Wednesday, December 25, 2019
Customer Support Of Live Chat Software - 1726 Words
Satisfying your customers is the number one goal. Thatââ¬â¢s why, a wave of businesses are investing in live chat software as a customer support option. Research tells us that ââ¬Å"live chat has the highest satisfaction levels for any customer service channel, with 73%, compared with 61% for email and 44% for phone.â⬠But live chat is more than just a customer support tool. One-on-one communication with customers opens the doors to learning more about consumer behavior. Live engagement can uncover product mishaps and branding opportunities. Gain more from your live chat software. Here are six ways to move your team beyond customer support: 1. Increase Sales On average, 67% of shoppers abandon their online shopping carts. And most leave due to checkout process confusion, lack of product information, or unanswered questions about payment options and shipping costs. Live chat changes this paradigm by offering immediate assistance to ââ¬Å"saveâ⬠lost sales. Marketing professional Lior Levin agrees that chat agents make an impact when they walk shoppers through the sales process. Levin says, ââ¬Å"This helps eliminate bounces away from retail websites and ensure that full shopping carts make it through check out.â⬠Moreover, savvy live chat reps can answer the customerââ¬â¢s initial inquiry and spot opportunities to help the individual with product offerings. Shoppers are more likely to buy when informed. In the example below, agent Adam responds to Jayeââ¬â¢s product question. Then, Adam offersShow MoreRelatedReasons Why You Should Opt Norton Chat Support : Quick Support872 Words à |à 4 PagesReasons Why You Should Opt Norton Chat Support| Quick Support on 1-800-445-2810 Toll Free Viruses are the threats, which are downloaded because of extreme utilization of internet. These are consequently downloaded with different files. These are executable file which when run once can duplicate it into a few times and can harm you computer and annihilate all data saved money on your computer. These are likewise helping hackers to take data and critical data from your computer. If you need to keepRead MoreErp Systems973 Words à |à 4 Pagesthat can serve all of the enterpriseââ¬â¢s needs while SCM software focuses on planning, optimization and decision-making processes in segments of the supply chain. ERP is also a cost saving application as it can be leased (in our case NDI took it from Intuitive Manufacturing systems). The ease of ERP implementation and use is also very important in comparison with SCM. 2. Identify the supply chain segments that the ERP supports. ERP supports inventory management that helped to double inventoryRead MoreSpeech Recognition : A Gift Of The Advancement981 Words à |à 4 Pagesin the modern world. Through this technology, you can easily dictate your thoughts anywhere, by just speaking. The voice to text translation software will convert the voice, acoustic signals into the text message, thus offer the facility and reliability to the person using it. The person using voice to text translation feature has to just speak and the software will catch the sound and enter it as text on the computer. This will help people in giving instructions or writing the text at a faster rateRead MoreCase Study : Open Source Crm Systems1313 Words à |à 6 PagesPart A 1. You are the CIO of a small company with a rapidly growing customer base. Which CRM system would you use: on-premise CRM system, on-demand CRM system, or open-source CRM system? Remember that open-source CRM systems may be implemented either on-premise or on-demand. Discuss the pros and cons of each type of CRM system for your business (10 points) - On-premise CRM systems is when a company buys a system from a vendor and then installs them. This is expensive, time consuming, and inflexibleRead MoreTechnology Hsbc Case Study977 Words à |à 4 PagesTechnology-HSBC Case Study March 10, 2012 Professor Shaw Argosy University How has the company chosen to improve its knowledge of customers and therefore its decision making? Analyze the management, organization, and technology dimensions of the solution. HSBC, as with other banks, took advantage of many poor consumers looking to own their own home. These consumers had low credit scores, are in default or have low income, which means there was a higher probability of them not paying backRead MoreThe Importance Of Smarter Service Technology897 Words à |à 4 Pagestheir consumers want with smarter service. YTech is at the forefront of customer service technology, including robotic automation and virtual agents. We work with consumer brands around the world to deliver intelligent experiences that keep customers coming back. In todayââ¬â¢s world where our everyday actions are greatly impacted by technology, we deliver software that helps drive consumer insights; customer interfaces, supports your brand promise and enables the launch and implementation of new productsRead MoreDesigning A Specific Type Of Ecommerce Website Essay1580 Words à |à 7 Pagesthe easy and cost-effective automation of many customers Who donââ¬â¢t have time to Shop/Purchase and also donââ¬â¢t want to buy online so this application is helpful for such users etc. 1.4 SCOPE OF WORK :- The scope of this solution is any person who is involved in Sales, Purchase, Searching Shops and Saloons according to users locations and maintaining sellers , rent sellers ,saloons information . It also provides reminders for appointment to customers of saloons. 1.6 COMPARISONS WITH EXISTING SYSTEMRead MoreProposal for Google Apps for Business1633 Words à |à 7 Pages------------------------------------------------- Overview Friends for Africa, a non-governmental organization (NGO) with its operational base in Nigeria is looking for and end-to-end email system with collaboration capabilities. It evaluated other services including Microsoft Office Live 365, but finally settled with Google Apps. Successful implementation of Google Apps is expected to increase Friends for Africaââ¬â¢s staff productivity. ------------------------------------------------- Business Opportunity Friends for Africa isRead MoreWhatà ´s Marketing Automation Essay886 Words à |à 4 Pagesmessage or offering deals that are tailored to what your customers need is the key to an effective marketing. Knowing a customer or potential customer one by one can be tricky and tedious, good thing there are software to do that for you. The ability to customize email and send it to different versions to different subscribers is a great marketing tool. This is called dynamic content and it is usually available for enterprise-class email software. Beyond the dynamic content is the core of marketingRead MoreMicrosoft Corporation : The World s Biggest Software Company1596 Words à |à 7 PagesCorporation is the worldââ¬â¢s biggest software company, best known for Disk Operating System, Windows Operating System, and software such as Office. The name ââ¬Å"Microsoftâ⬠comes from the combination of microcomputer and software. It was founded by childhood friends, Bill Gates and Paul Allen. It all started after they converted BASIC, a popular computer programming language, for use on an early personal computer, the Altair. This inspired them to start their own software company. Their first successful operating
Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Performance Appraisal And Compensation Evaluation
Introduction My topic is performance appraisal and compensation. This topic is something that we often deal with where I work and there are huge inconsistencies throughout the department. It is also something that I am very passionate about. Managers have a tendency to evenly distribute compensation, just to keep everyone on the same level. My purpose through this paper is to argue that employees deserve to be judged ethically and consistently . They should be recognized, and encouraged through performance appraisals to show that their work is appreciated. Body At work ethics are a part of almost everything we do, this is especially true of performance evaluations. It is very important to approach performance evaluations in an ethical manner as to avoid letting personal or other irrelevant issues cloud the issues at hand. That being said there is more than one type of ethics that you can apply to performance evaluations. I will provide an overview of the types of ethics I will use and evaluate the ways in which the use of these ethics would be practical in relation to a performance evaluation. According to Gilbert (2012), ââ¬Å"Normative ethics prescribes what people should do.â⬠(p. 25) In other words normative ethics is black and white in that there is what is right and what is wrong and there is no grey area. The other form of ethics I will be using is called utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is, that the moral act is the act that provides the greatest amount of good to theShow MoreRelatedThe Role Of Performance Appraisals On Compensation Decisions1599 Words à |à 7 Pagesof Performance Appraisals in Compensation Decisions The rise in the competitiveness of the ever-changing business environment has caused organizations to search for strategic ways to obtain and sustain a competitive advantage. Human resource managers can create competitive advantage for an organization by implementing effective performance appraisal systems, which properly compensate and incentivize employees. Incentivizing and compensating employees through an effective performance appraisal systemRead MorePerformance Appraisals and Employee Performance1035 Words à |à 4 Pagesï » ¿Performance Appraisals and Employee Performance: Performance appraisals are constantly viewed as burdensome tasks that employers would like to avoid despite understanding the significance of evaluating the performance of employees. This consideration is further fueled in organizations and companies with minimal pay raises and bonuses as well as those with downsized compensations. Organizations that take similar initiatives to deal with current economic challenges also experience difficultiesRead MoreJob Evaluation for a Human Resource Manager738 Words à |à 3 PagesJob evaluation for a Human Resource Manager Job evaluation is a systematic approach used for defining the relative value or worth or size of job or duties and responsibilities in an organization in order to establish internal relativity and provide the base for designing an equitable grade structure, grading jobs in the structure and managing relativities. In this case study, I will evaluate the performance of a Human Resource Manager. A Human Resource Manager is the individuals who help inRead MorePerformance Management Systems And Compensation855 Words à |à 4 Pagesuse of expatriates for inbound and outbound assignments. As such, new ways of determining performance and compensation have been developed. Performance management systems are now commonplace in Indian organizations and MNCs operating in India. The most frequently used system is the Target Based Evaluation/MBO. Most organizations are now also linking performance to rewards. Compensation and compensation plans vary widely throughout India. However, expatriates cost generally three times more thanRead MorePerformance Appraisal Performance Of Individual, Groups And Organizations Essay1139 Words à |à 5 PagesIntroduction: Appraisal performance of individual, groups and organizations is something important for all organizations to succeed and achieve its objectives. Also it is used to evaluate the performance of the employees and monitor them to achieve the desired goal. Organizations usually apply performance appraisal to achieve certain objectives, and these objectives may be different from one organization to another also within the same organization from time to time. Performance appraisal being measuredRead MorePerformance Appraisal Performance Of Individual, Groups And Organizations1138 Words à |à 5 PagesAppraisal performance of individual, groups and organizations is something important for all organizations to succeed and achieve its objectives. Also it is used to evaluate the performance of the employees and monitor them to achieve the desired goal. Organizations usually apply performance appraisal to achieve certain objectives, and these objectives may be different from one organization to another also within the same organization from time to time. Performance appraisal being measured againstRead MoreCreating Your Dream Job873 Words à |à 4 Pagesas assigned. Product development, product improvement and product testing. Lab and Field performance testing. Project specific performance improvements. Customer correspondence for all field related performance issues. Lead retrofit implementation projects. Work with cooling tower manufacturers and other vendors on design improvements. Technical training for technicians and sales. Maintain equipment performance certifications. Create and update equipment technical documents. Field technical customerRead MoreRecommendation And Justification : Evaluation And Rationale882 Words à |à 4 Pagesassociation to recognize high and low performers, Microsoft doesn t need to utilize forced ra nking or constrained degrees to successfully separate appraisals and drive elite. Numerous organizations wrongly think stack positioning is the best way to oversee and prize brilliance. Here are some substitute steps we can bring to manage evaluation creep or random appraisals and low execution. Obviously different levels of execution give particular portrayals of the different levels of execution for specific skillsRead MoreThe Equal Pay Act Of 1963 Essay1500 Words à |à 6 Pagespay. Pay was specifically structured for each position. Some pay structures even had multiple options with contracts designated to improve loyalty. EPA of 1967 was passed to deter gender equality in pay. JetBlue utilize their value to evaluate performance for pay incentives and tailored each pay grades to the job detail. Civil Rights Act of 1866 was created to cease racial inequality. With values such as caring and integrity JetBlue has distinguish themselves as pioneer in diversity. The way theyRead MoreThe New Vice President Over Administrative Affairs At Sweetwater State University1409 Words à |à 6 PagesState University, Rob Winchester, has been tasked with ââ¬Å"improving and developing a new appraisal system used to evaluate secretarial and clerical performanceâ⬠at the university (Dessler, 2015, p. 287). Robââ¬â¢s initial memo to the administrators instructed that in the future, no more than fifty percent of the secretaries under each supervisor could receive a rating of ââ¬Å"excellentâ⬠on their annual performance appraisals. Immediately, this memo caused turmoil within the university with both the secretaries
Monday, December 9, 2019
Nightmare coming true free essay sample
True The house was filled with silence after a long day of people tracking their mess in and out of the house. I was sitting on the loveless as the door slowly crept open. My aunt slowly tiptoed in the door, quiet as a mouse to match my mom. As I walked down a pitch-black hallway, all I heard was my uncle saying, This could be the night. . I slowly walked down the pitch-black hallway that seemed four times as long as before. Tossing and turning that night, I tried to get some sleep.My room felt as if t was a long winter night, so dark I couldnt see my hand a foot in front of my face. I could hear the pitter patter of footsteps throughout the whole house. Suddenly the hallway light turned on as it made its way under my door. Just a second later my door flung open as fast as lighting! Hearing Jelly I think you need to come talk to your mom. We will write a custom essay sample on Nightmare coming true or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page in the sweetest voice. My stomach drops. All I could think was; this is the end.The time it took me to take the twenty steps to the living room, her body was already fillies. Asking myself over and over, What am I going to do? . I sat at her bedside holding her hand, hoping this was all Just a bad dream. Watching her leave the house for the last time was the worst gut-wrenching pain. I thought back to the time when she said, After I die, Im going home. . The feeling of never getting to hear her voice, laugh, or see her smile again was unbearable. Knowing this wasnt a dream, my worst nightmare came true.
Sunday, December 1, 2019
Visual Analysis Annunciation Essay Example
Visual Analysis Annunciation Essay Realism was an art movement dating from the early 1800s lasting through the 1900s and even beyond. During this time, artists responded to the previous art movement, Romanticism. While Romanticism presented figures to the world in an idealistic way, Realism broke the boundaries by presenting life as is, in its whole untouched form. The realists wanted to break away from the formal artistic styles and subjects of the past. To do this, they painted ordinary working class people as opposed to the heroic, biblical, or royal figures as in years past. Their ultimate goal was to capture the humility of everyday life (Scholastic Press.) Two paintings from this period represent the movement by portraying the Virgin Mary as a recognizable young woman encountering an awesome presence. Both pieces are entitled Annunciation. The Annunciation is the event from the Christian Bible where the Archangel Gabriel comes to Mary and announces she is going to bear the Son of God. This is a very famous event and has been painted numerous times in multiple art movements. In movements pre-dating Realism, the Annunciation was portrayed as a grand event. Mary had a halo and was dressed in royal blue robes looking frightened by the angel. She often looked like a heavenly figure, standing out from any of her surroundings. Gabriel was painted with grand glowing wings and rich robes, surrounded by cherubs. While that kind of depiction is elaborate and grand with detail and spectacle, the Realism-influenced paintings made the event serene and powerful in an emotional way. We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Analysis Annunciation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Analysis Annunciation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Visual Analysis Annunciation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Henry Tannerââ¬â¢s Annunciation portrays a young woman sitting on a bed just right of center. She looks Palestinian, with dark hair and eyes, dressed in rags. To the left is a large yellow-gold figure, blurred. The womanââ¬â¢s gaze is shifted towards the figure and slightly upward. She has her hands folded in the lap and slouches over and slightly back. Her toes stick out of the blanket on her lap. Behin
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
The 10 Most-Banned Classic Novels
The 10 Most-Banned Classic Novels Want to read a banned book? Youll have plenty of excellent novels to choose from. There have been many attempts throughout history to suppress or otherwise censor works of literature, even works that have gone on to becomeà classics. Authors such as George Orwell, William Faulkner, Ernest Hemingway, and Toni Morrison have all seen their works banned at one time or another. The list of banned books is massive, and the reasons for their exclusion varies, but books with sexual content, drug use, or violent imagery are banned most frequently, regardless of their literary value. Here are the top 10 most-banned classic works of fiction in the 20th century, according to the American Library Association, and a little bit about why each was considered controversial. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald Gatsby, Fitzgeralds Jazz Age classic is one of the most-banned books of all time. The tale of playboy Jay Gatsby and the target of his affection, Daisy Buchanan, was challenged as recently as 1987, by Baptist College in Charleston, S.C. because of language and sexual references in the book. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger The stream-of-consciousness story of Holden Caulfields coming of age has long been a controversial text for young readers. An Oklahoma teacher was fired for assigning Catcher to an 11th grade English class in 1960, and numerous school boards have banned it for its language (Holden goes on a lengthy rant about the F wordà at one point) and sexual content. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck John Steinbecks Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that tells the story of the migrant Joad family has been burned and banned for its language since its release in 1939. It was even banned for a time by Kern County, Calif., which is where the Joads end up because Kern County residents said it was obscene and libelous. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee This 1961 Pulitzer-Prize winning story of racism in the Deep South, told through the eyes of a young girl named Scout, has been banned mainly for its use of language, including the N word. A school district in Indiana challenged To Kill a Mockingbird in 1981, because it claimed the bookà represented institutionalized racism under the guise of good literature, according to the ALA. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker The novels graphic portrayals of rape, racism, violence against women, and sex have seen it banned by school boards and libraries since its release in 1982. Another winner of the Pulitzer Prize, The Color Purple was one of more than a dozen books challenged in Virginia in 2002 by a group calling themselves Parents Against Bad Books in Schools. Ulysses, by James Joyce The stream-of-consciousness epic novel, considered Joyces masterpiece, was initially banned for what critics viewed as its pornographic nature. In 1922, postal officials in New York seized and burned 500 copies of the novel. The matter ended up in court, where a judge ruled that Ulysses should be available, not just on the basis of free speech, but because he deemed it a book of originality and sincerity of treatment, and that it has not the effect of promoting lust. Beloved, by Toni Morrison The novel, which tells the story of the freed slave Sethe, has been challenged for its scenes of violence and sexual material. Toni Morrison won the Pulitzer Prize, in 1988 for this book, which continues to be challenged and banned. Most recently, a parent challenged the books inclusion on a high school English reading list, claiming that the sexual violence depicted in the book was too extreme for teenagers. As a result, the Virginia Department of Education created a policy requiring the review of sensitive content in reading materials.à The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding This tale of schoolboys stranded on a desert island is often banned for its vulgar languageà and violence by its characters. It was challenged at a North Carolina high school in 1981 because it was consideredà demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal. 1984, by George Orwell The dystopian future in Orwells 1949 novel was written to depict what he saw as serious threats from the then-budding Soviet Union. Nevertheless, it was challenged in a Florida school district in 1981 for being pro-Communist and having explicit sexual matter. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov Its little wonder that Nabokovs 1955 novel about middle-aged Humbert Humberts sexual relationship with adolescent Dolores, whom he calls Lolita, has raised some eyebrows. Its been banned as obscene in several countries, includingà France, England, and Argentina, from its release until 1959, and in New Zealand until 1960. For more classic books that were banned by schools, libraries, and other authorities, check out the lists at the American Library Associations website.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Composite Volcano (Stratovolcano) Facts
Composite Volcano (Stratovolcano) Facts There are several different types of volcanoes, including shield volcanoes, composite volcanoes, dome volcanoes, and cinder cones. However, if you ask a child to draw a volcano, youll almost always get a picture of a composite volcano. The reason? Composite volcanoes form the steep-sided cones most often seen in photographs. They are also associated with the most violent, historically-important eruptions. Key Takeaways: Composite Volcano Composite volcanoes, also called stratovolcanoes, are cone-shaped volcanoes built from many layers of lava, pumice, ash, and tephra.Because they are built of layers of viscous material, rather than fluid lava, composite volcanoes tend to form tall peaks rather than rounded cones. Sometimes the summit crater collapses to form a caldera.Composite volcanoes are responsible for the most catastrophic eruptions in history.So far, Mars is the only place in the solar system besides Earth known to have stratovolcanoes. Composition Composite volcanoes ââ¬â also called stratovolcanoes ââ¬â are named for their composition. These volcanoes are built from layers, or strata, of pyroclastic material, including lava, pumice, volcanic ash, and tephra. The layers stack on each other with each eruption. The volcanoes form steep cones, rather than rounded shapes, because the magma is viscous. Composite volcano magma is felsic, which means it contains silicate-rich minerals rhyolite, andesite, and dacite. Low viscosity lava from a shield volcano, such as might be found in Hawaii, flows from fissures and spreads. Lava, rocks, and ash from a stratovolcano either flow a short distance from the cone or else explosively eject into the air before falling back down toward the source. Formation Stratovolcanoes form at subduction zones, where one plate at a tectonic boundary is pushed below another. This may be where the oceanic crust slips below an oceanic plate (e.g., Japan, Aleutian Islands) or where the oceanic crust is drawn below the continental crust (e.g., the Andes mountains, the Cascades). Subduction occurs when two convergent tectonic plates collide with each other. jack0m / Getty Images Water is trapped in porous basalt and minerals. As the plate sinks to greater depths, temperature and pressure rise until a process called dewatering occurs. Release of water from hydrates lowers the melting point of rock in the mantle. Melted rock rises because it is less dense than solid rock, becoming magma. As magma ascends, lessening pressure allows volatile compounds to escape from solution. Water, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and chlorine gas exert pressure. Finally, the rocky plug over a vent pops open, producing an explosive eruption. Location Composite volcanoes tend to occur in chains, with each volcano several kilometers from the next. The Ring of Fire in the Pacific consists of stratovolcanoes. Famous examples of composite volcanoes include Mount Fuji in Japan, Mount Rainier and Mount St. Helens in Washington State, and Mayon Volcano in the Philippines. Notable eruptions include that of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD (which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum) and that of Pintaubo in 1991, which ranks as one of the biggest eruptions of the 20th century. Most composite volcanoes occur in a region called the Ring of Fire. Gringer To date, composite volcanoes have only been found on one other body in the solar system: the planet Mars. Zephyria Tholus on Mars is believed to be an extinct stratovolcano. Eruptions and Their Consequences Composite volcano magma isnt fluid enough to flow around obstacles and exit as a river of lava. Instead, a stratovolcanic eruption is sudden and destructive. Superheated toxic gases, ash, and hot debris are forcefully ejected, often with little warning. Lava bombs present another hazard. These molten chunks of rock may be the size of small stones up to the size of a bus. Most of these bombs dont explode, but their mass and velocity cause destruction comparable to that from an explosion. Composite volcanoes also produce lahars. A lahar is a mix of water with volcanic debris. Lahars are basically volcanic landslides down the steep slope, traveling so quickly that they are difficult to escape. Nearly a third of a million people have been killed by volcanoes since 1600. Most of these deaths are attributed to stratovolcanic eruptions. Semeru Volcano in Indonesia is an active stratovolcano. Photography by Mangiwau / Getty Images Death and property damage arent the only consequences of composite volcanoes. Because they eject matter and gases into the stratosphere, they affect weather and climate. Particulates released by composite volcanoes yield colorful sunrises and sunsets. Although no crashes have been attributed to volcanic eruptions, the explosive debris from composite volcanoes poses a risk to air traffic. Sulfur dioxide released into the atmosphere can form sulfuric acid. Sulfuric acid clouds can produce acid rain, plus they block sunlight and cool temperatures. The eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 produced a cloud that lowered global temperatures 3.5 à °C (6.3 à °F), leading to the 1816 year without a summer in North America and Europe. The worlds biggest extinction event may have been due, at least in part, to stratovolcanic eruptions. A group of volcanoes named the Siberian Traps released massive amounts of greenhouse gases and ash, starting 300,000 years before the end-Permian mass extinction and concluding half a million years after the event. Researchers now hold the eruptions as the principal cause for the collapse of 70 percent of terrestrial species and 96 percent of marine life. Sources BroÃ
¾, P.; Hauber, E. (2012). A unique volcanic field in Tharsis, Mars: Pyroclastic cones as evidence for explosive eruptions. Icarus. 218: 88. doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2011.11.030Decker, Robert Wayne; Decker, Barbara (1991). Mountains of Fire: The Nature of Volcanoes. Cambridge University Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-521-31290-6.Miles, M. G.; Grainger, R. G.; Highwood, E. J. (2004). The significance of volcanic eruption strength and frequency for climate (PDF). Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 130: 2361ââ¬â2376. doi:10.1256/qj.03.60Sigurà °sson, Haraldur, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of Volcanoes. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-643140-X.Stephen E. Grasby, Hamed Sanei, Benoit Beauchamp.à Catastrophic dispersion of coal fly ash into oceans during the latest Permian extinction.à Nature Geoscience, 2011; doi:10.1038/ngeo1069
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Groups and Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Groups and Teams - Essay Example Several reasons were collected and comparison made. The major reasons that had affected the performance of the groups were: leadership, communication, perspective towards one another, and commitment. According to Tuckman, the issue of leadership can be resolved according to his model, which describes leadership in four stages namely; formation, forming, storming, norming, and adjourning. The latter being the end of the task. Leadership is the determinant of group success, and with Tuckmanââ¬â¢s model, the team issues can be resolved. Keywords: Teams, Members, Communication, Leadership, Tuckmanââ¬â¢s Model QUESTION ONE Factors that Caused Poor Functioning of Team A Lack of consistency in terms of attendance by 3 group members during the initial stages of project development, there was a lot of absenteeism. Lack of defined leadership; there was no right procedure for the appointment of leaders, in fact, there is the case where the caretaker and the organizer were appointed in the absence of some members. Poor communication approach: Due to various commitments of the members, it was difficult for them to meet; this was further affected by the methods of communication preferred by members. Some preferred face to face, while others preferred the use of discussion tools. Furthermore, these two methods had other challenges. For the case of face to face, there were conflicts on the meeting points, and at times failure by members to attend. For the case of discussion tools, some members did not have time to read what had been posted. These communication problems greatly affected the progress of the project. According to the statistics collected in the socio-gram, results showed that members could not work well with one another, since there were differences amongst them. Coping up with such an issue in a group is very difficult and usually leads to failure. Lenience of the members in dealing with defaulting members became a routine, and this resulted to overworking on the part of the other members, hence creation of imbalance of workloads. Lack of commitment: some members had taken lightly the task that was before them and therefore could not give it priority; ideas could not be well tapped and often, there was over reliance on a few individuals. Factors that led to Poor Functioning of Group B Late commencement of the project: the members dragged themselves too much, and this reduced their time to work, while they still had to beat the deadline. Poor communication: members rarely met and used discussion tools inadequately. Lack of commitment: this is seen through the two dropouts who earlier on showed some signs of commitment and later retreated. Internal conflicts: although some members denied this, it was still evident that misunderstandings prevailed; some were angry and stressed while doing the work, but could not communicate it out. Norms were not set to enable each member to have a guideline to follow. QUESTION TWO Comparison of Conflic ts in Group A and Group B Tickmanââ¬â¢s stage two of group formation is regarded as the storming stage and is seen as the conflict stage. In terms of decision making, there are similarities between the two groups (group A and B). At one point, members agree on certain approaches, but fail to honor the decision. For the two groups, in most occasions, each member decides what to do, regardless of the impact on the project. The position of leadership differed in the two
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Teachers' stages of concern Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words
Teachers' stages of concern - Research Paper Example Globalization compels all countries to undertake substantial changes in their education agenda to be able to cope with such changes. Among these is the need to cope with technology. The demands placed upon the workforce, in terms of technology competencies, have made nations conscious of the need to integrate technology into school curricula, to prepare the youth for the demands of the future (Hord, Rutherford, Huling-Austin, & Hall, 1987; Hishamuddin, 2005). Tinio (2003) succinctly puts that the justification for the promotion of ICT in curricula worldwide is to equip students for the future requirements of the work setting. The latter strongly required the use of ICT, specifically computers and other online resources. This makes computer literacy a requisite for success in a technology-driven world (Tinio, 2003). The move to integrate technology into education entails the use of technological tools in pedagogy, including the Internet, blogs, digital cameras, other electronic and di gital tools to enhance the teaching process. Moreover, Pierson (2001) notes that educational reform will only be authentic if it goes beyond the acquisition of hardware supportive of technology, but a real, open adoption of strategies that will enable such integration into the school curriculum. Pierson (2001) adds that the requirement for computer literacy is apparent in daily tasks required of students both in their homes and within the educational institution. This demand entails teachers to gain knowhow of content, instruction, and technology that are apt for student progress. It is thus critical for teachers to know how to integrate technology into their teaching approaches (Pierson, 2001). The differences between the conventional and novel uses of technology emphasize the idea that teachers can utilize technology to enhance pedagogical approaches towards the enhancement of student learning (Cognition and Technology Group at
Sunday, November 17, 2019
East of Eden by John Steinbeck Essay Example for Free
East of Eden by John Steinbeck Essay The prosecution will begin by establishing the character of the defendant, and further prove that the criminal acts committed by Ms. Catherine Ames were not random, but rather a part of a cynical mindset that deliberately caused harm. Catherine Ames was without a doubt, a stunning work of beauty with the power to make all heads turn everywhere she went. She have lovely gold hair, big hazel eyes, pointy small chin along with a delicate nose, and high cheekbones giving her a heart shaped face. She was an adorable child that became an irresistible woman with the power to make all man fall head over heels. With a timid smile and a soft spoken voice, this appears to be the perfect woman. However, let us not be fooled by her angelic appearance. Catherine Ames is a cruel, manipulative, sadistic being who knows how to get anything she wants through the lust from men. She was able to use her beauty to her advantage even as a young child. The very first incident was when Ms. Catherine Ames used her wittiness and manipulative skills to inflict moral and physical pain to two boys. The boys received immense punishments for actions that she herself encouraged, but declared herself a victim to preserve her reputation. Cathy used her sheer beauty and manipulation to seduce her Latin teacher James Grew. When she had James Grews heart in the palm of her hand, she denied him any affection or love, making him commit suicide. Cathy took an educated kind man and turned him into rubble just because she could. As Cathy grew she became more destructive and morally impotent. It became quite clear that Cathy had no respect for authority when she ran away from home and went to Boston. She was pushed to the edge after being caught trying to run away from home and was beat and punished. Driven by agitation she stole all her fathers money out of his safe. She cleaned the cellar and stuffed papers all around the edges of the foundation to block the draft. She oiled the hinges, the lock of the kitchen door and the hinges of the front door. She continued to prepare, on the night of the crime, she put on an old apron to protect her clothes and found a jelly jar and carried it to the carriage house. She then found a chicken, cut its head off, and filled the jar halfway with the blood. She then buried the evidence of the chicken.à She then took off the apron in the kitchen and put it on the stove. She poked the coals until the apron caught on fire. Again before leaving she hid the evidence of the jelly jar. She remorselessly locked her parents in their house and set it on fire. Her parents sad death did not make Cathy shed a tear as she was looking into a new exciting career: prostitution. When she meets Mr. Edwards she is keen to provoke him to become sexually attracted to her. After he puts her up in his own house, keeping her from his wife and providing for her, she begins to steal from him. She also locks him out of his own house and takes control of his property. When he realizes something horrible about Cathy, he attempts to get her drunk one night. While drunk she stabs him with a broken wine glass. Driven by her intoxication, she stabs him in the cheek and sends him running away from his own house. Her impulsive and evil nature was evident through her actions that night. After a bad run in with the whoremaster Mr. Edwards, Cathy successfully manipulated Adam Trask to fall in love with her. After Adam had provided Cathy with unconditional love and support during her weak time, she repaid him by sleeping with his brother Charles behind Adams back. After they moved to California to start off new Cathy and Adam had their twins she coldheartedly did not want to look at them claiming No. I dont want them After she recovered from giving birth, she abandoned Adam and the twins. After abandoning her husband and children Cathy became a working girl in a whorehouse. Now under the alias Kate, Cathy manipulated Faye the owner of the whorehouse into signing a will giving everything to Cathie upon Fayes death. After, slowly and painfully killing Faye, Cathie assumed control of the whorehouse. When it was thought that Cathy could not go any lower, when her son Caleb discovered the truth about her and wanted to be a changed man, she told him he cant and he will become exactly like her as he grows up, sinful and damned. Its quite clear that Cathy is not a noble human being with good intentions. Her life has been filled with nothing else but hatred for others and schemes to get as much money as possible. Evidence presented here after show theà criminal acts that Cathy has committed throughout her life, crimes that she admitted to performing without remorse. Cathy had committed crimes against law of the nation and crimes against religion as well. Even though she is no where near of being religiously moderate, she still followed the religion of Christianity for her marriage to Adam Trask. Cathy did commit some major felonies toward God such as committing adultery. First, adultery means having sexual relations between an individual who is married and someone who is not the individuals spouse. In Christianity, adultery is considered a major sin which shows betrayal and lack of trust by that individual in the marriage. In the last two lines of Chapter 11, it states Suddenly Charles laughed. The Poor bastard, he said, and he threw back the blanket to receive her. Cathy did not care if she slept with Charles. Better yet, she does not embrace her marriage by sleeping with Charles. She is an embodiment of pure evil driven by self-hatred, desperation, and a love of pain, and Cathy destroys lives without any sense of remorse. She wanted something to satisfy her cruel nature and did so behind Adams back. In the bible, Cathy is directly compared to Eve when Eve eats a forbidden fruit and introducing sin into the world. Cathy did the same by committing a forbidden act of trust and friendship. This proves to show the hypocrisy that exists in Cathy with no moral influence or structure. Cathy, without mentioning anything to her husband Adam, tried to abort her two children with a knitting needle while Adam was out obtaining information on his plot of land. If that isnt terrible enough, Cathy gives the reason that she has a family history of epilepsy and did not want to pass it on to her children which is a blatant lie. This attempt at abortion was a complete secret from Adam until she was found unconscious due to a great lose of blood. Cathy tried to murder her unborn children while Adam was away and didnt even tell him that she was pregnant in the first place. This was a disgusting act of attempted murder upon two completely helpless and vulnerable unborn children in which Cathy should be punished for. After Cathy attempted to murder her unborn children Cathy moved onto bigger and more horrific things. She attempted to murder Adam, her husband. A week after the birth of newborn twins, Cathy decides that she is going to abandon them and leave Adam alone. Before leaving, Cathy pulled out a handgun and shot Adam. Luckily she had bad aim and only hit him in the shoulder but we all know that she was aiming to kill him. After Cathy shot Adam, she ran out of the house and out of Adams life forever. This is the second time Cathy attempts to murder someone in her life. First it was her unborn children, and now her husband. Cathy is nothing but a murderer and cares for nothing but to inflict pain upon others. Another sin in which Cathy tries to commit is suicide. Suicide is not illegal by law in the nation except for some states, but this act of killing oneself is considered a sin and a crime against god. One of the commandments states that specifically Thou shall not kill which can pertain to a persons life or their own life. In page 554, Cathy takes her own life by using a cyanide pill. This by far is much is strongly against the teachings of God and it goes against one of his commandments. God said there will be consequences for whoever commits suicide and that would be punishment in hell. Cathy may have her reasons to commit suicide, such as arthritic pain, low self esteem, and a painful life. However, this is the life she chose to follow as being sick and maliciously evil towards others which caused the downfall for her life.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
The Health Benefits of Exercise Essay -- Healthy Lifestyle Essay
à à à à à à à à Everyone in America these days seems to be concerned with their physical fitness, and everyoneââ¬â¢s talking about getting in shape, but the numbers donââ¬â¢t lie. In 1980, 25 percent of adults in this country were overweight; a staggering amount, but the numbers have increased to 34 percent today (Shape 1). Most people attribute this fact to America also being the richest country in the world with very few people actually going hungry. However, the overweight problem in America is not only a product of eating too much, but this goes hand in hand with not getting enough exercise to burn off those unwanted pounds. Talk about getting in shape is all over books, magazines, TV shows, newspaper articles and celebrity videos that are all centered around fitness and exercise. I think everyone would agree that exercise and physical fitness are a very important part of our lives, ââ¬Å"...but the truth is most adult Americans do not exercise on a regula r basis. And yet, to feel good, look our best and live longer, fuller lives, regular exercise is a mustâ⬠(Exercise Your Way 1). ââ¬Å"Many people start the new year with new health club memberships, new exercise equipment and a lot of enthusiasm about losing weight, toning muscles, and improving aerobic endurance. But most of these people will be back to their old habits by Valentineââ¬â¢s Day. The new exercise equipment will be used as a clothes rack, the health club membership will have lapsed and the new running shoes will be used only for running to the storeâ⬠(Stick 1). The problem is that people have too many excuses not to exercise, and not enough reasons to want to exercise. The solution to this problem is simple. We must, as a society, get ourselves informed of the benefits of exercise, and then... ...tor. 17 April, 1997. Go To (March 1997). Jackson, Jeanne M.. The Relationship Between Physical Fitness Levels and Self Concept in College Males/Females. Health, Physical education and Recreation: Microcard Publications. 1980, Northeastern Missouri State University: FICHE #3766. Making a Commitment. Netscape Navigator. 16 April 1997. Go To (April 1997). Norton, Cindy. Student Purposes for Engaging in Fitness Activities. University of Oregon: Microform Publications. 1995, College of Human Development: FICHE # 5124. Shape Up America: General Information. Netscape Navigator. 17 April, 1997. Go To (March 1997). Stick to Your Fitness Program. Netscape Navigator. 16 April, 1997. Go To (April 9, 1997). Stress Management. Netscape Navigator. 16 April, 1997. Go To (April 1997). Walking is Good. Netscape Navigator. 16 April, 1997. Go To (April 9, 1997).
Tuesday, November 12, 2019
PowerPoint Evil
From this very first sentence you can clearly see how he feels about the program PowerPoint, and slideware in general. Tufte effectively makes his point by explaining, PowerPoint presentations are ineffective because, they present very little information per slide, it has a boring and pushy style, over the top colors and display, and its preprogramed data graphs are pointless (Tufte539). He uses lots of numbers and facts to persuade us that PowerPoint is an ineffective public speaking tool. One of his main points based on logos is each slide has little nformation (Tufte 539).He says, each slide typically shows 20 words in a school setting, 20 words is about 10 seconds of silent reading (Tufte 539). That's only 30 seconds or so of reading for a week of school (Tufte 539). ââ¬Å"Now with power points being so overused in the classroomâ⬠, Tufte says, students would be better off if the schools simply shut downâ⬠¦ â⬠(539). With each slide having so little information many slides are needed to Just slightly touch on a subject, thus your audience is relentlessly hit with an endless amount of slides (Tufte 539).Another play on Logos Tufte makes is with so many slides required in a PowerPoint presentation to convey a useful amount of information, the presentation is going to be boring. Most people will say they have never sat through a memorable PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint tries to combat this with making its slides any color and design you could possibly think of, in Microsoft's hope all the color and designs will keep your audience captivated. However, Tufte explained if your content is boring, adding color and design to it will not make it exciting (540).An even worse ffect comes from PowerPoint giving its users so many creative options, sometimes, PowerPoint users will go so far with color and design that their audience will be so distracted by the PowerPoint's outlandish design that they are completely distracted from the information it is displaying. Something Tufte explains is, PowerPoint presentations try and somewhat assert its dominance over the audience (539). It's almost like a sales pitch as Tufte describes it (539). Tufte even says, ââ¬Å"PowerPoints pushy style seeks to set up a speaker's dominance over the audienceâ⬠(Tufte 539).Even the name has an element of dominance over the audience (Tutte 5 erPoint does this even tuture witn its graphs. ââ¬Å"Straightforward tables turn into a mess of color and wasted spaceâ⬠¦ â⬠says Tufte (539). ââ¬Å"The data explodes into six separate chaotic slides, consuming 2. 9 times the area of the tableâ⬠(Tufte 539). He states the information is almost made useless with all the color, encoded legends, and branding (Tufte 539). He even goes so far as to label the sample pictures of graphs on page 540 as, ââ¬Å"BAD. PowerPoint chartJunk: smarmy, chaotic, incoherentâ⬠(Tufte 540).Tufte makes it clear how much he dislikes PowerPoint, he is even sound s emotional by the tone he is writing in. This play on pathos is another way he is persuading his of the evils of PowerPoint. His tone of voice is almost upset, his first few sentences are about being lied to and deceived. This upset tone of voice continues throughout the entire text. His tone is most prevalent in his quotes such as, ââ¬Å"Particularly disturbing is the adoption ofâ⬠¦ ââ¬Å", ââ¬Å"Everything is wrong with these smarmy, incoherent graphsâ⬠¦ â⬠and, ââ¬Å"one damn slide after anotherâ⬠(Tufte 539).His udience are people who come into contact with PowerPoint regularly, this is mostly the age group 15 to about 50. This is a big audience, because almost everyone comes into contact with PowerPoint about every day, if not multiple times a day. It's used almost everywhere someone would have access to an computer, schools, businesses, offices, anywhere someone needs to display information to a group of people (539). He wants everyone that is exposed to PowerPoint to know if you are presenting a PowerPoint to someone, you are not respecting them, as his quote, ââ¬Å"Respect your udienceâ⬠, displays (Tufte540).However, a more specific audience he is trying to reach and display his opinions to would be teachers. He expressed how he felt about PowerPoints in schools, he felt they were almost always useless, so if teachers read this text, they might take another look at the effectiveness of PowerPoints and maybe even look for other alternatives. One of Tufte's main goals of this text is to fix the problem of ineffective teaching in schools with PowerPoint. Tufte makes the majority of his argument with logos, he uses lots of facts, logic, nd numbers to convince us PowerPoint is not an effective speaking tool.His Pathos is in the form of his tone, very upset and even frustrated about how widely PowerPoint is being used. Even though he uses little Ethos, he makes a convincing argument. If a large sum of PowerPoint users were to rea d this, they would agree that PowerPoint has been over uses and might call for a worldwide product recall. Tufte, Edward. ââ¬Å"PowerPoint Is Evil PowerPoint Corrupts. PowerPoint Corrupts Absolutely. â⬠The Call To Write. 6th. Ed. John Trimbur. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2014. 538-540. pnnt.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
Education and Empowerment
The myth of ââ¬Å"education and empowermentâ⬠has affected public schools tremendously in a sense that everyone is being divided, mostly by class, which lowers the confidence of our students today. Yes, there are teachers who cater to students, stay after class, and provide them with one on one tutoring and even take time from their lunch to offer extra assistance in any subject. However, there are other public schools in which teachers do not take the initiative to listen and understand when their student says ââ¬Å"I donââ¬â¢t get itâ⬠. No one ever takes the responsibility as to why students are failing; they only take credit for those who are succeeding, bringing in positive results, and on a path of attaining a promising future. Jean Anyon, John Taylor Gatto, and Michael Moore have all questioned the system of public education in there articles. As a result, American public schools are hurting their studentsââ¬â¢ chances of being competitive in a global economy because they are not aiming high enough, stripping students of ââ¬Å"responsibility and independenceâ⬠(pg 158), and cutting off important resources. Jean Anyon discussed the evaluation of five elementary schools and how their social class differed and affected their students. ââ¬Å"Several weeks later, after a test, a group of her children ââ¬â¢still didnââ¬â¢t get it,ââ¬â¢ and she made no attempts to explain the concept of dividing things into groups or to give them manipulables for their own investigation. Rather, she went over the steps with them again and told them that they ââ¬â¢needed more practiceâ⬠ââ¬â¢ (pg 177). Besides learning how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, math gives students the ability to rethink a situation, and look for other options. If teachers in these working-class schools are not taking the time to break down a simple division problem and give alternatives, how will their students be challenged or even advance to another grade level? Competition in this economy is widely based on how much money you have, what school youââ¬â¢re enrolled in, and who you know. If the majority of the students in this class were failing tests in an elite school, action would have been taken as soon as the teacher sensed a problem. The amount of money people pay to have their child enrolled in one of the best schools, better mean that their child is getting all the keenness from their teachers. This is why students struggle in this economy, because they are all categorized. So what if one studentââ¬â¢s parents are making more than the other, because he/she can afford that school and the other cant. This should give American public schools an even better motivation to ââ¬Å"leave no child behindâ⬠. ââ¬Å"School has done a pretty good job of turning children into addicts, but has done a spectacular job of turning our children into children. Again, this is no accident. Theorists from Plato to Rousseau to our own Dr. Inglis knew that if children could be cloistered with other children, stripped of responsibility and independence, encouraged to develop only the trivializing emotions of greed, envy, jealousy, and fear, they would grow older but never truly grow upâ⬠(pg 158). If you are not teaching students to make good decisions or be responsible, they may never be able to do things without depending on their peers or family members. As if America wasnââ¬â¢t lazy already, Gatto talks about the easy ways out people have been taking advantage of, rather than working at it; such as getting divorces. Schools have not stressed the fact that working hard at something brings results. Itââ¬â¢s life. You canââ¬â¢t just become something great without having to put effort and time, you have to set goals and aim high, break down your options, and take them, donââ¬â¢t let anyone do it for you. What happens when a large group of schools are opened without a principal? Michael Moore stated that ââ¬Å"163 New York city schools opened the 2000- 2001 school year without a principalâ⬠(pg 140). The time it takes for students to step foot in class is the time itââ¬â¢s going to take for the school to fall apart. Schools will not have established systems or discipline without one. Who will teachers turn to, when something just isnââ¬â¢t right? Principals are the foundation of a school. Whether they are simply counseling a troubled student or revising a lesson plan with a teacher, they act as a resource. They are there to show support for the students and build relationships as they see them progress throughout the years. Acting as another resource for schools are public libraries and school libraries. Students are being deprived from the limited resources they can look to, to continue their education and obtain new informational skills. Kids who come from a lower class cannot always manage to afford books, or even one of the greatest inventions, a computer, hence, to cut off such a necessity would be like cutting off their education for the most part. Instead of everyone working with the students, everyone is simply working for themselves. People ask who is the blame for our failing students of today but do not realize, or better yet, take the responsibility and action to make a change in their schools. Children complain that boredom s the only thing they think of when they come to class, however teachers are not challenging or giving students the amount of responsibility they need. To succeed in this global economy you have to be independent and dominant so that youââ¬â¢re not categorized below your own standards. It is said that the majority of the students whose families have money, do better, education wise, because they can afford more prestigious schools; but if teachers and students were more motivated, co mmitted, and communicated, they too can achieve positive results and set themselves up for competition in this global economy. Without a doubt will students be able to go against other students from different countries who have been cramming every book into their brains as young children because they were told that the key to survive as a professional was knowledge, responsibility, independence, and discipline. However, the system that is being used in American public schools today continues to lower the only self esteem students have left today.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
What extent do the news media fulfil Habermas definition of the public sphere Essays
What extent do the news media fulfil Habermas definition of the public sphere Essays What extent do the news media fulfil Habermas definition of the public sphere Essay What extent do the news media fulfil Habermas definition of the public sphere Essay The concept of the public sphere has had a long tradition, both in philosophy and also social sciences. The main understanding of the term is based on the work of the German sociologist Jurgen Habermas, whom provided a comprehensive analysis of the nature of the public sphere and also its historic transformations. Habermas defines ldquo;the public sphere as the network for communication and points of view, the streams of communication are, in the process, filtered and synthesised in such a way that they coalesce into bundles of topically specified public opinionsrdquo;. The public sphere is situated between households and the state. It is a space where free and equal citizens come together and share their opinions and information and also discuss their common concerns. Habermasrsquo;s social theory is interpreted as moving over the years from a Hegelian Marxist orientation to a sort of Kantian orientation, thought not without truth; this view underestimates the unity in his intellectual project. Kant occupies a central place as the theorist who offered the fullest articulation of the ideal of the bourgeois public sphere. However, in this public sphere practical reason was institutionalized through norms of reasoned conversations in which arguments or traditions were to be decisive. Even though, Habermas rejects Kantianrsquo;s theories, and its collary historical exaltation of philosophy as arbiter and foundation of all science and culture. In his current work he argues that something remains crucial from the Kantian view of modernity. nbsp;The notion of the public sphere is at the centre of participatory approaches to democracy. The public sphere is the arena where citizens come together and exchange opinions regarding public affairs, discuss and therefore form a public opinion. This arena can be a specified place where citizens gather for instance, town halls where they meet and deliberate these issues they feel needs looking into. This can also be a communication infrastru cture through which citizens send and receive information and their opinions. The public sphere can also be good governance, and without a good public sphere, government officials cannot be held accountable for their actions and citizens will not be able to assert any influence over political decisions. Moreover, the idea of a public sphere is normative since it is an ideal of good and accountable governance. Some historical roots of the public sphere will include the ancient Greeks where citizens directly participated in political discussions. The public life was tied to a specific local where their citizens will discuss and exchange their opinions on certain issues. European monarchies where the royal court was the public sphere and only the king would determine what should be said in public. Today, the public sphere is even more strongly tied to the media; it is also defined in relation to the mass media, since the mass media permits the circulation of information and also offers the conditions were forums can function. Internet and The Public Sphere; the internet is the single most important communication breakthrough of the latter half of the last century. It has revolutionalised how individuals communicate, access information including the mass media and how they respond to and comment on social and political issues. It has been argued that the internet facilitated the philosopher Jurgen Habermas. The internet is singularly the most important development in contemporary communication, which has produced a global public sphere. Every individual has direct access to global forums where they are capable of expressing their personal opinions and arguments without mediation or censorship. nbsp;Facebook and a vast number of blogs, chat rooms and discussion boards could fulfil the conditions of a public sphere as a forum for rational and critical debates. One of the theoretical perspectives is that Habermas argues that publicness or publicity of representation was not constituted as a social realm that is a public sphere; rather it was a status attribute. nbsp;Representation in the sense in which the members of a national assembly represent a nation. (Habermas, 1962). nbsp;Habermas goes on to argue that European society in the Middle Ages showed no indication of a public sphere as a unique realm distinct from a private sphere, and each stratum of power acted as mere spectators of the authority greater than theirs However, changes in the Europersquo;s political structure in the eighteenth century largely embodied in capitalist modes of production and the enlightenment philosophy culminated in the collapse of feudalism heralding the entry of the bourgeois into the centre stage. Whereas the feudal system which made no differences between the state and the society, private and public, the new social order defined the boundaries of state and private lives. More accurately a bourgeois public sphere where members of a property owning, educated reading public were engaged in rational debates on issues primarily relating to politics and literature (Habermas, 1989). Furthermore the bourgeois public sphere worn once again through structural and economic changes paving the way for what Habermas calls the modern mass society of the social welfare state, were critical debates the life blood of the public sphere has been replaced by leisure. In order words the state and society have become in twined into each otherrsquo;s sphere. Horkheimer and Adorno both argue that the change is the direct result of the mass produced, and the mechanically reproduce culture, which have been manufactures through structural changes in cultural industries. Horkheimer and Adorno suggest that the man with leisure have to accept that the cultural manufacturers offer him (Horkheimer and Adorno, 1995). Horkheimer and Adorno views are simply based on Marxist arguments which suggest the ideas of a ruling class are in every period the ruling ideas (Marx and Engels, 1976). These arguments suggest that the class which controls the means of material production also would control the means of mental production therefore the ideas of those who lack the means of production are subjected to it. Another sociologist called Antonio Gramsci argued the social groups attain hegemony; this is the dominance by inducing consent of the majority of the subaltern classes, the classes in the subordinate political position within a given social theatre. Horkheimer and Adornorsquo;s views on contemporary culture suggest the cultural industries treatment of culture as commodity and the mass media as a product filtered and packaged for customers based on the market statistics. This has created a media culture where every individual response has been carefully planned by the cultural manufacturers, since as this limits the possibility for any critical though outside of a prearranged equation. The contribution of cultural manufacturers including advertising and also public relations. Habermas arguments have manifested into refeudalisation of the public sphere, where the people in the public have been reduced to the status of spectators whilst the expert opinions have taken over the true public opinions. Every aspect of culture has been subjected to commercial imperatives of advertising entertainment and public relations and also the mass media to such an extent that any attempts of even creating the illusion of a public sphere by the mass media continue to be governed by bottom lined finances, therefore failing to conform to the broadest notions of public opinion in the public sphere. Moreover, public opinions published in mainstream media continue to be influenced by a series of commercial needs from availability of column space to consideration of possible increases to circulation figures. The internet is a freely accessible medium of mass communication; it has been introduced to this heavily commercialised theatre of mass communication and sparking great expectations in the publicrsquo;s minds that support the reinvigoration of the public sphere. Furthermore, it also should be stressed that while mass media have largely failed to create a public sphere, mass in itself at times play a very significant role in gaining and retaining democracy in numerous political threatens. It can also be argued that the internetrsquo;s potential in creating the public sphere can be and has to be harnessed by the public intellectuals, if the internet is to fulfil its potential as a forum for public spheres, this arguments can be presented in spite of the risk of over generalization as need for cyber analogues with the cafes and taverns which brought the intellectuals together, however creating an environment favourable for the sharing of ideas and hence the nourishment of a public sphere.
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
Qué es el formulario de ESTA para viajar sin visa a USA
Quà © es el formulario de ESTA para viajar sin visa a USA El formulario de ESTA para viajar a Estados Unidos sin visa es una autorizacià ³n que deben solicitar los turistas o las personas de negocio de ciertos paà ses para ingresar al paà s por avià ³n o por barco de transporte. No es posible utilizar la ESTA si se llega en una embarcacià ³n o en avià ³n privado o de aerolà neas no autorizadas por el gobierno de Estados Unidos. En la actualidad de entre todos los paà ses en los que se habla espaà ±ol sà ³lo los espaà ±oles y chilenos pueden entrar en Estados Unidos sin visado. Aunque el gobierno de Washington est en conversaciones con algunos gobiernos latinoamericanos para extender este privilegio a argentinos, brasileà ±os y uruguayos. Quià ©nes pueden solicitar el formulario de ESTA para viajar sin visa Las personas que tengan un pasaporte de uno de los paà ses del Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas y que desean viajar a Estados Unidos como turistas o personas de negocios. Sin embargo, si se ha viajado a Irn, Iraq, Yemen, Siria, Libia o Somalia despuà ©s del 1 de marzo de 2011, no se puede solicitar la ESTA. Es necesario pedir una visa de turista. Si se solicita la ESTA y se obtiene, destacar que la estancia siempre debe ser por 90 dà as o menos. No se puede ampliar de ninguna manera sin salir del paà s. Las personas con visa de turista B1/B2 vigente pueden seguir utilizndola. Tambià ©n necesitan este tipo de visado los extranjeros que viajan a Estados Unidos en aviones privados. Por à ºltimo, entender que los extranjeros que residen legalmente en un paà s del Programa de Exencià ³n de Visas no pueden beneficiarse de este privilegio. Por ejemplo, en Espaà ±a vive un nà ºmero considerable de latinoamericanos. Ellos necesitan visa para viajar a Estados Unidos, a menos que se hayan naturalizado espaà ±oles y tenga, por lo tanto, pasaporte espaà ±ol. Cà ³mo se solicita la ESTA para viajar a USA El formulario de ESTA se solicita por internet en una direccià ³n oficial del gobierno americano. Es necesario tener a mano el pasaporte (sin expirar) y una tarjeta de crà ©dito VISA, MasterCard, Discover o American Expres. En los dos primeros casos tambià ©n se admiten las tarjetas de dà ©bito.Tambià ©n hay que tener una direccià ³n de correo electrà ³nica. Si no se tiene, crear una antes de iniciar la solicitud.La aplicacià ³n es sencilla y requiere, como media, unos quince minutos en completarse. Hay que pagar una tasa por la gestià ³n de cuatro dà ³lares americanos. Y si la solicitud es aprobada se cargarn otros 10 dà ³lares. Adems, es posible que la tarjeta de crà ©dito cobre una tasa por la gestià ³n.Antes de hacer el pago verificar que todos los datos son correctos. Ya que si se han cometido errores en cosas como la fecha en la que el pasaporte fue emitido o en la que expira y se detectan despuà ©s del pago ser necesario volver a comentar la aplicacià ³n del pri ncipio y habr que pagar de nuevo.La respuesta se sabe prcticamente al momento. Se recomienda imprimirla y anotar el nà ºmero de caso. Finalizar posteriormente la aplicacià ³n o hacer cambios no esenciales Es posible hacer cambios posteriores, por ejemplo, para completar el nombre de la aerolà nea, la ciudad desde la que se viaja o la direccià ³n en la que se va a estar en Estados Unidos, el nà ºmero de telà ©fono o la direccià ³n de correo electrà ³nico. En estos casos basta con introducir el nà ºmero de la aplicacià ³n o datos como el nà ºmero de pasaporte, nombre completo y paà s que ha emitido el pasaporte. Cul es la validez de la ESTA La autorizacià ³n para viajar es vlida por dos aà ±os o hasta la fecha de expiracià ³n del pasaporte, cualquiera que se produzca antes. Adems, es necesario aplicar por una ESTA nueva, aà ºn cuando su fecha està © vigente si han cambiado las circunstancias y la respuesta a alguna de las preguntas con opcià ³n de sà o no del formulario ha cambiado. Por ejemplo, si se contestà ³ a una de ellas no y ahora la respuesta correcta es sà . (Sà ³lo a ese tipo de preguntas).à Si el formulario de ESTA expira mientras se est presente legalmente en Estados Unidos no es necesario aplicar por otra. Todo est bien. Quà © pasa con el I-94 Sà ³lo se llena el I-94W si se ingresa a EEUU por una frontera terrestre. El control de quien entra y quià ©n sale por aeropuertos y puertos se hace digitalmente. Ya no es necesario llenar el papelito con el que seguro estn familiarizados las personas que han viajado con anterioridad a Estados Unidos. Quà © pasa si la solicitud de la ESTA es denegada Aunque en la mayorà a de los casos la ESTA se concede, cuando esto no es asà no es posible saber la razà ³n exacta de la denegacià ³n. Y esto es lo que hay que hacer si no se obtiene la autorizacià ³n electrà ³nica para viajar. Es fundamental no caer en la terrible tentacià ³n de solicitar una nueva autorizacià ³n para viajar cuando la primera es denegada y mentir para intentar conseguir asà la ESTA. Lo ms probable es que el sistema informtico detecte el intento o, si no lo hace, que sà se descubra cuando se llega a la Aduana americana y se tiene que pasar por el examen de un oficial de inmigracià ³n. Cuando un extranjero solicita de nuevo la ESTA y le agarran en una mentiraà se puede convertirà en inelegible para entrar a Estados Unidos. Y lo ms probable es que nunca consiga viajar al paà s. Adems, es posible que aà ºn teniendo la ESTA la aerolà nea prohà ba embarcar.à A tener en cuenta Tener la ESTA no significa que se asegure poder entrar a Estados Unidos. La à ºltima palabra la tiene siempre el oficial de Inmigracià ³n en la Aduana. Para asegurarte de que conoces todo lo fundamental sobre la ESTA y sobre la estadà a en Estados Unidos cuando se tiene ese documento toma este test de respuestas mà ºltiples. Si sabes todas las respuestas seguro que te evitars problemas. Listado de paà ses y casos de doble nacionalidad Segà ºn las leyes de los Estados Unidosà ciudadanos de estos paà ses pueden viajar sin visa, sà ³lo con la ESTA. En el caso de doble nacionalidad es importante entender que si la visa se negà ³ con un pasaporte no es posible utilizar el otro para ingresar solo con la ESTA. Por ejemplo, un venezolano que solicità ³ la visa americana con ese pasaporte y su peticià ³n fue negada no puede utilizar el pasaporte portuguà ©s que tiene por ser hijo de portugueses para ingresar sin visa a los Estados Unidos. No se puede legalmente y adems hay que tener muy claro que esta trampa que se pretende hacer es fcil de descubrir ya que cuando se pidià ³ la visa se tomaron las huellas digitales y cuando se pretende ingresar a Estados Unidos, tambià ©n, y el sistema TEC hace una comparativa y el oficial migratorio identifica al ciudadano portuguà ©s como el venezolano al que se denegà ³ la visa.
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Strategic analysis and directions for Google Essay
Strategic analysis and directions for Google - Essay Example Figure 1: Comparison between Tata and Toyota by volume manufactured). In some categories, such as heavy buses and heavy commercial vehicles, Tata Motors even produces more vehicles (see Appendix 1 for full data). Going by revenue, the automotive industry, which develops, designs, manufactures, markets and sells motor vehicles a significant economic sector of the world. The industry, though very capital intensive, yet is marked by fierce competition and demand elasticity being plagued by a host of recent political, economic and social macroeconomic developments such as: credit crisis, fuel crisis and technological changes necessitated due to global climatic change. Economic developments: The automotive industry suffered significantly during the previous ensuing years as part of global financial meltdown, which affected the American, European and Asian automobile manufacturers. Canada too felt the heat due to the Automotive Products Trade Agreement. Geopolitical developments: Substanti al increase in fuel prices triggered by geopolitical developments resulted weak car demand, which further weakened the automotive industry. Sports utility vehicles, pick-up trucks and other high gasoline consuming vehicles were under pressure due to fuel hike and their sales decreased substantially. Many American manufacturers such as Ford, GM and Chrysler were forced to roll out more fuel efficient vehicles. Technological changes required due to global climatic changes: Due to impact of global climatic changes and the resultant stringent emission norms increased investments in technology significantly. The tell-tale situation of the industry is marred by negative growth leading into the automotive industry crisis of 2008-2010. Table 2: Percentage change in global car manufacturing during 2007 to 2010. Year Production Change Source 22007 73,266,061 5.80% (OICA, 2007) 22008 70,520,493 -3.70% (OICA, 2008) 22009 60,986,985 -13.50% (OICA, 2010) Figure 2: Percentage change in global car production year 2007 - 2010 As a result of these macroeconomic developments, the industry is currently undergoing radical changes and is moving towards consolidation by means of mergers and acquisitions and strategic tie-ups and partnerships for joint production, and marketing and selling. Chances are that more weaker and unprofitable companies will further be taken over and acquired and in the end will leave only those strong enough to sustain the downturn. Under these circumstances, Tata Motors need to maintain economy of scale and need to invest more on R&D and innovation, and also need to explore new products and markets. All these have to be undertaken simultaneously under the constraints of the emerging geopolitical
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Agreeing with Sherry Turkles View of Social Media Research Paper - 1
Agreeing with Sherry Turkles View of Social Media - Research Paper Example We rely on machines to direct our calls, authorize our automated bill payments, and social media dominates our online entertainment. We truly live in a world where social media dictates our personal lives and diminishes the quality of the interpersonal communication and relationships; as the anthropomorphizing of artificial computerized systems becomes all the more common, the more comfortable human beings are becoming with it. It is these tangible and visible examples of technological concerns that make Sherry Turkle absolutely correct in her argument that social media and dependence upon modern technologies are dangerous and have many negative effects on people of all ages. It is no secret that people of today are very attached to the technological devices that allow them access to the ââ¬Å"online life.â⬠People spend more time engaged in social media than with actual people even when they are in the physical company of another person. The nature of communication has changed since human beings first started communicating. As people began to spread farther and farther across the world communication was far less easy, sometimes downright impossible. The post office innovated mail, the telegraph made messages faster, and finally, the telephone brought people together. They encouraged human communication, where communication might not otherwise exist. Telephones and human conversation are still available today, but we are no longer comfortable or invested in them the way we once were. Today people want to socialize online, in text and type, with symbols instead of facial expressions, and abbreviations, like ââ¬Å"lolâ⬠instead of real laughter. This is not necessarily having a positive effect on people and it is something we need to reevaluate and monitor (Chandra 1). This is exactly what Sherry Turkle is presenting in her work; social media technology is less of a tool and is becoming too much a way of life. Social media was originally intended to enhance peopleââ¬â¢s ability to interact and make connections with people all over the world; effectively broadening peopleââ¬â¢s horizons and encouraging greater diversity among its users.
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Innovation and New Ventures Business Plan and Investor Presentation Coursework - 1
Innovation and New Ventures Business Plan and Investor Presentation (Service) - Coursework Example Korea is densely populated which means there will be high demand. The business capital will be raised by its three partnersââ¬â¢ equal contributions. Mission statement Best Bet mission is to help English students in South Korea through interactive teaching to achieve value for their money by being efficient in English. Objectives 1. To create a sustainable business relationship with the South Korean English students. 2. To achieve maximum business growth and revenue by the third year in the industry. 3. To penetrate the English Teaching industry in South Korea and its neighborhood. Opportunity & Assessment Business Description Best Bet English Tutors will be offering private teaching of English as a foreign Language in South Korea. The firm is owned by three business partners; Felix Adam and Jared. The partners have done other businesses together and one of the partners has actually taught English in South Korea before. This means that the partnership has some basic details on the requirements of teaching English in South Korea. The partners also have business experience since they have other businesses though not in the teaching or tutoring sector. One of the partners is also well versant with legal matters, currency and intellectual properties regulation issues. The third partner has stayed in South Korea and worked in a local marketing firm. Best Bet English Tutors therefore will benefit from the skills and experiences of its partners. Product Definition The services Best Bet English Tutors will be offering personalized English tuition. Due to the high cost of running a teaching business on a rented space, Best Bet English Tutors intend to operate from individual homes. Others businesses in the industry usually rent out some... According to the study conducted, Best Bet English Tutors will be offering personalized English tuition. Due to the high cost of running a teaching business on a rented space, Best Bet English Tutors intend to operate from individual homes. Others businesses in the industry usually rent out some space and provide transport services to and fro the place. Best Bet, however, will stand out and be different because the tutors will be going to their clientsââ¬â¢ home. This will ease the transport complications for the clients and it will be convenient for the business as well. It will also be cheaper for the students because the running costs will be relatively small compared to other tutors in the industry. Teaching methods will emphasize on correct grammar, appropriate pronunciation, listening, speaking, reading and writing. Handouts, textbooks, and other relevant teaching materials will be used. Periodical tests will be administered to evaluate student progress. South Korea is large ly populated which means that demand for English teaching services is high. The Koreans speak one ethnic language Korean. They have strong cultural values which set them apart from others. It is therefore important for any foreigner intending to do business in the country to understand their basic values, cultural practices and beliefs. For instance, the family ties and values are highly regarded through out the country. Each member of a family has some duties and obligation owed to his family and toward others.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Ebola: Route of Transmission, Life Cycle and Treatment
Ebola: Route of Transmission, Life Cycle and Treatment It is hypothesized that Ebola outbreaks are zoonotic in origin, however the true reservoir in unsubstantiated.8 The conceding belief is that fruit bats are the reservoir for the Ebolavirus, but due to their migration patterns and apparent lack of disease it has been challenging to study this effectively to yield a substantiated conclusion.28 It is further theorized that transmission to humans comes from preparation and consumption of infected bushmeat or the handling of infected animals.8 Some scientists believe that non-human primates contract Ebola from eating fruit soiled with body fluids from infected fruit bats, however there may also be direct animal to animal transmission.8 There is also evidence that domesticated animals such as pigs and dogs contract the virus.29 Once a human is infected from a zoonotic source it is then transmitted from person to person via direct contact with blood, secretions, organs and other bodily fluids of infected people. Ebolavirus is also transmitt ed during burial ceremonies where individuals come into direct contact with an infected deceased person.30 Healthcare workers taking care of those infected have frequently been infected themselves, due to improper infection control procedures.30 Recent evidence has shown a sexual transmission from Ebola, as semen can test positive for Ebola months after the disease has subsided.30 The WHO and CDC both report that Ebolavirus can not be transmitted through aerosols. However, there are a few studies and evidence to support that it is a possible mode of transmission. It is believed that there was animal to animal as well as animal to human transmission of the Reston virus from cynomolgus macaques in a US quarantine facility.31 The outbreak demonstrated intercage infection and in some cases with distance between the cages. In a study, rhesus macaques were infected through aerosols of the Zaire virus, with a median mass diameter ranging from 0.8 and 1.2m.32 Evidence of the respiratory tract being the primary site of infection, can be inferred from the viral concentration being the greatest in the lungs.8 Pathogenesis The incubation period for Ebolavirus ranges from 2 to 21 days and humans are non-infectious until symptoms appear.30 Ebolavirus presents with a sudden onset of fever, fatigue, muscle pain, headache and sore throat. As the disease progresses vomiting, diarrhea and a rash present. During the latent stages of the disease, patients develop impaired kidney and liver function, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.30 Patients will present with labs with low white blood count (WBC), low platelets, elevated liver enzymes (AST and ALT).30 The mortality rate varies among the different subtypes of Ebolavirus. The Zaire virus has an average of 77% mortality rate, Sudan virus 49.8%, Bundibugyo 30.55% and Reston virus and Tai Forest virus both have a 0% mortality rate.5 The range in mortality rates across all subgroups go from 100% to 0%. However, when looking specifically at the Zaire virus the range is 47% to 100%.5 Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention EBOV is difficult to distinguish early on from other infectious diseases in the area like malaria, typhoid fever and meningitis.30 In order to confirm initial symptoms are caused by EBOV healthcare workers should perform ELISA, antigen-capture detection tests, serum neutralization test, RT-PCR, electron microscopy, or virus isolation by cell culture.30 All samples are an extreme biohazard risk and can only be done under biosafety level (BSL) 4. There are currently only 10 BSL 4 labs in the US and 47 worldwide33, leading to an insufficient resource for testing and research. Current treatment for EBOV is supportive care through re-hydration as well as treatment for specific symptoms. There are currently no vaccines or approved treatment for EBOV, however there are many in development. During a recent outbreak, a US physician was treated with an experimental drug (ZMapp). He eventually went on to give a blood transfusion to another patient with EBOV in hopes of treatment; both recovered well. Evidence suggest that antibody support along with platelets and fluids could provide a key in future treatments. Currently, higher level medical facilities pose better outcomes due to their ability to assist with organ deterioration while the patient is trying to survive the viral infection. Prevention and Control is best achieved through case management, surveillance, contact tracing, good laboratory services, safe burials, and social mobilization.30 By limiting the interaction with wildlife, which are known to be reservoirs of the disease, we can limit the transmission into human hosts. If an individual becomes infected proper quarantine procedures should be put in place to ensure the disease does not spread. Proper quarantine measures include isolating infected patients in medical facilities with only essential personal entering and leaving the patients room. All essential medical personnel should don personal protective equipment (PPE) at all time, which includes a single use gown, respirator with full face shield, 2 pairs of gloves, single use boot covers, and single use apron.34 Educating the population in these endemic areas as to these quarantine procedures, not touching infected animals, and proper burial techniques can vastly improve outcomes during outbreaks.3 0 Weight and Discrimination: Legal Issues Weight and Discrimination: Legal Issues Ther L. Richardson Abstract Discrimination against overweight and obese people has existed for millennia but it is just in recent decades that discrimination against the overweight has been seen as a crime and research has begun in this field. Despite some research going back as far as the 1940ââ¬â¢s the majority of research did not start until almost the 1970ââ¬â¢s. With the pace that American law is driven there has not been considerable progress made to this point. Current research is being conducted to stem both the lack of progress and make inroads of societal progress. Current understanding and legislation may empower an entire class of world citizens, and change perception of weight discrimination and obesity while leveling the employment and earnings playing field. Weight and Discrimination: Legal Issues in Weight Discrimination According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) between 2009 and 2010 more than 35 percent of adults across the U.S. and Canada were considered obese, (McGuire, 2011, pp. 368-369) based on the BMI. The Body Mass Index or BMI is a scale that assigns a number value that is calculated from a persons weight and height. BMI is used to provide an indicator of body fat ratio or level and is used by the healthcare industry to screen people for weight categories. While the rates of obesity in adults has been slowing over the past decade or so, the world population has become more media centric and the idea of the ideal body type has certainly been affected by the mass media and the influence of Hollywood movies, sports and television. This change in the perception of the ideal body image has almost certainly affected the rates and types of discrimination as well. In the workplace, obese workers are considered lazy, incompetent, and lacking self-control. While womenââ¬â¢s wages are lower on average then menââ¬â¢s, obese womenââ¬â¢s wages are even more out of proportion. It has also been shown that many human resource representatives do not even know it is illegal to not interview, or decline to hire someone based on their weight. As ideal body image changes to leaner more fit athletic and ââ¬Å"underwear modelâ⬠looking individuals the more overweight and obese individuals pale in comparison. The contrast effect then sets up and impossible scenario where the obese worker or applicant can never meet the mindââ¬â¢s eye image of the ideal employee. Perception of weight discrimination and obesity Sutin and Terracciano (2013) conducted research on perceived weight discrimination and obesity. They examined whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of becoming obese by follow-up survey among those not obese at baseline, and to test whether weight discrimination is associated with risk of remaining obese at follow-up among those already obese at baseline (Sutin Terracciano, 2013). This research was conducted through both face to face interviews and a survey returned by mail to the Health and Retirement Study, which is a nationally representative longitudinal survey conducted by the University of Michigan. They found that weight discrimination was reported by those that became obese during the time between the baseline and follow-up interviews, for the most part among participants who werenââ¬â¢t obese at the time of the baseline measurements. Those subjects who reported that they experienced discrimination based on their weight were over three times more likely to remain obese at follow-up instead of dropping below the obesity threshold on the Body Mass Index (BMI) than those who did not experience such discrimination. Of the sample that was normal weight at baseline, there was not enough data for the analysis, but of the 14 participants in the normal weight category who reported weight discrimination in their follow-up, none became obese as described by the BMI (Sutin Terracciano, 2013). Sutin and Terracciano (2013) remark that ââ¬Å"body weight is a highly visible, personal characteristic that can evoke strong stereotypes and strong reactions from others,â⬠and easily contribute to stereotyping and discrimination as well. Weight discrimination and harassment are also thought to be associated with behaviors which increase the risk of weight gain, these behaviors include excessive food intake (binge eating) and decreased physical inactivity (Friedman Puhl, 2012, p. 2, 3). Obese persons who feel discriminated against may tend to avoid situations where there weight would make them stand out, for instance going out dancing, and thus gaining the benefit of the exercise that might be gained by that activity. People that feel stigmatized tend to feel less confident and able to engage in physical activity and thus avoid not only exercise, but also social activity that could lead to physical activity and exercise such as line dancing or other forms of social activities like sports, and games. Weight bias can have a significant impact on social, economic, psychological and physical health. Social and economic consequences include social rejection, poor quality of relationships (Friedman Puhl, 2012, p. 2, 3). Current legal protections in the united states and results of litigation Katz and Lavan (2008) conducted research on limited legal protections of obese employees as a class, and lawsuits against employers who took adverse employment actions based on obesity against obese employees and former employees who have begun to prevail in lawsuits against those employers. They analyzed of a random sample of 80 cases to attempt to identify factors that increase an obese plaintiffs likelihood of success and found that an employee in the private sector, particularly a non-professional employee, has a significantly greater likelihood of winning than do others. Additionally, they found that an unemployed individual or an individual filing suit under legislation other than state discrimination laws or the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has a statistically greater chance of prevailing as well. According to Katz and Lavan (2008), because obesity is often considered a problem wherein the obese individuals are blamed for their own weight, people see obesity as an issue of personal responsibility versus a chronic condition and this may well may have a different impact on public opinions and support for anti-discrimination laws and lawsuits. There are many facets to the discrimination towards obesity that may not even be perceived by those that are being discriminated against. For example, applicants for employment may be judged on their appearance, not just on their qualifications. Rejected candidates may not be aware of weight-related factors (Katz Lavan, 2008). One surprising result that was mentioned was that the discrimination against obesity is contagious. In one study cited by Katz and Lavan, in two experiments, average-weight male job applicants were rated more negatively when seen with an overweight compared to a normal weight female. This shows that the stigmatizati on and discrimination can spread simply due to association. The overweight and more specifically the morbidly obese are often given the blame for their own condition. Another impression that people hold is that of obese people being less tidy or having poor personal hygiene, this often has a lot to do with appearance. Supervisors or management may even react differently to overweight individuals, causing them to treat overweight employees differently on the job than more attractive employees (Katz Lavan, 2008). In addition, the discrimination against obese persons is not limited to the workplace by any means, obese persons are reminded, or are made to feel in everyday encounters with family members, peers, health care providers, and strangers that they deviate from social norms and are inferior to those who are not obese (Katz Lavan, 2008 pg. 3). When it comes to the current legal state, more and more it appears that Title VII (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, 1964) and the Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990 have not been very useful to litigants either, except in cases where the litigant that is claiming discrimination was morbidly obese. If an individual claimed that they were discriminated against but not because of an actual disability but instead because of their employerââ¬â¢s perception that they had a disability from being overweight when in fact they could perform the jobs assigned without impediment, then that litigant was in fact more likely to win (Katz Lavan, 2008 pg. 3). In addition much discussion on their part about recent litigation and the ADA, Katz and Lavan (2008) stated that courts have generally viewed obesity as a voluntary condition and therefore disqualified it as a disability under ADA. They cite few cases that have held that obesity on its own constitutes a disability (Katz Lavan, 2008 pg. 4). Obesity and obtaining work and fair wages Pagan Dà ¡vila (1997) conducted a study to explore the relationship between obesity, occupational attainment, and earnings using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate the occupational selection of obese individuals. They then estimated the earnings functions that accounted for the occupational attainment of the overweight. Much the same as many other researchers they found that women seemed to pay a steeper penalty than men did as men tended to migrate into employment where their weight did not play as big of a role (Pagan Dà ¡vila, 1997). The authors did not elaborate on these types of employment other than to say service based, although the authors did at one point elude to truck drivers and movers. In all, the reported findings they said did tend to complement the existing body of work. Their research did not seem to bring much new to the table other than the fact that they had some theories on crowding, but it did support previous theory and work mentioned. Because there is very little research so far to review each new item add to the totality of the available data. In addition, they were the only authors that eluded to the use of migration into employment where their weight did not play as big of a role in their earning potential. Research into the efforts to pass new laws Puhl, Heuer Sarda (2010) conducted research assess the public support for potential legislation to prohibit weight-based discrimination against obese individuals in the United States, and to examine whether certain message frames about weight discrimination influence public support. Their participants were randomly assigned to read one of the four paragraphs that framed the topic of weight discrimination in a distinct way (or a control condition with no paragraph). Participants were then asked to indicate their level of support for six anti-discrimination laws. Participants were a national sample of 1114 participants (48% women, 52% men), with a mean age of 44.78 years (Puhl et al., 2011). The results of their study showed that there was some support for laws that would prohibit weight-based discrimination. Gender differences were observed across experimental conditions thus indicating that ââ¬Å"some message frames may increase support for certain laws among women, but not men. Message frames however, had no effect on support for laws with specific provisions to prohibit weight discrimination in the workplaceâ⬠(Puhl et al., 2011). This suggested that the public held support for those particular legal measures was both consistent and high at approximately 65% of men and 81% of women, regardless of how the issue of weight discrimination was framed to the public (Puhl et al., 2011). Just as most of the articles do, the authors of this article point out that weight discrimination stems from pervasive societal stigma and stereotypes that obese persons are lazy, lacking in self-discipline and are personally at fault for their inability to lose weight, and that unfortunately, weight bias takes a significant toll on emotional and physical health for those who are affected, increasing vulnerability to depression, low self-esteem, poor body image, suicidal behaviors, unhealthy eating patterns, eating disorders and avoidance of physical activity and social exclusion. One interesting comment of note is their mention that recent estimates suggest that the prevalence of weight discrimination in the United States has increased by 66% over the past decade, and is now comparable with prevalence rates of racial discrimination in America (Puhl et al., 2011). Their results have led them to conclude that women express a stronger degree of agreement than men do with idea that ther e should be new laws about weight discrimination and that the government should take a more active and aggressive role to protect overweight people from size/weight discrimination. Discussion Currently, in the United States there are little or no legal protections to prohibit discrimination against an individual based solely on body shape, size, or weight, and employers basically have the right to hire anyone they want without regard to preference to thinner and more attractive applicants. Some employers have even been found to penalize heavy employees in unfair ways. Weight-based discrimination is pervasive around the world and it is damaging and worsens health disparities for obese people, in essence creating a self-fulfilling prophecy (Puhl et al., 2011). There was considerable agreement within the literature, with many studies concluding that weigh based discrimination does exist, it is pervasive, and it is experienced more by women than men (Puhl et al., 2011), (Pagan Dà ¡vila, 1997), and (Katz Lavan, 2008) for example. Many practitioners in the psychological and sociological communitiesââ¬â¢ believe that it is critical for the public health community to recognize that this type of institutionalized bias is, in fact, both a social injustice, and a public health issue. In addition many of those individuals also feel that it is past due to look long and hard legislatively, at equal protections and definitions of obesity as a syndrome. History has demonstrated that legislation has the power to reduce institutionalized bias against stigmatized groups, thus researchers, advocacy groups and the public health community can help promote protective legislation for overweight and obese persons (Puhl et al., 2011). Public support is going to be key in enacting any weight bias legislation, and the research findings provide a springboard to explore public attitudes toward laws that prohibit discrimination based on weight. Because of womenââ¬â¢s potentially increased vulnerability to weight stigmatization as compared to men in nearly all of these studies, over time they are more likely experience unfair treatment because of their weight, and are therefore they are far more supportive of legislation to combat Obesity discrimination. Some researchers such as Puhl et al., 2011, Pagan Dà ¡vila, 1997, and Katz and Lavan, 2008have suggested that women are more vulnerable to weight discrimination than men and may experience weight discrimination at lower levels of body weight than men do. Additionally there are roles and jobs that are typically filled by men that tend to favor some amount of over-weightiness such as movers being able to handle large or bulky items. Conclusion In order to make inroads against this type of discrimination is education of the population, overt intolerance of the discrimination, strong advocacy in support of litigation and legislation, and a public awareness campaign, and some strong rulings to create precedence. Of course almost universally as always, more research is needed. While it is generally accepted that there is weight based discrimination, it is important that there be a solid body of work to bring it to light, and in conjunction with medical research into the causes of obesity it may be possible to determine what the leading factors in obesity, continued obesity, and combating obesity are. In addition research needs to be done into the effects of socialization on obesity. One of the experienced side effects of obesity being anti-social behavior one cannot help but to wonder what if anything would be the overall effect of purposely involving the morbidly obese in social activity that bolstered self-confidence without judgment, possibly without even focusing on weight. References Friedman, R., Puhl, R. (2012). Weight Bias A Social Justice Issue A Policy Brief. 2012 Rudd Report, 2012 Rudd Report (2012), 2, 3. Katz, M., Lavan, H. (2008). Legality of Employer Control of Obesity. Journal of Workplace Rights, 13(1), 59-71. doi:10.2190/WR.13.1.e McGuire, S., Shields M., Carroll M.D., Ogden C.L., (2011). Adult Obesity Prevalence in Canada and the United States. NCHS Data Brief no. 56, Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, 2011. Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal, 2(4), 368-369. Pagà ¡n, J., Dà ¡vila, A. (1997). Obesity, Occupational Attainment, and Earnings. Social Science Quarterly, 78(3), 756 770. Puhl, R., Heuer, C., Sarda, V. (2010). Framing Messages About Weight Discrimination: Impact On Public Support For Legislation. International Journal of Obesity, 35(10), 863 872. Sutin, A. R., Terracciano, A., Newton, R. L. (2013). Perceived Weight Discrimination and Obesity. PLoS ONE, 8(7), e70048.
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