Monday, September 30, 2019

Ethan Frome Essay

Would you take a risk that would change the rest of your life for temporary feelings? If one took the risk and chose to, the effects of it could be everlasting. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton and the poem â€Å"When we two parted† by Lord Bryon the main characters are faced with the consequences of acting on their wrongful feelings. Sometimes people are faced with the issue of trying to hide the love they truly feel in order to keep the peace that is needed. In the novel Ethan Frome written by Edith Wharton, the main character Ethan is faced with the huge issue of catching feelings for another woman, other than his wife. This causes a huge conflict not only within himself, but also with the other people that are involved as well. It gets to the point where both Ethan and Mattie don’t think they could ever be happy if they were not together forever. Ethan once said â€Å"What’s the good of either of us going anywhere without the other one now. † They know it’s not likely for them to be, so Ethan comes up with the plan to commit suicide. If Ethan had to think of such a dark idea he most definitely has to be depressed. Being in love should never bring along thoughts and ideas like those. If Ethan did not have such feelings for Mattie none of this could have happened. He just had to have Mattie though and get rid of his wife because he could not stand it anymore. Society won’t let these two be together because Ethan is a married man. Ethan should know better than to start liking his wife’s cousin. You could call Ethan selfish, one could also argue that you can’t control who you fall for. Symbolism is a plays a big role in the story. One symbol is the last sled ride. Normally a person can control the sleigh, but in the case Ethan just lost all control and didn’t even try to take control of the situation. Just like the love triangle with him, Zeena and Mattie. It shows that he couldn’t escape the issue. He lets society and other burdens make decisions for him. unfortunately in the case because of feelings there was a life lost due to the fact of the secret affair that should never have went on. The poem â€Å"When we two parted,† by Lord Byron, portrays ones feelings when they are filled with such emotions of love and confusion. The person in the poem is dealing with the reality of having a relationship that is very toxic. In line 25 they say, â€Å"In secret we met, in silence I grieve. † From this line the reader can really feel the strong emotions that are spoken with these words. Even though he got the satisfaction of seeing the person for a small amount of time they still have to deal with the feelings after. It’s even harder because now the person can’t even talk about it because no one is supposed to know. Now they have to keep it bottled up inside for a long time, which is never good. A specific literary element that ties in very well with this poem is mood. The author made the overall mood to come across as very depressing and dark. In line three they use the words like â€Å"half broken-hearted,† and in line thirteen â€Å"broken. † By using these words it really sets the mood for the whole poem. In the poem there is more harm showing then actual good and love because of this relationship. This person is not getting what they need in a healthy relationship. When one knows from the start they are not suppose to have feelings for a particular person it leads to nothing but heartbreak. In the novel Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and the poem â€Å"When We Two Parted,† by Lord Bryon these characters chose their own fate due to their feelings. The authors of these two works of literature felt so strong about this idea because they know how many people could relate to this very personal issue.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Difference between personnel management and HRM Essay

Difference between Human Resource Management and Personnel Management Human resource management involves all management decisions and practices that directly affect or influence the people, or human resources, who work for the organization. In other words, Human resource management is concerned with ‘people centric issues’ in management. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofit) have to carry out these activities themselves because they can’t yet afford part- or full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have — and are aware of — personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN HRM AND PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT ALTHOUGH both human resource management (HRM) and personnel management focus on people management, if we examine critically, there are many differences between them. Some are listed below: i) Nature of relations: The nature of relations can be seen through two different perspective views which are Pluralist and Unitarist. There is a clear distinct difference between both because in personnel management, the focus is more on individualistic where individual interest is more than group interest. The relationship between management and employees are merely on contractual basis where one hires and the others perform. Whereas, HRM focuses more on Unitarist where the word â€Å"uni† refers to one and together. Here, HRM through a shared vision between management and staff create a corporate vision and mission which are linked to business goals and the fulfillment of mutual interest where the organization’s needs are satisfied  by employees and employees’ needs are well-taken care by the organization. Motorola and Seagate are good examples of organizations that belief in this Unitarist approach which also focuses in team management and sees employees as partners in an organization. Relation of power and management: The distribution of power in personnel management is centralized where the top management has full authority in decision-making where even the personnel managers are not even allowed to give ideas or take part in any decision which involves â€Å"employees†. HRM, on the other hand, sees the decentralization of power where the power between top management is shared with middle and lower management groups. This is known as â€Å"empowerment† because employees play an important role together with line and HR managers to make collective and mutual decisions, which can benefit both the management and employees themselves. In fact, HRM focuses more on TQM approach as part of a team management with the involvement and participation of management and employees with shared power and authority. The nature of management is focused more on bottom-up approach with employees giving feedback to the top management and then the top management gives support to employees to achieve mutually agreed goals and objectives. ii) Leadership and management role: Personnel management emphasizes much on leadership style which is very transactional. This style of leadership merely sees the leader as a task-oriented person. This leader focuses more on procedures that must be followed, punishment form non-performance and non-compliance of rules and regulations and put figures and task accomplishments ahead of human factors such as personal bonding, interpersonal relationship, trust, understanding, tolerance and care. HRM creates leaders who are transformational. This leadership style encourages business objectives to be shared by both employees and management. Here, leaders only focus more on people-oriented and importance on rules, procedures and regulations are eliminated and replaced with: Shared vision; Corporate culture and missions; Trust and flexibility; and HRM needs that integrates business needs. iii) Contract of employment: In personnel management, employees contract of employment is clearly written and employees must observe strictly the agreed employment contract. The contract is so rigid that there is no room for changes and modifications. There is no compromise in written contracts that stipulates rules, regulations, job and obligations. HRM, on the other hand, does not focus on one-time life-long contract where working hours and other terms and conditions of employment are seen as less rigid. Here, it goes beyond the normal contract that takes place between organizations and employees. The new â€Å"flexible approach† encourages employees to choose various ways to keep contributing their skills and knowledge to the organization. HRM, with its new approach, has created flexi-working hours, work from home policies and not forgetting the creation on â€Å"open contract† system that is currently practiced by some multinational companies such as Motorola, Siemens and GEC. HRM today gives employees the opportunity and freedom to select any type of working system that can suit them and at the same time benefit the organization as well. Drucker (1996) calls this approach a â€Å"win-win† approach. iv) Pay policies and job design: Pay policies in personnel management is merely based on skills and knowledge required for the perspective jobs only. The value is based on the ability to perform the task and duties as per the employment contract requirement only. It does not encourage value-added incentives to be paid out. This is also because the job design is very functional, where the functions are more departmentalized in which each job falls into one functional department. This is merely known as division on labour based on job needs and skill possessions and requirement. HRM, on the contrary, encourages organizations to look beyond pay for functional duties. Here, the pay is designed to encourage continuous job performance and improvement which is linked to value-added incentives such as gain sharing schemes, group profit sharing and individual incentive plans. The job design is no more functional based but teamwork and cyclical based. HRM creates a new approach towards job design such as job rotation which is inter and intra-departmental based and job enlargement which encourages one potential and capable individual to take on more tasks to add value to his/her job and  in return enjoy added incentives and benefits. Human resource management is the new version of personnel management. There is no any watertight difference between human resource management and personnel management. However, there are some differences in the following matters. 1. Personnel management is a traditional approach of managing people in the organization. Human resource management is a modern approach of managing people and their strengths in the organization. 2. Personnel management focuses on personnel administration, employee welfare and labor relation. Human resource management focuses on acquisition, development, motivation and maintenance of human resources in the organization. 3. Personnel management assumes people as a input for achieving desired output. Human resource management assumes people as an important and valuable resource for achieving desired output. 4. Under personnel management, personnel function is undertaken for employee’s satisfaction. Under human resource management, administrative function is undertaken for goal achievement. 5. Under personnel management, job design is done on the basis of division of labor. Under human resource management, job design function is done on the basis of group work/team work. 6. Under personnel management, employees are provided with less training and development opportunities. Under human resource management, employees are provided with more training and development opportunities. 7. In personnel management, decisions are made by the top management as per the rules and regulation of the organization. In human resource management, decisions are made collectively after considering employee’s participation,  authority, decentralization, competitive environment etc. 8. Personnel management focuses on increased production and satisfied employees. Human resource management focuses on effectiveness, culture, productivity and employee’s participation. 9. Personnel management is concerned with personnel manager. Human resource management is concerned with all level of managers from top to bottom. 10. Personnel management is a routine function. Human resource management is a strategic function. Human resource management past and present Human resource management has changed a lot in the past 100 years. Previously, HRM was called personnel administration or personnel management, that is, it had to do with the staff or workers of an organisation. It was mainly concerned with the administrative tasks that have to do with organising or managing an organisation, such as record keeping and dealing with employee wages, salaries and benefits. The personnel officer (the person in charge of personnel management) also dealt with labour relations.such as problems with trade unions or difficulties between employers (those who employ workers) and their employees. Before we look at the role of HRM in organisations today, we will examine the way people were managed in organisations in the past. Definition Personnel Management – Personnel Management is thus basically an administrative record-keeping function, at the operational level. Personnel Management attempts to maintain fair terms and conditions of employment, while at the same time, efficiently managing personnel activities for individual departments etc. It is assumed that the outcomes from providing justice and achieving efficiency in the management of personnel activities will result ultimately in achieving organizational success. Facts [+] The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the world’s largest HR department. OPM provides HR services for the federal governments workforce of nearly 2.8 million workers. It’s staff carry out the tasks to recruit, interview, and promote employees; oversee merit pay, benefits and retirement programs; and ensure that all employees and applicants are treated fairly and according to the law. To set the COLA [cost-of-living allowances] rates, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) surveys the prices of over 300 items, including goods and services, housing, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses. OPM conducts these surveys in each of the COLA areas and in the Washington, DC, area. Human resource management is concerned with the development and implementation of people strategies, which are integrated with corporate strategies, and ensures that the culture, values and structure of the organization, and the quality, motivation and commitment of its members contribute fully to the achievement of its goals. HRM is concerned with carrying out the SAME functional activities traditionally performed by the personnel function, such as HR planning, job analysis, recruitment and selection, employee relations, performance management, employee appraisals, compensation management, training and development etc. But, the HRM approach performs these functions in a qualitatively DISTINCT way, when compared with Personnel Management. Main Differences between Personnel Management and HRM HRM has a long history of growing from a simple welfare and maintenance function to that of a board level activity of the companies. In recent years, the focus on people management from human capital/intellectual capital perspective is also shaping firmly. However, the hard fact is that this growth can be generally witnessed in management literature and rarely in practice. Peripheral observation of people management in organization can mislead the observers since, hardly there could be any organization that is  yet to rename its old fashioned title of industrial relations/personnel/welfare/administration department into HRM department. But, in practice, these organizations continue to handle the people management activities the way they had been handling earlier. The reasons for this could be many and varied. Among them, the potential reason is lack of clear understanding about the differences between personnel/IR and HRM. Professor John Storey brilliantly portrayed these differences in 27 areas of people management in 1992 in his book titled Developments in the Management of Human Resources. These differences are illustrated in Table Dimensions Personnel and IR HRM Beliefs and assumptions 1. Contract Careful delineation of written contracts Aim to go beyond contract 2. Rules Importance of devising clear rules/mutually ‘Can-do’ outlook; Impatience with ‘rule’ 3. Guide to management action Procedures Business-need’ 4. Behaviour referent Norms/custom and practice Values/mission 5. Managerial task vis-a-vis labour Monitoring Nurturing 6. Nature of relations Pluralist Unitarist 7. Conflict Institutionalized De-emphasized Strategic aspects 8. Key relations Labour management Customer 9. Initiatives Piecemeal Integrated 10. Corporate plan Marginal Central 11. Speed of decision Slow Fast Line management 12. Management role Transactional Transformational leadership 13. Key managers Personnel/ IR specialists General/business/line managers 14. Communication Indirect Direct 15. Standardization High (e.g. ‘parity’ an issue) Low (e.g. ‘parity’ not seen as relevant) 16. Prized management skills Negotiation Facilitation Key levers 17. Selection Separate, marginal task Integrated, key task 18. Pay Job evaluation (fixed grades) Performance-related 19. Conditions Separately negotiated Harmonization 20. Labour-management Collective bargaining contracts Towards individual contracts 21. Thrust of relations with stewards Regularized through facilities and training Marginalized (with exception of some bargaining for change models) 22. Job categories and grades Many Few 23. Communication Restricted flow Increased flow 24. Job design Division of labour Teamwork 25. Conflict handling Reach temporary truces Manage climate and culture 26. Training and development Controlled access to courses Learning companies 27. Foci of attention for interventions Personnel procedures Wide ranging cultural, structural and personnel strategies

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Mary Ann Warren–On Abortion

The question of abortion causes heated debates among politicians and moralists, sociologists and philosophers. The main problem society tries to solve is moral statue of fetus and its resemblance with the human being. In the essay â€Å"Abortion, and the concept of a Person† Mary Ann Warren proposes a unique vision on these problems and moral choice of women discussing a status of fetus and its moral rights. Following Judith Thomson, Warren discuses the status of fetus as a person and impact of this approach on moral side of abortion. Warren distinguishes two dimensions: a biological and moral status of fetus. Warren believes that a proper understanding of human biology can somehow rule out the possibility that a fetus is a separate human being. Similar to pro-life advocates she invokes our understanding of fetus, particularly the resemblance between fetuses and babies. Warren states that if we consider fetus a person, it should have the same human rights as other citizens. She opposes this opinion and in her words: ‘in the relevant respects, a fetus, even a fully developed one, is considerably less person-like than the average fish` (Warren). Warren singles out five main factors which could help to distinguish a person in moral and biological sense. A person has consciousness and can feel pain; it (he/she) has the ability to reason and act in ways that go beyond instinct (based on motives and goals). A person has â€Å"the ability communicate and a sense of self† (Warren). Warren rejects the idea that biological resemblance of fetus with the human beings is essential. She states that: [I]f the right to life of the fetus is to be based upon its resemblance to a person, then it cannot be said to have any more right to life than, let us say, a newborn guppy† (Warren). If researchers and moralists accept this position, the implications for women, and for the law, would be staggering. Of course, the traditional immunity of women from prosecution for abortion would be untenable. Any woman who had or sought an abortion would at least be liable to punishment for attempted murder or for aiding and abetting the physician who performed the deed. Warren gives a special attention to cloning and new technologies which could clone a cell from a human body. She asks: â€Å"Are all my cells now potential persons?† Trying to answer this question, she comes to conclusion that a part of a human body, â€Å"in some dim sense, [can] be a potential person† (Warren). Some might argue that a â€Å"person† comes into existence only at the point when there is a specific and determined chromosome genetic identity. Warren argues that if a new-born baby is â€Å"more-person like† and moralists justify abortion, they should also justify infanticide and murder. This is one of the most controversial parts of her essay, because if we assume that infanticide is wrong we should accept that abortion is also wrong. Also, Warren includes the case of homosexuals into discussion. If the society does not treat a fetus as ‘a person’, it should treat homosexuals the same way. In this case, â€Å"we can make a limited point: because of the differences we have noted between a skin cell and a fertilized ovum, it is at least not clear that Warren`s analogy is a good one† (Warren). In answering that question on the premise that the fetus is a person, it is important not to underestimate the extent of the sacrifice being asked of the woman. Critical remaining issues are whether a child which is never born alive is a person within the meaning of the statute, and whether it is possible to prove that the injury caused the unborn child's death. Warren addresses mothers’ choice and their freedom stating that: â€Å"The minute the infant is born, its preservation no longer violates any of its mother`s rights† (Warren). It sometimes is permissible for a pregnant woman to have an abortion because by means of an abortion she stops herself from helping bring about the state that she finds stressful. If she were not helping to bring about the state of affairs in the particular way that she is, she could not interfere with its coming about. Taking into account Warren’s arguments and logic, I suppose that she improperly uses different philosophical and moral categories, law and biological issues. Likewise, those who support abortion rights invoke principles of biology in support of their claim that whatever else it is, a fetus simply cannot be a separate â€Å"person†.   The same is true of the unfertilized ovum is alive. Warren’s arguments and approaches are not clear and even confusing in many points. Her argumentation lacks objectivity and logic that misleads and perplex readers. Thus I agree with Warren that the status of fetus is central in this debate, but we should also take into account mother’s rights and civil liberties. Pregnancy and childbirth are always physically risky activities. More significantly, they produce between woman and child real and life-altering bonds, both psychological and physiological. Woman denied the right to decide whether or not to end a pregnancy is not merely being asked to refrain from killing another person but being asked to make an affirmative sacrifice, and a profound one at that, in order to save that person. Still, there is some force to the moral argument that the right to choose abortion can be distinguished in cases of voluntary, as opposed to involuntary, pregnancy. To be sure, one powerful strand of feminist theory posits that within our society even most nominally sex, particularly in cases where the woman does not feel free to use or to suggest the use of birth control, involves coercion. But if one assumes a pregnancy that did not result from any sort of coercion, then perhaps the imposition of continued pregnancy on the woman may not be unjust. Warren does not include into discussion such important things as fetal age and weight. There remains considerable disagreement over which of many criteria is most adequate in determining viability, and over the precision of any such measures. In addition, the viability rule is difficult to apply because it is an indeterminate concept that depends on the individual development of a specific fetus and the health of the mother. The five factors she used to identify a person can be applied to many animals and primates but we do not consider them as ‘persons’. Thus, following Warren it is by no means enough to show that the fetus is person and that all persons have a right to life – so killing the fetus violates its right to life, i.e., that abortion is unjust killing. Abortion will not be morally wrong if we apply another criteria and factors to analysis of its legacy: typical requirements of the statutes include: the existence of a † person † who has died; the death of the person from injuries resulting from a wrongful act, neglect, or default that would have conferred a cause of action upon the person who has died, had that person survived; and the act, neglect, or default that caused the fatal injury must have been performed by another. I suppose that the logical fallacies are that Warren takes into account only a fetus and compares it rights, moral and legal status with human beings. It would be more important to compare rights and status of a mother vs fetus. The fetus, being person, has a right to life, but as the mother is a person too, so has she a right to life. I agree with Warren that a fetus in not a human yet, but I am disagree that we have a right to compare a fetus with a fish. Presumably they have an equal right to life. The main problem with Warren’s position is that she denies a moral status of fetus. Still, I agree with the author that: â€Å"a right of that magnitude could never override a woman`s right to obtain an abortion at any stage of her pregnancy` (Warren). The major remaining basis of the inconsistency of establishing the rights of the unborn to a cause of action for wrongful death is the question of whether or not a fetus is a person under the appropriate statutes and, if so, at what point in gestation? A related question is whether or not the fetus must be live born before action is allowed. This issue is crucial, because if the fetus is defined as a person, the action will be recognized; if not, the action will be dismissed.   

Friday, September 27, 2019

Biology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Biology - Assignment Example The number of cups of coffee should also depend on how much the escort and the professor can wager. 4. I believe the cups should not be identical. Perhaps there should be 3 designs and 4 pieces each, so 12. Maybe the design can affect the result of the experiment. I believe one kind of design is glass, another is plastic and the other is ceramic, because the coffee or milk might taste different with different material of the cup. If possible, I would like to prepare some cold and some hot, because it is possible that temperature might also affect the taste of the coffee or milk. 5. The order that the cups should be presented must be random so the only way I could think of is by jumbling the arrangement of all 12 cups but the escort and professor should take note which cup has milk or coffee added first. After that, any random cup from the group of 12 cups can be given to the model until she finishes tasting everything. 6. I think if she has guessed at least 75% of the cups correctly (minimum of 9), then we can say that the hypothesis is true. If we decide only after 50%, then maybe it is not enough and maybe she is just a good guesser. 1. The hypothesis I chose was different because it was a practical hypothesis. According to Fisher, if we use a null hypothesis we can exclude the possibility that the order of the cups has an influence on the results. However, if we use another hypothesis, then there might be confusion. So it is better to say that the order of the cups and other factors have no effect on the ability of the model to distinguish whether coffee or milk was added first. 2. My answer was the same as Fisher’s. I thought that â€Å"if only two cups are given to the model, then she will be able to simply freely guess whether the first cup had milk added first or if it is the second one.† According to Fisher, if only 3 cups can be chosen, then complete success can be achieved by pure chance. 3. I said the

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Student Search and Seizures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Student Search and Seizures - Essay Example This paper describes the existing policies related to search and seizure practices for the student body at Hope High School in Arkansas with discussion regarding proper ethical behavior and the letter of the law for such practices. Reflecting on Search and Seizure Juveniles are afforded many protections that differ from adults under the Constitution and state-level legal systems. During adolescence, youths are subject to adult-based authoritarian hierarchies in which they are reliant on ethical and moral adult leadership to ensure their rights are protected. Even though youths in high school are protected under many varieties of law, they are also utilizing school property such as lockers, desks, or the use of the school parking lot. Therefore, they are subject to established school policies regarding the appropriate use of these systems or storage devices. This might, to the casual civilian, look to be a sort of conflict of interest regarding how best to secure the rights of the sch ool as well as the individual student. ... re is some level of counseling service provided to ensure that students have a valid resource to discuss their psychological misgivings or other concerns related to mental health. By all measures, their physical safety is ensured by adequate adult leadership and existing non-violence policies. In every measure, then, it should be said that high school officials absolutely secure the most fundamental right afford to students. The second right is that of being afforded the opportunity to achieve purpose in life (ethics.tamu.edu). This, too, is afforded simply by the constructs of ethical teaching systems that provide opportunities for growth and knowledge. The third and most complicated of Gewirth’s fundamental rights hierarchy is that of the right to property, non-discrimination and self-respect (ethics.tamu.edu). This is a much more complex dynamic of student rights, as their properties within the school maintain the potential to become scrutinized by the school system and its administration in the event there is concern about student protection or securing the letter of the law. In the event of a warranted search and seizure, questions arise about self-respect issues and whether students are receiving some form of discriminatory judgment from adult supervision at the school. This is why there should be some form of rights statement attached with any existing policy about student search and seizure practices to ensure that society recognizes some form of ethical and moral system drives administrative decision-making in these matters. One educator from the University of Arizona offers that in order to clarify a rights statement, there must be mention of â€Å"moral importance† as to why an individual deserves rights protections as well as identifying the interests of

Socio-Technical Systems Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Socio-Technical Systems - Term Paper Example The most significant characteristic of a Socio-Technical is that â€Å"it values both effectiveness and humankind†. Such a system is important because it works in a way that can eliminate the unethical aspects of technology. It works to attain technological brilliance and an enhanced and quality work from labor force. It scrutinizes different projects thoroughly before working on them in order to cut down their negative and unscrupulous traits. Such a system works according to the modern world by taking advantage technology but on the other hand these systems also consider individual welfare. By compiling human force and technology such system builds up a ground which can develop and prosper easily if it uses its human and technological resources efficiently. Joint collaboration, communication and cooperation are major goals of a socio-technical system. Some common examples of socio-technical systems are a factory and a hospital where a variety of employees work together under different groups and teams and use technical equipment such as spinning machines or X-Ray machines etc to perform their tasks. Collaboration and agreement between the members of these groups and teams are necessary for fluid operating system.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

IBM Flourishes in India Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

IBM Flourishes in India - Assignment Example These ideological differences once drove many foreign multinational companies including IBM out of the country. But at present because of globalization, India has realized the importance of foreign investments for their economic growth and welcoming as much as Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) possible. Moreover India is led by the renowned economist Dr. Man Mohan Singh who knows the importance of IBM like companies in India. â€Å"Growing modestly until the turn of the millennium, IBM India has been growing by leaps and bounds since then. Its workforce now totals 38,000, up from 23,000 two years ago and second only in number to IBMs U.S. workforce among countries in which IBM operates† (Gibson, 2006). This paper briefly analyses the IBM performances in Indian market currently. IBM Global Services works on outsourcing IT services in India on behalf of the many multinationals interested to accessing the local Indian engineering talent and the competitive labor costs available there. â€Å"Outsourcing refers to a company that contracts with another company to provide services that might otherwise be performed by in-house employees† (Thompson, 2009). Labor cost is increasing everyday and moreover shortage of skilled and experienced professionals forced multinational companies like IBM to look beyond their boundaries in America to explore the cheap labor markets of other countries like India which is blessed with immense manpower especially IT professionals. In India like countries IT professionals are searching for better placements whereas IBM like American companies searching for IT professionals. Globalization has opened up the Indian market and the present Indian government led by the Congress party has escaped from the controls of the left parties which actually strongly opposed the entry of foreign companies in India. Thus the setting is well and good for IBM like IT companies to explore the Indian markets. IBM recorded total revenue of US$ 606 million

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Regulatory Measures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Regulatory Measures - Essay Example This paper will examine regulatory measures as stipulated in the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations (FSGO), Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Indeed, in 1991, the federal government through the United States Sentencing Commission enacted the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations to curb legal violations in organizations by imposing harsh penalties upon organizations whose employees or company representatives commit federal crimes (Ethics Resource Centre, 2005). Ideally, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations would also guide the Federal Judges while convicting and punishing organizational defendants (Ethics Resource Centre, 2005). The Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations came because of continued debate over the significance of instilling ethical conduct in organizations to guide the code of operations (Ferrell et al, 1998). Actually, the need for an ethical conduct emanated from the fact that org anizations continuously violated the law that governed their operations. Moreover, the ethical and legal challenges that faced the managers and employees of an organization necessitated the establishment of an ethics program and its compliance policy (Ethics Resource Centre, 2005). ... On the other hand, George W. Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Zameeruddin, 2003). The Act proposed universal reforms on financial operators, lawyers, auditors, corporate board members, and other official that trade securities (Zameeruddin, 2003). The main aim of the Act was to prevent and punish corporate and accounting fraud and corruption as well as safeguarding the interests of the employees and shareholders. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 came as a result increasing of complex corporate and accounting scandals in the public sector (Independent Sector, 2013). Most specifically, the collapse of Enron and reports of accounting fraud at WorldCom, HealthSouth, and other leading firms in the US led the US Congress to enact the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Vakkur & Herrera-Vakkur, 2012). As such, there was a need to formulate laws to curb this trend and restore public trust in the corporate world. Additionally, the Act came into effect as a way of establishing an effe ctive oversight measure to the financial and accounting operations of an organization (Independent Sector, 2013). Furthermore, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) offers equal opportunities for the employer in compliance with federal law and seeks to create and maintain a vibrant and diverse workforce (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2013). The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau came because of increased discrimination in the membership in a labor organization, or any other organization that does not abhors merit. As such, it encourages professional development, retention on employees, and offers compensation and benefits packages to the employees. Ideally, we can establish that the Federal Sentencing Guidelines for

Monday, September 23, 2019

Latest Monitoring Tools Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Latest Monitoring Tools - Research Paper Example However, the research indicated that the company’s rate of sales have not been majorly influenced by these social media sites owing to the fact that only 12% of its sales are influenced by comments on twitter, facebook and google+. This is an indication that clients spend more time of social media but, less time is spent on the company’s blogs or even its web page (http://socialmediatoday.com n.d). In order to improve the company’s sales through proper prediction of customers’ behavior in social media sites, the company can employ the use of Hootsuite: This tool assists company’s undertake their campaigns on social media regarding their brands (https://hootsuite.com n.d). It will also allow the company to measure the efficacy of social media on their sales hence assist in formulating solutions on predicted or potential challenges. This tool is easy to manage and above all its relatively cheaper as compared to other tools. 101 Vital Social Media and Digital Marketing Statistics. (n.d.). RSS. Retrieved February 11, 2014, from

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Looking for Methods Essay Example for Free

Looking for Methods Essay With the rampant use of the inter net today, the students in todays generation get their resources from the world wide web. In effect, most of the resources are easily copy-pasted to the students word documents. It is very likely for them to be accused of plagiarism. Now research resources can still be integrated into paper works without the worry of plagiarizing. There are certain methods on how to properly cite resources. First thing that would leave a writer out from damage is to cite their sources. Acknowledge the author of the source and then discuss the details of the specific source. It can be done through paraphrasing and quoting from the original source. The method of quoting first and then explaining what that specific passage is can also be effective. Quoting is a harmless way of integrating a source into ones work. The citation is very important as well. It is important to indicate page numbers and even line numbers for the sake of references. Another good method would be introducing the author and then following it with a brief summary (Alred, 2003, p. 153). An example would be: Fear Itself: Depression Life is written by Robert McElvaine and discusses how the Great Depression has hit Americans. It talks about how Americans in the early 20th century battle with starvation and unemployment, which affected a lot of Americans. Soon, the situation helped them change to become a better person. The country has suffered the Great Depression in the 1930s. People got mixed perceptions in this difficult time though (McElvaine, 1993, p. 23). Notice how the paragraph started with the authors name and immediately gives a background of the article he wrote. The importance of doing this right away in the first paragraph is for the sake of coherence in writing. With proper citation, paraphrasing and summarizing research sources can be integrated into another persons writing without plagiarism. References Alred, G. (2003). Handbook of Technical Writing. Michigan: St. Martins Press. Lester, J. (2005). Research Paper Handbook: Your Complete Guide. California: Good Year Books. McElvaine, R. (1993). The Great Depression: America, 1929-1941. New York: Times Books.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

User Interface: Complexity, Types and Performance

User Interface: Complexity, Types and Performance User interface complexity A user interface is the means in which a person controls a software application. A user interface should provide the user with an easy experience, allowing them to interact with the software in a stress-free and natural way. The GUI (graphical user interface) is a program that contains graphical controls which the user can select with a keyboard or mouse. â€Å"The GUI complexity is the most important value to consider when selecting a technology for user interface classes. (Rayhan, 2003)†. To decide on the complexity of the user interface it is important to consider all possible user interfaces for the ePS system. We should also reflect on a variety of categories which include simple data input, static view of the data, customisable views, dynamic view of the data and interactive graphs. The simple data input allows the user to enter data into the system. The static view of data can be either a table, tree or graph that is not affected by the changes in the system data. â€Å"The customisable view allows the user to customise the appearance of static data without making a new request to the server. The dynamic view of data is automatically refreshed to stay current while the underlying system data changes. The interactive graphs are similar to dynamic views. The graphical view is automatically updated as the underlying system data changes (Rayhan, 2003).† Below is a list of user interfaces for the ePS system: Login user interface: The login user interface allows the user to enter their username and password to gain access to the system. Create E-Prescription user interface: The Create E-Prescription user interface allows the general practitioner user to create an E-Prescription for a patient, view their personal details and view their medical history. Dispense medicine user interface: The dispense medicine user interface allows the pharmacist user to view the patients E-Prescription, check if the medication is in stock and dispense the medicine. Manage ADR report user interface: The manage ADR report user interface will load a ADR report form on a web page for the user to enter in their adverse drug reaction to a particular medicine. Deployment constraints for user interfaces The deployment constraints are as imperative as the complexity of the user interface. When considering deployment constraints it is essential to have categories in which to compare. The following deployment constraints can occur within our ePS system: Any web browser on the internet: This deployment constraint must allow the user interface to perform on any web browser on any computer. The web browser Opera does not support Java which means that all images and much less dynamic HTML, so the user interface would be presented in text form only. Late-Model web browser on the internet: If each web browser is no more than a few generations old then we will also know that the computer is also no more than a few generations old. Number and types of users The number and type of users influence the technology selection in two ways. One influence being that a large number of users can force the technology for the entity, control and lifecycle classes to balance well. A large number of users can also encourage the selection of user interface technology. A larger audience makes straightforwardness of deployment and maintenance costs major factors. Small number of dedicated users: These are a small group of users who can help to outline the system and who profits from the system. Since these groups are willing to invest their own time to learn the system, functionality is the main priority. General use within an organisation: In regards to the system, this group of users are generally much larger, but they can be less motivated. These types of systems tend to support the organisation rather than contributing to the business. For example time tracking and benefits management. Large audience with high interest: The ePS system must have a large audience that are extremely involved. These users may be unconnected from one another. The users may log on to the system to exchange information e.g. the E-Prescriptions or to collaborate information about the patients and the medicine. Huge audience with low interest: In terms of the ePS system, it must attract and serve indecisive audience. If the ePS system runs slowly and wastes the audiences time it will cause the audience to be disengaged. Available bandwidth The bandwidth available is also another crucial factor when selecting technologies. Certain groups of technologies can allow developers to meet low bandwidth restrictions. However, other technologies make bandwidth constraints worse. The categories for bandwidth restrictions are as follows: Dial-Up connection: The dial-up connection is now the least common type of connection to the internet. However, Dial-Up connection is suitable for systems that let users view text, images and to enter data. This would be suitable for the ePS system when the user logs in and loads the ADR report form. The ADR report will load up on a web page. Fast internet connection: Fast internet connections consist of digital transmissions over phone lines, cables and satellite transmissions. This is mainly to enable a quicker internet connection. Dedicated network between client and server: This type of connection will allow the client and serves to exchange data at considerably high speeds. Types of System interface The technology for a system interface is determined by a current outer system. If an external system is not available, you must describe the system interface and then select an applicable private technology. System interfaces are divided into the following three categories: Data transfer: Many system interfaces exist merely to transfer large lumps of information from system to system. These interfaces are referred to as electronic data interchange. Services through a protocol: This system interface will allow a system to make requests through an agreed protocol. The server will allow a system to validate itself and request data by sending predefined codes. Direct access to system services: This system interface will allow a client system to directly call selected methods in the server. The server exposes these certain methods for remote access. Performance and Scalability The performance and scalability requirements are becoming one of the most important features in the selection of technology. Performance must be balanced against data integrity and any multiuser system and there aren’t many single user systems left. The performance and scalability factors are usually found by inspecting the class diagrams and sequence diagrams from the analysis model. The following are the three main categories that may affect the performance and scalability: Read-only: Certain systems only allow the user to view system data, but do not allow them to update it. Isolated updates: In most systems the user is allowed to change the systems data and the changes do no conflict with one and other. Concurrent updates: In some systems many users change the systems data, but with some changes affecting the same data. The following sections below describe the performance and scalability factors for each use case in the ePS system: Create E-Prescription use case: In the Create E-Prescription use case the system retrieves and displays the patient’s record. After the user enters the diagnosis and the system must update the current data with the new data. This use case is described as â€Å"Isolated updates† or â€Å"Concurrent updates†. Dispense medicine use case: In the dispense medicine use case the system retrieves and displays the patients E-Prescription. After the user checks the stock levels and dispenses the medicine the system must update the status to â€Å"Complete†. This use case is either described as â€Å"Isolated updates† or â€Å"Concurrent updates†. Record ADR use case: In the record ADR use case the system retrieves and displays the ADR entity objects. After the user updates the entities the system must update the data with the new data. This use case is either described as â€Å"Isolated updates† or â€Å"Concurrent updates†. Login use case: In the login use case the system locates the user entity object that corresponds to the actual user. Once the object is located, the system must determine whether the username and password is valid. The means the systems needs to read the username and password from some sort of persistent store. No data will be updated therefore the â€Å"Read-only† description is appropriate. Macro and Micro Environmental Analysis: Proton Macro and Micro Environmental Analysis: Proton Macro: Macro environment refers to the overwhelming and external factors that the firms cannot have the influence on which can affect its business if not addressed. The economy of Malaysia has been in a healthy growth, however it the year of 2012 has dropped. In addition, the inflation rates of the year 2012 have dropped from a whopping 2.7 to satisfactory 1.3 during a year. These factors have directly affected the inflation and unemployment rates of Malaysia, this is because the inflation rates have fallen and the unemployment rated have fallen as well. Micro: Micro environment refers to the internal factors that relates to a business environment which can affect the business’ operation. These factors are suppliers, shareholders, competitors, customers and distributors. These factors have played a very big rule in the performance of proton, where proton has a big problem with their suppliers, as well as a drop in its market shares, as they have a big competitor in the market which is Perodua, the other factor that has affected proton is the customs, where Proton is facing difficulties in dealing with their customers, in fact proton is losing its customers due to the lack of service and lack of trust. Cross Culture and Global Issues: Being an automobile industry, this firm has to deal with other cultures on a daily basis. Cultures are hard to define values, norm, and traditions. Understanding culture is an extremely complex concept. Various theories have been made on culture but the most projecting perhaps is of Greet Hofstede’s. Hosfsted’s Cultural Dimensions: Collectivism and Individualism: This refers to the extent to which people of a country a willing to work together. In collectivistic societies people tend to better put the groups needs first eliminating personal goals, whereas countries with invidualistic culture have follow personal or individual attainment over the groups. Power Distance: this refers to the extent to which people accept the hierarchal position to be authority in the business environment. Meaning in high power distance societies like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, people tend to respect the authority because of their hierarchal of social status other than personal achievement like that in the low power distance societies like France, Italy. Uncertainty Avoidance: Refers to the extent to which people accept change in the society. Countries like Indonesia, North Korea, and Japan represent a high uncertainty avoidance whereby they dislike change. Masculinity and Feminism: relates to the role of women in different cultures, masculine culture believes Male to be the dominant part of the family and the only one allowed to support the family financially. Cultures with low masculinity dimension show females to be an important part of the workforce. Global issues: When it comes to addressing global issues to and automobile industry (Proton) most of the issues are relevant, whether it is of rising cost, taxation, global financial crises, regulations safety and health issues, all of the issues can be tracked back to an automobile industry (proton). There are many factors that Proton has to constrains before going overseas, for example, the tax fees is different in different countries, as well as the economic condition which will affect the sales, these are some of the issues that have to be addressed from Proton. Business volatility and risk Management: Considering the automobile industry (Proton), it took thousands of failed attempts before finally making a plane that could’ve worked. With every attempt being shot down, the amount of risk involved kept increasing but it was a necessary evil to reach to the point now where cars are made with perfection and counter abilities to have a safe driving. In the case of Proton, there are a number of risks involved which the mangers in charge have to think about. Initially, since the automobile industry is a huge business, the risk of investing enormous capital is the prime risk which decides the fate of the operation. Secondly, there is the risk of economic decline or inflation to sweep over which would directly affect the businesses in the service industry such as carmakers. Thirdly comes the cost of the fluctuating cost of material steals globally which has been increasing. The point is not to note out the risks involved the point is to manage risks relating to the merger effectively. Branding Success and Challenges: Branding is a concept originated for as far back as the 1200 in Sweden, where they used to burn insignia’s on a horse to differentiate it from others. For a company that wants its name out in the market, it takes extensive marketing, heavy funds, and a lot of patience because it takes a while. Reaching brand awareness is only the first step, and then the company needs to reach its target market, once it’s done then it comes Brand loyalty, whereby customers prefer choosing a brand they have become loyal to. If the brands present a particular negative perception of the company then it may take a long time and efforts to change the perception of the masses. For example, when Lexus was first revealed and appreciated by the masses, it was unknown that it belonged to Toyota, because of Toyota’s perception of being an economical and affordable automotive vehicle. Business Sustainability: It is one thing to start a business but it is another to sustain it. By sustaining it doesn’t always mean running it profitably, it also include social and environmental obligations, risk and opportunities it has. There are a number of ways in which companies can ensure their business sustainability which would be as follows; Shareholder engagement. Environmental management system. Reporting and disclosure. If proton implements these sustainable strategies into their operation and monito the quality, sustainability can be expected. Tuckman theories on teamwork: Introduction For the subject of Business and Commercial Awareness, we got an assignment to make a business plan for Proton. According to Dr Mahathir’s statement â€Å"our immediate plan would be to change its strategy from being a maker of cheap cars to become a world standard car manufacture†. Stage one: Forming The class was divided into a group of five members, each of the members was giving a department to work on, and these departments are Finance, Operation, Human Resource, and marketing. Unfortunately I was given Finance department, where I have to analyse the current situation of Proton’s finance performance. However, before the assignment my knowledge of finance was substantially lower than an average final year student of Business Administration, but I have had a mind-set to not pay attention to things that do not interest me for as far back as I can remember. Stage two: Storming Then we moved into the second stage which is storming, in this stage we started to push against boundaries. We have many conflicts between us in the nature of our working style, where each of the members has a different working style, for example in marketing department, where Amir and Khider were handed this part, they had many issues in solving the problems which cause frustration to the entire group, as well as I was giving Finance department, which was a big challenge for my authority. As the team work wasn’t clearly defined, which cause us to feel overwhelmed by the workload. I believe that it was mission impossible for us to overcome the issues we were facing in this stage; we could not even come up with the framework for our strategies, which was a big disappointment. We end up working these issues out with Dr Tan, and finally we could move to the next step. Stage three: Norming In this stage we finally identified our goals, and each of the members is fully aware of the methods and the strategies which should be adopted in order to achieve our goal. As well as trust and apperception was built between us, where the leader of our group Ben was a big motivation for us, he has helped each of us to take responsibility for progress towards achieving the goal. As most of the discussions were conducted through a facebook page. Stage four: Performing In this stage we solved all the problems and issues by using appropriate controls, and we have achieved and effective and satisfying result. It was amazing that we worked collaboratively to achieve our goal, as there was caring from the members towards each there. For example Brain Scot was very helpful in helping me with my part in Finance department, he recommended me on how to finalize my part. In addition to, the commitment from the group members increased positively towards the group work comparing to the first stage.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Animalia Vertebrata Mammalia Carnivora Canidae Canis Lupus And Animal :: essays research papers

ANIMALIA VERTEBRATA MAMMALIA CARNIVORA CANIDAE CANIS LUPUS AND ANIMALIA VERTEBRATA MAMMALIA CARNIVORA CANIDAE CANIS NIGER Introduction: Any person who has been able to catch a glimpse of any type of wolf is indeed a lucky man. The wolf is one of the earth's most cowardly and fearful animals, and it is so sly and, pardon the expression, foxy, that it is almost a waste of time to try and catch him in any kind of trap. Although he can be cowardly and fearful, he can also be one the most vicious and blood-thirsty of all animals. Often, they simply kill as much prey as is possible, regardless of hunger and appetite. This is done by "hamstringing" their prey. This leaves them helpless and unable to move. Then the wolf pack can eat and tear him apart at their own will. Although savage and bloodthirsty, wolves are among some of the world's smartest and most perceptive mammals. Where found: Wolves are found all over the world, and on almost every major continent of the earth. The following wolves are types of Gray Wolves (Canis lupus). In eastern Europe the European Wolf (Canis lupus lupus) can be found even though it used to roam most of western Europe as well. In Spain, two wolves have also been identified-Canis lupus deitanus and Canis lupus signatus. While the first is similar to many of the other European wolves, the latter may be more closely related to the jackal (Canis aureus), than to a wolf. The Caucasion Wolf (Canis lupus cubanensis) is found in many parts of eastern Europe and western Asia. The large tundra wolf of eastern Asia, the Tundra or Turukhan Wolf (Canis lupus albus), is very close in relations to the wolves of northern Alaska. In the Arctic Islands and Greenland the Melville Island Wolf (Canis lupus arctos), the Banks Island Wolf (Canis lupus bernardi), the Baffin Island Wolf (Canis lupus manningi), and the Greenland wolf (Canis lupus orion), are all found. Wolves of the Continental Tundra and Newfoundland include the Alaska Tundra Wolf (Canis lupus tundrarum), the Interior Alaska Wolf (Canis lupus pambasileur), the Kenai Peninsula Wolf (Canis lupus alces), the Mackenzie Tundra Wolf (Canis lupus mackenzii), the Mackenzie Valley Wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis), the Hudson Bay Wolf (Canis lupus hudsonicus), the Labrador Wolf (Canis lupus labradorius), and the Newfoundland Wolf (Canis lupus beothicus). However, the Newfoundland wolf has seemed to become extinct. This is strange because there is no evidence of them being intensely hunted by man, of extreme habitat changes, or of lack of food and yet in the early 1900s they became extinct. The wolves of the Western Mountains and Coast of North America include

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Changing the Drinking Age to 18 Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essa

Young teens all get a bad rep when it comes to drinking alcohol. Especially college students that are considered â€Å"binge drinkers†. When in reality a nation wide survey of students at 168 colleges and university’s found some interesting things about the underage corrupt youth. 93% of all students have never received a lower grade in a class because of drinking too much. 98% of all college students say that they have never gotten into trouble from an administrator from excessive drinking. While the media continually gives the under twenty one community a bad rep, in reality they are continually practicing safe drinking habits and in some cases not drinking at all. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute for Social Research of the University of Michigan, the proportion of non-drinkers in the U.S. just reached a record breaking all time high. The point is that college students drink less than what most people think and are in reality res ponsible drinkers. So what can be done to change the drinking law to eighteen again? These underage students continually spite the law and show that they can handle the responsibility. It is silly to overlook this and maintain a blind law such as the current drinking law. The first step into taking this law and changing it back to eighteen is to start at home and inform the children at a young age the harms and hazards of alcohol. It is not something to take lightly and it can lead to many life long problems. However I feel if this is taught at an early age and drinking is looked at as a privileged rather than a right it will be abused and rather something that will not be taking for granted. This will make drinking in small portions more commonplace and drinking in an excessive manner a rarity. Drinking would no longer be a big deal. Young children start off learning the dangers of drinking and would eventually start drinking at family events like they do in other foreign countries. These countries do this and do not have a major drinking problem in their society. By the time these children get to the age of 18 it will be legal to purchase and legally drink and it will not be a big deal because they have been taught responsible drinking from the start. This is an obvious start to fixing and changing this law, however it would be difficult to change the social and family traditions of A... ... that it is morally wrong to let eighteen year olds to drink legally. They would also argue that more and more deaths would happen due to this law being changed. When in reality if you follow these steps, teach young children at a young age to drink moderately and responsibly, add more harsher penalties to the drinking and driving laws and make defensive driving courses mandatory to graduate in high school, and to finally make a â€Å"permit† for under twenty one drinkers as a test to see exactly how it affects the society. All in all the age of eighteen is thought to be old enough to make such big decisions as getting married and joining the army to defend the country. It would at least show that this country has confidence in the eighteen year olds to be responsible with this new law and to not abuse the power. It would make a uniform â€Å"legal age†. This simplicity in itself will make checking I.D.’s less of a problem. This law needs to be changed and ev eryone knows it. This is a reasonable proposal to try something that has never been tried before and I think that the lawmakers are scared that it would work and it would just make them look foolish for not thinking of it on their own.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Essays --

This section of the paper incorporate the types of analyses, which are fundamental in the systems engineering approach in undertaking elaborate products, new systems and services. These analyses were comprised of feasibility studies, alternative analyses, and trade studies. The design team is able to acquire the desired information to select feasible approaches through investigating the requirements, by which through feasibility studies, they can uncover potential technical approaches and methods quantitatively and qualitatively to qualify feasibility. Alternative analyses allocates accurate methodologies and reasonable objectives, while trade studies allocates administrative processes in enhancing system configurations and the distribution of resources necessary for the system’s intended purpose, by which these approaches will respond and regulated based on stakeholder’s needs, input and the aspects of the system’s duration. Knowing the feasibility of the system will provide the advantage of ensuring the system’s configuration before its production to avoid assumptions and trouble i...

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Order: Non-commissioned Officer and Lawful Orders

Following Lawful Orders Lawful orders are given for a reason and you should always obey them. For starters you should always obey lawful orders because you took an oath to do so when you joined the military. A lawful order must be followed, and done so in a timely manner. If you disagree with a lawful order, you must still follow it; you are required to follow a lawful order before you are permitted to question it. All officers and non commissioned officers appointed over you are held responsible for you and are in the keeping of the traditions and doctrines of the armed forces of the United States of America.Discipline is the only way to get a large group of people to do something that could make or break them. The military is all about discipline, which is obeying a lawful order. Military discipline and effectiveness is built on the foundation of obedience to orders. Soldiers are taught to obey immediately, and without question, orders from their superiors. If you fail to obey lawf ul orders there are many consequences. You could get an article 90 of the UCMJ, which makes it a crime to willfully disobey a superior commissioned officer.Article 91 of the UCMJ, makes it a crime to willfully disobey a superior noncommissioned or warrant officer. Article 92 of the UCMJ, makes it a crime to disobey any lawful order. It does not have to be â€Å"willful† under a article 92. The military recognizes that respect for authority is what maintains order and prevent the eruption of chaos and is hence willing to set an example for all who might be tempted to oppose their leaders, by administering punishment first hand without any judicial representatives. The Army and our commanding officers have our best interest at hand and they put in place the orders that they do for that reason.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Bullying and School Essay

Bullying has become one of the most serious issues facing our schools today. We’ve all heard the sad tales of children, some as young as 11, committing suicide because they could no longer deal with the bullying they experienced in school. In July 2008, the U.S. Congress began work on legislation for H.R. 2262, the Safe School Improvement Act, which would require schools to collect data, establish disciplinary guidelines and develop a system for registering complaints to combat bullying in our schools. However, as school counselors we can’t wait for laws to be passed to take action. We need to make a difference now. I started my quest to stop bullying at Midway Elementary School in Midway, Utah, six years ago. I attended conferences, read books and studied various programs. I learned a lot about the statistics and issues but little about specifically what to do. So I began taking steps to develop a program that would help my school and others combat school bullying. In my search for knowledge I discovered a fascinating study by Dr. Kenneth Merrell from the University of Oregon on the effectiveness of school bullying intervention programs. The study results showed that bully intervention programs, especially those aimed specifically at bullies, were effective in raising the level of awareness among students and staff but did little to reduce bullying behaviors. Merrell, along with others, recommend a schoolwide comprehensive approach to bully prevention. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, programs cracking down on individual bullies rarely work, but when there is a sch oolwide commitment to end bullying, it can be reduced by up to 50 percent. Program Framework As my program evolved over the years I identified four hallmarks of a successful schoolwide bully prevention program. Lead to systemic change: Successful programs bring about systemic change. The factors contributing to bullying in any school environment are complex and nebulous. The only way to have an impact on these critical factors is to cast a wide net. There must be change at all levels in the school environment and in the community. You are literally changing the culture of the entire school. You need to utilize all existing programs and resources such as comprehensive school counseling programs, positive behavior interventions and supports, character education, the parent-teacher organization, schoolwide discipline programs, grade-level teams or professional learning communities and more. Garner commitment from all: Schoolwide bully prevention programs require commitment from all stakeholders. Although your school may have a small team to oversee the bully prevention program, collaboration among administrators, school counselors, teachers, students, parents, secretaries, custodians, lunch workers, librarians, bus drivers, etc. is essential for success. Teach comprehensive strategies and skills: Effective programs are comprehensive. Teaching students about specific issues related to bullying is only one aspect of an effective schoolwide program. There are many supporting concepts and social skills you also need to address, such as conflict resolution, tattling vs. reporting, respect, accepting differences, teasing, cliques, relational aggression, cooperation and more. Effective data analysis will help you identify many of these specific needs. Continue year after year: Many times schools will bring in a pre-packaged bully prevention program, have a big anti-bullying campaign, raise a lot of awareness and then call it good. Effective bully prevention programs are not a one-shot deal. Effective prevention programs are nonstop. They require intervention, data to assess the program’s effectiveness and components, and ongoing specific targeted interventions for bullies, their victims and the bystander population. Key Components Eight key components, best implemented sequentially, have led to the success of Midway Elementary’s bully prevention program. Administrative support: An extremely important aspect of starting a bully prevention program is soliciting the support of your school administrators. Without strong and effective leadership, systemic change is difficult. As leaders in the school, administrators should become experts on bullying issues. They should form a bully prevention team and identify a go-getter staff member to lead this team. The administrators need to develop an anti-bullying code of conduct and communicate it to all stakeholders, especially students. Most importantly, administrators should establish the tone and expectations for students and staff and outline clear and consistent consequences for students who violate the anti-bullying code of conduct. Consequences should be based on a level system for first and subsequent offenses. It is important to follow district guidelines when establishing the level system. School administrators should utilize a behavior referral system to provide valuable data. The behavior referral system should include specific information that will help provide meaningful data to identify areas of concern and needs. Administrators should involve parents of both victims and bullies, especially for repeat offenders, to discuss concerns, outline consequences and form a strategic plan to stop the bullying behaviors. Schoolwide positive behavior interventions and supports program: If your school doesn’t have a PBIS program, I would highly recommend implementing one. Use the PBIS program to establish clear schoolwide rules. The rules should be specific to location, taught to all students and posted throughout the school. Introduce desired behaviors, clearly teach them and then model them. Once you’ve taught the behaviors, reinforce student compliance using a variety of incentive programs. Use data to measure the effectiveness of your program and to identify ongoing areas of concern. Data: I use two types of data, behavioral referral data and surveys given to students, parents and staff. Data can provide baseline information, measure the effectiveness of your program, discover areas of concern and identify chronic bullies and their victims. Online surveys will help gather subjective data to assess stakeholders’ level of concern, to measure student awareness and knowledge, to solicit input from staff members and to assess parent perspectives and concerns. Office behavior referral data provide objective data for analysis. Behavior referral forms or systems should include information directly related to bullying. By regularly reviewing these data, you can identify types of bullying, locations, repeat offenders and victims. Upon identifying specific problems, bully prevention team members should develop a plan of action to deal with the issues. Staff training: All staff members should receive training to include definitions of bullying, types of bullying, effects of bullying on victims, school code of conduct and expectations, legal liability based on state law and, most importantly, how to intervene when they witness bullying incidents or a student reports it to them. Make sure your staff training includes teachers, administrators, specialists, secretaries, lunch staff, custodians, aides and bus drivers. Student awareness and education: Give all students a basic introductory lesson including definitions for bullying, types of bullying with examples, school code of conduct and expectations, what to do when they are bullied or how to help others as bystanders. Students need to learn about the importance of speaking up and supporting each other with the skills they learn. Establish a common language for discussing bullying issues, and post it in every classroom and in key locations throughout the school. Critical social skills training: Once you’ve taught them the basics, students need additional information and skills to increase their level of awareness and to deal with bullying issues. At Midway Elementary, we’ve spent time on topics such as tattling vs. reporting, conflict resolution, teasing, relational aggression/cliques, cooperation, caring, respect and any other topics that come out of the stakeholder surveys or behavior referral data. Develop classroom guidance lessons to specifically address these needs, and teach students the skills and knowledge necessary to reduce the problem. Targeted interventions for bullies and victims: Data analysis will help you identify chronic bullies and their victims. These students most likely will need highly targeted interventions and supports. When it comes to intervention for bullies there is no silver bullet. The factors contributing to the reasons why children bully others are complex and often almost impossible to identify. Research also suggests that interventions such as out-of-school suspension, peer mediation and group counseling for bullies aren’t effective. Effective interventions include individual counseling/education on issues such as developing empathy; perspective taking; social skills training; anger management; conflict resolution; and identification of psychological disorders such as ADHD, depression and anxiety. Teaching bullies pro-social leadership roles and opportunities for self-competence and success may also be useful. Behavioral strategies such as behavior contracts, check-in/check-out programs, parent meetings, etc. may also be required to facilitate change. It is also important to provide intervention for repeat victims, especially chronic victims. Interventions may include providing an adult advocate, individual or group counseling, social skills training, peer support, structured recess, etc. You may need to refer some students to outside help for more therapeutic interventions to address self-esteem issues, depression and anxiety. Program generalization: Once you’ve taught pro-social behaviors in the classroom, you need to generalize these newly acquired behaviors to various conditions and situations. An effective PBIS program is a great way to teach, model and reinforce desired behaviors. Give appropriate incentives to students who demonstrate the desired behaviors along with verbal praise providing specific examples of why the student is being rewarded. Other program generalization ideas may include: * Posters placed in key locations throughout the school to remind students and staff about the bullying code of conduct and a schoolwide common language. * Buttons worn by both students and staff as a symbol of the school’s commitment to stop bullying. * Student â€Å"spotlight† programs to celebrate students who are positive role models. * Assemblies and student pledges to kick off the school year and to promote school commitment or unity. * Parent and community education via parent/teacher conferences, parent newsletters, school Web sites, community newspaper articles, PTA and community council meetings. School bullying and hazing issues are complex and multifaceted. They require a comprehensive approach to increase the probability of addressing many of the contributing factors. School counselors are in a unique position to promote a comprehensive approach because of their training and expertise in the social and emotional wellness of children and adolescents. School counselors who are trained in the ASCA National Model are familiar with the use of data to drive programs and the delivery of interventions. School counselors understand the importance of early intervention and prevention to promote positive outcomes in behavior and academics. Systemic change requires leadership and, as John Quincy Adams said, â€Å"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.† Parents can play a central role to preventing bullying and stopping it when it happens. Here are a few things you can do. * Teach kids to solve problems without using violence and praise them when they do. * Give children positive feedback when they behave well to help their build self-esteem. Help give them the self-confidence to stand up for what they believe in. * Ask your children about their day and listen to them talk about school, social events, their classmates, and any problems they have. * Take bullying seriously. Many kids are embarrassed to say they have been bullied. You may only have one chance to step in and help. * If you see any bullying, stop it right away, even if your child is the one doing the bullying. * Encourage your child to help others who need it. * Don’t bully your children or bully others in front of them. Many times kids who are bullied at home reactby bullying other kids. If your children see you hit, ridicule, or gossip about someone else, they are also more likely to do so themselves. * Support bully prevention programs in your child’s school. If your school doesn’t have one, consider starting one with other parents, teachers, and concerned adults. When Your Child Is Bullied Many kids are embarrassed to be bullied and may not tell their parents or another adult right away. If your child comes to you and asks for help with a bully, take it seriously. Many times, if kids aren’t taken seriously the first time they ask for help, they don’t ask again. Even if your child doesn’t turn to you for help, you can watch for these warning signs that he or she is being bullied. Kids who are bullied often experience * Withdrawal * A loss of friends * A drop in grades * A loss of interest in activities he or she previously enjoyed * Torn clothing * Bruises * A need for extra money or supplies If you think your child is being bullied or if your child has told you that he or she is being bullied, you can help. Parents are often the best resource to build a child’s self-confidence and teach him or her how to best solve problems. Here are a few ways you can help * Talk to your child’s teacher about it instead of confronting the bully’s parents. If the teacher doesn’t act to stop the bullying, talk to the principal. * Teach your child nonviolent ways to deal with bullies, like walking away, playing with friends, or talking it out. * Help your child act with self-confidence. With him or her, practice walking upright, looking people inthe eye, and speaking clearly. * Don’t encourage your child to fight. This could lead to him or her getting hurt, getting in trouble, and beginning more serious problems with the bully. * Involve your child in activities outside of school. This way he or she can make friends in a different social circle. Some children seem to be bullied all the time, while others rarely get picked on. Why do some kids seem to attract all of the bullies? Kids who are bullied often * Are different from other kids, whether by size, race, sexually, or have different interests * Seem weak, either physically or emotionally * Are insecure * Want approval * Won’t tell on their bullies When Your Child Is a Bully It’s hard for any parent to believe that their child is a bully, but sometimes it happens. But just because your child bullies doesn’t mean that he or she will bully forever. Parents are one of the best resources to help their child stop bullying and start interacting positively with their classmates. Your child may bully if, he or she * Lacks empathy and doesn’t sympathize with others * Values aggression * Likes to be in charge * Is an arrogant winner and a sore loser * Often fights often with brothers and sisters * Is impulsive What you can do to stop your child from bullying * Take it seriously. Don’t treat bullying as a passing phase. Even if you’re not worried about long-lasting effects on your child, another child is being hurt. * Talk to your child to find out why he or she is bullying. Often, children bully when they feel sad, angry, lonely, or insecure and many times major changes at home or school may bring on these feelings. * Help build empathy for others and talk to your child about how it feels to be bullied. * Ask a teacher or a school counselor if your child is facing any problems at school, such as if your child is struggling with a particular subject or has difficulty making friends. Ask them for advice on how you and your child can work through the problem. * Ask yourself if someone at home is bullying your child. Often, kids who bully are bullied themselvesby a parent, family member, or another adult. http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/what-parents-can-do How can parents help to prevent bullying at their child’s school? * Talk with and listen to your kids – every day. Research shows that approximately half the children who have been bullied never tell their parents about it. Children are often too ashamed of themselves to tell anyone; sometimes they feel that no one can help, not even their parents.1 * Spend time at school and recess. Research shows that 67% of bullying happens when adults are not present. Whether you can volunteer once a week or once a month, you can make a real difference just by showing up. * Be a good example of kindness and leadership. Your kids learn a lot about power relationships from watching you. Any time you speak to another person in a hurtful or abusive way, you’re teaching your child that bullying is ok. * Learn the signs. If you suspect that your child might be bullied, talk with your child’s teacher or find ways to observe his or her peer interactions to determine whether or not your suspicions might be correct. * Create healthy anti-bullying habits early. Help develop anti-bullying and anti-victimization habits early in your children, as early as kindergarten. Coach your children what not to do – hitting, pushing, teasing, being mean to others. Equally if not more importantly, teach your children what to do – kindness, empathy, fair play, and turn-taking are critical skills for good peer relations. * Help your child’s school address bullying effectively. Whether your children have been bullied or not, you should know what their school is doing to address bullying. Research shows that â€Å"zero-tolerance† policies aren’t effective. What works better are ongoing educational programs that help create a healthy social climate in the school. * Establish household rules about bullying. Your children need to hear from you explicitly that it’s not normal, okay, or tolerable for them to bully, to be bullied, or to stand by and watch other kids be bullied. If your child is bullying, you can help him or her find other ways to exert their personal power, status, and leadership at school. Work with your child, his or her teachers, and the principal to implement a kindness plan at school. * Teach your child how to be a good witness. Children can often effectively diffuse a bullying situation by yelling â€Å"Stop! You’re bullying!† Must bullies stop within 10 seconds when someone tells him or her to stop. * Spread the word that bullying should not be a normal part of childhood. Some adults hesitate to act when they observe or hear about bullying because they think of bullying as a typical phase of childhood that must be endured. It is important for everyone to understand that all forms of bullying – physical, verbal, social (gossip, rumors, exclusion from the group), and cyberbullying are NOT a normal part of childhood. * Adults (teachers and parent volunteers) in the classroom should be aware of class social structures. Which children typically affiliate together? Which children are leaders and socially influential? Which children are socially marginalized? Purposefully pairing and grouping children so that children who bully and those who are victims can work together helps to prevent bullying outside the classroom.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Gen 105: Final Project: Student Survival Guide

Axia’s educational resources have been a great help to me throughout this course. The three educational resources covered in this course was, Downloading files for use on your machine or portable device, Navigating the University Library, and Identifying key information within articles. Being able to download reading materials onto cell phones, and MP3 players, improves the quality of the educational experience. Axia College provides other technological tools as well, such as: audio appendixes, digital stories, and tutorials. I myself prefer the audio appendixes and digital stories because when I am able to hear things I seem to be able to learn and remember it better. I’m also able to write better notes, and do better on my assignments without having to keep looking back and searching through the reading materials. The University Library has also helped me a great deal during the course. I prefer using it over going to a traditional library because all I have to do is log onto my student website, click on the library tab, then click on the University Library tab, next all I have to do is type in a keyword to the subject I am looking for. The University Library also has a link so you can send a message to a librarian too. So in my opinion the University Library is better than a traditional library because it has all the same things without you having to leave your house. This course also taught me how to identify key information within articles. Look for different fonts, like bold, italic, or underlined words. Also, words that are different colors. Upholding Academic Honesty was something that I will use during my whole college experience. Three educational resources covered in this course are Understanding Axia’s academic honesty policy, Understanding consequences of plagiarism, and Avoiding plagiarism. To find Axia’s academic honest policy, go to the materials tab, and then click on polices at the left side of your screen. It basically states that the students and instructors all agree to use their own work and not to plagiarize. The consequences of plagiarism are pretty simple, you could fail the assignment and the course, get suspended, or even expelled from the University. Some ways to avoid plagiarism are: *Crediting Authors and Sources, you should make notes of your source as you go. *Know the difference between a quotation and a paraphrase. *Use a citation for an acceptable paraphrase. *Understand that a paper that consists primarily of quoted material from other sources is not considered an original work. *Understand that lifting material off the Internet is plagiarism. *Solicit Feedback. *Citing Sources. (Effective Writing Communicating Your Message. ) Setting and Achieving Goals is actually something that I thought I knew everything about, and wouldn’t be able to learn anything else. I was wrong! The three educational resources that were covered in this course were, identifying long-and short-term educational and career goals, How to reach goals despite obstacles, and how an Axia degree relates to goals. I knew what long-term goals meant and what my long-term goals were; and I also knew what short-term goals meant, and what mine were. Identifying both my long and short-term educational and career goals was pretty easy. My long-term educational goal is to graduate from University Of Phoenix with my Associates Degree in Psychology. My long-term career goal is to use my degree to be a drug councilor. My short-term educational goals are to do all my assignments and participation on time and post them on time each week. Reaching my goals despite obstacles is what I need to work on. I need to prioritize my goals. Anticipate any problems that may accrue, and make a list of things to do if those problems to arise so it doesn’t mess with me meeting my goal. Such as, me not doing well in a class for a couple weeks; then for the remainder of that class I will work extra hard, and make sure to bring my grade up. Managing Time Wisely is a topic I’m very glad we covered in this course. The three educational resources are balancing time between courses at Axia, Juggling school, work, and family responsibilities, and Prioritizing and avoiding time-wasters. I’m a single mother of a two year old little girl, so it can get very hectic at my house. Every time I get on the computer to log onto my student website she will jump right in the middle of my computer and me. I usually have to wait until she is asleep before I can do any work. That means I am up most of the time at 3:00AM and 4:00AM and get up with my daughter at 7:00AM or 8:00AM. It’s very hard! There was an activity that we did, it was Appendix F : Time Management Log. The log had from 6:00AM to 9:30PM down the first column, the second was labeled â€Å"Activities†, and the third â€Å"Comments/observations. This assignment really helped me a lot to see what I was spending my time on, and to figure out how I could change that. Fostering Reading Comprehension and Retention helped be able to read the materials faster, and understand it too. The two educational resources in this course was Using reading comprehension echniques for successful reading, and Using SQ3R and other study habits. Some reading comprehension techniques for successful reading are find somewhere to read that is quite and you won’t be distracted, make yourself concentrate on what your reading, look ahead in the reading to see what’s next, become emotionally involved with what your reading, and define your reading purpose. SQ3R really helped me with my reading as signments. Skim, Question, Read, Recite, Review. When I have to read something new I use SQ3R. It really helps me to remember and learn the material. Applying Personality and Learning Styles was a lesson I found very interesting. The three educational resources for this course was, Using your personality type for distance learning success, Developing your multiple intelligences, Relating to others who have different personality types and intelligences. My personality type was an organizer, and that helps me in distance learning because I keep everything for each class separate so it’s easier to find, I also keep an agenda with my assignments wrote down for each class, and two dry erase boards one for each class.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Problems with Education Essay

What is it that’s making our nation suffer from excelling in education? Not many would argue about the importance of excellence in education. Problems such as teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement, and teaching high-stakes testing may hinder progress in education. An education is an indispensable and essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students aren’t valuing or able to value their education. An Education can open the doors to opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the fluctuating economy and hesitant times, it is more important than ever for our nation’s children to receive the proper education and training that will allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Unfortunately, there are many problems facing our education system today, and several of them are having negative effects on the quality of the education our students are receiving. Would one feel comfortable fifty years from now, when the children who are victim of the disadvantages of teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement and a majority of their education being how to take a high stakes test, are running this nation? How soundly can one sleep knowing that their decisions on a bill deciphering how much of a pension someone will receive or what’s legal and what’s not is at stake? Should these problems be quietly swept under the rug and addressed again in another five years, or is it best bite the financial bullet and at the very least, acknowledge there is an issue? A serious problem that is attacking the education system in America is the alarming attrition rate of teachers. Only those not involved with education at all will argue that it is an undemanding profession; in actuality, it is a very demanding profession with an often overwhelming amount of pressure and responsibility tied to it. However, it can also be a very rewarding profession. Unfortunately, many teachers simply cannot overcome the immense responsibilities well enough to stick with the profession for any length of time. Jalongo and Heider (2006) present staggering statistics in their article, saying that forty-six percent of new teachers in this country quit teaching after five years or less, with that percentage growing to fifty percent in urban areas. Even more shocking is the fact that ninety percent of teachers who are hired in this country are replacements for teachers who have left teaching for some reason other than retirement (p. 379). There are many reasons that the rate of teachers leaving the profession is so high. Anhorn (2008) very concisely sums up some of the major problems in her article when she says, â€Å"Difficult work assignments, inadequate resources, isolation, role conflict, and reality shock are some top reasons for the horrendous attrition statistics with the widespread â€Å"sink or swim† attitude that is prevalent in so many schools† (p. 15). It is easy to see why the beginning teacher attrition rate is so high. There is simply so much to do these days, between extracurricular responsibilities and high-stakes testing, it is easy to get overwhelmed. In her article, Sitler (2007) sums it up quite nicely when she says, No one expects the first years of teaching to be easy. No one expects that Teaching assignments will never change. But no one expects either that One’s first years of teaching will be compromised by administrative Systems that make instability and disillusionment routine occurrences Rather than exceptions. (p. 22) If teachers received more support from the administration and less of the strong arm effect, educators wouldn’t be so timid in teaching and instead bring more value to the classroom. Many of us probably remember our parents being very involved with our education, whether they were part of the PTA or just asked about your grades and homework every day when you got home. Unfortunately, today, parental involvement seems to be waning. While there still is a good deal of involvement at the elementary level, middle school and high school, when children really need that parental guidance, it’s almost nonexistent. It is our responsibility to try to involve parents who seem hesitant and reluctant to be a part of their child’s education. No matter what the hesitation is from the parent, be it a language barrier,  fear of school itself, whatever might be causing a parent to be stand offish about their child’s education and being an active part of it, not only the teacher, but administration should use every opportunity to pull a parent in and allow them to become and active part in their child’s education. When parents are involved in education, teens typically have higher grade point averages, higher test scores on standardized and classroom assessments, enrollment in more rigorous academic courses, more classes passed, more credits earned toward graduation, and higher graduation rates. Parents are not performing their duties as first teacher to their kids in education. Many parents left their kids behind and keep putting the blame on the teachers due to their misunderstanding of the No Child Left Behind Act. These parents concerned are the ones who left their kids behind and not the schools; teachers are secondary to kids’ education. Unfortunately so many educators feel such pressure to prepare students for the TAKS test that they fail to ever demonstrate the relevance of what they are teaching. They fail to teach the items within the curriculum that are useful outside of the walls of the school. So, we have students who graduate and can solve quadratic equations, classify living organisms and distinguish between a plant and an animal cell but don’t know how to budget money, complete a financial aid form, solve a real-world problem, think for themselves, or apply the testing information beyond what was taught. I have heard people say the purpose of the exams is to make sure our students do not graduate before they know basics skills†¦ like Physics? Most of the arguments I hear come from people who have never even looked at the test; people who just blindly adhere to the regulations because it is a law. Which leads me to the most frustrating and most often argument I hear which is, â€Å"We need to hold students accountable because it is the law? † Well, there have been lots of bad laws over the years. Does anyone remember the Jim Crow laws? If as a country we were to have blindly followed these laws, then blacks and whites would still be segregated. There is no denying the fact that the problems mentioned, are not going to go away over night. They are major issues facing American education, and educators simply must do everything in our power to conquer them. An education is such a valuable and necessary tool, and we must do everything we can to get our students to value their education. I personally do believe there is hope for a positive change. Problems don’t fix themselves, and if admitting that we need help in going about the way our nation views the importance of education is what needs to be done, then it’s time to slap on the â€Å"HELLO MY NAME IS †¦Ã¢â‚¬  sticker and start being honest and start fixing the problems of teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement and teaching children how to take a state issued test. References Jalongo, M. R. , & Heider, K. (2006). Editorial teacher attrition: An issue of national concern. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 379-380. Anhorn, R. (2008). The profession that eats its young. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 74(3), 15-26. Sitler, H. C. (2007). The lived experience of new teachers, or why should I stay in this profession? Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 87(4), 22.