Research Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Research Project - Assignment Example The primary objective of this research is to critically assess the issues associated with customer and food quality of the organizations operating across different regions of the UK. In this regard, the research study incorporates an effective form of qualitative framework, critically analyzing the issues relating to the complexities faced by the customers due to food quality issues of the hospitality organizations operating in different locations of the UK. The methodology will also be justified in response to its relevance and accountability regarding the major objectives and goals of the research. Finally, this research will analyze the major findings obtained through the study, leading to the major issues associated with customers and quality related concerns of the food and beverage industry of the UK, providing an effective set of recommendations that can help the food and beverage industry to deal with the issues associated with customer and quality of their products and servi ces. With the intensifying pace of competition in the global food and beverage industry, organizations are often observed to face issues associated with sustainable customer services along with the concerns relating to the quality of their offerings. In this context, both the issues relating to customer and quality of food and beverage items have been observed to emerge at a significant level that impose major concerns for the organizations to retain their sustainable position in the competitive business environment (Szyplinska, â€Å"Food and Beverage Industry Focuses on Water Footprint and Greater Sustainability†). In this regard, it becomes an essential and most vital issue for research, which can ensure appropriate identification of effective measures to protect consumers from different flaws and inappropriate practices while producing foods and beverage items and accomplish

Jacob Zuma Essay Example for Free

Jacob Zuma Essay But it was not easy for him to get this position. His father died at the end of World War 2. After his father death his mother took up employment as a domestic worker in Durban. He spent his childhood moving between Zululand and the suburbs of Durban and by the age 15 he took on odd jobs to supplement his mother’s income. Also he did not receive formal schooling. He learned to read and write properly in his late teens while serving as a young trade union activist. He became involved in politics at an early age and joined that African Notational congress in 1959. He became an active member of umkhonto we sizwe witch means (Spear of the nation) in 1962 following the banning of the ANC in 1960. While on his way out of the country in 1963 he was arrested with a group of 45 people recruits near zeerust by the northern west province. Convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government, he was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, which he served on Robben Island. While in prison he was given to the chance to get more of an education. After his release Jacob Zuma helped mobilize internal resistance and was instrumental in the reestablishment of ANC underground structures in the then natal province thought out 1973-1975. He left South Africa in 1975and for the next 12 years, based in Swaziland and then Mow-zum-beek dealing with thousands of young exiles who poured out south Africa in the wake of Soweto uprising. HE lived in several African countries working for ANC, where he rose rapidly to become a member of the ANC National Executive committee in 1977. He also served as the Deputy Chief Representative of the Anc in Mow-zum-beek, post he occupied until the signing of the Nkomati Accord between the Mow-zum-bican and south African government in 1984. After the signing of the Accord, he was appointed as Chief Representative of the ANC and was one of the few who remained in Mow-zum-beek to carry out the work of the organization, crossing in and out of South Africa on a number of occasions. Jacob was forced to leave Mow-zum-beek in January 1987 after considerable pressure on the Mowzumbican government. HE moved to the ANC Head of office in Lusaka Zambia where he was appointed Head of underground structures and shortly thereafter chief of intelligence department. It’s a long way for a man to come considering his childhood and never having any formal education, having been in prison for 10 year. If he can overcome those odds than anybody should be able to become president.

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay -- HR Management Strategies

However you define the activities of management, and whatever the organisational processes are, an essential part of the process of management is that proper attention be given to the Human Resource function. The human element provides a major part in the overall success of the organisation. Therefore there must be an effective human resource function. In the past, most organisations viewed Human Resource Management (HRM) as an element function, that is an activity that is supportive of the task functions and does not normally have any accountability for the performance of a specific end task. Because of the emphasis on analysis and precision there is a tendency for strategists to concentrate on economic data and ignore the way in which human elements and values can influence the implementation of a strategy. 'Economic analysis of strategy fails to recognise the complex role which people play in the evolution of strategy - strategy is also a product of what people want an organisatio n to do or what they feel the organisation should be like.?(1). Understanding the strategic potential of HRM is a relatively recent phenomenon. Strategic HRM attempts to bring HRM to the boardroom. It requires personnel policies and practices to be integrated so that they make a coherent whole, and also that this whole is integrated with the business or organisational strategy. Strategic HRM has evolved through three main stages. Up until the mid 1960?s HRM comprised mainly a file maintenance stage with most emphasis on selection, recruitment, screening and orientation of the new employee. They also looked after employee-related data and organised the Christmas party. The second stage, government accountability developed with the arrival of the Civil Rights Act and evolved with subsequent laws. To avoid costly legal battles, the HRM function gained in stature and importance. The third stage in HRM development which began in the late 1970?s and early 1980?s was the realisation that effective HRM could give an organisation competitive advantage. Within this stage HRM is viewed as important for both strategy formulation and implementation. For example 3M?s noted scientists enable the company to pursue a differentiation strategy based on innovative products. At the competitive stage, then, human resources are considered explicitly in conjunction with strategic manage... ... Management vol. 32 no. 8 November 1982 pp.263 -9 (7) Peter F. Drucker ?The Practice of Management? Heinemann Professional Publishing 1955 (8) Roethsliger, F.J. and Dickson, W.J. ?Management and the Worker.?, Harvard University Press 1939 (9) Shoshana Zuboff ?In the Age of the Smart Machine.? (10) Derek Torrington and Laura Hall ?Personnel Management, HRM in Action? pp.59 Prentice Hall 1995 (11) Derek Torrington and Laura Hall ?Personnel Management, HRM in Action? pp.28 Prentice Hall 1995 Bibliography Derek Torrington and Laura Hall Personnel Management HRM in Action, Prentice Hall Ltd 1991 Laurie J. Mullins Management and Organisational Behaviour, Pitman Publishing 1994 Kathryn M. Bartol and David C. Martin Management, McGraw Hill 1991 Tom Peters Liberation Management Necessary Disorganization for the Nanosecond Nineties, Macmillan London 1992 Samuel C. Certo Modern Management, Allyn and Bacon 1992 Peter F. Drucker The Practice of Management, Heinemann Proffesional Publishing Ltd. 1955 J. Richard Hackman, Edward E. Lawler III and Lyman W. Porter Perspectives on Behaviour in Organisations, McGraw Hill 1983

Essay on Anna Quindlen’s “A Quilt of a Country” Essay

People are such disparate things, they range from black to white to boy and girl, and of all the nations on Earth, I’d have to say that America is the one country that exemplifies that the most. Unlike other normal nations, populated with a certain groups of people who hold certain types of beliefs, America is a nation made up of all the ethnicities of the world, and unlike other normal nations, the inhabitants of America don’t tend to get along very well. Anna Quindlen writes about why America shouldn’t work, yet does, in a short article titled â€Å"A Quilt of a Country.† She uses effective evidence and valid reasoning to support her thesis, and she also divides her article into two separate sections: the first designated to proving why America shouldn’t work, and the second designated to why it does work. These two in conjunction culminate into an effective argument, that proves that America shouldn’t work, and yet miraculously does. In th e first half of the article, she immediately starts by stating a part of her claim, America is a nation of conflicting and interchanging parts, and right afterwords attacks the notion it was founded on by pointing out that most people consider themselves to be better than someone else. This serves to support her claim, that America shouldn’t work, by disproving its very foundations. She then uses a historian’s quote in order to build off of and make her analogy, that America is a quilt. This analogy reinforces her claim by drawing a striking comparison between America and a quilt and helps readers interpret what she’s saying. Afterwords she says that the American consensus to treat everyone equally has failed spectacularly, and proves it by listing numerous examples of social and racial prejudice, such as the lynching of blacks and the discrimination against women. Not only does this butcher America’s foundations(again), it also makes the allusion that America is a very violent place filled with turmoil. Both of these would support the idea that America shouldn’t have worked in the first place, which is her claim. With all those examples of failure and injustice in mind, she asserts that it would be hard to explain to children why America is great, which also supports her claim because it makes another inference that America shouldn’t work. Anna’s third paragraph is dedicated to addressing a counterclaim, that the rise of ethnic-based pride has undermined unity. She argues that America has always been undermined by differences in race, and this new rise of pride has amounted to nothing. Although the counterclaim in this paragraph  doesn’t directly oppose Anna’s claim, perhaps it even supports it, the evidence and reasoning she uses supports the idea that America shouldn’t work. Quindlen’s account of past Philadelphia is a one of distaste and hostility, and her description of other cities that existed around the same time are just as bleak. Like the other pieces of evidence, these two support her claim by giving America the appearance of a country that’s in internal conflict, and shouldn’t work. She finally moves into her last paragraph in the first half, in which she first ponders the existence of this nation, and then depicts it as being filled with conflict. Her sentences in this paragraph follow a similar structure, at least in the beginning, in which she starts out with â€Å"What is the point of a nation in which†¦Ã¢â‚¬ , and proceeds to give a negative example of the denizens of America. This repetition acts t o cement the idea that America is dysfunctional, which is the core of her claim, and after the repetition stops she ends the paragraph with a change of tone, when she says that despite all of this, America still stands. This change of tone signals the transition into the second half, in which she moves on from explaining why America shouldn’t work, to why America does work. Unlike the first half, where Anna Quindlen’s tone implies that America is a collection of warring ethnicities, she changes her diction from doubtful to dumbfounded in order to better suit her goal, proving that America does work. She starts out by claiming that the reason America remains intact is a common enemy. Anna supports her reason by listing some examples of wars where we were united against a single entity, such as the cold and world wars. After that, she points out that during times where we didn’t have a nation to fight against, we were less united and more separate. She also points out that we became reunited as a result of 9/11. This supports her reason because through deductive reasoning, the reader concludes that a common enemy is what binds the people of America. These pieces of evidence suppor t her central thesis because they prove that the existence of an enemy makes us united, which would in turn make us work together and subsequently make America work better, which is her claim. In the next paragraph, however, she starts out by bringing up that most Americans still say that â€Å"The U.S. is a unique country that stands for something special in the world†, even during peace time. This would imply that there’s another reason why America’s still united, and Anna Quindlen  uses this quote to justify her next sentence. Her next sentence which depicts America in a fashion that makes it seem implausible, supports the part of her claim that says America shouldn’t work, and she also says that it somehow does, annoyingly. This aids the second half of her claim, America does work. In the last sentence, she finally states what the other reason for America working is: two strains of behavior. She says that the first strain of behavior is the hardworking psyche of Americans, and the second strain is the pilgrim-like persona of immigrants. Her support for her reason is a quote that the immigrants of a couple decades ago are just like the immigrants of today, who work hard and are subsequently making a living, which would allude to the idea that these personalities persist throughout all of America, regardless of time or space. With that in mind, it s upports her claim because it shows that we all have something in common, and therefore can become unified more easily, which makes America work better. After all of that, she moves onto her very last paragraph; her conclusion. She starts off by pondering what word best describes the people who live in America, from tolerance to pride, and then mirrors her claim by describing America as a ludicrous idea that shouldn’t work, yet does. She then says that the people of America are so varying, you could trace back the heritage to each person who died during 9/11 to every single country in the world; this analogy aids to the allusion that America is a collage of disparate and disjointed parts. Finally, in the very last sentences of the article, she draws a connection to the beginning of the article by reusing the phrases: mongrel nation, and improbable idea, and by mirroring the beginning and last statements of her article, she creates a lasting impact on the reader. Anna Quindlen’s article, â€Å"A Quilt of a Country†, uses a wide range of evidence in order to validate her reasons, from quotes to analogies to explanations, and not only are they effective, they all help support her central thesis, one way or the other. Anna also divided her article into two separate sections, in which she focused on supporting one aspect of her claim in each. This let her orientate and tune her words for a specific purpose, and not flood the reader with conflicting conclusions. In the end, Anna succeeded in proving why America shouldn’t work, yet does, and she succeeded in proving that America is composed of different, even conflicting ethnicities. People truly are such disparate things, as Anna Quindlen would agree, they range from  black to white to boy and girl, and America is the one country that exemplifies that the most. Unlike other nations, America’s truly a wonder when it works.

Employment Relations Essay

In the last 20 years, there has been a shift in the importance of Unions in New Zealand. The introduction of the 1991 Employment Contracts Act and the following Employment Relations Act 2000 allowed employees and employers the freedom to negotiate in a Good Faith Bargaining environment without the involvement of the Government. And therefore the unions and collective agreements were no longer mandatory to guarantee good work conditions. This year, a big example of Employment Relations involving Union and employers disagreements is the AFFCO plants lockout. Since February 2012, 1250 union members have been involved in 6 AFFCO plants lockouts due to disputes between New Zealand Meat Workers Union (NZMWU) and AFFCO. The disagreement finally ended in late May with an arrangement between the parties. This case study will use the Employment Relations theories to explain the relevance of the dispute between a fast growing company and the union trying to protect its member’s rights in the current employment environment. Earlier this year the media spotlight turned to the dispute between AFFCO, a meat processing organisation and the New Zealand Meat Workers Union. It brought up a radical side of unionism that does not reflect the majority of Union activities in New Zealand. Who are the parties involved? And what is the conflict that caused grief to employees and employers really about? On one side of this dispute is AFFCO, a meat processing organization owned by the Talley’s family since 2001. In 1936 a Yugoslav immigrant, Ivan Talijancich, opened a fish shop in Motueka and bought a boat to supply it. His sons, Peter and Michael, took over the business when he died in 1964. Since then the business has grown and the family is now worth $300 million and Talley’s Group owns: eight meat plants in New Zealand (AFFCO), four fish processing plants, vegetable farms, 53% majority of milk processor Open Country, Ice-cream factory in Motueka and the Rutherford Hotel in Nelson1. On the other side of the dispute is the New Zealand Meat Workers Union. The NZMWU was created in 1971 in an attempt to form a National Union to support meat workers and related trades. In the 1990s, however, another union was formed in the North Island, the Meat and Related Trades Workers Union of Aotearoa (MUA), allowing workers the freedom to choose between the two different unions. In 2005 a decision was made to disband all the members from MUA to NZMWU forming one single union to represent meat workers over the entire country. Since then sacrifices were made by its members through strikes and negotiations to achieve the good working conditions of today2. In February this year the meat processor AFFCO locked out more than 760 unionised employees in 5 of its North Island plants over a contract dispute3. Some unionised workers were kept in some strategic operational areas while the more radical union members were locked out. The union claimed that the lockout was illegal and it was an attempt by AFFCO to break the collectivism and reduce workers memberships, they accused the Talley’s family of being anti-unionism. In March AFFCO announced that all the union members that were still engaged at work would get paid holidays over Easter as long as they did not participate on strikes planned by the union. The lockout continued over the Easter Holidays. After the holidays all the unionised workers that were still allowed in the plants, including workers from the other unaffected AFFCO plants went on a 5 day strike. In May 2012 the Employment Court put the dispute under investigation in an attempt to end the 3 month lockout. The dispute finally ended late May when AFFCO and the New Zealand Meat Workers Union implemented a new collective agreement. Overall, the dispute over a new collective agreement lasted for 12 weeks with both parties unwilling to give up their power of negotiation. AFFCO had offered a pay rise of 4. 3 per cent over the following two years, but the union also wanted to protect its members from AFFCO’s efforts to implement new technology and flexibility in staffing levels. What later came to light, the New Zealand Meat Workers Union took AFFCO to the Employment Court over â€Å"illegal† random drug testing. According to AFFCO the drug testing was a way to protect its employee’s safety while working in â€Å"sensitive areas† of the meat processing plant. They showed the media photos of drug paraphernalia found on site. The AFFCO lockout is not the only case of a breakdown of management of Employment Relations to be highlighted by the media this year. Another example is the Port of Auckland versus the Maritime Union that led to its members striking and causing shipment delays over the whole country. Both of these cases show two different sides to the Conflict Theory Frame of Reference as described by Rasmussen, 20094. Each party has an opinion about how they work. In the case of AFFCO the Unitarism model is followed, and, in the other second case, the New Zealand Meat Workers Union follows the Radical model of the Conflict theory. The Unitarism model adopts the idea of all members of an organisation working towards its goals; therefore the conflict with the union upset the path of development. The workers are viewed as resources to the process and the management as the authority. AFFCO is a big privately owned company that is driven by competitiveness to achieve success. Being slowed down by negotiations over collective agreements with the union and being stopped to develop new technologies and systems to improve production and lower costs, AFFCO believed that the NZMWU were trouble makers expressing employee’s greed. This ideology was relevant to small, family owned companies in New Zealand where team work and loyalty to the group were for a long time valued above individual achievement (Rasmussen, 2009, p. 9). However today, as Alan Fox suggested, a number of factors had conspired to make the unitary view inappropriate for analysing the realities of employment relations policy and practice (Fox, 1973, p. 192)5. These factors included urbanisation, the increasing size and complexity of work organisations, the weakening of traditional attitudes towards authority, the growing power of unions, and a greater personal assertiveness and striving for individual achievement and success (Rasmussen, 2009, p. 29). Therefore, for a period of time between the 1960s to the 1980s the pluralist and radical models found more favour. The recent attitude of the New Zealand Meat Workers Union however, is described by Rasmussen 2009 as a radical model. This ideology assumes that there is no balance of power between employees and employers. It focuses on the social and class structures and on the attitudes and behaviours of the parties involved. The conflict between AFFCO and the New Zealand Meat Workers Union is a great example of this frame of reference. Even when AFFCO agreed with a pay increase of 4. 3 per cent over 2 years, the NZMWU did not settle, they wanted more for their members under the assumption that the negotiating power was still in the meat processor’s hands. Both of these reactions seem somehow to be â€Å"prehistoric†. Since the 1990s a lot of the relationship between unions, employees and employers has changed. First, with the introduction of the Employment Contracts Act 1991 making unionism voluntary and giving employees the options of personal grievance procedures. And then, with the following Employment Relations Act in 2000 that kept many key points from the previous act and added the promotion of collective bargaining and unionism (Rasmussen 2009 p. 102-103). With the introduction of the Employment Relations Act 2000, the legislative employment relations framework appears to be less controversial and surrounded by something of a consensus (Rasmussen 2009 p. 123). The main issue during collective bargaining in the last 20 years has been the communication between the parties involved, as reported by Leeanne Templer, 20116. Therefore, the ERA also creates the environment for Good Faith Bargaining. The Good Faith Bargaining reinforces employment relationships based on trust and good faith. Now, by law, an understanding between employers and employees (with or without their unions) must be clear, respectful and with open exchange of information. As described by Rasmussen, 2009, Good faith collective bargaining requires at least the following things: * That the parties have to agree on a bargaining process; * That the parties must meet each other; That they have to consider and respond to bargaining proposals; * That they must recognise and respect the bargaining authority of the other side and avoid undermining this authority; * That the parties will provide the necessary information to substantiate claims; * That they must take into account relevant good faith codes, the proportion of employees who are union members, and the circumstances of employer and union. As can be seen from the media coverage of the bargaining conflict between AFFCO and the New Zealand Meat Workers Union, it appears that a few of the GFB points were ignored. For example, the introduction of the random drug testing was not communicated appropriately between the parties involved and the agreement on a bargaining process was then rejected. While the act introduces the Good Faith Bargaining, it also allows lawful strikes and lockouts. In this particular case, the legality of the AFFCO lockout is debatable. The Union argued that AFFCO’s owners, the Talley’s family, are using this action to undermine collective bargaining and to retaliate against the court actions bought by the NZMWU. The New Zealand Meat Workers Union also felt that Talley’s wished to force its employees to relinquish their union memberships. The Employment Relations Act defines that strikes and lockouts are lawful if: * Thy are in support of a collective agreement; and * The employees concerned are not bound by a current collective agreement; and * The parties involved have already negotiated for at least 40 days; and * In the case of the essential services listed in the act, the notice requirement has been met. Overall, the recent Employment Relations Act has achieved a safe guideline for employments issues negotiations between employees and employers. Conclusion (not quite finished yet) The Employment Relations in New Zealand is supported by legislative set of rules that can be used to resolve disputes between workers and their employers. These disputes can be in individual or collective actions as demonstrated by AFFCO and New Zealand Meat Workers Union’s 3 month conflicts. The long lasting dispute occurred because either AFFCO or NZMWU were willing to compromise its negotiation power. Each one had their own frame of reference theories. AFFCO was defending its own rights as an organisation to have its goals followed by its employees. And NZMWU was purely defending their members against AFFCO’s process developments that would lead to staffing flexibility. Changes in the Employment Acts allowed the grievances of employees and employers to be negotiated between the involved parties without the government’s input. It also created a Good Faith Bargaining environment which reinforces employment relationships based on trust and good faith.

Essay on Civil RightsEssay Writing Service

Essay on Civil RightsEssay Writing Service Essay on Civil Rights Essay on Civil RightsThe development of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1940s – 1970s contributed to the consistent transformation of the US society through the elimination of inequality in basic human rights between white Americans and African Americans as well as other racial minorities. In this regard, Rosa Parks protest and desegregation, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 were the major developments of the Civil Rights Movement aiming at the elimination of inequality between white Americans and African Americans as well as other racial minorities.Rosa Parks protest was one of the turning points in the US history on the way to desegregation. Prior to her protest and refusal to give in the seat in the ‘white’ part of the bus to a white man, the segregation was taken for granted (Hine 154). The segregation created conditions for the racial divide in the US which could have grown wider and turn into a sort of apartheid conducted in th e SAR (Garrow 382).In this regard, the open protest and open manifestation of civil disobedience by Rosa Parks had triggered the active social struggle of racial minorities for desegregation in the US. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that segregation affected not only the public transport but also other fields, such as education (Dalfiume 101). The desegregation movement, which started in terms of the Civil Rights Movement due to Rosa Parks and similar manifestations of public protest against segregation, contributed to the elimination of racial inequality and desegregation of the US, including not only transportation system but also schools and other fields, where segregation used to be deeply-rooted and progressing (Shockley 132).The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the major legal act introducing the principle of racial equality in terms of human rights and liberties in the US (Korstad Lichtenstein 792). The introduction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the major l egal act that eliminated racial inequality and banned discrimination based on racial differences in the US (Yuill 276). The introduction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 accomplished the long lasting struggle of African Americans for equal rights and liberties compared to the white majority.The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was another major legislative change that granted African Americans with equal rights compared to the white majority and, more important, laid the ground for better economic conditions for African Americans because real estate was and still is the milestone of the economic independence of Americans (Dann 69). In such a way, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 was not only the political but also economic law that formally created conditions for the equality of white Americans and African Americans (Branch 71). This is why this legal act was one of the major changes brought by the Civil Rights Movement that had opened new, wider opportunities to stand on the equal ground compar ed to the white majority.On the other hand, the introduction of the Fair Housing Act still failed to provide African Americans with better economic opportunities to close gaps between them and white Americans. In this regard, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 attempted to prevent discrimination in the US on the ground of the racial background of Americans. The Civil Rights Act eliminated discrimination in the field of employment that meant that African Americans had got the opportunity to get better jobs and earn more. The Fair Housing Act provided them with equal right to buy and own houses without any restrictions caused by their racial background.In such a situation, the major problem African Americans faced was the lack of education which prevented them from obtaining better jobs. But, in this regard, the elimination of segregation could have closed the gap between white and non-white students because formally they had got equal educational rights because of the elimination of segreg ation initiated by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists (Hine 156). However, the problem of African Americans’ inequality was resolved only partially because the elimination of segregation did not bring them economic opportunities to obtain higher education (Robnett 1668). The lack of the good education virtually annihilated their rights to the equal employment compared to white Americans granted in terms of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The lack of well-paid jobs and real access of African Americans to those jobs deprived them of constructing or purchasing houses on the equal ground to white Americans, the right granted to African Americans in terms of the Fair Housing Act of 1968.Thus, the major advancements in the Civil Rights Movement, such as desegregation driven by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Fair Housing Act of 1968, provided African Americans with equal rights and liberties compared to white Americans but still they fa iled to eliminate the economic disparity between the two racial groups, at least in a short-run perspective. On the other hand, these major developments contributed to closing gaps between white Americans and non-white Americans since all of them have got equal rights and liberties and, in the course of time, African Americans and other racial minorities attempt to eliminate the persisting inequality.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Free Online Research Papers What is Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Is it a disease you catch from an animal? Is it comparable to mad cow disease? Can you die from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? How do you know if you have Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? If you do get Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder how do you cure it? Here are a few of many question about an illness commonly referred to as PTSD or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I intend to examine the most frequently asked questions about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which are as follows: what is PTSD, how do you cure or cope with PTSD? Also, I will be going deeper into my study by showing a few examples of the illness. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a serious psychological anxiety illness in which people repeatedly remember, relive, or dream about a terrible experience. The disorder may result from experiencing or witnessing a natural disaster, warfare, a personal assault, or any other violent or life threatening incident. PTSD is most commonly found in soldiers involved in combat. (Nadelson) During World War I PTSD was known as â€Å"Battle Fatigue,† and in World War II it was known as â€Å"Shell Shock.† PTSD gained prominence in the United States in the 1970s, as the mental health community sought to ameliorate the extreme postwar readjustment difficulties experienced by some Vietnam War veterans. PTSD was listed as a diagnostic category by the American Psychiatric Association in 1980. (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, 2007) PTSD may persist for many years. Some people held as prisoners of war or concentration camp inmates during World War II (1939-1945) showed symptoms o f the condition more than fifty years later. (Nadelson) Some psychologists believe that PTSD has been over diagnosed, due partly to a broadening definition of trauma (which originally meant direct exposure to serious threat, such as combat or rape). PTSD is actually infrequent, and well-intentioned attempts to have people relived the trauma may exacerbate their emotions and help there mind to process normal stress reactions. (Myers) PTSD involves the reaction of intense horror or fear, often accompanied by a deep sense of helplessness. This disorder can affect people at any age. (Carol C. Nadelson) Everyone suffers at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, but only about one in ten women and one in twenty men develop PTSD. (Myers) Studies report that about one percent of the population has suffered the disorder at one time or another. Others report that the lifetime average of people who suffer from PTSD is as high as fourteen percent. With in a year the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates about four percent of population will experience symptoms of PTSD. (Carol C. Nadelson) Research shows that greater one’s emotional distress during a trauma the higher the risk for post traumatic symptoms. It also shows that the more frequent and severe the assault experiences the more adverse and long term the psychological damages tend to be. (Myers) Prompt treatment following the trauma may help prevent PTSD or lessen its severity. One factor of attaining PTSD is the severity of the event itself. Seeing one’s friend murdered is much more disturbing than seeing the same friend held up at gunpoint. Similarly, the individual’s proximity to the event is important: being in a plane crash is worse than seeing it at a distance, which in turn is worse than hearing about it secondhand. An episode of prolonged suffering is often harder to endure than a brief, quick tragedy. A soldier’s experience in combat is a good example of many traumatic events spread out over a period of months or years. The soldiers in World War I who experienced shell shock usually did so after prolonged exposure to shelling rather than after the first explosion. Similarly, a prisoner of war, a political prisoner, or a concentration camp inmate typically suffers for extended periods of time in situations of isolation, uncertainty, and the possibility of torture and death. In such cases, the arbitrary nature of the outcome and the victim’s inability to change his or her fate make the experience all the more difficult to endure. Some people are more susceptible to PTSD than others. Such as people with previous psychological problems or a family history of anxiety disorders may increase an individual’s chance of developing PTSD after he or she experiences a trauma. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) emphasizes, that this disorder can develop in individuals without any predisposing psychological conditions, particularly if the stressor (the traumatic event) is especially extreme. (Carol C. Nadelson) A sensitive limbic system also seems to increase vulnerability, by flooding the body with stress hormones. Suffering from a traumatic event can also lead to what Richard Tedeschi and Lawrence Calhoun (2004) call Post-Traumatic growth. Tedeschi and Calhoun have found that the struggle with Challenging crises, such as facing cancer often leads people later to report an increased appreciation for life, more meaningful relationships, increased personal strength, changed properties, and a richer spiritual life. Similarly, most combat-stressed veterans and most political dissidents who survive dozens of episodes of torture do not later exhibit PTSD. Instead they find it as a life altering, character building experience. For example, more than nine in ten New Yorkers, although stunned and grief stricken by the â€Å"Nine Eleven Attacks,† did not respond pathologically to this traumatic experience. By the following January the stress symptoms of the rest had mostly subsided. (Myers) Sometimes it takes months or years for symptoms to occur, because people refuse to grieve over the lose of a loved one or either they repress the traumatic event only for it to surface in the future (maybe years after). (Carol C. Nadelson) Chief symptoms of PTSD include repeated dreams, and memories. Other symptoms include sleeplessness, difficulty concentrating, being easily startled, outbursts of anger, and flashbacks. (Nadelson) Flashbacks are one of the most interesting symptoms of PTSD. Flashbacks are vivid involuntary recollections of the incident or traumatic event. Here is a testimony from a young girl and her traumatic experience. She is a rape victim and now suffers from PTSD. â€Å"I started having flashbacks. They kind of came over me like a splash of water. I would be terrified. Suddenly, I was reliving the rape. Every instant was startling. I felt like my entire head was moving a bit, shaking, but that wasn’t so at all. I would get very flushed or a very dry mouth and my breathing changed. I was held in suspension. I wasn’t aware of the cushion on the chair that I was sitting in or that my arm was touching a piece of furniture†¦Having a flashback can wring you out. You’re really shaken.† People that suffer from PTSD often have flashbacks such as the one described by the rape victim, which may produce a dissociative may state (a disconnection from reality) lasting seconds, hours, or even days. Another form of flashbacks is hallucinations. Hallucinations in which the person sees, hears, and smells things that isn’t really there. (Carol C. Nadelson) What triggers these symptoms such as flashbacks and hallucinations is anxiety. Anxiety manifest itself by physical symptoms such as increased heart rate, sweating, blurred vision, dizziness, breathlessness, and the risk of having a panic attack and developing other anxiety disorders increase. (Carol C. Nadelson) There are also emotional symptoms of anxiety such as feelings of anger, fear, helplessness, and guilt. In some cases there have also been signs of emotional numbness (seeming to have no emotions at all). Symptoms of children with anxiety issues exemplarily such qualities as restlessness, they tend to repeat the trauma in play (acting, playing with friends, etc.) and having frequent nightmares. (Nadelson) People who have PTSD and made it through a harrowing experience safely when others did not are sometimes plagued by an irrational guilt known as â€Å"Survivor Guilt.† Other common symptoms of â€Å"Survivor Guilt† include behaviors of self –destructiveness, impulsiveness, somatic complaints (headaches, stomach aches, back pain, etc.), feelings of shame, despair, hopelessness, hostility, being permanently damaged, and loss or belief of things that were recently important. (Carol C. Nadelson) More uncommon symptoms of PTSD include diminished interest in pastimes that he or she used to enjoy, including activities associated with tenderness, intimacy, and sexuality. Also, withdrawals from ordinary activities are not unheard of. Some people feel a sense of foreshortening of the future believing that they will never have a career, marry, raise children, or have a normal life span. (Carol C. Nadelson) Although, these symptoms are more uncommon they are not unheard of. A general display of these symptoms is a decreased responsiveness to the external world and restricted emotional responses. These reactions are part of a psychological attempt by the suffering mind to insulate its self from experiencing further pain. (Carol C. Nadelson) My first PTSD example comes from weeks after the devastating tornado in Greensburg, Kansas. Residents fight to survive not only the tornado but PTSD as well. Right after the tornado wiped out his town, 11-year-old J.D. Colclazier heard screams over his fathers emergency radio. It was another father yelling into his emergency radio: My kids are pinned! I need help now! When the screaming stopped, J.D. asked, Does that mean theyre dead? No, that means theres help on the way, John Colclazier said, partly to reassure his son. John doesnt know whether J.D. suffered psychological trauma when he heard the cries for help, but he is certain his son will never forget it. Five weeks after the tornado hit, the psychological fallout has only reached the early stages. It will take several months or longer for the most severe cases including post-traumatic stress disorder to manifest themselves, mental health officials say. One official expects that the number of PTSD cases could be higher than normal because the tornado uprooted a community whose residents were so deeply rooted. Theres the 3-year-old, so terrified that it took three hours of coaxing to get her to leave her sanctuary under a bed when a storm blew through days after the tornado. Theres the elderly, vibrant woman whose short-term memory is so diminished, she wonders whether she is now suffering from Alzheimers. Theres the 32-year-old sheriffs deputy who helped save lives but now feels survivor guilt. Theres the woman who worries because her husband is drinking more than ever. Theres the dispatcher who stayed so calm as she handled emergency communications the night of the tornado who has had three anxiety attacks at home, triggered by storms. And theres 6-year-old Bailey Burns, son of Kiowa County Undersheriff Tom Burns, who wont let go of two donated toys because he fears they will blow away, as all of his other toys did the night of tornado. In a recent interview, a Wichita Eagle reporter asked Greensburgs new mayor, John Janssen, what kind of assistance the town still needs. I think some of them need counseling, and thats not a popular thing in a small, rural community, Janssen said. They dont want to share their feelings. Its post-traumatic stressthats what it is for a lot of these folks. The night of May 4, Bill Odle, a Kiowa County deputy sheriff and storm-spotter, used his fire radio frequency to call in one of the first warnings, which helped lead to tornado sirens being set off in Greensburg. After the storm hit, Odle felt desperate to get to his children and check on them. He would later learn they were OK. But before he could reach them, he had to stop and assist others. He heard people screaming and saw dazed people creeping out of the rubble. It was just like a zombie movie, he said. People didnt know what to do. They were lost.† He saw a puddle of blood. He saw a body. During the house-to-house search-and-rescue, he heard a rumor that a 2-year-old was missing. As he spotted childrens toys scattered and soaked, he wanted to cry. Although he had helped warn people, he felt what experts call â€Å"Survivor Guilt.† He second-guessed himself. What more did I need to do to protect these people? he asked himself. He went 36 hours without sleep. He tried to prepare people at the shelter in Haviland, Kansas, for what they would see when they drove back into town the first time after being evacuated. Prepare yourself for the worst you can ever imagine, he told them. Later, he went to shop in Pratt but felt out of place. The abnormal state in Greensburg had started to seem normal to him. For two weeks after the storm, his memory was shot. He would see people he had known for years, but he couldnt remember their names. One night he bolted awake, thinking he was hearing a tornado siren, but it was only the whine of an oscillating fan. (Potter) My second example of PTSD brings us to the war in Iraq, or better yet the war inside the solider. As I previously stated PTSD is most commonly found in war veterans because of the horrible things that happen on the battle field. Army Spec. Jeans Cruz helped capture Saddam Hussein. When he came home to the Bronx, important people called him a war hero and promised to help him start a new life. The mayor of New York, officials of his parents home town in Puerto Rico, the borough president and other local dignitaries honored him with plaques and silk parade sashes. He was hounded by recurring images of how war really was for him; not the triumphant scene of Hussein in handcuffs, but visions of dead Iraqi children. In public, the former Army scout stood tall for the cameras and marched in the parades. In private, he slashed his forearms to provoke the pain and adrenaline of combat. He heard voices and smelled stale blood. Soon the offers of help evaporated and he found himself estranged and alone, struggling with financial collapse and a darkening depression. At a low point, he went to the local Department of Veterans Affairs medical center for help. One VA psychologist diagnosed Cruz with post-traumatic stress disorder. His condition was labeled severe and chronic. In a letter supporting his request for PTSD-related disability pay, the psychologist wrote that Cruz was in need of major help and that he had provided more than enough evidence to back up his PTSD claim. Yet abundant evidence of his year in combat with the 4th Infantry Division covers his familys living-room wall. The Army Commendation Medal With Valor for meritorious actionsduring strategic combat operations to capture Hussein hangs not far from the combat spurs awarded for his work with the 10th Cavalry Eye Deep scouts, attached to an elite unit that caught the Iraqi leader on Dec. 13, 2003, at Ad Dawr. They wrote back explaining that there was not enough evidence to support his psychological claim to PTSD to receive and forms of compensation. Veterans Affairs will spend $2.8 billion this year on mental health. But the best it could offer Cruz was group therapy at the Bronx VA medical center. Not a single session is held on the weekends or late enough at night for him to attend. At age 25, Cruz is barely keeping his life together. He supports his disabled parents and four year old son and cannot afford to take time off from his job repairing boilers. The rough, dirty work, with its heat and loud noises, gives him panic attacks and flesh burns but puts $96 in his pocket each day. Once celebrated by his government, Cruz feels defeated by its bureaucracy. Tens of thousands endured psychological disorders in silence, and too many ended up homeless, alcoholic, drug-addicted, imprisoned or dead before the government acknowledged their conditions and in 1980 officially recognized PTSD as a medical diagnosis. Between 1999 and 2004, VA disability pay for PTSD among veterans jumped 150 percent, to $4.2 billion. By this spring, the number of vets from Afghanistan and Iraq who had sought help for post-traumatic stress would fill four Army divisions, some 45,000 in all. American Psychological Association reports that twenty percent of the soldiers in Iraq screened positive for anxiety, depression and acute stress. (Hull) My third and final example leads us to the Gulf Coast where hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, but only a few months ago. Billy Bob Hopson finds his therapy in collecting and tinkering with the rusted lawn mowers, mangled wall clocks and other debris that his neighbors toss on the curbs as they clear wreckage from Hurricane Katrina. Im trying to keep my mind busy, he said, hefting junk into his battered trailer. Ive got a hurting thing.I lost more than I can handle. Its like someone cut off your arm. You keep looking for your arm, and you cant find it. Suicide rates in New Orleans have nearly tripled, a mental health hot line in Mississippi is swamped and the regions few remaining psychiatrists are overwhelmed with cases of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and related problems. By several estimates, half a million residents need mental health care. We really have a mental health crisis, and weve had it for months, said Dr. Janet Johnson, a psychiatrist at Tulane University in New Orleans. Most psychiatrists have left, she said, and major hospitals with mental health beds have closed, as have wards for substance abusers. A few cases have hit the headlines in New Orleans: Two police officers shot themselves last September; a prominent pediatrician hanged himself in November, a news photographer went crazy earlier this month and taunted a police officer to kill him. These are only the most visible signals of massive and often hidden trauma. In response, officials in Louisiana and Mississippi are revamping health-care systems, including mental health services. Private help is stepping in too. A project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, for example, aims to train parents, clergy and counselors to ease anxiety. Regional officials have asked Congress for clearance to use crisis-counseling money for long-term treatment. Most people along the Gulf Coast are handling the hurting thing the way Hopson does, treating themselves as best they can. (Schmickle) The most common way people deal with PTSD is by coping with it. Although the best way to cope with PTSD is through professional help, not everyone has the money or time. A few ways people tend to cope with PTSD is by the avoidance of thoughts connected with the trauma. The mind blocks hurtful memories by diminishing feelings; this can reach the level of amnesia, in which the person is unable to recall the traumatic event or some important aspects of their life. People with PTSD also develop a phobia (fear) of situations that resemble the trauma or make them recall it. Such as the anniversary of the tragedy or if it was a natural disaster, weather conditions that resemble those of the day the traumatic event happened may also trigger anxiety that in return will trigger PTSD symptoms, such as flashbacks, anger, etc. The mind will also replay the traumatic event over and over again through dreams and flashbacks. Not only does this numb one’s emotions it slowly desensitizes one’s morals of right and wrong. The mind does this because it tires to confront the stressful event by replaying it again and again with the subconscious hope that the event will play out differently. (Carol C. Nadelson) The victims of PTSD typically experience an initial state of numbness while trying to assimilate the traumatic experience. Modes of therapy used to deal with PTSD include behavioral techniques, administration of sedating drugs, group therapy, and individual psychotherapy. Their common aim is the help the individual to understand and accept the traumatic experience that happened to them and to restore one’s self esteem. A common treatment for PTSD is a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Psychotherapy for stress disorder is a well used treatment. During psychotherapy people are expected to talk about the hurtful event, which allows the patient to release pent up feelings and purge painful emotions by revisiting the events in a therapeutic context. This is known as â€Å"Debriefing.† With the therapist’s help, the patient also has the opportunity to gain control over terrifying incidents. Frightening experiences that were fragmentary and unintelligible when they took place may make more sense- and therefore seem more controllable- when the patient reviews them during therapy. Understanding what happened becomes a form of power. In a cognitive approach, the therapist specifically addresses the patient’s anxiety-provoking thoughts. In a behavioral approach, the therapist uses exposure and desensitization techniques to gradually accustom the patient to dealing with places, objects, or situations that he or she has been avoiding. Relaxation and breathing exercises help the patient control the onset of anxiety. Group therapy sessions help the patient release his or her painful emotions, while offering an opportunity for the patient to develop supportive, healing relationships with other people. Many specific symptoms of stress disorder can be eased by using appropriate medication, which can, in turn, help patients benefit from psychotherapy. Antidepressants, for example, are often useful in treating depressive reactions. Use of benzodiazepines can calm feelings of anxiety and help with difficulty sleeping. These drugs can also help control flashbacks and dissociative reactions. Because benzodiazepines can be addictive, however, extreme caution must be exercised in its use. A class of drugs known as antipsychotics can also be helpful in treating stress disorders, particularly if hallucinations or other dissociative symptoms have occurred. To prevent these symptoms, a low dose of haloperidol may be prescribed. In addition, clonidine and propranolol, which are typically used for high blood pressure, are sometimes prescribed for stress disorders; by blocking physiological arousal, these drugs can reduce some of the symptoms of anxiety. (Carol C. Nadelson) In summary, I have described what Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is. How it forms through being mentally and emotionally unstable and through anxiety. I have stated the various symptoms that attribute to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have given numerous examples of cases that could or have cause PTSD in the people affected by the traumatic events. I have shown the forms of treatment for PTSD and also ways of coping with the disorder through everyday life. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is an unruly and difficult illness to manage. If you’re not careful, it could easily take over you life and even push some to ending their life. Sadly, it affects a vast amount of people in our society today. PTSD is best handled with the help of a professional psychologist who is highly trained to help with mental illnesses such as PTSD. Although drugs do help cure the illness temporarily, it is best to go to the root of the problem. Getting help from a trained professional is recommended to take care of the psychological root. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is truly a huge problem in our society today. It is a well known cause of suicide, depression, and in some cases stress related death. With the help of schools, government, doctors, psychologists, and society in general, surely we can minimize its effects. Bibliography Carol C. Nadelson, M.D. Uneasy Lives: Understanding Anxiety Disorders. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2000. Hull, Dana Priest and Anna. The War Inside. 17 June 2007. SIRS Knowledge Source. 8 November 2007 . Myers, David G. Exploring Psychology: Seventh Edition. New York : Worth Publishers, 2008. Nadelson, Theodore. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. World Book (2003): 709. Online, Grolier. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. 14 January 2007. Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 8 November 2007 . Potter, Tim. Weeks After Devastating Tornado, Kansad Residents Struggle with PTSD. 11 June 2007. SIRS Knowledge Source. 8 November 2007 . Schmickle, Sharon. Mental Health Problems Aboud a Year After Katrina. 20 August 2006. SIRS Knowledge Source. 8 November 2007 . Research Papers on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Three Concepts of PsychodynamicArguments for Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS)Personal Experience with Teen PregnancyInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesGenetic EngineeringEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenResearch Process Part OneCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtPETSTEL analysis of India

The Development of Roads in the Industrial Revolution

The Development of Roads in the Industrial Revolution Pre-1700, the British road network hadn’t experienced many major additions since the Romans had built some over a millennia and a half earlier. The main roads were largely the decayed remains of the Roman system, with little attempt at improvements until after 1750. Queen Mary Tudor had passed a law making parishes responsible for roads, and each was expected to use labour, which workers were obliged to offer, for free six days a year; landowners were expected to offer the materials and equipment. Unfortunately, the workers were not specialised and often didn’t know what to do when they got there, and with no pay there wasn’t much incentive to really try. The result was a poor network with much regional variation. Despite the appalling conditions of the roads, they were still in use and vital in areas not near a major river or port. Freight went via the packhorse, a slow, cumbersome activity which was expensive and low in capacity. Livestock could be moved by herding them while alive, but this was a tiring process. People used the roads to travel, but movement was very slow and only the desperate or the rich travelled much. The road system encouraged parochialism in Britain, with few people – and thus few ideas – and few products travelling widely. The Turnpike Trusts The one bright spot among the British road system were the Turnpike Trusts. These organisations took care of gated sections of road, and charged a toll on everybody travelling along them, to be ploughed into upkeep. The first turnpike was created in 1663 on the A1, although it was not run by a trust, and the idea didn’t catch on until the start of the eighteenth century. The first actual trust was created by Parliament in 1703, and a small number were created each year until 1750. Between 1750 and 1772, with the needs of industrialization pressing, this number was much higher. Most turnpikes improved the speed and quality of travel, but they increased the cost as you now had to pay. While the government spent time arguing over wheel sizes (see below), the turnpikes targeted the root cause of the problem in the shape of road conditions. Their work on improving conditions also produced road specialists who worked on larger solutions which could then be copied. There were criticisms of turnpikes, from a few bad trusts who simply kept all the money, to the fact that only around a fifth of the British road network was covered, and then only the major roads. Local traffic, the main type, benefited much less. In some areas parish roads were actually in better conditions and cheaper. Even so, the expansion of Turnpikes caused a major expansion in wheeled transport. Legislation After 1750 With a growing understanding of Britain’s industrial expansion and population growth, the government passed laws aimed at preventing the road system decaying any further, rather than improving the situation. The Broadwheel Act of 1753 widened the wheels on vehicles to reduce damage, and the General Highway Act of 1767 made adjustments to the wheel size and number of horses per carriage. In 1776 a law provided for parishes to employ men specifically to repair roads. The Results of Improved Roads With the quality of roads improving – albeit slowly and inconsistently – a greater volume could be moved faster, especially expensive items which would absorb the turnpike bills. By 1800 stagecoaches became so frequent that they had their own timetables, and the vehicles themselves were improved with better suspension. British parochialism was broken down and communications improved. For instance, the Royal Mail was set up in 1784, and their coaches took post and passengers across the country. While industry did rely on roads at the start of its revolution, they played a far smaller role in moving freight than the newly emerging transport systems, and it is arguably roads’ weaknesses which stimulated the building of canals and railways. However, where historians once identified a decline in roads as new transport emerged, this is largely rejected now, with the understanding that roads were vital for local networks and the movement of goods and people once they had come off the canals or railways, whereas the latter were more important nationally.

IT Security & Sarbanes-Oxley Act Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

IT Security & Sarbanes-Oxley Act - Term Paper Example Because of the original intention and the mandate of the Act, financial accuracy must be certified by the management concerned. Because of the provisions of the Same Act, the penalties for financial fraud have been made more severe. Similarly, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 strengthened the autonomy of external auditors who analyze and reexamine the accuracy of corporate statements of accounts and also bolstered the oversight function of the board of directors. Simon, Smalley, and Schultz (2009) divulge that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 comes against the backdrop of serious corporate and accounting scandals such as the Enron, Adelphia, Tyco International, WorldCom and Peregrine Systems Scandals. These scandals had cost investors billions of dollars, following the collapse of the affected companies share prices. These scandals, together with their serious effects weakened public confidence in Americas security markets. The Act comprises 11 sections which range from criminal penalties to additional corporate board responsibilities. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 demands that the Securities and Exchange Commission implements rulings on prerequisites to compliance with the law. One of the ways the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 effects and constraints IT security section 404 compliance is by emphasizing a comprehensive understanding of internal controls, as a set of an enterprise's internal procedures, providing reasonable assurances that the enterprise will meet its target in all the specified areas. This is the case since Section 404 Compliance extends emphasis on not just historical financial reporting, but on internal controls also. Together with the rules spelled out in the SEC, there is a requirement that public companies' management should assess and report periodically, on the effectiveness of internal controls on financial reporting.

STRATEGIC SUPPLY MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

STRATEGIC SUPPLY MANAGEMENT - Essay Example The corporation has even created Emirates Engineering department for its strategic SCM structure so that this division can ensure that the operations of the company are effectively managed and the latest IT systems are integrated with precision as well. Hence, Emirates Airline has even capitalised on its value chain framework so that it can always remain ahead of its competitors by providing the customers with excellent quality travelling experience. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction of Supply Chain Management (SCM) 4 Findings and Analysis 5 Brief overview of SCM in Aviation Industry 6 Background of Emirates Airline 8 Detailed analysis of SCM framework at Emirates Airline 9 Â  SCM Network of Emirates Airline 12 Value Chain of Emirates Airline 12 Information Technology (IT) and SCM 13 Challenges encountered by Emirates Airline in SCM 14 Conclusion and Recommendations 15 Appendix I – SCM network of Emirates Airline 17 Appendix II – Va lue Chain framework of Emirates Airline 18 References 19 Introduction of Supply Chain Management (SCM) Globally, it has been observed that the trade barriers have been reduced, free markets have been created due to market liberalisation, financial markets have been integrated on international level and huge level advancements have taken place in the field of technology. As a result, globalisation has created intense competition in various countries and the customers are provided access to a wide range of product and service offerings. One of the most effective developments has been in the field of technology that has minimised the communication and business transaction gaps for the companies that have widespread operations across the world (Bhardwaj & Mitra, 2010). It has been stated by Seghal (2011) that majority of the large corporations such as Unilever, P&G, Colgate-Palmolive, Emirates Airlines, Sony, Apple, Microsoft, LG, Nokia, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and others have expa nded their business operations in international markets. The crucial drivers of their robust expansion strategy are the declining trade barriers, easy movement of capital, people and goods across the countries and the latest IT systems that ensure proper integration of their operations. However, production, logistics and supply chain systems have become highly integrated and the companies are able to properly align their efficient supply chain strategy with the business strategy (Christopher, 2011). At times organisations are faced with unfair payment terms which leads to other problems. One such case is of the construction firm in which the latest payment terms announced by the firm is 65 to 120 days (Gilbert, 2013). These types of payment terms are unfair and can prove to be a major challenge. Supplier payment terms should be feasible and convenient for both the firm and the supplier, working on unfair terms and that too highly difficult terms may cause future work to be halted. E conomic crisis may be present in one region or the other and the economic crisis situation impacts the supply chain activities to a very large extent. The crisis may cause disruptions which may affect the business operations on a long term basis. According to a recent survey, it has been depicted that around 63 percentage of organisations that are considered to be large organisations have undergone supply chain disruptions,. This survey was

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant Personal Statement

The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant - Personal Statement Example After finding shelter in Egypt, she delivers her son and realizes that her family has lost all accounts of her The Red Tent is a great novel anyone who tries to gain a better understanding of a female’s perspective from an older generation standpoint. It outlines the difficulty of young women, who undergoes drastic life experiences as she witnesses her husband getting murdered. One of the most essential themes that are explicitly emphasized upon is the fact of that she is engrossed in all her memories. Dinah is almost forced to narrate her story from the fear that she will not ever remember these memories. Undoubtedly, these memories are critical towards her life experience. From my perspective, the author is trying to insist on the fact that our life experiences are critical as they are associated with memories. Without having these experiences, humans cannot fully develop their personalities. Another theme that is emphasized in this novel is the ability to heal. Clearly, humans are sensitive creatures that possess and experience strong emotions. Dinah witnesses her husband getting m urdered. In addition, she was also raped. Both of these incidents are traumatic as they can impact any individual dramatically. However, she is able to recuperate through time and patience. Her son is the hallmark of her striving to exist even when her life is shattered with these events. Anita Diamant, in this novel undoubtedly shows the futile superiority of men and portrays the strength that a woman must possess even after she experiences life changing events. She is clear to capture the essence of feminism in her novel through Dinah and shows the qualities that women possess that make them beautiful, sensitive

Critcial Thinking ID301 Bachelor's Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critcial Thinking ID301 Bachelor's - Term Paper Example It is, hence, not the judgment of a single person or a single group. It needs to be a decision that may be applicable for majority of DWI cases. The sound claims and arguments presented by Kathleen Rice in Martin Heidgen’s case, call for a revision in the laws pertaining to homicides. She is of the opinion that DWI homicide cases should be prosecuted as murders and the offenders should be dealt with accordingly. This paper further elaborates on the topic and affirms the reasonableness of Rice’s arguments to a great extent. Some argue that education, social awareness and individuals’ acceptability of the severity of driving under the influence incidents are the route to long-term solution of drunken driving incidents. However, the case reveals a well researched analysis that â€Å"despite all the publicity, all the education campaigns, and all the advertising over the past decade, the number of drunk-driving fatalities has not gone down† (CBS, 2009). Hence, the statistics reveal a counter argument and a stronger claim against such an approach which is theoretical and less operative practically. The claim of letting such offenders to live independently in the society again by not implementing stricter and more severe laws is like giving them another chance to kill a person or persons. Laws are made for the safety of the wider population, the society, and not the individual offenders who would forget the incident and the minor punishments and repeat the offense. Steven Lamagna, who defended Heidgen in the case, was not able to accept that prosecutors are â€Å"charging a vehicular homicide with murder, with a life sentence† (CBS, 2009). Lamagna provides an argument in favor of Heidgen as he â€Å"had no previous convictions of any kind†. However, having no prior convictions does not prove a person as innocent like it does not prove him as guilty of the current offense. It may, however, be helpful in the investigations and evidence gathering

System Identification and Security Categorization Essay

System Identification and Security Categorization - Essay Example The principles of the CIA triad; integrity, availability and confidentiality are highly prioritized in the information system. Necessary control mechanism has been incorporated into the information security system in order to provide protection. These controls have been categorized to technical, management and operational controls. VA’s contain critical information and therefore effective organization, an accomplishment and supervision controls should be conducted with care. The main obligation of the e VAs is to accomplish the highest level of security while meeting the critical needs of an organization. The VA has been typically viewed by the majority as a mechanism for protecting information and information systems. This is not the case since its major concern is to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of the information and the information system. The control principles form the pillars of the CIA triad. Actions regarding risk management can be executed when planning, assessment of the significance of the risk and identification are carried out in a proper way. Though risk management will not absolutely eliminate risk, it possibly reduces the risk actualization, provides significant remedy and penitential risks in the future. The main goal of the VA is to protect information and information system through risk management program to achieve strategic and operational goals. The strategy adopted by the Information Security Management Act is based on risk approach. This is sated in the VA (2007), â€Å"the operating unit is responsible for conducting an accurate and thorough risk assessment to identify potential risk, vulnerabilities and threats to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive information held by VA.† The possibility of incurring a threat is potentially construed by the management  controls.  

The Effects of Antibiotics Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Effects of Antibiotics - Lab Report Example The Kirby-Bauer or disc diffusion method is conducted which tests antibiotic susceptibility. In this method inhibition of bacterial growth is measured closely. The requirements for this test are a culture medium and filter discs containing antibiotics. The discs are impregnated with a particular antibiotic. The organism will grow on the culture plate while the antibiotic works to prevent the growth. If the organism is susceptible, there will be no growth around the disc containing the antibiotic. The size of the zone of inhibition formed around the filter discs indicates the degree of sensitivity of particular bacteria to a drug. The interpretation of the test is the bigger the area of bacteria-free media surrounding a disc means the bacteria are more sensitive to the drug the disc contains. According to criteria set by the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Studies (NCCLS)organisms are classified into Resistant (R), Intermediate (I) or Susceptible (S).The particular antibiot ic stops the growth of the bacteria. After the diffusion of the bacteria on the culture medium, circular spots were observed. These spots were the areas on which bacterial growth did not occur. Cefmetazole is the most susceptible drug according to the test. Penicillin and ampicillin are lesser susceptible than cefmetazole and gentamycin is the least susceptible. Penicillin and ampicillin are resistant antibiotics.Antibiotics prove to be bactericidal for antibiotics and stop their growth because they are sensitive.

System Identification and Security Categorization Essay

System Identification and Security Categorization - Essay Example The principles of the CIA triad; integrity, availability and confidentiality are highly prioritized in the information system. Necessary control mechanism has been incorporated into the information security system in order to provide protection. These controls have been categorized to technical, management and operational controls. VA’s contain critical information and therefore effective organization, an accomplishment and supervision controls should be conducted with care. The main obligation of the e VAs is to accomplish the highest level of security while meeting the critical needs of an organization. The VA has been typically viewed by the majority as a mechanism for protecting information and information systems. This is not the case since its major concern is to protect the availability, confidentiality and integrity of the information and the information system. The control principles form the pillars of the CIA triad. Actions regarding risk management can be executed when planning, assessment of the significance of the risk and identification are carried out in a proper way. Though risk management will not absolutely eliminate risk, it possibly reduces the risk actualization, provides significant remedy and penitential risks in the future. The main goal of the VA is to protect information and information system through risk management program to achieve strategic and operational goals. The strategy adopted by the Information Security Management Act is based on risk approach. This is sated in the VA (2007), â€Å"the operating unit is responsible for conducting an accurate and thorough risk assessment to identify potential risk, vulnerabilities and threats to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive information held by VA.† The possibility of incurring a threat is potentially construed by the management  controls.  

10.What was the impact of the French Revolution on the European system Essay

10.What was the impact of the French Revolution on the European system - Essay Example There was â€Å"a vast peasantry accounting for one in seven or one in eight of the population, most of whom were legally free but bound to their seigneur †¦ by a myriad of services and obligations surviving from the medieval past. †¦ And, in cities, †¦ a great urban population of innumerable crafts and occupations, for the most part poor and depending for survival on cheap and plentiful bread† (Rude 1995). When they rose up against their king, overthrew their monarchy and established a new social order, the French did something no other country on the European continent had done, which had a profound effect upon the other European nations who sat watching to see what would happen. This small war completely contained within the country and lasting only 12 years would send ripples throughout Europe and have consequences that would reach as far as North America and the Dutch East Indies (Taylor, 2006). The changes brought about by the French Revolution were cultur al, social and political. As the rumors spread regarding the fall of the Bastille, people in twenty-eight of the largest thirty cities in France were reported to have staged uprisings and hundreds of thousands of peasants in the rural areas attacked lords’ manors and destroyed other symbols of the seigneurialism system throughout the summer of 1789. This gave rise to a wide-spread wave of mass panic, known now as the â€Å"Great Fear†, in which the people pulled down the old system of French feudalism â€Å"and the state machine of royal France lay in fragments† (Hobsbawm 1969) as the bourgeoisie drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen and limited the King’s power. â€Å"Between 1789-1791, the victorious moderate bourgeoisie, acting through what had now become the Constituent Assembly, set about the gigantic rationalization and reform of France †¦ its policy for the peasantry was the enclosure of common lands and the encouragement of rural entrepreneurs, for the working-class,

Beneath - Original writing Essay Example for Free

Beneath Original writing Essay Psychoanalysis begins. Monday morning, it was a big rush. I had to pack the kids lunches and watch after them as they left for school. It was Kellys first day at junior school, and Michelles at secondary school. I dont know why, but as I shut the front door I had flash backs of my first day at secondary school. I got worried. Michelle is a lot like me when I was her age. To my children, I am a normal nice mother, ordinary like everyone elses mother. That is how they see me. They know nothing about my past It was an excruciatingly hot and sunny day July 30th 1993. I dreaded the moment the sunrise began. I felt a huge lump at the back of my throat, my head was pounding, and droplets of cold sweat trickled down my forehead. I used to be a normal, quiet, and well behaved person but, all that changed when I met Camryn Barnes. After the first three times, I promised myself I would never do it again. Yet here I was with the hammer in my hand smashing the new lock on the school gate. It fell to the ground making a loud sudden noise, which made me jump even though it was expected. I ran towards the school building, but the school doors were all locked up. After approximately an hour of struggling through one of the technology department windows, I managed to squeeze in. I ran to Dr Daniels office, pushing the door open. There, looking up at me with his beady black eyes was Cuddles Dr Daniels hamster. I had my equipment ready and then I opened the cage door picking up the small rodent with my trembling hands. I whispered to him in the darkness, Dont worry, itll only take a second. I reached into the back of my threadbare jeans pockets and pulled out the razor sharp penknife. Tears poured down my face. One, Two, Three. I did it. My hand was drenched in fresh, warm blood. I dropped Cuddles on the floor and retreated back to the technology department. I can still remember the cold beady eyed stare Cuddles had given me as I pulled the pocket knife out of him. I recollect a similar expression from the past victims. I got back to Camryn a lot quicker this time. Camryn was pacing outside and when she saw me she signalled to me to hurry up. I half jogged and half ran. When I reached her, she caught hold of my wrist and pulled me along with her. I glanced at her beautiful tanned face and saw the contented smile displayed along her lips. I could almost hear her heartbeat, and taste her idea of sweet satisfaction. When we reached her house, she dragged me to her bedroom then leapt onto her red crumpled bed and kicked off her scuffed trainers. Did you do it? Did you top the pint sized rat? she asked with enthusiasm. There was a malicious gleam in her green eyes. I nodded staring at my sweaty bloodstained hands. There was a huge lump in the back of my throat, my stomach churned. I couldnt take it any more, You said wed never do it again! Wasnt killing Jackies budgie, Peters cat and Ellies turtle enough? Why Dr Daniels hamster? Why? Camryn stood up with a frown creasing up near her finely plucked eyebrows. Whats wrong with you? Dr Daniels failed me in English! I worked so hard for him! He got what he deserved! A sudden anger flushed through my body, Like the others got what they deserved?! Looking at Camryn, and seeing her satisfied realization from her manipulation, I had to leave. I walked home, showered and then lay in bed. I remember glancing at my digital clock it read 6:16am. I tried so hard, but failed to fall asleep. It was only a few hours, but seemed like days passing by. Eventually my mother came into my room to see why I was not ready for school. I dont feel well, I murmured. Mother carelessly shook her head and left me alone. A month ago I used to be really close to my mother, but now I just seem to want to push her away and out of my life. It was almost as if I surrendered everything I loved for Camryn. My mother, my old friends and, my self respect. Eventually I fell asleep. Beneath my closed eyes, my thoughts swivelled in front of my eyes. All I saw was beautiful, cold water, ripples glistening. That was where I wanted to be. I woke up and changed into my favourite clothes. I knew what I was doing. I felt dizzy but ignored the queasy feeling. I sat on the floor and scribbled a note for my mother. I used to write little poems to my mother ages ago. I knew that was what I had to do now. I still remember what I wrote in the poem, word for word. June year 1993, on the 25th day, The day I changed, stopped to pray, I made promises, made to break, But itll be over, whilst I lie in this lake, I feel like Im, spiralling into a deep dark hole, Hopefully this depth, can contain my soul, What Im trying to say, dear mother, Im Sorry, For pretending to be so upbeat and jolly, Sorry mum, I didnt mean to, Ill be thinking of you through and through.

Gender Inequality in the Workplace

Gender Inequality in the Workplace An ultimate matter of social scientists has been why women continue to lag behind in men salary, promotion and authority. Gender inequalities in the labour market have received considerable attention by researchers over the past twenty years. Since the colonial period, Mauritius has been regarded as a patriarchy society with a high rate of marriage. Overwhelming evidence suggests that gender segregation exists in more occupational categories and the number of women segregation is greater than the number of male segregation. Gender socialization is one of the factors responsible for the reinforcement of gender inequality since childhood. The society continues to transmit the traditional gender roles to the individual through the various agencies of socialization. The different institutions of socialisation play an integral part in shaping the adulthood of an individual. Since childhood, women learn to be submissive and men authoritarian. Furthermore, wage gap, organizational power and employment opportunities have narrowed somewhat but disparities remain in the country. According to the gender statistics in 2011, it has been found that a lesser proportion of men in employment and for female activity rate it was 43.7% against 75.5% for men. Even though women are higher than men in terms of population, they are still at the disadvantage of the corporate ladder. Despite many law Acts against discriminations; many workers are faced with sex discrimination which affects them in the labour market. Studies in Mauritius on the labour market have laid more emphasis on gender equality rather than gender inequality. Therefore, this study will aid to shed light on the other side of the coin where occupational gender segregation is discussed. Aim of the study: The study aim to analyse gender inequality within the workplace of Mauritius. Objectives of the study: To find out how gender socialization process reinforces gender inequality. To analyse how sex discrimination affect workers. To discuss the different components of gender segregation. To identify which gender is more prone towards inequality at the workplace. Gender inequality and occupational segregation Gender can be identified as set roles, and behaviour patterns that differentiate women from men in socially, culturally and relations of power (Women Information Centre, 2005). However, radical feminism sees patriarchal roots as creating inequality between men and women. Radical feminism views patriarchy as separating rights, privileges and power principally by gender, and as a consequence oppressing women and privileging men. In general, radical feminist disagree against political and social institutions for the reason that they are closely linked to oppression. As a result, radical feminism is likely to be convinced that political activities support cultural change that promotes patriarchy. Radical feminism is against patriarchy, not men. To compare radical feminism to man-hating is to presume that patriarchy and men are inseparable. Anker (1997) distinguished two main explanations for why occupational gender segregation should is a continuing concern: first, it is a major foundation of labor market inflexibility and economic incompetency. Second, it is detrimental to women in the sense that segregation brings about harmful views of both men and women as a result, affecting womens status, income, education, skills (Anker 1997). The important outcome related with occupational gender segregation is the segregation of the payment methods and the continual sex discrepancy in earnings with women on the inferior edge. The proportion of the gender wage gap is to 5 to 40 percent attached to workplace segregation is seemingly advanced than the amount by career break 15 percent and equivalent worth wage upgrading 5 percent. Theories of gender inequality There are two types of segregation: horizontal segregation, which occurs when there is a concentration of women and men in a determined fields and occupations, and produces disparity in terms of career, pension and vertical segregation, which take place when there is a focus of women and men in determined degrees and levels of responsibility or positions, and produces disparity on salaries. Theories explaining the existence of occupational segregation by gender can be categorized into three broad groups: the neoclassical and human capital theories, institutional and labour market segmentation theories, and non-economic and gender theories. The neoclassical human capital model Neoclassical economics believes that workers and employers are normal and that labour markets function efficiently. The neoclassical economic view explains occupational segregation between individuals or groups by different human capital investment, or by different choices in the tradeoff between pecuniary and non pecuniary job rewards. According to the human capital theory, men are paid more than women because men usually have more human capital. The term human capital refers to qualities of individuals that employers consider useful, like level of education and years of experience. Females are considered to have a lesser experience than males due to careers break up in effect of motherhood. Some economists who support this theory put forward that womens are not dedicated towards their jobs and hence, they have to undergo through a series of difficulties. For example, they have less chance to have a permanent job, be promoted to superior and better paid occupation. In this model, wage gender inequality is maintained because men collect more human capital in the competitive free market. But opponent of this theory like Witz (1993) contends that even when female work constantly with no professional rupture, they still terminate in inferior and poor-grade employments. Institutional and labour market segmentation theories The initial point of Institutional and labour market segmentation theories is the notion that institutions, such as unions and large enterprises, join in determining who is employed, fired and promoted, and how much employees are paid. Institutional theories are also based on the belief that labour markets are divisional in certain ways. The famous institutional theory is the dual labour market approach. Dual labour market theory consists of two labour markets. The primary labour market consists of high wage, job security and better chance for promotion. The secondary labour market includes lower paid occupation with little job security and poor working condition. According to this theory, women earn less than men because they are disproportionately employed in secondary labour market. Dual labour market is the outcome of the strategies used by company boss to get hold to the varieties of workforce they necessitate. Companies are ready to propose superior rewards to retain primary sector workers. It is somewhat a short step to become accustomed to the model of dual labour markets to occupational segregation by gender, with one labour market segment consisting in female professions and the other in male occupations. This segmentation entails moderately low wage rates in female occupations because many women workers are overcrowded into a small number of female occupations. On the other side of the coin, male occupations, benefit from reduced competition within a broad set of occupations and, consequently, tend to enjoy relatively high wage rates. If females, but not males, are crowded into low earnings jobs only due to discrimination, then the gender composition of a job becomes an index of labour quality for males and, to a small degree, for females (Hansen and Wahlberg 2000). On the other hand, Veronica Beechey in 1986, identified some limitations of this theory, firstly, certain women in blue-collar employment are given low salary even if their occupation is alike to primary area males employment. In addition, this model cannot clarify the reasons why women are less promoted than men, even when employment in same occupation. Gender theories The central image of the gender theories is that womens disadvantaged status in the labour market is mainly due and is an evidence of patriarchy as well as females subordinate position in the society and in the family. In many societies, men are regarded as the sole breadwinner and women are accountable for household chores and child care. Anker (1997) explains, this division of responsibilities and male domination are vital for influencing females to accumulate less fewer human capital in contrast with men prior the labour workforce. That is, why girls receive less education than boys, and is less likely to pursue fields of study such as sciences, but is more talented for literature or languages study. The same influences are also instrumental in explaining why women acquire less labour market experience, on average, because many of them withdraw from the labour force earlier, and many others have discontinuous labour experiences. This theory further show how female occupations mirror common stereotypical roles. For example, womens caring nature, skill and experience in household work, greater manual dexterity, greater honesty and attractiveness can qualify her for occupations such as nurses, doctors, social worker, teacher, maid, housekeeper, cleaner, etc. while womens lesser physical strength, lesser ability in math and science, and lesser willingness to face danger can disqualify her for occupations such as engineer, mathematician, driller, miner and construction worker. Gender socialisation as a medium for encouraging gender inequality Crespi (2003) see socialisation as a logical route with its objective to construct gender personality. The gender socialization process is a further composition of socialization. It is all about the way children of different sexual categories are socialized into their gender roles and learn what male or female character is. According to many sociologists, there exists difference between sex and gender. Sex is the biological classification and gender is the outcome of social construction of separate roles of males and females. According to Lorber (2005), masculinity and femininity is not inborn that is children are taught these traits. As soon as a child is identified as being a male or female, everybody start treating him or her as such. Children learn to move in gendered ways through the support of his environment. As the child grows up, he develops his identity, know how to interact with others and learn the role to play in the society. There are many drivers involved in the socialization process which transmits the traditional gender role to the children and henceforth leading to occupational segregation later on. One set of gender socialization occur between parents and the offspring. Parents are considered to be the primary agency in the process of socialization. They are inclined to interact with boys and girls in discrete styles. For example, a one year old baby is considered to have no sex difference however; parents are likely to act with boys and girls in dissimilar ways. They react to boys, when they seek interest by being aggressive and girls when they use gestures. As such interaction have long term effect on girls and boys communication styles, leading boys to more assertive styles and girls with more emotive styles in adulthood. This communication styles can aid to inequalities between male and female in the workplace. Male tend to be dominant in terms of authority and women submissive in whatever status they hold in the organisation. Ann Oakley (1972), studies mention four central avenues in which socialization into femininity and masculinity roles occur. Firstly, apply diverse physical and verbal manipulations to the child. For example, dress up children according to their sex, girls in pink and boys in blue color clothes. Secondly, draw the child concentration towards gender-identified toys. This is known as canalization whereby, boys and girls are given certain toys, clothing and other objects often culturally identified more with one gender than the other. The games of the boys tend to advance physical interest whereas for the girls it leads to physical closeness and mother-child talk. Thirdly, employ different verbal explanations to similar behavior. In professional careers, women might find that they might are identified with different standards for the same behavior, being called assertive, for example, for behavior at work that in men is admired for being aggressive. In childhood it is the same case, a boy is cheered for being active, where as a girl is reprimanded for being too rough. Or a girl is complimented for being gentle, but a boy is criticized for not being competitive enough. Finally, encourage or discourages certain stereotypical gender-identified activities. For example, girls are asked to help mother with sewing, cooking, ironing, and the like. Boys are to help dad to do yard work, shovel snow, takeout the trash, and so on. The classification of girls with indoor domestic chores and boys with outdoor chores becomes training for stereotypical gender roles. According to Oakley (1972), the socialization route aid to the preservation of male domination and female subservience. The roles learn through the above process shape adult behaviour and hence, contribute to the reproduction of differences in behavior of males and females. School is the agency where conscious socialization happens. The education system is the main part of gender socialisation process. Looking through books from the very beginning gender stereotypes is present and reinforced. The small kids see women being represented in pictures in their books as with babies in their hands or women in domestic chores or at the high end women nurses, women teachers. At the same moment, men are usually soldiers, playing some prestigious physical games and leaders. These images often direct to further divisions between man and woman. The hidden curriculum is known for reinforcing the traditional model of how girls and boys look and act through the use of course material. For example, teachers strengthen gender roles by encouraging boys and girls to develop different skills. According to Thorne (1993), children also split themselves along gender lines in the lunch room, declaring different space of the playground and often sanction individuals who go against gender roles. The school location can be strong context for gender behaviors. For example, the cafeteria is a strong context where boys and girls separate tables if given choice. Likewise, on the playground, boy and girl groups take over spaces. The children of Different World project found that in societies where all the boys and girls go to school together, identical gender interaction was very high during free play, thereby follow-on in more gender segregation than was generally found in homes and neighborhoods. Generally the mass media are one of the most influential instruments of gender socialization because television, magazines, radio, newspapers, video games, movies, and the Internet are present in almost everywhere around the globe. As a social institution, the mass media reinforce traditional gender roles. Magazines pointing towards females bring light to the importance of physical appearance as well as finding, pleasing, and keeping a man. While boys and mens magazines focus on significance of physical appearance, financial success, competitive hobbies, and attracting women for sexual encounter. These supposed masculine and feminine characteristics and behaviors are reinforced across the media system, from video games and movies that show athletic heroes rescuing thin and busty damsels in distress, to television programs that depict women as housewives, nurses, and secretaries and men as lawyers, doctors, and corporate tycoons. Print media also play an important role in socialization. In childrens literature, for example, boys typically are the protagonists, who use strength and intelligence to overcome an obstacle. Girls are included in stories as being naturally passive followers of the male leader or helpers eager to support the male protagonist in his plan. This state of affairs is undergoing change, however. An increasing number of television shows, movies and books have crafted new visions of masculinity and femininity. It remains to be seen if these images take hold and affect gender socialization processes. Gender inequality in the local context Mauritius is a remote small open island economy. In geological time, it is a very young island, which emerged from waves of volcanic eruptions in the Indian Ocean over the last eight million years. A high degree of concentration and interpenetration of finance, agro industrial and merchant characterizes the economic structure of the country. The structure of formal employment consists of deep gender imbalance against women. The Economic and Social Indicators (ESI) on gender statistics represents women and men in the Republic of Mauritius. In 2011, Mauritius ranked 63rd out of 146 countries compared to 2008 it was ranked 46th out of 138 countries according to the Gender Inequality Index of the UN. Before 1950s it has been found that women were in fewer number than men in Mauritius. However, the female population has been growing rapidly such that in the 50s there were almost equal numbers of men and women. As from 1990, women have been increasingly outnumbering men over the years. The sex ratio in the population, declined from 100.2 in 1972 to 97.3 in 2010 and it is expected to decrease further to reach 95.8 in 2050. In 2011, it has been found that a lesser proportion of women than men of working age (16 years and above) were active, that is, in employment or looking for work. The economic activity rate for women was 43.7% against 75.5% for men. The active population stood at 582,800 with 363,600 men and 219,200 women compared to 2010, women was 43% compared to 76% for men, the active population stood at 581,300 with 362,400 men and 218,900 women.Men and women have a similar pattern of economic activity during their life that is less active at the younger and older age groups. The activity rates for both are highest in the age group 30 to 45 years. Some 191,800 women held a job in 2011 and accounted for 35.7% of the Mauritian employed population. It has been found that female employees were more qualified than male, with 22% holding a tertiary qualification against 17% for men. There were an almost equal proportion of working men and women having a School Certificate but 7.4% women had a Higher School Certificate compared to 5% for men. Both men and women had a high proportion of their working population in the tertiary sector (covering trade, hotels restaurants, transport and other service industries), 68% for men and 57% for women. The secondary sector (covering manufacturing, electricity water and construction) accounted for one third of the working men and one quarter of the working women. While women represented some 40% of the employment in the manufacturing sector, they comprised less than 1% of the construction industry. Women were more likely than men to be employees, with 85% of the employed female in that employment status compared to 78% among the men. They were also much less likely than men to head their own business; while 21% of working men were employers or own accounts workers, only some 11% of women held that status. On average an employed woman works 38 hours, 6 hours less than a man. However, women heading their own business and those contributing in the family business worked respectively 7.5 hours and 8.2 hours less than their male counterparts. Both female and male were found spending less hours in the agricultural field than in other areas of the labour market. However, women worked 10 hours less than men in that sector. Women worked 8 hours less in public administration, 5 hours less in hotels restaurants and 3 hours less in manufacturing, trade education sectors. Women as well as men tend to work fewer hours at the older age. The difference in hours worked by women and men varies across ages; it increases with age to reach a peak of 8.3 hours at the age group 45 to 49 years, and decreases thereafter. In spite of being fewer in the labour force, women are over represented among the unemployed. Unemployed women numbered 27,300 in 2011 compared to 18,800 men. Female unemployment rate stood at 12.5%, much higher than the rate of 5.2% for male. Unemployment rate is higher among women than men at all ages, except for the elderly. The difference in unemployment rate is more pronounced at the very young age.Among unemployed women with previous work experience, 22% left their last job due to marriage, childbirth and household responsibilities. Another 13% women were unemployed following closure of establishment. The main sectors where the unemployed women worked previously are manufacturing (29%), trade (25%) and hotels and restaurants (10%). On balance, there has been a dramatic change in the occupational and sectoral distribution of the labour market since, with the rising share in the manufacturing, and a declining share in agricultural and domestic service. Employers preference for women because of their natural and culturally defined attributes, as well as their adaptability, productivity and acceptance of lower wages in the past are some of the reasons accounting for the predominance of female labour mostly in the EPZ sector in Mauritius. Despite increase in employment over the last couple decades, we can still see that there still exists gender disparity in the labour market. In addition, with increased occupational opportunities enjoyed by women, they are still faced with the burden of household responsibilities for example, as mentioned above, woman works 38 hours, 6 hours less than a man. This show woman career is still constrained with household occupations. The factors which have promoted labour force are: fertility reduction, increased life expectancy, economic hardships and wider aspirations beyond the confines of family and home. However, the main factors constraining higher participation of female Mauritian in the labour market are resistance by own family members, inability to make arrangement for childcare, housework exigencies, nurturing within the household, reproductive responsibilities and difficulties in managing the interface between home and work. Therefore, women hit a class ceiling as far as the management in concerned. Such is generally the case despite higher academic achievement than men. This secondary role is also reflected in their working conditions and their position in society and family. While the concept of equity and equality should be established in the world of work, women have to be provided with wide opportunities and can be further encouraged to develop their aptitude and potential optimally. Globalization in Mauritius can also be considered as a threat for widening difference between men and women in the labour market and further creating gender inequalities. Trade expansion has increased womens access to labour market, however, it worth pointing out that the vast majority of these jobs are low salary and low-skilled. In the light of existing gender inequalities, a widening gap between men and women in terms of access to economic resources and benefits to be derived from globalization can be foreseen. Mauritian Law protecting against discrimination in workplace The Constitution of Mauritius is regarded as being the supreme Law which clearly protects this philosophy of equality at Chapter 2 Section (3) and (16) which imparts for non discrimination as follows: Section 3 It is hereby recognized and declared that Mauritius there have existed and shall continue to exist without discrimination by reason of race, place of origin, political opinions, colour, creed or sex, but subject to respect for the rights and freedom of others and for the public interest each and all of the following human rights and fundamental freedoms. Section 16 Protection from discrimination Subject to subsections (4), (5) and (7)-no law shall make any provision that discriminatory either of itself or in its effect. Subject to subsections (6), (7) and (8)- no person shall be treated in a discriminatory manner by any person acting in the performance of any public function conferred by any law or otherwise in the performance of the functions of any public office or any public authority. The Government of Mauritius has also passed law to eliminate all forms of Gender Discrimination and sexual harassment in certain areas of public activity under Sex Discrimination Act No. 43 of 2002. This act protects a worker from all forms of inequality in employment related to recruitment, selection, training, on grounds of gender, marital status and family responsibilities. Gap in literature It has thus been seen that gender inequalities is apparent in all societies and many research has been done with the aim of improving the condition of people at work. In Mauritius, however, gender inequality is relatively a concept which is ignored despite many laws exist to eliminate any sort of discrimination. The measures undertaken by the government still remain at initial stage. There exists little research concentrating in the field of gender inequalities in the workplace of Mauritius. The gap in the literature is little because it has focused on only one dimension of gender inequalities. In Mauritius, however, the concept of gender inequalities in the labour market is buried. As a matter of fact, research is urgently required to determine the all the factors leading to occupational gender segregation and also find ways to improve the conditions of employees at work. CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodology is influenced by the purpose of the study and it is based on the best strategy to respond to the research questions. The objective is to provide insight into the methodologies used as well as into the reasons and pertinence of their use. Research design is a plan as to what data to gather, from whom, how and when, and how to analyze the data obtained. It is a systematic plan to coordinate research steps to ensure the efficient use of resources and to guide the research according to scientific methods; again, it is a plan to be followed to meet the research objectives, and is the framework within which to solve a specific problem. A research design describes a logical manner in which individuals or other units are compared and analyzed; it is the basis for making interpretations of the data. The purpose of a design is to ensure that the relation between independent and dependent variable s is not subject to alternative interpretations. It is the clue that holds all of the elements The project will employ questionnaire to identify the different causes of gender inequality within the workplace. The present research is mainly based on a survey method and the major means of gathering data from a questionnaire. Questionnaire is a medium for collecting and recording information about a topic of interest. It is consists of a list of questions and include clear instructions and space for answers or administrative details. This study will employ a quantitative research method. In this study the data will be collected by the use of self-administered questionnaires. Self- administered questions will be used in order to accurately gather the required survey data from selected respondents to meet the researchers informational objectives, to present as positive an image of market research as possible to the respondents such that they will not feel negative toward the survey but welcome it and future surveys. The questions in the questionnaire describe the situation in which the respondents experienced discrimination and the way in which he believes discrimination took place. Self-administered structured questionnaires are more cost effective to administer than personal interviews. They are relatively easy to administer and analyse. Most people are familiar with the concept of a questionnaire and it reduces the possibility of interviewer bias. They are convenient since respondents can complete it at a time and place that is convenient for them.