Overpopulation: Research Paper Essay

Overpopulation: Research Paper Introduction A. Noticing the situations of several people in poverty, otherwise those devastated by natural disasters, pollution, crimes, etc, we have come to conclude that the reason for this suffering is essentially the rapid growth of population, and thus, with this mindset, we decided to uproot the cause further so as to be able to contrast it. B. The objectives of this research are: 1. To make people aware of the crisis of overpopulation 2. To lessen the number of people each year by making them aware of the effects C. Definitions of terms: 1. overpopulation – condition of having a larger population than normal 2. human resources- people with ability and skill as the wealth of a nation 3. accommodate- to provide or supply for someone 4. contraceptives- drug, medicine, chemical agent or device that prevent impregnation 5. natural disasters – occurrences in nature that damage poverty and lives 6. pollution – â€Å"dirtying† or â€Å"killing† nature 7. [global] economic crisis- a depression; a state of unemployment and little or no trade and investment over a long period of time [in the world] 8. poverty- a state of being poor, with no money or goods to support oneself 9. succumb- to give up; to give in to something far more superior 10. decline- a gradual decrease in strength and power [of a nation]; deterioration 11. chaos- a state of disorder, confusion disorganization of something; one in disarray 12. prosperity- a state of success or thriving; flourishing financially and socially D. Data-gathering procedures 1. Interviews 2. Internet Resources Presentation of Gathered Data A. Interviews 1. Annabelle Tee â€Å"For me, overpopulation is not good†¦ because there will be more pollution and this will result to more natural disasters forming around the world. As you can see right now, there have been many strong and deadly typhoons such as Ondoy entering the Philippines. Overpopulation, however, can result to some good things, such as our own country will progress†¦Ã¢â‚¬  2. Richmond Tee â€Å"Overpopulation is when there are more people than there should be. We must lessen the population of the Philippines (and the world) because we need to also put a stop to global warming. Since many people aren’t even aware of this yet, it is becoming more deadly. You see, there have been many natural disasters recently. I really think that overpopulation is bad†¦ Even our family is overpopulated†¦ *laughs*†¦Ã¢â‚¬  3. Izen Lao â€Å"For me, overpopulation will make our country bad because there are a lot of pollution. Mas grabe pa nga sa U.S. eh†¦ *laughs* So thus†¦ overpopulation is bad.† 4. Jan Adrian Chan â€Å"Overpopulation, in my opinion, has two sides: the good and the bad. On the good side, with a greater population, we have more people to help in progression. More people equals more manpower, and manpower means a lot to a country. Even if there aren’t many job opportunities here in the Philippines, workers, or OFWs, they may go abroad to work and bring back some money to enrich our economy. On the other hand however, too many people can cause several things such as traffic congestions, crime, poverty, pollution, etc.† 5. Ninyo Vasquez â€Å"Overpopulation can be good for the economy and at the same time bad because there are positive and negative effects. I think that’s it. B. Internet Resources â€Å"In a corner of the Northern cemetery, Venanjo Sison is standing on top of a coffin and taking a bath. Like many other of Manila’s residents, he is forced to live wherever he can. His home is made of wooden planks and scrap pieces of plastic.† The capital of the Philippines is a very overpopulated place. An average of 41,282 people live in 1 square kilometer; in slum areas the rates rise to even 88,000 people in 1 square kilometer. For Manila, people simply are running out of space. Some live in home-made shacks in cemeteries, railroad tracks or even under bridges. Some even take residence in toxic garbage dumps just to get whatever food they can. A big percentage of the 11 million residents of Manila don’t even have clean water to drink, proper jobs and medicine or education. With such a large population, our resources cannot accommodate everyone anymore. â€Å"Charito Esponilla’s dream is to give her children an education. That is what her neighbour with only two children has done. But the Esponilla family can’t afford to send their children to school. As it is, they have a hard time making ends meet and when the family runs out of money, they are forced to live on the charity of neighbours. â€Å"’Our neighbours are so sweet,’ explains Charito Esponilla, while she washes children’s clothes in three large buckets of laundry. ‘Sometimes they give us a little rice, but a lot of the time they are short on food just like us. Then we have no other choice but to go hungry to bed. On those nights, it’s very hard to fall asleep. The children cry and wake me up all night long. But I don’t have anything to give them. What can I do?’ â€Å"Even though Charito Esponilla loves her seven children, she doesn’t want any more. Like most other Filipinos she doesn’t use contraceptives, and never has. She has considered the birth-control pill, but she doesn’t know much about them and is afraid of what they might do to her body.† Lack of information is one of the main causes of Philippine overpopulation. Dr. Emily Bernardo, the leader of a family-planning unit at the public Jose Fabella Hospital in Manila, says, â€Å"The poorest social groups are incredibly ignorant. They don’t even know how a woman becomes pregnant. Some of them believe they are infertile while they are still breast-feeding their  new-borns and others have never even heard of prevention or contraceptives. Others are still terrified of unknown side effects. That’s why women keep having more children, even though they neither want to nor have the economic means to provide for them.† The Catholic Church, however, is against Dr. Emily Bernardo and the center for family planning. They are against abortion, sterilization and all other forms of contraception, and even sexual education. Women are encouraged instead to guess their egg cycle to prevent pregnancy. Being a very religious country, the Philippines and its government policies are still influenced heavily by the Church. A lot of governmental campaigning on prevention of pregnancy and sexual education never pushed through due to this influence. Interpretation of Data Based on the conducted interviews and the process of surfing the Internet for the data we gathered in this research, we have come to see many points of view concerning the national —or rather worldwide— issue that continues to be an increasing problem in society. Overpopulation, as we now see it, has conflicting good and bad effects to the community. On the one hand, having a lot of people means more human resources, which would be very useful for further growth of national wealth. But on the other hand, the strain on economy and natural resources will be too much for the Philippines—and eventually the whole Earth—to handle, and the world may be left in poverty and chaos, and humans will be left to the mercy of what our once more peaceful world would become. We do not only observe this, though. We can also see that both sides are only possibilities, meaning they may potentially not happen at all. It all depends on what we, as the people, do about our situation. Even if we have manpower to support the nation, the country could still fall into depression if this manpower is not used efficiently. If most Filipinos in their working age, if not all, do not have jobs and sit idly in the streets, definitely the economy would fall. If we  take full advantage of the fact that we have a lot of human resources, we may just prosper. Even if we suffer from a global economic crisis, we could either succumb to the continual decline, or we could try to counteract the problem. After our endeavors, only time can tell what would happen after. How we handle our problems could mean all the difference between prosperity and chaos. Insights Based on Gathered Data Big Ideas: ï‚ · All things, no matter how good or bad they may seem, have both positive and negative sides to them. ï‚ · It’s not so much as what problems we face as how we face them. Sources/Bibliography Interviews: Annabelle Tee and Richmond Tee: parents Izen Lao: close friend Jan Adrian Chan: classmate and insightful peer Ninyo Vasquez: friend from Mindanao

Mentoring: Nursing and Concept Analysis Essay

Every semester students came to the surgical department for their personal and professional development. Certain members are assigned to develop the personal and professional Knowledge of the students. The mentor explains the duties and responsibilities of the nurses working in the surgical department. This semester I took up the responsibility to become mentor and associate mentor of the students. In order to understand and gain in-depth knowledge of the concept I decide to take up this subject for the study and research. Mentors are entrusted with greater responsibility and they are persons who are preparing tomorrow’s health care organisations. Mentors are responsible for preparing the younger generation to render safe, high quality healthcare to the society. If the mentor knows their subject well with deep and current knowledge and able to prepare the students well, then the mentoring is successful and mentor can feel job satisfaction and assume that tomorrow’s health system is in the safe hands. In early years of nursing, mentoring means to teach the person how to perform particular activities. In 21st century the focus of the mentoring is to develop the whole person to provide holistic care to the patient (Reed &Ground 1997) . So I take up this concept for more in-depth study and research to prepare and develop the core members of the health system. The finding suggest that mentor programme is an important aspect of nursing , when it render properly it enhances better personal and professional development. Method:-Walker and Avant’s concept analysis approach was used. Literature reviewed from 1980 to 2009. Words: Mentoring, Mentorship, professional development , Nursing  Historical Importance in Literature Cooper and Palmer(1993) mentioned about the origin of the word mentioning. In encient Greece young males to be guided with older,experienced males who were often relatives of friends of the family. The world mentor originated from the Greek Mythology, where mentor was a nurturing, educative, protective family friend developed the young boy professionally, personally and socially. His father Odysseus was fighting the Trojan war(Cooper & Palmer 1993). The term mentor is used in medicine, law and business but did not appear in nursing until the early 1980s( Andrews &Wallis 1999) . Florance Nightingale was the first mentor . In her personal letter, she adopted a motherly supportive relationship to her students. (Grossman 2007). Mentoring has become an important aspects of nurse education and clinical supervision ( Cooper &Palmer 1993). A mentor is a registered nurse, who facilitates learning, and supervises and assess students in the practice settings and helping to acquire new behaviours and attitudes(UKCC 1999). Mentorship refers to the relationship between two or more individual trying to establish professional development and safe practice . Mentorship is seen as broader, longer term harmonious relationship established between teacher and the student (Jarvis & Gibson 1997). Theses mentors had responsibility for inducting students to their clinical setting planning their learning agenda and assessing their progress. Mentors in other words were student’s key informants to the setting (Spuse 2003) The complex, intriguing concept of mentoring continues to bother authors and researchers from a variety of different disciplines as they explore the role of mentors in a range of settings that include the health, education and business arenas (Grossman 2007). Mentoring has become a high profile topic in business women’s magazines, the press and nursing, and it is beginning to find its place in current teacher preparation, and the medical profession ( Grossman 2007). Mentoring is a special role adopted by a suitably qualified member of staff who is prepared to offer support, teaching and assessment for student nurses in the clinical settings(Davis et al,1994). According to David et al(2010) Mentoring can involve a transfer of knowledge, patterns of behaviour, skills and an approach to an accumulated body of knowledge. The concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English defines a mentor as an experienced and trusted advisor’(Cooper & Palmer1993). Introduction Mentoring is a word often used by doctors, academics, the media, arts, and business people(Cooper &Palmer(1993). Now a day in nursing, this concept has an important place, in clinical area as well as education area. For Nurse teachers, nurse mangers, clinical specialists, community oriented nursing practices this concept is used to gain personal profession development. In surgical practice settings mentoring is often used to transfer the knowledge, values, and customs to the younger generations. People are selected to become mentors, but many times this concept and its uses, qualifications are not understood properlyCooper & Palmer 1993). McKenna & Sutcliffe (2007) says concept is a special vocabulary used for explaining things, events and activates of importance in the personal and professional life. The authors continue to explaining that analysing these events and activates and things are very important for the development nursing theory and quality practice. According to Chinn and Kramer (1995) theories are constructed from well developed concepts and concept analysis is used for the theory development. The writer see that policies and procedures are written, rewritten and reimplemented again and again in order to get more and accurate clarification(Mekenna &Sutcliffe2007). In the same way concepts are analyses. Studies again and again to become more acceptable to the present situation. And also concept analysis gives more clear meaning and correct direction to the fractioned . McKenna& Sutcliffe (1997) comments that if the concept is not clear it serves no purpose, and any work based on the particular concept become unclear and vague. So, this study aimed at presenting a concept analysis of mentoring using Walker and Avant’s framework (1995)cited Mckenna 2005). This study is also explains the method and characteristics of the concept. So that the nurses who practice mentoring have greater understanding of the process and able to provide the service in an effective manner. This may also help the nurses to exchange professional meaning and organisational values in a better way. Section of the concept: Mentoring According to Onchwari & Keengwe (2009) Mentroing provides more benefit than other professional development programme like workshop, seminars. Mentoring is a form of personal and professional partnership which is usually involves more experienced person guiding the less experienced person, who is new to the job, profession or practice area (Sambunjak & Marusic(2009). Earlier the vocational basis of nurse education experience was enough to become supervisors, teachers and assessors to students. More recently the concept of mentor entered in the nursing education. And the nursing educational standard changed to become more advanced. According to Peter & Neil (2000) without dedicated preparation the qualified nurses will be unable to take up specified functions competently and this could affect the learning process of the students. In hospital now some people are assigned and trained to be mentors to the students. They have undertaken specialized courses to become mentors and now they are promoting personal and professional development of the student and newly appointed staff. Historically most of the nursing institutions are operated by very strict rules and regulations. Nursing boards used to visit regularly to make sure the appropriate standard are maintained. All the students are guided by assessors or teachers and these teachers are highly respected. Nurse’s undertaken training under the strict directions of these teachers. And most of the nursing studies done in the hospital. It was not university based. The student used to follow exactly what is taught. In 1980s and 1990s the system started to change. The importance of more personal professional development has come to the profession. The role of nurses started to change and nurses needed to take up more organisational and management responsibilities. (Alison & Palmer 2000). The human development initiatives of the 1970s(Eng 1986) and the acceptance of freedon to learn approaches and adult learning theories of Rogers(1983),Kolb(1984) and Knowles(1984) cited Alison &Palmer(2000). The resulting shift in educational systems has led to find various ways of learning strategies that are directed towards making the most of human potential and stimulating learning in practice (Alison & Palmer 2000). The changes are very clear in the health system. New technologies arrived, the expectation of the society are high. In order to respond effectively to the changes, the nursing profession has undertaken new strategies and teaching methods. People are more and more responsible for self learning and their professional growth. Professional is directed towards self learning and seeking guidance if necessary. Adults are built in motivations to learn and a need to gain self confidance,self esteem and self awareness. These are important attributes for any profession, especially caring profession(Alison and Palmer 2000). Why is mentoring important to Nursing? Stewart and Krueger(1996) conducted a concept analysis of mentoring in nursing suggest that its strongest relationship is as a â€Å"teaching-learning process for the socialization of nurse scholars and scientists and the proliferation of a body of professional knowledge†(Cited Alison & Palmer 2000). Nursing profession is a practice based profession. Nurses need to transfer values, customs, and practical knowledge to others through mentoring. Through mentoring the quality of the profession is maintained and aim is achieved. Through mentoring nurses are connected and learning from each other, so that the new knowledge and technologies are shared. People who have gained knowledge through mentors appreciate role of a mentor. It is known that nurses who have been mentors tend to mentor others( Fagan &Walter 1982). Fagan & Walter(1982) have found that nurses who have been successfully mentored are more likely to mentor others when compared to those with little or no mentoring experience. Nurses can mentor each other and new graduates and students. Faculty members are mentoring students in their learning process of evidence based ractice . Doctoral student receive mentoring regarding their research . Nurse executives can mentor nurse mangers and nurse mangers can mentor staff and it goes on where ever the nurse working (Grossman 2007). They are mentoring others in one or another way. Most of the nurses think that mentoring as a mechanism for career advancement(Grossman 2007). Grossman (2007) continue to say that nurses need to think arbour their carer expanding through mentoring and gaining knowledge in order to broaden their vision in life. Mentoring can greatly benefit the profession by expanding nursing knowledge and rofession(Grossman2007). Clinical nurse specialist and clinical nurse researcher role are good opportunity to expand the nursing science knowledge. Through patient assessment nurses are able to diagnose the situation and do more research into it to acquire in-depth knowledge regarding the particular situation. So that nurses can stand alone in their own profession and can provide high quality nursing care to the patient. Every nurseling staff has a responsibility to assess,plan,implement and evaluate the highest quality care for patients. By encouraging the mentoring culture nurses can work more smart and able to work with full ability. A vision of the mentoring culture in nursing holds exceptional promise for nurses, the profession, the organisations that employ nurses and most significantly patients(Grossman 2007). And all nurses develop mentoring skills, so that they can be effective leaders in every health care delivery system and have more influence in generating positive patient outcomes in health care(Evans & Lang, 2004).

Obesity †Nutrition Essay

Fast food is something that every American knows about. Most likely you, the person reading this has had fast food before, and probably enjoyed it. Whether it may be Mcdonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Jack in the Box, KFC, etc. There is nothing as cheap, quick to get, and tasty as fast food. With the ever-growing population of obese Americans, people are looking for a reason and for most that reason is fast food. Now according to the CDC (centers for disease control) the definition of overweight is having a BMI (body mass index) of 25-29. 9 and the BMI for an obese person is 30 or higher. Could it be that fast food is causing 78 million Americans 20 years or older to be obese, or that 17% of all children and teens in the US are over weight because of it? I think not. Sure, fast food may not be the healthiest choice for you, but seriously, no one is forcing you to eat that cheeseburger and no one is forcing you to drink that soda. You see fast food is not the problem, the decision making of the obese American population is. Now just so we’re clear I have nothing against obese people and there is a big difference between a little chunky, which is okay and obese. Now just so your aware of the obesity problem here in America, here’s some cold hard facts about obesity. Here in the US more than 35% of adults are considered obese, that’s more than 78 million people across the country that are obese. Seventeen percent of children and young adults are obese, which is triple the rate of a generation ago. Studies have shown that obesity gives you a greater chance of getting type2 diabetes and even cancer. If you are wondering why there are so many obese people in America today just ask your self a few simple questions. Would you rather go for a nice evening jog or stay home and watch your favorite TV show? Would you rather eat a salad or something not as healthy like a burger or pizza? And finally would you rather go to the gym or hang out with friends? If I had to guess I’d say most of you would rather hang out with friends, eat junk food, and watch your favorite TV show. You see most people have the time to work out and eat right they just choose not to and just like every choice made in life it comes with it’s benefits and consequences. You don’t have to pay for a gym member ship just walk up some steps or play catch with your kids or take a walk at the park, anything is obviously better than nothing. Now researchers will argue against my claims, and that’s understandable. They’ll mention that 33 percent of children and adolescents in the U. S. consume fast food on a typical day; they’ll also state that on average adolescents will visit a fast food restaurant twice a week. Well all I have to say to that is whose fault is that? How are these kids buying the fast food? With their parent’s money of course. Why can’t the parents make them something healthy and control what there kids eat instead of giving them money to eat fast food? It’s the parent’s fault that the kids are eating fast food so often. Fast food isn’t going to make you obese unless you eat it most of the time. If you eat it occasionally but you also eat your fruits and vegetables you’ll be fine. It is crazy to know that in the U. S. 49% of money spent on food is spent away from home. Which means people are choosing to buy food from restaurants and other places rather than go to the grocery store and cook at home. That percentage is always increasing due to the fact that people now a days are looking for more convenient ways of getting there food. If your wondering just how much money is being spent on quick service restaurants, in 2011 quick service restaurants were expected to gain 168 billion dollars, 3% more than 2010. If people would just spend half the amount of money that they usually spend on fast food and cook a nice healthy meal instead there would be no problem with fast food. Once again the decisions of the American people are to blame. Hit the gym and help yourself get slim. Studies have shown that physical activity plays a big role in loosing weight but of course you knew that, its common sense. But what many people don’t know is that according to the CDC (center for disease control) fewer than 2 out of 10 Americans and less than 30 percent of adults get the recommended level of exercise. Also that more than 25% of U. S. adults do not devote any time to physical activity, the worst states being Louisiana, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. It is very intriguing that correlations have shown that those states with the least amount of exercise have the most health problems. Type2 diabetes is mostly triggered by obesity, and in 1980 5. 5 million adults had it; now approximately 25. 6 million adults have type2 diabetes. The ever so increasing percentage of obesity and decreasing percentage in physical activity is definitely to blame. An interesting fact is that by loosing weight and getting from overweight to normal you can save on average $1400 a year on medication. If you don’t have time to hit the gym, there are a few tips that can help you get fit. First don’t drink soda; on average if you drink a soda can a day you’ll gain 15 pounds in a year, that is if you don’t work out of course. Take the stairs or walk around the block, a few extra steps could be the difference in burning some extra calories, and finally anything is better than nothing, curl some soup cans or do some crunches while watching TV. Any of those things can help you with your obesity, then you wont have to blame it on fast food. Fast food companies are now making a bigger push to serve healthier items in their stores, but it is up to the customers to get them otherwise it is all for nothing. McDonalds is taking the biggest step with there new items like the all fruit smoothies, apple slices, salads, and there brochures that show you there below 400,300,200, and 100 calorie items. Jack in the box is jumping on board as well with their 3 choices of salads, and serving grilled chicken instead of fried in there sandwiches. These fast food chains are realizing that healthy is the new way to go but yet the majority of people in America aren’t. We need to watch what we eat, eat healthier brown rice or bread instead of white, more fruits and veggies and less burgers, next time you go to mcdonalds get a salad instead of a Big Mac it might change your life. In conclusion the fast food industry is not to blame for Obesity in the United States of America. They’re taking steps in the right direction and the people of America should too. We need to start exercising more and getting active because that is the true reason for the increasing obesity. Make better decisions in your life style, choose a healthy one and like I said get a salad next time you go to McDonalds. – http://www. getamericafit. org/statistics-obesity-in-america. html – http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2012/08/14/obesity-rate-by-state_n_1774356. html.

REGIONAL INTEGRATION OF GCC COUNTRIES THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND Essay

REGIONAL INTEGRATION OF GCC COUNTRIES THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF GCC PERFORMANCE AGAINST ITS OBJECTIVES IN THE REGI - Essay Example However, the GCC did set a number of different economic goals. In addition to the goals set forth below, the GCC decided to adopt a common oil policy; coordinate industrial policy; promote joint projects by coordinating production chains; adopt a common legal framework to aid in regional investment and trade; and link transportation networks.5 Previous to the GCC, the Arab world, similar to other developing countries, has had high tariffs, heavy state intervention in production and industries that were uncompetitive. The previous attempts to liberalize capital, trade and labour flows were implemented inconsistently and did not have implementation or follow-up.6 Part of the reason for this is because the countries in the Arab world wanted to protect their domestic industries from competition from other countries that had similar products and services to offer, and each country wanted a discretionary trade policy. Therefore, previous attempts to integrate the economics of the countries in the Arab world were modest and unsuccessful, as they focused mostly on tariff reduction, while ignoring regional trade in services and cross-border investments. 7 The regional integration that was the GCC’s objectives consisted of many different prongs. First, in 1983, the GCC pledged to establish a free trade area (FTA). Under the FTA, the GCC eliminated tariffs on goods of national origins, while the countries in the GCC were able to keep their own external tariffs. While this is a positive measure, in that it encourages trade within the countries of the GCC, there is also a drawback. The drawback is that other countries will export to the country in the GCC that has the lowest external tariffs in order to access all the markets within that region.8 The FTA was only the first step. The next step, which occurred 10 years after the establishment of the FTA, was the agreement to set a common external tariff (CET) which addresses the problem stated above concerning countrie s targeting GCC countries with the lowest tariffs. Ten years after that, in 2003, the GCC established the Customs Union (CU), which was the culmination of the CET agreement. The CU mandated that the tariffs from all goods exported from outside the region would be 5% for the GCC as a whole, while exempting certain commodities.9 However, this apparently was never implemented.10 The CU would represent a high level of economic integration, as it combines the internal elimination of tariffs with the external trade restrictions and tariff harmonization, which cements the union of the countries, in that it requires the creation of a common regulatory body along with common policies regarding external trade. 11 The single market was implemented at roughly the same time as the FTA. What the single market concept does is that it enables individuals to freely move from country to another within the GCC zone for employment and residential purposes. Therefore, an individual can move from one cou ntry in the GCC to another and enjoy the same right of ownership, inheritance and bequest in

Explore the different types of media domestication using Roger Essay

Explore the different types of media domestication using Roger Silverstone's media domestication theory - Essay Example It allows for analysis in its economic, social, and sociological concerns. The approach to media domestication is a consideration of the practical as well as the symbolic dimensions for the adoption while using the necessary technologies. It shows how the elements of meanings of different things coupled with their respective materiality, have equal importance in the understanding of how technologies form part of daily life. It remains a consideration of the social theory through highlighting the various negotiations, control and power challenges, rule breaking, and making accompanying any introduction for technologies for different social settings (Silverstone, 2005). Such a domestication approach endures roots within the social studies of media use even though this is well informed through gender studies of household technology, everyday life sociology, innovation and consumption studies, which are widely considered the study components of the mass adoption in mobile phones, internet, and computers. As part of the technological approach towards an understanding of how media technologies come to be, domestication theory highlights the importance of innovation users with the works done through individuals and communities through making technology do practical work outside the standard intentions within the community. This work strand links to the responsibility end and lead users (Bilandzic, Patriarche & Traudt, 2012). In innovation processes, the domestication studies create a general institution through the use qualitative methods while the ethnography and long interviews explore the importance emerging technologies meanings and changing routine s that are usually not accessible to quantitative techniques. The domestication approach applies different concepts in distinguishing different prospects for the process. For instance, the appropriations process includes bringing technologies into households and local social contexts. However, the lead domestication

Arsson in the united states Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Answer 2 questions in form of essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer 2 questions in form of - Essay Example This is because the arguments between jurors makes others question their initial instincts which were formulated from actual case arguments, but now they are just arguing among themselves in a fight for achieving personal motives. Where once opinion was based on perceived facts of the case, quests for social dominance have changed facts to merely opinion which is impact whether the youth will get a fair trial. The idea that there are many interpretations of â€Å"the facts† is easily applied to real-life situations. For example, in the educational environment, teachers are responsible for dealing with interpersonal issues between different students at the same age level. In many situations, what the teacher is being told by each student is merely their own interpretation of what actually occurred. In order to make a decision, the teacher must realize that there is always more than just one side of the story and it might become necessary for research to decide what really occurred. A teacher could not give out reward or punishment effectively by drawing on student perceptions of fact. It would be better for the teacher to do first-hand investigation before coming to a decision. 12 Angry Men proved that civility will encourage your opponents to keep listening to you. In the movie, Jurors began to get frustrated by being unable to come to a mutual agreement about the youth’s guilt. Some people were strongly for their position of being not guilty while others simply wanted to come to some decision just to end the deliberations and go home. Juror #10 begins ranting ridiculously in a bigoted tirade, lashing out at others. This tirade makes everyone in the room stop listening to the Juror #10 and his reputation as a competent juror is damaged. Simply because people in the room did not agree with his position, one of the jurors lost their influence to coerce others in the group in order to reach a mutually-satisfying decision about the case. In real-life situations,

Film Theory of Bazin and Eisenstein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Film Theory of Bazin and Eisenstein - Essay Example All the arts are based on the presence of man. Only photography derives an advantage from his absence. Photography affects us like a phenomenon in nature, like a flower or a snowflake whose vegetable or earthly origins are an inseparable part of their beauty" Bazin (1967, p.3). Both appreciated the cinema and the inherent art in it; but their theories were very different from one another. At times, there is clear conflict with the other theory and the perspectives are very different. Eisenstein had the added distinction of being an extremely well-known director of many successful movies. Basin, in his short life, did not have any such practical involvement with the cinema, but his theories of the cinematic world stand apart above others even to this day. Andre Bazin, known as the best film authority the world has ever produced, was a film theorist, critic, and a humanist philosopher and has written many articles on film philosophy. His articles are translated into many languages, especially English. Basin is considered to be the sage of film philosophy and he has never been dethroned ever since he became popular, even though he was criticized for his theories by other film critics. He called cinema as 'an idealistic phenomenon'. He agrees that it is technical, but this factor is of secondary importance. Actually he agrees upon it after a pause, as an afterthought. His concentration on the technical side of the cinema is consequential and not primary. He always said that the mechanical mediation of the camera makes the cinema absolutely realistic. He placed cinema above the arts like painting, because he said, if the brush is pitted against the camera, camera makes a better job in duplicating reality than the brush, because camera is driven by technology, whereas the brush depends upon the eye and perspective of the artist, which could be entirely different from reality. No two people can have the same artistic eye sight. At the same time, cinema is capable of recording things and scenes better than a painting. While he does not deny the human intervention in the form of the person who wields the camera, he suggests that this should be kept to the minimum. "Although the potential for human intervention is always present, even granting the mechanical intervention, Bazin believes that the filmmaker owes it to the complexity of reality to refrain from false subjective manipulation and overwrought formalist mediation," http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/bazin_intro.html To him cinema is a tool that fulfils the psychological needs of the society. He considered it as one of the ultimate art forms. He was positive that cinema fulfils the artistic and ethical obsession of people, which is a compelling trait that has an urge to be fulfilled. "For Bazin the situation was clear: either a filmmaker utilizes empirical reality for his personal ends or else he explores empirical reality for its own sake. In the former case the filmmaker is making of empirical reality a series of signs which point to or create an aesthetic or rhetorical truth, perhaps lofty and noble, perhaps prosaic and debased. In the latter case, however, the filmmaker brings us closer to the events filmed by seeking the significance of a scene somewhere within the unadorned tracings it left on the celluloid" Andrew (1976, 145). Basin thought that human beings have a weakness for creative psychology and they like to visualise illusions. These illusions become ardent desires and demand to be fulfilled and under such circumstances, creative and innovative art forms materialise. "It is essential to emphasize the skeptical aspect of Bazin's affirmations about psychology, his manifest awareness of human vulnerability to illusion and ideology. For Bazin,

Critical thinking Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critical thinking - Case Study Example But this is it? Absolutely not. The industry has influenced many criminals to be what they are today (Helfgott). Also, the industry plays an important part blending negativity into our society (Canter). Giving success to absolutely ‘wrong’ people is what this industry is doing since very long. The conclusion is practically the same as the principle purpose of the story. The journalist says that the business is in the hands of wrong persons. Whats more if the same proceeds, the individuals who are affected by this will have a dull future. Even though this article was written over seventy-five years ago about the fledging movie industry, it seems that the arguments both in support of and opposed to the industry are similar to those being raised today. Just what are these arguments for and against regulating the movie industry? Are there any fallacies in the reasoning? Everything has its great or terrible focuses. When we discuss motion picture industry, a ton is occurring there, on and off. The entry, however an old one, depicts the current business and additionally very little is changed from that point forward in the event that we discuss the business itself. The business, however ought to see that a significant part of the crowd are grown-ups, as well as developing adolescents and kids too. Depicting a dull side of any viewpoint will make a negative effect on them (Myers). Corrupt situations could be made. It is the states obligation to control what ought to be made to seen and what ought to be edited. The state ought to likewise understand that if this industry is controlled and balanced out, it could make marvels, create neighborly and constructive vibes around the individuals who watch them. At the same time if this is not the situation, it could be our most exceedingly terrible bad dream. I agree to what is said here by the writer. He convinced me thoroughly when he highlighted both the negative and positive

Student Interview about sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Student Interview about sustainability - Essay Example In her words, sustainability refers to how biological processes remain productive and diverse. She also identifies the different takes on sustainability by various fields, including in economics, business operations, and use of natural resources. Moreover, she was quite emphatic that the way we live in the US has a direct impact on the rest of the world and that sustainability, therefore, must be a global undertaking. I also asked her whether there was anything, which our school could do about sustainability that other schools she knew about were doing. She immediately identified composting, while also noting that the use energy on the campus could be improved and that we had a long way to go before attaining sustainability. She said that our campus is â€Å"over-lit† in many areas and that, even when the sun was out in force, there at least four lights on in the hallways. She noted that Bowdoin College has already decreased their use of electricity in the last twelve months by some 17%, while the use of electricity at our campus has been increasing as the population continues to increase. However, she also noted that, in spite of the campus population growing, she does think that there is room for the campus to make tremendous steps towards energy saving. Her answer led me to ask her about the steps that she thinks students, staff, and faculty can take to ensure the campus is more sustainable. In her opinion, the most important thing at the moment is about switching off the lights after leaving one’s room, as well as the use of translucent roofing to light lecture halls during the day. Moreover, she also seems to think that computers on campus are left on the entire day even when not being used. Indeed, according to her estimates, switching off each computer when not in use would save the campus $50 every year, which would compute to $50,000 in electricity savings estimating the number of computers at one

Unethical Practice in Business - Walmarts Gender Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Unethical Practice in Business Walmarts Gender Discrimination Essay Many businesses have gained a bad reputation just by being in business. To some people, businesses are interested in making money, and that is the bottom line. It could be called capitalism in its purest form. Making money is not wrong in itself. It is the manner in which some businesses conduct themselves that brings up the question of ethical behavior. Good business ethics should be a part of every business. There are many factors to consider. When a company does business with another that is considered unethical, does this make the first company unethical by association? Some people would say yes, the first business has a responsibility and it is now a link in the chain of unethical businesses. Many global businesses, including most of the major brands that the public uses, can be seen not to think too highly of good business ethics. Many major brands have been fined millions for breaking ethical business laws. Money is the major deciding factor. Ethics is a branch of social science. It deals with moral principles and social values. It helps us to classify, what is good and what is bad? It tells us to do good things and avoid doing bad things. Is ethical behavior good or bad for business? The advantages of ethical behavior include: 1. Higher revenues demand from positive consumer support 2. Improved brand and business awareness and recognition 3. Better employee motivation and recruitment 4. New sources of finance: e.g. from ethical investors 5. Business ethics offer companies a competitive advantage. Consumers learn to trust ethical brands and remain loyal to them, even during difficult periods. In 1982, Johnson Johnson spent over $100 million dollars recalling Tylenol, its best-selling product, after someone tampered with bottles of the painkiller. The company followed its credo, a set of ethical organizational values, and the result was a boost in consumer confidence, despite the contamination scare. Society benefits from business ethics because ethical companies recognize their social responsibilities. 6. Attract customers to the firms products, thereby boosting sales and profits 7. Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and therefore increase productivity 8. Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees 9. Attract investors and keep the companys share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover. 10. It is good for staff for morale to work in an open culture, with possible benefits of increased productivity and staff loyalty. These are vital ingredients in the current climate when staff may be pushed to the limit. An organization known for fair and responsible practice is likely to attract high quality employees and ‘stand out from the crowd.’ 11. Demonstrating sound ethical practices can often be a condition for tendering for contracts with large customers needing to ensure the integrity of their supply chain. Good relationships with customers based on a commitment to honesty and transparency will enhance a company’s reputation. SMEs that are familiar with these demands will have a competitive advantage. 12. There would be happiness in society as people living a life of sharing and contribution. The disadvantages claimed for ethical business include: 1. Higher costs: e.g. sourcing from Fair-traded suppliers rather than lowest price 2. Higher overheads: e.g. training communication of ethical policy 3. Danger of building up false expectations. 4. Business ethics reduce a companys freedom to maximize its profit. For example, a multinational company may move its manufacturing facility to a developing country to reduce costs. Practices acceptable in that country, such as child labor, poor health and safety, poverty-level wages and coerced employment will not be tolerated by an ethical company. Improvements in working conditions, such as a living wage and minimum health and safety standard, reduce the level of cost-savings that the company generates. 5. Bad business ethics also includes illegal actions. For example, falsification of information regarding financial status can lead to criminal prosecutions of business executives. Investors can lose great sums of money due to such practices. UK clothing firm, Primark, has fired three Indian suppliers because they used child labor to finish goods. Real-World Examples of Bad Business Ethics Reputation is a company’s biggest asset and bad business ethics invariably result in loss of reputation and credibility. Yet many large corporate also find themselves caught red handed indulging in shady conduct. Read on for some real life examples of bad business ethics. There are good business reasons for a strong commitment to ethical values: 1. Ethical companies have been shown to be more profitable. 2. Making ethical choices results in lower stress for corporate managers and other employees. 3. Our reputation, good or bad, endures. 4. Ethical behavior enhances leadership. 5. The alternative to voluntary ethical behavior is demanding and costly regulation.

Power Sector Analysis: Porters Five Forces Model

Power Sector Analysis: Porters Five Forces Model More than 63% of Indias total installed capacity is contributed by thermal power. Western region accounts for largest share (30.09%) of the installed power in India followed by Southern region with 27.76%. Unbalanced growth remains the cause of concern for the Indian power sector. Only about 56% of households have access to electricity, with the rural access being 44% and urban access about 82%. Southern region remains the dominant region in renewable energy source accounting for more than 57% of the total renewable energy installed capacity. Indias power generation has grown with nominal rate at 0.65% in 2008 compared with 3.90% increased in 2007. Thermal, hydro and nuclear and wind are the major sources of power generation. Thermal power generation recorded positive growth at 3.25% in December 2008 however hydro and nuclear were recorded negative growth rate at 12.41% and 21.62% respectively in December 2008 compared with December 2007. In April-December 2008 power generation were recorded 2.57% growth compared with April-December 2007. There has been significant improvement in the growth in actual generation over the last few years. As compared to annual growth rate of about 3.1% at the end of 9th Plan and initial years of 10th Plan, the growth in generation during 2006-07 and 2007-08 was of the order of 7.3% and 6.33% respectively. Power Generation is primarily owned by the government (close to 90%) and the rest of the generation capacity is controlled by the private sector. Energy deficit in India has increased over the years. During the year 2007-2008, average energy shortage was 9.0 percent and peak energy shortage was 15.2 percent. As India develops, it is expected that energy demand will increase by more than 8 percent over the medium term. Factors that have been plaguing Indias power sector are capacity shortages, frequent power failures, poor reliability and deteriorating physical and financial conditions. Since majority of power generation is through thermal sources which are dependent on fossil fuels and cause environmental degradation through carbon emissions. Off late the government is laying more emphasis on using hydro and wind energy sources for power generation which are environment-friendly. An analysis of the Power sector using Porters Five Forces model Buyer Power Based on the following parameters it can be said that Overall the buyer has weak power. Low Switching Cost switching cost for the buyers is low as of now but is supposed to increase when new players come in the market as the product in not differentiable i.e. electricity. Buyer size Very small. Oligopoly Threat Very Low. Undifferentiated product As the product i.e. electricity is undifferentiated product, so this increases buyer power. Tendency to switch Buyers will switch to the supplier who is efficient and cost effective. Price sensitivity Not much price sensitive Financial muscle Nothing as compared to PSEs. Buyer independence Low as of now but if more suppliers come into picture as Govt. has sought competition in this market, the buyer power will increase. Product dispensability Very Low. Supplier Power Based on the following parameters it can be assessed that the supplier Power in High. Supplier size Very Large as the suppliers are Large PSEs. Oligopoly threat Small number of suppliers enjoy monopoly, thereby contributing to the supplier power. Switching costs Very high, as only large govt. companies are the suppliers. Player independence Low Substitute inputs As no substitute inputs, so the firms have no choice. Player dispensability High Differentiated input- Inputs are same i.e. electricity in case of company buying electricity from wholesale market and selling to the end-users, and coal or gas in case the company is in power generation field. Threat of New Entrants The Threat of new entrants is moderate based on the following parameters. Low Switching Cost Switching cost for the end-user is low, so it increases opportunity for the new entrants. Undifferentiated product Product is not differentiable i.e. electricity, so the users have the incentive to switch to the low cost supplier. This increases the opportunity for the new efficient entrants. Fixed costs High fixed cost acts as a barrier to entry for new entrants. Little regulation Delicensed generation and multiple licenses in the distribution in the same area of supply acts as an opportunity for the new entrants. Distribution accessible Increasing the threat of new entrants. Suppliers accessible Increasing the threat of new entrants. Market growth High, leading to great opportunities for new entrants. Threat of Substitutes The Threat of substitutes is Weak as per the following parameters. Low Switching Cost The cost of switching to substitutes like gas, solar penal, etc. is high. Rivalry among existing firms The rivalry among existing firms is low as per the following parameters. Competitor size Very Few companies very large in size like NTPC, NLC, NHPC, NPCIL, PGCIL etc. Number of players Very few. Hard to exit Ease of expansion Difficult because of lack of investment and resources. Why should weather derivatives be introduced in India? Estimates suggest that the unutilized hydro power potential of India is in excess of 0.15 Million MW. This figure indicates that there is growing importance of weather dependent hydro and wind based power projects in India. Power generation through hydro and wind depends on a number of critical weather factors such as rainfall, snowfall, wind speed etc. Already weather derivative products based on these indices is being used in a number of countries. With the introduction of availability based tariff the spot market for electricity trading has come up where electricity is bought and sold by market participants like producers, consumers and intermediaries. These developments have taken the market for electricity closer to other normal markets in the economy where derivative trading has been successfully going on. Indian electricity market is still very much controlled by the government unlike the US market which is highly competitive. The Indian government offers a number of subsidies to the consumers thereby absorbing the cost of production and transmission and increasing the fiscal deficit. Introduction of weather derivatives will help in passing the cost to the consumer thereby reducing the burden on the government. Continuous supply of energy to agriculture and industrial sector is essential for the rapid growth of the economy. The government cannot afford to overlook this issue as this would act as a major deterrent to the foreign direct investment. Introduction of weather derivatives would bring in a lot of private participation in energy sector thereby making it more competitive, efficient and robust. Introduction of weather derivatives would serve as an effective risk hedging mechanism for Indian power sector in comparison to other alternatives such as long-term power purchasing agreements. Electricity Derivatives and long term power purchasing agreements: All commodities are being successfully traded on Indian stock exchanges but derivatives trading in power sector has not begun yet. Weather derivatives would be traded soon once the parliament approves the amendment in Forward Contract Regulation Act. Although the electricity derivatives market have not done that well worldwide analysts suggest that unless the spot market for the underlying commodity is well functioning, it is very difficult to have a feasible derivatives market. It would be a difficult task to promote electricity derivatives in India as the spot market in electricity is still in its growing stage and private participation is almost nil. Some of the requirements that should be met for a viable electricity derivative market: An active and competitive spot market with a large number of private participants Government should reduce its control over generation, transmission and distribution of power Availability of adequate number of power exchanges that would cater to the need of each of the geographically segmented electricity market. There should be sufficient surplus power generation capacity available so that power may be transmitted to desired destination without any loss of time. The above features are nonexistent in the Indian market with the majority of the control lying with the government thereby making the electricity market in India highly non-competitive. As per reports it is suggested that in a non-competitive market demand for power should be met by long term power purchasing agreements and a very small percentage should be traded in the spot market because of price volatility. Such agreements hedge the risk of power producing companies but the risk is transferred to the purchasing companies who have to pay the contracted rates. Most of the state electricity boards in India are purchasing power through long term contracts and continue to be in a state of financial bankruptcy. This long term agreements simply shift the price risk to the consumer. In India as of now there are no power exchanges where electricity derivatives are being traded. The above arguments indicate that risk hedging in Indian power sector through electricity derivatives and long term power purchasing agreements may not be a long term solution. Weather Derivatives and their effectiveness for Indian Power sector Weather derivatives are instruments used to hedge the weather dependent risk, which could be termed as financial gain or loss due to variability in daily climatic conditions. In the power sector the weather risk is huge both on demand and supply side as they are dependent on weather related factors. On the demand side the amount of energy required for both heating and cooling depends on the weather. Similarly on the supply side the hydro based power plants are dependent on annual rainfall and snowfall. If the rainfall is insufficient there would be less production and in that case the producers will have to buy from the costly spot markets to meet up the contractual obligation. This is highly risky and hence the hydro based power producers need a hedge against the weather risk. Variation in temperature, rainfall etc means that it would affect the power consumption. Indian electricity market is highly regulated with majority of control related to buying and selling of power is rested with the government therefore price risk in Indian context is not an issue but the volume risk is a major threat. Weather derivatives offer a feasible solution to overcome the volume related risk in Indian power sector as it can be implemented without disturbing the market structure or by making huge infrastructural investments. An essential requirement for trading weather derivatives is the availability of accurate historical and current weather data which is available at the Indian Meteorological Department. The financial market is well developed in India. One important requirement could be developing appropriate weather based indices, designing pricing mechanism for weather derivative contracts and educating the participants about the concept. Once regulatory roadblocks are cleared these contracts could be listed on major stock and commodity exchanges of the country where users, producers and other participants may trade them. State electricity boards and government owned power p roducers would benefit from weather derivatives. Trading in weather derivatives would also bring in a lot of foreign direct investment in power sector as this would be an effective way to hedge volume related risk in power sector. The government needs to open the power distribution to private players to bring in more liquidity and improve efficiency. From above argument it is evident that the weather derivatives are a much better risk hedging alternative as compared to electricity derivatives and long term power purchasing contracts. Selection of Appropriate Weather Derivative Contract A suitable weather derivative contract depends upon the risk tolerance of buyer and the seller weather they are risk averse or risk loving and what their expectations are about the future. Few basic rules before selecting a weather derivative contract: If the parties are risk averse and wish to avoid paying contract premium then variable weather risk can be fixed with a swap contract. If the parties are willing to take risk by paying a moderate to high premium and the probability of price hike is very high then a cap contract can be considered.. If the parties prefer protection from losses due to price decline or lower production more than the benefits from the price rise or increased production then a collar contract is the most suitable one. Swap Contract A weather swap can be constructed for a hypothetical power producer Hydel ltd. if it wants earnings stability from lower rainfall, but would also like to benefit from cold winter conditions without paying a premium. Swap payout structure Cap Contract Assume that a power starves state electricity board wishes to hedge peak load requirement during the summer season. Further, it is assumed that past 20 years data reveals that during the five-month summer season there are 5,000 cumulative cooling degree days (CDDs), on average. After analyzing the relationship between power consumption and historical weather conditions, it is determined that for each CDD above 5,020, SEBs earnings are affected by Rs. 50,000. Therefore, a weather cap contract is structured with a strike value of 5,020 and premium of Rs. 5 million. Cap Contract payout structure Collar Contract Collar contract restricts the natural outcome to upper and lower put boundaries. It is a combination of put and call options. Consider the case of a hypothetical Counterparty Hydel Ltd. The possible payout profile would be: Counterparty: Hydel Ltd. Term: June 2005-May 2006. Index: cumulative inches of rainfall per year, as measured at Station X. Put strike: 40 inches (Hydel Ltd. receives below). Call strike: 60 inches (Hydel Ltd. pays above). Payment: Rs. 10,000 per 1/10 inch. Put limit: 25 inches. Call limit: 80 inches. Premium: No premium. Collar payout structure

Employment Relations In France Economics Essay

Employment Relations In France Economics Essay Within Europe France is known for its exceptional employment relations. The French employment relations are characterised by rather low social dialogue and a great interventions of the state. This paper will closely look at the social actors and their role by putting emphasis on collective bargaining and its development since 1980s. The major trends with special attention to the Aubrey Laws will conclude the overview. France Overview With a current population of 64,7 million (INSEE, 2010), France belongs to the most modern countries in the world and to the leaders among European countries (CIA World Factbook). According to EIROnline (2007), French GDP growth, inflation, productivity growth, and the unemployment rate do not substantially differ from EU averages, as indicated in Table 1. Table 1 Facts Figures Source: EIROnline, 2007 The economy in France, which traditionally has been characterised by considerable government ownership and state intervention (dirigeisme), is shifting towards a market-driven economy (CIA World Factbook). Although the state is still present in sectors such as power, public transport, and telecommunication, it has privatised many large companies. With the era of rigueur (rigour) the government extensively distanced itself from economic intervention. Though dirigisme decreased, France is still typified as a state-dominated economy (Jenkins, 2000), especially in the labour market. The political environment in France has been characterised by volatility which changed with the inception of the Fifth Republic in 1958 (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). From 1958 to 1981 the Right took the reins, while in 1981 the socialist dominance under Franà §ois Mitterrand took over which resulted in period of instability (Knapp and Wright, 2006, p. 254). Governments of the right and left experienced a rotative period, with a temporary cohabitation (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). In 1995 Franà §ois Mitterrand turned over the reins to Jacques Chirac, a right president, who lasted till 2007. His successor, Nicolas Sarkozy from the right government is the current President of France. Employment Relations in France Employment relations in France are highly influenced by the demographics as well as the legal and political environment of the country (Cerdin and Peretti, 2001). According to the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE, 2010), the employment rate for the working population in 2008 accounted for about 28 million, corresponding to 56,2 percent of employed people above 15 years. Whereas the unemployment rate in France amounted for 7,8 percent in 2008 which correspond to 2.1 million people. The young people (15 to 24 years-old) are representing the majority of the unemployed with about 19 percent (in 2008). Generally, the young people are most sensitive to the economic fluctuation of the employment market. The labour market participation rate of the 15 to 24-years old is declining due to the trend towards longer schooling (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004, p. 177). France has more women in work force than EU average (Brewster et al., 2004). The female labour market participation has risen from 37 percent in 1963 (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004, p. 176) to almost 52 percent in 2008 (INSEE, 2009). Within Europe, France is characterised by an increased age of the working population. While the proportion of the people between 20 and 59 years decreases, the population proportion of under 20-year-old and above 60-year-old grows. Two factors are responsible for this peculiarity the post-war population explosion as well as the collapse of the birth rate from 1930 to 1945 (Cerdin and Peretti, 2001). In 2008, 83 percent of the working population was between the ages of 25 and 54 (INSEE, 2009). These numbers can be explained by the delayed entrance of the young in the labour market and early retirement due to an increased early retirement policies since 1974 and the implementation of retirement at age 60 in 1982. Further distinctive characteristic of the French employment relations is its elitism. Barsoux and Lawrence (1997, p. 11) admit that France is a society characterised by a unitary elite. Complementary, Jackson (2002, p. 38) describes the educational system in France as being inegalitarian, discriminatory, and exclusive. The highest level of the education system is encompassed in the so-called grandes à ©coles. The grandes à ©coles, where managers are typically recruited from, typify an essential indication for a high potential which is regarded more important than the actual personal potential. Managers form part of a social elite, called cadre. Management itself is perceived more as a state of being in France and its development is related to the social and historical context (Beardwell and Claydon, 2007). The influence of the state on employment relations in France is considerable. EIROnline (2007) describes France as being known for its dirigiste type of economy or state-managed capitalism. Employment relation in France were not only influenced by the predominance of the state but also by the imbalance between labour characterised by more revolutionary socialists and employers being typified by paternalistic of reactionary views (Traxler and Huerner, 2007). Unions and Employee Representation Within Europe, France has two distinctive features: although it has the majority of trade unions, its membership rate is the lowest among the European countries (EUROnline, 2007; Ebbinghaus and Visser, 2000). Trade union coverage is higher in large enterprises than in small companies with highest coverage rate in the public sector. Sector or branch levels are the most common levels of trade union organisation (EIROnline, 2007). French trade union, other than union in rest of the European countries, do not offer collective services to its members, which partly may explain the low membership rate as well as the lack of need to benefit from a membership (Brewster et al., 2004). There are five major representative union confederations and employers are obliged to recognise them in case of at least one employee being an official representative of one of them (Scho, 2008). The five unions, which are considered representative at national level, regardless of the size of their membership, are summarised in the table below. Table 2 Trade Unions Source: EUROnline, 2007 All agreements met by the representative unions were for a long period considered legally effective. This fact permitted employers to legally implement an agreement even if it has been signed by just one minority union (Brewster et al., 2004). The Fillon Law of 2004 however widened the scope of this majority principle. French union show a further characteristic uncommon in Europe. Especially SMEs, who usually have no union representativeness, make use of the so-called mandating process. Introduced in October 1995 by a three-year national multi-sector agreement, the law especially aimed to encourage negotiations of small and non-union company agreements (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). The purpose behind the involvement of non-representatives was to increase the typically low membership rate of French unions. For instance, about one-third of collective agreement accompanying the 35-hour-week law application were signed by mandated workers (Pedersini, 2010). Employees representation in French companies has rather a complex structure and is incorporated in several representative bodies at the enterprise level (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). The four major players are: Table 2 Employee Representation Workforce delegates (dà ©là ©guà ©s du personnel) Workforce delegates are mandatory for companies with 10 or more employees. Elected by all employees, the delegates are representatives of employees for individual or collective concern to the management. Work council (comità © dentreprise) Work council is mandatory for companies with 50 or more employees. Elected by all employees and representatives of trade unions, the council has a consultative role about the decisions of the employer. Furthermore, it is concerns with allocating funds for social and cultural facilities for employees. Workplace Health and Safety committee (Comità © dHygià ¨ne, de Sà ©curità ©, et des Conditions de Travail) The committee is compulsory for all companies with more than 50 employees. It includes head of the company plus employee representatives and has a consultative role about working conditions. Trade union delegates Every representative union is given the right for a delegate in a company with at least 50 employees who besides representing their unions also represent employees. Source: Brewster et al, 2004 Federations of Employers Employer representation stands in sharp contrast to the employee representation. Indeed, three out of four employers are represented in an employer organisation (EUROnline, 2007). The major association is the MEDEF (Mouvement des Entreprises de France), former CNPF (Conseil National du Patronat Franà §ais). It has a multi-layered structure consisting of various sectoral and territorial organisations (Traxler and Huerner, 2007). MEDEF, founded in 1998, brings together all companies with at least 10 employees. Despite this official purpose, MEDEF also includes several smaller companies. It directly organises 87 federations that cover about 600 associations and 165 regional organisations (EUROnline, 2007). The membership in MEDEF is covered by about 750,000 companies and 15 million employees from all sectors except agriculture and certain service professions (Traxler and Huerner, 2007). The SMEs are represented by the CGPME (Confà ©dà ©ration gà ©nà ©rale du patronat des petites et moyennes entreprises), and self-employed artisans by the UPA (Union Professionnelle Artisanale) (EUROnline, 2007). The State The French state is not only a major player in employment relations but also plays an essential role as an employer. As already mentioned, despite some privatisations, the government still remains prevailing in some sectors. Furthermore, Ruysseveldt et al. (1995) stresses that French state is typified for having its intervention in employment relations which are typically subject of collective bargaining by incorporating these issues in law. The intervention of the state is for instance given through the requirement for company-level negotiations, legal extension of collective agreements, and determination of minimum wage. Therefore, almost 90 percent of employees are covered by agreements securing at least minimum standards, despite the low union membership and a decentralized bargaining system (Ebbinghaus, 2004). For instance, the minimum wage (SMIC), a cross-sector minimum wage, is defined by legislation, involving all employees. Collective bargaining is also used to set branch-level minimum wages which however, are usually lower than the SMIC (EIROnline, 2007). Finally, the French state played an important role in the development of French employment relations as demonstrated in the following chapters. Collective Bargaining and Employee Participation Collective agreement forms an important part of negotiations between the law and the individual work contracts. Within Europe, France distinguishes itself from other countries by not attributing collective agreement as a central element of employment relations (Traxler and Huerner, 2007). The characteristics of the bargaining system have been extensively shaped by successive pieces of legislation (Goetschy, 1998, p. 358) and thus intensive state intervention. Collective agreements face further obstacles. Traxler and Huerner (2007, p.126) point out that there is a lack of shared identity among the unions and the employees who do not feel bound by the decisions taken by the representative unions. Andolfatto and Labbà © (2006) observe a similar dilemma for the employers and the associations. According to Schmidt (2006, p.121) policies are designed without the systematic input from societal actors, but actors are subsequently accommodated in a rather flexible implementation process, oft en based on derogation from the law. The bargaining structure in France is pyramidal and statute law is decisive. After the abolishment of the favourability principle (principe de faveur), decentralised levels are given autonomy on certain issues as long as the law is respected (plancher legal) (Euronline, 2007). National-level agreements are less frequently used than lower level agreements. Company-levels negotiations gained on importance in the field of wages and working hours which was further encouraged by the Fillion Law (2004) and Aubrey Law (1998/2000/2002). Development since 1980s Before 1980s, employment relations in France were characterised by ideological confrontation between the revolutionary labour movement and collective bargaining-aversive employers (Hoang Ngoc and Lallement, 1994) and collective bargaining particularly took place on the industry level (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). The 1980s brought a significant move towards decentralisation with a Socialists government that supported collective bargaining in terms of politics and laws. Throughout the 1980s various company-level institutions and practices evolved which enabled negotiation of economic reforms and which tried to limit private sector industrial conflicts (Howell, 2006). The reforms were accompanied by a state intervention that sought to support workplace flexibility negotiations. Although the state experienced varying governments (Left and Right), it pursued equal objectives which underlying strategy was to create legal obligations within companies to establish self-sustaining social dial ogues which again lead to a deregulation of the labour market. One of the major legislation pieces of the 1980s was the Auroux Report (1981) which contributed mainly to a higher involvement of employees into the company and sought to bring unions and companies closer together (Hoang Ngoc and Lallement, 1994). Focusing on collective bargaining as a keystone in the reform, Auroux created an obligations for employers and unions for regular negotiations at industry as well as company level (Eaton, 2000). This reform introduced more balance between the state and collective bargaining as it put more emphasis on bargaining than on the law itself (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). In 1987 collective bargaining made further steps towards decentralisation. From then on company-level negotiations were freed from any linkage with a sectoral agreement, and annualisation and more flexible opening was allowed without reducing working hours. In the 1990s multi-industry bargaining gained on importance after its decline during the 70s and 80s. It was supported by government, as well as employers (by CNPF) and unions (by CFDT) who were aiming at a consensus approach towards the modernisation of French companies (Howell, 2006). Enormous emphasis of multi-industry bargaining was put on the training that became a mandatory part of collective bargaining (Goetschy and Jobert, 2004). Further significant issue throughout the 1990s was the restructuring of the employee representation within the enterprise. According to Howell (2006, p.169) French companies experienced transformations that had the effect of deepening and broadening the construction of a set of firm-level institutions that regularised social dialogue with largely non-union employee representatives. Worth mentioning is also the agreement on the articulation of bargaining levels and the possibility of negotiations in companies without union representatives (1995) which brought two main transformations for collective bargaining. First, the hierarchical level of the three bargaining levels (multi-industry, industry, company) became more complementary. Second, the absence of union delegate gave the elected employee representative and the employees mandated by unions the authority to sign company agreements. Again in 2000s employment relations development signalised the trend towards more decentralised collective bargaining and a state which exercised restraint in the social dialogue of the labour market. This intention was implemented through the Gà ©nisson Law (2001) which made bargaining on equality compulsory at company level (annually) and sectoral level (every three years) (Gregory and Milner, 2009). The 2003 Fillon law encouraged the move towards company-level negotiation about wages and reduced working time by accepting derogation agreements. In July 2008 new law on social democracy and working time reform set new measures for the representativeness of trade unions, especially by removing the irrefragable presumption of representativeness and making representativeness dependent on the results of the workplace elections (Boulon, 2008). Concluding, the last decades were characterised by various developments in French industrial relations. Despite frequent changes of government, France has experienced a high degree of consistency in the direction of employment relations reforms (Howell, 2006). High level collective bargaining shifted towards more decentralisation aiming more at the company-level while the labour market and workplace experienced greater flexibility. Nevertheless, these developments were not simply accompanied by the distancing of the state from industrial relations, leaving the field to labour and unions. On the contrary, providing the social actors with company-level bargaining and agreements, developments were initiated and controlled by the state. Self-sustaining bargaining never took place (Lallement and Mà ©riaux, 2003). Thus the state reforms were still shaping the areas of social relations. Finally, Jefferys (2003, p. 128) states the state remains at the heart of the organisation of relations between capital and French labour. Major Trends in Employment Relations The Aubrey Law France faced the most bargaining activity over working time reduction in the late 1990s and early 2000s, driven by legislation reducing the working week from 39 to 35 hours. The so-called Aubrey law, named after Martine Aubry (minister who introduced the legislation), was the sixth law in seventeen years which has an impact on the working time (Jefferys, 2000). The 35-hour week was the flagship policy of Socialist Jospins (1997-2002) plural-left coalition government (Hayden, 2006, p. 505). The main purpose of the law implicated the reduction of the working time from 39 to 35 hours by offering financial incentives to companies that used collective agreements for the creation and protection of jobs while reducing the working time (Jefferys, 2000). Using this law, the government also had the ambition to encourage the social partners to participate more actively in the law-making process (Jefferys, 2000). The legislation which began with a framework law in 1998 resulted in a three-steps process (Levy, 2006): the first law introduced in 1998 provided the terms for voluntary work time agreements; in 2000, a second Aubrey law made work time reduction mandatory for companies who failed to reach agreements employing 20 or more workers; the third law, for 2002, which aimed at extension of this legislation to smaller firms, failed when the Left was replaced by the new conservative government. First Aubrey Law (1998/1999) Aubrey I introduced a variety of ways for the reduction of working time, including annualisation of hours, extended vacation periods, and a shorter working week. The companies were given increased flexibility in the creation of work time with the essential requirement for collective bargaining (Supiot, 2001, p. 92). Social costs reliefs were promised to those companies that quickly negotiated the reduction in working hours and created or preserved jobs. Nevertheless, the collective agreements reached under Aubrey I proved that employers put special emphasis on the flexibility in work time reduction left to them rather than on the incentives linked to the implementation (Levy, 2006). The 1999 law addressed the issue of trade union representativeness (Jefferys, 2000). From then on the social costs reliefs were only made available to those agreements met by union representing the majority of the work-force. Minority agreements were only accepted if ratified by entire work-force referendum, nevertheless the benefits of the reduced charges were not forwarded to these agreements (Howell, 2006). Smaller firms that lack a representation of unions could benefit from the legislation through the mandating process allowing them to sign company-level agreements. Without the mandating procedure agreements became legal with the confirmation of a majority of employees and local labour-business commission. Second Aubrey Law (2000) On 19th of January 2000, the Aubrey II came into effect reducing the working week from 39 to 35 hours for all enterprises with more than 20 employees. Due to the high attention paid to the flexibility in the implementation of work-time reduction, the second law provided more innovations in this area still with the prerequisite of a collective agreement. The lack of collective agreement meant less flexibility in options for work time reduction. According to Howell (2006) without a collective agreement, the reduction in work time had to be on a monthly or weekly basis, but with an agreement there were a range of other options, including annualisation, a wage increase offset against overtime, additional days off and so on. (p. 148) The law therefore aimed at the encouragement of the dialogue between social partners. Work time reduction was completed on two levels. Before Aubrey II, company-level agreements were predominant, while after year 2000 branch-level agreements became more common. Outcomes The in beginning much discussed and controversial legislation has survived. Though when the Left gave over to the Right government in 2002, the extension for small firms planned in that year was blocked. Furthermore, certain adjustments like extension of the allowable overtime have been adopted. Various studies about the implementation of the laws, inter alia conducted by the Ministerial Office of Employment and Solidarity (completed mainly between 1998 and 1999), provided following results (Neumann, 2004): On the employee side, within a year on the first law, in 69 of the 180 bargaining sectors, at least one of the representative national union has signed framework agreements covering 8.3 million workers About 300.000 new jobs (out of 1,65 mio) were created which were assigned to the relaxation of the social costs and the reduction of working hours of the law By the implication of the legislation in September 2002, almost half of the employed people were influenced by the Aubrey law Critical evaluation The significance of the Audrey Laws does not lie in the actual reduction in the working time. Its essence are the wide-ranging consequences on the employment relations in France. For the Jospin government the law provided an opportunity to try to use the basic sympathy of the French electorate with the idea of shorter working hours to encourage the organised decentralisation of collective bargaining (Traxler 1994, p. 184-86). The laws abolished many constraints on temporal flexibility and shifted the emphasis of collective bargaining towards the company-level. Some of the various advantages provided by the Aubrey law affect collective bargaining and work reorganisation. The company-level collective bargaining was influenced tremendously by the legislation. While after 1998 the rate of agreements signed increased by estimated 15,000 per year, after 1999, when the law became mandatory, agreements number increased by 35,000 a year (Howell, 2006). The financial incentives provided by the Aubrey laws were attached the condition to agree on work time reduction by a collective bargaining. Consequently, this collective agreement offered more options and flexibility for work time reduction to the firms, thus leading to work reorganisation. Many experiments which were made in this area including recalculation of the work time, work shift, and adoption to the market requirements, proved to be advantageous for some companies. Additionally, annualisation became very popular supplying companies with enormous flexibility in the work time reductions. Despite these advantages the Aubrey laws was met with mingled feelings from the social actors. The legislation was considered an attack on entrepreneurs, a triumph of ideology over reason, and even economic suicide (Hayden, 2006). Still, with the change of the government in 2002 the legislation has not been abolished, although it experienced substantial criticism. Instead, the Right provided more relaxation and greater flexibility introduced by the Fillon Laws 2003 and 2004 indicating that the effects of the Aubrey laws were less harmful than illustrated by critics. On the contrary, a study conducted by IMF in November 2006 (Estevà £o and Sà ¡, 2006), indicated that the legislation appeared to have a rather negative effect as it failed to create more jobs and negatively influenced employers and employees as they tried to neutralise the laws effect on hours of work and monthly wages. The major concerns were raised by the employers. CNPF became MEDEF in October 1998 under the pressure from French firms for a more aggressive political position (Jefferys, 2000). One year later, in October 1999, a protest with 25000 people against the second law followed. In November, MEDEF threatened to pull out of the bipartite national unemployment benefit scheme if the government make use of UNEDIC (Union nationale interprofessionnelle pour lemploi dans lindustrie et le commerce) the National Union Interprofessional for Employment in Industry and Trade agency of the French government which provided unemployed people with social benefits, to subsidise state incentives to reduce working time (Jefferys, 2000). Additionally, by creating a financial disincentive in case of overtime, the 35-hour-week legislation forced employers to undergo a more fundamental reorganisation of work (Howell, 2006). From the employees perspective, the law could be viewed ambiguously as a liberator and job creator or as a mechanism for introducing asocial work schedules (Bouffartigue, 1997, p. 256). Tensions on the company-level were illustrated for instance by the Peugeot-Citroen strikes, when the Saturday was introduced as a compulsory working day. Additionally, concerns arose about the decrease in wage level, although employees were promised to not be disadvantaged regarding income reductions which was supported by the unions slogan 35 hours pays 39 (Estevà £o and Sà ¡, 2006). The question about the representativeness of those who signed the agreement also forms a part of criticism of the legislation. As mentioned several times, the mandating process can be used by all firms with a lack of union representativeness. The mandating process prevailed in the company-levels agreements (70% in 2001), predominantly by smaller companies (Howell, 2006). Nevertheless, this process failed to recruit more members to unions. Finally, the Aubrey laws can be considered to be an oxymoron. In times of globalisation and extensive pressures on firms to stay competitive, France is trying to improve its competitiveness and decrease unemployment by reducing the working time. The work-sharing logic did not fit in this time when the unemployment rate amounted to nearly 10 percent and an average full-time working week was almost 43 hours (INSEE, 2010). There arises the question what the government could have done better. After considering the development of the employment relations in France, the trend of decentralisation should be pursued more constantly. State intervention should be reduced to give the social partners the possibility to develop and implement own methods for the work time reduction as the legislation did not match appropriately the needs of all French companies. Especially, the smaller companies who suffered from the law and feared to lose their competitiveness, should be better integrated and left more power and flexibility to adopt the legislation. Therefore, although the employers were gradually given more flexibility it still was embedded in frameworks which convey an impression of regulated deregulation once again demonstrating the predominant position of the French state. Other Major Trends Collective Bargaining Reform One of the significant changes to the industrial relations system took place in 2004 with the implementation of the Fillon law. The law brought two major changes into collective bargaining. The favourability principle (principe de faveur), where agreements from lower and higher levels may deviate from each other if it more advantageous for the employees concerned, was relaxed for certain cases (e.g. working time) (OECD, 2005). The favourability principle has been retained for minimum wages, job classifications, supplementary social protection measures and multi-company and cross-sector vocational training funds (EIRR, 2006). The other change concerned the approval of agreements. Hitherto, an agreement has been valid even if it had been signed by only one trade union with representative status. The new law widened the scope of the majority principle, the application of which depends on the level of negotiations. Individual Right to Training in France In September 2003 a national cross-sectoral agreement on employees lifelong access to training was concluded, approved by all five representative unions (Vincent, 2003). The law promotes individual training rights for employees while putting its focus on sectoral negotiations. Labour Market Modernisation In January 2008, a step towards French flexicurity has been made by the agreement on the modernisation of the labour market. It provides more flexibility on issues like recruitment and termination of employment at the same time maintaining certain employee rights in term of termination (Lefresne, 2008). Conclusion In conclusion, employment relation in France can be described as developing towards decentralisation and more flexibility to the advantage of business and labour. Although, the state is taking distance from intervention in the economy, it remains the predominant character in the regulation of social relations.

Talking to Ghosts :: Personal Narrative Psychology Essays

Talking to Ghosts During my research, I was reminded of an incident in my psychology class that led me to write about this topic. It was a Friday and I walked into my psychology class thinking we were going to prepare for our upcoming class, but I was all wrong. My professor walked in and claimed he had ESP, which is extrasensory perception. He said that he could read people’s minds and know what we were thinking. My teacher asked us to write anything simple on a piece of paper and fold the paper in half. My classmates wrote a message on the paper and handed the papers to him. One by one he read them and had most of my classmates, including me believing he could do that. To my surprise, what he said was completely false and he went on to say how there is no such thing as ESP and psychics because there were not any tests to prove that there were. By this time I was upset because I couldn’t argue my point and I knew other wise to his theory of there are no psychics and no ESP. If psychics were false and ESP was false than what could be said about a renowned psychic, Sylvia Browne and one of my best friends, who as of right now will be known as â€Å"Bob†. My friend â€Å"Bob† and I have known each other for a year now. I never truly found out about her special gift till we started talking and realized that we were exactly alike. See my friend told me that she can talk to ghosts and spirits. She has instances where she is not herself, but someone else from a different time and a different place. She, my friend, trusted me and knew I wouldn’t treat her like a crazy person who needed psychiatric help. Before I get to her story, I should probably explain the difference between ghosts and spirits and to do that I went to books I own by Sylvia Brown. In Sylvia’s book The Other Side and Back ghosts were explained as people who do not realize they are dead. Ghosts are earthbound because they either committed suicide, have regrets of their mistakes they made, feel the need to stay behind for loved ones or they just died so quickly that they have not realized the truth.

David Foster Wallace in Doubletakes Essay -- David foster Wallace Doub

David Foster Wallace in Doubletakes The one author whose style I could appreciate most and who I could connect with best in â€Å"Doubletakes† was David Foster Wallace. His ability to capture one moment that most people would normally take for granted and to freeze this moment like it is occurring in slow motion, taking into account all five human senses (touch, sight, smell, taste and hearing), color imagery, similes, metaphors and all of his unique description of the scenes surrounding the actions of the main character really make him stand out in my mind. By taking an event so seemingly trivial (for example the act of climbing up and jumping off of a diving board in Forever Overhead), Wallace forces his readers to appreciate all aspects of life, especially the minor details. This is what appeals most to me about Wallace because I too like to point out small, seemingly insignificant events in my writing and put them under a microscope so to force the reader to think more seriously about mundane actions. Wallace’s characterization is fairly simple on the surface, as he seems to ...