Walmart Essay

Alex Manco Professor McEachern English 112 30 September 2011 To the Zoning Board of Trumbull, The Wal-Mart The modern day market has taken some interesting turns with innovations such as the television, the car, and internet. While the moral values of such turns has always been in question, it is no question that every major corporation has taken efficiency to a new level. Corporations like McDonalds, GE, and Bank of America have completely dominated the market with not only their vast resources and effective marketing systems, but by people simply knowing they exist.While most of these businesses have not gotten much more powerful in past decade due to government regulation of competition, there is one business that continues to grow at a dangerous rate: Wal-Mart. It has now become apparent that its growth has reached Trumbull, Connecticut and in no way should a Wal-Mart be built in our community. It is not even a matter of the problems our town would face as much as it is a moral w rong to the world as a whole. Wal-Mart may be â€Å"legal† in our â€Å"free-market† economy, but economics are never that simple and must be treated very carefully.It would not only ruin businesses in the area, but exercise the power of corporations whose business tactics seem unstoppable to modern regulation. The Wal-Mart is not only store, but an inevitable business tactic that will decimate the economy in both the short and long term. Wal-Mart’s rise to power is interesting and uncomforting in how quickly it flourished. The first store was opened in 1962 by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas. By 1970, there were 38 stores, and by 1975, there were 125. In 1983, Wal-Mart had made its eighth year in a row as Forbes Magazine’s 1# retailer.In 1985, 882 stores had already been built, and in the next 10 years would reach a stunning 1,995 stores. Currently, there are 8,970 Wal-Marts; an average of 50 a state, and this number continues to grow. The story of Wal-Ma rt is truly nothing short of business success story, but the speed of its success is slightly unnerving. So what do you think would be the result of building this Wal-Mart in town? I suppose it would open maybe around 60 jobs tops in town, but a majority of the jobs would be minimum wage jobs.Raising the employment rate of your town has nothing to do with the actual quality of the town, and that’s saying that all the people hired come from our town. Also, studies have shown that Wal-Mart generally pay their employees 25-28% less than other retail/grocery stores (Dube, Lester & Eidlin 559). Maybe teenagers will have a bit more money, but the jobs that Wal-Mart creates have little impact on the flow of money. In fact, building a Wal-Mart would only hurt the flow of money in our town. All of the surrounding businesses will not be able to compete. Retail prices typically drop by 1 to 1. % the moment a Wal-Mart opens (Dube, Lester & Eidlin 562). Local grocery stores like Poricelli ’s and Plasko’s can not be expected to compete with a business of such power. If small businesses fall to this Wal-Mart, then the unemployment rate will probably just about balance out with jobs your Wal-Mart will have created. This will destroy the peaceful, small town feel of Trumbull, and replace it with room for corporate siege. Our town would be quite different if we allowed this, but it would also support an economic movement that could tear our economy apart.One thing that must be understood in order to understand the entire threat of Wal-Mart is the causes and effects of a monopoly. The definition of a monopoly by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is, â€Å"Exclusive ownership through legal privilege, command of supply, or concerted action. † Monopolies can be held upon anything, but typically the term refers to a corporations hold on one particular industry. This was more of a problem preceding the great depression. Old corporations such as Standard Oil, U . S.Steel, and at the time GE held what is called a coercive monopoly, which is an absolute hold that can for the most part, can not be beaten without government intervention. These old corporations would dominate by not only controlling their market, but the markets of the related goods and means of production. For example, U. S. Steel would have powerful holds in the railroads so that they may transport there steel to cities free of charge. With such control, the industries were free of competition being that they had the means to set the standard for prices.Some would argue that this is good for an economy because it keeps prices at an all time low, but this typically lowers the quality of the goods they are selling as well as maintain low wages for workers being there very few places of work when one company controls it all. Nowadays, the government has precautions to prevent such dominating businessmen, but the economic order that is currently in place of the monopoly system, i s not all that better. The type of economic system the U. S. currently has is called a monopolistic competition. In order for the U.S. government to deal with monopolies, they had made it illegal to hold such power in one business. Businesses, such as standard oil, were forced to break up into many different businesses so that they may compete with each other. This keeps the market ever changing and not stagnant, allowing for more free choice in a capitalist economy. Now even though there is no â€Å"super power† of the market, there still are businesses that are significantly more powerful forces than others. This is what defines our monopolistic competition of our economy.It is an economy generally guided by larger corporations, but are not so powerful that they snuff out any smaller business below them. So while we have been able to make the â€Å"free market† as â€Å"free† as possible, there is still very much so a hierarchy. Wal-Mart sells everything cheap er than everyone. It has a hold not only over one market, but many. Therefore if factors are left unchanged, Wal-Mart would win the game of capitalism. These factors, as of now, are unchanged. First, Wal-Mart simply needs to be everywhere. With 50 Wal-Marts a state and growing, that goal has clearly been reached.Their numbers are only increasing, this way in the future, anyone can reach a Wal-Mart. This also keeps their employment up. The more jobs they give out, the more control of the standard of wages they have. It also is good for publicity. Second, they need to maintain their influence on the media, other businesses, and government. Commercials and internet make keeping up appearances in media more than easy. Same with other businesses being that they need only to market their products. Government though is trickier, but they exercised this strength of theirs fairly recently.Since 1998, a campaign of women has been trying to sue Wal-Mart for wrongful discrimination. More than 1 00 women have been trying to attack the corporation for many individual accounts of discrimination and finally made it to the Supreme Court in June 2011. Unfortunately, the court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart due to that these individual accounts have nothing to do with the corporation as a whole. This ruling shows that corporations are not held in contempt for the acts of their employees, which makes little to no sense.While this does not quite mean Wal-Mart is above the law, it still shows the type of influence they can hold in the law if need be. Although, even with this power, they can not hold absolute market control unless they maintain the lack of competition. Luckily, Wal-Mart still has competition, especially with those who find shopping their morally wrong, but this lack of competition may soon be at hand. The current debt crisis is continuing out of control, and nobody knows where it is quite going yet, but the outcome that is feared more is a depression.With a depression, m any businesses, big and small, will fall and the economy will be an empty husk. The only people who will seem unscathed in the mist of this chaos are the massive businesses, or Wal-Mart. They will have the resources to conquer an economy that has been wiped clean. Therefore, if there were on in Trumbull during such harsh times, it would be near impossible to open any new business in the area. Without new businesses, an economy is very hard to rebuild, especially on a local level.More importantly, in a time a crises, one of the last things you want is for a majority of the wealth to go to one place as history demonstrates. Having such an economic power exist in such fragile times is perhaps the most danger we have been in for decades. As you can see, it is not very difficult for Wal-Mart to become dangerous, but what does this contrast? Why it contrasts the support for small business. Small businesses create a self sustaining system for the area, rather than an area’s income b eing controlled by corporate conglomerates.The only problem with this is the system of economics. If a small business is successful, it is inevitable it becomes a big business, which could lead to another company to big for our own good. This is a cycle that must happen as a result of capitalism. If we are expected to have such a free moving economic system, we must learn to be responsible with our economy, and not allow businesses, such as Wal-Mart, to spread as rapidly as they do. This is a lesson that will be learned the hard way if a Wal-Mart is built. Wal-Mart is the product of a capitalist economy. While it is simply good usiness, is an example of the inevitability of monopolies in a free market system. Thankfully, we have regulations to hold them back, but you can not count on the government to control the market for you. People need to see this pattern and realize that you can not fall into the lock step of a consumer. Every Wal-Mart that is built just increases the risk of economic domination, and we can not contribute to this. It may be small in scale to the power they already hold, but every movement starts with a step. I hope you see the risk you take in considering this decision. Work CitedAndrew Beatie. â€Å"A History of US Monopolies. † Investopedia. November 21, 2010. http://www. investopedia. com/articles/economics/08/hammer-antitrust. asp Lila Shapiro. â€Å"Walmart: Too Big To Sue. † The Huffington Post. June 20, 2011. http://www. huffingtonpost. com/2011/06/20/walmart-too-big-to-sue_n_880930. html â€Å"History Timeline† Walmart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/aboutus/7603. aspx John D. Ramage, John C. Bean, and June Johnson. Writing Arguments: A Rhetoric With Readings. â€Å"Monopolistic Competition† Basic Economics. http://www. basiceconomics. info/monopolistic-competition. php

Heavy Drug Usage: Why Some Individuals Have More Addiction Over Others Essay

In order to understand why some individuals are more addictive than others, we need to look at the issue of addiction in our country’s usage of cocaine, crack, or methamphetamine. We also need to look at their dependency on them, and why some addictions carry more weight for some than for others. Heavy drug use is the highest among youth and young adolescents   especially young males   which is presently at its highest level in 9 years for that age, according to the 2006 PRIDE statistics. (PRIDE, 2006). According to their surveys, the fourth grade and the ninth grade were the highest users of heavy drugs (i. . other drugs or illicit drugs), even though they had a more difficult time getting them than the older adolescents. Marijuana is a minor drug, but one that the majority of drug users begin with to start the addictive path. Addiction begins in the brain, with the brainstem considered as the most primitive part of our body, controlling the heart rate, inhalation and exhaling, and resting. How drugs influence this area in regard to addiction is because the drug particle is similar in size and shape to natural neurotransmitters. Once they lock into the brain, they begin to release neurotransmitters. More and more â€Å"drugs† once entered into the brain will lock and release, with more and more neurotransmitters that become unnatural flooding into the brain. Many of the illegal drugs – – nicotine, crack, crank, cocaine, and marijuana – – affect the limbic system of the brain, which is the â€Å"reward† system, responding to pleasurable experiences by releasing dopamine, the main creator of pleasurable feelings or simply â€Å"feeling good†. Excess drugs will bring on a â€Å"drug high† or overdosing. Without addictions, there would not be serious drug usage for any individual. Addictions cause the â€Å"I have to have it† feeling that originally began as an minor experiment or a fun thing to do. As the body and mind becomes dependant on the drug for a good feeling, it eventually needs more and more in the system to maintain that feeling of goodness, until the craving becomes a number one obsession – – with the level of craving depending on the type of drug used. According to the American Heritage English Dictionary, the word addiction means, â€Å"Compulsive physiological and psychological need for a habit-forming substance,† or â€Å"The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something. This compulsion or addiction has ruined many lives, with drug incarceration in the U. S. the highest it ever has been, with an increase in 35% since 1995. (Colson, 2006, pg 2). Addictions begin because drugs are considered â€Å"the painkillers of physical and emotional pain. † Not everyone becomes addicted because not everyone is unhappy, has physical or emotional pain, or lives with huge amounts of unsolvable problems. But the foremost causes of addiction in youth or adolescents are also peer pressure, manipulation, or boredom, with other factors being included. There are three theories why addictions occur in someone: the first is the â€Å"biochemical† predisposition where some people react different than others do, regardless of the situation; the second theory is the â€Å"disease concept† where addiction is considered an inherited disease, where the individual is permanently ill at a genetic level; and the third theory is that addiction is a â€Å"mental weakness or flaw†, where a person can overcome it through will-power or mental processes – – another part of this theory is that of â€Å"falling from grace†, where recovery comes from a higher power. But so far, none of these theories have proved correct, which is why they are still theories. Kids continue using drugs because the feelings of unhappiness or hopelessness are buried by drug usage when using them. The addiction becomes the only way of life to live for someone to experience â€Å"happiness† or to feel â€Å"pleasure† – – anyway, as long as the money holds out for the drug purchases. If not, theft and selling drugs will begin another way of life for them to support their habit. After that, prison or death is the next and final level. Different levels of addictions are experienced by different individuals, because people are different: they are mentally and physically different; their life experiences are different; their values and ethics are different; and their problems or happiness are on different levels. Because of this, peer pressure and powers of persuasion affects different people in different ways. Peer pressure has a lot to do with influencing youth to begin using drugs of any kind. After all, nobody wants to look like they don’t belong, do they? Combined with the power of persuasion, an unhappy individual with lots of problems or filled with boredom cannot fight against it, as it promises a false sense of happiness that does not really exist, yet they still believe it is the easy way out. Self-concept of an individual has a lot to do with the usage of drugs and is considered the most vital ingredient in a happy and content individual. Once this begins to go down, drug usage and depression have an open door, as it falsely raises the lowered self-esteem. By keeping this part of the personality up, peer pressure and manipulation won’t have such a hold on the individual. To develop peer pressure, the individual needs to have friends or a group they run with – – or seek to belong to – – by doing things that goes against their personal moral beliefs, such as using drugs for the first time. Individuals who do not care what others think, will not be influenced on the same level of peer pressure. To impress someone, these peer groups exert a lot of influence over prospective new members, forcing them to conform to the group standards. Adolescent peer pressure has always been referred to in a harmful undertone, causing members to become involved in destructive behavior, such as using alcohol or drugs. Peer pressure or drug pushers use the power of persuasion as a marketing tool to obtain desire results. New members are prodded, manipulated, and debased by peer groups to do things they never would have done before, working against an individual’s vulnerable inability to fight against it. Once the individual is on the drugs, it usually is a one-way street to nowhere. Culture and social beliefs come into play with what is accepted as normal in a certain segment of society. Various racial or ethnic groups may hold specific morals, ethics, or biases about certain things that will affect what they consider normal or abnormal. But recent developments in our professional field over the past ten years or so have found that each culture has its own strengths, limitations, and differences – – yet that does not mean they are unequal to another race or culture as they were previously judged by courts, laws, and professionals. Prior to 1990, the U. S. began to undergo a lot of radical demographic changes with diverse populations. Unfortunately, drug usage began to go up with these changes, as it was not considered as abnormal in their own countries as here. When President Reagan began his drug war in October of 1982, certain segments of society, based on certain cultures, felt they were being targeted. But prior to that, society had already set the scene against drugs, â€Å"In 1982, when the drug war began, the recreational use of illegal drugs was in decline. Tonry points out that in 1982, surveys conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse showed significant drops in drug usage over long periods for a wide range of age groups. This decline impacted the use of both legal and illegal substances. For example, the percentages of respondents 18 to 25 years of age reporting marijuana use during the preceding year dropped by approximately 15% between 1979 and 1982, and continued to decline sharply throughout the decade of the 80s. Reported use of cocaine by the same age group also dropped by approximately 15% between 1979 and 1982, and continued to decline throughout the decade. Finally, 18 to 25 year olds who reported using alcohol during the preceding year rose only slightly from 1979 to 1982, but also declined sharply following a peak in 1985. According to Tonry, these statistics ‘signal a broadly based and widely shared change in American attitudes toward the ingestion of dangerous or unhealthy substances that can have little to do with the deterrent effects of law enforcement strategies or criminal sanctions. ‘ Consequently, Reagan’s declaration of war tapped into a growing public sentiment against illegal drug use. (Nunn, 2006). Drug efficacy is the power of a drug to produce a desire effect, or its effectiveness. Another meaning is the treatment against the drug users; â€Å"medical professionals have called for a greater emphasis on treatment for drug users rather than incarceration and felony convictions that made it hard for former users to get their lives on track. † (Connecticut News, 2005). The prisons are already over-crowded, and the drug usage does not seem to be getting any better. The drugs alcohol and marijuana are considered â€Å"gateways† to the heavier drugs or more addictive substances. Under the newer laws where non-violent events are punished with prison terms, and the youth or adolescent individual is convicted of these minor drugs, they carry a lifetime of punishment that prevents them from getting on with their lives. They feel the mistake stays with them the rest of their life, so why quit anyway? Professionals feel that because of this attitude, better treatment instead of prison or jail punishment needs to be the number one choice; due to the fact the United States has a highest population of their own citizens in prison than any other industrialized nation. (Nunn, 2006). Bibliography http://www.pridesurveys.com/customercenter/ue05ns.pdf http://www.socialistworker.org/2006-2/613/613_02_Prison.shtml http://academic.udayton.edu/race/03justice/crime09.htm

Bulling and Cyberbulling

Bulling and cyber bulling is a huge issue in our society and the problem is increasing. According to the American Justice Department this month 1out of four children will be abused by another youth. And since the introduction of technology such as texting, emails and social media sites it has become allot easier for bullies to both bully and bully secretly and almost constantly. This essay will address the issue of both bullying, harassment and in particular cyber bullies.It will also suggest ways to cope with bulling According to schools. nsw. edu. au bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of bullying.These are: * Physical bullying -Physical bullying is bullying physically including hitting, kicking, tripping, pinc hing and pushing or damaging property. * Verbal bullying- Verbal bullying is bullying someone using words. For example-name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse. * Covert bullying- Covert bullying is often harder to recognise and can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation.Covert bullying includes: lying and spreading rumours, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone and damaging someone's social reputation or social acceptance * Cyber bullying- Cyber bullying is overt or covert bullying behaviours using digital technologies. Examples include harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. Cyber bullying can happen at any time.It can be in public or in private and sometimes only known to the target and the person bullying. Bulling is not mutual arguments and disagreements, single episodes of social rejection or dislike, single episode acts of nastiness or spite, random acts of aggression or intimidation. The standard definition for harassment is unwanted conduct on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation etc. which has the purpose or effect of either violating the claimant's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.All bulling is harassment but not all harassment is bulling. Bulling has both short term and long term effects for the victims. Although severe long term effects can be avoided by stopping bulling as early as possible. The short term effects can include issues at school (i. e. lower academic achievement), depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and los s of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.In extreme cases bullied children may also have suicidal tendencies. Long term effects can include: a greater risk of depression and lower self-esteem later in later life, more likely to have problems with alcohol and drug use and it is more likely they will have suicidal thoughts Demonstrating assertive behaviour when bullied or harassed can often help reduce bulling. Assertive behaviour is not aggressive. It’s saying things in a direct and honest way. Saying things such as stop it, I don’t like it and what you’re saying isn’t very nice please stop.If you are being bullied or harassed the most important thing to do is tell someone. People like a trusted adult such as a teacher, councillor or parent are all good to tell. If all else fails call a kids or bulling helpline such the kids helpline on 1800 55 1800. Cyber bullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented , threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyber stalking is NEVER called cyber bullying. The actions of a cyber-bully are biasedly verbal bulling over technology. This is includes messaging on a social site, email and texting. There is no way to completely avoid cyber bullies unless you pretty much stop using the computer.But there are things you can do to lessen the chance of being cyber bullied. Firstly if you think you might be being cyber bullied then talk to a trusted adult. Secondly if the bulling is happening over social networking sites then most sites give you the option to block people. If it’s over the phone then tal k to your parents about getting a new number. Bibliography http://ncab. org. au/fourkindsofbullying/ 24/8/12 http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. html#suicide 24/8/12 http://library. hinkquest. org/07aug/00117/bullyingconsequences. html 24/8/12 http://www. cyberbullying. info/ http://au. reachout. com/Factsheets/C/Cyberbullying http://www. cybersmart. gov. au/Kids/Tips%20to%20stay%20safe%20and%20cybersmart/Cyberbullying. aspx http://www. bullyingnoway. gov. au/ http://www. bullying. com. au/ http://www. youthbeyondblue. com/factsheets-and-info/fact-sheet-20-bullying/ http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. htmlhttp://www. racgp. org. au/afp/201103/201103carrgregg. pdf Bulling and Cyberbulling Bulling and cyber bulling is a huge issue in our society and the problem is increasing. According to the American Justice Department this month 1out of four children will be abused by another youth. And since the introduction of technology such as texting, emails and social media sites it has become allot easier for bullies to both bully and bully secretly and almost constantly. This essay will address the issue of both bullying, harassment and in particular cyber bullies.It will also suggest ways to cope with bulling According to schools. nsw. edu. au bullying is repeated verbal, physical, social or psychological behaviour that is harmful and involves the misuse of power by an individual or group towards one or more persons. The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of bullying.These are: * Physical bullying -Physical bullying is bullying physically including hitting, kicking, tripping, pinc hing and pushing or damaging property. * Verbal bullying- Verbal bullying is bullying someone using words. For example-name calling, insults, teasing, intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse. * Covert bullying- Covert bullying is often harder to recognise and can be carried out behind the bullied person's back. It is designed to harm someone's social reputation and/or cause humiliation.Covert bullying includes: lying and spreading rumours, negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks, playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate, mimicking unkindly, encouraging others to socially exclude someone and damaging someone's social reputation or social acceptance * Cyber bullying- Cyber bullying is overt or covert bullying behaviours using digital technologies. Examples include harassment via a mobile phone, setting up a defamatory personal website or deliberately excluding someone from social networking spaces. Cyber bullying can happen at any time.It can be in public or in private and sometimes only known to the target and the person bullying. Bulling is not mutual arguments and disagreements, single episodes of social rejection or dislike, single episode acts of nastiness or spite, random acts of aggression or intimidation. The standard definition for harassment is unwanted conduct on the grounds of race, gender, sexual orientation etc. which has the purpose or effect of either violating the claimant's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them.All bulling is harassment but not all harassment is bulling. Bulling has both short term and long term effects for the victims. Although severe long term effects can be avoided by stopping bulling as early as possible. The short term effects can include issues at school (i. e. lower academic achievement), depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, and los s of interest in activities they used to enjoy. These issues may persist into adulthood.In extreme cases bullied children may also have suicidal tendencies. Long term effects can include: a greater risk of depression and lower self-esteem later in later life, more likely to have problems with alcohol and drug use and it is more likely they will have suicidal thoughts Demonstrating assertive behaviour when bullied or harassed can often help reduce bulling. Assertive behaviour is not aggressive. It’s saying things in a direct and honest way. Saying things such as stop it, I don’t like it and what you’re saying isn’t very nice please stop.If you are being bullied or harassed the most important thing to do is tell someone. People like a trusted adult such as a teacher, councillor or parent are all good to tell. If all else fails call a kids or bulling helpline such the kids helpline on 1800 55 1800. Cyber bullying is when a child, preteen or teen is tormented , threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Once adults become involved, it is plain and simple cyber-harassment or cyber stalking. Adult cyber-harassment or cyber stalking is NEVER called cyber bullying. The actions of a cyber-bully are biasedly verbal bulling over technology. This is includes messaging on a social site, email and texting. There is no way to completely avoid cyber bullies unless you pretty much stop using the computer.But there are things you can do to lessen the chance of being cyber bullied. Firstly if you think you might be being cyber bullied then talk to a trusted adult. Secondly if the bulling is happening over social networking sites then most sites give you the option to block people. If it’s over the phone then tal k to your parents about getting a new number. Bibliography http://ncab. org. au/fourkindsofbullying/ 24/8/12 http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. html#suicide 24/8/12 http://library. hinkquest. org/07aug/00117/bullyingconsequences. html 24/8/12 http://www. cyberbullying. info/ http://au. reachout. com/Factsheets/C/Cyberbullying http://www. cybersmart. gov. au/Kids/Tips%20to%20stay%20safe%20and%20cybersmart/Cyberbullying. aspx http://www. bullyingnoway. gov. au/ http://www. bullying. com. au/ http://www. youthbeyondblue. com/factsheets-and-info/fact-sheet-20-bullying/ http://www. stopbullying. gov/at-risk/effects/index. htmlhttp://www. racgp. org. au/afp/201103/201103carrgregg. pdf

Purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Purpose - Essay Example Disadvantages, in this case, refer to the problems that may be caused when the goods are consumed. The main purpose of Hazard communication is to ensure that the existing dangers or hazards of all the chemicals produced locally or imported are evaluated properly, and thus any information concerning their dangers are revealed or transmitted to the employees and the employers, as well. The transmittal is always accomplished by means of effective and comprehensive hazard programs. The programs include container labeling, material safety data sheets, as well as, employee training. Problem Definition Safety dangers or hazards related to physical features and characteristics can be easily and objectively defined with the use of testing requirements such as flammability. The definition of health hazards is more subjective and less precise. Health hazards, as understood and explained by health specialists, can result into measurable changes in the human body, for instance, reduced pulmonary function. The changes are indicated by the occurrences and the presences of symptoms and signs among the employees exposed to them. Such symptoms include a non measurable subjective feeling, as well as, shortness of breath. Determination of occupational health hazards always prove a great challenge, complicated by the fact that many of the common effects or signs occur mainly in non-occupationally exposed populations, in such away that the exposure effects are difficult or challenging to separate from the common and recurring illnesses. There are occasional situations whereby a substance may cause an effect hardly seen or visible in the population, at large. An example is angiosarcomas, which results from the exposure to vinyl chloride. This makes it easier for the establishment of the certainties that the occupational was the actual and the primary causative agent. Nevertheless, the effects are common, for instance, lung cancer. Normally, the situation becomes worse and complicated due to the fact that most chemicals have not been well adequately tested in order to determine the potential of their health hazards, and the data does not exist for the substantiation of the effects. Efforts by many scientists have come up with results and basis of categorizing effects, as well as, their definition in many ways. The general or the overall accepted terms â€Å"chronic† and â€Å"acute† used or applied in this area to come to the delineation between the effects on fundamental basis of duration or severity. â€Å"Acute† effects normally happen rapidly due to exposures that are considered short terms, and are always of short duration. â€Å"Chronic† effects occur due to long term exposures of an individual to the hazards. Unlike the Acute ones, they are of long term durations. The acute effects, that are most frequently referred, in this case, are those that defined by the US major body, the American National Standards of Institute (ANSI) s tandard for the Precautionary Labeling of Hazardous Industrial Chemicals (osha.cov). Such hazards include corrosivity, lethal dose and sensitization. Despite these being obvious health effects, they never cover adequately the chronic effect areas, excluding, for instance, the blood dyscrasias such as anemia, liver atrophy and bronchitis. The same is applicable with the term chronic effect, which is often used in the reference to only

Scientific managers believe in business organisations without people Essay

Scientific managers believe in business organisations without people and human relations managers believe in people without organisations - Essay Example It is because of its problem solving capabilities through the application of scientific methods that it came to be put forth as a means of managing industries (Hughes 2004, p.251). Despite its falling into disuse for a number of years in main stream industries, its resilience can be seen through its being applied in different industries in the modern world as a means of boosting production. It was reported that during its initial application, this form of management became quite unpopular with workers because of the higher demand that it required of them. The initial application of scientific management creates a situation where there were threats of and at times actual strikes in a bid to remove the system from being used. This was because apart from the high demands it made from workers; it was also responsible for alienating them in such a manner that it put more emphasis on the importance of organizations at the expense of workers. Because of its stressing the importance of organizations, scientific management made it possible for the development of policies, which were designed to ensure that workers had to work for longer hours for lesser pay as a means of maximizing their potential while at the same time increasing profits. This system concentrated more on increasing worker output for so that industries could produce more goods for sale, hence creating a situation where the industry can continue to make profits while making maximum use of its workers. Scientific management came to be extremely popular in planned economies such as the Soviet Union and East Germany through the advocacy of Aleksei Gastev, who believed in the scientific organization of labour to ensure that the Soviet Union came to achieve maximum growth (Beissinger 1988, p.35). It can be said that the ideas of scientific management still have a significant influence on how management is conducted in the modern world since some companies in suc h countries

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 110

Summary - Essay Example There was a massive migration of Europeans, mostly from Germany, Spain, Poland, and the present day Czech Republic to Mexico and Texas. These European migrants brought with them a new style of dance and music to the community living in Texas and Mexico. This event had a greater influence on the upcoming and development of the Tejano music genre. This migration resulted in the emergence of a special music genre that was later identified as the Tejano, which is a cross cultural mix of several traditional European music styles. Although this migration played a great role, it was not until the Mexican revolution that the Tejano music genre was fully developed. The Mexican revolution took place during the early 1900s and forced many Europeans migrants into south Texas, where their musical influence had a great impact especially on the development of Tejano genre. At the south Texas, the Tejano was music genre was mostly used by people involved in agriculture and ranching. There were occasionally travelling musicians who would come to the farms and ranches to play their music. They were using basic musical instruments such as guitar, flute, and drum to entertain their guest. As these travelling musicians were traversing the areas occupied by Poles, Germans, and Czechs, they began to incorporate the native sounds into their music. This resulted in an upcoming of a new form of music that later established itself as a strong music genre in the early 20th century. Thus, Tejano music genre evolved as a blend of various traditional European forms of music such as mariachi, corrido, Conjunto, Mexican cumbia, Pop, Ranchera, Rock, R&B, and polka amongst others that were introduced to Czech and German settlers in south Texas during the late 19th century (Peà ±a, 2010). There could be many possible reasons why Peà ±a describes Texas-Mexican women

Reality TV Influence on the Audience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Reality TV Influence on the Audience - Essay Example As the discussion stresses  during the initial years of the twenty first century, viewers watched reality TV to observe people’s lives, watch them argue, fight, eat bizarre things and reveal personal details of their lives. These reality shows were humored and harmless. But with time, the essence of reality TV has changed. People now participate in reality shows to contest against each other in order to win some prize or gain popularity. This reflects increased competitiveness and materialism prevailing in the society.  This research declares that  as television drama became more violent and sexually explicit, reality TV evolved as a more meaningful genre of TV shows that present viewers with more competitive and bitter versions closer to reality. Psychologists present interesting explanation as to why reality shows are very popular. One of the primary reasons is that viewers can identify themselves with the participants who are initially ordinary people and then become famous. Secondly, they enjoy the competitive nature of such shows since there are always winners and losers.  Reality TV is taking over regular TV and is polluting people’s mind. Violence, distorted pictures of reality, language and stunts are marking a lot of reality TV. These shows are very entertaining but many professionals are expressing concerns over the harmful implications. They point out that negative impacts of reality TV are higher for children and teenagers than adults.

Poverty Global Issues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Poverty Global Issues - Research Paper Example In business, poverty is used in the determination of value of goods, and services and that is why most people will invest where poverty is low. People with high levels of poverty struggle a lot to earn their living, and most of them afford one meal a day or none. People do stupid stuffs to try and escape poverty and they end up being criminals. Poverty in different regions began at different times depending in the social and economic factors developments, in the particular area. According to World Bank statistics, it is estimated that poverty started being felt in 1960s when there was an increase in population. In 1964, Mollie Orshansky of social security administration published the first article of the increase in lack of resources especially food. This was due to the inadequacy in income and increase in population. In Africa, there was a massive increase in population during 1970s and this led to depletion of resources. There was the completion of basic commodities, and this led to batter trade so that people may exchange resources they did not have. The effects of poverty are extremely grave, and we need to act with speed to curb it. People who are impoverished have inadequate access to basic commodities such as food, clothing, and shelter. There are many people who die of diseases since they cannot afford medical care. In some areas, there are many innocent children who are not accessing education due to lack of fees. The governments and all people should devise means that will ensure all people afford basic commodities. The levels of poverty in the globe are exceedingly enormous, and require immediate solutions and heavy funding. People should embrace technology so that there is a large-scale production. Agriculture is a key factor that can alleviate poverty, and, therefore, we should put all the viable lands into use. Employment equality should be enforced in

Norms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Norms - Essay Example However, these norms are different from ethical norms because such things as workers’ compensation are part of contract and managers are penalized if they don’t comply with them. However, most of the ethical values are not stipulated in any contract and managers have to be totally answerable to their own conscience. There is no obligation on them. Response to class mate 1: After thoroughly reviewing your response to the question asked, I have reached the conclusion that your response is totally off the track! In the first half of your response, when you insist that workers should learn the norms and traditions of every culture they move into for the purpose of work so that they may not offend the indigenous people of new cultures, and do their job smoothly, you fundamentally talk about ethics. This is what the teachings of ethics are. But this was not the requirement of the question. In the question, you were asked to compare Ethics to other subjects and identify ethica l shades in subjects other than Ethics.

Philosophy questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Philosophy questions - Assignment Example Also, in a utilitarian context, the outcome of prop 30 will be propitious in the sense that the proposed increase in taxes will not impact the high income segments that drastically, since they will yet be left with much money to support their lifestyle, and will still lead to an outcome that will be favorable and good for the entire society that is the best possible outcome (Scarre 126). Answer 2. Given the context that a CEO decides to lay off 10 percent of the workforce to restore profitability of a firm that has shown looses for two consecutive quarters; Gandolfi will certainly disagree with this strategy. In the vast body of literature produced by Gandolfi on the concept of downsizing, he has immaculately proved beyond doubt that the firms opting for large scale layoffs in response to constrained financial and economic scenarios are not only very rarely able to outperform financially, but layoffs also lead to debilitating consequences, which negatively impact the moral of the left over employees and managers (Gandolfi 3). Yet, most of the CEOs prefer to opt for downsizing, which though registers favorably in the financial statements in the short run, leads to unfavorable long term consequences like lose of the trained and skilled labor, creation of distrust and apprehension in the human resources, depletion of moral, shaking of the investor confidence, falling of stock prices and unemployment. This viewpoint will certainly be supported by Aristotle, who held that the highest good was desirable for itself and all the other goods were subservient to it (Peters 10). Hence, retaining the workforce during tough times is a good that brings within its fold many other goods like employment, investor confidence, high moral and profitability in the long and the short

Rhetorical Precis Essay Example for Free

Rhetorical Precis Essay In The Organization Kid, an article published in The Atlantic Monthly in April of 2001, David Brooks discusses the willing conformism and social subservience of the educational elite and reinforces his points through usage of a heavily pathos-based timeline, quotes, textual examples and statistics. Brooks’ examples are both well structured and particularly effective. He compartmentalizes his arguments, shows instances of change over time and directly and effectively targets the emotions of his audience. Brooks’ masterful usage of tactics and strategies such as this makes the narrative quite effective in terms of emphasizing his main goal: drawing attention to the growing trend of willing subservience amongst the educational elite. Brooks’ statement is indeed quite relevant in reference to major issues in ever-changing modern society. Vocabulary * Prudential – Involving or showing care and forethought, typically in business. * Sacrosanct – Regarded as too important or valuable to be interfered with. * Meritocratic – Government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability. * Nihilism – The rejection of all religious and moral principals, often in the belief that life is meaningless. * Ganglia – A structure containing a number of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber. Tone * Critical * Analytic * Factual * Condemnatory Rhetorical Strategies * Hyperbole – â€Å"soul crushing† * Asyndeton – â€Å"there are pesticides on our fruit, cigarettes in the school yards, rocks near the bike paths, kidnappers in the woods.† * Alliteration – â€Å"Baby Boomers† * Personification – â€Å"the argument speaks† * Simile – â€Å"like flies to a light† Discussion Questions * Clarification – Why does the author draw different conclusions regarding societal issues at the end of the narrative than he at the beginning? * Style – Does the writer’s style of citing sometimes-unrelated information to support his argument act as beneficial or detrimental in regards to emphasizing his points? * Application – While the author certainly made his perceived issues with today’s society quite clear, he never exactly expanded on what he would do to repair it. What do you believe would be the best course of action to take to restore the missing sense of the â€Å"ultimate challenge† and â€Å"ultimate reward†? Important Quotation â€Å"The most sophisticated people in preceding generations were formed by their struggle to break free from something. The most sophisticated people in this one aren’t.†

Republic of Gilead Essay Example for Free

Republic of Gilead Essay Every person goes through various experiences in life which at times are unique or have some similarities to other occurrences somewhere else. In my case, I have gone through a social experience similar to that depicted in the â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tail† by Margaret Atwood. This experience occurred when I was serving in the military. In the Handmaid’s tale, a dystopian Republic of Gilead in its quest for a supposedly superior society resulted to a society that sacrificed and undermined of women’s rights. In this society, the rich and powerful were favored, while the ordinary people were suppressed. As a matter of my fate, all men in Korea have to serve in the military for two years. During this time, they endure not only a lot of training but also a life with seniors in the barracks. Just like in this tale, the Korean military is an organized functional society with very strict rules. In addition, the military has its barracks based away from the cities where officers live in isolation. Usually, same squad members live together in a barrack which called â€Å"life house†. There are four classes of soldier who live together in a single life house. This composed of a sergeant, corporal, private first, and a private. I belonged to a squad which followed to the letter a strong set of rules and regulations which were based on the rank of each class. These rules were observed regardless of time, place and situation. Usually, almost all squads have their own traditional conditions and rules based on the class. In my squad, lower class had to obey higher class whatever they ask nom matter how annoying it might be. Additionally, there are some restrictions and conditions what we could do or can not do based on the class. For example, a private can not watch the T. V, make a call to a friend, smoke a cigarette, or even go to â€Å"PX† which is a cafeteria where soldiers do buy some snacks without permission from a higher rank8ing officer. These rules are followed even when privates have free time until when a private attains the rank of a sergeant. There are many forms of restrictions he had to endure which curtails the conduct soldier making it discriminative from those of higher class. When a private becomes a private first, he can smoke a cigarette, and make a call by himself without the permission of a higher ranking officer. When he becomes a corporal, he does not need to get permission to watch a T. V, and go to â€Å"PX† any more. Becoming a sergeant is just like becoming what I can literally call â€Å"the God of a barracks†. This is because they do not have to participate in anything that happens in a life house. This includes activities such as cleaning clothes, and keeping house tidy. His work is only to carry out inspection of life house. As a matter of fact, a sergeant is the highest ranked soldier. Since he has little time left in the army, he is excused from almost every duty that involves manual work. Usually, private and private first do everything under corporate’s direction and inspection by platoon leader who is a career soldier before soldiers go to sleep. Restriction is not only annoying thing for the soldiers but also responsibilities which reduces as they are move up to higher classes. The highest one usually does nothing but they can order anything they want to be done for them by officers of lower classes. The highest one is like the commander in the Gilead society. The corporal is similar to the eyes in the Gilead society who usually announce the sergeant’s message and supervise lowers as they carry out he specified orders. Next, private first who is similar to the aunt class in the Gilead society supervise and teach privates and do the chores together. On the other hand, privates who are similar to handmaids in the Gilead society do not have any right for themselves. They just follow what those in higher classes ask them to do. This includes cleaning all of clothes belonging to officers of the higher classes, life house, boots, and also ironing uniform. This weird and unfair rules and conditions are handed down year after year. When I became a sergeant, I cancelled some of these weird rules because I had become sick of theme and I wanted to form a better society. At the same time, the minister of National Defense of Korea ordered me to remove some of those bad habits because they had been known to cause many troubles. These oppressive rules made many officers to commit suicides Very often in the Korean army. As a result of these changes, nowadays usually almost all soldiers in Korea have same rights and privileges and it is very hard to find a higher ranking officer ordering lower officers like it used to be in the past.

Cathartic Effects of Aggression: Theories

Cathartic Effects of Aggression: Theories Tan Hui Min Psychology— the systematic study of mental and behavioural processes (Coon Mitterer, 2012)—stemmed from Wilhelm Wundt’s founding of the first laboratory in experimental psychology in 1979. Wundt presented his discoveries about the human mind and behaviour in public lectures and soon had halls of people learning about his theories and experiments (Abbott, 2012, para. 7). Some even started setting up their own experimental laboratories and taking up the new science (Abbott, 2012, para. 7). However, many people see psychology as common sense because psychological findings and research all seem self-evident (Dean, 2008). This essay will touch on three reasons as to why psychology is not just common sense based on a common sense topic that frustrated people tend to vent their anger on inanimate objects for mood repair. People who believe in the value of cathartic venting feel worse after aggression. Bushman, Baumeister, and Phillips (2001) conducted a study whereby a group of participants had their emotional states assessed immediately after manipulated provocations (p. 25). Provocations include receiving negative feedback of their essays and blasts of noises of high intensity from â€Å"another participant† during the competitive time reaction task (Bushman, Baumeister, and Phillips, 2001, p. 19-20). They found that participants were emotionally negatively affected by the stimuli and felt more hostile feelings towards the â€Å"provoker†. This is supported by Bohart’s (1980) study which found that after recalling about a recent incident that angered them, participants in the discharge group showed more anger and hostile attitudes compared to intellectual analysis, role play, and control groups, based on the level of aversive noise each participant gave as punishment to a subje ct whenever a mistake was made on the learning task (p. 193). A louder noise administered meant higher feelings of aggression. Ebbesen, Duncan and Konecni (1974) tested whether subjects who were being laid off their jobs would increase or decrease in verbal aggression compared to those who were leaving their jobs for other reasons when induced to aggress verbally against the company, their supervisor, themselves, or to talk about neutral topics. The results indicated that when angered subjects directed verbal aggression at a specià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ c target, their subsequent verbal aggression increased only when it was directed at the same target. It was also discovered that individuals with higher levels of testosterone responded more aggressively to social provocations (Mehta Beer, 2009, p. 2363). Aggression is therefore relatively useless at getting rid of anger and frustration even though positive feelings are increased during the act of venting. Be it as it may, why is it that the ma ss media still constantly supportting the idea of the catharsis hypothesis through mediums like self-help books, magazines, and television (Shaffer Merrens, 2001)? Angry people feel better when venting their anger through a cathartic process. This popular belief is known as the catharsis theory (Bushman, Baumeister, Phillips, 2001, p. 18). The theory sees emotions as entities that will build up and cause internal pressure if they are not expressed, leading to physiological harm (Bohart, 1980, p. 192). The repression of negative feelings without release may be due to the fear of retaliation or punishment from the provocateur, like in the case of when the source is an employer, thus constraining direct aggression (Dollard, Doob, Miller, Mowrer, Sears, 1939). Aggression is any behaviour that is intended to inflict harm on an unwilling person (Bushman Anderson, 2001, p. 274). A study found that angry people did positively enjoy some of the cathartic activities, such as hitting a punching bag ( Bushman et al., 1999). Since catharsis supports rumination, which is study investigated whether if getting rid of anger by rumination works better than by distraction. angered participants hit a punching bag and thought about the person who had angered them (rumination group) or thought about becoming physically fit (distraction group). The venting of anger is thus considered a healthy act and people in anger would often hear advice like â€Å"let if off your chest† and â€Å"don’t bottle your anger up inside† from their friends (Bushman, Baumeister, Phillips, 2001, p. 18). The effectiveness of the expression of negative emotions on mood applies differently for different genders. Bushman, Baumeister and Philips (2001) conducted a study which examined how mood-freeze manipulation and pro-catharsis messages affect aggressive behaviour (p. 19). Half the subjects in the pro-cathartic group would read a counterfeit newspaper article supporting the venting of anger by hitting a pillow, while the other half in the anti-cathartic group would read one discouraging the venting of anger by hitting a pillow (Bushman, Baumeister and Philips, 2001, p. 25). Half of the participants in the mood-freeze manipulation group were told that the pill, Bramitol, would freeze their mood for an hour after consumption (Bushman, Baumeister and Philips, 2001, p. 20). The other half were free to control their moods. It was found that for women, the venting of anger improved their mood only when their believe that their moods are open to change, as observed from the female participan ts reporting that they felt more positive feelings following aggression in the changeable mood condition compared to those in the mood-freeze condition (Bushman, Baumeister, Phillips, 2001, p. 28). As for men, they were found to be generally more aggressive than women (Bushman, Baumeister, Phillips, 2001, p. 20) and that those who most believed in the efficacy of venting felt the least improvement in their moods after venting their anger in the changeable mood condition (Bushman, Baumeister, Phillips, 2001, p. 28). This observation can be supported by The evidence of how different men and women handle their emotions shows that the effectiveness of catharsis venting differs between genders. Angry impulses and hostile tendencies are not reduced by acting aggressively. It was found that when given the chance to aggress nonverbally against their tormentors, angry participants engaged in less nonverbal aggression afterwards (Doob, 1970; Doob and Wood, 1972; Konecni and Doob, 1972; Konecni, 1973). However, an opposite effect was witnessed for verbal aggression (DeCharms Wilkins, 1963; Kahn, 1966). the annoyer is still derogated and highly disliked at the end of the experiment (Konecni, 1973; Konecni and Doob, 1972). Konecni and Doob (1972) found that nonverbal aggression directed at a scapegoat reduced future nonverbal aggression directed at one’s tormentor. If verbal hostility does serve the same function as covert rumination about one’s plight, then generalization from scapegoat to tormentor might well be expected to occur. Doob (1972) found that nonverbal aggression directed at someone reduced future nonverbal aggression directed at one’s tormentor. Showed that verbally expressing one’s boiling anger toward a given entity increases subsequent verbal aggression towards the same entity but does not affect how their emotions are directed at others (p. 198-199) The angered subjects were more hostile towards the company after telling the personnel manager negative things about the company and that the increase in hostility was signià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cantly enhanced by the comparable interview session. However, in Bohart’s study, the overall difference between catharsis and the other measures narrowed over several sessions, suggesting that venting through a cathartic process requires time and practice in order for the dilution of negative feelings to be effective (Bohart, 1980, p. 194). This is probably the reason why the belief in catharsis survives today despite all the contrary research findings. In essence, the common sense belief in the efficacy of catharsis can be proven correct by some psychologists and otherwise by others. The field of psychology really involves data collection of human thought process and behaviour though scientific or observational means to prove a common sense hypothesis either correct or false. Many of our intuitions have been rectified through the years and like the intuition that the release of anger on a pillow lessens feelings of aggression, we cannot always depend on common sense to reason things. Psychology is therefore not just common sense, but also based on proper research, meticulous testing, and applications of theory. References Ebbesen, E. B., Duncan, B., Konecni, V. J. (1975). Effects of content of verbal aggression on future verbal aggression: A field experiment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 11, 192-204. Retrieved from http://konecni.ucsd.edu/pdf/1975%20Content%20Verb.%20Agg%20JESP.pdf

Baruch Spinoza :: History

Baruch Spinoza The task of simply just surviving is for most of us a handful in itself in this life. However, only a few in a life time choose not to be satisfied with only just survival rather they assume the yoke of redefining life for themselves and for others. In philosophy of religion, pantheism is usually in conflict with traditional religious authority, which claims that the pantheistic belief is nothing more than a blasphemous form of idolatrous worship. A man by the name Benedictus (Baruch) Spinoza took it upon his shoulders to construct an explainable theory of this deistic belief and as a result earned the name of the father of Pantheism. I, George Meza, had the privilege of investigating the life of this rational genius as he struggled along the path of enlightenment in a society that was as different to him as his theory of ethics was to the Synagogue and the Church. Spinoza’s works ranged from the political to the theistic, from the mathematical, to even the intellectual. I ask the question what trials and troubles in the life of Baruch Spinoza could birth such a passion for what was known at the time as heretical theology. What was the impact of Spinoza’s work on our technologically advanced society that has put aside terms such as G-d and ethic and has attempted to redefine the term free will? The Spinoza family arrived in Amsterdam, via Portugal in 1498, due to persecution the family decided to go by the name Spinoza. Baruch’s father and grandfather were originally Spanish crypto-Jews -- that is, Jews who were forced to adopt Christianity in post-Islamic Spain, but secretly remained Jewish, Spinoza's parents had died when he was quite young, I believe that this was a major influence on his later work. His father Michael died when he was 21; Baruch Spinoza was born in the Amsterdam quarter of Vloedenburg (now Waterlooplein quarter), Holland in November 24, 1632. What most people don’t know is that Spinoza was born to a traditional observant Jewish home and the foundation of his theories had traditional Judaism as its backbone. As historian Paul Johnson once said, â€Å"Judaism is a highly efficient social machine for the production of intellectuals†. When Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand initiated the inquisition in 1492, Jews had to find a new place of residence that would tolerate their social and religious differences.

Harappa :: essays research papers

The Indus Valley civilization flourished around the year 2500B.C., in the western part of southern Asia, in what is now Pakistan and western India. In addition it is referred to as the Harappan Civilization after the first city that was discovered, Harappa. Eventually, the Harappan Civilization completely vanished around 1500B.C. Men and women used to wear colorful robes. Women wore lots of jewelry and even lipstick. In addition women would wear bracelets like the ones that are worn today in present day India. Harappans houses were made out of baked brick, they were mostly one or two stories high, flat roofs and all of them were almost identical. Each house had it’s own well, drinking water and sometimes their own bathroom. People had clay pipes, which led from their bathroom to a sewage pipe that eventually ran out into a lake or river. These people were very good farmers of their time so they would usually have something like wheat bread and barley for dinner. Harappans grew peas, melons, barley, dates and wheat. Farmers would raise cotton, and had zebus, pigs and sheep. In addition the Harappans were so advanced they caught fish in the river with hooks! Little kids also had toys to play with as children. Some of the things people have found are, whistles, shaped like birds, small carts and toy monkeys that could slide down a string. Harappan entertainment was dancing, which they loved and there was a big swimming pool that was used for the public. In addition around the pool there were private baths and changing and dressing rooms. Transportation was ox, camels and elephants to travel on the land. They also had carts with wooden wheels. There were also sailing ships with masts that were supposedly used for sailing around the Arabian Sea. It is true that in the Harappan Civilization they did not write any cave carvings or a written language, except a few sentences, which we don’t understand. Something incredible that happened was around 1500B.C. These people just all disappeared. Nobody knows why it happened, but they have clues, like maybe they ran out of wood to hold back the flooding and they would have died if they stayed. Scientists have found out that 1,400 Indus sites were discovered since 1996 which is big enough to make the Harappan Civilization an Empire. The only problem is that there is no sign that emperors governed these people.

Masculine Discrepancies on the Frontier: James Fenimore Coopers Ideal

Masculine Discrepancies on the Frontier: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideal American Man Within the genre of the frontier novel, great consideration is given to early American ideals of masculinity. According to Aiping Zhang, in his article "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans," James Fenimore Cooper was exceedingly interested in developing a new American definition of the ideal man. Zhang writes that "masculinity was always one of the primary issues in [Cooper's] life and his writings as well . . . the selection . . . of (the) male figures in The Last of the Mohicans must have a lot to do with his personal search for the ideal image of American man'' (2). With the realization that his writings could promote a new definition of the ideal American man, Cooper presented the male characters in The Last of the Mohicans as either well-suited or ill-fitted for frontier life, which Cooper metaphorically substitutes for early America. Thus, if a male character is able to survive and adapt to the frontier life, Cooper implies that this is the new ideal for the American male. Zhang suggests that Cooper does not provide a single definition for this new ideal of American manliness; however, I find that Cooper does put forth a clear aversion towards the sentimental male, whom he paints as incapable of surviving the frontier. He presents David Gamut, the master of psalmody, as a sentimental male who behaves spontaneously and inappropriately on the frontier. At times, when all the other characters--including the women--are behaving with vigilance, Cooper describes Gamut's behavior as rather absent-minded, such that Gamut sings during battle while the other characters flee. Throug... ...entimental male in The Last of the Mohicans, and it is clear that his inappropriate presence on the frontier is Cooper's way of negating sentimentality as part of the new ideal of American manliness. Works Cited Brady, Corey. Virginia Cope, Michael Millner, Ana Mitric, Kent Puckett Danny Siegel, Eds. A Dictionary of Sensibility. 20 Nov. 200l. <http://www.engl.viginia.edu/%7Eenec981/dictionary/contributors.htm> Cooper, James Fenimore. The Last of the Mohicans. New York: Bantam, 1989. Zhang, Aiping. "The Negotiation of Manhood: James Fenimore Cooper's Ideology of Manhood in The Last of the Mohicans." Papers from the 1999 Cooper Seminar (No. 12) James Fenimore Cooper. His Country and His Art, The State University of New York College at Oneonta, Hugh C. MacDougall, Ed. 21 Nov. 2001 <http://www.Oneonta.edu/external/cooper/articles/1999suny-zhang.html>

Understanding Fascism

Fascism refers to the political ideology that considers an individual’s, a group’s or a societies’ interest to be subordinate to that of the interests of the state. The objective of such an ideology is to unify the state and its constituents to forego their interests that are often self-serving.At the same time, Payne (27-32) considers it as a counter-movement to liberalism and rose to prominence in Europe in the 1920’s to the 1930’s.   The movement grew with the decline of European states economically and politically and a general loss of faith in the ability of governments to control and stabilize markets because of commercial interests (73-79).It is considered to be the inspiration behind Adolf Hitler’s Nazism and has helped shaped post-war philosophies and doctrines such as Islamofascism, Neo-fascism, Rexism and Social fascism among others and provided a foundation of socio-political reform worldwide particularly in communist and social ist states (120-127).It is critical to understand the significance and impact of fascism not only in countries, movements and governments that adopted its ideologies but also its value to international politics, economics and history (359).Mussolini and FascismAndrea Benito Amilcare Mussolini was named for socialists and reformists Andrea Costa, Benito Juà ¡rez and Amilcare Cipriani. His father, Alessandro was a known social activist and was associated filially and by association to many known social activists of the time.Mussolini’s rise in the Italian Socialist Party can be traced with his editorship of L'Avvenire del Lavoratore in 1909, the subsequent publication of his book titled Il Popolo, reformation and control of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento and was cemented when he became Italy’s youngest prime minister in history in 1922 (220-229).Fascism was coined by Benito Mussolini on the Italian word â€Å"fascio† which in turn is based on the Latin word â€Å"fasces† which refers to rods packed around an axe. It represented the maxim of standing together versus standing individually.One particular source of doctrine that guided Italian Fascism and consequently fascism in general was based on the 1891 encyclical written by Pope Leo XIII titled Rerum Novarum which also is considered a major basis of modern Catholic teachings. The use of the text, particularly its emphasis on the value of corporatism and labor, and the Romanization of the Roman Empire was used to validate fascism to the public (218-222).Mussolini’s rise to the premiership was an effort on the part of King Victor Emmanuel III to avoid a civil war the abolition of the monarchy similar to France (112). Payne points out that fascism rose from the lack of effectivity of the Italian government to direct the country during the economic and political crisis with the overall decline of Europe as a world power in the turn of the twentieth century (218).The sentime nt was that there was a need for decisive action to solve the country’s problems and bring back its position as a leader in Europe. The motivation was to protect not only Italy’s future but also to preserve its history and culture which was considered under threat because of the social developments in the region.Italian FascismThe development of the Fascism in Italy is credited by Payne to the economic and social conditions after World War I, the Great Depression and the collapse of governments in the European continent for creating the platform and the support for the movement (72-77).At the beginning of his government, there was significant representation in the parliament however Mussolini granted greater representation to his political allies with the objective of developing a totalitarian state with himself as the head. Using fascist ideologies and propaganda, the Fasci di Combattimento was integrated to become part of the Italian army Italy was unified to become a single state under the Acerbo Law as well as the allowed for the liberalization of market, rent and labor unions.Though there were existing opposition to Mussolini that were prompting King Victor’s dismissal of the prime minister, Mussolini was able to maintain power through intimidation and the use of fascist propaganda.

Compare the play “Killed” with “Blue Remembered Hills” Essay

In this essay I will compare the two plays â€Å"Killed† and â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills†. The play â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† was written by Dennis Potter, I have been studying the Samuel French LTD edition. It is set in 1943 in the south west of Britain. â€Å"Killed† was written by Fred Hawksley, it is set mostly in France with flash backs to Manchester. Both plays are set in war times, â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† takes place in the Second World War and â€Å"Killed† is set in the First World War. In â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† the war is a back ground to the story; it is referred to but never seen, unlike â€Å"Killed† where the war is what makes the story. When we acted out the play â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† I played John, he is a child who is part of a gang, a lot like the 14 platoon in â€Å"Killed†. In both there is a strong sense of hierarchy; in â€Å"Killed† there is no answering back to the one in charge this being the R.S.M. and in â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† the character in charge is Wallace Wilson, although ever elusive on stage he is constantly mentioned in the dialogue as â€Å"†¦no.1† in the group. The speech in â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† is very naturalistic using slang to enhance the informal feel of the play. â€Å"Killed† uses a more formal register when someone is in the presence of the R.S.M but takes a more natural tone when Billy remembers life in Manchester. They both have similar story lines where a group of friends are forced, or accidentally kill another one of their friends. They are both tragedies because the endings are sad and a friend ends up dead. In â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† war is an exciting and glorified vision in the minds of the children. In â€Å"Killed† Billy is executed by his own side in the First World War and shows the harsh reality of being a solder in the trenches on the front line. The two plays have very different views of war. The characters in the two plays have very different personalities, yet they resemble some of the personalities from the other, for example the R.S.M. and Peter being a kind of leader figures bossing the members of the group. Billy and Donald also show similarities as they both die and their friends play a part in their deaths. The two plays would be performed very differently, â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† is very natural; running in almost real time unlike â€Å"Killed† which is very stylistic and happens over two years with narrated flash backs. I would show these flash backs via the flash back being acted out on stage while Billy addresses the audience not being able to interact with the flash back although he tries to. I would create a simple set for â€Å"Killed† maybe some seats and a table for Billy’s home in Manchester and some staging lined up to make the lip of the trench. For the â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† set we made a barn behind a woodland scene so that the whole scene could take place without any changes to the set and used the whole stage well. For costumes I would have Billy from â€Å"Killed† in a First World War uniform and in â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† I would try to find some clothes that could help an actor inhabit the role of a child in the 1940s. The two plays are both very interesting and conjure different visions of war, in â€Å"Blue Remembered Hills† the World War engulfs all lands over seas and yet the children in mainland Britain have only heard the glorified version of the war, whereas Billy in ‘Killed’ believes he will become a hero but finds that war is not as heroic as he thought.

Book Review on Urban Poverty Essay

Urban poverty is the outcome of urban-bias development projects being predominantly financed by the external capital, either in the form of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) or Aid. The urban-bias industrialization strategy performed as a pull factor for the rural unemployed. This strategy contributed to the expanding of urban informal sectors where unskilled as well as highly unorganized day labours remain concentrated in the urban and semi-urban areas. It is also debated that the redistribution of capital investment towards the rural based agricultural activities including plantation sectors through the coordinated efforts of both public and private sectors such as civil and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) can go a long way to break the growing negative effects of over urbanization on poverty, moral and social crimes as consequent of unequal economic growth. The author, Pramanik discusses urban poverty in Malaysia cases. He begins with the overview of the poverty scenario followed by research methods and research findings along with summarization & policy suggestions. This book contented five chapters including appendices, references and index. In the introductory chapter (pp. 1-5), Pramanik says poverty is a multi-dimensional phenomenon that is hard to come up with a universally acceptable definition of poverty. Most commonly argued issue on poverty is whether poverty should be looked at from absolute or relative perspective. Absolute poverty based on specific income level called poverty line income (PLI) that can be calculated either using the market value of a basket full of goods and services considered essential for reasonably acceptable standard of living. On the contrary, relative poverty arises when we talk about how good or bad one member is doing in relation to another member living in the same society. According to O’Boyle, poverty is a concept that is both absolute and relative because human beings are at the same time individual and social (O’Boyle E.  J, 1990). In chapter two (pp. 7-20), Pramanik talks about poverty scenario in Malaysia. He argues that the income poverty using official poverty line income seems near to the absolute poverty whereas the human poverty based on the degree of human deprivation resembles relative poverty, which is ensuing of unequal access to income earning opportunity. Because of this, the author focuses more on human aspect of poverty in terms of its long term implications of social factors. Micro level study (Pramanik, 2004) do suggest that family size either in urban or rural areas of the four concentrated states namely, Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perak is quite above the family size used for the national level. Pramanik (1997 & 2000) examined that rural poverty in the four poverty-concentrated states on multi dimensional aspects of the problem such as, social, economic, demographic, psychological, political, moral, historical, attitudinal, and natural factors. In chapter three (pp. 5-20), the author discusses regarding research methodology. The study is based on the primary data as well as secondary information. The primary data collected through the administration of well-structured questionnaire in the middle of 2006. The sampling technique used is purposive as well as random and based on participatory observation method. Around 3112 households from 8 major cities living in poverty concentrated areas classified by squatters, low-cost buildings, longhouses etc. were selected for data collection. He defined â€Å"household† as an entity of those living under the same roof as well as eating from the same kitchen. In chapter four (pp. 21-97), he talks about the research findings. The author uses purposive and collecting sampling technique to identify the level of poverty suffered by those living in the squatters and in the area/blocks/buildings designed for the lower income groups in the major cities of Malaysia. This is because those who are living in these areas suffer different degrees and types of poverty measured by the level of deprivations. The household having less than RM 398(less than half of the poverty line) is called hardcore poor, household earning equal to RM 398 but less than 663 is called overall poor and more than RM 663 is called non-poor. The best performing state in terms of lowest incidence of overall poverty (0. 9) with no hardcore poor followed by KL (2. 6) and JB (8. 1) inclusive of hardcore and overall poor. While less developed states- KB, KT, and AS, KB experiences the highest incidence of poverty hardcore poor and overall poor of 33. 7 followed by KT (23. 4) and AS (14). On the other hand, Sabah and Sarawak are worst performing states reported in 9MP and his survey data. The author suggests that as far as poverty reduction is concerned Sabah and Sarawak are still the worst among all other regions states in Malaysia in 2007. The poverty is gender bias is a universal when hardcore poverty is concerned. In terms of hardcore and overall poverty, the female –headed households are more likely to be poorer by 50 percent compared the male-headed households. The higher dependency of more members on a few incomes of earners in the households also creates a constraint on resources allocation by the poor households. Approximately 60 percent of poor household’s more than two members depend on the income of one earner. The lower dependency has implication for the ability of the poor households to hold out poverty at times of economic recession or downturn since higher dependency manifest through the lower dependency ratio is positively related to higher unemployment. Pramanik found on the distribution of households based on the dependency ratio and cities seem to suggest that the relatively higher percentages of households (68. 8) from LDS are associated with higher dependency as emerged through the lower coefficients of DR (

Bus 520 Assignment 1

Consensual Relationship Agreements By: Vickie Gonzalez Bus 520 – Leadership and Organizational Behavior Professor: Dr. Marilyn Carroll October 24th, 2012 Workplace romances are now one of the challenges that organizations of all sizes have to address. How they address them varies from organization to organization. Some businesses and organizations strictly prohibit them in any form or fashion, while others prohibit them when the participants are in certain roles within the organization.Some companies have chosen not to address the issue at all and others are using a more formal method of documenting and mitigating the risk they feel these relationships pose. One of the methods of documenting, and potentially mitigating, this risk is known as a consensual relationship agreement or CRA. In the text that follows I will argue for the use of CRA’s in the workplace. Secondly, I will present a counter argument for the use of CRA’s. Then we will then look at the ethical principles involved in the use of CRA’s. Lastly I will present another option that may be available for addresses these consensual relationships.First, let’s look at what brought about the need for CRA’s. On June 28th, 1914 Gavrilo Princip, of Sarajevo, assassinated the Archduke and heir to the throne of Austria, Franz Ferdinand (Collins, 2008, p. 9). Thirty-seven days later World War I began, and with it, so did what some see as the beginnings of women entering the workplace. The Munitions of War Act of 1915 moved twenty-one percent of Britain’s wives, sisters, mothers and daughters into the workforce (Woolacott, 1994, p. 17). Factory workers became soldiers and the women in their lives became factory workers.By 1941, and the United States’ entrance into World War II, 18. 9 million American women had entered the workforce as well (Weak-Baxter, 2010, p. 14). Japan had attacked Pearl Harbor and patriotism was welling just as strong in American women as it was in American men. Now, according to the US Department of Labor, there are 72 million women in the civilian labor force alone (2012). The years following World War II were a time of challenge, adaptation and diversification for business, and revolution and exploration for women. Harassment, specifically sexual harassment, is one of those hallenges faced by businesses and employers as of a result of workplace diversification. Inappropriate conversations, unwanted advances and uncomfortable physical contact are some of the ways sexual harassment can occur. According to Hellriegel and Slocum, â€Å"Sexual harassment refers to unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature. † (p. 52). To be clear, sexual harassment can, and has, affected both women and men over the years however up to half of all working women have reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment in the career (Vijayasiri, 2008, p. ). It wasn’t until 1986 though that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a violation of Title VII in the case of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson (O’Brien, 1994, p. 1). Before the high court’s ruling, however, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had begun to address the issue by drafting hostile work environment guidelines that included sexual harassment (O’Brien, 1994, p. 4). These guidelines would serve later to guide the high court’s decision. There are many more cases like this one we could look at.In 1991, sexual harassment became a household term as Anita Hill testified before congress stating she was sexually harassed by a current nominee for the Supreme Court. In her statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee Ms. Hill stated, â€Å"It is only after a great deal of agonizing consideration, and sleepless, number of , great number of sleepless night, that I am able to talk of these unpleasant matters to anyone but my close frie nds† ( Black Scholar, 1991, p 1). For many American this was the first time they had really thought about or discussed sexually harassment.It was on our televisions, out in the open, for the whole world to see. As a result of brave employees like Ms. Hill and many others sexual harassment is no less tolerated in the workplace and employers are required to have specific policies addressing it. Now what happens when the relationship between two employees is consensual? No harassment has occurred. Romance is in the air. Some organizations have policies that prohibit workplace relationships of any kind and participating in one is grounds for termination. Other businesses only prohibit these relationships in the event that one party reports to or manages the other.More and more firms are using consensual relationship agreements or CRAs. A CRA is a written agreement or contract in which the involved parties agree to specific guidelines in the workplace (Hellriegel/Slocum, 2011, p. 6 5). This is one of the practices or policies an organization can use to mitigate the risks associated with workplace relationships. In this agreement the parties involved state that the relationship is voluntary. They agree to abide by any and all anti-harassment or anti-discrimination policies the business has in place, including reporting any violation of these policies that may occur.They also agree to behave professionally at all times which includes avoiding even the appearance of favoritism. There are proponents and opponents of the use of these agreements in the workplace. I agree with the proponents of the use of CRAs in the workplace. Hellriegel and Solcum mention several arguments in favor in CRAs in the workplace in our text. I would like to look at three of these. The first argument that Hellriegel and Solcum mention is that CRAs help mitigate the risk of any sexual harassment litigation (p. 65). I have to agree with this argument. Office relationships can be wonderful.I know several happy couples who met at the office. They manage their personal and professional lives well. However this is not always the case, and when the relationship fails, things may change. This can be especially true if this relationship involved one part that directly, or even indirectly reports to the other. The employee may suggest they were pressured into the relationship by their manager. The manager may resent the employee and treat them unfairly. Both of these scenarios, and many others, open the doors to litigation. The employer in both of these cases could be found liable in a sexual harassment suit.Damages awarded in these cases can be punitive and compensatory. In 1997 large corporations spent more than 6 million for each sexual harassment suit they defended themselves against and/or settled (Vijayasiri, 2008, p. 2) Employers can protect themselves from this risk by ensuring they have a very clearly stated workplace relationship policy that, in my opinion, should i nvolve the use of CRAs. The second argument is favor of the use of CRAs is that they help to reduce the appearance of favoritism in the workplace (Hellriegel/Slocum, 2011, p. 65).Ensuring that there is not even the appearance of favoritism in the workplace is not just a matter of fair policy. In many cases a third party can sue their employer for sexual harassment if they feel they are being discriminated against as the result of a workplace relationship. Employees are human and emotions and perception are part of being human. No employer can predict what behavior will be acceptable to one employee and offensive to another, A CRA requiring both participants in the relationship to behave in a professional manner can help minimize this risk of offending a third party.In 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld a verdict in favor of Diane Leibovitz for $60,000 against the New York City Transit Authority or NYCTA for what the court determined to be a hostil e work environment (Leibovitz v. NYCTA, 2001). Ms. Leibovitz sued the NYCTA for sexual harassment and emotional distress after confronting her employer regarding the sexual harassment of 3 other female co-workers. Ms. Leibovitz’s job was threatened if she did not remain silent.As a result of these threats she suffered from depression and sleep deprivation. Ms. Leibovitz was not the victim of any sexual advances or misconduct, however, witnessing it and her employer’s inaction created a hostile work environment and a $60,000 judgment on her behalf. The third agreement presented in the text in favor of the use of CRA’s is that they create a forum where human resources can talk openly with employees about the responsibilities and ramification that come with an office romance (Hellriegel/Slocum, 2011, p. 5). This is simply an opportunity for the employer to remind the employee what behavior is and is not appropriate in the workplace. The employer can also restate th e company’s commitment to preventing sexual harassment. This is the time for open and honest discussion in the hopes that awareness and understanding may prevent litigation. Those who argue against the use of CRA’s in the workplace argue that they are a violation of the employee’s privacy and in-effective.

Increasing Innovation by the Use of Incentives While Maintaining Current Costs Essay

There are many ways to use incentives in business to create an increase in innovation within the company without the increase of additional costs. Some of the realms in which incentives can be used to motivate employees include the fostering of teamwork and openness, awareness of balanced competition, company alliances, and focusing on the importance of leisure, family, and health. Through the attentiveness to these aspects of business and implementation of incentives which truly inspire worker creativity, it is possible to support a climate of innovation in the company. It is important to recognize that in many instances, stimulating innovation does not mean an increase in company costs. Rather, the innovation of workers is driven by a sense of feeling cared for and wanting to do the best for the supportive company within the economic context of the business environment. It is interesting to note that high charged productivity and monetary rewards are often not the best incentives to use in regard to company innovation and sustained growth. Some better incentives focus on the holistic nature of the company, personal relationships, and true worker happiness. These ideals are what make people invest in a company on a deep and personal level. By taking a look at the value inherent in teamwork, openness, competition, alliances, leisure, family, and health, it is possible to implement incentives in business at no extra cost which truly support the activity and engagement of innovative company workers. Teamwork and Openness It is essential in modern business to determinedly work to create a business environment in which teamwork and openness are central values of the collaborative company unit. Internally, workers are enthused by the idea that upper management truly values the ideas of the people in the company, and, externally, workers are open to information and suggestions which stem from sources outside of the company. The simple activity of regular interaction in support of the inflow and outflow of knowledge is the foundation of cooperation and a sure motivator for company workers (Chesbrough, Enkel, & Gassmann, 2010). In order to work as a team, as a systemic unit which is corporeal and looking out for the best interests of the company as a whole, it is vital to promote the idea of open discourse and transparency. The opposite situation, where company workers are overly disconnected and ousted from company decision making, simply creates a work environment which is devoid of respect and energy, inhibiting essential innovation for company growth and prosperity. Workers are best inspired by the ability to have meaningful and considerate discussions with fellow workers, even, and especially, with the top managers and owners. Fostering a sense of teamwork and communication and calling for regular meetings is one of the best ways to ensure that the company is moving forward in building personal relationships with fellow coworkers and clients. Competition It is interesting to consider competition as a motivator, as competition can be a valuable asset to the innovation surrounding the internal work environment of the company and the external economic context, as well as a plague on worker creativity. Aghion, Bloom, Blundell, Griffith, and Howitt (2005) aptly point out that the correlation of competition and innovation is an inverted U curve, in that when competition is low, innovation is low, when competition is moderate, innovation is high, and when competition is high, innovation is low. From this information, one can draw the conclusion that the best internal and external environment for the company is one in which the level of competitiveness is kept at a moderate level. When workers experience too little competition within the company or between rival companies, then they are prone to become less innovative. However, when workers are subject to an extreme amount of intense competition in the office and in the external environment, then workers also tend to become less innovative. The best strategy for a forward thinking and growth oriented company is to keep a sense of balance within the company and between workers as well as between rival companies. In regard to competition, it is true that one can have too little of a good thing, as well as too much. Regular reminders about the competitive nature of the work environment is important in stimulating worker innovation, however, it is important for management to not become fixated and overly aggressive in pursuing a purely competitive company culture. Alliances In looking at alliances, the interaction between companies, organizations, and government agencies, it is interesting to note the ways in which alliances are better at supporting innovation in companies than mergers and acquisitions. Alliances focus on the concept of teamwork, of drawing closer together in order to better understand how the systemic processes between companies are mutually beneficial. In the case of company alliances, workers are able to be collaborative and interactive with one another, motivated by one another, whereas in the case of mergers and acquisitions, workers become nervous about losing their jobs and the future prospects of the companies, creating the limiting effect of suspicion and fear (De Man & Duysters, 2005). It is recommended that in every case where two or more companies want to draw closer together, all efforts should be made at joining together via alliances rather than mergers and acquisitions. In creating friendly alliances with other companies, organizations, and agencies, the desire to engage in open communication and collaboration is fostered and stimulates the innovate energy of the company workers. There can often be nothing worse for company morale than for workers to be apprehensive about the future and doubting of their peers and superiors. It is important to communicate the reasons why the base company tends to associate more or less closely with other companies and to focus on the healthy benefits and rewards which can come about through increasingly integrated company to company interaction and mutual help. Sometimes, the best way to work with another company is to take the long road towards true cohesion or to simply continue to remain as essentially independent, yet interdependent, organizations. Leisure, Family, & Health It is interesting to note that ways in which companies can support an innovative work environment by paying attention to personal values such as leisure, family, and health. Looking to Europe as an economic model, due to the fact that they boast the largest amount of successful global companies in the world (United Nations, 2010), it is interesting to note that countries have trimmed down work weeks to under 40 hours, workers are allowed flexible working time and many part time opportunities, workers enjoy benefits such as 6+ weeks of vacation per year and 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, mothers have the ability to take off stay home with their young children for up to 5 years without losing their positions (can return to their former positions), and most people are supplied by their employers with mandatory non-profit health insurance benefits (Drew, Emerek, & Mahon, 1998). In motivating workers without incurring greater costs, it is important to highlight the ways in which benefits such as these promote a sense of wellbeing among company workers. It is often simply receiving a sense of acknowledgment in regard to necessary stress relievers which can serve to bolster worker morale and creativity. Although work and productivity are important, overall company health and innovation is of greater significance in regard to a stable and flourishing company organism. It is amazing how workers can be inspired to devote more of their creativity energy to the workplace when they know that their leisure, family, and health interests are respected and valued. Progressive companies are assured by the fact that, sometimes, workers are truly better rewarded by several weeks on vacation than by a pay raise. Conclusion In aiming to increase company innovation through the use of incentives which do not raise company costs, there are many options to choose from. Oftentimes, it is simply a matter of creating a gentler work environment which is more intimate, open, and considerate. In extending thoughtfulness and wellbeing related initiatives to company workers, company owners and managers are often well pleased by the amazing results. Worker happiness and motivation can be bolstered in a wide ranging realm of ways which does not involve company cost increases. By placing value on communication, integration, sincerity, relationships, and healthy living, it is amazing to note the ways in which companies are well served by worker enthusiasm. One of the simplest ways to begin fostering increased innovation in the company is to begin placing an emphasis on having face to face meetings on a regular basis at the office and to offer an extra week of vacation per year to all workers. Although these small first steps may not be the final answer to stepping up worker motivation, it is a great and simple start. Company managers and owners need to seriously consider the overall welfare of workers as being absolutely positively correlated with the overall welfare of the company. If workers are supported in their wellbeing and perceive to be well nurtured, then the company will reap the benefits of the innovative energy which proceeds from a happy company atmosphere.