties reach agreement about the child. I concluded my work with the family using a Person Centred Review with Child E to determine if the plans implemented earlier in my practice were working, and what he would like to change when his case was due for review in court. Group Work: My group work consisted of working with teenage girls at a high school in North Belfast; they were aged 14/15. I worked alongside the Health for Youth through Peer Education (HYPE) team who regularly visit schools to promote sexual health awareness. I co-facilitated this group and worked to educate the group about sexual health and relationships. This was to promote the need for the provision of accurate information to prevent teenage pregnancies and STIs, which have been highlighted as statistically higher in this area of Northern Ireland. Preparation of placement As indicated above, to prepare for this placement, I began by developing my knowledge base around the court setting and private law, so that I could be accountable to the court and the Trust for my actions. Trevithick (2000:162) claims to be accountable denotes professionalism by using knowledge, skills and qualifications, and adhering to values and ethics when serving a client. I began to tune in to the placement setting using knowledge, skills and values, with legislation such as The Children (NI) Order 1995, The Family Law Act (NI) 2001 and The Human Rights Act 1998. I tuned into the court setting and the rights of the service users who used it. Article 3 of the Children (NI) Order 1995 claims that the court should act in the best interests of the child, and I was interested in seeing if this occurred or if parental interests were considered higher. I tuned into the effects that divorce and separation have on children, and focused on gaining knowledge on how to minimize the negative impact this may have on children. The issue of contact in private law proceedings is a complex subject which raises questions of rights, responsibilities and ownership of children (Kroll, 2000: 217). I was initially interested in researching if children knowing both parents were in their best interests, and why. Having had a placement with adults and learning disabilities last year I had reflected on the medical model versus the social model of disability, this placement was very different in that it would be the a legal context versus the social work role. I found this initially difficult as the legal obligations of the court over-shadowed the social work process. Court directions dictated the aspects of work to be done, which I found difficult as service user needs were not necessarily established and met. Assessment: Ms Cs assessment required me to meet with her, discuss issues regarding contact with her child, and investigate her living environment to determine if it was suitable for the child to have contact in. Prior to Ms Cs assessment it was necessary for me to tune in to contact disputes between parents. I recognised that there is significant animosity with both parties, but that having contact with both parents is in the childs best interests to promote for attachment, identity and positive relationships. To initiate Ms Cs assessment I had received court directions, a referral and met with her legal advisor. I was at this time I was informed that Ms C was Polish and required an interpreter. The Human Rights Act 1998 and the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 both stipulate that an interpreter should be provided for health services to promote anti-discriminative practice and equal opportunities. I was then required to make a referral to the Trust interpreting service, and they informed me that they would make initial contact with Ms C. I found this unnerving, as the interpreter would be making first contact with the service user, and I would have liked the opportunity to explain my role. Having carried out previous assessments, I knew that communication was essential for the assessment and central to the process of gathering information and empowering service users (Watson and West, 2006), therefore to not be able to make initial contact with a service user I found to be restrictive and stressful. On initial contact with Ms C (and the interpreter) communication was difficult to establish. I found that by communicating through an interpreter I was limited in gathering information. I found it difficult to concentrate on Ms C, especially observing body language and tone of voice; instead I focused on the interpreter and actively listening to her. Ms C came across as frustrated and disengaged, showing signs of closed body language. I felt empathetic to Ms C because of the court process she was involved in, and the fact that she had to go to court to gain contact with her child. I felt the initial meeting with Ms C was not as successful as I had hoped, I was not able to discuss the issues affecting her, and unable to establish an effective working relationship due to the barrier on an interpreter. I left the meeting feeling deskilled and questioning my practice. On reflection, I should have provided more time to Ms C due to the language obstacle and gathered more information on her issues. I should have focused on Ms C and not the interpreter, and used the interpreter more effectively to establish a relationship. For future learning I will endeavour to use these reflections. The next part of Ms Cs assessment was her home assessment. I was initially reluctant to carry out a home assessment, as I had no previous experience, and did not know what was classed as an unsafe environment for children. I began tuning in and identified that a home assessment required strong observational skills for child protection concerns. I also discussed the home assessment with my practice teacher and on site supervisor for aspects I should be concerned about within the home. It was indicated that a safe environment for a child did not have to be overly clean, just safe considering where the child sleeps, fire hazards, is there evidence of drug or alcohol use, or smelling of smoke (as Mr C alleges). On entering Ms Cs home, as the interpreter had not arrived yet, I was reluctant to try and converse with Ms C. Ms C spoke limited English, and I did not want to confuse or alarm her by trying to discuss the case issues. However, I did try to use body language and facial expressions to reach for feelings and try to build a rapport by asking general questions about weather and work etc. I feel this helped our relationship, and helped me empathise about how difficult it must be to not be able to communicate effectively. By the time the interpreter had arrived I felt more at ease with Ms C, and addressed her (as opposed to the interpreter) with non-verbal cues such as nodding and body language. I felt more comfortable talking with Ms C, I felt more able to understand her frustrations at the court process, her ex-partner and his allegations. Prior to the assessment of the home I had gained stereotypical perceptions about Ms Cs home. I thought that the house, as it was in a working class area, would be unclean and neglected. However, the assessment of the home, using observational skills, indicated no child protection concerns, a clean environment for a child, and Mr Cs allegations unfounded. On reflection of my perceptions I feel I was oppressive to Ms C having been so judgemental, and I felt guilty about my opinions having been class discriminatory. Throughout the assessment with Ms C I found that by using an interpreter Ms C was able to stay informed and in control over her situation (Watson and West, 2006). I feel that by working with Ms C has helped my challenge my future practice with individuals who are non-English speakers. It will help me consider the needs of the service user, before judging them solely on language or their country of origin to provide equal opportunities. I now feel interpreters are required for a balance of power between the worker and service user, and promote anti-discriminatory practice. Planning: According to Parker and Bradley (2008: 72) Planning as part of the social work process is a method of continually reviewing and assessing the needs of all individual service users. It is based upon the assessment and identifies what needs to be done and what the outcome may be if it is completed. Prior to the beginning of placement I had limited experience of planning, or group work. It was important for me understand the facilitation and communication skills needed for successful group work, and help to develop my understanding of group dynamics, group control, and peer pressure for this age group. The key purpose of planning the group was to enable the young people to develop their knowledge and skills to be able to make informed decisions and choices about personal relationships and sexual health. I began preparing for the planning stage of the social work process by meeting with the HYPE team and researching their work. I was interested in the sexual health training for young people at school, as my own experience at school showed that the information was often limited, and I was interesting in finding out if it had been challenged. I then began by tuning in to how I wanted to proceed through the planning process, and researching the topics of the different sessions as I considered I had limited knowledge on sexual health awareness. As I had to plan every week separately it was important to tune in to each and use knowledge, such as group work skills to inform my practice. During initial sessions I noted how group members were quiet and withdrawn, this was important to note as the subject of sexual relationships may have been embarrassing for them to discuss. I too felt uncomfortable discussing the material, as I had limited understanding of sexual health, but it was important for the group to overcome these anxieties and work through them together. I identified that ice breaking techniques were required to facilitate trust and partnership. As the sessions progressed, one of the main challenges found was that peer influence was a major issue, with some of the participants controlling other quieter members. I felt it was necessary to include all members and encouraged participation using games. However, it was important not to push individuals when they became uncomfortable, as this could cause them to withdraw and disengage, disempowering them. Another challenge was that despite time management of the sessions, inevitably there had to be flexibility. Some of the group monopolised more time than others and it was necessary to be able to alter the plans according to time restraints. I also needed to be aware of my own values when planning sexual health awareness training, as it is still regarded as a controversial issue, especially in Catholic schools with teenagers (www.famyouth.org.uk). I considered sexual health awareness to be a great benefit in schools, but obviously due to religious considerations many Catholic schools continue simply to teach abstinence as the only form of contraception. This was important to consider as the group was facilitated in a Catholic school and many of the members or their teachers could have had religious views and opinions on the sessions, creating tension or animosity. Reflecting on this parental consent had been provided for the group, but the group itself were required to take part during a free period. I consider this to be an ethical dilemma as the childrens views werent regarded as highly as their parents. If undertaking this group in future, I feel it would be necessary to ask the group if they wish to take part, and gi ve the opportunity to withdraw promoting anti-oppressive practice. Intervention: Prior to this practice placement I had limited experience using intervention methods. My previous placement focused on task centred work with service users, but in the court childrens service this could not be facilitated due to the time restrictions of the court. I had also previously used Rogerian person centred counselling which I found I could use some of the theory and apply it to this setting. After gathering a range of information from the court referral, C1 and other professionals, I began to tune in to Es case. I had been directed by the court to ascertain his wishes and feelings in regards to residence and contact arrangements, and mediate between his parents to find agreement about the childs residence. As Child E is fourteen, I felt it was necessary to research levels of development for this age group and understand, according to psychologists, what level Child E would be at emotionally, physically and psychologically. I found that Child E should be at a level of becoming more independent, having his own values, and being able to make informed choices. One of the most important issues, through mediation, was challenging my own values and becoming aware of my own stereotypical views on adults who have separated, and the effects on their children. I had to challenge the idea that Child E just wanted to reside with his father as he was the less disciplined parent, or that Child E would most likely be playing his parents off against each other to get his own way. However, by challenging these views, and working with the parties through mediation, I came to realise that E had strong views about living with his father and had a stronger attachment to him. By reflecting on my values I realised that it was oppressive to consider the child as manipulating and could have affected my work with him. I found that having to be a neutral third party in mediation was difficult, I found myself having a role as a witness, a referee and a peacekeeper trying to find common ground. Despite this I feel a third side was necessary to help the parties work through issues. I found the most difficult aspect of this role to be impartiality as I found myself empathizing more with the mother (as the child refused to live with her). However, I also understood the childs reasons behind his decision. During mediation, and in court, I also challenged my judgements on gender and the notion that the mother is the nurturer or primary care giver in the home (Posada and Jacobs, 2001). The child clearly stated that he wanted to reside with his father, and when using questioning skills to probe about this, he claimed he had a stronger bond with his father, and that his mother was continually ridiculing him. I found myself having to alter my views about attachment and mother being the primary care giver and focus on what the child wants. As the intervention progressed I used family mediation session to work through issues. I found that effective communication was principal in ascertaining Child Es wishes and feelings, and helping the parties consider his views, as opposed to their own relationship incriminations. This not only empowered E by promoting partnership, but also gave him the knowledge that the court would be considering the information he provided. Within the meeting I felt I could have paced the meeting better and made better use of silences with E, as I dominated the conversation. I consider mediation to be successful as it helped the parties focus on the needs of the child, and helped them realise that they had a childs feelings to consider instead of the adversarial relationship built from court. Review: Prior to the review process I had experience of carrying out person centred reviews (PCR) through my previous practice placement. I had previous training on PCRs and found them to be more effective than traditional reviews, due to the service user involvement. A PCR is an example of a person centred approach and the information from a review can be the foundation of a person centred plan (Bailey et al., 2009). Within the family proceedings court the purpose of reviews are to reassess interim plans, and either change them, or confirm they are working for the child(ren). In Child Es case a review was necessary to indicate if living with his father was working, and to discuss if he wanted to change anything about his interim plans, which were introduced three months earlier. Within the court childrens team a review is fundamental to consider what is in the childs best interests, assess what is working and what is not working, and how to progress (considering the childs wishes and feelings). Child centred preparatory work with Child E was fundamental to the review success as it established what was important to him (Smull and Sanderson, 2005). Reflecting on my person centred work last year; I recognised that it was important to have preparatory work with Child E as it promoted choice and options to explore. I had also recognised that the information gathered from the preparatory work could be the foundations of the review itself, especially if Child E felt embarrassed or shy speaking out in front of his family on the day of the review (Smull and Sanderson, 2005) I conducted the review with Child E and his parents present, but reflecting on this it could also have been useful including his school teacher or other friends to have a holistic approach. Throughout the review I feel I was able to engage the participants successfully using goals to focus on, and we were able to create a person centred plan for Child E. During the preparation for the review Child E had expressed that he felt he was having too much contact with his mother, and would like to limit this, he also expressed that this was an awkward subject to discuss with his mother present. I identified this in the review as child E did not wish to. I used skills such as facilitation and communication to show that Child E felt strongly about this issue, and both parents claimed they understood his view point. The review was also useful in presenting the information in court, as the child could not be present and I could advocate on his behalf. On reflection of Child Es review I feel it was a successful measure to determine what was working and not working since plans were implemented from the last court date. I had confidence in facilitating the review, but I did feel I perhaps dominated the conversation as both parents were hostile towards each other, and Child E was shy and unassertive about expressing his feelings. During future reviews I will endeavour to promote communication between parties, while empowering of the child. I will use better use of silences and encourage active involvement. Conclusion: No matter how skilled, experienced or effective we are, there are, of course, always lessons to be learned, improvements to be made and benefits to be gained from reflecting on our practice (Thompson, 2005: 146) I feel this PLO has provided me with learning opportunities and identified my learning needs. It has encouraged me to reflect on my knowledge, skills and values and ensured that I used my reflections to learn from my practice. At the beginning of placement I was concerned I would oppress the service users by having limited understanding of the court process, and unable to work effectively as a result. However, through training, help from my practice teacher and knowledge, I soon realised that the placement was about providing support, not being an expert. I feel I was able to establish a balance of the legal requirements of court and social work role, which has contributed to my learning experience and future knowledge. As my placement progressed I used tuning in and evaluations to analyse my practice, and use them to learn from. My placement has enabled me to improve my court report writing skills, presentations skills and legislation knowledge, which I consider to be invaluable for the future. In terms of future professional development, I will endeavour to challenge my stereotypical assumptions about service users, I will seek advice and guidance from more experienced members of staff, and I will use knowledge and theory to inform my practice prior to meeting service users. Future learning requires me to continue to develop skills in working with children, to use silence as a skill, as listen actively to what the service user wants. Having an opportunity to work within the court system has been invaluable, but I would also like the opportunity to have more experience working with children to enhance my knowledge, skills and values further.

Quality and trust in workplace

Quality and trust in workplace INTRODUCTION:- TRUST:-Trust means confidence that others action are consistent with their words that the people with whom you work are concerned about your welfare and interests apart from what you can do for them, the skills you have developed are respected and valued by co-workers and the organization. Trust is found in three characteristics of workplace relationships:- Trust grows out of the ability to perceive others as credible that what they say is true and their actions are consistent. Trust also grows out of a sense that one will be treated fairly by others. Trust also depends on how much employees experience respect through support provided for professional growth, the inclusion of employees ideas in decision making and through care both within the workplace and life. Trust in organizational strategies and top management is the most critical component in creating commitment towards a common goal. Senior leaders need to place a high value on integrity and trust and then communicate that value to all associates. Key factors in building trust The five critical areas that directly impact the level of trust people have in their organization are:- The organization vision. The organization values. The compensation system. The work environment. Personnel decision. Management consultant Jack R Gibbs explains that distrust in people are likely to occur when Top management is feared. Excessive pressure is placed on people. Sales are low. The vision of company is unclear. QUALITY: The organization should work in order to assure high quality of management and leadership in all parts of the organization. To work methodically in improving Management Quality all links must hold, in the long chain from management policy, through management system, programs and processes, all the way out to the individual employee. This kind of quality assurance of management requires a complete and consistent structure or model, and it must be possible to measure present status and improvements Over the past few years, employees have increased their focus on organizational characteristics that enhance employee work experiences and assist employees in balancing their jobs and personal lives. This focus on workplace quality has become significant enough for business press publications such as Fortune and Working Mother to publish annual lists of companies that excel in creating a high quality of work life for their employees.. Fulmer et al. (2003) argue that employee attitu des affect behaviors and their performance. They argue further that employee attitudes can influence workplace quality through the attraction and retention of good employees. They argue that if employee attitudes resulting from high workplace quality produce a sustainable competitive advantage, then listed firms should exhibit better financial performance than do non listed firms. There is some evidence that companies successful in creating positive employee attitudes about their workplace possess a valuable competitive advantage, which leads to improved operating and market performance. A high Management Quality is characterized by the following Our organization has updated and documented mission statements, vision and strategies. Our policy describes how we wish to relate to our employees. Participation and a high degree of independence are corner-stones of our management system. Everyone regards himself as owner of their personal objectives and the organizations vision and objectives. We encourage open communication. Our policy describes how we work in order to ensure leaders of high quality in all places. We create good opportunities for our managers to be highly motivated in their task. We phase out leaders who are inadequate in their jobs. INRODUCTION OF ORGANISATION:- INFOSIS: An Infosys technology is founded in 1981 in India. Currently Infosys has over 58000 employees worldwide and have over $2 billion annual revenue. Infosys currently has over 15000 software developers working on projects with Microsoft technologies. Infosys BPO Ltd. is one of the fastest and leading BPO solution providers in the world. Having Infosys Technologies Ltd. as its parent company, it boasts of best-in-class systems and processes and financial strength and stability. The company started its operations in 2002 and has received numerous awards and citations such as: 10th among 50 Best Managed Vendors in the Black Book of Outsourcing, 2006 5th among 35 Rising Stars in The Global Outsourcing 100 of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals, 2006. Infosys won the Outsourcing Institute and Vantage Partners first-ever customer relationship management award. Infosys is increasingly focusing on value-based pricing models for its offerings. QUALITY AT INFOSYS:- Infosys follows the best software engineering practices. Infosys is CMMI-5 certified but for a formal process oriented certification their CMMI level appears to be an outcome of what they actually practice. Infosys doubles it revenue every 2 years, reaching $ 2 billion in 2006.Company currently trains 4500 new recruits every 14 weeks at its own training campus in Mysore. Companys campus at Bangalore was magnificent. The 50 buildings were a glass pyramid shaped multimedia facility housing, a large dome shaped library, sports centers, refectories futuristic electric cars are used for visitors. INFOSYS WINS TELSTRA AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN QUALITY IN 2005 Infosys is the first IT Company to receive Telstra award for excellence in quality from over 11000 vendors. Telstra assessed Infosys against its other suppliers and determined it as the winner based on a rigorous appraisal of its quality and ongoing commitment to developing viable solutions and providing Telstra customer with better value. TRUST INFOSYS: Trust is the foundation of all successful interpersonal relationships, both personal and business. Trust is the confidence or belief a person feels toward a particular person or group. Trust is, therefore, one of the primary binding forces in any interpersonal relationship. Trust is present in Infosys strategies and among the employees. 1:-Infosys organizational vision is clear: Infosys vision is attainable and does not ignore the role that individuals play in achieving the organizational goals. 2:-The work environment in Infosys is very good. 3:-Infosys values:- Values are beliefs or convictions that guide behavior, Support the overall organizational vision. Typical values in Infosys include:- Exceeding customer needs, engagement, and innovation. 4:-Infosys compensation system is good. LITERATURE REVIEW WELL-BEING AND TRUST IN WORKPLACE:-The research on well-being and trust in workplace is done by John F Helliwell and Huang:-They say that they were the first to know of to provide Income -equivalent values for workplace trust. The estimated values of trust in the workplaces are very large, and remain so even when we make a number of adjustments designed to remove risks of over-estimation. Our workplace trust results are independently estimated from two Canadian and one US survey using different samples and different question wordings. That all three surveys should show such consistently large effects convinces us of the robustness of our results. In this paper we have built on Subsequent extensions by Helliwell, Huang and Putnam (2009). 2:-TRUST IN WORKPLACE:-Research is done by Robert W Rogers President, DDI. And by Sheryl Riddle Sr. Vice president consulting services DDI. In their research they said that trust plays an important role in the organization. According to them Leaders can foster high levels of trust among teams by encouraging team members to follow six fundamental steps: Maintain one anothers self-esteem. Support and praise one another. Keep sensitive information confidential. Stand up for one another. Avoid gossip or unfair criticism of others. Appreciate one anothers skills and differences. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:-Two types of data are used:- Secondary Data:-Secondary data is taken from books, magazines, internet, research work, journals. Primary Data:- Primary data is collected from Infosys campus at Bangalore. QUESTIONER:- 1-What is your company do for building trust in workplace? Ans-The company vision is clear. The goals set by top management are attainable and Infosys does not ignore the role of individual in the achievement of companies goal. 2-What did the company do for quality in workplace? Ans- A company follow the best software engineering practices. Infosys is CMMI-5 certified. 3-Why do the company use visual studio team system? Ans-The Company use visual studio team system because it will increase exponentially over the next few years. We expect to grow this area to over 25000 developers. 4:-What did Infosys do for creating employment? Ans: The Company currently trains 4,500 new recruits every 14 weeks, at its own training campus in Mysore. The average age of the companys employees is 25 years. 5:- What did the company do for society? Ans:-1. Conducting rehabilitation camps at tribal areas, drought hit areas. 2. Construction of hospitals. 3. Rehabilitation of mentally retarded through other local organization. DATA ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION:- From the above data we comes to a conclusion that quality and trust in workplace are very important factors because if the workers have no trust in organization they do not work properly for the achievement of the organizational goals. The organization should work in order to assure high quality of management and leadership in all parts of the organization. For better quality organizational missions, policies, strategies must be clear. Everyone regards himself/herself as owner of their personal objectives and open communication must be there in an organization so that everyone shares their views about the organizational goals. BIBLIOGRAPHY:- Well being and trust in workplace:- www.nber.org/papers/w14589 About the Infosys company www.Infosys.com Monograph:-Trust in workplace By Robert W Rogers, President, DDI And Sheryl Riddle, Sr. vice President consulting services DDI. Building trust in workplace:- www.Melcrum.com

the rate of reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid Es

I am going to investigate the rate of reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. I will look at the various factors affecting the reaction and select one variable to change, while the others keep constant in order to carry out a deta... Investigating Rate of Reaction Aim I am going to investigate the rate of reaction between calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. I will look at the various factors affecting the reaction and select one variable to change, while the others keep constant in order to carry out a detailed investigation. Formulae ======== The formula for the chemical reaction is: ========================================= CaCO3(s) + 2HCC(l) CaCl2 (aq) + H2O(l) + CO2 ============================================ I can measure the rate of reaction between the two substances using this formula. Rate of Reaction = Change in Concentration ------------------------------------------ Time Taken for Reaction A chemical reaction is the name given to a substance when it changes and becomes a completely new substance. It is difficult to reverse. It happens when particles make effective collisions with sufficient energy. Apparatus ========= Spatula ------- Conical Flask ------------- Burette Stand + Clamps Measuring Cylinder Safety Goggles Beaker Thermometer Stopwatch Kettle + water Small Funnel Delivery Tube + Bung I have chosen to use a measuring cylinder to make my experiment as accurate as I possibly can. I will be wearing the provided safety goggles at all times to protect my eyes, as hydrochloric acid is an irritant that may prove dangerous if it makes contact with the eyes. Theory The following theories will help me decide which variable I will change in my experiment to investigate the rate of reaction using calcium carbonate and hydrochloric acid. Temperature - Collision Theory ============================== The diagram shows particles that are not moving quickly. This means that the chance of these particles colliding and causing a chemical reaction is rather low. The temperature is obviously low too, as the particles have little energy to move quickly. However, if heat were added, the particles would have more energy and move quicker and have a better chance of colliding. This diagram shows particles that are moving quickly. This means... ...respond with my prediction and back it up. As the temperature increases, so does the rate of reaction. If I were to repeat the experiment again, I would work under strict environment, such as in a closed room with no winds or temperature changes. I would also try and use more accurate ways of reading the temperature and keeping the temperature constant, such as by using a water bath. Doing this would possibly make my results even more accurate. I would also try and make my timing even stricter, possibly using a smaller time interval such as 10 seconds instead of 15, to get slightly more accurate results. I may also use a larger range of acids. I only tried the 1 molar acid, but if I were to repeat the experiment again, I would perhaps use 3 and 4 molar acids and test them under high temperatures. I would like to investigate in future the effect of catalysts and surface area on the rate of reaction, to be more conclusive on the subject and widen my knowledge. All in all, my experiment was a success. Everything went well, and I believe that the techniques and methods I used were accurate and sufficient enough to provide me with a sound set of conclusive results.

Know It Alls :: essays research papers

Know It All’s Just because a person thinks they know it all, doesn’t mean they can teach. In America, the land of the free, gives this privilege every year to many people. They get their Masters or even a PHD degree in college and think they can mold the minds of others. This is such a farce. The degree may give you the right to become a teacher or even a doctor, but it does not mean you will be a good one. Teaching comes from the heart. If you absolutely love what you are doing it will show in class. It will show in the faces of the students. It will show with the in class discussions with the students. And finally, it will show in the test scores from the class. How the class is doing, in the subject, reflects totally on the teacher. If the whole class is failing, then the teacher has failed as well. So couldn’t we say that this kind of teacher has fallen through the cracks? Like so many illiterate people who get all the way through the twelfth grade and still don’t know how to read. People learn in different ways. We are all different. Just because I know how to play the piano, doesn’t mean that the student next to me in class can play the piano as well, and I do not expect it. We all have different levels of talent and different levels of ability to learn. Some people just get it and everything comes easy. Some people struggle with some things and some with everything. This is where the teacher has to adjust their teaching skills to fit these needs. Everyone can not be taught the same way. I had this experience in college with the worst teacher that taught Microeconomics and a Psychology class. Yes I was slammed twice. He introduced himself and bragged for an hour and a half about his vast degrees and his experience in Vietnam and all the places he had seen and basically things I did not need to know. After listening to him I felt like I was in shell shock. I kept asking myself, â€Å"What does this have to do with this class?† He would jump from one subject to another and go off on a tangent. And of course we were all expected to read his mind. He would start a sentence and expect you to finish it.

Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee Essay -- Literary Analysis

Report on the Novel: DISGRACE by J. M. Coetzee For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well. On Thursday afternoons he drives to Green Point. Punctually at two pm. He presses the buzzer at the entrance to Windsor Mansions, speaks his name, and enters. Waiting for him at the door of No. 113 is Soraya. This weekly rendezvous with a prostitute is the closet thing to a personal and intimate relationship Professor David Lurie has. J. M. Coetzee' novel, "Disgrace," takes place in post-apartheid South Africa. The times swing chaotically in the great upheaval as South Africa's political power arm swings from a white ruling minority, to black majority rule. The power shift is anything but smooth; victims become victors and, likewise, oppressors become the oppressed. As the story opens, Croetzee's main character , David Lurie lives in Cape Town, South Africa, as a respected university professor. He lives a life of sexually fulfilled non-commitment relationships, misusing his authority and good standing in the community to fulfilling his sexual desires, with or without the permission of the women, he targets for seduction. He was born and raised as a member of the white minority, that ruled South Africa for decades during the apartheid era. He has not tempered his apartheid attitude, nor, changed his ways to adjust to the new South African post-apartheid era. He acts on his sexual desires and deems he answers to no man for what he does. Thus far, David Lurie's role in life has seen only a fleeting few personal relationships that were not lasting for any length of time. He has solely existed to pursue sex without any conscience regard, evening seducing yo... ...o Petrus, and agrees Petrus can publicly claim her as one of his wives. Lucy tells Lurie, the young rapist has returned, and he is Petrus' brother-in-law. Soon they both agree the young rapist is mentally retarded. As the book come to the last page – Lurie is at the shelter, and with tears in his eyes – he is carrying a dog he has formed an attachment to be put to sleep. SOURCES, other than the novel: â€Å"DISGRACE.† Ruman, Md. Abdul Karim Ruman. "Is Disgrace Justified?: Psychological, Ethical and Political Significance of the Title in J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace." web: http://www.articlesbase.com/literature-articles/is-disgrace-justified-psychological-ethical-and-political-significance-of-the-title-in-jm-coetzees-disgrace-2599298.html. Posted: Jun 10, 2010 wikipedia: web page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_(South_Africa)

Discipline and the Effects on the Unit

Discipline and the effects on the unit Accountabilities is one of the fundamental of the military. It only brings personal responsibility but it also shows organization of a unit. There are many reasons why being on time is important. The US Army depends solely on its soldiers, enlisted. Warrant officers, and commissioned officers alike. The military would not be anything without the soldiers. When soldiers aren’t there to perform there duties or they are late then the unit looses efficiency. Time management is a very large part of success, military or civilian. Many people could improve there lives drasticly if they knew how to manage the time properly. Setting priorities is a very important step in time management. If your priorities aren’t set in order then you won’t get the important things done in a timely manner. People often go over there time limits because they are optimistic. Discipline we are taught early in our military careers that shaving is an important part of our daily routine. The routine itself promotes a sense of regularity and discipline. By being assigned a task that we are to perform daily, we assume a pattern of living comparable with many other (and often larger) tasks given to us. When a part of our job considered to be mandatory becomes a task performed out of second nature, we begin to perform all duties in a similar fashion. If you can shave every morning without having to be reminded or told, you may find that it comes just as naturally to take out the trash, write a monthly counseling statement, or maintain your weapon. Discipline and respect are important in life as well as in the army. Respect is one of the army’s seven values. The seven army values are loyalty, respect, duty, honor, selfless service, integrity, and personal courage. While respect is one of the army values, discipline is needed for all of them. You must have discipline in yourself in order to have selfless service, to do your duty, to have personal courage, as well as loyalty, and honor. And it takes a discipline to respect. The definition of discipline is 1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline. 2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer. . punishment inflicted by way of correction and training. 4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc. : the harsh discipline of poverty. 5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army. 6. a set or system of rules and regulations. 7. Ecclesiastical . the system of governme nt regulating the practice of a church as distinguished from its doctrine. 8. an instrument of punishment, esp. a whip or scourge, used in the practice of self-mortification or as an instrument of chastisement in certain religious communities. . a branch of instruction or learning: the disciplines of history and economics. Basically discipline is what is needed in order for order and control to be maintained. The definition of respect is 1. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem. See synonyms at regard. 2. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem. 3. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation. 4. respects Polite expressions of consideration or deference: pay one's respects. 5. A particular aspect, feature, or detail. A lot of people who enlist in the Army do not understand the importance of the step they make. They do not understand that civilian life with its rules, the life they used to live is left behind. Beginning basic training they learn the new discipline, the Army discipline, and not everybody is able to comprehend its importance. Discipline in the Army is important because of the stakes involved. In civilian world a lack of discipline may case some discomfort or may be some problems with the law.. In the Army poor discipline could result in the unnecessary loss of soldiers’ lives – a cost too you much to pay. As a discipline soldier you place the unit’s mission above your personal welfare. It simply means the understanding your task and obeying orders promptly because your fellow soldiers and leaders depend on you to do so. The purpose of discipline is to make soldiers to be well trained so that they carry out orders quickly and intelligently under the most difficult conditions. Insistence of performing tasks properly enhance military discipline. For example, ensuring soldiers wear their uniforms properly, following orders, march well or repeat tasks until they do them correctly are part of military discipline. This no harassment or punishment. Proper and prompt execution of orders will save lives in combat. This is no way means you should not exercise initiative to solve a problem or to ensure the job gets done. American soldiers have a long tradition of displaying initiative and discipline soldiers focus their efforts toward the success of the team. Discipline in routine things like saluting , police calls and physical training leads to discipline in the difficult things like advancing under fire, disposing of unexploded ordnance, and safeguarding enemy prisoners of war. That is why the Army insists on training to standards. It starts with self-discipline but grows with pride in the unit. In the film saving private ryan a soldier lost his discipline for the mission at hand at the sight of a frightened child and the result for his loss of discipline caused him to also lose focus on his surroundings and was shot by a nazi sniper hiding out in a tower just down the street, also in the same film a young corpral was takin out of his comfort zone as a writer to perform the mission of retrieving private ryan. During the mission they came across an open area guarded by to machine guns and in the success of bringing bringing down the gunman was torn in a moral delima to let the German soldier live and later on it came back around on him as that same German soldier led a squad to the same location that they traveled to and killed many of the men in the operation two of which were in a building laying down suppressive fire while the corpral was bringing them ammo because of the corpral lack of discipline he coward down and hid while the German soldier killed the two men in the building. Another military film that shows lack of discipline is Jarhead in this film the one scene that stands out the most in my mind is where the main character talks another fellow soldier into taking his guard shift so he could drink with his buddys that night and the result from the carless actions was a trailor caught fire and a bunch of fireworks and flares were set off and possibly gave away there position, the sitiuation could have been a lot worse then what it was. With the examples used from those two films it shows that with the lack of discipline the effect on the unit can be dangerous and life threatning, just like a chain it only works properlly if every link does its job, if one gets in trouble we all get in trouble, one broken link and the whole chain is no good Do to my irresponsibility and lack of discipline to wake up and be at the gym at 0530 like normal I decided to sleep in and then was late to the 0630 PT formation which caused PFC Bucini to run around through out the entire hanger and out to the barracks in order to locate me and also me being late not just looks bad on me but it also looks bad on the platoon and the company. I made it look bad on my Platoon Seargeat ( SFC Duffy) in front of the other platoons of not knowing where his soldiers are and to the First Seargeant. To understand how standards and discipline are related, you have to start with the basic premise of how we grow sergeants in the army. This is a three step p rocess. Step one; establish a standard. Army regulation 670-1, wear of the uniform, is a stadard that tells us how to wear the uniform, items on the uniform and all the accessories. It guides our unifor in the field. The items we wear on the uniform or carry with us is a standard usually IAW a unit SOP. The PMCS we perform on our hummv in the motor pool is done to outlined in the operators manual. A patrol of soldiers coming off mission in Baghdad, Iraq clear their weapons upon entering their base camp IAW the standard published in the weapons handling procedures developed by the safety center. Now with an understanding of standards, step two is put someone in charge of enforcing the standards. This is where the sergeant is now responsible for his or her piece of the army, those three or four soldiers. It is the sergeant who conducts daily inspections of soldiers uniforms. It is the sergeant who conducts pre-conduct checks (pcc) of his or her soldiers arms and equipment before going out on patrol. It is the sergeant who supervises the PMCS of the HUMMV during maintenance periods, and it is the sergent who over-watches the soldiers coming off patrol to ensure all have cleared their weapons to standard. Step three in growing our leaders is to hold the sergeant accountable. This is where the more senior leaders above the sergeant have their resopnsibility. To see what is being done to standard, senior leaders have to inspect. A soldier on patrol missing a piece of equipment means it was missed during PCCs by the sergeant and obviously missed by a more senior leader during the pre-combat inspection (PCI). This same analogy extends to every standard we set for our units and our sergeants to enforce. So for the more senior leaders above the sergeant you must always remember your role in growing sergeants. Lead by example by demonstrating the standard in all that you do. This leading by example empowers the sergeant to enforce standards on their small piece of the army. We have always said when a more senior leader demonstrates a lesser standard; this demonstration now becomes the new standard. The demonstration of a lesser standard goes far deeper than just setting a new standard, it circumvents the authority of the sergeant. I have learned that the two basic building blocks for a sergeant to establish his or her authority and establish discipline in the organization begin with basic uniform and saluting standards. Enforcing basic standards and holding sergeants accountable for their soldiers is critical to developing these young leaders. In every case where a soldier has died because of an accident and the cause of death was negligence by sergeants to enforce standards and how these were enforced and the discipline within the organization. In every case where the sergeant stops enforcing fundamental standards and senior leaders do not hold him accountable, the enforcement of standards in other areas begins to slip. Short cuts in performing PMCS begin to become routine, soldiers stop wearing seatbelts, PCCs are not performed in detail, complacency begins to set in and sergeants stop making on the spot corrections. The importance of the squad and platoon leadership in establishing standards and holding sergeants accountable is critical to the performance of the organization when you walk into an organization as an outsider and you see everyone in the same uniform, vehicle load plans are organized, basic fundamental drills are performed aas routine, you learn a lot about the units discipline. You know as an outsider that standards are established, everyone knows the standard, and there is a leader in charge. The bottom line , be the standard, know the standard, and enforce the standard. The army is an old institution. In this country it dates back to the washingtons time in 1775-76 when the Revolutionary war took place to proclaim our freedom from the British. One particular thing which washingtons army had in common with our modern army today is discipline. This is very important in order to keep ou forces organized. A well disciplined army will always come out the victor in battle. Take a look at musolini’s army in italy in the last war. When the going got tough, their troops got disorganized, failed to obey orders, and finally decided it was time to surrender. And so it happened with Hitler’s Third Reich. His troops got disorganized from the lack of proper discipline and as the proverb goes, â€Å"united we stand, divided we fall†. The Third Reich fell. Our american army is a well organized fighting force and always will be, with the proper kind of discipline which we have now. The officers in charge of each army, corps, division, regiment, down to the platoon and squad are all experienced , level headed men and women, whose job it is to keep the men and women under them disciplined as well as informed as to what is goin on and thereby gaining the men’s and womens cooperation. From the five star general down to the lowly private, it is his duty to see that whatever his job is, it will be done properly. With such a fighting force, how can we lose? Remember â€Å"united we stand, devided we fall†. We shall not fall. With so many distractions around you, what does it take to stay focused on your goal and keep going until you succeed? The answer is, self discipline. Self discipline, absolutely must be developed in order to succeed. Self discipline is the ability to force yourself to do something you know you should do, whether you feel like it or not. Whilst you may not have a global corporation or a country to run (and so can probably get away with a few extra hours in bed! ) the point is, successful people dislike the same things you dislike but discipline themselves to do it anyway. Why do we do things we dislike? Because we know that is the price to pay for success. This is why self discipline is so important in achieving success. Self discipline means overcoming your natural urge to do what is fun, easy and quick. Self discipline takes time to develop, but just like any other skill the more you practice using self discipline the stronger it will become. Every act of self discipline you practice will strengthen your level of self discipline. Over time it will also strengthen your character, confidence and self esteem. If you can force yourself to do what you should do, whether you feel like it or not, your success is virtually guaranteed. Now that you are aware of what it takes to be successful, is success what you truly want? Or are you happier living the lif you currently live? Because if you want success, you can have it, anyone can. Just like in a shop you must first decide what you want, pay the price and it will be yours. â€Å"discipline is the soul of the army, it makes small numbers formidable procures success to the weak, and esteem to all† –George Washington. Among the many issues facing us, discipline proved critical in understanding what went wrong in Somalia. Much of the problem of the CAR as a unit, most of the incidents that occurred during the preparation stage in Canada, and the many troubling incidents involving Canadian soldiers in Somalia all have a common origin – a lack of discipline. For the ordinary citizen who has little exposure to the military, discipline is understood to be the cornerstone of armies, the characteristic that one would have expected to be much in evidence in an armed force as renowned for its professionalism as the Canadian forces. It was the difference between this public expectation and the actual events of the Somalia mission that captured the attention of Canadians and contributed to the call for this inquiry. For example, there were 20 incidents of accidental or negligent discharge of a personal weapon and two incidents of accidental or negligent discharge of crew served weapons in theatre. One caused an injury and another killed a Canadian forces soldier. The board of inquiry into the leadership, discipline, operations, actions, and procedures of the Canadian airborne regiment battle group remarked that these accidental discharges occurred â€Å"to an unacceptable degree†. These incidents call into question the standard of self discipline in the Canadian contingent. Few professions are as dependent on discipline as the military. An army is best seen as a collection of individuals who must set aside their personal interests, concerns, and fears to pursue the purpose of the group collectively. The marshalling of individual wills and talents into a single entity enables an army to face daunting challenges and great adversity and therefore to achieve objectives unattainable except through concerted effort. The instrument by which this is accomplished is discipline. The chief purpose of military discipline is the harnessing of the capacity of the individual to the needs of the group. The sense of cohesion that comes from combining the individual wills of the group members provides unity of purpose. The group that achieves such cohesiveness is truly a unit. Effective discipline is a critical factor at all levels of the military, and nowhere more so than at the unit level. However discipline plays a vital role at all levels within the military. Too frequently armies treat discipline as a concern regarding the lower levels: a matter to be attended to primarily by non commissioned officers at the unit level and below. But discipline is important for the proper functioning of the chain of command throughout the military. Undisciplined staff officers of commanders who hold themselves above the rigours of discipline can do far more harm to the collective effort of the military than any soldier in the rankes. We have determined that the CAR displayed definite signs of poor discipline in the early 1990s in spite of the remedies recommended in the 1985 Hewson report examining disciplinary infractions and anti social behavior. A number of factors contributed to the disciplinary problems in the CAR, specifically in two commando, prior to deployment, including periodic lack of commitment on the part of the CAR’s parent regiments to ensure that their best members ere sent to the CAR; the inferior quality of some junior officers and NCOs; doubtful practices in two commando in the recruitment of NCOs; the ambiguous relationship between master corporals and soldiers; the high turnover rate within the CA R and the sub units; mutual distrust and dislike among a significant number of the CARs officers and NCOs; questionable suitability of individual officers for the CAR and the ranks they occupied; a tendency to downplay the significance of disciplinary infractions or to cover them up entirely; and the continuing ability of CAR members to evade responsibility for disciplinary infractions. The CAR was simply unfit to undertake a mission in the autumn of 1992, let alone a deployment to Somalia. The three incidents of October 2 and 3, 1992, indicated a significant breakdown of discipline in 2 commando during the critical period of training and preparation for operations in Somalia. Military pyrotechnics were discharged illegally at a party in alognquin park. The illegal possession of these pyrotechnics was the result of theft from DND and the making of false statements. A search conducted on the soldiers’ premises uncovered ammunition stolen from DND, as well as 34 Confederate flags. These incidents were so serious that LCOL morneault proposed to leave 2 Commando in Canada unless the perpetrators came forward. BGEN Beno, after consulting MGEN MacKenzie, opposed this plan. Almost everyone suspected of participating in the October incidents was permitted to deploy. Several of these individuals created difficulties in Somalia. In spite of established doctrine, practice, and procedures, there were problems at the senior levels of the chain of command in providing adequate supervision, resulting in poor discipline, fualty passage of information, untimely reaction through advice or intervention, and ineffective remedial action. Such problems appear to have been so frequent as to indicate a significant systemic failure in the exercise of command. In short, the attitude of all ranks toward the importance of good discipline, from junior soldiers to the most senior commanders in the Canadian forces, was decidedly weak. When there is insufficient respect for and attention to the need for discipline as a first principle, military operations can be expected to fail. And in respect of discipline, the mission to Somalia was undoubtedly a failure. The fact is that , at the time of the Somalia mission, discipline was simply taken for granted. It seems to have been assumed that trained soldiers in a professional military would naturally be well disciplined. The matter was tracked and reported on indifferently and inconsistently, with no central co-ordination or sharp focus at the highest levels. Above all, discipline was the subject of inadequate attention, supervision, guidance, enforcement, or remedy by the senior levels of the chain of command; it was, shockingly, simply ignored or downplayed. In facing the future, the first requirement is to take steps to recognize the importance of discipline and the role it must play as a matter of fundamental policy. Discipline requires not only policy definition and emphasis in doctrine, training and education, but also a prominent and visible focus in the interests and concerns of the most senior leadership. Under the UCMJ, the noncommissioned officer (NCO) does not have the same authority as the commissioned officer. Principally, NCOs do not have authority to punish personnel under their supervision. Punishment is administered only through the use of article 15 or courts-martial. Since NCOs punitive authority, what actions can they take to ensure discipline among their people? These questions will be answered as we consider the need for discipline in the military. I will focus on the NCOs role in dealing with discipline problems. If preventive techniques fail, NCOs should be aware of methods available to them for correcting subordinates when their behavior impairs mission accomplishment. Indeed the NCO plays an important role in influencing punishment when it is necessary in achieving mission readiness. Discipline can best be defined as â€Å"a state of training, resulting in orderly conduct. † This state of training must be achieved and maintained during peacetime so that our forces will be prepared for war time contingencies. It is too late to prepare for war once war has started, which is sometimes a difficult concept for lesser experienced NCOs to accept. often the feeling is, we are a technical force; technicians do not need to same state of disciplined readiness as combat soldiers. This feeling perhaps fosters a false assumption that air force members will not be expected to fight during wartime; instead, we will maintain a support role (i. e. , aircraft maintenance, supply, personnel, etc). the questions then become â€Å"is it necessary for air force people to maintain a high state of readiness? Is it really necessary to be disciplined for war? These questions must be answered by all NCOs who are ultimately responsible for achieving success in peacetime readiness as well as in actual warfare. History shows us that we cannot leave this state of readiness to pure chance; we must prepare for any emergency. Discipline, of course, is vital. Rudyard kipling recognized this need for discipline when he had one of his tommy atkinses explain: We was rotten ‘for we started- we was never disciplined; we made it out a favor- if an order was obeyed. Yes every little drummer ad is rights and wrongs to mind, so we had to par for teaching- and we paid! General George patton, a strong disciplinarian who was equally as adamant about preparedness, told his commanders if they did not enforce and maintain perfect discipline, they were potential murders. He went on to say â€Å"that is a blunt way of putting it, but war is blunt, and war is what we must all prepare for. † General Robert E. Lee, one of the greatest military leaders of all time, was equally firm when it came to discipline. He wanted his soldiers to understand that, in addition to efficiency, discipline guaranteed a soldiers safety; that if his forces did not prepare themselves for war when they had a chance they would pay dearly. The Air Force, recognizing the need for discipline, published AFR 30-1 air force standards, in which four types of discipline are identified: task, group, imposed, and self. Task discipline is defined as how well we meet the challenges of the job. First, we must recognize that the job is important, and how well we perform will influence the effectiveness of our work section and our unit. Task discipline requires a strong sense of responsibility in performing our jobs to the best of our abilities, volunteering for the tough jobs, and working overtime, if necessary, to accomplish our mission as it relates to the air force mission. Group discipline means teamwork. Since most air force jobs require that several people work effectively as a team, group discipline is very important. Just as we must have a sense of responsibility to our job, we should also have a sense of group responsibility and effective team membership. We must pull our own weight and at times we may have to deny some personal preferences for the good of our work section, unit, or group. Imposed discipline is known as enforced obedience to legal orders and regulations. It is absolutely essential in combat or in emergencies when there is no time to explain or discuss an order. Most air force training teaches us to carry out orders quickly and efficiently. During peacetime, a continuation of this type of discipline provides the structure and good order necessary throughout the organization to accomplish the mission or task, regardless of the situation. Self discipline is a willing and instinctive sense of responsibility that leads us to do whatever needs to be done. Getting to work on time, knowing all aspects of the job, setting priorities, and denying some personal preferences for more important values or duties are all measures of self discipline. Far above our acceptance of imposed discipline, self discipline reflects our personal commitment and sense of duty. Often we emphasize one type of discipline at the expense of another. For instance, we allow ourselves to become so task disciplined that we fail to recognize the necessity for discipline of other types. The ultimate solution for the NCO is to create an environment where the necessity for imposed discipline is minimized or eliminated, but this is not always possible. Therefore, we must understand how to impose discipline when it is clearly indicated. Three general approaches can be taken in dealing with discipline: the preventive approach, the corrective approach, and the punitive approach. Initial consideration should be given to the preventive approach because it is logically first and is positive and constructive in its development. The preventive approach includes understanding human behavior, using good management and leadership techniques, setting the examples, and enforcing the standards. These are not all inclusive; however, they represent the majority of preventive techniques to discipline problems. There are numerous lessons in dealing with preventive techniques, and most of our NCOs fully understand these techniques for preventing discipline problems. Organizations usually have a few people who do not respond well to preventive techniques, which leads us to the next approach in dealing with discipline problems: correcting the individual who has not responded to preventive techniques. The NCO supervisor is limited in his use of preventive and corrective approaches, since only officer commanders can use the punitive approach. This fact alone creates the undeniable necessity for NCOs to understand and employ fully the corrective actions available to them. The first action available to NCOs for correcting individuals who have not responded to preventive techniques is the verbal reprimand. Verbal reprimands should be given only for performance or conduct and should never leave an individual feeling personally attacked. In other words, individuals should be reprimanded for unacceptable behavior not personality. A memorandum for record should be kept to be used for later action, if necessary. The second corrective action is the documented counseling. The documented counseling does not have to follow any prescribed format; in fact, most major air commands have their own forms. Individuals reviewing subsequent case files will have a better understanding of the situation if they include the following items: a statement of the problem, a discussion of the problem, and personal observations. This documented counseling should be filed in a general correspondence folder, marked specifically with the action included in the folder (i. e. , disciplinary action). The third corrective action NCOs can take is the letter of admonishment/reprimand. Administrative reprimands and admonitions are management tools available to commanders, supervisors, and other superiors to instruct and reprove subordinates for departing from acceptable norms of performance, conduct, or bearing. There is no prescribed format for writing this letter. A reprimand is more severe than an admonition and carries a strong implication of official censure. The letter of admonition should be written when no unfavorable information file is necessary, although either the letter of admonition or reprimand can be placed in the individuals uif. The letter of admonition may also be filed in the same manner as the documented counseling. However, since the letter of reprimand is more severe than a letter of admonition, it should be forwarded through the individuals uif. Supervisors can write a letter of reprimand, but only commanders can forward it to the cbpo for placement in the uif. The last and final action is administrative discharge action under the provisions of AFR 39-10 or AFM 39-12. These procedures are too complex to address in this article. However, it should be pointed out that if all the preceding preventive, corrective, and punitive actions have not disciplined the individual, then discharge is the next step.