U.S. Education Today and Tomorrow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U.S. Education Today and Tomorrow - Essay Example Market based education reforms such as charter schools are not going to aid in the improvement of education for students in the United States. Promises of de-regularized governance structures in schools have not achieved their stated objectives. Nationally, charter schools do not perform better than charter public schools. Additionally, implementation of these market-based school reforms, i.e. charter schools and school choice show a higher level of inequity in the academic achievements of the students. Market based education reforms are not going to affect the American education system in a satisfactory manner. The best policy for the improvement of public schools would be to invest directly in proven reforms that focus on the implementation of practices that can improve the school’s curriculum, rather than focusing on the business side of schools (Wraga, 2010). Another education trend that aims at effecting change in the U.S. education system is a high school reforms. Recent education reform in Idaho, known as Students Come First, adopted advanced academic standards for its students. This project involves giving the teachers tools that they require to engage today’s learners and individualize teaching. These reforms will have the effect of expanding digital learning for students so that they have access to educational opportunities wherever they reside. Via building connections with post-secondary education and career opportunities, the project aims at giving all high school students an opportunity of taking college entry exams, as well as college credits while still students in high school. It is expected that, by making the education curriculum in high schools more relevant and rigorous, the students, may actually elect to stay in school rather than dropping out, which cannot be achieved by the present strategy that

Western civilization. Ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle Essay

Western civilization. Ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle - Essay Example Athens in olden times was an intellectual and artistic centre of the Greek world. The advanced thinkers came in and rejected the traditional explanations of the world of nature. The Greek thinkers started suspecting rational order to the universe.In such an atmosphere came the traveling teacher the Sophist. They were men whose responsibility was to train and educate the sons of Athens [1]. Amongst the ranks of Sophist came Socrates (c.469-399 B.C.), the most notable and wisest Athens ever survived. His most prized student was Plato (c.427-347 B.C.), who came from a wealthy and powerful family and devoted himself to teachings of philosophy under Socrates at a young age of twenty. Amongst Plato's prized student was Aristotle (384-322 B.C.) born in small Greek colony in Thrace and whose father served grandfather of Alexander the Great. He was interested in details of natural life. [2]Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher. He is the founder of Western philosophy, and has contributio ns in the field of ethics, epistemology and logic. His ideas and approaches strongly provide a foundation for the western philosophy. His most important contribution is his dialectic method of inquiry which is known as Socratic Method used in examination of concepts of good and justice. He is known as the father of politics, philosophy, ethics and moral philosophy. He taught his students to be concerned with their families, careers and political responsibilities and also with the welfare of their souls. He believed in immortality of the soul, and that virtue could be taught. Socrates argued that the moral excellence was a matter of divine legacy and not the 1) Steven Kreis, the history guide, Lecture 6: The Greek thoughts: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, 2000. http://www.historyguide.org/ancient/lecture8b.html 2) Dr. C. George Boeree, the ancient Greeks part2: Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, copyright 2000, 2009. http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/athenians.html Parental nurture. His few believe were that no one desires evil, no one does wrong willingly or knowingly, all virtue is knowledge and virtue is sufficient for knowledge. This believes are characterized as Socratic paradoxes. He is himself referred as saying, "I know that I know nothing" [3]; he believed that wrongdoing was a consequence of ignorance. He connected the art of love with the love of wisdom i.e. philosophy. Socrates believed that the best way for the people to live was to focus on self development rather than material wealth. He stressed that virtue was the most valuable of all possessions [4]. Plato was Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues and the founder of Academy in Athens. He laid the foundations of natural philosophy, science and western philosophy. He taught philosophy, logic, rhetoric and mathematics. He often discussed the father-son relationship and the impact it had on son's life. Plato discovered that mankind is born with knowledge and it is present in human mind at birth. He argued that in daily lives we collect information from our experiences and gave great importance to the physical, mental and spiritual development of an individual. Plato introduced the idea that the mistakes were due to not engaging properly within justice, beauty and equality (he called them "forms"). In metaphysics Plato predicted a systematic rational treatment of the forms and their interrelation. In ethics and moral psychology he developed the view that the good life requires not just a certain kind of knowledge but also training to healthy emo tional responses and harmony between the three parts of the soul; reason, spirit and appetite. [5] Aristotle was a Greek philosopher, a student of Plato and the teacher of Alexander the Great. His 3) Benjamin Jowett, The republic by Plato, book 1, 23rd September 2009. 4) Sarah Kofman, Socrates: Fictions of a Philosopher ,1998, ISBN 0-8014-3551-

Human Resource Management Project Essay Example for Free

Human Resource Management Project Essay Introduction Human Resource Management is defined as the policies, practices and systems that influence an employee’s behaviour, attitude, and performance in the attainment of organizational goals, and it is also a way of management that links people-related activities to the strategy of a business or organization. Now days, the human resource has an important function in the companies or organizations. The human resource provides significant support and advice to line management because many companies consider their human capital as their most important asset. The purpose of this report is to compare and contrast the human resource management between India and Canada. This report will describe the human rights, recruitment, selection, training and development, and health and safety of Indian companies, and research the role of human resource in the recruitment and selection processes of Indian companies, and finally compare and contrast them to Canadian human resources practices. Moreover, this report will also analyze the cultural differences between Canada and India. The report aims to find difference human resource management between Canada and India, and improve the human resource management system of Canada. Role of Human Resources in the Recruiting and Selection Human resource plays an instrumental role in helping their organization achieve its goals of becoming a socially and environmentally responsible firm. In India, there is large-scale unemployment with shortage of skilled labour, hence, the role of HR in recruiting will provide the necessary tools to maintain a positive competitive labour market. Clearly defined role of Human Resources in Recruitment process is very important for measuring the success of the whole Recruitment Process. The overall setting of the HR Role in Recruitment is directly linked to Recruitment Strategy and HR Strategy. [1] Human resource and hiring managers play a highly significant role for setting the correct measures and defining the potential gaps in the whole recruitment process. The role of Human Resources in India is increasing, from making the process working to the real management of HR Processes and the Recruitment Process was the first to manage. The Recruitment Strategy changed the efficiency and costs to the company were more important.[2] The role of HR in recruiting and selection process in India has following factors: 1) Decides about the design of the recruitment processes and to decide about the split of roles and responsibilities between Human Resources and Hiring Manager 2) Decides about the right profile of the candidate 3) Decides about the sources of candidates 4) Decides about the measures to be monitored to measure the success of the process The role of HR in Recruitment is very important to work on the development of the recruitment and selection process and to make the process very competitive on the market. Good recruitment and selection can make sure the organization has enough advantaged and appropriate employee and managers; in addition to that, it can lead to company work more efficiency. * Recruiting process has following steps: 1. Identify vacancy 2. Prepare job description and person specification 3. Advertising the vacancy 4. Managing the response 5. Short-listing 6. Arrange interviews 7. Conducting interview and decision making * Selection involves the following components: Reception, screening interview, application blank, selection test, selection interview, medical test, reference checks, and hiring decision. Chap: 3 Human Resource practice in India India is being widely recognised as one of the most exciting emerging economics in the world. Besides becoming a global hub of outsourcing, Indian firms are spreading their wings globally through mergers and acquisitions. During the first four months of 1997, Indian companies have bought 34 foreign companies for about U.S. $11 billion dollars. This impressive development has been due to a growth in inputs (capital and labour) as well as factor productivity. By the year 2020, India is expected to add about 250 million to its labour pool at the rate of about 18 million a year, which is more than the entire labour force of Germany. This so called ‘demographic dividend’ has drawn a new interest in the Human Resource concepts and practices in India.[6] In a general, if we look at the history of Human resource practice in recent years, we can see effect on the managerial history of India was to be provided by the British system of corporate organisation for 200 years. Clearly, the socio cultural roots of Indian heritage are diverse and have been drawn from multiple sources including ideas brought from other parts of the old world. In India, the Human resource management practice is in transition face it is learning new ideas from other parts of the world and also with growing population and growing multinational companies coming to India the work culture is continuously improving. One of the noteworthy features of the Indian workplace is demographic uniqueness. It is estimated that both China and India will have a population of 1.45 billion people by 2030; however, India will have a larger workforce than China. Indeed, it is likely India will have 986 million people of working age in 2030, which will probably be about 300 million more than in 2007. And by 2050, it is expected India will have 230 million more workers than China and about 500 million more than the United States of America (U.S.). It may be noted that half of India’s current population of 1.1 billion people are under of 25 years of age.[7] While this fact is a demographic dividend for the economy, it is also a danger sign for the country’s ability to create new jobs at an unprecedented rate. As he has been pointed out by Meredith. [8] Here are some key factors responsible for shift in HRM practice in India [9] Above figure presents the key drivers for contemporary Indian HRM trends. In Figure, there are four external spheres of intervention for HRM professionals and these spheres are integrated in a complex array within organisational settings. The intellectual sphere, which emphasises the mindset transaction in work organisations, has been significantly impacted by the forces of globalisation. The other three spheres, of figure, namely the emotional, the socio cultural and the managerial domains are undergoing, similar profound changes. Key HRM Practices in Indian Organisations: The above figure describes the general HRM practise in Public sector Organization. In private sector the HRM sector is not organized. In Private sector THE HRM practice depends on individual company basis. Company Profile: Infosys technology is a leading software company based in India which was established in 1981 and is listed in NASDAQ as a global consulting and IT services company with more than 122,000 employees. From a capital of US$ 250 they have grown to become a US$ 5.38 billion company with a market capitalization of approximately US$ 38 billion. In their journey of over 29 years they have catalyzed some of the major changes that have led to Indias emergence as the global destination for software services talent. [10] Recruitment Process: The Company uses different sources like Campus Interviews, advertisements in newspapers and applications received through the company website. Firstly, they do not have any distinction between any branch of Engineering, applicant from any branch can apply for the selection process but the only criteria is to meet the requirement of grades, the applicant should be very well qualified and should have high grades and the time gap which means if any of the applicant was rejected in the selection process then they can only apply after 9 months. The qualified candidates are shortlisted and are called for a written test. [11] Selection Process of choosing individuals with qualifications needed to fill jobs in an organization. The duration of the selection process in Infosys is 2.5 hours which includes filling in an application form, an Aptitude Test ( Analytical Thinking and Arithmetic Reasoning) and a test of Communicative English Language. The duration of the tests is 90 minutes and the Aptitude Test consists of puzzles type and the number of questions varies between 9 to 15. [12] Training and Development Infosys training, continuing education and career development programs are designed to ensure that the technology professional enhances their skill-sets in alignment to their respective goals. The following are the types of training provided by Infosys to their new recruits and employees. Technical Training by Education and Research Department Most of the new candidates that are hired complete 14 weeks of integrated on-the-job-training prior to being assigned to their business units. All these training are done in a total area of 1.44 million square feet in The Infosys Global Education Center in Mysore- India, which can train approximately 14,000 employees at a time. As of March 31, 2010 they employed 610 full-time employees as faculty which included 208 employees with doctorate or masters degrees. The faculty also conducts integrated training for the new employees. They also make employees to undergo certification programs each year to develop the skills relevant that are for their roles. [13] Personal Effectiveness and Managerial Programs The above program is to enhance the managerial capabilities and leadership abilities in order to have better customer satisfaction, achieve their organizational vision and to create high performing multicultural teams. [14] Performance Management Creating an equitable and inclusive work environment In 2008-09 Infosys were recognized for their efforts to promote a more inclusive work environment. They won the Corporate Award for Excellence in Gender Inclusivity instituted by the National Association for Software Companies (NASSCOM), India, for the second consecutive year. They also received the Helen Keller award which was instituted by the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, for the third consecutive year and they also won the ASTD Excellence in Practice Award for diversity training. [15] The Head -HRD, is the custodian of equal employment opportunity. The Diversity Office and the HR department are responsible for coordinating efforts in implementing and disseminating information regarding the company’s diversity agenda. Being an IT services company they do not have any business identified as having risk for incidents of forced or compulsory or child labour, therefore they foresee risk of child labour in their supply chain in India, and therefore controls it through the vendor selection process. Compensation and Benefits Infosys compensates its human assets in three ways by adding learning value through training and development and appraisal practices. Infosys also adds emotional value through initiatives directed towards supporting employees with their work and personal needs and they also adds financial value through monetary compensation which is neither above nor below the market level. Infosys was one of the first Indian companies to offer stock option plans to their employees. Benefits Infosys work-life policies reflect local requirements and regulations. The employees in India are eligible for paid maternity leave and paternity leave under the law which is referred as the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 under which pregnant women can take paid leave up to 14 weeks, first seven weeks before delivery and other seven weeks after delivery and the maximum payment is $441.6 per week before tax. They also have satellite offices for new mothers, telecommuting for employees on need basis, adoption leave, flexible work hours, part-time work policy, one-year childcare sabbatical policy and near-site day care facilities. Employees can apply for scholarships for their children who have excelled in academics, arts and culture. Infoscions can also apply for extended family healthcare coverage. [16] In addition to that they are also provide benefits such as statutory benefits as pension, medical insurance under Employee State Insurance Scheme which is an integrated measure of Social Insurance embodied in the Employees’ State Insurance Act and is designed to accomplish the task of protecting ‘employees’ against the hazards of sickness, maternity, disablement and death due to employment injury and to provide medical care to insured persons and their families. An employee covered under the scheme has to contribute 1.75% of the wages whereas, an employer contributes 4.75% of the wages payable to an employee. The total contribution in respect of an employee comes out to 6.50% of the wages payable. They are also offered loan program which was found attractive to the employees. Loans were taken for pursuing a degree program such as MBA, or to meet personal needs such as purchasing a car or a house. [17] Health and Safety The Health Assessment and Lifestyle Enrichment (HALE) program supports their healthcare policies at a global level. In Australia they have a unique practice of having a specialist available on call for ergonomics assessment in the work area. They also provide annual health checkups for all employees at their India-based locations. [18] Chap-4 Comparison and Contrast between HR practice of India and china In comparison between India and Canada India’s ranks higher in Uncertainty Avoidance Index than Canada which means Indian wants clear cut responsibilities and job description. India’s Power Distance rank is also higher than Canada which means that in India there is unequal distribution of wealth and power in the society. India and Canada are at the opposite ends in terms of Individualism, with Canada displaying much greater Individualism than the collectivist society of India. Canadians are more autonomous and self-control in the ability to make decisions and wants to work without direct supervisions, than Indian employees. Indian employees like to work more in tandem with their managers when setting personal goals than did Canadian employees. Indians are more forward thinking when planning actions and goals which found significant correlations between these differences in perceptions and differences in cultural characteristics which include power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and paternalism. Canadians scored lower on these traits than Indians. [19] Chap – 5 About Cultural differences and Implications to Professional Practice India is a country in conversion. History, society, economic and cultural factors strongly influence Indian Human Resource Management (HRM) and mindset. The dynamic changes taking place in India, and their consequent influence and reflection in Indian HRM, the following factors provide essential background and context about key aspects of the Indian: language, geography and generational differences. Following the strong influence of the society cultural context in India does not always allow the applicability of Western management and organization theories. [3] Pawan S. Budhawar, the Indian management scholar, he emphasizes that â€Å"to a great extent, this is a core issue for Western firms operating in the Indian context and sends a clear message to researchers in the field. The intention of both HR practitioners and researchers should be to continuously develop, test and re-test constructs suitable for conducting research and develop relevant practice in the Indian context.† [4] With the challenge of mixing Western management practices with Eastern management traditions, we have to understand the Indian HRM context and its related influence on mindset is a necessity for both Indian and Western organizations. In a typical leadership development project, here is an assumption about: First, there are more qualified candidates than available leadership positions (could be internally or externally. Second, turnover of employees identified as ‘key talent† will not increase. Third, employees who are not identified as â€Å"k ey talent† will accept that the assessment process is fair. Indian human resource management will continue to evolve, and it will continue to be important characteristic of growth and sustainability. Chap – 6 Other relevant topics Generally speaking, In the process of recruiting, training management, the performance of India and Canada is similar. They use similar strategies for select right employees, like internal and external recruitment. Using skills tests and talent questions helping employers find a best person for the job. On the other hand, there are some obvious differences. Firstly, in Canada, there are a lots of policies (Provincial and territorial human rights legislation, Canada Human Rights Act) implemented by federal or national governments to protect the rights of employees, like policies about minimum wage employer must pay to workers, sexual orientation, marital status, and maximum work time. Besides that, when the rights of employees was ruined, employees can complain with some constitution including The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Citizenship Commission. On the other hand, the policies protecting employees are scary. Employees look for job by individual, and the salary and benefits paid to employees is determined by employers. Because India in a labour intensive country. The price is cheaper than Canada obviously. In addition, India do not have policies about minimum wage. The codes protecting the rights of women and young are in little quantities. Which is more, compared with Canada. It is harder for employees in India sue the company which exploits them. For instance Even though India is a labour intensive country, because of high growth of developing, it is not a big problem to find a job in their own country. A lot of jobs are created because of the increasing of market demands. Since Canada is multicultural country. You can find people from Australia, Asia and Europe. They are seeking jobs in Canada. Apart from this Canada is a secular Country. So Canada has a lot of policies about avoiding discrimination like religion, race and color. Conclusion: By analyzing and studying various reports and research paper we can say that there is vast difference between the HR practice between India and Canada. The rules and regulation regarding Human resource management are quite similar in both countries. The government of both Countries has made clear rules and regulations, but in India there is lack of implementation of the rules. Various research paper also indicates that the HRM is in transition phase, due to globalization the global practice becoming more and more familiar to Indian corporate groups. The study also suggests that there is socio-cultural influence on HRM practice in India. India has to go far to reach global HRM practice, but it is also showing good positive changes in terms of positive HRM policy guideline and support from government. Bibliography: 1. http://hrguide.applezoom.com/2007/09/hr-role-in-recruitment 2. (http://hrguide.applezoom.com/2007/09/hr-role-in-recruitment 3. http://www.shrm.org/Research/Articles/Articles/Documents/ 4. Budhwar, P. S. (2009). Challenges Facing Indian HRM And the Way Forward. In P. S. Budhwar J. Bhatnagar (Eds.), the Changing Faces of People Management in India (pp. 289-300). New York: Routledge. 5. Adapted from Towers Perrin. (2008). 2007-2008 Towers Perrin global workforce study. Retrieved August 26, 2009, www.towersperrin.com 6. http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2007/issue2/india.html 7. Chatterjee, S.R. (2006). Human resource management in India. In A. Nankervis, Chatterjee, S.R. J. Coffey (Eds.), Perspectives of human resource management in the Asia Pacific (41-62). Pearson Prentice Hall: Malaysia. 8. Meredith, R. (2007). The elephant and the dragon: The rise of India and China and what it means for all of us. New York: W.W.Norton Co. 9. http://rphrm.curtin.edu.au/2007/issue2/india.html 10. http://www.infosys.com/about/who-we-are/Pages/history.aspx 11. http://www.ittestpapers.com/articles/-infosys-selection-procedure.html 12. http://www.infosys.com/investors/reports-filings/annual-report/annual/Documents/Infosys-AR-08.pdf 13.

Parallels of 1984 to Today

Parallels of 1984 to Today Andrew West Q: George Orwell’s novel 1984 describes a dystopian future in which the government controls its citizens through the use of constant surveillance. What parallels can be drawn from this novel and the use of surveillance with our culture today? A: George Orwells â€Å"1984† which was first published in 1949 is a fictional novel that shows what the world would be like if the government overextended its powers and controlled every facet of its citizen’s lives through manipulation of language and constant surveillance. Even in its own day the novel was considered visionary and futuristic for its predictions about the future of surveillance. Even though â€Å"1984† is science fiction novel that was written over 60 years ago, it still contains a lot of significance for people and society as a whole today. Science fiction as a genre has always been about the future and what might happen if events and practices at the time the novel was written were allowed to continue and become more prevalent. One of 1984s main themes is that of perpetual war and how it can be used to control people through fear of the â€Å"Other† and the concept of taking away freedoms under the guise of keeping its citizens safe. A s the book was written only 5 years after the end of war world two the fear of another war, let alone a perpetual one would have prevalent in the minds of the people at the time. George Orwell used this fear to create a sort of end game conclusion to where these practices might lead. His writings lead to the creation of the term Orwellian which is a word used to describe a totalitarian society. Many of Orwells ideas, particularly in regards to totalitarianism and the tendency of modern governments to want to watch and control its people, ideas that were once considered the stuff of science fiction have now in this modern age become so much more than that. While it would be an exaggeration to say that our world has turned into the totalitarian state outlined in the book, we can draw many parallels between surveillance practices used in the novel and ones that are used today. ‘9/11 brought to the surface and accelerated a number of surveillance trends that had been developing quietly and largely unnoticed for previous decades’ (Lyon, D, (2003) Surveillance after 9/11) After the events of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the world trade centre, Americas surveillance practices changed dramatically. With the general populace fearing another terrorist attack, the American government was able to use the peoples fear to pass a large number of draconian laws that increased spying on American citizens under the illusion of keeping them safe. The most damaging of these laws was the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act was a law passed by the United States Congress on October 26, 2001, at the request of then President George Bush in response to the terrorist acts of September 11. The law gave controversial new powers to the Justice Department in terms of domestic and international surveillance of American citizens and anyone else within its jurisdiction (Its jurisdiction would grow and change over the years). According to the main sponsors of the law, the Patriot Act was necessary to address the growing problem of terrorism within the US borders and the need to appreh end and prosecute them before they acted. Many Opponents of the Act, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the American Civil Liberties Union, say that the Act was far too broad and would unnecessarily endanger privacy, civil liberties and discourage free speech. Among the powers that the Act grants are the ability of the government to legally tap telephone lines and the ability to intercept any Internet date including emails and private messages that they wanted. Theoretically this meant that the government had the ability to intercept any data that they considered â€Å"relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation which was a much lower standard than the previous legal guidelines which stated that a crime had to have been committed before data mining is allowed to take place. The very broad guidelines of the Act allowed the government to apply surveillance to the metadata of all American citizens and not just the data of suspected terrorists. In 2007 the NSA (National Security Agency) launched the â€Å"PRISM† program which was a clandestine anti-terrorism mass electronic surveillance data mining program. This program allowed the NSA to These events are strikingly similar to events contained in â€Å"1984†. In the book the government of Oceania uses the threat of war to pass restrictive laws and abolish freedoms so that the people are easier to control. One of the key elements of â€Å"1984† is the term doublethink which is defined as the power to hold two completely contradictory beliefs in ones mind simultaneously, and accept both of them. If we look at the use of language used in the name of the law, The Patriot Act, we can see a perfect example of this. The use of the word â€Å"Patriot† meaning that this law is expressing patriotism and values that are good for America and if you don’t agree with everything the government is doing then you hate America and want the terrorists to win. But this law does not express the values that America was founded upon (which are freedom and liberty for all), in fact the opposite is true as it greatly restricts them. Using these laws the government of Oceania slowly began to invade the privacy of its citizens more and more until they began to control every facet of their lives. Constant surveillance and thought crimes became the normalcy, with the government monitoring its citizens through the use of tele-screens within the person’s home so as to quash any rebellious thoughts. So in conclusion what parallels can be draw between the book â€Å"1984† and the surveillance practices of today. As I previously stated our world is much different than the oppressive totalitarian state described in the book but only because the government hasn’t been given the opportunity. Is the government collecting your Metadata and then using it to quash any rebellion or speech against them any different than how the government controls its citizens in â€Å"1984†. What about allowing corporations to use our data to track what we are doing online so they can sell it to the government or us it to sell us stuff, is this any different than â€Å"Big brother is watching you†. Looking at past and current surveillance practices by the government we can conclude that if given the chance the government would turn the world into that of â€Å"1984† but the reason that hasn’t quite come to pass is because we have fought against the suppressive ac ts of the government to try to curtail our freedoms but this is not enough. We cannot stand ideally by while they slowly take away every last freedom we have, our indifference is what the governments wants. They want us to slowly give away our privacy ever so gradually, sometimes willingly like with social media sites like Facebook and other times forcible without out knowledge like with the NSA spying program. Governments and corporations want to make no reasonable expectation of privacy the new norm because it makes it easier to control and manipulate. We have to draw a line in the sand and say that we don’t want to be spied upon when we are on line because if we continue to remain indifferent to what is going on with regards current surveillance practices then we will have only ourselves to blame. First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me. (Niemà ¶ller, M, (1950), Poem about the Holocaust) Joe Austin, 2010. Youth Culture Available at http://www.faqs.org/childhood/Wh-Z-and-other-topics/Youth-Culture.html [Accessed November 10th 2013] Fornas, J., 1995. Youth Culture in Late Modernity. London: Sage Publication Ltd. 1

Allergy :: essays research papers

Allergies are especially unique in the medical field because they differ among patients. An allergy is a specific immunologic reaction to a normally harmless substance, one that does not bother most people. People with allergies are often sensitive to many substances. Common allergens that cause allergic reactions include seasonal, outdoor allergens like tree, grass, and weed pollen, and year-round indoor allergens including dust particles, animal dander, and indoor mold. Most people usually can be cured by various treatments. Many people are curious why they are allergic and others are not. The answer to this is that allergies are genetic in almost all cases. Scientists and researchers believe that people inherit a tendency to be allergic, although not to any specific allergen. Children are much more likely to develop allergies if their parents have allergies. Interestingly, people with year-round (perennial) allergies commonly develop the problem as adults, and are more likely to be women than men. Symptoms can lessen as you get older, but they rarely completely disappear without treatment. Patients who usually have allergies suffer from many symptoms due to the allergic reaction(s). Normally, your immune system protects you against invading agents such as bacteria and viruses. Otherwise harmless allergens (allergy-producing substances) cause your body to react as if they were dangerous invaders. In effect, your immune system is responding to a false alarm. Some of the common allergens that disrupt the immune system are animal dander, molds, and dust mites. When you first come into contact with these allergens, your immune system treats the allergen as an invader and mobilizes an attack. The immune system does this by generating large amounts of a type of antibody (a disease-fighting protein) specific to the particular allergen you're allergic to. In the case of pollen allergy, the antibody is specific for each type of pollen: one antibody may be produced to react against oak pollen and another against ragweed pollen. This antibody attaches itself to certain cells in your body. The next time you come into contact with the allergen, the allergen attaches to the antibody like a key fitting into a lock, causing the release of powerful inflammatory chemicals, including histamine. These chemicals move into various parts of your body, such as your respiratory system, to cause allergy symptoms including runny nose, itchy eyes, and sneezing, am ong others. Patients who suffer from allergies usually have some serious disadvantages. Allergy patients usually have trouble sleeping, breathing, and sometimes even eating or drinking depending on the allergy.

Ethnics and Heritage Destroyed George in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day :: Gloria Naylor Mama Day Essays

Ethnics and Heritage Destroyed George in Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day It has been said before that opposites attract when it comes to love. In Gloria Naylor’s Mama Day, two people who would seemingly never end up together somehow find a way to form a relationship that eventually leads to a marriage. George and Cocoa, the two lovers featured in this book, come from backgrounds that could not be more unlike the other. How they end up falling in love is close to a miracle, but because of their huge difference in background, they bring to each other what they wish they could have in themselves. While George is a man who comes from the diverse and strictly governed big city atmosphere of New York, Ophelia is a woman who was raised on the island of Willow Springs which is inhabited by descendants of slaves and is subject to racism and disregard for normal conduct in society. New York is a place where science and facts control the decisions of life; Willow Springs has many rituals based on magic and superstition. Because the two locations are so incre dibly opposite from one another, it is difficult for George to believe in anything that Cocoa was raised on. However, in order for George to get Mama Day’s approval, he must believe and understand magic as it exists in Willow Springs both in its physical form and as a form of belief. The biggest influence of magic on the island of Willow Springs is Mama Day. A descendant of the legendary Sapphira Wade, Mama Day is said to have convinced her master to give the land that is Willow Springs to the slaves, for which she â€Å"†¦bore him seven sons in less than a thousand days, to put a dagger through his kidney and escape the hangman’ noose, laughing in a burst of flames.† (Naylor 3) The influence of Sapphira’s magic is carried over into Mama Day, as it is said that she could, â€Å"†¦walk through a lighting storm without being touched; grab a bolt of lightning in her hand; use the heat of lightning to start the kindling going under the medicine pot.† (Naylor 3) For a rational minded person like George, this and some of the other traditions can be hard to accept. One such example of George’s ideas of normal human behavior clashing with Mama Day’s occurs when Mama Day and Grandmother Abigail give the married couple a quilt made entirely of articles of clothing from past generations.

Is Western Management Concept Applicable Worldwide

Are western management concepts (like HRD) applicable worldwide? A lot of famous people from different part of the world invented many management concepts around the world. However, each management concept contains different perspective, different culture, and different way of living. For example, human resource development concept was invented in USA as an attempt to balance humanistic and economic goals in the practice of business organizations. Due to the fact that, human is being perceived as resource in US culture and can be replaceable.However, in other part of the world such as Asia, which had different culture and value from the US, will never perceived people as resource. Thus, the Western management concept will not applicable worldwide due to the differences in culture and value in each country. Cultural differences arise from people value thing differently in each society. According to the article, the applicability of McGregor’s theories in South East Asia by Geer t Hofstede. There are four dominant value patterns among countries around the world.Firstly, individualism versus collectivism. Individualists are loosely tied together and suppose to take care of their own self-interest. Collectivists are tied together as a group and will look after the interest of the in-group. Secondly, large power distance versus small power distance. Large power distance society values the hierarchy of inequality as fundamental principle on which all relations are based. Small power distance society treats inequality as basically undesirable and tries to reduce it where it arises.Thirdly, strong uncertainty avoidance versus weak uncertainty avoidance. Strong uncertainty avoidance society teaches people to try to beat the future, which create higher level of anxiety in people. Weak uncertainty avoidance society teaches their people to accept this uncertainty and not to become upset by it. Lastly, Masculinity versus femininity. In masculinity society, men are sup posed to dominate, to deal with things and money rather than people, to be rational and unconcerned with beauty, to be assertive and competitive.In femininity society, men are also expected to serve and not only to dominate, to be concerned about people next to money and things, to be intuitive, and interested in beauty. Despite the fact that there are so many different value among countries, created the differences in culture and how people behave. According to the studied, South East Asia countries are more likely to be on Collectivist and Large Power Distance side. USA and the Netherlands both are more likely to be on the Individualism and Smaller Power Distance side.While, on the dimension of Uncertainty Avoidance and Masculinity, each country score differently and does not cluster together in the same continent. Thus, the management concepts like human resource development, that was invented in USA, which has the characteristic of Individualism, Small Power Distance, Weak Uncer tainty Avoidance, and Masculinity society, will not applicable in other country that has different characteristic such as Thailand for example.Thailand is a country in South East Asia with the characteristic of Collectivism, Large Power Distance, Average Uncertainty Avoidance, and more Femininity. The Western Management concept like human resource development with the belief of considering people as resource, that can be replaceable and the individuals is held responsible for his or her own development will not fit in the Thai culture. In Thai culture, people will not be consider as resource but rather will be place in some type of relationship once they entered into the group such as brother, sister, uncle, aunt, niece, or nephew.The relationship is being placed in order to show the status of that person whether he or she is younger or older because in Thai culture younger people have to respect the elders. Moreover, in Thai culture younger people have to obey the elders as they be lieve that older people has more experience in life. Thus, in Thai society, it is not very common that young people will become the head of the department or become the minister in the cabinet, even though you graduated from the best university in the world and very specialized in the field.In addition to that, Thailand is also a collectivism society and people would like to avoid the uncertainty. So, Thai people are very loyalty to their job and the company, they work for. Some people even work at the same place for the whole life and sometimes they even send their children to work as the same company as well. So, with this type of loyalty it makes the relationship between employer and employees become much more strengthen together as a whole family. This is the reason why Thai society is more of uncertainty avoidance and more feminine than the Western country.In the consequences of the different in value and culture the management concepts that invented from the Western perspectiv e will not applicable worldwide especially in the country that has totally different value and culture. However, with the differences in culture and value in different country does not mean that we have to invent special management concept for each country but rather to adapt the concept in the local way with respect to continuity of old values and local traditions.