Individual Report on Econometric Models

Context This report pertains to the selection of an academic paper (Caporale et al., 2009) which is examined based on its aims and results, citing new insights offered by its analysis. It also involves another paper (Oshio et al., 2011) that cited that of Caporale et al. (2009), explaining the kind of data being used for the analysis. The report also includes a description of the economic model adopted by the authors to analyse the issues, as well as a critical reflection of the issues that are likely to arise with the use of these specific econometric models. a.Summary of the selected paper The selected paper in this report is that of Caporale et al. (2009), which was centred on income and happiness across Western and Eastern Europe. The authors utilised data from the European Social Survey (ESS) for 19 European countries, whereby they examined the association between income and subjective well-being. The aim of their study was to find out whether income can buy happiness. Happiness and life satisfaction served as the dependent variables in the study, which were likewise contained in the ESS data. These variables were tested for whether social comparisons and reference groups wielded a relevant influence on the subjective well-being of individuals in the countries involved, which likewise served as the sample. The findings revealed that for all these countries – despite the positive correlation between income on one hand and happiness and life satisfaction on the other – a negative effect was being exerted by reference income on individual well-being, a result that harmonised with the relative utility hypothesis. A separate analysis was conducted by the authors for some countries in Eastern Europe in which they were able to discover some evidence that supported a so-called ‘tunnel effect’, which was suggestive of a positive impact caused by reference income on subjective well-being. The findings maintained that situations characterising stable income and employment have income serving as the basis for social comparisons. In social comparisons, the authors posited that reference income served as the informant for future status expectations. Further, empirical findings revealed a tendency for males to report lower satisfaction than their female counterparts. The authors also cited that the literature holds robust pattern that mirrors the life-cycle areas of people’s social, economic, and family situations. The findings also suggested that happiness perception was positively related to being married, whilst a negative relationship was suggested for divorce. Moreover, the presence of children had a negative effect on happiness perception whilst good health fostered a significant positive association. There was shaky evidence on the likelihood of university qualifications to cause a negative impact on happiness. In addition, a positive effect was indicated by previous employment occurrence on the perception of happiness, which was more deep-seated for more recent unemployment occurrence. The distress accompanying a recent unemployment occurrence may diminish the aspiration value of the presently employed individua l. As the study’s sample was dominated by countries with liberal social welfarism, the influence of the welfare systems on individual’s happiness may also be indicated by the positive impact of unemployment on life satisfaction during the time of joblessness. The new insights offered by the analysis include an apparent wedge between countries in Western Europe and Eastern Europe, which clearly showed that the pursuit of life satisfaction has become embodied in countries’ political framework, serving as a source of valuable insights in policy development concerning welfare reforms. b. A paper citing the selected paper A paper that cites the selected paper here is that of Oshio et al. (2011) whose aim was to examine the effects of relative income on well-being in China, Japan, and Korea based on nationwide surveys in these countries and comparing them with that of the United States. The various factors for which control was undertaken at the individual level were age, gender, and marital status, to name a few. The results were parallel to past researches the same topic involving Western countries. The study exhibited a significant relationship between a person’s income and that of the reference group on one hand, and perceived life satisfaction on the other. In China, individual income showed stronger relationships between relative income and life satisfaction compared to family income, whilst the opposite was demonstrated for Japan and Korea. The comparisons of income within the reference group were necessary for evaluating life satisfaction, particularly when family income was used. Additi onally, Yitzhaki index was used to determine the relative deficiency within the reference group, which was found to have a negative relationship with life satisfaction. Oshio et al. (2011) used Caporale et al. (2009) as a cited paper in their study in that the former utilised it in its claim that apart from the absolute income levels, the happiness of a person is reliant to comparisons with those of others, particularly those with similar socio-economic distinctiveness. Oshio and colleagues also used Caporale and colleagues’ findings on relative income proposition, whereby both found a positive effect fostered by absolute income on both happiness and life satisfaction. Further, both Caporale et al. (2009) and Oshio et al. (2011) used regression analysis to analyse the findings on income and perceived happiness. The apparent difference that could be cited in their studies was the nature of the countries on which their studies were emphasised – Western and Eastern European countries for Caporale et al. (2009), and Asian countries and the United States for Oshio et al. (2011). The former was also more extensive as it used 19 countries f or a generalisation of income-happiness hypothesis, whilst the latter involved only four. The comparison in Caporale and colleagues’ study was between Western European and Eastern European countries, whilst that of Oshio and colleagues was between three Asian countries and the United States. If the cross-country findings in Caporale and colleagues demonstrated a political agenda (i.e. social welfarism), those of Oshio and colleagues were focused on the level of the individual, such as people’s precautious outlook on individual income than family income in China and the United States, leading to the influence of culture for income perception (e.g. individual-orientedness vs. family-orientedness).Whilst Caporale et al. (2009) asserted a positive relationship between income and happiness, Oshio et al. (2011) declared stronger correlations between individual income (rather than family income) and life satisfaction in China, which was not true in Japan and Korea. c.Data used, structure of the data set, and manner of data collection The ESS data in Caporale and colleagues’ (2009) study contained information about a set of demographic and employment characteristics, which the authors utilised as controls in their regressions. Some of these controls were education, income, and position in the labour force, to name a few. The data set also involved information on previous unemployment encounter, which was used in assessing whether a person’s perception of present economic situation was influenced by previous income shocks, commonly due to unemployment. The structure of the data set included all individuals possessing similar levels of education, age brackets, and current countries of residence. The sample was also limited to employees earning full-time salaries. Alternatively, in Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) study, the data were collected from the countries’ (Japan, China, Korea) General Social Survey (GSS), from which data were downloaded. The GSS of these countries were originally gathered by a research office at the University of Chicago. The basis of their empirical analysis was the GSS of these countries which were recorded in 2006, with widely similar survey questionnaires. The results were compared with those of the United States. All income data were converted into logarithms to enable comparing the results across models and countries. In addition, the authors used sampling weights from GSS and made a computation of standard errors to provide correction for any possibility of heteroscedasticity. It may be inferred that even though both studies aimed at determining happiness and life satisfaction vis-a-vis income, their methodologies and approaches were however different but were appropriate to the nature of their hypoth eses. d. Econometric models used by the authors In this section, the econometric models used by the authors are described to analyse the issue. Caporale et al. (2009) used ordered probit model, which they deemed appropriate for their study, given the ordinal nature of the happiness variables. This model enabled a close correlation between happiness and life satisfaction, in which the authors were able to indicate a high level of happiness or satisfaction amongst the research participants. A clear skewness towards the high end was exhibited by the distribution on happiness. Some variations began emerging with the investigation of the level of happiness across the countries involved, with Denmark achieving the highest score, and Portugal, amongst others, recording the lowest scores. Reference income was used as an explanatory variable in the regressions. The estimated coefficients also showed a general consistency with those of previous studies. On the other hand, Oshio et al. (2011) used the ordered logit model to explain perceived happiness across the three countries involved in their study. The model contained an assumption of care amongst individuals in relation to their individual (or family) income when making a comparison of their income with those of others. Family income was included in both specifications, with an assumption that it represents material living standards. It was expected that the coefficient ? was significantly positive in each specification, given the relative income hypothesis. e. Critical reflection of the issues relating to the econometric models The econometric models used in each of the study of Caporale et al. (2009) and Oshio et al. (2011) were appropriately justified and carried out to suit the aim and expected results of each. The use of the ordered probit model in Caporale and colleagues’ study was suitable as this model was able to deal with the variables in ordered categories, which were present in the dataset. According to Jones (2007) and Gailmard (2014), ordered probit model is utilised in the modelling of a discrete dependent variable with ordered multinomial results. Similarly, Caporale and colleagues also noted fixing some of the threshold values, which Jones also pointed out as a characteristic of the model. The study was able to generate the specific results with the utilisation of this model, which is likewise used in a range of the social and behavioural sciences, as emphasised by Aldrich et al. (2007) and Gill (2008). Using other econometric model for the study of Caporale et al. (2009) might not ge nerate similar results, since the study involved an analysis of more than two outcomes of an ordinal dependent variable (i.e. happiness and life satisfaction). In the same manner, Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) use of the ordered logit model was suitable as the study involved a survey that aimed to find out how well responses to questions can predict a response to one question, to which the model was appropriate. In the study, the model was used for dichotomous dependent variables (happiness and life satisfaction), in which more than two response categories were enabled.Apparently, the study adopted proportional odds assumption, to which the model was applicable, as Sadler (2008) and Allegrezza and Dubrocard (2012) also pointed out. Moreover, the model clearly pursued an estimate for multiple equations in the study, whereby the number of these equations were tantamount to the number of categories minus 1. The study also showed that each equation modelled the odds of being in a category, which is consistent with the ordered logit model (Sadler, 2008; Allegrezza and Dubrocard, 2012). It is important to note that the use of the aforementioned models for the two studies was consistent with their intention to quantify or measure variables in order to come up with objective and systematic results for the relationship between income and happiness. Both studies opted to use data from established data sets (ESS and GSS) to apparently facilitate generalisation of findings, with which they were successful. It may be pointed out that Oshio and colleagues’ (2011) results were congruent with Caporale and colleagues’ (2009), reflecting the validity of the latter’s findings. References Aldrich, J. H.m Alt, J. E., and Lupia, A. (2007) Positive Changes in Political Science: The Legacy of Richard D. McKelvey’s Most Influential Writings. Michigan: University of Michigan. Allegrezza and Dubrocard (2012) Internet Econometrics. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan. Caporale, G. M., Georgellis, Y., Tsitsianis, N., & Yin, Y. P. (2009) Income and happiness across Europe: Do reference values matterJournal of Economic Psychology, 30(1), 42-51. Gailmard, S. (2014) Statistical Modeling and Inference for Social Science. NY: Cambridge University Press. Gill (2008) Bayesian Methods: A Social and Behavioral Sciences Approach, Second Edition. NW: Chapman & Hall/CRC. Jones, A. (2007) Applied Econometrics for Health Economists: A Practical Guide. Second Edition. Oxon: Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. Oshio, T., Nozak, K., and Kobayashi, M. (2011) Relative income and happiness in Asia: Evidence from nationwide surveys in China, Japan, and Korea. Social Indicators Research, 104 (3), 351-367. Sadler, A. M. (2008) Determinants of Entrepreneurial Behavior among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant University Scientists in the US: The Impact of Cultural Predispositions and Learning. MI: ProQuest LLC.

Anne Frank Reaction paper Essay

Anne Frank is the diary of a little girl following the events surrounding a thirteen year old girl who grows up Jewish and lives in Amsterdam during the Holocaust. As the events of World War II began Anne was a typical girl who attended school and was aware of the war and world around her, but at the time, wasn’t very fearful for her safety. Unfortunately, reality struck Anne as the news of World War II progressed, accompanied by the call for her old sister to be taken away to a concentration camp. Suddenly, the world as Anne perceived it would change dramatically. Soon, they were living in an annex, an addition to a building, hiding from the SS officers of the Nazis. The diary of Anne Frank gives an insight to the Jewish perspective of the Holocaust and the prejudice and discrimination not only that the Jews underwent but of others in the society as well. As I read the diary of Anne Frank I began to learn what so many of the Jewish people had experienced during World War II. Anne started writing in her diary when she first received it for her birthday. Her diary recalls many of the feeling and events that Jews felt during World War II. I learned that Nazi’s discriminated against Jews in a multitude of ways. First, they were forced to wear yellow stars to signify if they were Jewish or not. Also, All Jews were forced to hand over all bikes and were not allowed to ride the streetcars anymore. In addition to those restrictions, Jewish people were only allowed to attend certain schools and restaurants. Like many Jewish people, Anne seemed calm and unafraid of the World and the war. She looked at hiding from the Nazi’s as an adventure. This would be short-lived as she soon realized that being trapped inside a room with other families can be frustrating for a young girl. She envied others outside that still were allowed to pla y freely. She soon realized that her life was at risk every day. While hiding in a secret annex for a little more than two years, Anne wrote a lot about her feelings and events of her time in solitude with her family  and others. Frustrations run high when emotions run high and there is no privacy to escape to. â€Å"I see the eight of us in the Annex as if we were a patch of blue sky surrounded by menacing black clouds. . . . [They loom] before us like an impenetrable wall, trying to crush us, but not yet able to. I can only cry out and implore, ‘Oh ring, ring, open wide and let us out!’† (Frank, 1995, pg. 108). This passage was the most meaningful to me, I learned about the fear that All Jews in hiding must have faced. I learned that every day for two years Anne and her family lived in fear, afraid that they would not be free, afraid that they will not see each other again, and afraid that they will not survive. Every time a bomb raid siren or something as little as a knock on the door went off, complete fear would set in. The longer the war went on the more afraid they became that they would be caught and killed. Having to live life that way for so long must have taken a tremendous toll on a person. The events that Anne frank describes in her diary are very important. The passages in her diary portray discrimination in its purest form. The diary shows the prejudice and discrimination that millions of Jews underwent. It shows to the rest of the world how people can act. It is eye opening to how people treat others in today’s society, but most importantly it gives us insight to ourselves and how we have been treating others. It shows how one person’s beliefs can be passed on to an entire society and can cause so much hate to a particular group. â€Å"I keep trying to find a way to become what I’d like to be and what I could be if . . . if only there were no other people in the world† (Frank, 1995, pg. 247). Anne’s last sentence is very meaningful and moving. It says that there will always be good and bad people in the world, and that the only way that there will be no bad people is if she was the only one left. It also says that no one can really ever be who they want to be because of the unscrupulous people in the world. Until we can rid people of prejudice and discrimination we will never be able to achieve the things we want to.

Improving Wound and Pressure Area Care in a Nursing Home Essay

In Sprakes and Tyrer’s (2010) research article entitled â€Å"Improving Wound and Pressure Area Care in a Nursing Home†, the effectiveness of wound and pressure ulcer management was examined. The rate of wounds and pressure ulcers in a nursing home is often an indicator of the quality of care received as these injuries can lead to illness and a decreased quality of life (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). Sprakes and Tyrer have identified gaps in overall management of wound and pressure ulcers. They have also identified a large volume of referrals regarding advice and support for wounds and pressure ulcers. For these reasons the authors’ research was aimed toward whether utilization of a new wound and pressure ulcer management system in the nursing home would decrease rate and severity of these injuries (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). The reason this article was selected for critique was due to personal encounters with pressure ulcers in the nursing home setting and first-hand observations of the debilitating effects they can have on an individual. Summary Research took place in a nursing home that was selected due to observations of poorly managed wounds and pressure ulcers. The authors’ overall aim of the research was to â€Å"improve outcomes for patients requiring wound and pressure ulcer management† (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010, p. 47). The authors planned on meeting this goal through improving staff knowledge, improving documentation, and finally encouraging owners to uphold the proper standards of care. Before implementing their management framework, the authors obtained data to establish a control. The authors collected data over a six month period regarding frequency of wounds and pressure ulcers and regarding the number of times additional support nurses were contacted to aid with wounds/pressure ulcers. Next, staff knowledge was assessed regarding wound and pressure ulcer assessment and management (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). The authors then created a unique competency-based framework. This competency-based framework served as the standard of care to be used throughout the project. It also served as an evaluating tool when measuring staff performance. From there the authors then went on to discuss the project with the staff. Concerns, barriers, and benefits were all discussed as the authors felt â€Å"if staff understand why change is occurring, they are more likely to implement the required change† (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010, p. 47). When implementing their competency-based framework the authors selected four nurses to be supported through the program. Only four were chosen due to the amount of time required to support each individual member. The four nurses then received two theoretical training sessions with a day on wound assessment and a day on pressure ulcer prevention and management (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). Once complete, the nurses worked alongside one of the authors in implementing the framework in the clinical setting. Completion of the process took an average of six weeks per nurse (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). After completion of the program the four nurses had their knowledge reassessed and another set of data was collected over a six month period to allow time for the nursing staff to incorporate the framework into practice (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). After analyzing the data, the authors found a 77% decrease in the number of wounds and a 57% decrease in the number of pressure ulcers. The data also revealed a significant increase in wound and pressure ulcer documentation and a decrease in the number of contacts to supportive nurses. When reassessed the staff demonstrated an increase in knowledge and skill. Overall the authors came to the conclusion that both the nursing staff and patients considerably benefited from the project. Based off the results, they encourage the implementation of similar projects in other nursing homes (Sprakes & Tyrer, 2010). Analysis of the authors’ references affirms their appropriateness to the study; however, 66% of the references used are not current as indicated by a publication date greater than 5 years. Critique Based on the article, the authors’ purpose of the study was apparent and the results were conclusive. The authors’ decision to implement an evidenced-based wound assessment tool was a great choice as it significantly benefited documentation rates as one was not being used in the nursing home prior. Through this choice it was evident that the authors were able to help the nursing staff to â€Å"ensure the credibility of their profession and provide accountability for nursing care† (North Carolina Concept-Based Learning Editorial Board, 2011, p. 2324). When analyzing the study it clearly demonstrates the impact that proper guidelines and education can have on wound and pressure ulcer management. Through education the authors were able to aid the nursing home in preventing the occurrence of more wound and pressure ulcers as â€Å"prevention is the goal for the clients at risk for pressure ulcers† (NCC-BLEB, 2011, p. 1918). Although this article is a good resource for information and statistics on wound and pressure ulcers, it is not recommended for individuals looking for particular nursing interventions used for wound and pressure ulcers. While the authors did broadly explain their competency-based framework, they lacked depth in explaining specific information and interventions taught and used throughout the project. In conclusion, this work greatly contributes to the nursing profession because it created a unique quality management plan that has the potential to better numerous nursing homes and improve the lives of many patients. References North Carolina Concept-Based Learning Editorial Board. (2011). Nursing: A concept-based approach to learning (Vols. 1-2, pp. 1915-1926, 2324, 2425). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. Sprakes, K. , & Tyrer, J. (2010). Improving wound and pressure area care in a nursing home. Nursing Standard, 25(10), 43-49. Retrieved from http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=rzh&AN=2010893921&site=

Culture perspective of India Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Culture perspective of India - Dissertation Example This essay explores that India is next to China and is among the world’s most populated countries. Covering 2.4 per cent of the total world’s area, India cultivates a significant percentage of the total population of the world i.e. 15 per cent. India is a very diverse country in all respects including the religion of people, their cultures, languages and traditions. People of India are diverse in their norms, values and traditions, many of which are influenced by Central Asia, Iranian Plateau, West and Afghanistan because of the fact that India was invaded from them. The political and social organization of contemporary India is determined to much an extent, by the religion, language and caste of the people. Of the 16 official languages identified by the Indian government, Hindi is the one that is spoken and understood almost in every part of India. Indians are very particular about their familial roles and responsibilities. Family is the strongest unit in which people can dwell together. People understand the significance of relationships. The importance of relationships eradicates selfishness and inculcates responsibility in an individual. Parents consider their children their property after they have spent the whole life raising the children. Children also understand that their parents have a lot of rights over them since they fed them right from their birth and bore all their expenses to make them able to earn their own living. There is also respect for elder siblings. Younger siblings respect the elder ones while the elders are expected to be affectionate towards the younger ones. Indian people dwell in large families. There is no trend of cohabiting. Every individual is obliged to get married, both religiously and socially. Newly married couples tend to live with the parents of the groom. Although some couples do live separate, yet it is appreciated if they live in the same house as the groom’s parents. This is done in order to show t heir respect for the parents. Besides, the couple also draws certain benefits from this practice. For example, the couple shares the house expenses with the parents, so it relieves the burden for both the parents and the children. Conflicts between the groom’s mom and the bride are common. It is not that the two have negative intentions against each other, but they gradually indulge in certain conflicts over household matters. This can in part, be attributed to the groom’s love and attention for the bride that creates a distance between the groom and his mom as a result of which, such situations arise. A responsible son is expected to maintain balance between his mom and his wife. A son that can not maintain this balance either lives in a separate house from the start, or separates after some years of the marriage from the parents. Many Indian parents do not distinguish between sons and daughters and consider the two as entitled to equal rights, though some parents ten d not to educate their daughters as much as they educate their sons, and they have a reason for that. These parents think that if they educate their

Ethics study of Nanotechnology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ethics study of Nanotechnology - Essay Example This is because nanoparticles injected in the blood vessels might end up attacking cells leading to new maladies, hence worsening the ailing person’s condition. The other ethical issue, which I think nanotechnology will bring about, is the safety and elimination of nanoparticles once deposited in the environment such that they will not seep into other essential resources like water mostly used by living organisms. This is especially in the third world states whereby after purchasing nanotechnology products like cosmetics may end up depositing them inappropriately, hence becoming health hazards to people residing near dumpsites. In addition, there is an emerging concern regarding the increase of numerous corporations, which will result to utilizing nanotechnology knowhow in the future; whether they will apply it as necessitated and with consideration of consumer’s health. First pitfall which renders the use of nanotechnology being a challenge encompasses its characteristic phenomenon of varied materials behaving differently besides their respective dimensions shrinking while in use (Fleddermann). Hence, entailing those intending to use them ascertain exactly how a given material would behave before resulting to incorporating it into a certain area of application. This is because they may end up being more of disadvantage to human than how experts initially were anticipating to be beneficial compared to other materials. Another pitfall that may arise in the absence of meticulous testing or research encompasses certain materials’ surfaces being extremely reactive, whereas their bulky forms being inert during application. Hence, being a challenge during fabrication process due to this anomaly, which is also evident when using nanopowder obtained from reactive materials (Fleddermann). This is because nanopowder is more reactive than the parent

International Money and Capital Markets Research Paper

International Money and Capital Markets - Research Paper Example A developed economy is defined by high level of economic activities including foreign trade resulting to high demand of foreign currency, especially hard currencies such as US dollar. A higher demand of foreign currency induces increase in exchange rate and the other way round (Taylor, 2001). Exchange rate shares an important relationship to relative price level because; price level establishes a link between foreign price and domestic price. Relative price difference or purchasing power parity is an important determinant of exchange rate as it recognizes various adjustments that need to be made in the exchange rate for maintaining equilibrium in the international currency rates (Auboin and Ruta, 2013). Trade flow can be categorized as trade inflow (import) and trade outflow (export). When the cost of foreign currency is relatively high, countries focus on greater export and less import while low exchange rate result in increasing level of import. However, frequent fluctuation in the exchange rate has negative impact on trade flow because of fluctuation in transaction and conversion costs (Auboin and Ruta, 2013). Interest rate is an influential factor with respect to fluctuation in exchange rate. Studies suggest that higher interest rate result in appreciation in the currency value of a country with respect to that of other because, high interest rate attracts greater investment in the appreciating currency for earning better future returns (Taylor, 2001). Impact of economic factors on exchange rate equilibrium Assessment of exchange rate behavior is a perennial subject of international monetary economics where various macroeconomic factors are examined to understand their role in maintaining equilibrium in exchange rate.

Energy drinks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Energy drinks - Essay Example The difference between sports drinks and energy drinks lies in their contents. Sports drinks have energy giving elements in them while energy drinks have stimulants. These stimulants include caffeine and guarana, which can change the functioning of the human body. Johnson (2014, p.377) notes that both the sports and energy drinks have carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins, sodium, proteins, and other minerals. Energy drinks and sports drinks are associated with a number of benefits. Sports are always associated with using a lot of energy; so many sports people may require a lot of energy drinks. When they are being promoted during marketing, their sellers say how good they are to consumers. Some say how these drinks can improve the performance of sportsmen. They also say that they can remove fatigue and increase concentration or keenness. Some sellers also claim these drinks can replace the electrolytes that are lost when a person is sweating. Sports and energy drinks are usually sold mostly to the young people. The reason is that it is the youths who use them quite often. They use them a lot because they take part in many hard activities that require much energy. These drinks are used by different people in different ways. These energy drinks are made of various components. The components are; water, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals amino acids/ protein caffeine, guarana, electrolytes a nd other stimulants. Water helps in giving the body the hydration it requires to operate normally. When a person is active and is using a lot of energy, thermoregulation is increased (Burrow 2013, p.141). He or she will need water to help in cooling and hydrating their bodies. Carbohydrates give energy to the consumers, but only if taken with other nutrients. Vitamins, minerals, amino acids/ and proteins are so good for the human body. Sports drinks and energy drinks are therefore, beneficial

Past, Present, and Future Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Past, Present, and Future Paper - Essay Example In general, my major motive behind learning of this particular course of drug abuse was to develop my career as a licensed substance abuse counselor and to serve community to promote healthy living habits among the people. I feel that learning is extremely important and must be continued in order to keep our skill sharp and inculcate creativity and innovation in ourselves. Before involving in pursing course in substance abuse, my professional competencies regarding various skills such as written and oral communication, problem solving, and cooperation with the other members were moderate. Notably, I had moderate communication skills both in written as well as oral forms. In my professional life I used to involve in evaluating technical data and apply my logical and analytical problem skills in resolving work related issues. At the same time, I enjoyed taking challenges, I believed that challenges encountered in life not only test our level of competency but it also prepares me to deal with challenges that might emanate in later life. Moreover, I had fair competency with respect to the information retrieval and utilization, I often used to read of books and journals on diverse subjects that had offered me with valuable knowledge regarding information retrieval and utilization. I firmly believe that goal setting is a crucial part of my career as well as personnel development planning. Considering my strengths and weaknesses my career goal is to become a license substance abuse counselor so that I can help the drug abuse victims and their family overcomes their sufferings. I always viewed drug abuse as one of the major problems faced by the societies across the world. Thus, it made me motivated to opt for the course and develop career that would not only benefit me but also the community. When I was working with a non-profit health

Family work Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Family work - Assignment Example c) I think the US should regulate working hours to se to shield workers in both public and private sectors from being exploited. An eight hours working day should be acceptable and employees should only work for five days. Any overtime should be a request and compensated commensurately. In setting such a law I will consider ILO and other international organizations as well as the UN guidelines on work hours. d) Closing borders is a good measure that will help prevent illegal immigration into the US. However, focusing on the demand side for labor by illegal immigrants you see a need for punishing employers. Firstly, sneaking into a country to earn a living is less grievous a crime compared to sneaking around fair-labor to employ low-wage immigrants. Sneaking around fair labor standards encourages the employment of illegal immigrants on poor wages. Such employers should be fined heavily so as to bar them from repeating their unethical acts. Nations differ markedly in a number of issues. One notable difference among nations is culture; all nations of the world have unique cultures which not only influence development but also the way of doing business. In China for instance business is greatly influenced by strong relationships and trust while in the west the business environment runs on the principal of capitalism where contractual agreements are influential. Approaching business can therefore differ significantly from the west. Another notable difference is the legal environment; some nations encourage free markets while others such China protect certain sectors perceived as being important to the national economy. Labor laws also differ with some nations focusing a lot on rights of employees while others don’t. in China for instance laws on copyright are not well developed and therefore proprietary issues can easily arise when doing business. The United States differs with developing

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain develops criticism of society by contrasting Huck and Jims life on the river to their dealings with people on land. Twain uses the adventures of Huck and Jim to expose the hypocrisy, racism, and injustices of society. Throughout the book hypocrisy of society is brought out by Hucks dealings with people. Miss Watson, the first character, is displayed as a hypocrite by Huck Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me. But she wouldnt. ?And she took snuff too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself (Twain 8). Huck did not understand why she does not want him to smoke, That is just the way with some people. They get down on a thing when they dont know nothing about it (Twain 8). When Huck encounters the Grangerfords and Shepardsons he describes Colonel Grangerford as, ? a gentleman, you see. He was a gentleman all over; and so was his family(Twain 86). On Sunday when Huck goes to church he sees the hypocriticalism of the families, The men took their guns along, ? The Shepardsons done the same. I t was pretty ornery preaching-all about brotherly love, and such-like? (Twain 90). Huck with his anti-society attitude, you would presume that he would have no problem in helping Jim. Yet he fights within himself about turning over Jim to the authorities, by this action within Huck shows that he must have feelings that slavery is correct so that the racial bigotry of the time may be seen. This decision for Huck is monumental even though he makes it on the spot. He has in a way decided to turn his back on everything that home stands for, this allows us to leave our thought of bigotry behind and begin to see Jim for what he really is a man. Hucks attitude for Jim is racist which is seen when he decides to play a trick on Jim during their voyage. After Huck plays his trick his attitude toward Jim begins to change, It was fifteen minutes before I could work myself up to go and humble myself to a nigger; but I done it, and I warnt ever sorry for it afterward, neither (Twain 72). The dialogue throughout the book between Huck and Jim illustrates that Jim is more than property and that he is a human being with feelings, and hopes for a better future. The river provides a place for Huck and Jim to escape the harsh society around them and develops into a god. The river provides a pathway for the action to progress, unlike other forms of travel it proceeds to guide the book in one direction down a set path. The god-likeness of the river controls the adventures, It is the River ? that will not let them land at Cairo, where Jim could have reached freedom; it is the Rive that separates them ? the River that reunites them, ? (Eliot 333). Society has lost the moral meaning of the river, ? the river was forgotten, and precisely by the dwellers in cities, by the worshippers of the machine (Trilling 325). It is through the adventure of Huck and Jim that Twain tries to show the power that can only be displayed by the natural force of the river, ? the river was forgotten, and precisely by the dwellers in cities, by the worshippers of the machine (Trilling 325). Whenever Huck goes to shore he eventually seeks the refuge of the raft and the river. The problems of society become apparent to Huck when he goes ashore, while watching the gun fight between the Grangerfords and Shepardsons he becomes ill with the violence between these two families, I wished I hadnt ever come ashore that night, to see such things (Twain 94). The river never deals with the insignificant matters of society, and allows Huck the freedom to be himself. The river is freedom, the land is oppression, and that oppression is most evident to Jim. In Hucks dealings with society he sees people for who they truly are, He sees the real world; and he does not judge it-he allows it to judge itself (Eliot 329). Huck is rejuvenated by the river, when he goes ashore he faces society and all the injustices that it carries. When he returned to the raft he felt free again, Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft dont. you feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft (Twain 96). The river becomes the place where freedom is felt for Huck and Jim on a grand scale. The end of the novel may appear to distract from the maturing of Huck and seem to regress Huck back to the state he was at the beginning of the novel. When Twain really was just trying to fade Huck out, Huck Finn must come from nowhere and be bound nowhere (Eliot 335). The return of Tom, with his elaborate scheme to free Jim is merely to set Huck into the background of the novel again. Tom returns to let the reader see the transformation of Huck, Mark Twain, ? Huck Finn whose fate it must always be to seek a freedom beyond the limits of any civilization, ended his novel by contrasting Toms and Hucks sense of the Territory. (Pearce 361). The ending simply shows the changes Huck has gone through during his voyage to the boyish attitude him and Tom shared at the beginning of the novel. Huck and Jims adventures allow us the chance to examine the society they live in. It also gives us an opportunity to examine society today along with ourselves. Freedom the one thing that both Huck and Jim are searching for they only find on the river. Twain is showing us in this story that sometime we must break away from society and what the world views as correct and just. He is showing us that we have the strength inside to stand on our own and make decisions for ourselves. Twain, through Huck, gives us the chance to see all the things in the world as they really are. Not so that we judge the world but so we can stand up for what is right.

The Corporate Zappos Culture In Business

The Corporate Zappos Culture In Business Earlier with a boom in e-commerce the idea of selling shoes online was not much appreciated. No one wanted to buy shoes online as it was difficult to find a perfect pair and there were hassles of returning shoes through mail. Looking at the huge market potential in US and popularity of online industry, Nick Swinmurn clicked with an idea to start an online shoe retail store which would make shopping more simpler and hassle free. Hence Zappos, earlier known as Shoesite.com got a first mover advantage. Tony Hsieh, an entrepreneur since young age joined this company as CEO when he was just 27 years old  [2]  . In his own venture Link Exchange he had learnt that culture and job satisfaction was more important in a company over monetary growth  [3]  . He reinforced the organisation culture and made Zappos stand where it is today. Today, Zappos is an organisation which has managed its incredible growth in a short span of time; this is mainly because of its unique organisational culture. Under the leadership of Tony, Zappos focused on delivering superior customer service over marketing and to achieve this they designed a culture which would drive this goal. Before analysing Zappos culture lets have a look at its competitive industrial positioning using Porters 6 forces. Zappos once was just another internet company until it realised that it is not only competing with online companies but also with retail stores  [4]  . Tony realised that there was need of some kind of differentiation which would help suffice the strong buyers force. This is when Zappos came up with its core values to strengthen its culture and focus on exceptional customer services. The core values were the base for all the key decisions at Zappos and they actively managed their culture based on the below mentioned core values: As per Burns and Stalkers organic model, innovative organisation like Zappos tend to develop Organic culture because the creative employees needed for innovation cannot be burdened with bureaucracy and control. According to Goffee and Jones sociability/solidarity model, Zappos organic culture can be a mixture of networked and communal cultures which has both high solidarity and sociability. In Zappos, the degree of sociability is high as the environment is friendlier where employees are given liberty to work the way they want without any pressure of achieving targets. Employees at Zappos also possess the solidarity culture as they cherish and implement the 10 core values effectively to achieve the common goal of the company  [5]  . Zappos Organisational Culture using Culture Web Zappos organisational culture is a broad term used to describe the psychology, attitudes, experience, beliefs and values of its organisation. Zappos has a strong culture where staff responds positively to stimuli because of their affinity to Zappos organisational values. Zappos organisational culture can be theoretically mapped as, the Work/Play hard culture,  [6]  Brand Congruent culture  [7]  , Constructive culture.  [8]  These terms can all be used to label Zappos culture and its key parameters are as follows. In Zappos, members are encouraged to interact with people and approach tasks in way that help them meet their higher order satisfaction needs. The staff also believes in the product or service of the organisation. They like what their company is trying to achieve and co-operate to achieve it. They are passionate and seem to have similar goals. They use resources available to them to proactively solve problems. There are also few risks taken coupled with rapid fee dback. They have team meetings, company jargon, and buzzwords. They all strive for the highest quality customer service. To identify various elements of Zappos culture, a Cultural Web  [9]  is used. Stories: The past events and customer satisfaction stories mentioned both in and out the company. Zappos places immense value on these and portrays this as examples of target behaviour. Rituals and Routines: Zappos has outlined expected behaviour in given situations and lets staff know what is valued by the management. Symbols: Zappos uses whacky visuals, funny logos, and humorous pictorials to represent its culture visually. Organisational Structure: Zappos tries to retain a highly informative and fun filled organisational structure and attempts to indicate what contributions are most valued. Control Systems: Zappos has controls to monitor the way the organisation functions. These include financial systems, quality systems and rewards. Power Structures: Zappos tries to instil a varied power structure where each staff member has some amount of influence on decisions, operations and strategic direction. Culture as belief system Tony observed if they get their culture right that would ultimately result in repeat customers and word of mouth. Values and belief systems are not only important for Zappos culture but also for its architecture as analysed in below table. It shows how some of the most important key elements fit in this cultural and architectural web of Zappos and contributes to the competitive success of the organisation. 1. This is evidenced as the employees are given complete transparency and are urged to communicate openly. Tony started an online service called Zappos Insights wherein one can find all the insight information. Moreover, all the decisions taken during lay-off were also revealed on Twitter. 2. Employees are encouraged to delight customers by going out of the way to deliver best services. They handle the calls without scripts, pay more attention to customers queries and personally interact with them through means like Twitter. Employees take risks and are not afraid of making mistakes. To achieve this element, neither are they pressurised to achieve targets nor are their call durations measured. 3. Zappos managers are encouraged to spend up to 20% of their time on team building activities. They also make sure that all the employees work without any stress. An employee can also appreciate other employees work with a reward of $50 as bonus. Apart from this, there are other rewards like employee of the day and other benefits like medical coverage, free lunch, beverages etc. This is done to inspire new ideas and creative thinking. They are also free to write stories about their experiences and Zappos culture in a culture book. 4. Its not about what you say to your customer, its all about how you made them feel. Zappos pleased its customers with easy to navigate website, wide patterns for searching, wide range of shoes and speed of delivery. Moreover they delight their customers by free both way shipping, 365 days return policy, 24/7 customer service. They surprise customers by sending cards and bouquets if they get to know about any special occasion which in turn makes the experience memorable. These are the main elements which links the mentioned components in Zappos culture and architecture. All these elements are focused on achieving one common goal i.e. companys consumer based competitive success  [10]  . Using Loyalty Business Model Further, as per Tony, the basic business model followed by Zappos is: Culture -> Customer Service -> Word-of-Mouth Marketing -> Revenue/Profits  [11]  . This model is very much similar to the Loyalty Business Model derived by Reichheld, F.  [12]   The 10 core values that defined the Zappos culture were derived by employees themselves and that has played an important role in terms of employee satisfaction and hence it is ultimately reflecting in excellent customer delivery. This culture brings up customer satisfaction and loyalty which can be seen by the rate of repeat customers. Employees are instructed to direct customers to competitors if their desired product is not currently available with Zapoos which inturn helps in building up customer loyalty. Zappos, so far have been successful in building a strong customer loyalty base which helps in its promotion through Word-of-Mouth Marketing. All this helped Zappos pursue growth in terms of high revenue and profits and achieve competitive success. Zappos HR Strategies After analysing Zappos culture, lets move to the HR strategies followed by them. Zappos work culture is filled with workers who have been selected and trained in such a way that they conform to higher involvement model  [13]  of HR systems. In an idealistic scenario the employees are motivated more about the job than about the monetary benefits of the job. These employees have a lot of freedom at the work place and this maximizes discretionary behaviour. As can be seen from Zappos remarkable success there is a strong employee-company relation and a sense of bonding which leads the employees to work independently and at the same time map the company goals into their daily work routines, on their own  [14]  . Linking HR Systems to Zappos Business Strategy Zappos HR strategies have played an important role in its remarkable success. Shown below is the Business Strategy model which will analyse the strategies used by Zappos and link between different components of HR and Non-HR strategies followed by Zappos. Under people management, Zappos seeks for the people who believe in its core values and have a passion for providing outstanding customer service. People are tested on technical skills as wells as on cultural fit i.e. creativity, individuality, etc. Successful candidates are given 4 weeks of training. Good performance is appreciated by rewards ,employees are also given counselling if they are under stress. People management process at Zappos provides employee with perfect AMO scenario. Ability to the employees is provided by the imparting rigorous training which also includes on training over phones. Motivation is provided by rewards, events and other benefits. Zappos emphasises on giving equal Opportunities to the employees by giving them the liberty to work the way they want. The call duration is not measured and they do not work on scripts. Critical HR goals for Zappos comprises of confirming that excellent customer service is delivered, employees are satisfied, core values are followed, customer relations maintained etc. On Non-HR side we come across the relevant management processes followed at Zappos. The main mode of marketing for Zappos is Word-to-Mouth which is the result of customer loyalty. Zappos operations includes: 365 days return policy, free shipping both ways, 24/7 customer service, warehouses running for 24 hours, etc. Customers are pleased with Zappos website because it is very simple, user friendly and it takes less than a second to load a page. Moreover it also offers 1095 brands of shoes, various searching patterns and 7 views from different angles. Main Critical Non-HR goals consists of ensuring all the resources are utilised effectively, all the policies are in place and followed throughout, customers are satisfied, rate of repeat customers is always rising etc. The above mentioned HR and Non-HR processes and goals leads to the main Business Goals which includes: achieving high sales and hence profitability, increase in customer loyalty and the number of repeat customers, and attain and maintain a number one position in the industry. Now, after analysing Zappos business strategies we can say that it has high competitive advantage as well as viability in this underlined industry. Control and Performance Measurement System for Zappos As seen in culture as belief system, architecture is also important to track the progress towards the objectives. Control systems are used to make sure that strategies and architecture are having desired effect and also they are efficient  [15]  . External Controls For Zappos, societal controls are mainly placed by the consumers. Zappos takes into consideration, the expectations of their customer i.e. excellent customer service. Zappos help reduce customer efforts and hence increase loyalty. Looking at the market controls, though Zappos is surrounded by competitors it has been successful in holding its customers and achieving growth till now. Internal Controls Internal controls were developed keeping an eye on the customer expectations and other external controls. Zappos culture was developed to meet the objectives and design the way in which organisation should perform. Zappos main aim is to deliver WOW through service and hence culture is designed such that employees are free to work the way they want in order to come up with creative and innovative ideas. Zappos also have its reward system in place where employees are awarded on good performance and they also get other benefits like medical coverage, free snacks, beverages etc. Employees are also trained to tackle particular situations and how to produce excellent service. The organisation is also governed by output controls that also check the adherence of the service provided towards the goal of the organisation (Line of sight congruence). This balance scorecard which is derived from the strategy map shown above is used as a control system for Performance Measurement System. As shown in the table financial perspective is dependent on ROCE, number of customers. Customer perspective is governed by C-SAT%, repeat customer%, average purchases by repeat customers, etc. Operational perspective is dependent on minimum both cycle time and lost business%, and effective use of all company resources. Labour perspective is driven by productivity of human resources and is measured by matrix such as staff turnover, attrition%, etc. Innovation and Learning comes from the Culture book utilisation, suggestions implemented, income from new brands, other innovative programmes, etc. Thus we have looked into Zappos unique work culture and its customer service focus which has made it an astounding success.

Illegal Immigrants From Mexico to US

Illegal Immigrants From Mexico to US Nowadays, illegal immigration continues to be a disputable and divisive issue, not only in the United States, but throughout the whole world. The migration of Mexicans into the United States is one of the key problems throughout the history of bilateral cooperation of Mexico and the United States. In this case, the speech is goes not about a legal entry into the country, which in one or another way can be planned and regulated by the U.S. authorities, but about a mass migration of illegal Mexicans which not easy to constrain. Thus, it is necessary to discuss the problem of illegal immigration from Mexico in U.S. and understand its main reasons through the prism of contemporary reality. First of all it is necessary to define the term illegal immigration, because it will be the most widely used term in our paper. According to Camarota, Illegal immigration (also referred to unauthorized or undocumented immigrants) refers to the migration of people across national borders in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destined country. (Camarota, 2001). Also Sarmiento stated that By definition, illegal immigration arises from a divergence between whom the United States will accept as an immigrant and the desire of some foreign nationals to live and work in this country. Illegal immigration is as old as U.S. immigration law With changes in U.S. immigration law and economic and political conditions in the United States and other countries, the nature and characteristics of illegal immigration have also changed. (Sarmiento, 2002). In such a way, people who are residing in a country illegally are known as illegal immigrants. In addition to this term, we should mention that an individual who is residing in a country in illegal way could also be known as an illegal alien, illegal migrant, undocumented immigrant, undocumented alien, unauthorized migrant or undocumented worker. In this case there are almost as many titles as there are commentators and that is why illegal immigrants contain a vast category of people. Like any social phenomenon, illegal immigration is not taken out of nowhere. It has its reasons which affect the underlying mechanisms of our society. Observing the problem of illegal immigration from Mexico to the United States we see that through the last several decades, the Mexican economy experienced substantial changes associated with the transition to neo-liberal path of development and strengthening of regional integration processes. According to the pace of development the country has become one of the most successful developing countries in the world and took key positions in Latin America. This information raises the question, whether these changes are reflected in migration flows between Mexico and the United States, which in its scale ranks the first place in the world. Migration of Mexican workers in the U.S. is, in fact, a natural result of close cooperation between the two countries with different levels of economic development. Significant difference in living standards and wages is a major factor in migration from Mexico to the United States. In addition, the proximity of the two countries is an additional incentive in this process. The length of the common border is 3,3 thousand km, most of which passes through the rather narrow river Rio Grande. Analyzing the problem of illegal immigration through the prism of historical context we can found rather interesting information. It is a well-known fact that the migration of Mexicans in the United States has its origins in the late XIX century, when the development of agriculture, mining, light industry, construction of railways in the south of the U.S. required an additional influx of cheap labor from other countries. In the period between 1850-1880 something about 55,000 Mexicans immigrated in the U.S. with the purpose to find a good job there. Discussing the next historical period, or it will be better to say during the World War I, the flow of Mexicans in the U.S. has increased in several times. Mexicans compensated the lack of American labor and became the main working force in the southern states economy sector of the northern neighbor. In this case, some of them (immigrants from Mexico) were in the U.S. illegally. Then the status of illegal immigrants has not yet been officially established, and the Americans considered them fugitives from Mexico. In 1924, was created the first in the southern U.S. Border Patrol, which was used to control illegal border crossings, and Mexican fugitives officially acquired the status of illegal immigrants. According to historical documents the U.S. borders were not always closed for immigrants and into the acknowledgement of this fact will be written this paragraph. As it was previously stated in 30-ies years of XX century, during the deep depression in the U.S., access to Mexicans in the country was severely restricted. Legal immigrant visas were practically not given almost as illegal immigrants were deported from the country under threat of prison. However, this period lasted not long, until the World War II began. Lack of the U.S. farm workers in the fields of one of the fastest growing economic areas in the U.S. again forced the ruling circles of the United States to open its border for Mexicans. In 1942-1964 during the term of special immigration program, the seasonal influx of Mexican workers was more than 4.6 million people, many of whom remained in the United States for permanent residence. It is necessary to emphasize that they helped to create a social infrastructure for the further influx of immigrants from Mexico in many ways. In 1970-80 years, the inflow of legal immigrants from Mexico amounted to 50-60 thousand people per annum, and illegal immigration has reached 1,5 million people per annum in its turn. However, it should be borne in mind that 90% of illegal immigrants performed seasonal work in the U.S. and after a certain period of time returned back to Mexico. During that period, on the average 20% of Mexicos population depended on the funds earned by migrants and remittances to the country, the volume of which ranged from $1,5-2 billion per annum. (Wong, 2006). In the early 1980s, during the financial crisis, the Mexican economy influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico to the United States for permanent residence greatly increased. While in 1980 the total U.S. population consisted of 2,5-3,5 million illegal immigrants, in 1986 their number amounted to 3,5-5 million. Meanwhile, the bulk of illegal immigrants were exactly immigrants from Mexico. Illegal immigrants were basically referred to the poor and they went to take any risk in order to reach the United States. Some of them join the ranks of criminals, drug and arms traffickers. Others have labored day and night in the fields of California for paltry wages, the size of which still exceeded the cost of labor in Mexico. Measures aimed to toughen immigration regime adopted in the U.S. in the late 1970s during the presidency of J. Carter (in particular, in some parts of the U.S.-Mexican border were erected barbed wire barricades, were adopted laws with an aim to infringe the rights of illegal immigrants and their children) were unable to deliver an effective barrier against illegal immigration, but only caused a worsening of relations on intergovernmental level. Moreover, in several years with an aim to additionally tighten control over illegal immigration was banned the process of illegal workers hiring, and employers who were going to violate this law knew about existed s anctions and set fines of 250 to 10 thousand dollars. However, despite the extra-taken measures, the influx of illegal immigrants from Mexico did not significantly declined. The situation with the control of illegal immigration from Mexico remains highly controversial, since affects the interests of different parties, especially the central government and local employers. On the one hand, the U.S. authorities made considerable efforts to curb illegal immigration. In addition, to strengthening border controls the U.S. government instituted a system of heavy fines from U.S. employers for the employment of illegal immigrants, abolish the right of free emergency medical and food aid, even for children of illegal immigrants, and also has established a deportation from the country. (Trevino, 1998). On the other hand, control of illegal immigration remains the weakest and least effective part of the migration policy. Seasonal agricultural workers from Mexico are the main labor force in the fields of California, Oregon. Therefore, in those moments when the central authorities in the U.S. are trying to toughen the migration regime and in the first place to restrict illegal immigration, authorities in these states often express open dissent and demand to weaken border controls. Currently, the problem of illegal immigration requires new constructive approaches and is closely linked to the control of legal immigration. On the one hand, the tightening of immigration controls and reducing quotas naturally stimulates the flow of illegal immigrants in the U.S., so at the present stage of bilateral cooperation is necessary to achieve a certain compromise on immigration policy. On the other hand, living relatives in the U.S. is a magnet for many Mexicans, so the U.S. government should draw a special attention to this aspect of the question. In this case, the speech is goes not about the closest relatives, which according to the U.S. law have the right to family reunification. In this situation the question refers to distant relatives or friends who help illegal immigrants and, thus, stimulate the process of illegal immigration. Illegal immigrants have many problems in America and their problems sometimes become the main problem even for legal immigrants. Why is it so? The answer is rather simple and deals with existed stereotypes, because immigrants considered to be the people of other sort and native Americans dont want to respect them. Also among the answers on the questions asked above we could define Blondells words, who said that the poll results among immigrants who are already in the United States show a widespread feeling that the current immigration chaos is unfair to the millions who entered the country legally. There are hundreds of thousands each year who are eager to assimilate. There is the sense that fairness to those who have abided by the law requires that they be given priority over those who violate the law. This lends itself to the view that state and local cooperation with federal efforts should be mandatory because the problem of chaotic illegal immigration is harmful to both native an d naturalized citizens in so many ways. (Blondell, 2008). Discussing the main problems that illegal immigration causes to the United States we see the following among the most notable of them: Glut of market with the cheap labor, reduction in wages because of the competition from the side of immigrants willing to work sometimes for a pittance, the increase of unemployment. The rise of crime, because illegal immigrants often work for a small salary and are on the other side of the law, in particular, a significant part of drugs trafficking and trafficking deadly poison in the country is carried out by people from dangerous countries that are at the group of risk. Overpopulation of the residential areas occupied by illegal immigrants, unsanitary conditions, threatening virtuous citizens. This, in turn, leads to resentment of the indigenous population forced to live in close proximity to clusters of immigrants. The destruction of families as migrant workers have a very long time been away from their families. The economic burden to the taxpayers, because they have to spend money on the health care of immigrants, even banal deportation costs money. At the same time, illegal migrants and their employers do not pay taxes to the budget. (Wong, 2006). The question of illegal immigration is connected with different legends and stories, and different surprising facts also have a place among them. One surprising fact is connected with actions of the Samaritan Patrol. The above mentioned Samaritan Patrol (Patrullaje Samaritano), whose members drive their off-road vehicles across the desert, searching there for illegal immigrants who might need an urgent medical aid. Mexicans know that when they saw a car marked Samaritan Patrol with a green cross, they will be given food, water, transportation to a medical hospital at their request, and if they want to go home the connection with the border patrol. The existence of such organization certainly raises a lot of controversy, and Border Patrol is constantly checks if there is a very big help to those who violate the law. The protests come also from the hospitals that are overcrowded by illegal aliens, who can not pay for own treatment and who are the ballast for American taxpayers. (Porte r, 2006). Haines Rosenblum said that As stated previously, there are an increasing number of security measures that have been implemented at and around the Mexico-U.S. border. As a result, it has become more difficult to illegally cross the border. As such, the assistance of coyotes is in high demand. The fees for a coyote easily run into the thousands per individual. Many illegal immigrants save up money or borrow money to cover this fee. Once a Mexican immigrant successfully crosses the border into the United States, they generally have two main goals. Their first aim is to send part of their earnings back home to their family and their second goal is to bring more family members to the United States. Eventually they hope to gain permanent residency (green card) and possibly U.S. citizenship status. (Haines Rosenblum, 1999). The next surprising fact is a special wall in the desert that aimed to stop illegal immigrants from Mexico. The influx of poor, uneducated and willing to work for meager wages illegal immigrants, as expected, has caused quite a backlash in American society, demanding politicians to stop, or at least to take under the control increased volumes of Mexican immigration. However, the defeat over illegal immigration is almost impossible and taking into account previous attempts to do it, the likely effectiveness of future borders and walls also in doubt. By the way, Mexican and U.S. scientists warn that the construction of the line of solid barriers may result in ecological disaster in the vast desert areas with a total area of over 100 thousand square kilometers at the junction of the states of Sonora (Mexico) and Arizona (USA), where the biosphere wildlife preserves were declared the heritage of mankind by UNESCO. Scientists stated that the desert is associated with a lifeless space only in the representation of the ignorant people. In fact, we are talking about very unique and fragile natural systems with unique flora and fauna. In biosphere wildlife preserves remain rare species of cacti and relic plants and wildlife is adapted to life in extreme conditions of arid desert. That is why extreme natural desert conditions explain the fragility of its ecosystems, where life and survival are synonymous. Measuring the amount of people who lost their lives in the search of better life on the border between Mexico and America, we see that the situation on the US-Mexican border is so does not fit in the universal notions of good and evil that even the Catholic Church could not stay aside the illegal immigration question. One day representatives of Mexican and American churches song an unusual collaboration, frontier Mass in memory of those who died trying to find a better life crossing the border illegally. According to Delaet we also see that Not all illegal aliens are crossing into the United States to find work. Law enforcement officials indicate that there are individuals coming across the border who are forced to leave their home countries because of criminal activities. These dangerous criminals are fleeing the law in other countries and seeking refuge in the United States. (Delaet, 2000). Thus, it shows that criminal atmosphere in immigrants circles are increased. Unfortunately, violence against immigrants is not something new for the U.S. In recent years, those who enter American territory illegally, more than ever, are at the mercy of sadistic inhuman smugglers, and many die even before they enter the United States. Others that used to repay a debt to smugglers become slaves and subjects of extortion, forced to prostitution and hard work through the fraud of their own countrymen. Thefts are also prevalent crimes in the immigrant environment. Often robbers guessing about the sta tus of illegal residents concluded that these people have no bank accounts in the U.S., and hence a lot of cash might be finding in their pockets. But these crimes on their scale are still far from illegal activities involving drugs. Many Mexicans choose not only to cross the border or transfer own family, but at the same time smuggle drugs. And drugs are always in conjunction with the crime, and smuggling leads only to more weapons, death and violence in the border with the U.S. cities where people are forced to pay with their lives for the increasing demand for powder for the residents of the neighboring state. And it is very difficult to stop this flow of death. According to this fact National Drug Intelligence Center Drug Enforcement Administration demonstrated that The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration reports that the Mexican drug syndicates operating today along our Nations Southwest border are far more sophisticated and dangerous than any of the other organized criminal groups in Americas law enforcement history. Indeed, these powerful drug cartels, and the human smuggling networks and gangs they leverage, have immense control over the routes into the United States and continue to pose formidable chal lenges to our efforts to secure the Southwest border. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The cartels operate along the border with military grade weapons, technology and intelligence and their own respective paramilitary enforcers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ This new breed of cartel is not only more violent, powerful and well financed, it is also deeply engaged in intelligence collection on both sides of the border. (National Drug Intelligence Center Drug Enforcement Administration, 2003). Thus, summarizing the above stated information it becomes evident that immigration from Mexico is a complex and multifaceted process. The majority of illegal border crossings have a place due to the fact that people simply want to earn extra money, and many of them did not want to stay in the U.S. permanently. However, higher wages are a magnet, and there are also a lot of people who would like to make the United States the place of own permanent residence. An effort to develop the Mexican economy has been taken with an aim to stop illegal immigration (this effort is a very good idea if the government would be able to bring it up to the end. But it is extremely difficult to do, realistically, in the scale at which it needs to be done with an aim to substantially decrease illegal immigration level). It is impossible to think about the issue of illegal immigration from two prefabricated sides to increase the possibility of legal entry into the United States, or to increase security at borders. It is so, because the problem is complex and serious and requires comprehensive approach to its solution. That is, in general, the picture of contemporary reality in the context of the problem of illegal immigration, our point of view on its causes, solutions and alternatives to the status quo. Thus, taking into account all the information discussed above it is possible to come to the conclusion that illegal immigration is a crime, but illegal immigrants need help and only right laws can help them to leave shadow and become visible. However, it does not mean that we should turn away from the current needs of this part of the social order, but on the contrary, we must look closely at the trends within it. Many politicians strongly believe that the answer must be found in the socio-political movement of the order itself, which we consider.

Phrenology Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Phrenology Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is primarily a novel about a man’s trip to the African Congo and the horrors he encounters while there. However Conrad’s novel is also a story of its time and therefore makes mention of the theories held when it was written. Included in these ideas is that of phrenology and its relatives, mentioned clearly when the doctor examining Marlow asks, â€Å"[may I] measure your head?† and the doctor then produces â€Å"a thing like calipers and [gets] the dimensions back and front and every way...† (p. 13). The following will provide a description of Phrenology and its implications. A pseudo-science developed by Austrian physician Franz Joseph Gall in the early 1800s, Phrenology is in its most basic form the study of the morphology of the human skull and its relation to human character. Gall’s â€Å"doctrine of Phrenology† (www.134.184.33.110/phreno/) is based upon five key principles, which were first presented in his work The Anatomy and Physiology of the Nervous System in General, and of the Brain in Particular. First, it is understood that man’s â€Å"moral and intellectual faculties† are innate† (Sabattini, R) and that their expression depends on how the brain is organized. Secondly, he proposed that the brain is the organ responsible for all inclinations, emotions and abilities. Thirdly he stated that the brain is composed of many different â€Å"organs† (Sabattini, R.) with each one being responsible for a certain human function. He also proposed that the size of these â€Å"organs† is directly related to th e amount of their presence and use in specific pers! ons. And finally, he suggested that the external morphology of the skull directly expresses the internal structure of the brain and that the â€Å"relative ... ... While Gall was incorrect in theorizing that the external skull reflects the personality and tendencies of an individual, he was surprisingly correct and in fact pioneered the idea that specific human functions and emotions are related to specific regions of the brain. His way of coming to this conclusion was scientifically incorrect but the implications of this idea helped modern science discover the idea of cerebral localization that is present today. Sources http://pages.britishlibrary.net/phrenology A comprehensive site which includes phrenology charts, photographs of key figures in the development of phrenology as well as a thorough overview of the science. www.epub.org.br/cm/n01/frenolog/frenologia.com A site designed by Dr. Renato M.E. Sabatini which gives a basic overview of the science and provides wonderful links to other sites on phrenology.

How Scottish families have changed in the last 100 years :: essays research papers

Perhaps the area that has changed the most for Scottish women in the last century is the family and the home. In the first half of the century the norm was for the woman of the house to "service" the male breadwinners within the home and family and to reproduce as their primary roles in life. This included many tasks including preparing meals for the whole family, looking after the family budget (It was usual for the husband to give his wife his pay packet at the end of the week and she would use it to pay the bills and buy the food.) as well as cleaning the house and the doing the whole family's washing, which all together usually equated to (or more than) full time work. Women were put under heavy strain due to cultural expectations and norms. They were expected to be under their family's beck and call 24 hours a day and while husbands could escape household pressures such as screaming children, by going to the pub with their friends, women could never even dream of that kind of freedom. Although their family was seen as a woman's main priority in life, many HAD to go out and work, often in factories or working as maids or cleaners (24% of employed women worked in the domestic service). They earned far less than men and were also expected to run the family home single handily. Although the 1911 Census of Scotland reported that only 1/20 of married women worked, the results were mainly linked to the middle class, not the poorer families where the woman was forced to work as their husbands wage wasn't enough to support the family. This was not uncommon, especially as in 1911, women who married between the ages of 22 – 26, had an average of 6 children (with 20% having 9 or more). In the first half of the 20th century, Scottish families remained larger than those in England did. One of the theories behind this is that Scotland has a smaller middle class, (who on average, have less children per family) and a higher proportion of Roman Catholics, who do not believe in birth control. Scottish homes were often very small with many children, and it was also common to find many "live-in" relatives in the home too. Conditions were cramped; in 1911, 50% of the population lived in 2 houses of only 1 or 2 rooms (bearing in mind that the average family size was at least 8).

Rough Draft Senior Paper

Well a psychiatrist is a hygienic who attends their clients behavioral, emotional, and mental symptoms (Ferguson, 157). They help people in many different ways. Some people are prescribed medicine because they feel that just talking to someone isn't helping and others can go talk to a psychiatrist and feel relieved like they don't need anything more than to talk to someone about their problems. Some psychiatric medications can be called psychotherapeutic or psychotropic medication (Mental, NP). Psychiatric medication wasn't developed until the sass's (Ferguson, 186).In days that are owe long forgotten, society stigmatize people with mental illnesses so much that they were kept chained up in asylums (Ferguson, 187). People also used to categorize people who were in prison and people with mental illnesses as the same thing. Until one day somebody brought up the fact that they didn't think it was right. So then a few years later, they resulted in moving them to different sides of the ho spital. Some people, taking meds, can function better. And they may only need to take them for a short amount of time (Mental, NP).Taking medication doesn't always cure the disorder, but it helps to make the errors function better (Mental, NP). Patients trust is key, which takes time and patience (Mescaline, Margaret, 22). Not having their trust creates problems such as the patients aren't being helped in any way because they can't trust psychiatrists enough to talk to them, or the business might lose money because there are no clients that come because the psychiatrists can't be trusted. To keep on track and up to date, psychiatrists need to be very organized because there is a bunch of paperwork that people have to fill out and deal with (Mescaline, Margaret, 25).Psychiatrists also need to have the ability to have emotional strength so when they find out that a child is sad or angry, it does not affect the psychiatrist (Mescaline, Margaret, 25). This also helps because they do not want to get attached to a child. So they have to stay emotional and physically distant from them, but closer enough to give them comfort and support. TO even become a psychiatrist, people need to have a college degree in Psychology, Sociology, or Social Work to become a child therapist (Mescaline, Margaret, 24).Also, must have a Master's degree from an accredited college or university. People absolutely have to do their rouser work and they will need to have supervised practice with patients (Mescaline, Margaret, 25). Must have very good observing skills, because this allows them to understand what children will not tell them (Mescaline, Margaret, 24). Also have to be open-minded, and have to be able to adapt to different types of situations very quickly (Mescaline, Margaret, 24). Psychiatrists need to know what they are supposed to be doing, and they need to know how to do it.Psychiatrists can prescribe medicine (Ferguson, 187). As people might have thought a psychiatrist and a ps ychologist are the amen thing, but they aren't. They are two totally different things. They work close to 52 hours a week, and remember that they are always on call (Ferguson, 192). Wow, that's more hours than a full time job! When psychiatrists are meeting a client for the first time, they like to conduct an evaluation with the patient so they can find out more about them such as current situations as well as medical history (Ferguson, 187).When clients express their feelings, it helps to give the psychiatrist a detailed picture of what is going on, how people really feel, and how the psychiatrist should treat oh (Ferguson, 188) What some humans don't realize is that there are different types of therapy to help out as well as medication, and talking to people. There is something called psychotherapy, which is when the patient is conjuring images while lying on a couch, the psychiatrist is taking copious notes at the same time (Ferguson, 187). Patient talks freely and relaxes.Therap ist's goal is to uncover troubling subconscious beliefs or conflicts and their causes. Dreams can also be broken down for clues about the unconscious mind. Subconscious events often lead to neurosis. Neurosis is an motional disorder in which the client displays anxious behavior (Ferguson, 188). There is also something called behavioral therapy, which is when the psychiatrists are teaching them to use relaxation to change their behavior. Psychiatrists could also use Biofeedback. This method uses electronic monitors that measure the effects that thoughts and feelings have on muscle tension, heart rate, and brain waves.This is done so that the patient can learn to control the body through stress reduction consciously (Ferguson, 188). Ever thought about what could be in these possibly harmful medications? Well scientists have done a few tests to see if psychiatric drugs are the safest to use. They have figured out that, some medications react differently with everyone. It all depends on how well people's bodies take it. People react differently when taking these psychiatric medications (Mental, NP). Factors such as what type of mental disorder the person has, their age, sex, and body.Also the habits they might have, genetics, physical illness, how well their liver and kidney functions, and other medications they are taking can affect how these drugs work in different people (Mental, NP). There is a bad side to everything, just like the negative effects of taking psychiatric medicines. When taking these medicines the person's weight, glucose levels and lipid levels need to be checked frequently (Mental, NP). Doctor's do this to ensure that the person's body hasn't reacted in a bad way; they want to make sure this person stays healthy while taking psychiatric medications.Usually antispasmodics are pills, but can also be in the liquid form. The liquid form is referred to as a shot; this person would go get it about once or twice a month (Mental, NP). More overshadows of taking these are, some people could possibly get side effects (Mental, NP). These side effects do not usually last long, maybe a few days or so. People taking antispasmodics are at risk of getting side effects (Mental, NP). Side effects such as persistent muscle spasms, tremors, and restlessness may occur with a physical movement but not always (Mental, NP).If people are taking any other medications when they are taking antispasmodics, the two medications together could react badly (Mental, NP). Side effects that could possibly happen while taking monotheistic are drowsiness, dizziness when moving, blurry vision, tachycardia, sensitive to the sun, and rashes (Mental, NP). Taking antispasmodics may result in major weight gain, and possible changes in their metabolism (Mental, NP). People who experience this are recommended to not drive at all until they get situated with their antispasmodic medicine (Mental, NP). They tell you these things for the person's safety and well-being.

Jane Eyre: Feminism

Feminism: Jane Eyre Unveiled Brittney Christensen English 153 Shona Harrison November 15th, 2012 â€Å"Feminism: The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men, statuses and classes. † The novel Jane Eyre greatly depicts many forms of feminism throughout, and is an eye opener as to how much time have changed and in a sense stayed the same since the Victorian Era. The thought of being exposed to such standards and conditions at such a young age onward outlines the realest forms of commitment to independence and dignity.Jane is a victim of feminism in the instance that she is subjected to the power of men and also plays the role of a feminist role model shown by multiple examples throughout the novel, whether referring to relationships or to personal attributes. The comparing and contrasting between the other characters and characteristics of the novel also unveil forms of feminism and feministic senses. The word â€Å"fem inist† or â€Å"feminism† is a very obscured word, with many different points of views considering their meanings. In the terms of feminist, â€Å"a doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men. And reference to Jane Eyre, Jane only hopes for equality between men and women, herself in particular, obviously due to the specific situations and circumstances she is exposed to. Jane proposed her acts upon facing women’s rights and equality by enforcing her words and good deeds, proving her lack of ignorance and retaliation. Jane represents a feminist in the Victorian Era, and mainly targeted at younger readers, preferably female considering the context, with the purpose to help the young females learn about maturity, growing up in the world, and the possible variety of obstacles that they may be faced with.With that said, Jane’s actions and words throughout the novel decipher her life and her experiences are what b uilt her courage and strength as a woman. Jane Eyre is proof that love and affection are two things that cannot be bought and that that her courageousness will not be underestimated. Rochester tries to persuade Jane into falling for him by offering her luxurious stones and lavish pieces of clothing. â€Å"Glad was I to get him out of the silk warehouse, and then out of a jeweler’s shop: the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation. † (Bronte, Page 229).Jane is getting the feeling of aggravation towards Rochester’s offerings in a sense that she does not need nor want such things and refuses to become exposed to the world of the materialistic lifestyle. Her hesitation towards marriage is also expressed in her statement, providing evidence that she does not feel the need to go to these extremes and expenses when it comes to marriage. â€Å"Marriage: the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. † Nowhere does it state that the experience as a whole has to be lavish, proving Jane’s point of view.Jane, as a feminist believes that everything and everyone can be beautiful without the extent of needing a man and the accommodations and luxuries one has to offer. Jane, being exposed to independence at such a young age gave her the leverage and confidence she needed to stand up for herself and express her view of women’s equality through her eyes. She comes to the consensus about her values and duties of herself as an individual when states, â€Å"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man.I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad – as I am now. † (Bronte, page 270). This quotation depicts and unveils Jane’s powerful feelings towards how she sees herself and what her morals are versus what they should be. Jane believes to be â€Å"mad†, which refers to the fact that it is somewhat insane that she can love Rochester when he is married to Bertha Mason, someone completely opposite to Jane. Because of Rochester’s argument for her to be with him, Jane’s statement also shows that her realization that Rochester has strong feelings towards her regardless of his current relationship status with Bertha Mason.Jane fears that if she is to lose anything important in her life then that will result in losing Rochester, despite the aspect of negotiating her own feelings. Jane refrains from going with Rochester after this confrontation†¦ â€Å"’You will not come? – You will not be my comforter, my rescuer? – My deep love, my wild woe, my frantic prayer, are all nothing to you? ’ What unutterable pathos was in his voice! How hard it was to reiterate firmly, ‘I am going. â⠂¬â„¢Ã¢â‚¬  Jane realizes Rochester’s true love for her, but also realizes that they are not meant to be, or so she thinks.In this instance, Jane is letting feelings between herself and another man jeopardize her life, which goes against her beliefs as well as a woman, although her rejection provides proof that she loves herself more, therefore showing her independence and pride in being a female. â€Å" I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you. † (Bronte, Page 216). Jane represents many things throughout the novel, mainly her strong feminist side is most relevant until closer to the end part of the novel, where she seems to let â€Å"love† get the best of her.Jane has found herself to fall deeply for Rochester despite her beliefs, she has resisted and now sees him for his true self, money aside. With that said, Jane herself, had not a clue that she would soon be facing some inheritan ce, â€Å"My uncle I had heard was dead – my only relative; ever since being made aware of his existence I had cherished the hope of one day seeing him: now, I never should. And then this money came only to me: not to a rejoicing family, and me but to my isolated self. It was a grand boon doubtless; and independence would be glorious – yes, I felt that – that thought swelled my heart. Jane inherited twenty thousand pounds and now felt as though her and Rochester were socially and economically equal, putting her at ease in a sense referring to her standards. Although Jane’s decision may come across somewhat hypocritical, she still stays true to herself and her feminist ways when she stands up to St. John, the clergyman that provides Jane with a place to stay. St. John is also in love with Jane and wants to be with her, but she does not feel the same way, â€Å"You have hitherto been my adopted brother: I, your adopted sister; let us continue as such: you and I had better not marry. (Bronte 345) Jane is trying to be nice about breaking the news to St. John to show her caring side as a woman, but St. John did not agree with this confrontation, â€Å"I must seek another interest in life to replace the one lost: is not the occupation he now offers me truly the most glorious man can adopt or God assign? It is not, by its noble cares and sublime results, the one best calculated to fill the void left by uptorn affections and demolished hopes? † (Bronte 344) This is one of St. John’s methods as to keeping Jane in his life, by bringing god into the equation, by insinuating that God does not agree with her and that St.John should have her for himself, which Jane really does not agree with, being as she believes in religion separately aside from her feminism beliefs. In a sense St. John’s statement about God made Jane think about how married life actually will be and the possibility of her lack of enjoyment due to the fac t that a label may disrupt the actual love. Despite St. John’s feelings, Jane knows where he heart is and stays true to her own feelings, showing her independence as a female. In terms of women’s and men’s rights, views on the issue can arise in a variety of opinions due to the difference in peoples views.The two main men characters in the novel, Rochester and St. John really enhanced Jane’s inner feminist by each pulling out specific traits in her that portrayed what she really believed in and what it takes to alter them; traits such as independence and personal strength as a woman, providing a learning experience from experiences. Jane grows to be able to form her own opinions and stand up for what is right in her eyes while still staying true to her beliefs as a feminist. Jane Eyre not only sets goals for herself, but also for other females, being such a great role model proven through her life choices and acts of strength. If I told anything, my tale would be such as must necessarily make a profound impression on the mind of my hearer: and that mind, yet from its sufferings too prone to gloom, needed not to deeper shade of the supernatural. I kept these things, then, and pondered them in my heart. † (Bronte 381) This really summarizes Jane’s journey from a girl to a woman, and is an inspiring and knowledgeable story. Work Cited Bronte, Charlotee. Jane Eyre. New York: W. W . Norton & Company, Inc. 2001. Eagleton, Terry. â€Å"Jane Eyre’s Power Struggles. † Myths of Power: A Marxist Study of Bronte.Totawa, NJ: Barnes and Noble Bookes, 1975. Rpt. In Bronte 491-496. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Feminism. † Collins English Dictionary. 2009. William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd 1979, 1986. Web. 14 Nov 2012. Roberts, M. J. D. â€Å"Feminism and the State in Later Victorian England. † The Historical Journal, Cambridge University Press. MLA Online Book. Vol. 28, No 1. pp. 85-110. Mar. 1995. Web. 15 Nov. 201 2. Garton, Stephen. â€Å"The Scales of Suffering: Love, Death and Victorian Masculinity. †, Taylor & Francis Ltd. MLA Online Article. Vol. 27, No. 1. (Jan. 2002), pp. 40-58. Web. 15 Nov. 2012.