Structural Mechanical Faiulre Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Structural Mechanical Faiulre - Case Study Example During construction, certain difficulties came up resulting to a delicate, but flawed change of design. The change intensified the weight on the connection between the walkway tie roads and the support beams carrying the load of the second floor walkway and the fourth floor walkway. This design was not adequate enough to support the weight of the structure, as well as the weight of the spectators (Engineer). The investigations conducted also revealed that the change or alteration of the design by the contractors without consulting the engineers contributed to the structural failure. The failure was brittle in nature since it occurred as a result of one grain boundaries being stronger than the other. Additionally, the collapse of the structure also occurred with no prior deformation on the walkway. However, it is worth noting that the collapse could have been prevented. This could have happened if the contractors could have consulted the engineers of the structure before making changes on the design of structure (Engineer). Therefore, in order to prevent future structural failures of the same, Hyatt Regency walkway structural failure is used as a case study while training engineers and contractors on significance of engineering

Religious Discrimination Essay Example for Free

Religious Discrimination Essay Religious discrimination under Title VII as defined by the U. S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) involves treating a person unfavorably because of his or her religious beliefs. The law protects not only people who belong to traditional, organized religions but also others who have sincerely held religious, ethical or moral beliefs. The law forbids discrimination on the basis of religion in any and all aspects of employment. This includes hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, and benefits. Title VII also prohibits workplace segregation based on religion, such as assigning an employee to a non-customer contact position because of actual or presumed customer preference. Title VII also addresses reasonable accommodation in relation to religion. The law requires that the employer must reasonably accommodate an employee’s religious beliefs or practices, unless doing so would cause more than a minimal burden on the employers business. For example, if an employee needs to be off work on Sunday mornings to regularly attend church services it would be the responsibility of the employer to reasonably attempt to accommodate this need. An accommodation for this could include paying another employee to cover the Sunday morning shift, even if it requires paying overtime. Or the employer could hire an additional employee to be able to cover the shift. Since Title 7 of the United States Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 there have been several judicial decisions that have molded the way this law in interpreted and applied. The first such court case that I came across was the case of Welsh V. United States which brought into question what types of beliefs can be used to obtain conscientious objector status when being selected to go to war. In this case the prosecutor was convicted of refusing to accept induction into the armed forces; he did claim conscientious objector status but did not base this decision off religion. He did not claim to believe in a deity that would morally keep him from fighting in a war, he instead asserted his own personal moral opposition to any conflict in which people are being killed. He alleged that the sincerity of his belief should qualify him for exemption from military duty under the Universal Military Training and Service Act. The Act allowed only those people whose opposition to the war was based on religious beliefs to be declared conscientious objectors. However in a 5-3 decision the court allowed Welsh to be declared a conscientious objector even though his opposition was not based on religious convictions. The implication this case has on Human Resources Management is that HR personnel must be aware of the broad scope of beliefs that will be protected under Title 7. Whereas before this case only majorly defined religions such as Judaism and Catholicism would be protected you now see religions such as scientology seeking protection under the law. Another relevant case would be Seshadri v. Kasraian which established that an employee bringing a religious discrimination claim does not need to belong to an established church. Another case that has shaped this law and impacted human resource management was Campos v. City of Blue Springs. In April 1996 Campos was hired as a crisis counselor for the Blue Springs Police Department’s Youth Outreach Program (YOU). At the time she did not have the advanced degree as required by the written job description, but her supervisor told her that she would have until February 1997 to obtain her degree and guarantee her position. She was also guaranteed via verbal contract that she would be paid an extra $10,000 per year for support group work, she would be a team leader within three months, and she would be an assistant director within six months of starting her full-time employment. She began working in October 1996, enjoying her job until she disclosed to her supervisor that she observes tenets of Native American Spirituality, not Christianity. Campos claimed that immediately her supervisor’s behavior towards her changed; she was unfriendly and critical, excluded her from employee meetings, and told her that she may not have been a good fit for the job. After failing to show up to work due to attending a mandatory meeting to obtain her dissertation, which was required by her employer, Campos received so much scrutiny from her supervisor that she resigned. After her resignation, Campos filed suit against the City, alleging that she suffered from employment discrimination based upon her religion, sex, and national origin. The charges of sex and national origin discrimination were eliminated, and the case was submitted to the jury on the theory that Campos was constructively discharged because of her religion. On April 13, 2001, the jury awarded Campos $79,200 for back pay and compensatory damages. The district court denied the Citys Motion for Judgment as a Matter of Law, or in the Alternative, for a New Trial, and awarded Camposs attorneys 90,556. 20 in fees and $11,825. 41 in expenses. This case has implications on Human Resources Management today because it establishes that employment decisions cannot be made based on whether or not an employee or potential employee agrees or disagrees with the employers religious views. One relevant business that comes to mind is Chik Fil A and their openly Christian beliefs. Even though they include Christian values in the core content of their mission statement and business plan they know that they cannot make any employment decisions based on religious affiliation. In Eatman V.  United Parcel Service in 2002 the company’s policy of requiring its drivers that had unconventional hairstyles to wear hats was called into question. The plaintiff was required by the company to wear a hat while on the clock because his hairstyle of choice was dreadlocks, a hairstyle where sections of hair are hand-rolled together in tight, interwoven spirals. After putting a lot of thought into the decision, Eatman, who is black, began wearing locks in February 1995 as an outward expression of an internal commitment to his Protestant faith as well as his Nubian belief system. At this same time he also became enlightened about locked hair and its connection to African identity and heritage. The position that his supervisor at UPS took on his hair was that the company uses common sense to determine which hairstyles are not businesslike; he finds ponytails, Mohawks, green hair, carved shapes, and locked hair—short or long—unacceptable. And there were currently 19 other drivers at this particular UPS that were required to wear hats to cover their unconventional hairstyles, including others that had dreadlocks. Even though Eatman claimed that the policy was discriminatory the jury did not rule in his favor. It was ruled that Eatman’s hairstyle was dictated by a personal choice. Nowhere in his religious texts did it dictate in any way that followers of the faith must wear their hair uncovered in dreadlocks. The implications of this case are actually pro employer and pro Human Resource Manager. It shows that not every claim that an employee makes based off of religious need has to be immediately catered to. There are cases where the request can be frivolous and off topic of religion, in which case the employer does not need to go out of their way to make accommodations. Another very interesting court case that I came across was EEOC v. Union Independiete De La Autoridad De Acueductos y Alcantarillados De Puerto Rico. I found this case to be very interesting because it stipulates that employees cannot pick and choose which parts of their religion they wish to follow and which ones they do not. In this case the issue was whether or not a Seventh day Adventist’s objection to union membership was the product of a sincerely held belief. Although the religious foundation of the Seventh day Adventist faith’s opposition to union membership has long been recognized, there was evidence that this employee often acted in a manner inconsistent with his professed religious beliefs. He was divorced, took an oath before a notary upon becoming a public employee, worked five days a week (instead of the six days required by his faith), and there was some evidence that the alleged conflict between his beliefs and union membership was a moving target. This case seemed important because is forces the employee to prove that religion is vital part of their life. It keeps them from claiming that they are Christian for the sole purpose of being off on Christmas, or from claiming that they are Catholic only to be off on Easter. It not only keeps people from faking being religious but it also helps to ensure the sanctity of those who actually are as religious as they claim to be. And the final court case that I found addresses sincerely held beliefs that have not always been there but can conceivably come about. In the case of E. E. O. C. v. Ilona of Hungary, Inc. an employee sincerely believed that she should refrain from working on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur even though she had not frequently celebrated Jewish holidays in the past. Her rise in faith was brought on by recent family events such as the passing of her mother-in-law and father, the birth of her son, and her husband’s rising faith. The court decided that these were significant enough to have caused a change in lifestyle and that she did believably have a real change of faith. After reviewing all of the cases mentioned above, along with numerous others, I have found that the topic of religion isn’t nearly as â€Å"black and white† as most would assume. There are many grey areas: What constitutes religion, how do you know if someone legitimately believes in their religion, and what aspects of someone’s lifestyle are pertinent to their claimed religion are just a few examples of where courts have to make a decision that will affect the way this topic is viewed for years to come. With the world become more and more diversified every day the topic of religion and all others under title 7 will continue to be tested and pushed to their limits. It is the job of the Human Resources Management team to be on high alert of potential discrimination cases and have all employees properly trained on these matters to ensure it does not happen at their company.

A Study On Becks Theory Psychology Essay

A Study On Becks Theory Psychology Essay Becks theory states that Individuals with dysfunctional attitudes are likely to show increases in depressed mood following the occurrence of negative events. From the cognitive perspective, we can say that depression is caused by ones thinking. Someone with dysfunctional attitudes tends to think negatively toward themselves. When a negative event occurs which relates to that person, it triggers the negative thoughts over and over again which can lead to depression. Beck believed that the cognitive symptoms of depression actually precede the affective and mood symptoms of depression, rather than vice versa. Becks main argument was that depression was instituted by ones view of oneself, instead of one having a negative view of oneself due to depression. For example, Abela and DAlessandros (2002) found that the students negative views about their future strongly controlled the interaction between dysfunctional attitudes and the increase in depressed mood. The research clearly backed up Becks claim that those at risk for depression due to dysfunctional attitudes who did not get into their college of choice then doubted their futures, and these thoughts lead to symptoms of depression. The other cause of depression would be a persons interpersonal relationship with their surroundings and the people around them. Hammen and Brennan (2001) found that 13% of the sons and 23.6 % of the daughters who were depressed had depressed mothers as compared to 3.9% of the sons and 15.9% of the daughters who were depressed lacked a depressed mother. From the social perspective, we see that the child becomes depressed because of the interpersonal relationship with his or her mother which shows how the social environment around someone can influence the behaviour or thinking of the person. The depressed adolescents of depressed mothers were also more likely to evidence dysfunctional cognitions about their social selves and worlds. (Hammen Brennan, 2001, p. 8) This clearly contradicts becks argument that depression is cause by dysfunctional cognition but not vice versa. Hammen and Brennan (2001) discussed that adolescents gets depressed because of the interpersonal relationship with their mothers which then later lead them into dysfunctional cognitions. Whereas, beck states that dysfunctional attitudes comes first which then later on lead the person into depression. Another contradiction of these two concepts is that one states that depression is caused by the inner thinking without the influence of another person and on the contrary, the other is cause by the surrounding people and how they behave. Second Section Cognitive Theory Individuals with dysfunctional attitudes are likely to show increases in depressed mood following the occurrence of negative events which is stated in Beck`s theory. We can say that depression is caused by ones thinking from the cognitive perspective. Someone with dysfunctional attitudes tends to think negatively toward themselves. When a negative event shows up, it triggers the negative thoughts over and over again which can lead to depression. The relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and increases in depressed mood following the occurrence of negative events is caused by negative views of the future . Becks cognitive theory of depression has generated a vast body of empirical research.Central to Becks theory is the construct of schemas(Becks (1967, 1983). Beck defines schemas as stored bodies of knowledge that affect the encoding, comprehension and retrieval of information. The content and organization of different individuals schemas vary according to their particular experiences. Once activated, depressogenic schemas provide access to a complex system of negative themes and cognitions which will lead to ‘negative cognitive triad'(Becks (1967, 1983). Beck defines the negative cognitive triad as a negative view of the self, the world and the future. Beck hypothesizes that the negative cognitive triad is a sufficient cause of depression and will start showing some depressive symptoms such as deficits in affec tive, motivational, behavioural and physiological functioning(John R. Z. Abela,2000). Beck also states that there are three main dysfunctional belief themes (or schemas) that dominate depressed peoples thinking (Natalie Staats Reiss, Ph.D, 2007): I am defective or inadequate, All of my experiences result in defeats or failures, and The future is hopeless. Together, these three themes are described as the Negative Cognitive Triad. When these beliefs are present in someones cognition, depression is very likely to occur. Depressed people will tend to demonstrate selective attention to information, which matches their negative expectations, and selective inattention to information that contradicts those expectations. Faced with a mostly positive performance review, depressed people will manage to find and focus in on the one negative comment that keeps the review from being perfect. They tend to magnify the importance and meanings in the negative events, and minimize the importance and meanings in positive events. Usually this kind of situation will happen quite unconsciously which is will maintain a depressed persons core negative schemas in the face of contradictory evidence, and they will remain feeling hopeless about the future even when the evidence suggests that things will get better. Beck hypothesizes that depressogenic schemas are typically latent in individuals which vulnerable to depression and must be activated by relevant stressors or event in order to exert their influence on information processing(Becks (1967, 1983). In the absence of such aversive life events, depressogenic schemas remain inactive and do not exert an influence on patterns of thinking. Based on the research done by a group of researchers from Canada, (John R. Z. Abela and David U. DAlessandro,Department of Psychology, McGill University), they used a short-term longitudinal design in which participants dysfunctional attitudes were assessed prior to the occurrence of a negative event. The method that they have used was 136 high school seniors applying to the University of Pennsylvania completed measures of depressed mood and dysfunctional attitudes 1-8 weeks before receiving their admissions decision and denoted as (Time 1). The assessment of dysfunctional attitudes was preceded by a primary task designed to activate latent depressogenic schemas in all participants. Participants also observed on thier depressed mood, negative views of the self, and negative views of the future shortly after they received their admissions decision and denoted as (Time 2) and four days later as (Time 3). The outcome from this research was consistent with the component of Becks theory. The participants who are dysfunctional attitudes predicted increases in depressed mood immediately following a negative admissions outcome (Time 2). In addition, according to the the causal mediation component of the theory, for negative outcome students, the relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and increases in depressed mood was caused by negative views of the future. Contrary to predictions, however, this relationship was not mediated by negative views of the self. In addition, opposite to predictions, dysfunctional attitudes did not predict enduring depressed mood after a negative outcome (Time 3). Some studies have found no support for the diathesis-stress component of the theory. For example, using a psychiatric in-patient sample, Persons and Rao (1985) reported that irrational beliefs (Ellis, 1962) did not interact with negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms seven months after discharge. Similarly, using a three-month prospective design, Barnett and Gotlib (1988a, 1990) reported that dysfunctional attitudes did not interact with negative events to predict increases in depressive symptoms. Social Theory The early onset of depression commonly recalled by depressed adults. (Burke, Burke, Regier, Rae, 1990) The increasing rate of depression in youngsters is significantly impairing and it indicates recurrence and continuity into adulthood. One of the best empirically supported predictors of depression in youth is having a depressed mother. There is no single unifying social model of depression but rather various empirical and theoretical developments that emphasize interpersonal cognitions and behaviors. As for the mother, a key characteristic of the interpersonal perspective is a particular emphasis on the dysfunctional, abnormal or unhealthy interpersonal behavior or interaction within a group transaction between the person and the social environment. (Joiner Coyne, 1999) Depressed individuals often function poorly in marriages and relationships with family members. (Barnett Gotlib, 1988; Rao, Hammen, Daley, 1999; Weissman Paykel, 1974) They may engage maladaptively, adapting poorly to a situation with others in ways that contribute to the occurrence of interpersonal stressful life events, which eventually might cause further depression. (Davila, Hammen, Burge, Pa-ley, Daley, 1995; Hammen, 1991) Depressed people are often dependent on others and seek confidence in ways that distance others.(Barnett Gotlib, 1988; Joiner Metalsky, 1995) They often overvalue relationships as sources of self-worth but may also have acquired negative beliefs about the availability and trustworthiness of others .In turn, prolong course of depression may be due to negative attitudes by family members. (Hooley, Orley, Teasdale, 1986; Hooley Teasdale, 1989; Keitner et al., 1995) Although many of the interpersonal deficiencies noted in depressed individuals may be depressive state dependent, a number of the cited studies have indicated enduring difficulties even when the person is not currently depressed. Obviously not all depressive disorders are functionally linked to maladaptive interpersonal relationships; but research strongly suggests the importance of the contribution of social behaviors and beliefs in promoting depression and its recurrence. The acquisition of dysfunctional schemas about the self and others, and the deficiencies in interpersonal skills, may set the stage for vulnerability to depression, particularly when stressors are encountered that deplete or challenge the childs sense of worth, competence, and social relatedness. The depressed children of depressed mothers were also highly likely to have elevated rates of interpersonal and conflict life events, reflecting at least in part their relative difficulties in negotiating interpersonal relationships. The depressed adolescents of depressed mothers were also more likely to have dysfunctional cognitions about their social selves and world. They more likely compared to depressed children of non depressed women to report fewer friends and social activities. In my opinion, social vulnerabilities of offspring of depressed women may contribute to earlier onset of depressive disorders and worse clinical features. Although biological and genetic factors may heighten risk for early onset, acquisition of interpersonal vulnerabilities may also result in early experiences of depressive disorders. The homogeneity permits evaluation of differences between groups that are not mistaken with age effects. Moreover, young adolescence is a developmental period during which social activities and alliances outside of the family take on increasing importance. The most noticeable differences among the groups occurred in interpersonal functioning. Indicators of ongoing social role performance revealed more impaired functioning in social domains, with a particularly marked problem, not surprisingly, in relationships with family members for depressed youth of depressed mothers. The depressed children of depressed mothers were also highly likely to have elevated rates of interpersonal and conflict life events, reflecting at least in part their relative difficulties in negotiating interpersonal relationships. The depressed adolescents of depressed mothers were also more likely to evidence dysfunctional cognitions about their social selves and worlds. They were significantly more likely than depressed children of non depressed women to report fewer friends and social activities. However, It is interesting that depressed children of depressed mothers were more positive about their romantic appeal than depressed children of non depressed women, possibly indicating earlier involvement or greater. (Gotlib, Lewinsohn, Seeley, 1998) An important implication of subgroup differences may be that the depressed youth of depressed women, because of interpersonal difficulties, will have earlier and more frequent recurrences of depression, which could result from stressors associated with inability to adapt to social demand. Moreover, it might be speculated that youth interpersonal difficulties might lead to adult social difficulties, including dysfunctional marital relationships and even transmission of depression to their own offspring. From the study, it is interesting that there was a tendency for a higher male proportion among the outcome of depressed women, while most of the depressed children of non depressed women were girls. In conclusion, the results are consistent with the perspective that depression among children of depressed mothers is especially likely to occur in the context of difficulties in their interpersonal skills and perceptions of others towards them. The youths difficulties may represent a mechanism of intergenerational transmission of depression that results in part from the parents own interpersonal difficulties acquired in their childhood family environments. Last but not least, aggressive treatment of the social dysfunctions has to be taken. Third Section Depression / Major depressive disorder Depression is a medical illness that involves the mind and body. It also known as major depression, major depressive disorder and clinical depression which is by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.. It affects patients feel, think and behave which lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Major depression is a disabling condition which adversely affects a persons family, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health. Subtypes There are five further subtypes of major depressive disorder called specifiers to nothing the length, severity and presence of psychotic features: Melancholic depression loss of pleasure in most or all activities, a failure of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli, a quality of depressed mood more pronounced than that of grief or loss, a worsening of symptoms in the morning hours, early morning waking, psychomotor retardation, excessive weight or excessive guilt. Atypical depression mood reactivity (paradoxical anhedonia) and positivity, significant weight gain or increased appetite (comfort eating), excessive sleep or sleepiness (hypersomnia), a sensation of heaviness in limbs known as leaden paralysis, and significant social impairment as a consequence of hypersensitivity to perceived interpersonal rejection. Catatonic depression a rare and severe form of major depression involving disturbances of motor behavior and other symptoms. The person is mute and almost stuporose, and either remains immobile or exhibits purposeless or even bizarre movements. Catatonic symptoms also occur in schizophrenia or in manic episodes, or may be caused by neuroleptic malignant syndrome. Postpartum depression (Mild mental and behavioral disorders associated with the puerperium) refers to the intense, sustained and sometimes disabling depression experienced by women after giving birth. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a form of depression in which depressive episodes come on in the autumn or winter, and resolve in spring. The diagnosis is made if at least two episodes have occurred in colder months with none at other times, over a two-year period or longer. Causes of Depression Depression has no single cause; often, it results from a combination of things. Whatever its cause, depression is not just a state of mind. It is related to physical changes in the brain, and connected to an imbalance of a type of chemical that carries signals in your brain and nerves. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. Some of others factors involved in depression are: Family history Genetics play an important part in depression. It can run in families for generations. Trauma and stress Things like financial problems, the breakup of a relationship, or the death of a loved one can bring on depression. People can become depressed after any unwelcome change in life patterns, like starting a new job, graduating from school, or getting married can trigger a depressive episode.[1] Pessimistic personality People who have low self-esteem and a negative outlook are at higher risk of becoming depressed. These traits may actually be caused by low-level depression. Physical conditions Serious medical conditions like heart disease, cancer, and HIV can contribute to depression, partly because of the physical weakness and stress they bring on. Depression can make medical conditions worse, since it weakens the immune system and can make pain harder to bear. In some cases, depression can be caused by medications used to treat medical conditions. For example, some medications that are used to treat high blood pressure, cancer, seizures, extreme pain, and to achieve contraception can result in depression. Even some psychiatric medications like some sleep aids and medications to treat alcoholism and anxiety can contribute to the development of depression. Lack of neurochemicals the depressive disorders appears to be associated with altered brain serotonin and norepinephrine systems. The different types of schizophrenia are associated with an imbalance of dopamine (too much) and serotonin (poorly regulated) in certain areas of brain. Both neurochemicals (serotonin and norepinephrine) are lower in depressed people. Other psychological disorders Anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, persistent deprivation in infancy, physical or sexual abuse, clusters of certain personality traits, and inadequate ways of coping (maladaptive coping mechanisms) can increase the frequency and severity of depressive disorders Symptoms Feelings of sadness or unhappiness Irritability or frustration, even over small matters Loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities Insomnia or excessive sleeping Changes in appetite — depression often causes decreased appetite and weight loss, but in some people it causes increased cravings for food and weight gain Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still Fatigue, tiredness and loss of energy — even small tasks may seem to require a lot of effort Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or blaming yourself when things arent going right Slowed in thinking, speaking or body movements, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches Treatments and Suggestion Psychotherapy Psychotherapy can be delivered to individuals or groups by mental health professionals including psychotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers, counselors, and psychiatric nurses. Talking the[2]rapies help patients gain insight into their problems and resolve them through verbal give-and-take with the therapist. It reduces the recurrence of depression even after it has been terminated or replaced by occasional booster sessions. Types of therapy: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help to identify and change thought and behavior patterns that contribute to depression. People who are depressed tend to think negatively. Therefore, cognitive behavioral therapy teaches patients how to identify and challenge the negative thoughts and helps to obtain more satisfaction and rewards through their own actions. Interpersonal therapy looks at how depression can be connected to troubled emotional relationships. Interpersonal therapists focus on the patients disturbed personal relationships that both cause and exacerbate the depression. Psychodynamic therapy links depression to traumas and conflicts that happened earlier in your life, especially during childhood. It can be a short-term treatment, although it is often a longer process. The therapists focus on resolving the patients internal psychological conflicts that are typically thought to be rooted in childhood. Long-term psychodynamic therapies are particularly important if there seems to be a lifelong history and pattern of inadequate ways of coping (maladaptive coping mechanisms) in negative or self-injurious behavior. Group therapy allows you and other people with depression—or people with the same issues that contributed to your depression—to meet together with a therapist and share experiences. Antidepressants Antidepressants are treatment method by the help of medication to treat the physical state in the brain. Psychologists identified that when certain chemicals in the brain (such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine) are out of balance, depression can occur. People with chronic depression may need to take medication indefinitely to avoid relapse. Hence, antidepressants can be help to improve the symptoms of depression by bringing those chemicals back into balance. Some of the major types of antidepressants are discussed below: NDRIs (Norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors) are a type of antidepressant that increases the levels of norepinephrine and dopamine by blocking their reuptake in the brain. Buproprion is the only antidepressant within this class of drugs approved by the FDA. Side effects may include weight loss, loss of appetite, and dry mouth. SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) such as sertraline, escitalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and citalopram are a widely used type of antidepressant. SSRIs increase serotonin in the brain by blocking serotonin reuptake in the brain. These types of antidepressants can cause sexual side effects. SNRIs (Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitors) work in much the same way as an SSRI. SNRIs block the reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine. SNRIs may also cause side effects similar to SSRIs. Electroconvulsive therapy Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a procedure whereby pulses of electricity are sent through the brain via two electrodes, usually one on each temple, to induce a seizure while the patient is under a short general anaesthetic. ECT can have a quicker effect than antidepressant therapy and thus may be the treatment of choice in emergencies such as catatonic depression where the patient has stopped eating and drinking, or where a patient is severely suicidal. ECT is useful for certain patients, particularly for those who cannot take or have not responded to a number of antidepressants. ECT often is effective in cases where trials of a number of antidepressant medications do not provide sufficient relief of symptoms. This procedure probably works, as previously mentioned, by a massive neurochemical release in the brain due to the controlled seizure. Opinion In my opinion, there is more than one way to skin a mongoose. There are a lot of difference perspectives to look at the causes of depression. There might be environmental, biological, psychological, physical, or some incidents that cause individual to depress. It is quite difficult to differentiate between a depressed people from a normal one. Hence, by looking at the symptom of depression is one of the ways to diagnose the disease. Therefore, we will discussion about how depress symptom appears and may leads to occurrence of depression. At first, we choose to use cognitive theory as an approach to explain how people get depressed which can be apply in most cases. Cognitive theory saying that depression results from maladaptive, faulty, or irrational cognitions taking the form of distorted thoughts and judgments. Depressed people think differently than non-depressed people, and it is this difference in thinking that causes them to become depressed. For example, depressed people tend to view themselves, their environment, and the future negative, pessimistic light. As a result, depressed people tend to misinterpret facts in negative ways and blame themselves for any misfortune that occurs. This negative thinking and judgment style functions as a negative bias; it makes it easy for depressed people to see situation as being much worse than they really are, and increases the risk that such people will develop depr essive symptoms in response to stressful situations. The depressive symptoms are also the cognitive approach to the depressive individual where all the symptoms are causes by themselves. For example, they have feelings of sadness or unhappiness, irri[3]tability or frustration, even over small matters, loss of interest or pleasure in normal activities, insomnia or excessive sleeping and others. All the symptoms are from patient mind. They tend to ignore positive information, pay exaggerated attention to negative information, and to engage in overgeneralization, which occurs when people assume that because some local and isolated event has turned out badly, this means that all events will turn out badly. For example, depressed people may refuse to see that they have at least a few friends, or that they have had some successes across their lifetime (ignoring the positive). Or they might dwell on and blow out of proportion the hurts they have suffered (exaggerating the negative). Other depressed people may convince themselves that nobody loves them or they always mess up (overgeneralizing). In addition, cognitive theory also suggested that people are shaped by the interactions between their behaviors, thoughts, and environmental events. Each piece in the puzzle can and does affect the shape of the other pieces. Human behavior ends up being largely a product of learning, which may occur vicariously, as well as through direct experience. Depressed peoples self-concepts are different from non-depressed peoples self-concepts as we mention earlier. They tend to hold themselves solely responsible for bad things in their lives and are full of self-recrimination and self-blame. They also tend to have low levels of self-efficacy (a persons belief that they are capable of influencing their situation). Therefore, they tend to set their personal goals too high, and then fall short of reaching them. Repeated failure further reduces feelings of self-efficacy and leads to depression. Nevertheless, of all the factors which by the depressed individual, they are just feeling directed toward themselves for blaming the failure and uselessness. However, there also a cause to major depression which is appearing of a stressful event triggered their depressive episode. The stressful event initiate depressive episodes create changes in the brains chemistry that make it more likely that future episodes of depression will develop. The stressful experiences often take away a persons sense of control and can cause great emotional upheaval and pain. Sometimes, even positive life changes such as getting married or having a baby can trigger a depressive episode. Another approach of theory which I personally think is very important causes to depression is by using Behavioral Theories. Behavioral Theories uses principles of learning theory to explain human behavior. Therefore, according to behavioral theory, we can say that dysfunctional or unhelpful behavior such as depression is learned. A person can be depressing because of the environmental stressors cause them to receive a low rate of positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement occurs when people fo something they find pleasurable and rewarding. When people receive positive reinforcement, it wills increases the chances that people will repeat the sorts of actions they have taken that led them to receive that reinforcement. In other words, people will tend to repeat those behaviors that get reinforced. However, depressed people do not know how to cope with the fact that they are no longer receiving positive reinforcements like they were before. A depressed people typically have a heightened state of self-awareness about their lack of coping skills that often leads them to self-criticize and withdraw from other people. For example, a man who has been fired from his job and encounters difficulty finding a new job might become depressed. In a nutshell, depression can be cause by the internal and external factors such as peoples thoughts, perceptions, evaluations, expectations, behavior and so on. Hence, at the last part of our research on depression, we had generated an equation for the causes of depression by using cognitive theory and behavioral theory which applicable for most of the depression cases. DEPRESSION = f { stressful events, dysfunctional attitudes, depressive symptoms, loss of positive reinforcement } [1] Subtypes of Depression—Diagnosis and Medical Management. Retrieved March 6, 2010 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1237582/ [2] Understanding Depression Signs, Symptoms, Causes and Help. Retrieved March 6 2010 from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_signs_types_diagnosis_treatment.htm [3] Depression Treatment. Therapy, Medication, and Lifestyle Changes That Can Help. Retrieved from 6 March 2010 from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/treatment_strategies_depression.htm

Pyramids :: Symbolism History Spirit Essays Research

Pyramids The image of the pyramid with the sun shinning behind it was taken from a 1996 brochure advertising a weekend seminar with Robert Kirby, an international speaker and author. Kirby's weekend seminar is titled "Manifesting Your Life - Purpose, Prosperity and Abundance." His self proclaimed fields of expertise include Corporate Negotiation, Accelerated Learning, Transformational Psychology, Kinesiology, Emotional-Spiritual Revitalism, and Energy Field Research, among others. The brochure states, "Newly researched evidence now permits you to unleash enormous latent creative capabilities through your body's dynamic electrical energy field." Robert Kirby is one of the many people currently making a living utilizing information associated with the new age spiritual movement. The new age spiritual movement is a very broad ideological umbrella covering the terminology Kirby uses, and much more. The new age movement seems to signal above all, an interest in the mind-body-spirit connection. People are pursuing the idea that the knowledge is within each individual to unite the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of themselves to create wholeness. The pyramid seems to have been adopted as a powerful symbol for these ideas. The pyramid of the 90's is a spiritual icon for health, power, abundance, and purpose. In our country riddled by me ntal and physical health-care crisis's, where traditional western medicine clearly lacks answers, the spiritual movement is becoming increasingly wide spread, and the pyramid carries the message. The pyramid symbol carries the traditional coding of the spiritual trinity. Each side of a pyramid is a triangle and the triangle stands for the trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The new age trinity is a somewhat different way of looking at the traditional religious trinity ideology. The difference is in the extension of the definition. The trinity in this case is the father (spirit), mother (matter), and son (consciousness, Christ). Interaction of father spirit, with matter (mother), creates the son. The belief is that this is true of everything that exists - - all life is formed within that trinity. So ultimately the pyramid is the symbol of creation, and the symbol of God. The new age spiritual movement of the 1990's definitely includes the notion that individuals have access t o God. Interestingly enough, the meaning of the pyramid in the 1990's is not that far removed from the meaning of the original pyramids of Giza. When first looking at the two images and deciding exactly what each represents, it seems at first as if the entire meaning of the original structure is lost in today's use; however, there is a connection of meaning on a deeper level on close examination.

Evaluation on Companies’ Social Accounting

Evaluation on companies’ social accounting Executive summary This report explains the concept of â€Å"social accounting† and analyzes the execution of social accounting in the two companies Corning incorporated and AM-PM Glass Company. The analysis is based on the â€Å"good† principles of social accounting and the accordance to the global standards.And the analysis shows that Corning’s sustainability has a better understanding and consideration about the requirement of social accounting and it makes its own evaluation system based on ISO 14001, and build up a series of standards, but the standards of EMS can not match with GRI on the completeness and concreteness. AM-PM begins well in the practicing of social accounting. But it is not that easy to do well in all aspects of the social accounting, so it has only considered four â€Å"good† principles.While AM-PM takes both AA1000 and GRI as the evaluation standards to assess its performance, and got clear and systematic report results and good reference to its development in the future. Contents Evaluation on companies’ social accounting1 1. Introduction3 2. Definition and explanation of the concept of Social Accounting3 2. 1 Definition and development of concept3 2. 2 Reasons for producing social accounting4 2. Principles of â€Å"Good† and global standards5 3. Critical evaluation on quality of social accounting of two glass companies5 3. 1 Corning Incorporated6 3. 2 AM-PM Glass & Mirror Company8 4. Conclusion10 Reference12 1. Introduction Social accounting is a voluntary process that organizations use to account for their environmental and social impacts. There are both pros and cons telling why organizations decide to engage with this concept of social accounting.The purpose of the report is to evaluate the two glass companies Corning and AM-PM’s social accounting according to the â€Å"good† principles and global standards of social accounting. 2. Definition and explanation of the concept of Social Accounting 2. 1 Definition and development of concept Social accounting refers to the process dealing with organizational assessment and communication of its impacts and activities on relevant issues related to ethics, society and the environment with their appropriate stakeholders (Yanovsky, 2006).It aims to address companies’ social and environmental impacts. Social accounting is also known as social and environmental accounting, corporate social responsibility reporting, or sustainability accounting, and different individual companies usually give different titles, like in Corning, it is called corporate social responsibility report, and in AM-PM Glass & Mirror, it is called sustainability report. The concept of social accounting has got more than 40 years’ development.Abt Associates is among the earliest social accounting practitioners, its social concerns included contribution to knowledge, environment and so on, but there is no specific definition for social accounting. In 1980s, the short book â€Å"Social Audit- A Management Tool for Co-operative Working† is the basis of the early private sector companies’ social responsibility reporting (Spreckley, 1981), and â€Å"Social responsibility reporting† is the early relative formal concept.And in this book, an internal organizational social accounting and audit model are designed to measure individual companies’ social and environmental performance. And with the development of economy and society, the concept of social accounting also gets to a broad and deep domain, which includes the evaluation about every aspect of companies’ social and environmental impacts (Rohinson, 2001; Schwartz and Carroll, 2003). 2. 2 Reasons for producing social accountingThe reasons that individual companies develop social accounting and related reports are as follows. On the negative aspect, employees’ internal pressur es in their urge of wanting to report the environmental and social impacts of the company (Crane and Matten, 2007) can make companies practice the social accounting; and external forces by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, consumers or investors as they seek the company to disclose its impacts of social accounting can also lead to the social accounting.On the positive aspect, social accounting can help individual companies identify and utilize opportunities for cost effectiveness, introduction of profitable eco-friendly products and services, energy saving and environmental protection (Defourny and Thorbecke, 1984). Also, both current and future concerns of stakeholders forewarn companies about any possible area of conflict. Yanovsky (2006) further claimed that companies become aware of the probable risk factors that are capable of affecting their business operations, which afford the chance for companies to prepare the coping mechanism. . 3 Principles of â€Å"G ood† and global standards â€Å"Good† accounts must accord a series of principles. In general, good principles of social accounting have to be inclusive, involving dialogue with stakeholders; to be complete, highlighting the key areas of the individual company’s activities; to be embedded within the organization; to be comparable, undergo external verification, and give room for continuous improvements.These principles should take both companies own management practices and the performance measurements comparison with other companies into consideration (Montgomery and Porter, 1991). Such principles have to be incorporated within the organizational structure, be verified by external auditors and be reviewed on regular basis in order in relation to the targets of its performance and cost effective business opportunities. There are some global standards that are available for companies’ social and environmental reports.For example, Social Accountability Inter national produced SA8000, and it provides workplace issues standards; AccountAblility developed the AA1000S Assurance Standard; The SAN framework, which is suitable for third-sector organisations; ISO1400, which are series of international standards that deal with issues related to environmental management (Porter, et. al. 2009) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which is one of the most practiced standards across the globe and is in its third generation format (G3). 3.Critical evaluation on quality of social accounting of two glass companies This report provides a critical evaluation of two case studies of how the organizations have made use of social accounting concept. The Corning Glass and AM-PM Glass & Mirror Company will be used as examples of companies which have fully put into consideration the social accounting concept. It is a reflection of organizational values and evidence-based actions they undertake towards showing concern to their stakeholders in dealing with thes e issues.The evaluation about the two companies is mainly focus on analyzing the adoption of the â€Å"good† principles and their accordance to the global standards. 3. 1 Corning Incorporated Corning is a multinational company which has about 160 years’ history. Corning is among the best social responsibilities practitioners. The history practicing social responsibilities began before World War One. The chairman James Houghton laid out Corning’s seven Corporate Values: Quality, Integrity, Performance, Leadership, Independence, Innovation, and the Individual.Corning’s strategies are based on the attributes of collaboration, risk-taking, and long-term thinking and so on. According to Corning’s strategy and value system, the best form of corporate social responsibility is equal to â€Å"simple good business† or â€Å"enlightened self-interest† and the good business is constructed by a series of good behaviors including constant interacti on with customers, local communities and government. The social accounting in Corning is named sustainability report. 3. 1. 1 The adoption of â€Å"good† principlesFirst, Corning emphasizes the care and feeding of its major stakeholders, especially the care and feeding for its customers and employees, according to Houghton’s speech in 2004’s company strategy conference. Corning clearly obeys its seven values and takes a set of stakeholders into consideration. It puts attention to labor, women and minorities. Since 1970s, Corning began made efforts to employee women and minorities (Graham, 2010). Second, Corning has complete consideration on social accounting, and highlights impacts of the company’s producing activities to the society and environment.Corning put attention to working conditions, products safety and efficacy, and the environment. According to Corning’s sustainability report, the central elements of the companies’ operation exce llence are protection safety, health and environment (Graham, 2010). Specifically, in order to protect the air, Corning produces ceramic substrates for catalytic converters and tries to eliminating hazardous chemical materials. Third, Corning has a continuously improvement in practicing the social responsibility. Since 1970 to now, Corning consistently shows its care to its stakeholders and the environment.The recent sustainability report is also planed for a long period, and forms a completed environmental protection system, which is including mission, vision, strategy and specific action plans. In process of the energy management, Corning track and measure its greenhouse gas emission, and conducts its related inventory, also, corning launched a global energy management program to guarantee the energy productivity and environmental negative influence. Fourth, Corning has got verification from external organization.Corning reports its previous greenhouse gas emission and got the Reg istry from California Climate Action and the Registry can give a consistent supervision on the continuous execution of the environmental protection and energy management. Fifth, Corning emphasize find the potential improvement, especially those related to performance targets, cost-saving and profitable business opportunities. Corning commits to maintain a long period view of energy and the advanced view require its facilities to utilize energy in a cost-effective and environmentally responsible way.Sixth, corning has embedded professionals related to the social accounting in the process key to success. Corning’s approach embeds an environmental, health and safety professional in the designing group. This embedibility enhance the safety and facilitate the health management system in Corning. 3. 1. 2 Accordance to the global standards In the year of 2004, Corning developed and deployed an Environmental Management System, short for EMS, whose format and substance follows ISO 140 01(Corning Environmental Health & Saftey Brochure, 2007).ISO 14001 is a very series of recognized global standards, and it affords clear and specific requirement for the corporate environmental control group in Corning. Corning facilities have gained many benefits through instituting and adopting the management systems, and due to the rigorous execution, the bad influence to the environment has been reduced. Corning has a pyramid system about EMS, the ISO 14001 stands in the center of the pyramid. And the pyramid shows clear the social accounting procedures. 3. 2 AM-PM Glass & Mirror CompanyAM-PM Glass & Mirror is a residential and commercial glass company that provides exceptional craftsmanship, unsurpassed satisfaction to their customers and gives prompt service through their sustainable innovation and social accounting concept. The company recently outlined its values and objectives in the annual sustainability report, which encompass support to community trade of glass products and its internal judgments on environmental and social performance in relation to achieving its objectives (AM-PM, 2012). 3. 2. 1 The adoption of â€Å"good† principlesAM-PM Glass & Mirror Company follows the three principles of completeness, materiality and responsiveness. First, AM-PM’s sustainability report relates to complete contents of the social responsibilities. It has put attention to both inside and outside of the organization, for example the employee relationships, the sexual and racial ratio, the consideration of the disabled people inside of the organization; and the communication with communities, the campaigns to protect environment outside of the organization. Second, AM-PM’s emphasize the materiality of the action.It stresses that social responsibilities should not only be written in the sustainability report, it must be based on specific actions first, the real practice result and data of the protection, but not only the plans in the report. T hird, responsiveness is the main part that is stressed in the report, it means that AM-PM not only like to be the pioneer in the practice of environmental protection, but also would like follow other companies’ environmental steps. Forth, the values reported in the sustainability report have been externally verified by auditors and a panel of stakeholders.The customers, employees and the communities all give positive comments on the values and actions of AM-PM. 3. 1. 2 Accordance to the global standards AM-PM Glass & Mirror values follow the AA1000 standards of assurance. And its three principles are from these standards. Also, the company values are compliant with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Level A guidelines. And the third generation version of GRI gives a series of very clear standards for AM-PM to evaluate its performance comprehensively, which is with respect to specific assessment according laws, codes, norms, and voluntary initiatives.Specifically speaking, the compilation of AM-PM Glass & Mirror Company report was based on covering all the company activities that is vital as far as environmental and social impacts are concerned (AM-PM, 2012). Its social accounting also responds to issues that arise out of its previous reports. The wholesomeness of this report is also realized in that it covers all the areas that the company operates on as required by global reporting initiative which covers the company management approaches, overall company profile, and the categories for measuring performance. . Conclusion In summary, it can be deduced that social accounting is a voluntary process that organizations use to account for their environmental and social impacts. Both pros and cons exist why organizations decide to engage with this concept of social accounting. The analysis of Corning Glass Company and AM-PM Glass & Mirror gives a specific evaluation about their execution of social responsibilities. The result shows that the two organizati ons both have embraced the concept of social accounting.Corning incorporated is a big multinational which has long history of practicing social responsibility, and it has enough experiences to evaluate what kinds of actions would do well to both the company and the environment, and afford benefits to all the shareholders. So in the adoption of â€Å"good† principles, Corning’s sustainability report shows that it has a better understanding and consideration about the requirement of social accounting. In the accordance to the global standards, Corning makes its own evaluation system based on ISO 14001, and build up a series of standards.Corning has not used GRI as its standards to evaluate performance. To some extent, the standards of EMS can not match with GRI on the completeness and concreteness. AM-PM is also a glass company that has short history. It enters the glass industry in a new age that stresses environmental protection and the full communication with sharehol ders. So, it begins well in the practicing of social accounting. But to a new company, it is not that easy to do well in all aspects of the social accounting, so it has only considered four â€Å"good† principles.While AM-PM did well in the accordance to the global standards, it takes both AA1000 and GRI as the evaluation standards to assess its performance, and got clear and systematic report results and good reference to its development in the future. Reference 1. Spreckley, F. (1981). Social Audit: A Management Tool for Co-operative Working. Wales: Beechwood College. 2. Rohinson, S. et al. (2001). â€Å"Updating and Estimating a Social Accounting Matrix Using Cross Entropy Methods†. Economic Systems Research. Vol. 13, No1:47-64. 3. Schwartz, M. S. , Carroll, A. B. (2003). Corporate Social Responsibility: A Three-Domain Approach†. Business Ethics Quarterly. Vol. 13, No. 4:503-530 4. Defourny, J. , and Thorbecke, E. (1984). â€Å"Structural Path Analysis and Mu ltiplier Decomposition within a Social Accounting Matrix Framework†. The Economic Journey. Vol. 94, No 373:111-136 5. Graham, M. B. W (2010). â€Å"Corporate Responsibility at Corning. Incorporated†. History of Corporate Responsibility Project. No. 7 6. Crane, A. , and Matten, D. (2009). Business Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 9-286. 7. Montgomery, C. A. , and Porter, M. A. 1991). Strategy: Seeking and Securing Competitive Advantage. New York: Harvard Business Press. 8. Porter, M. E. , Kramer, M. R. , and Zadek, S. (2009). Corporate Social Responsibility (HBR Article Collection). New York: Harvard Business Press. 9. Yanovsky, M. (2006). Accounting Systems. London: Transaction Publishers. 10. Corning Environmental Health & Saftey Brochure, 2007. Available at http://www. socialfunds. com/csr/reports/Corning_Incorporated_2007_EHS. pdf [Accessed 10th JUNE 2012]. 11. AM-PM. , 2012. Available at http://www. ampmglass. com/ [Accessed 10th March 2012].

Psuedo Science essays

Psuedo Science essays Psychology and Psychologists alike view the psuedo sciences astrology as non-scientific, with no empirical evidence to support its many claims. Rather then using empirical research, astrology uses broad based statements that are likely to appeal to most people. Astrological readings almost always tell the reader that something good is going to happen and gives them some kind of false sense of hope, and this is why most people are coned into thinking that the position of the planets can influence their lives. Astrology also puts to use persuasive language to prey upon insecure people who are unhappy with the direction of their lives. In the star sign section of Sunday Life , Jessica Adams writes for the star sign libra You have always been skilled at wrapping your iron fist in a plush, pink velvet glove. That suits your style, as you are no less fond of control then the rest of us, but you also feel unbalanced by any situation where one side is allowed to be overbearing. Sure its true that we like to be in control, no one likes to have someone else telling them what to do. It isnt uncommon for someone to be the sort of person who feels unbalanced by any situation where one side is allowed to be overbearing. Approximately one twelfth of the world falls under the star sign of libra, yet this astrology reading targets people on an individual level, making them feel as though they are the only person in the world that something like that could be written for. I have never read an astrology forecast that predicts that something bad is going to happen and my life is going to become really hard to handle or that Saturns mood swing is going to cause the break up of a long running close relationship. People dont want to read things like this as they like to believe that they are in control and that life is good. If someone who has just had something bad happen i ...

star trek essays

star trek essays Television programs provide one of the most popular forms of entertainment today. From The Simpsons to The X-Files, television shows amuse, shock, sadden, and excite us by turns. Television does more, however, than simply entertain. Television shows are cultural products, and as such, they reflect, reinforce, and challenge cultural ideas. It acts as a mirror and a model for society. In examining and understanding those cultural messages and popular appeal of certain television shows, we should understand something about the society that has created and sustained them. Arguably, Star Trek is one of the most popular television shows ever produced. Today Star Trek includes four television series and nine motion pictures . Like some of the other television shows, Star Trek has been subject to the vagaries of producers and writers so it is difficult to generalize about the intent of the authors of Star Trek or the viewpoint of the readers. Yet, it is also clear that Star Trek has at various times been reflective, informative, and critical about the culture -American culture- that produced it. Star Trek has addressed a wide variety of issues, including war, capitalism, individualism, technology, race, gender, prejudice, religion, etc. The list can be extended to many other issues but here I will focus on race, gender, prejudice and religion only. As portrayed on television such issues are representations of socio-cultural perspectives on broad human concerns. For taking a closer look to those issues, in the continuing parts I will give some exam ples from a number of Star Trek episodes that had written in different times. The portrayal and treatment of religion in the Star Trek television series and films provides an important cultural commentary on the place of religion in society. Although no single coherent approach to religion appears in Star Trek, the series is nevertheless variously reflective of, informed by, an...

How to Handle Medical School Application Rejection

How to Handle Medical School Application Rejection Most applications to medical school get rejected. Its a hard, unhappy fact. When applying to medical school, you need to accept this possibility and make a contingency plan in case your application isnt accepted. The best advice is  to apply early. If at all possible, take the April MCAT and get the AMCAS application completed before summer starts or at least before August starts. If you wait until August to take the MCAT for the first time, your application will be delayed until the scores are available. The entering class may have already been selected before your application is completed! An early application may improve your chances of admission. At the very least, an earlier decision will help you plan for the following year. Rejection Letter If you get a rejection letter, follow these steps: Call or visit the Office of Admissions and ask if you can have an Admissions Counselor review your application and give you advice for improving it for the next application cycle. Be courteous and grateful. Follow the advice! Review your own application and make notes of ways to improve it.Take your application to your pre-med advisor or other academic advisor and ask him or her to review the application and suggest a way to improve it.Take some action that will show improvement in next years application. If you get an interview next year, expect to be asked what you did all year to help you on your career path. Work hard so that you can have a great answer to this question! Improving An Application These are common means of improving an application: Get higher MCAT scores. Remember, a school sees your most recent scores, which may not necessarily be your highest scores. If you are pleased with your scores, dont retake the test unless you are confident you can improve them. Get more experience. If you were granted an interview, you probably came away with a sense of how the interviewer perceived your experience. If at all possible, build upon your past experiences. You may seek employment in the medical field.Consider taking more college courses, particularly upper-level courses in the sciences. These additional courses could raise your grade point average and will help reinforce concepts. Look critically at the writing on your application and make it even better on the new application.Think hard about the letters of recommendation used for your application. If you waived your right to review these letters, are you 100% positive the letters were glowing recommendations? Were the letters written by respected sources? You need new letters for the new application, so make sure your letters are great. If you have any doubt about the quality of the letters on the rejected application (an Admissions Counselor might clue you in about this), consider not waiving your right to review the letters for the new application cycle. If you dont get accepted to medical school, you need to re-evaluate your desire to become a physician, as well as your aptitude and skills. A lot of rejected applicants never reapply. Those who take steps to improve their applications and then reapply greatly improve their chances of success. Admission Committees like to see perseverance! Getting a rejection letter is disheartening, yes, but how you handle failure is your choice.

The Feminist Movements and the Emancipation of Females Essay

The Feminist Movements and the Emancipation of Females - Essay Example However, by the end of 1950s, women’s magazines had started to voice concerns over the early marriage of females and to change the existing attitudes of women whose concept of life remained confined to getting married, having â€Å"four children† and living in a â€Å"nice house in a nice suburb† (60). By the early 60s, women began to recognize their unhappiness which stemmed from causes other than marriage or family and then the media came into the scene to report a common trend of women’s discontentment over their status in society through prominent newspapers and magazines as well as TV programmes such as â€Å"The Trapped Housewife† (66). Thus, the intervention of the media, which promoted a â€Å"collective awareness† of women’s common condition, has played a key role in the success of the feminist movement (Lamb 2011:46). Another major factor that helped the success of feminist mobilisation could be evidenced from the dramatic tr ansformation in women’s social condition including the â€Å"mechanisation of domestic chores† and the â€Å"contraceptive pills† (The Feminist Movement: Slide 6). ... The protest tactics of females have remained on symbolic forms because of the traditional notion of women as being peaceful and protective rather than aggressive. In addition, strategies of â€Å"civil disobedience† and â€Å"playful† marches were adopted to garner media attention and, thus, women relied on these forms of agitation to attain their goals (Slides 15, 16, 17). The strike by the Ford machinists at Dagenham factory in East London on June 7, 1968 where 850 females participated to protest â€Å"against sex discrimination of job grading† can be seen as an example of women’s involvement in â€Å"direct action† (Hughes n.d: 3, 4). In the present day, where feminism takes a â€Å"backlash† due to rampant violence against the gender, the movements such as â€Å"End Violence against Women campaign† have become significant, as it can be seen as an example of symbolic form of action (Cochrane 2008). 3. What obstacles and challenges d o feminist organisations face today in their mobilization efforts? In the modern day of technological development, feminist organisations encounter a lot of challenges such as â€Å"religious fundamentalism,† sex determination tests and the tendency of many people to blame women’s liberation movements (The Feminist Movement Slide 20). Besides, the issue of gap in pay of women as well as the fact that violence against women has reached â€Å"crisis levels† are grave concerns for them (Rake 2006). This will pre-empt the feminist organizations from focusing on the core strategy of mobilisation as their attention will be remain concentrated on fighting violence against women and other such issues. In addition, the women’s organisations today also encounter a main problem where they struggle to keep the â€Å"faith in

HD-DVD vs. BLU-RAY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

HD-DVD vs. BLU-RAY - Essay Example Weaknesses are happening on a couple of fronts. On the content development front, the DVD authoring front, we continue to see extreme price pressure in authoring services. The price of DVD authoring software has come down. The fact that more and more people are doing it puts incredible pressure on the production community to develop a quality product that is certifiable over all of the various players, delivers the same experience to the customer, and builds and maintains margins in their production services. (Sweeting, 2004, p7-46) On the other side, when we look at the next generation high definition DVD disc, which will certainly be all the rage in 2006, a weakness there is how soon the consumer will embrace this technology, particularly if there are two formats. As we all know, DVD was the most successful consumer product ever launched, but if you look at it now, most people have DVD players and are very content with the experience that they get in watching DVDs in their home. How quickly will they want to purchase a more expensive DVD player to play high definition material is something everyone is grappling with right now. (Capps, 2005) It is likely that moving forward the next wave [of opportunity] will fall to special interest categories and even corporate video--outreach and recruiting applications. Certainly, the opportunities for DVD in 2006 are tremendous. Beyond the applications in the corporate, marketing and outreach programs, we'll see special niche DVDs having greater acceptance. Then, of course, we have the whole next-generation issue, which hopefully will come to the forefront in 2006. The threat, especially for high definition, will definitely be how quickly the consumer will embrace that technology, particularly if there are two competing formats. You'll also have, on another front, a continuing piracy concern. That will bring pressure on studios and on the production community to figure out ways to safeguard the transmission of the information and the actual content on the DVD. We will see more movies being released more quickly to DVD. We will see the continued growth of TV programming and music on DVD, We will see the emerging market of 'special interest' DVDs [from educational, travel, marketing, outreach, recruiting, etc.]. And of course we will see the next generation of DVDs, in high definition.Blu Ray will win the high definition DVD arms race, but my guess is that it will take some time for the 75 percent of households who already own a standard definition DVD player to slowly warm up to parting with the cash to upgrade. In all likelihood the adoption wi ll be much slower than standard DVD. The entire industry is holding off until March to launch both formats [DVD HD and Blu Ray]. So we won't be able to see until March of this year how well the fall of this year will be. Also, how fast will HD disc formats be adopted by consumers It took four years for consumers to adopt DVD; will it take six years to get them over to HD We don't really know. (Laser Focus World, 2004. p11-11) A cross-industry debate over the next-generation high-definition optical-disk format turned uglier after Microsoft and Intel publicly backed the HD-DVD standard over its Blu-ray rival. Moving beyond the turf war talk of whether PCs or consumer electronics will rule the digital living room, the HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray battle

International Human Resources Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

International Human Resources - Research Paper Example As globalization continues to emerge as an expanding trend, are also expectations that are a part of the market. One is based on finding the right regions that carry specific characteristics for expansion. The regions differ by specific characters as well as approaches to the work force that create a sense of legitimacy for the needs within the system. The international human resource management system is a large factor in the production of corporations as well as the ability to leverage the growth within any business. Comparing various regional characteristics can help to define the best international human resource management systems within the area. The aim is to find which is more suitable for international management. The objectives which are associated with this include: - Comparison of human resource management systems in both regions - Cultural and social values that are within the work structures in both regions - Structure of organizations and how individuals associate with this - Legalities of the system, including health options, ethics and obligations - Compensation, training and other internal expectations and how this affects the work environment - Overall expectations that differ in each region By looking at the multiple dimensions that affect both Singapore and Bangkok, there is the ability to understand what is associated with each group and how this affects the growth of both regions. This determination will assist in compensating with the right region while allowing any corporation to move into the right area for stability and growth among human resources in an international pool. 3.0 Background The concept of international human resources management is one that is more pertinent today then in the past. This began in 1990 when an emergence of multinational corporations began to move into various overseas locations. Outsourcing became a large part of this, specifically with many that associated other countries with lower currencies and costs, while opening the international market to exchange. During the initial movement of multinational corporations in overseas areas were also expectations that were linked to using resources in the correct manner. Cultural gaps, implica tions of what was expected and different organizational environments and business structures created complexities and problems with the initial use of human resources for businesses. Today, the use of regional areas has grown; however, multinational corporations have recognized that using the right region with the most benefits ensures stability and avoids problems within the work structure (Dowling, Festing, Engle, 2008). Today, the use of international human resource management is expected to be associated with building a competitive advantage above others. The internal structure is able to depict how the customers respond to a specific business and the way in which they interact. Specifically, there is an association with saving on compensation and resources through the amount of talent that is available. This is combined with expectations of the cultures, such as individuals expecting to stay within a corporation for longer amounts of time, having different associations with tea m work and looking at problem solving in a different manner. These different attributes of various teams have allowed for the human resources to work with creating a competitive advantage in creating more alternatives within the internal structure. To do this, there needs to be a combined set of values with

Coca-Cola India Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Coca-Cola India - Case Study Example For more than 100 years, coca-cola has maintained the leading position in demand for soft drinks in the industry. The company made its entry into India through Coca-Cola India Private Limited; Coca-Cola India PVT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In 19963, the company re-launched coca-cola two years after opening up the Indian economy (Banerjee, 2009). Since the re-launch of Coca-Cola in 1963, the company’s operations have increased rapidly. Coca-Cola Company uses a model that supports bottling operations that are both locally and company owned. Indian distributors are approximately 7000 while retailers are 2.2million. This wide distribution network has made Coca-Cola products a leading brand in most of the beverage segments. Coca-Cola India produces a variety of brands including Coca-Cola, Limca, Thumbs Up, Kinley, Minute Maid, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Burn, Maaza and Vitingo. The authorized bottlers are engaged in independent development markets for these products and distribute them to grocers, small retailers, restaurants, and supermarkets. In addition to USD 2 billion that Coca-Cola has already invested in India, there are plans for investing additional USD 5 billion by the year 2020 (Banerjee, 2009). Coca-Cola’s operations in India has not been streamlined despite huge investments. One of the crisis in the company’s history in India revolves involves August 5, 2003 attack. The Centre for Science and Environment, an activist group comprising of engineers, environmentalists, scientists, and journalists attacked coca-cola citing evidence of unsafe products in the company’s beverages (Banerjee, 2009). The press release stated that Coca-Cola India’s twelve major brands sold in Dheli contained deadly cocktail pesticide pesticides. The accusation caused fear concerning the sustainability of Coca-Coca Company in India and the safety of its products. This incidence had significant implications on the company’s profitability, corporate

The elements of a conflict of the Soviet-Afghan war Research Paper

The elements of a conflict of the Soviet-Afghan war - Research Paper Example All types of conflicts, be they political, economical, social or ethical, have stemmed because of the occurrence of the war itself. It would be imperative, therefore, to study the causes of the war so that the basis of the conflicts can be analyzed. The Soviet occupation of the Afghan territory had a myriad of reason, including political as well as economic factors. It started with the Soviet interest in the natural mineral deposits of Afghanistan, including the huge stores of natural gas that were discovered not long before the occupation (Assifi, 1982/83). There were also hopes of finding other minerals like coal, iron, and oil (Assifi, 1982/83). Afghanistan, although a land-locked country, holds a key position geopolitically due to its placement on the map (Assifi, 1982/83). The Soviets could make their way to the Indian Ocean, and into the neighboring territories, such as Pakistan, which many believe to be next on the Soviet’s war list (National Review, 1987). To make matt ers easier, the Soviets had, two years prior to the official occupation, installed a pro-communist regime in the Afghan government (Assifi, 1982/83). The major players of the war were of course the USSR and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (Assifi, 1982/83). USSR, a communist force rising in the world against the capitalist Western giants like the United States posed a serious threat to the Western world (National Review, 1987). ... ly made their way into their homeland owing to the cooperation of the pro-communist regime installed in the country a couple of years back (Assifi, 1982/83). The population itself was divided into different sects and groups, which made the freedom fight slightly ineffective (Lamothe, 2004). The major parties that influenced the war were the Jamiat-i-Islami, Hizb-i-Islami, Mujahideen, and the Taliban (Lamothe, 2004). Individuals such as Ahmad Shah Massoud (Lamothe, 2004) also played pivotal role in the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invasion. Apart from the key players of the war, several countries took part in the resistance against the invasion although not directly becoming a part of the war. Such states are said to play a supportive role in the conflict. Pakistan was one of major supporters of the freedom fighters (Chapman, 1982). It couldn’t help getting involved in the war, though, given its geographical closeness to the Afghan territory. Also, it was believed that it was the next target of the Soviets (National Review, 1987), who had apparently greater aims than just occupying Afghanistan. Therefore, Pakistan fought the invasion politically and with manpower. It provided a constant supply of trained soldiers, called Mujahideen, to the Afghan freedom fighters, most of whom were Pashtun and of Afghan nationality (Lamothe, 2004). These soldiers were trained in military and religious camps all along the border of the two countries, and a huge fraction of these camps were funded by the United States government (Chapman, 1982). Pakistan, suddenly, was very prominent on the world map due to its geopolitical role in the conflict (Assifi, 1982/83). It also provided health care facilities to the wounded soldiers, both on the battlefield and on its own land among

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change Assignment

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change - Assignment Example The paper tells that at the three main levels, strategic leadership is tasked with providing the scope and direction that is needed to assist in the pursuit of success in the organization. A key component of this success is derived from the effective management of continuous change through improving both people and procedures. Therefore, all the executives, as well as the managers, should possess the necessary instruments needed for strategic creation and execution while being ready to use the same instruments rapidly. Managing in an environment that is characterized by change and uncertainty needs leaders who are strategic con steadily maintain a sense of direction while at the same time developing ownership objectives as well as goals within the groups they are supposed to lead. The blend between an analytical perception that is used to develop processes for a winning strategy and a human element that enables the managers to create effectively, inspired and accomplished teams is im portant to the success of strategic leadership. More often than not, strategic leadership fails since the right equilibrium between the two perspectives is not achieved. In the event that there is a high concentration on the execution as well as the outcome while disregarding the human dimension, the leader will be perceived as a taskmaster and the individuals who are demoralized will not have the motivation to perform. If the leaders pay more attention to the human dimension and forget about the process and the work ethic, then the situation at work will be similar to one at a country club which is a good place to work with very little distinction about what people are supposed to do. Therefore, successful strategic leadership should be carefully balanced between analytics and the process development as well as the human dimension.

Coca-Cola India Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Coca-Cola India - Case Study Example For more than 100 years, coca-cola has maintained the leading position in demand for soft drinks in the industry. The company made its entry into India through Coca-Cola India Private Limited; Coca-Cola India PVT is a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In 19963, the company re-launched coca-cola two years after opening up the Indian economy (Banerjee, 2009). Since the re-launch of Coca-Cola in 1963, the company’s operations have increased rapidly. Coca-Cola Company uses a model that supports bottling operations that are both locally and company owned. Indian distributors are approximately 7000 while retailers are 2.2million. This wide distribution network has made Coca-Cola products a leading brand in most of the beverage segments. Coca-Cola India produces a variety of brands including Coca-Cola, Limca, Thumbs Up, Kinley, Minute Maid, Fanta Orange, Sprite, Burn, Maaza and Vitingo. The authorized bottlers are engaged in independent development markets for these products and distribute them to grocers, small retailers, restaurants, and supermarkets. In addition to USD 2 billion that Coca-Cola has already invested in India, there are plans for investing additional USD 5 billion by the year 2020 (Banerjee, 2009). Coca-Cola’s operations in India has not been streamlined despite huge investments. One of the crisis in the company’s history in India revolves involves August 5, 2003 attack. The Centre for Science and Environment, an activist group comprising of engineers, environmentalists, scientists, and journalists attacked coca-cola citing evidence of unsafe products in the company’s beverages (Banerjee, 2009). The press release stated that Coca-Cola India’s twelve major brands sold in Dheli contained deadly cocktail pesticide pesticides. The accusation caused fear concerning the sustainability of Coca-Coca Company in India and the safety of its products. This incidence had significant implications on the company’s profitability, corporate

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change Assignment

Leadership and Management of Strategic Change - Assignment Example The paper tells that at the three main levels, strategic leadership is tasked with providing the scope and direction that is needed to assist in the pursuit of success in the organization. A key component of this success is derived from the effective management of continuous change through improving both people and procedures. Therefore, all the executives, as well as the managers, should possess the necessary instruments needed for strategic creation and execution while being ready to use the same instruments rapidly. Managing in an environment that is characterized by change and uncertainty needs leaders who are strategic con steadily maintain a sense of direction while at the same time developing ownership objectives as well as goals within the groups they are supposed to lead. The blend between an analytical perception that is used to develop processes for a winning strategy and a human element that enables the managers to create effectively, inspired and accomplished teams is im portant to the success of strategic leadership. More often than not, strategic leadership fails since the right equilibrium between the two perspectives is not achieved. In the event that there is a high concentration on the execution as well as the outcome while disregarding the human dimension, the leader will be perceived as a taskmaster and the individuals who are demoralized will not have the motivation to perform. If the leaders pay more attention to the human dimension and forget about the process and the work ethic, then the situation at work will be similar to one at a country club which is a good place to work with very little distinction about what people are supposed to do. Therefore, successful strategic leadership should be carefully balanced between analytics and the process development as well as the human dimension.

Riordan Manufacturing Team Building Essay Example for Free

Riordan Manufacturing Team Building Essay Riordan Manufacturing is a global plastics manufacturer employing 550 people with projected annual earnings of $46 million. The company is wholly owned by Riordan Industries, a Fortune 1000 enterprise with revenues in excess of $1 billion. Its products include plastic beverage containers produced at its plant in Albany, Georgia, custom plastic parts produced at its plant in Pontiac, Michigan, and plastic fan parts produced at its facilities in Hangzhou, China. The companys research and development is done at the corporate headquarters in San Jose. Riordans major customers are automotive parts manufacturers, aircraft manufacturers, the Department of Defense, beverage makers and bottlers, and appliance manufacturers. As you can see Riordan is a large company with offices worldwide and communication and travel can be a major expense for the company especially when implementing new lines and technology at one of their facilities. Future statements made by Riordan, We will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment. By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company. We must be focused in achieving and maintaining reasonable profitability to assure that the financial and human capital is available for sustained growth. As Riordan moves forward with their mission statements the cost of implementing new technology and training employees to operate and manage these new systems costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. The companys most recent expansion took place in 2014 when it opened its operations in China. At that time, the entire fan manufacturing operation was moved from Michigan to China and the Pontiac, MI facility was retooled for the manufacture of custom plastic parts. During the first quarter of the  expansion travel costs alone just for the training of the ongoing systems integration project surpassed one hundred thousand dollars. We know that Riordan will always be on the forefront of applying new technology and systems to keep up with market trends in the future. This is why implementing the creation, deployment, and support of effective interactive distance learning and communication systems to improve business, is crucial to the ongoing success of the company. The CADE system will reduce thousands of dollars of travel expenses directly related to the training required with each new system at all of the company’s facilities. Developing a distance learning system that will allow Riordan to provide effective training through teleconferencing from their headquarters in San Jose CA to facilities all over the world will reduce expenses by millions of dollars over the long term. The Need for Training and Communication The cornerstone of a competitive organization is its highly trained workforce. In today’s market, product life-cycles are shorter, more complex. The available time for training is greatly reduced. Many companies are downsizing and the responsibilities of those that remain are increased, jobs are consolidated. Corporate communication and training needs have never been more important Time becomes one of the most limited resources. Regardless of the industry, many of these issues are very much the same: (Velocedge Inc, 2014). High cost and increased difficulty of travel Inability to reach all employees anywhere, anytime High cost of training, continuing education Lack of qualified instructors or presenters Time it takes to get a message to all employees Expensive to develop effective training and communication programs Loss of productivity when employees take off work for travel, training, or meetings Difficulty in transferring knowledge throughout the organization The CADE System The Communications And Distance Education (CADE) system is designed to  facilitate live, interactive programs over a satellite, Internet, or streaming video network as well as capture those programs for later playback. Interactive Satellite Delivery During an interactive broadcast, the instructor or presenter can ask multiple choice, true/false, yes/no, numeric, and multiple selection questions and participants can respond with either wireless remote controls in a classroom setting or through a personal computer. The PC at each remote location collects participant responses from the wireless remotes and transmits them back to the presenter over an intranet or Internet connection. Participants may also speak with the presenter, using voice over IP, PBX, or standard telephone line, and everyone in the broadcast can listen to that conversation. Interactive Web Delivery With CADE eTutor, interactive training and communication programs can be delivered over the Internet/Intranet. It provides the same capabilities of the satellite delivery system, as well as a few extra features, in a desktop version using highly compressed audio and video over IP. Capture All Interaction Participant responses are captured, time-stamped, and stored in a web-based learning management system. In addition to capturing the satellite based information, the CADE system also supports web based training, classroom, paper based, and is fully SCORM compliant. All data in the CADE system is created, managed, and accessed through this web-based portal to the database. CADE System Components The CADE system is comprised of a number of software applications. These applications include: Studio Control System The instructor or presenters interface Virtual Classroom The remote site control program eTutor The web-based interactive delivery system Learning Management Web The web-based learning management system New System Flow Diagram for CADE System at Riordan Manufacturing The new CADE is a free standing system that has virtually no effect or interaction with any of the present Information systems or processes currently in use by Riordan Manufacturing. The CADE system is designed to facilitate live, interactive programs over a satellite, Internet, or streaming video network as well as capture those programs for later playback. CADE is primarily a software based product but it represents a new paradigm in software development, utilizing an effective integration of world-class software components and Internet technologies in an adaptive architecture. To keep pace with todays rapidly changing world, CADE was designed to incorporate change as quickly as an organization realizes the need for change. Corporate management faces many issues that can keep an organization from being as competitive and profitable as it needs to be CADE wont be one of them. As a new or better technology solution is identified, an idea to improve a feature, or a new function desired, that change can be easily incorporated into the CADE products keeping your system continually up to date, meeting each new requirement, and keeping your investment protected. Satellite -Live -On-demand -Prerecorded Interactive Web Training Audio/Video -Live -Prerecorded Web Courses SCORM Classroom Video On Demand Desktop Classroom CADE Advantages to Riordan Interactive Distance Learning Even though there is a lot of talk about distance education, over 90% of all formal training continues to use classroom delivery. The major cost driver of training is delivery. Satellite or web based, Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) provides the benefits of classroom without the large cost. (Velocedge Inc, 2014). . Faster Deliver to more people in less time, Concept to delivery time in hours or days, Cut classroom delivery time in half, Deliver to entire target population in one broadcast Cheaper Fewer experts needed to deliver message, Deliver to more people with less cost, Low cost to develop and deliver content, Incalculable cost savings: time off work, travel, per diem, etc. Better Over 25% improvement in student retention, Most consistent message delivery, one voice Standardized design , Utilize only the most qualified instructors, Provides detailed tracking and reporting (Velocedge Inc, 2014). Presently Riordan’s first quarter number’s pertaining to the General Administrative line item is over budget one hundred thousand dollars due to travel and per diem expenses related to emergency training of the new systems that have been added. By incorporating the new CADE system to provide long distance training this will eliminate any additional over budget expenses caused by the new systems and also provide low cost long distance training for any future systems that are put in use by the company. The new CADE system will reduce company expenses in many ways: reducing or eliminating travel and per diem costs, reducing course development costs, reducing the number of trainers, reducing the time off work, reducing the time to develop a course, and many other ways. Pricing is based on the number of remote sites you have and the Presentation Studio System that is specified. However, the cost is a fraction of what you are spending now to train your employees. References Velocedge Inc. (2014). velocity and knowledge. Retrieved from http://www.velocedge.com/ Learn.net. (2014). The CADE System. Retrieved from http://www.velocedge.com/CADEnew/Products/index.htm