Saturday, November 30, 2019

Scarlet Pimpernel Essays - British Films, English-language Films

Scarlet Pimpernel Many objects and people these days have the ability to be compared and contrasted. For example, you could compare and contrast a dog and a cat. A dog is most commonly a house pet, like the cat. But a dog has more of an ability to be trained, unlike the cat. But it's not the subject of comparing a dog and a cat. It's time to begin comparing and contrasting Sir Percy and Chauvelin from The Scarlet Pimpernel, a book written by Baroness Orczy. Let's start with comparing Percy and Chauvelin. Something that they have in common is that they both are smart and creative. For example, Percy showed his creativity by outwitting Chauvelin at the Chat Gris. When Percy offered Chauvelin the snuff, but it really was pepper, that was definite creativity. Chauvelin shows his smarts when he holds Armand hostage and blackmails Margueritte. Really, how else can you think of that would make Margueritte do anything for Chauvelin? Another way that the two are alike is that they both are fighting for what they believe in. Percy is trying to free the aristocrats, while Chauvelin is attempting to prevent the aristocrats from leaving. Both are totally devoted to their job and are fighting for what they believe. Like how Percy could get killed at any time if he gets caught by Chauvelin. Speaking of Chauvelin, he himself is not a liked man ; there are many that wouldn't mind his little head on a stick, eh? The third way that Chauvelin and Sir Percy are alike is that they both use disguises in the book. Percy uses a disguise when he is trying to smuggle out aristocrats. His was of an old hag, and it allowed him to bypass the guards. He said that he was toting along his son who had the plague. Percy also had many accessories with his tricks. This time he used a rope of braids that Percy said were from the men who's heads got cut off. Yikes! Chauvelin's disguise was of a clergyman, used while he was tracking down the Scarlet Pimpernel. This disguise allowed him to not be recognized immediately by Percy, but still he recognized Chauvelin eventually. Moving on to contrast, Percy and Chauvelin do not think alike. Yes, they are both very smart, but Chauvelin plays dirty while Percy sticks to the rules. For example, Chauvelin will kidnap people and blackmail them. He kidnapped Armand and made Margueritte lead him to the Pimpernel or else Chauvelin would kill Armand. Percy, on the other hand, plays fair and is very polite. Like the time when Percy's life was in danger at the Chat Gris. When he was leaving, and minutes away from his death, did he dash out the door? No, he politely paid for his meal and left. Now that's nice ! Another thing that the two characters do not have in common is how they direct their men. Chauvelin is more of a guy who will tell his men to do something, yet Chauvelin doesn't do anything but direct. He will say, "Men, shoot at that hut when the tall man comes!" But does he have a gun in hand? Nope. Percy, though, will tell his men to do something, and you can bet that he will be up there. Like when he rescues aristocrats, Percy is the one leading the cart passed the guards, risking his own life. The third thing that these two men don't have in common is their view's on aristocrats. Sir Percy is fighting for his life to save these poor French souls, but Chauvelin is trying his best to kill them all. Chauvelin's job is to find deliver the aristocrats that are sinning on their country to Madame La Guillotine. Totally opposite is Percy's job of rescuing these doomed French from death during their revolution. In conclusion, it's easy to see that these two men have a lot in common. They are both smart and creative, they both fight for what they believe, and they both use disguises sometimes. On the other hand, these men don't really think alike, they are two different directors, and their views are different on aristocrats. All in all, these two men share many similarities, but their differences outweigh the similarities.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Catholic Church in Australia Essays

Catholic Church in Australia Essays Catholic Church in Australia Essay Catholic Church in Australia Essay 1. Caroline ‘Jones’ Chisholm 2. Caroline Chisholm was born in May 30th 1808 in the English Country of Northampton shire and was born as Caroline Jones. Caroline Chisholm died in long illness on the 25th March 1877 in London. 3. Caroline Chisholm was known as ‘the Immigrants friend’ People described her as a Christian humanist. Caroline was inspired by the quote in the bible â€Å"Love Thy Neighbour†. She contributed to the church because she has followed one of many scriptures, â€Å"The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God. † Leviticus 19:34 Caroline promoted Australia in 1946 as a suitable country for people who work hard and would like to begin a fresh new start. Caroline Chisholm worked for enhanced conditions on board ships for immigrants. In five years she somehow managed to send many of thousands of well organized emigrants to Australia Caroline Chisholm has supported immigrants such as single women and families to travel and stay in Australia for thirty years. She made lives for thousands of immigrants a lot easier in Australia. She provided shelter, clothes and taught the basic skills needed in a normal Life such as cooking and cleaning. Caroline Chisholm’s performance was moved by two very strong values her devotion to the significance of family life and her deep love of God. Her religion was the mainspring of her life. One of the greatest influences in the History of Australia Caroline Chisholm started a College (Caroline Chisholm Catholic College. Shown below). Caroline Chisholm Catholic CollegeCaroline Chisholm College VictoriaNSW 4. Caroline Chisholm, known as the ‘Immigrants friend’ She supported the immigrants, for a very long period Taught the immigrants the basic skills Did everything she could, to prevent discrimination for the immigrants Improved the conditions for immigrants Followed many bible scriptures A great influence to the people Portrait of Caroline Chisholm picture Fairland, Thomas, 1804-1852. London : Published by T. Fairland, September 1st, 1852. print : lithograph, hand col. ; 36. 2 x 43. 7 cm. Bibliography abc. net. au/schoolstv/australians/chisholm. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Caroline_Chisholm adb. online. anu. edu. au/biogs/A010208b. htm whitehat. com. au/australia/People/Chisholm. asp carolinechisholmsoc iety. com. au/ jonesshop. com/jonesShop/fame/caroline_chisholm. tm carolinechisholm. org. au/portal/page/portal/CCEF%20Home/About%20Caroline%20Chisholm cclibrary. org. au/ rba. gov. au/Museum/Displays/_Images/1960_1988/caroline_chisholm_big. jpg news. com. au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23779110-5001030,00. html trinity. wa. edu. au/plduffyrc/subjects/sose/austhist/chisholm. htm sydney. catholic. org. au/Archdiocese/History/Chisholm. shtml carolinechisholm. nsw. edu. au/about/our_college. html http://nla. gov. au/nla. pic-an9193363

Friday, November 22, 2019

The Civil War Plot to Burn New York City

The Civil War Plot to Burn New York City The plot to burn New York City was an attempt by the Confederate secret service to bring some of the destruction of the Civil War to the streets of Manhattan. Originally envisioned as an attack designed to disrupt the election of 1864, it was postponed until late November. On Friday evening, November 25, 1864, the night after Thanksgiving, conspirators set fires in 13 major hotels in Manhattan, as well as in public buildings such as theaters and one of the most popular attractions in the country, the museum run by Phineas T. Barnum. The crowd poured into the streets during the simultaneous attacks, but the panic faded when the fires were quickly extinguished. The chaos was immediately assumed to be some sort of Confederate plot, and the authorities began hunting for the perpetrators. While the incendiary plot was little more than a peculiar diversion in the war, there is evidence that operatives of the Confederate government had been planning a far more destructive operation to strike New York and other northern cities. The Confederate Plan to Disrupt the Election of 1864 In the summer of 1864, the reelection of Abraham Lincoln was in doubt. Factions in the North were weary of the war and eager for peace. And the Confederate government, naturally motivated to create discord in the North, was hoping to create widespread disturbances on the scale of the New York City Draft Riots of the previous year. A grandiose plan was devised to infiltrate Confederate agents into northern cities, including Chicago and New York, and commit widespread acts of arson. In the resulting confusion, it was hoped that southern sympathizers, known as Copperheads, could seize control of important buildings in the cities. The original plot for New York City, as outlandish as it seems, was to occupy federal buildings, obtain weapons from arsenals, and arm a crowd of supporters. The insurgents would then raise a Confederate flag over City Hall and declare that New York City had left the Union and had aligned itself with the Confederate government in Richmond. By some accounts, the plan was said to be developed enough that Union double-agents heard about it and informed the governor of New York, who refused to take the warning seriously. A handful of Confederate officers entered the United States at Buffalo, New York, and traveled to New York in the fall. But their plans to disrupt the election, which was to be held on November 8, 1864, were thwarted when the Lincoln administration sent thousands of federal troops to New York to ensure a peaceful election. With the city crawling with Union soldiers, the Confederate infiltrators could only mingle in the crowds and observe the torchlight parades organized by supporters of President Lincoln and his opponent, Gen. George B. McClellan. On election day the voting went smoothly in New York City, and though Lincoln did not carry the city, he was elected to a second term. The Incendiary Plot Unfolded In Late November 1864 About a half-dozen Confederate agents in New York decided to go ahead with an improvised plan to set fires after the election. It seems the purpose changed from the wildly ambitious plot to split New York City off from the United States to simply exacting some revenge for the destructive actions of the Union Army as it kept moving deeper into the South. One of the conspirators who participated in the plot and successfully evaded capture, John W. Headley, wrote about his adventures decades later. While some of what he wrote seems fanciful, his account of the setting of fires on the night of November 25, 1864 generally aligns with newspaper reports. Headley said he had taken rooms in four separate hotels, and the other conspirators also took rooms in multiple hotels. They had obtained a chemical concoction dubbed Greek fire which was supposed to ignite when jars containing it were opened and the substance came into contact with the air. Armed with these incendiary devices, at about 8:00 p.m. on a busy Friday night the Confederate agents began setting fires in hotel rooms. Headley claimed he set four fires in hotels and said 19 fires were set altogether. Though the Confederate agents later claimed they did not mean to take human lives, one of them, Captain Robert C. Kennedy, entered Barnums Museum, which was packed with patrons, and set a fire in a stairwell. A panic ensued, with people rushing out of the building in a stampede, but no one was killed or seriously injured. The fire was quickly extinguished. In the hotels, the results were much the same. The fires did not spread beyond any of the rooms in which they had been set, and the entire plot seemed to fail because of ineptitude. As some of the conspirators mixed with New Yorkers in the streets that night, they overhead people already talking about how it must be a Confederate plot. And by the next morning newspapers were reporting that detectives were looking for the plotters. The Conspirators Escaped to Canada All the Confederate officers involved in the plot boarded a train the following night and were able to elude the manhunt for them. They reached Albany, New York, then continued on to Buffalo, where they crossed the suspension bridge into Canada. After a few weeks in Canada, where they kept a low profile, the conspirators all left to return to the South. Robert C. Kennedy, who had set the fire in Barnums Museum, was captured after crossing back into the United States by train. He was taken to New York City and imprisoned at Fort Lafayette, a harbor fort in New York City. Kennedy was tried by a military commission, found to have been a captain in the Confederate service, and sentenced to death. He confessed to setting the fire at Barnums Museum. Kennedy was hanged at Fort Lafayette on March 25, 1865. (Incidentally, Fort Lafayette no longer exists, but it stood in the harbor on a natural rock formation at the present site of the Brooklyn tower of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.) Had the original plot to disrupt the election and create a Copperhead rebellion in New York had gone forward, it is doubtful it could have succeeded. But it might have created a diversion to pull Union troops away from the front, and its possible it could have had an impact on the course of the war. As it was, the plot to burn the city was an odd sideshow to the final year of the war.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Commercial aircrafts (such as Boeing 787 Dream liner) for Airline Research Proposal

Commercial aircrafts (such as Boeing 787 Dream liner) for Airline Industry (such as Qatar Airways) - Research Proposal Example In this paper, the purpose is to present a sales proposal to one of the leading airline companies, Qatar airways on behalf of the Boeing Commercials. Boeing 787 Dream liner is one of the aircrafts that Boeing Commercials is fond of producing and one that has caused great excitement in the airline industry. Its development started in 2003, but it was not until 2009 that the first flight took off in an amazing way. The Boeing 787 Dream liner offers a host of comfort not just to the airline companies, but also to the clients. First, this plane is the first of its kind especially concerning fuel-efficiency. The previous version Boeing 767 consumed more fuel than this make, and this simply means that Qatar Airways will save money in terms of fuel efficiency. Earlier, it was asserted that no business is started without profitability being the target; profitability is only realized when the selling prices exceed the buying one. Thus, this plane will ensure Qatar Airways’ fuel expenses fall significantly, by 20% to be precise (Barratt & Dowd, 2014); this will translate to a higher profit margin. Composites materials have been used in the making of this plane in a bid to ensure that fuel efficiency becomes a reality besides providing the need noise reduction. Additionally, the plane is two-engine, and this means its speed is somewhat higher than both its competitors and predecessors. There is a 3-class setting in the plane, a windshield that is four-paneled among other features, which make the plane outstanding (Barratt & Dowd, 2014). In addition to all these, the plane is already operating in a number of other companies, and has full approval Federation Aviation Authorities (FAA). Businesses thrive mainly because of the networking capability its owner has, and this calls for the right partnerships (Khalid, 2006). This would require that the other

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

The Emergent Threat of Bio-Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

The Emergent Threat of Bio-Terrorism - Essay Example This paper weighs the pros and cons on whether al Qaeda or any other international terrorist group indeed has the motivation and capability to develop and use bio-weapons to carry out their missions of terror against the civilized world. If biological weapons represent the new threat to world peace and security that it is feared to be, we need to examine the desire and capability of authorities to deal with this yet to be experienced challenge to existing health and defense systems. Together with chemical and nuclear weapons, modern biological weapons are commonly classified as weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and have been used as such on many occasions in the past. Biochemical weapons may appeal to terrorists for three major reasons: 1) they are easier and cheaper to acquire than nuclear devices and cause more casualties; 2) their effects on target population are hard to detect and counter; and 3) the threat of their use causes fear, which element the terrorists love most (Danitz, 1998, p. 3). The use of bio-weapons actually goes back to the siege warfare in Medieval Ages, among which was the recorded attempt to spread disease through dead horses at northern France in 1340. In 1346, cadavers of plague victims were dumped on the defenders at Caffa in Crimea, while human and animal manure was used at Karlstein in Bohemia in 1422. The most successful was said to be the bio-attack at Caffa, where a large number of the defenders came down with the Bubonic plague (Wheelis, 2002, p. 12). On the American frontier, some of the disease outbreaks between the 18th and early 20th centuries might have been deliberately instigated (Fenn, 2000). The best documented of those early bio-attacks took place at Fort Pitt in Pennsylvania at the height of the Pontiac rebellion in 1763, when British troops gifted the Fort Pitt defenders with blankets and handkerchiefs from smallpox patients. The latter-day known incident of that nature happened between 1957 and 1965 when land speculators and corrupt agents of the Brazilian Indian Protective Service introduced smallpox, measles, flu and tuberculosis into the American Indians on the Amazonian basin. For smallpox, fomites were used and for the other diseases the culprits had the sick whites mixed with tribe members (Wheelis, 2002, p. 13). War records starting from the American Revolutionary War to the Cold War era also reveal the extensive use of bio-weapons. There was the story of how British troops attacked the Continental Army in Boston and Quebec on several occasions with smallpox by driving infected civilians into the enemy fold. In World War I, the Germans waged a covert bio-attack by having secret agents inject anthrax and glanders cultures into farm animals penned for shipment to Allied countries. Japan resorted to the same tactic during World War II mostly against the Chinese. In the 1942 Chekiang campaign, for example, retreating Japanese agents poisoned wells, sprayed the ground behind them with microbial cultures and left infected foodstuff for the

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Time Reflection Essay Example for Free

Time Reflection Essay Time and time again, the old adage, ‘time is gold’, is validated by experiences.   Take the case of the fictional time machine.   We see them in movies, a device that allows a person to travel through time and space; a machine that allows a person to traverse different time dimensions.   But, however amazing the concept of time machine is, it is never true.   This only reinforces the conviction that time is so essential that whenever lost, can no longer be regained.    With men’s aim to discover this new dimension of time, technology has brought about changes that affected how people view time.   This is discussed in Anwar Accawi’s essay entitled, ‘The Telephone’.   In his essay, Accawi showed how technology changed and intruded into the timeless culture of the villagers in the village of Magdaluna.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the early times, life has been so simple.   People rarely care about the time.   Water clocks were used to track time merely for purposes of counting the days and nights.   In Anwar Accawi’s essay, â€Å"The Telephone†, it can be observed that the traditional villages were so simple that they never realized the need for such technologies as clocks and calendars to measure time.   People then were contented for what they have. They merely recall time by the events natural to human existence like birth and death. However, when the telephone was introduced, the villagers were amazed by such new device and the changes that come with it.   This started all the complexities that can now be reflected in the present day societies.   Time has become a commercial term instead of a natural cycle of human existence.   The measure of time has become so important that time already dictated what, how and when people should do things.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the new technology, people’s lives revolved around it.   Ã‚  In Magdaluna, the new technology brought about occasion and the people rejoiced for how much telephone injected new values in the community.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In today’s American society, a typical American adult would complain that they do not have much time to complete the pile of work lined up for each day.   One reason for this perception about the lack of time is how people view time as an integral part of human existence.   How people value time and their perceived sense of time can be reflected on how they make use of such limited resource.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With people complaining of having not enough time, they have resorted to certain practices and adopted specific values in order to maximize the use of time.   For example, in the work place, many employees would prefer flexible time and part –time work set ups.   In addition, some are torn by long travels, which is time consuming (Robinson Godbey 18). Some opted to put on retirement homes aged relatives and parents and rely on care givers so that their time can be freed to do other things they believe to be more important. Moreover, time use, according to Godbey’s earlier article, can be affected by new technologies.   As a result, people tend to customize time by using customized products (Robinson Godbey 18).   Technologies taught people to be dependent on machines and new devices just to save on what is believed as ‘more precious time’.   This sense of time reveals of how people can be so insensitive and how poor family ties could be.   Quantity time and quality has become a passà ©.   With societies become more industrialized, more advanced, there has become a variety of activities that people can choose from.   People tend to allocate time to aspects like work, business and commerce; discounting the more important human aspects like leisure; quality and quantity time with family; and personal relationships. Works Cited Robinson, John, and Geoffrey Godbey. Time in Our Hands: Most People in Industrialized Societies Feel Time-Pressured. the Problem Isnt How Much Time We Have, but Rather How We Use It. The Futurist Sept.-Oct. 2005: 18+. Questia. 20 Sept. 2007 http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5010862325.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Go Ask Alice :: essays research papers

The 1970s was a time of change. A time of revolution. War was the topic of nearly all conversations and sex and drugs were on everyone’s minds. While boogie fever swept dance floors, young men were sent off to die in a war that they could never win. Richard Nixon was in office and his scandal was to influence politics for years to come. The bright blue bell-bottom pants with the pink and orange flowers sewed on were the coolest thing†¦oh excuse me, I mean the â€Å"grooviest† thing to have. Big cars were the big thing and inflation was as â€Å"high† as the teenagers smoking pot and shooting heroin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This was the 1970s. Alice of â€Å"Go Ask Alice† would have been greatly influenced by this era of time. Although she had cleaned up her act, Alice most likely would have had trouble resisting the temptation provided by her peers to smoke, make love, and have the time of her life. Although one cannot say that for sure. Counseling also became much more readily available to people afflicted with addictions. So, maybe Alice would have been okay. There’s no way to really tell. One can be certain though that with her steadfast and determined way of thinking, she probably would have been protesting the Vietnam War from the very start and the right of nuclear power plants to be in operative mode. She probably would have thought President Nixon to be one of the biggest moron ever to live, and she most likely would have been out on the streets. Not living the life of an addicted druggie though, but rather counseling others on how to clean up their acts and ge t on with their lives. I think Alice would have made a really good life for herself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course, these weren’t the only things going on during the seventies. Everyone always thinks of the above mentioned obvious events. I mean, the 70s were the Sex Revolution, and the Drug Revolution, and the Protest Revolution era of time. Everyone knows that. But other things occurred during this troublesome decade that would have affected and even re-molded many lives, including Alice. For example, many other wars were breaking out and many others were beginning to cool off. The Yom Kippur War began in 1973 while the Cold War was ceasing between the US, the Soviet Union and China. The terrorist act at the 1972 Munich Olympics shocked many people and the OPEC oil embargo in 1973 had a great impact on society.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Critically Assess Whether Strategic Hrm Leads to ‘High Performance’’

Essay Question 1: ‘Critically assess whether strategic HRM leads to ‘high performance’’ Introduction There is a controversy whether the Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) leads to ‘high performance’. A general idea of SHRM is that â€Å"the linkage of management and deployment of the individual within the firm to the business overall and its environment whereas HRM is the activities that take place under this area. † Truss and Gratton (1994). It spotlights on long-term strategy.Two theoretical perspectives to the Strategic Human Resources Management (SHRM) will be introduced and compared to determine whether they manage to ‘high performance’ or not. First, the Universalist approach is ‘one best way’ of dealing human resource to improve business performance. Second, the Contingency approach is to align HR policies and practices with the details of business strategy to create a positive impact on business. In addition, two examples: a large company and a medium-size company will be used to illustrate both approaches practically.At the same time, there are issues associate with theoretical perspectives that need to be discussed. Such issues are the implementation problems as well as the measurement problems. After all, the question will be answered with analysing all of the above. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be identified by gathering views of researchers. To the final stage, both approaches are being recognised if the linkage is existence to ‘high performance’ and to the level of measure that are being noticed. Different approaches to SHRM * Universalist approachA Universalist approach is known as ‘best practice’ human resource management (HRM). This approach describes there is ‘one best way’ to manage people in order to improve organizational performance. It argues that all organizations, regardless of sector, size or country, will benefit from identifying, gaining commitment to and implementing a set of best HRM practices. The job of a researcher is to identify what the practices are, and a job of HR professional to implement them. For example, a research from Delery and Doty (1996) identify certain practices that improve organizational performance.The detailed components are ‘high performance work systems (HPWS)’ Berg (1999); Appelbaum et al (2000), ‘high commitment management’ Walton (1985); Guest (2001a, 2001b) and ‘high involvement management’ Wood (1999a). Another researcher by Jeffrey Pfeffer (1998) identifies that seven universally applicable practices will benefit all firms. The components include: 1) Employment security, 2) Careful hiring, 3) Self-managed teams and decentralized decision-making, 4) Comparatively high compensation, 5) Extensive training, 6) Low status distinctions and barriers, 7) Extensive sharing of financial and performance info rmation.The implication is that when a coherent bundle of HR practices is outlined, the integrated HR practices will impact positively on organizational performance. The ‘best practice’ HRM sees there is ‘one best way’ of managing people and that is appropriate across all circumstances. * Contingency Approach On the other hand, the Contingency approach is known as ‘best-fit’ HRM. It takes account of factors such as organizational size, location, sector, strategy and the nature of work. Baird and Meshoulam’s (1998) model advocates that HRM approaches will differ giving to different life-cycle stages.These life cycle stages ranges from start-up to maturity. While an organization is growing and maturing over time, it becomes gradually complex. Therefore, more sophisticated HR structures and policies are needed. This approach focuses on two types of ‘fit’ and ‘line management integration’. The first type is ‘E xternal fit’ and it is commonly known as ‘vertical fit’. It is in coherence and alignment with business strategy and external market factors. When HR policies and practices are aligned to strategic focus, performance will improve.Porter’s (1985) strategic options on 1) Cost Leadership, 2) Differentiation and Innovation and 3) Focus are adopted. The second type is ‘Internal fit’ and it can also interpret to ‘horizontal fit’. HR policies and practices are all fit together so that they are in coherence. They are also mutually reinforcing and are applied continuously. Jeffrey Pfeffer’s (1998) seven practices are adopted. Lastly, ‘Line management integration’ is when line managers act as a critical character in implementing HRM strategy. Best-fit’ HRM suggests that the best to manage people will vary depending on organizational circumstances, and hence, the link to business strategy is key. Empirical evidence of SHRM model * A large company – Tarmac The UK quarrying company Tarmac has over 12500 employees at present. The operations function is key to overall company’s performance. It needs the support of finance managers, zone managers and HR managers. A finance manager delivers financial and management accounts to contribute the strategic decision-making process by forecasting financial performance.A zone manager manages operational performance. They meet and improve targets for cost, quality, delivery, safety and business ethics shown in key performance indicators (KPIs). Lastly a HR manager ensures business managers apply HR policies and procedures. The company’s goal is to achieve objectives by motivating all individuals working together as one team across the business units and functions. Each objective has its strategies. The followings practices are to achieve ‘Engage employees’ and ‘Act Responsibly’ objectives.Firstly, Tarmac focuse s on a high level of employee involvement and encourages high employee commitment to the organization so that workers feel they are trusted and treated in an open and positive attitude. For example, employees regularly discuss with managers about their viewpoints within development teams. This helps workers feel part of the wider team, strengthens employee engagement and commitment to the company. Secondly, team-working practices create a closer supervision and a flat hierarchy. A coaching style manager develops employees to manage themselves rather than to manage each task.Employee’s suggestions are offered, and this contributes to improvements in organizational performance. An example of Tarmac targets and measures a decline in waste. In 2010, eighteen workshop-training sessions were held for all site employees on CO2 awareness and energy. All district managers were involved in the programme. Some external experts from Carbon Trust were also invited to support the rollout o f the training programme. As a result, Tarmac gained benefit from 500 energy and CO2 reduction. Overall, Tarmac adopted a high commitment strategy to meet the objectives.Therefore, it improved the company’s performance. * A small-medium size company – i-LEVEL i-Level is one of the most innovative digital media companies and is ranked the ‘Sunday Times 100 best companies to work for’ in 2004. It has a size of workforce of 60 employees. The i-Level company has a high level of financial performance. There was a 33 per cent increase in earnings per annum. Their guiding principles are used as a framework. This is to ensure the internal fit and the external fit of company. The company is at the growing stage which a lot of the recruitment effort is on discovering the potential staff. -Level frequently seeks appropriate employees to be supported to work with the company. To fit HR policies and practices together, i-Level uses physical arrangements to remove top-d own hierarchy in order to encourage employees’ participation, communication, creativity, self-managed teams and organisational values. As a result, a complete, open plan office is the environment where employees conduct their normal day-to-day operations. Moreover, i-Level sees pay is significant for performance. 15 per cent of the company’s pre-tax profit is kept for performance bonuses from 2003 to 2004.Meanwhile, the company argues pay is not their primary motivating force. On the other hand, the company aligns with business strategy and external environment by providing training courses for technical skills in media advertising. The company also offers an unusual training budget. There is an annual allowance provided for personal training and development purposes that are no obvious relation with work. The belief is to develop the skills and interests of workers in ways not studied before. This is expected to enhance i-level workers’ innovative thoughts at w ork through practices outside the company’s work area.To summaries, i-LEVEL achieves competitive advantage through innovation and which competes in very tight labour markets. It adopted Porter’s strategic option of ‘Focus’ and Pfeffer’s 7 practices to enhance the company's performance. Additional issues to reflect * Problems of implementation Line managers are central HRM performers in the organization, and they play a vital role in implementation of HR policies and practices. They influence their team‘s performance in a direct manner. A number of factors account for the line management problem. Firstly, it seems there is devolution to line managers.For instance, line managers do not want the responsibility of being a line manager or do not have enough time to deal with it accurately. They might not have the skills to handle HR issues successfully or are unaware of recent developments in view of HRM. Some managers do not consider a long-term v iew of the company or are inefficient for making policy in this area. Secondly, McGovern et al (1997), Marchington (2001) and Hutchinson and Purcell (2003) identify there are differences between ‘espoused’ and ‘actual’ policies that are relatively recognized to line managers.For example, some policies are normative rather than positive. Some descriptions of policies and practices are in general terms rather than analytical about actual situations. Hence, managers are unable to implement them specifically to meet the company’s goals. Furthermore, a broader issue, the line manager jobs in firms become progressively complex due to new firms’ structures. For instance, virtual and network companies have less clear line manager characters than the layered hierarchical company. One observable implication is pressure for reducing the size of the HR department.There will be a cut down in numbers of HR professionals. Ultimately, these factors all affect the organizational performance due to unsuccessful implementation of HR policies and practices. * Problems of measurement Fitzgerald (1991) and Neely (1998) stated that performance measurement is a key issue in guaranteeing the effective implementation of a firm’s strategy. However, using inadequate measurements is poor in supporting managements’ business objectives. The followings are the circumstances. Scientists use large-scale data groups made self-completed questionnaires.This will lead to two problems. First of all, there is dependence on one person, to represent the whole group. Secondly, there is dependence on a design of questionnaires. For example, respondents are answering yes or no questions rather than giving thoughts and opinions. This type of questions may generate a less accurate result. Moreover, there is uncertainty of how the data should be gathered, presented and analysed. The major problem is mis-reporting single respondents. Respondents may have limited knowledge of the area and use of policies.Furthermore, the measures of performance commonly take account of the financial performance, whereas there is a few findings focus on the broader issue of employee attitudes and well-being. Equally, there are matters to the range of HR practices. For instance, a report shows statistics of whether a company has self-managed teams, some may look at the proportion of workers running in a self-managed team. Lastly, Atkinson (2005) suggests that the measurement of productivity in the service sector can be exceptionally challenging.It is always easy to get typical, comparable financial statistics. To sum up, the measurement of data are related to the level of relevance to business performance. Critical analysis of the beyond * Best practice Pros ; Cons Research states there is a positive link between the HR practices and organisational performance. Firstly, Huselid (1995, p. 667) discovered that ‘the degree of returns for investments in High Performance Work Systems is significant’. In fact, ‘A one standard deviation rise in High Performance Work Systems practices is associated with a comparative 7. 5 per cent drop in labour turnover. On ‘per employee’ base, $27,044, $18,641 and $3814 more in sales, more in market value and profits respectively. Secondly, the workplace employee relation survey (Cully et al 1999) indicates that there is 14 per cent of organisations adopted high commitment strategy. In contrast, researcher (Delery 1998) also emphasized ‘deadly’ bundles of practices need to be avoided. For example, it occurs to managers giving reward based on individual performance while they are working as a team.Furthermore, Boxall and Purcell (2003, p. 64) commented while multi-national companies make the effort standardise their practices across nations, national perspective and organisational sectoral perspectives show criticism on the effectiveness of these practices. M archington and Grulis (2000, p. 1117) argue the most common example is in labour intensive organisations recognise costs are expensive when they use these practices. To summaries the best practice approach, Guest’s (1987) argues that there is no best practice.At the same time, he also suggests a set of best practices such as high commitment management is the route to survival of UK business. This leads to an argument that in order to enhance company performance, managers must alter their HR policies and practices to the framework that is operational. The interpretation comes to ‘best-fit’ approach. * Best-fit Pros ; Cons Thompson (2000) conducted two studies of firms in the UK aerospace industry. His first study in 1997 showed that with higher levels of value added per worker encourages greater diffusion of innovative working practices with their non-management employees.These organisations are towards to more heavily engaged in specialist production for niche ma rkets and hired technical and professional workers. The second study in 1999 showed evidence that organizations introduced a larger number of high performance work practices had much enhanced business performance. As a result, companies moving from less than five to more than six innovative practices created a 34 per cent increase in value added per worker. On the other hand, Miles and Snow (1984) align suitable managerial types to three genetic strategies of prospector, defender and analyser.If managerial properties and skills are aligned to company strategy, there will be a higher level of link to organisational performance. Thomas and Ramaswamy (1996) offered such support. As a result, performance in aligned firms was statistically excellent. In comparison, (Purcell 1999 p. 35) outlines that a number of successful organisations features that are unable to model. These are the cultural norms that have been developed gradually over a long period associated with accomplishment. It i s easy to identify the key factors that drive to success. Especially when the organisations are large and complex.Imaginably the major problem is that many organisations exist inside complex external environments with multiple contingencies that are not to be ignored or recognized. * Comparing both approaches Each approach has advantages evidence and disadvantages evidence. It could be argued that different approaches can apply in different sectors. For example, Guest (2001) advocates that there is the possibility that a high commitment management is most applicable in manufacturing i. e. Tarmac, while strategic choice for fitting with business strategy, is more credible in the service sector i. . i-LEVEL. As a whole, critically discuss the link between SHRM and performance. Evidence from Patterson et al (1997) examined sixty-seven manufacturing businesses in the UK for a period. The outcomes were 19 per cent of profitability and 18 per cent of the variation in productivity could be certified to HRM practices. This demonstrated HRM practices has a positive impact on organisational performance. Conclusion In summary, SHRM consists of a number of practices and is an organization level analysis of how HRM systems impact on performance.Two theoretical perspectives outline different views. The ‘best-practice’ approach defines there is ‘one best way’ of managing people. It is appropriate across all circumstances. Whereas ‘best-fit’ approach terms the best to manage people will change depending on organizational circumstances. It highlights the essence of linking business strategy. Tarmac was used as an example. It applied the ‘best practice’ approach and adopted a high commitment strategy to meet the objectives. Hence Tarmac improved its firm’s performance.I-Level was used an example to describe the competitive advantage the company had achieved through innovation while competing in extremely tight labour ma rket. It adopted Porter’s strategic option of ‘Focus’ and Pfeffer’s 7 practices to enhance the firm’s performance. Empirical evidences show both organisations are successful with adopting different approaches to their specific, targeted firms. These firms had a positive impact on performance. This can be concluded that SHRM has a clear link to business performance practically. In depth, other issues such as implementation and measurement roblems are considered. Problems of implementation affect the organizational performance due to unsuccessful implementation of HR policies and practices in line management. On the other hand, problems of measurement are valued on the basis of how easy and difficult the data is to represent and most importantly the level of relevance to business performance. If the relevance is slight, it may have little or no impact on business performance. In the final stage of comparing both approaches, many researchers’ po int of views is gathered. ‘Best-practice’ approach has advantages and disadvantages.It seems to argue that high commitment management is the route to successful business performance. On the other hand, the advantages and disadvantages of ‘best-fit’ approach suggest that applying this approach can be rigid and inflexibility due exists of complex external environments. Furthermore, in recent arguments, the product labour market seems to be emerged to a new post-industrial age where employers will tend to hire self-employed workers to carry out specific, time-limited projects for companies. This is due to the prediction of radical change.It can lead to a view that ‘best-fit’ approach should to be managed appropriately. This means practices should be adequate in different company’s life-cycle stage and align with different strategies. So that, it can feasibly enhance the organizational performance. Finally, strategic human resources manageme nt gives evidences, views, researches and facts to enhance organizational performance. However, the degree of high performance in context varies in different organizations under their circumstances. Hence, it does not necessary impact to ‘high’ performance.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

This assignment considers physical activity in four different special population groups

This assignment considers physical activity in four different special population groups. Each population group is identified as being ‘special' because they have specific physiological and psychological needs that require physical activity to be modified and adapted to meet their special needs. The four different populations dealt within this assignment are Children, Over 50's, Pregnant Women and Disabled Persons. In this assignment, I will attempt to identify the techniques adapted specifically for each group and explain why it is beneficial for them. I will then proceed to compare and contrast the different techniques used between the four groups and explain why some techniques may be more suited for a particular group, and why some techniques may be inappropriate. CHILDREN: The first visit made was to a gymnasium course for children in between the ages of 2-4. (Ref. Appendix 1) Children are special because they grow at different rates and at different ages, â€Å".. there are also changes in body proportions that can put limitations on their ability to perform† (Lee, 1993 p. 51) Children need one to one care and special attention. Their bodies are still growing and developing so they have a limit to their capacity to perform certain activities. Their attention span is also short compared to an adult's so activities must be fun and capturing. The session I observed was a gymnastic lesson for children ages 2-4 that lasted for an hour. There were 6 students and two instructors. The fact that there was 1 instructor to 3 students shows how vulnerable children are and therefore must have special attention. As with every proper exercise session, they started with a good fifteen minutes of warm up. This ensured that all muscles were stretched and warmed up, ready for activity. The warm up exercises were very fun and exciting, which guaranteed the participation and inclusion of all children. The warm up exercises were very imaginative and creative and to name a few examples: walking on tiptoes with arms outstretched, frog leaping, hopping, star jumps and side skips. The stretches started from the top of the head moving down the body, such as neck stretches, shoulder rotation, roll and shake, hip swing and rotation, bottom wiggle and standing on tip toes to stretch the calves. After the 15 minute warm up, children were given a couple of minutes to have a drink or to visit the lavatories if needed. The main activity was set up as an assault course, where children moved from 1 activity to another. The equipment used was all very safe and the instructor arrived at least 15 minutes early to go through them and make sure all the equipments were working fine and that none were faulty. The beams, balancing benches and springboards were not the normal standard size but were adapted specifically for children. Mattings and paddings of sufficient size and density were placed where a landing would occur, or based on the design of an exercise, for example, for protection during a hand stand. The children started off by jumping off the springboard on to a soft horse bench. They then proceeded to do forward rolls on a soft mat, then a hand stand. They balanced themselves on a balance beam, before jumping onto trampoline, then going into the climbing frame. In between these exercises, the instructors gave children a few minutes break to get a drink or to visit the lavatory. The exercises used in the main activity focused on working different types of fitness components such as, strength, agility, balance, cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. The techniques used in this activity was appropriate because children have a lower capacity to do intense activity lasting 10-90s compared to adults so they are well suited to intermittent activities. (Howley et al, 2003) The variety of activities not only kept their attention, but it protected them from overemphasising on a specific sport and training intensely which could lead to emotional and physical problems. The benefits of exercise on children are that it enhances their fitness and health, and reduces risk for illness. The children enjoyed themselves greatly, and the instructors addressed them in very simple and friendly language. OVER 50's The next class I observed was a session for Over 50's. (Ref. Appendix 2) A population group over 50 is classified as special because as they age, their physical, emotional and mental function is no longer the same. Their joints have less mobility which increases risk injury therefore they will require programming that addresses these risks. Health related problems increase with both age and inactivity so older people need to be active and exercise to try and avoid illness. There is evidence that â€Å"..onset, progression and severity of many diseases in older people can be prevented, minimized or delayed with the provision of effective health promotion programmes, therapeutic exercises or physical activities† (Morris et al, 2004 p.1) The session was an aerobics course for 15 members lasting 45 minutes. The warm up section contained a range of movements that lasted a good 15 minutes. Warm up is important because it increases internal body temperature and reduces risk of injury. Movements included stretching and exercises such as heel raises, knee lifts, shoulder lifts and circles working through a pain free range of motion. Stretching exercises that emphasize range of motion and flexibility have been shown to increase ankle, knee joint and lower back flexibility in older adults. (Cotton 1998) The basic step-touch-step was used as a returning starting position before beginning a new movement. The warm up was accompanied by some soft, sustained music that set the mood. Music helps relax the mind and makes participants become more aware of their movements, breathing and posture (Best-Martini, 2003) Participants were given a break after warm up to freshen up. The aerobic activity lasted 10 minutes, was low impact and smooth completed movements were used rather than jerky, abrupt ones. There were sweeping hand movements involved, reaching and squatting. The aerobic part was similar to the warm up but with variations and at a slightly faster pace. The music as well was more lively which helped boost the participants motivation. The instructor used gradual transitions and cued clearly and well in advance. The weight training was next, which again lasted 10 minutes. They did very simple exercises using 1 kilo dumbbells, step, and cones. The group were assigned different stations: some participants did bicep curls with knee lifts, others did squats on the step, others marched on the sport lifting the dumbbells, and the rest did power walking around the cones with their arms swinging. They each had 30 seconds to do each exercise before moving on to the next. After four minutes, they rested for a bit before continuing again. There was no music used during resistance training so that the participants could concentrate. Once the weight training was over, they used the basic aerobics step to move into cool down. Again, soft, relaxing music was used, and the same, smooth, free range of movements used in the warm up was used to cool down. The participants seem to be having fun. It was a great way of socialising and they were chatting amongst each other throughout the whole session. For the health and safety part of the session, there was enough room and space for everyone to avoid anyone getting hurt. There were also mats placed by the steps to prevent participants from slipping while doing squats. The techniques used were appropriate because older adult exercisers â€Å"will be looking be looking for safe, low impact exercise programs that enhance overall fitness, including cardiovascular endurance, strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance (Van, 1995, P.5) The sweeping hand movements and free range of motion reduces the risk of joint stress and injury to senior participants. It was appropriate and also maybe necessary for the participants to take regular breaks because their maximum heart rate decreases, and so does stroke volume meaning they have a higher rate of oxygen deficit than younger adults. The instructor provided a lot of verbal feedback always checking if they were alright and motivating them. The physiological benefits of exercise on older adults are improvement in cardiovascular functioning and slowing down the age-related declines in bodily function. The psychological benefits are improved mental health, reduced stress and anxiety and feeling more relaxed and refreshed. (Best-Martini, 2003) DISABILITY: For the disabled population, I visited the motorcise gym catering especially for their needs (Ref. Appendix 3) . Motorcise is a centre that has specifically been opened to help those people who find gyms or health clubs intimidating. The club is open to Women only over 40, and provides brilliant facilities for the older women, overweight and disabled. There is a relaxed friendly atmosphere, with dedicated staff on hand to assist the members, whatever there needs. The atmosphere, as well as the centre's specific equipment means that members can really benefit. Socially it gives them a chance to meet new people, and provides them with a social platform depending on the number of times they visit the centre. Physically though the centre is excellent for all the cliental groups. The machines motorcise use, are as the name shows, Motorised. It is a completely new system that makes exercise easy and fun to do. Women who were in the session had multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, chronic back pain, diabetes and they found the machines really helpful and enjoyed working out. On average members use the centre twice a week and this can help improve their health and wellbeing, increase energy levels, tone the body as well as boosting their confidence. The sessions only take 30minutes so members are able to fit the work out around their daily lives. Sport has a great deal therapeutic value and plays a great part in physical, psychological and social rehabilitation / factors for a disabled person. The level of a person's disability will determine the amount of exercise and participation. It's important that the disabled have the facilities to participate to the best of their ability and to be able to enjoy sport like everybody else. People with disabilities find it hard to participate in sport for a number of reasons. They feel unable to fit into sporting environment, no self confidence to take part and the feel of failure. They have a mentality that because they are disabled any kind of physical activity would be beyond their capability. Put this together with the lack of information, facilities, and support for disabled sport it is very easy for a person with a slight disability to be put off participating in sport. (Health Education Authority, 1997) Motorcise has 10 machines each working a different group muscle. The ‘Chester' is the first machine that every woman goes on which is basically like a warm up in an activity session. It gets the circulation moving and warms up the muscle joints. Each machine has two different settings, the ‘Slow Passive Pace' and the ‘Fast Pace.' These machines are adapted specifically for people with certain limitations to do physical activity. At slow pace, the machine does the work for them, it is only getting the muscle joints warmed up. When set on to the fast pace, the individual is then working with it by pushing the bars, or pulling them down, or lifting their legs, or pushing down on it. If a woman has immobility in her knees, then she would adapt to it by planting her feet on the floor and using just her arms, or if she has frozen shoulders, she would cross her arms over her chest and work only her lower body. Each machine has very good back support padding, and there are special cushions available for a woman with very bad back problems. To name a few, there is the ‘Noddy Crunch' which works the upper abs and lower back. The ‘Latty Leg Press' works on the shoulders, leg press and posture. As you push up with the shoulders, you push up with your knees then push down again, lengthening the spine and working the posture. The last machine for is specifically for cool down called the ‘Ricky Relaxerciser.' It has low frequency sound waves that give a soft vibration giving the women a feeling of relaxation. This recreation centre gives great facilities and opportunities for disabled women. It is in a safe, fun and supportive environment. It gives them a chance to socialise, boost their self esteem, have more confidence and not only that, improves their health and aids them with the mobility in their joints and flexibility. Physical activity is effective in playing a role in behaviour – â€Å"..interventions that promote moderate and non-endurance physical activities (flexibility exercises) are associated with long-term changes in behaviour† (Health Development Agency) PREGNANCY: Pregnant women are special because there is an increase in body mass will reduce her exercise capacity, swimming provides and element of support. The increased metabolic rate and increased body weight, means oxygen demand during pregnancy increases. (Bird, S.R, 1998) The session I observed was an aqua aerobics class for pregnant women that lasted 45 minutes (Ref. Appendix 4). â€Å"Safety: Water is supportive through buoyancy, resistive in nature and equal in hydrostatic pressure on the submerged body part. Weakness, joint or limb swelling, loss of motion or flexibility and overall loss of endurance are safely addressed in the aquatic environment† (White, 1995 pp 3-5). It was very low intensity with slow and controlled movements. The warm up involved walking around the pool for a few minutes, chatting amongst themselves. Next, they were lightly jogging around the pool, other women who were too far into pregnancy continued walking. Along with lower body movements, they performed various arm motions such as the breast stroke, back stroke, punches, pushes and sweeps. The cardiovascular workout was done at a low intensity and for a moderate duration. The aim was to get breathlessness. (Lawrence 1998) Women used woggles as part of their main activity to support themselves. They did a cycling movement by having a woggle under both arms while legs were cycling. It was a good work out for the whole body, and not only that, they also worked out their neck and head. Explosive and jerky movements were avoided because â€Å"†¦.the increase in body mass will become a limitation..(Bird, 1998, p.288) which could overstretch ligaments and tendons doing more damage than healing. Throughout the main workout, there were regular breaks taken, which meant marching on the spot and performing flowing, rhythmical mobility exercises, like sweeping the water etc.. The cool down was just as slow and relaxed as the warm up, and the women were given a few minutes at the end of the class to just float on their backs and enjoy the feeling of weightlessness. It is beneficial for pregnant women to exercise in water because they are better accommodated in water because of the supportive and gravity-reduced environment. The buoyancy opposes the force of gravity allowing the body to move more freely and easily than on land. (White, 1995) It reduces the weight and stress placed on joints and ligaments, spine and hip. Resistance works out the muscles and tones them without being too intense. There is equal pressure form the water on the body that increases with depth. This is helpful for swelling around the joints or circulatory problems because the static fluid around the joints is forced upward toward the heart by hydrostatic pressure. (Lawrence, 1998) The overall balance of the woman is also enhanced because she is constantly moving forwards, backwards and sideward in a dynamic environment. DISCUSSION: Each population group had different techniques but they also had some similarities. Each group started with a warm up and cool down that lasted at least 15 minutes. This is important for getting the circulation moving, and working the muscles and joints to prevent injury. The children's session was similar to the over 50's and pregnant women in the sense that they took regular breaks. The children needed breaks because doing physical activity for a short amount of time made them run out of breath. â€Å"Children respond to exercise with shallower respirations and higher respiratory frequencies than adolescents and adults. During maximal exercise children may reach over 75 breaths/min compared with a normal adult response of about 45 breaths/min.† (Lee, 1993, p.69) The older adults needed regular breaks because there is a â€Å"..decrease in both stroke volume (the volume of blood pumped from the heart during one heartbeat) and maximum heart rate (the highest heart rate a person can attain.)..† (Van, 1995 P.11) The pregnant women had to take regular breaks because â€Å"high intensity activities may restrict blood flow to the foetus†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Lawrence, 1998 P. 159) The language the instructors used with the children's session differed from the rest because they used simple and fun language to address them. Each group was similar in the sense that they each had certain limitations to perform physical activity. For children, it was the fact that they were still growing and developing so overtraining was not appropriate. For older adults, it was the fact that some of them might have loss some sense of coordination, flexibility or mobility. For pregnant women, it was the increase in mass that might have prevented her from doing the usual things. For the disabled population, it was their disability that was their limitation. However, despites all these limitations, there were no barriers to stop them from participating in physical activity. They overcame all their limitations and barriers, and each one of them was able to participate in physical activity like everyone else. After going on these fieldtrips, I learnt that no matter what kind of barrier or limitation someone has, this cannot stop them from participating in physical activity as illustrated by these four special population groups. It is great that most leisure/recreation centres have facilities and opportunities that cater specifically for these groups needs.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

3. List 2 key enviromental issues for each of the Essays - Biology

3. List 2 key enviromental issues for each of the Essays - Biology 3. List 2 key enviromental issues for each of the following region and describe about how are the issues changing: The wilderness North These areas have important economic values in their trees, animals, scenery, and other natural resources. Resources exploitation involves significant trade-offs as these ecosystems are sensitive to insults and take a long time to repair damage caused by exploitation. Many short-term political and economic decisions have failed to look at long-term environment implications. Native peoples in these areas are sensitive to changes in land use or government policy that would force changes in traditional ways of life. Increasingly sophisticated in negotiations. The Agricultural Middle Middle of North America is dominated by intensive agriculture. Original, natural ecosystems have been replaced by managed agriculture Tremendous economic value. Mostly private land- large economic risks. Major non-point pollution source Soil erosion and groundwater contamination Fertilizer and Pesticides The forested West Government and commercial timber companies own large sections of land. Historically, much f this timber has been sold at a loss. In 1993, USFS directed to stop below-cost timber sales. Timber officials claim access to public land is necessary to remain in business and support the economy; conservationists argue ecological and intangible values outweigh economic value. Northern Spotted owl has become a symbol of conflict between logging and preservation. The Dry West Characterized by area where rainfall is inadequate for agriculture, but adequate enough to allow livestock production. Because much of western U.S. is of low economic value, most is still controlled by U.S government. Encourages use by providing cheap water for livestock and irrigation, cheap grazing fees, and access for industrial development. As cities grow, conflict arises between urban dwellers and ranchers and farmers. Increased demand will result in shortages and resulting trade-off decisions Low population density areas tend towards wilderness character. Economic livestock and wildness preservation. Great Lakes and Industrial Northeast: Great Lakes and Northeast are dominated by large metropolitan complexes with large, complex resource demands. Many older cities have declined, leaving behind abandoned sites and environmental problems. One of the greatest problems is water contamination from toxic material Bioaccumulation in food chain. Fish Advisories The South Microcosm of all other regions. Extremely rapid population growth in some areas such as coastal regions Pockets of extreme poverty.

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

University of the District of Columbia Admissions Data

University of the District of Columbia Admissions Data University of the District of Columbia Description: The University of the District of Columbia is a historically black, public university located in Washington, D.C. (learn about other D.C. colleges). It is the only public university in the District of Columbia and one of the few urban land grant institutions in the United States. The nine-acre main campus is situated in northwest D.C., just a short distance from many of the Washington metropolitan area’s cultural and recreational offerings. UDC offers more than 75 degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students, including popular programs in business administration, accounting, biology and administration of justice. The university is especially proud of its education program, including its Center for Urban Education. Academics are supported by a 14 to 1 student / faculty ratio. The university also includes the UDC Community College, a branch of the university that grants associate’s degrees, and the David A. Clarke School of Law. Campus life is active at UDC, wi th more than 50 student clubs including the Aviation Student Association and Video Game Association, and a host of fraternities and sororities. The UDC Firebirds field ten men’s and women’s varsity athletic teams in the NCAA Division II East Coast Conference. Admissions Data (2016): UDC Acceptance Rate: -University of the District of Columbia has open admissionsTest Scores 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: - / -SAT Math: - / -SAT Writing: - / -Whats a good SAT score?ACT Composite: - / -ACT English: - / -ACT Math: - / -Whats a good ACT score? Enrollment (2016): Total Enrollment: 4,318  (3,950 undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 43% Male / 57% Female46% Full-time Costs (2016 - 17): Tuition and Fees: $5,612  (in-state); $11,756 (out-of-state)Books: $1,280  (why so much?)Room and Board: $16,425Other Expenses: $4,627Total Cost: $27,944  (in-state); $34,088 (out-of-state) University of the District of Columbia Financial Aid (2015  - 16): Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 75%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 65%Loans: 30%Average Amount of AidGrants: $6,756Loans: $5,530 Academic Programs: Most Popular Majors:  Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Corrections, Economics, Graphic Design, Health Education, Social Work Transfer, Graduation and Retention Rates: First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 56%Transfer-out Rate: 30%4-Year Graduation Rate: 13%6-Year Graduation Rate: 33% Intercollegiate Athletic Programs: Mens Sports:  Soccer, Tennis, Lacrosse, BasketballWomens Sports:  Tennis, Track and Field, Cross Country, Lacrosse, Basketball Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like the University of DC, You May Also Like These Schools: Virginia State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphDelaware State University: Profile  George Washington University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphVirginia Union University: Profile  American University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGeorge Mason University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphTennessee State University: Profile  Clark Atlanta University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphShaw University: Profile  Norfolk State University: Profile   University of the District of Columbia Mission Statement: mission statement from  udc.edu/about/history-mission/ The University of the District of Columbia is a pacesetter in urban education that offers affordable and effective undergraduate, graduate, professional, and workplace learning opportunities. The institution is the premier gateway to postsecondary education and research for all residents of the District of Columbia. As a public, historically black, and land-grant institution, the University’s responsibility is to build a diverse generation of competitive, civically engaged scholars and leaders.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Recording and Analysing Information in HR Research Paper

Recording and Analysing Information in HR - Research Paper Example â€Å"HR information must include the educational history (degrees awarded), educational experiences (completion), past job experiences (post, position, and technical) or certifications and licenses† (Seta et al, 2005, p.391). The authors add that the assessors identify also has to be recorded by referring to facts and investigation strategies. Hence, it is clear that handling HR information is a highly complex process. The recording is the primary phase of HR management and this phase determines the level of efficiency of the whole system. Management theories strongly recommend that an organization must possess right employee volume so as to achieve maximum productivity levels and minimize wastage of resources. It is obvious that a firm cannot determine the potential employee volume unless it does not have deep employee information. As Becker and Gerhart (1996) point out, HR information also assists organizations to take decisions regarding recruitment, selection, training, promotion, and dismissal timely and properly. Effective recording of HR information is also necessary to perform applicant tracking, the process of mapping the entire recruiting activities of an organization. In addition to administrative benefits, the HR data aid an organization to effectively deal with labor relations planning and succession planning. Employment details and absence records are the two types organizations data collected within an organization. Both these sets of data are essential for a firm to ensure improved human resource management and thereby profitability. Employment details of a worker are necessary for an organization to evaluate his potential. Many organizations provide additional facilities to its employees including loans and other financial assistance. Majority of the firms allow such benefits to employees on the basis of their employment details.Â