Business & Marketing Management Marketing Channel Essay

Business & Marketing Management Marketing Channel - Essay Example At the same time customers and other stakeholders will only have confidence in a company with sound financial and credit management. (Louis, et al, 2006) Louis et al (2006), states that, a channel member will only be effective if customers can easily obtain goods or service from him/her. Consequently, before selecting a channel member I will have to ensure that the channel member can easily be accessed by the prospective customers. The level of distribution and coverage of the channel member will have to be considered to know how effective it is. I will have to note the intensity at which the Wal-mart products can reach its customers; this is a very important aspect to ensure that sales are made. (Louis, et al, 2006) The type of the product will definitely dictate the kind of channel member to recruit. As pertaining the channel member for Wal-Mart supermarket chain, the member will have to be able to stock a large number of various products that the supermarket deals in. at the same time the channel member has to be able handle a large volume of products both perishable and durable. Like any other marketing decision, choosing a channel agent require a lot of thoughts and vast research in order to determine who can qualify the distribute the company's products more effectively and efficiently in a way that it will meet the company's sales objectives and overall revenue collection. (Louis, et al, 2006) A company has to consider some major factors before choosing its channel agents which are financial stability, product line and sales strength among others. (Louis, et al, 2006) Question 1b; discuss the concept of leadership The concept of leadership and it's relevance to motivating the channel members. Introduction Leadership is all about motivating people or a group towards achievement of the organizational goals. In this case, it is not just about motivating employees in the organization, but is about motivating channel members. It involves mutual influence between the company and its channel members. Channel members can be influenced through incentives, teamwork, individual dynamics and discipline. The main reason is to channel all the channel members' efforts towards the attainment of the organizations' goals. Leadership behavior in an organization include; directive, supportive, participate and achievement oriented. They are concerned with people feelings and making things pleasant for the followers and defining tasks requirements and other aspects of the work agenda. Kotler (1991) observers that type of leadership adopted will highly influence the relationship between the leader and the followers who are channel members. (Kotler, 1991) In case of channel members' leadership, every channel member is expected to have high degree of interdependence geared towards achievement of complexion of its business objective that it has set. Wal-Mart has stood apart from the channel member by virtue of its position held and helps channel members in clarification of issues, finding solutions, the company is clearly understands the issues and offers possible solutions. These are then formulated and address to relevant authorities for action to taken. This is characteristics of

Shopping as an American Culture Value Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Shopping as an American Culture Value - Essay Example The contention is that though American culture has been manipulated into accepting materialistic 'must have' consumerism as a cultural value, there are those, past and present, who provide a glimmer of hope for a return to the better, more humane values of the American way of life. According to Rao (2004), writing from an Indian viewpoint, the American Dream encapsulated "freedom," and "democracy" in a "land of opportunities." In reviewing the book, 'Affluenza: The All Consuming Epidemic', he cited figures from De Graff et al (2003): Embedding of this value was reflected in "one poll found that 93% of teenage American girls rate shopping as their favorite activity." (Rao, 2004). He further contended that only about one quarter of mall shoppers are seeking to buy a specific item, the rest use shopping as therapy, for amusement, or just for its own sake. Americans in general would seem to have adopted shopping as a cultural value, a way of life. ... There is little doubt that people are buying, not from necessity, but spending above their means in order to acquire possessions in a search for happiness and to belong to their culture. They must have the newest fashion, the best brand, the biggest house, the fastest car in order to feel valued. Social theory provides some answers as to how this has happened. In order for businesses to make profits, they no longer seek only to produce to meet needs, but make sure that demand levels stay high, and so maintain the growth of a capitalist system. By marketing and motivating people to buy, this is accomplished; a psychological manipulation appears to be in place. "Advertising, marketing and the mass media have become central to the stimulation of demand through the continual invention of new wants. The images and identities they disseminate promise satisfactions earlier generations never dreamed of. They suggest life-styles of endless acquisition and inexhaustible glamour, which can be had at the pleasurable price of merely buying more and more." (Noble, 2000, p. 231) This shows how people can be sucked into the shopping vortex, with little or no regard for its effects on the individual or the world in general. The impact worldwide, where poorer nations make the goods, on low pay (rendering American workers jobless), in sometimes slave-like conditions, to feed the greed of multinationals and consumers, presents an immoral and inhumane side of capitalism. Sanders (2000), in an article on Maytag and the North American Free Trade Agreement, stated: "The simple truth is that American workers cannot, and should not be "competing" against desperate workers in developing countries who are forced to work for pennies an hour." (Why Overcoming

Difficulties Arabic Students Face In English Language Learning

Difficulties Arabic Students Face In English Language Learning In educational settings the language is both the medium and content of instruction. Academic success is dependent on proficiency of spoken and written forms of the language used for instruction (Shatz and Wilkinson 2010: 55). Introduction Next to the United States, the United Kingdom receives the biggest number of international students in the world. In 2009, 13 percent of the total undergraduate population enrolled in the UK were international students (UK Council for International Student Affairs 2009). More specifically, college entrants from Saudi Arabia increased rapidly by 42.2 percent from 3,535 in 2008 to 5,205 in 2009 (Times Higher Education 2010). This dramatic rise of the Arabic international student cohort in the UK requires immediate attention especially in relation to the academic adjustments these students make in the school environment. One of the most significant adjustments for Arabic international students is learning the English language, a phenomenon driven by the demands of globalisation and the now widespread use of English as a second language in the educational curriculum even in Arab countries (Tahaineh 2010). While the process of English language learning among Arab students within their hom e countries has gained much academic attention (Khatib, 2000; Tahaineh, 2010; Ghaith and Diab 2008), not enough research focus has been made on the experiences of Arabic international students in the UK. What is known today is too scant to be applied practically in policymaking or in educational practice. This dissertation explores two main points, firstly, it highlights how little we know about the difficulties that Arabic international students face in learning the English language and secondly, it calls for the need to undertake more robust empirical work on the growing Arabic international student cohort in the UK. This mixed methods research will be a valuable contribution to UK educators in helping Arabic students learn effectively at the same time achieving institutional goals as well as meeting the educational expectations and needs of Arabic students in the UK. Research question This dissertation aims to answer the central question, What difficulties do Arabic students in the UK face when learning the English language? There are two sub-questions proposed which will guide the outcomes of this research. What issues do Arabic students face in English language learning? The literature review suggests that the difficulties Arabic international students may face when learning the English language are multi-faceted. It may involve basic structural differences between Arabic and English (Shabbir Bughio 2003), cultural issues (Elyas and Picard 2010), motivation and self-esteem (Al-Tamimi Shuib 2009), and social issues (Shammas 2009). What strategies do they use to overcome the barriers identified? After discovering the issues that Arabic international students face in English language learning, it is important to uncover the strategies that they employ in order to cope with the difficulties faced. Rationale and context The context of this proposed dissertation is of a general and personal nature. ESL literacy has always been an ongoing academic interest of the researcher. While in the past, learning the English language was viewed as a betrayal of the mother tongue for most Arabic students, the demands of free market globalisation has prompted a renewed vigour among Arab universities and Arabic students to become proficient in the English language. On a personal level, I have always been concerned with the skills of Arabic international students in reading and writing. Studying the English literacy experiences of these students will contribute to an increase in our understanding as to what strategies could help Arabic students obtain English proficiency and attain their educational goals. At the same time, it will also address the gap in literature which can inform the policymaking and institutional practice of UK universities in meeting the needs and expectations of Arabic international English learners. By describing the experiences of Saudi students in L2 literacy experience, we can begin to draft useful conclusions, implications, and recommendations to contribute to second language acquisition and proficiency in general and ESL literacy in particular. Literature review A preliminary literature review reveals significant themes related to the difficulties that Saudi international students experience in learning the English language. 1. Basic structural differences of Arabic and English The most common difficulty experienced in English language learning and proficiency among Arab students lies in the basic structural differences between the mother tongue and the second language. For instance, Arabic writing does not use capitalisation and uses different rules in punctuation from English (Shabbir Bughio 2003). Spelling is also a problem since in Arabic, there is only one letter per sound so the spelling part is much more challenging in English. A study revealed that students struggle with spelling silent alphabets located in the middle of English words such as half or knowledge. Pronunciation of English words is also problematic since Arab speakers often use Arabic phonetics to pronounce words (Salebi 2004). As a result, words like stupid are pronounced istobbid while pregnant is pronounced brignent (Shabbir Bughio 2003). The use of commas and conjunctions is also another difficulty for Arabic students because the usage is different in Arabic and English contexts ( Rababah 2002). The same is true on the use of English prepositions; due to the varied nature and usage of prepositions in English, many Arabic students opt to translate each Arabic preposition in English (Shabbir Buhgio 2003). Kambal (1980) documented major syntactic errors in the compositions of Arab students in the Sudanese University particular in verb formation, subject-verb agreement, and use of tenses. 2. Motivation in learning EFL Motivation has been an established predictor of success EFL outcomes (Al-Tamimi Shuib 2006). Consequently, a learners attitude towards the second language affects his or her outcomes in English language learning. Gardner and Lambert (1972:3) explained that a learners motivation to learn is reflected in the latters attitudes towards English speakers as well as towards the English language itself. In fact, empirical research has pointed to a learners general attitude towards knowledge as an influential variable in second language acquisition and proficiency (Arkoudis 2003). Moreover, self-esteem has been shown to be a significant predictor in writing achievement among Arabic secondary students (Al-Hattab 2006). Beliefs on the English language are mediated by culture and social characteristics (Ely 1986). This means that not all people hold uniform epistemological beliefs about L2 language acquisition and that our appreciation of the knowledge process is dependent upon our different co ntexts. Some argue however that while motivation and attitudes towards the L2 language is important, it is not a sufficient condition in language proficiency (Ely 1986). In a survey of Arabic students in Australia, general attitudes towards the English language were positive; most believed that English symbolised technological advancement and modernity (Suleiman 1983). In another study, it was found that positive attitudes toward English language learning were related to EFL outcomes (Ghaith and Diab 2008). 3. Cultural issues Culture plays an important role in the English language learning process, especially in relation to language instruction (Elyas and Picard 2010). In Saudi Arabia, classroom instruction is delivered in a different manner from Western schools. The classroom is a place where the teacher is an established head and the students role is defined in terms of quietness of loving to listen (Jamjoom 2009, as cited Elyas and Picard 2010). Teacher-student relationships in the Saudi context are feudal; teachers and instructors occupy a high tier in the classroom and so-called student-centred pedagogy is not a common practice (Gallagher 1989). The implication of this is that most Saudi students are not accustomed to interactive teaching processes, one that cultivates proficiency in the English language. Arabic students only learn English from formal instruction and the classroom itself does not provide a venue wherein they could practice their English communication skills (Rababah 2002). This class room acculturation creates potential problems in the context of English language learning in a UK university where classroom interaction is a popular teaching model. Most Arabic students become unsociable in class, do not recite as often as needed, and speak English only when directed formally (Ghaith and Diab 2008). Moreover, teacher attitudes and behaviours towards Saudi students may also count against EFL. Cross-cultural differences have been shown to affect classroom sociability of Arabic students (Rababah 2002). 4. Social issues Alienation in the university setting has been found to influence the academic outcomes of Arabic international students in the USA (Shammas 2009) particularly after the 9/11 terror attacks. The same alienation was reported by Arabic students when the school climate became hostile in some universities within the UK (Rich and Troudi 2006). The level of integration that Arabic international students experience in their universities is helpful in enhancing motivation to learn the English language (Shammas 2009). Feelings of isolation due to the loss of social capital increases sociability among Arabic international students and may result to loss of self-esteem and motivation. Those who are able to renew their social capital by connecting with new friends Arabic or not have a greater chance of being successful in being proficient in the English language. Research approach Empirical work examining the processes of second language acquisition and the effectiveness of strategies focused on learning English as a second language has utilised both quantitative and qualitative research approaches (Ghaith and Diab 2008; Al-Hattab 2006; Rabab-ah 2002). This study proposes a mixed methods approach integrating both qualitative and quantitative elements to more adequately explore the English language learning process among Arabic international students in the UK. Considered a bridge between the quantitative and qualitative realms of research, mixed methods research draws upon the strengths of both paradigms to generate a more complete and thorough investigation of a topic or phenomenon (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004). To this end, mixed methods research supposes that the two research paradigms can be reconciled, maximising the strengths of both while minimising their weaknesses at the same time (Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003). In deciding what research approach best suits the purposes of this study, I considered two ontological positions constructivist and positivist on the topic. Firstly, I consider that Arabic students are differently situated and construct their realities from their own experiences and values. In this regard, there is no one version of reality that could be gleaned (Denzin and Lincoln 1994) on how Arabic international students experience English language learning. Secondly, however, I believe that it is possible to establish what a causal relationship (Creswell 2003) or the particular factors predict English language proficiency among Arabic students in general. In other words, we can determine what specific difficulties can influence English language proficiency among Arabic students. From a pragmatic point of view, both ontological positions are useful in this investigation, hence, a mixed methods paradigm. Why use a stand-alone paradigm when you can use two paradigms and in the pro cess, capture the phenomenon being studied more fully? Mixed methods research is a methodologyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ philosophical framework, method, and techniques of data collection and analysis which combines both quantitative and qualitative processes throughout the entire research cycle (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007:5). The benefits of conducting mixed methods research are three-fold: 1) it allows a holistic investigation of a phenomenon; 2) it enables a macro- and micro- investigation of the phenomenon; and 3) it has validating capacity of quantitative with qualitative methods and vice versa (Onwuegbuzie and Leech 2004). This study proposes a research approach consisting of two phases. The first phase is the quantitative phase; the goal is to determine what specific issues Arabic students face in learning the English language and how these variables are related to each other. The second phase builds on the results of the quantitative phase and explains the outcomes more fully. The quantitative phase will utilise a web-based survey questi onnaire to be followed by face-to-face interviews for the qualitative phase. The idea of this research technique is that by integrating both numerical data (survey questionnaire) and textual data (interviews), the difficulties Arabic international students phase in English language learning can be captured more completely and comprehensively. Research Design There are several variations in design to a mixed methods study. Three issues are considered in the selection of the specific mixed methods design for this particular research: priority, implementation, and integration (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007). Priority specifies which method is emphasised; implementation identifies whether data collection and analysis is done sequentially (different stages) or concurrently (parallel stages); and integration defines the connectedness between the results of the two phases. This study uses the sequential explanatory design to investigate the experiences of Arabic international students in English language learning. Sequential explanatory design A sequential explanatory design is chosen. The data collection and analysis will consist of two phases (Creswell, 2003; Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie 2003). The first phase will use a web-based survey questionnaire to be answered by a manageable random sample of Arabic international students enrolled in one UK university. Data collected will be analyzed through descriptive statistics and chi-square. The second phase of the study will proceed after the completion of the first phase. It will build on the findings of the first phase and use individual semi-structured interviews of five Arabic international students. The goal of the second phase is provide a more in-depth explanation of the difficulties experienced by Arabic students and the strategies they use to overcome these difficulties. Through the integration of data from both the quantitative and qualitative phase, the results will be refined and the phenomenon explored in a more holistic manner. More specifically, this explanatory mix ed methods research uses the follow-up explanations variant in an attempt to understand more fully the process in which Arabic students learn English in foreign universities. The follow-up explanations model is selected because the qualitative phase means to explain and expand on quantitative results (Creswell 2003: 43). The priority phase of this study is the qualitative phase because of its capability to provide a more complete picture of the phenomenon being considered. Using a pragmatic ontological position which values positivist and interpretivist assumptions, the study uses two general instruments and triangulation methods to establish validity and reliability of research findings. Phase 1: Quantitative (Survey questionnaires) A self-constructed online survey questionnaire will be used to gather data on the difficulties experienced by Arabic students in English language learning. Items in the questionnaire will be drawn from the literature review and will measure difficulties in five aspects: 1) structural adjustments from Arabic to English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.), 2) motivation, 3) cultural issues, and 4) social issues. After the selection of participants, a URL will be sent via email to participants advising them to read the consent form and to indicate their compliance. The survey will also be available on Facebook and other social networking sites. After gathering data, results will be analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. Phase 2: Qualitative (Face-to-face interviews) After the first phase of data collection and data analysis, in-depth interviews will be scheduled with six Arabic international students in order to gather information that will further explain the results of the survey questionnaire. A semi-structured interview guide will be developed in order to allow the participants to discuss their answers in a more flexible manner. The semi-structured nature of the interview guide will also allow the researcher to clarify or ask follow-up questions that can further refine the data. Interviews will be audiotaped with the participants consent and transcribed immediately afterwards. Qualitative analysis will be used to gather recurring themes from the interview data. Validity and Reliability To establish the validity and reliability of the outcomes of this study, content validity and triangulation through multiple sources will be used. To establish content validity, the survey instrument will be evaluated by a panel of specialists. Multiple sources such as documents and academic papers will also be requested from interviewees. Member checking will be done to verify the accuracy of the transcribed interviews. Ethical Issues The following ethical considerations are identified. Institutional requirements will be met before data collection. Permission to conduct the study will be obtained by securing approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University. The researcher will complete the ethics form and wait for approval before beginning the collection of data. Consent will be secured. An informed consent will be drafted to explain to participants the purposes and objectives of the study as well as the rights of participants regarding confidentiality and voluntarism. The same form will be attached to the online survey as proof of compliance with ethical requirement for research. Anonymity and confidentiality of information will be guaranteed. Procedures will be done to protect the rights of human subjects. Every completed questionnaire will be coded in order to hide the identity of participants. For the personal interviews conducted, each participant will be informed that the interview will be audiotaped for documentation. Transcript of the interviews will use pseudonyms instead of real names. Data storage requirements will also be complied with. Transcripts and hard drives will be secured in a locked cabinet to be destroyed after the study is published. Bias will be bracketed to minimise prejudicial interpretation of data. Ethics requires the researcher to fully disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Bias is acknowledged to arise from data collection until the final phases of the study. Risk of bias will be minimised through bracketing and a written reflection log to trace subjectivities. Research schedule 2011 Activities May Completion of dissertation proposal June IRB form completed and passed July Additional literature review Survey questionnaire developed August Methodology chapter finalised Survey questionnaire piloted and evaluated Revisions to questionnaire finalised September Selection of participants October First phase of data gathering Analysis of results quantitative phase November Write up of results and advising December Refining of literature review Drafting of interview guide and approval 2012 January Selection of interviewees Conduct of interviews Transcription and qualitative analysis February Integration of findings from Phase 1 and Phase 2 Meet with supervisor Pass first draft of findings and conclusions March Check references. Finalise draft. April Final proofreading and revisions. Send to binders. May Submit bound copies by May 2012. Reflective commentary Writing this dissertation proposal has not only been a significant educational experience for me; it was also a reflexive opportunity. I was given an avenue with which to consider my own perspectives about obtaining higher education in a foreign university and the experiences which have so far brought me to the level I am now situated. Preparing the literature review was the most rewarding part of all because it enabled me to acknowledge the multifaceted and complex nature of the English language learning process. Simply put, acquiring a second language is not a simple feat. It is influenced by multiple factors and influences. While I was able to gather the most significant themes associated with English language learning among Arabic international students, I look forward to constructing the more detailed literature review in the future.

College Party Life Essay -- Personal Narrative Writing

College Party Life College parties at JMU, both on campus and off-specifically off-campus, may seem a mish mash of little planning, teenage hormones, beer induced chaos and the new found freedom, for some at least, from ones parents. This however is just a superficial observation. The college party scene at JMU is highly ritualized, even regimented. According to your social status, the people you know, activities you are involved (mainly sports), and the way you look, act, and dress all affect your experience of a college party. The universal party night for students is Saturday, JMU students being no exception. For most students at Madison, the week is wrought with worry and toil over books, notes, classes, and exams. One reason to explain why parties sometimes get the way they do, is that Saturday night for students is a catharsis, all the pressure that students feel can be forgotten and they can act freely in what they feel is a worry-free environment. For me, Saturday Party Time (SPT) starts around anywhere from 8 to 10 that night. The time depends on what kind of party is planned, a very large dance party, or a smaller quieter get-together of some member of the Cross Country Team. In order to get to where I always party, Pheasant Run, I have to take the bus. This is where the night really starts. If I take the bus at 8, I am usually one of only a handful of people on the bus. Usually I go at 10, though, and it is quite evident that a party is going on somewhere. By ten Saturday night there are usually over a hundred students waiting at the bus stop. I don’t even bother dressing up; I prefer jeans and a tee-shirt with a pair of worn sneakers and a hoody with a hole in the back of it. I am no... ...d gender status (Robbins 2002: 175-78). Females dress in revealing ways so as to become more desirable, thus they not only spend an inordinate amount of time choosing clothing, but also in person grooming and accessorizing. In this way, females present themselves as targets, to be picked up, taken, and/or dominated by the males. This is also reinforced by the method of dancing that is currently popular among party -goers. The positioning of the male and female, in which the male puts his hands on the female and is able to control her movements with his body shows the acceptance of male dominance and the subordination of females, at least in sexual and dating matters. This is an example of social stratification by gender (Robbins 2002: 216). Women are made to do an inordinate amount of work and preparation for Saturday night, only to be taken control of by males.

Literary Analysis of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay

In Huckleberry Finn there are several themes. There are themes of racism and slavery, civilized society, survival, water imagery, and the one I will be discussing, superstition ( SparkNotes Editors). Superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation (â€Å"Merriam-Webster†). Superstition was a very popular theme in Huckleberry Finn that you saw throughout the story. Huck was somewhat superstitious, but Jim speaks a wide range of superstition and folk tales. In the story it makes Jim seem as if he is unintelligent, when really his superstitions and beliefs come true and shows he is a wise person. At first, Huck thinks Jim’s superstitions are foolish and silly, but he eventually starts to appreciate Jim’s outlook and knowledge on life. Jim’s superstition was accepted as social teachings as well as being the adult figure in Huck’s life (SparkNotes Editors). One of the first times I saw superstition in the story was Huck’s superstition of bad luck. â€Å"Pretty soon a spider went crawling up my shoulder, and I flipped it off and it lit in the candle; and before I could budge it was all shriveled up. I didn’t need anybody to tell me that was an awful bad sign and would fetch me some bad luck, so I was scared and most shook the clothes off me. I got up and turned around in my tracks three times and crossed my breast everytime; and then I tied up a little lock of my hair with a thread to keep witches away ( Twain 110). † Another time Huck’s superstition of bad luck was shown in the story was when he accidentally spilled salt at breakfast. â€Å"One morning I happened to turn over the salt cellar at breakfast. I reached for some of it as quick as I could, to throw over my left shoulder and keep off the bad luck, but Miss Watson was in the ahead of me, and crossed me off ( Twain 117). † Because Huck was not able to throw the salt over his shoulder, he was very worried and nervous all day because he knew he would encounter bad luck sooner or later. The first time Huck went to get superstitious advice from Jim is when he went to ask Jim when his father would be returning in his life. He had already seen his father’s tracks in the snow and knew he would be coming real soon. He wanted to know what his father was going to do and how long  was he going to stay. Huck heard Jim had a hair ball that was taken out of a stomach of an ox, that he used to do magic with. The hair ball supposedly had a spirit in it that knew everything. The hair ball told Jim about Huck’s father and Jim told Huck, â€Å" Yo’ ole father doan’ know, yit, what he’s a-gwyne to do. Sometimes he spec he’ll go ‘way, en den agin he spec he’ll stay. De bes’ way is to res’ easy en let de ole man take his own way ( Twain 119). † He then began to tell Huck his father had two angels over him. A white, shiny angel that tells him to do right and a dark angel that tells him to do wrong. He told Huck that he also has two angels over him that does the same, and that nobody knows which one is going to get you in the end. This part of the story showed me Jim wasn’t as foolish and stupid as everybody thought he was, he was actually wise. That night when Huck returned home his father was waiting for him in his bedroom. Once Huck ran away to the island and found Jim ran away too and they discovered the dead man, who happened to be Huck’s father, Huck wanted to discuss the dead man but Jim warned him it was bad luck for them to talk about a dead man. â€Å" He said it would fetch bad luck; and besides, he said, he might come and ha’nt us; he said a man that warn’t buried was more likely to go a-ha’nting around than one that was planted and comfortable ( Twain 139). † Huck thought Jim made sense and respected him enough not to bring it up again. Huck then brought up to Jim, when he found the snake-skin the other day, Jim said it was the worst bad luck to touch snake skin. Huck did not believe they would experience any bad luck because they had experienced so much good luck with finding the house with all the goods and money they came across. Jim told him not to speak of it and he said the bad luck would still come, and it did come later that week. Huck decided to play a trick on Jim and put a dead rattlesnake in Jim’s blanket to scare him. When Jim laid down that night the snake’s mate was in his blanket and bit Jim on the heel. Jim was sick in bed for four days and Huck never told him he was the one who played the trick on him. He swore to himself he would never pick up a snake skin again, and Jim said to Huck maybe he would believe him next time and there might still be some bad luck to come. The theme of superstition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is related to hope and fear. Jim’s hope and fear was that he would finally be free and his fear was that he would be captured and forced back into slavery. Huck’s hope was that he would be able to live his life without having to be in fear of his father and also that he would not have to live a â€Å"sivilized† lifestyle with the widow and Miss Watson. Everybody has hope and fear about something, and deals with it differently. Jim and Huck dealed with it by believing in superstition. Work Cited Page Twain, Mark. â€Å"Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † The Norton Anthology American Literature. Seventh Ed. Vol. C. Nina Baym. New York: W. W. Norton & Comapny, Inc. , 2007. Print. SparkNotes Editors. â€Å"SparkNote on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. † SparkNotes. com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002. Web. 5 Feb. 2011. â€Å"www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/superstition. † Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 5 Feb 2011.

Democracy Remixed

If we take a look at American History, we see that many African Americans before us accomplished many things, in various disciplines, such as become the surgeon general of the United States, Win an Olympic Gold medal, Become a President of an Ivy League University, become CEO of a Fortune 500 company or even become President of the United States. These and the others on the extensive list of African American Firsts did not come easy or were given. In the words of Cohen, â€Å"They had to work hard, be respectful, and always have your superior humanity on display for whites to observe. With more and more 1st being accomplished, it has become more possible for many African Americans to reach hose same positions or go further. Today, in the year 2014, we also have new problems to face in terms of this new technology. Black twitter, for example, is an unofficial title for a community on twitter that has a huge impact online and in the media. Whether there is a primetimes television show or some breaking news story, Black twitter has you covered. Seemingly as a voice for all black Americans, this is heavily skewed by its demographic.Consisting of mainly young adults, this community becomes very negative and often creates moral panic and suppresses ACH other in the black community. The post-racial thesis suggests that in the post- civil rights era, material conditions have improved for Black Americans, but the conditions Black Americans face today are markedly better than the conditions that earlier generations had faced. As one example of many pressures black youth are facing, this shows that material conditions may have increased but the pressures are still prevalent In Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the future of American Politics, a book by Cathy J.Cohen, discusses about the political life of young black people, not emitted to their relationship with the state and or government but between their peers, other members of the black community and the larger soci ety. In relation to the post-racial thesis, this book contains arguments that serve as a counter to the post-racial thesis by discussing many issues that young black people face. In chapter 2, she introduces the phenomenon called moral panics and how they affect the black community, especially black youth.In chapter 5, she discusses forms of alienation that black youth face and how they engage in the public sphere, attempting to voice heir own public agenda. In chapter 6, she engages the ideas that young black people develop in light of the election of the country 1st black president and what this means to them. Chapter 2, â€Å"Gangs Rap Made Me do it†, talks about moral panics and how Bill Cowboys and Don Emus are examples of creating such things. Earlier on in the chapter, they discuses some statistics developed by The Black Youth Project.These statistics showed results from surveys filled out by African Americans ages 30 and above and group based on levels of income The t opics of the survey included Rap Music's perceived Influence on Black Youth, The behavior of too many young black Americans threatens to progress of respectable black people who are trying to do the right things, and reasons young black Americans find it hard to get ahead. These topics were surprisingly posed to non-youth about three topics that involve black youth in America.Many of these adults had an opinion on all of these questions, because of moral panics. Cohen states that moral panic is a concept typically used by scholars to explain irrational and inflated reactions to lesser events that have been exaggerated by the media. Through the media, the crisis itself is shrouded by the massive uproar generated by the public. Bill Cowboys, known for his comedic background, spoke at Constitution Hall in Washington, D. C. Where they were commemoration the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.The topics that he received fire from were the ones directed to poor black people a nd the black youth. From Cowboys perspective he is trying to let it be know that everything black people do, is a representation of all black Americans. His comments toward poor members in the black community included â€Å"These people are not parenting. They are buying things for kids, $500 sneakers for what? And wont spend $200 dollars for ‘Hooked on Phonics. ‘ † Here we have an older African American who is removed a generation from those parents he are addressing.This alone shows that there is a problem with the consecutive generation. This also highlights that the generation of parents who are buying the kids expensive sneakers are more worried about looks that education. We can infer that the kids wanted the expensive sneakers because of social pressures to be wealth. Also, His comments on Black Youth culture is that the out of today are uneducated when it comes to knowing about their African American and their African culture.He makes remarks about how bla ck males are putting on clothes backwards and sagging of pants, and women wearing short skirts and piercing. This is another example of pressure that the youth are facing because Bill Cowboys is probably not the only person making these remarks. The pressures of previous generations in its self are making it hard for the young black American to live. She introduces the 21st century, the average youth has a lot of things to deal with. Bullying, growing up, peer pressure, family, school

Soft Construction with boiled beans by Salvador Dalí essays

Soft Construction with boiled beans by Salvador Dalà ­ essays Soft Construction with Boiled Beans: A Premonition on Civil War is a painting done in 1936, by the star of Surrealism, Salvador Dalà ­. It hangs among other paintings of the Surrealist movement in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was drawn to this work by the strangeness of it. It shows a large human-like mass of body parts looming over you in front of an ominous, foreboding sky-scape. It appeared very mysterious to me, and that is why I had the interest to research it further. I wanted to know, what influenced these strange forms...what is the significance of boiled beans...who is that man pictured in the lower left...and in general...what's going on here?! Salvador Dalà ­ is a fascinating enigma. Born in Spain on May 11,1904, he was surrounded by women growing up. There are a few specific instances in his early life which Dalà ­ names as causes for his mental problems. Nine months before he was born, Dalà ­ had an older brother pass away at two years of age. This brother's name was also Salvador, and his picture hung on the wall for years after the second Salvador was born. It was because of this that he always thought of himself as "the replacement child". Another traumatizing incident in his life was the passing away of his mother in 1921. This time period reflected a great turning point in his artwork. (Goff, 21) In October of 1921, Dalà ­ left home to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in San Fernando. At first, Dalà ­ secluded himself and produced so many artworks that he barely had room for them in his room. His professors were amazed at his talent. Eventually, Dalà ­ came out of this seclusion and this begins a time period where he meets many people who will influence his life and consequently his artwork. (Goff, 30) One of the great influences on not only Dalà ­, but also all artists of the Surrealist movement (which Dalà ­ officially joins in the summer of 1929) was Sigmund Freud (Goff, 8). Freud b...

How Much Air Force One Cost

How Much Air Force One Cost Air Force One, the aircraft that transports the president of the United States, cost  about $2 billion to build and more than $200,000 to fly, according to federal spending records and published reports. Taxpayers pay for some or all of the Air Force One cost regardless of whether the presidents airplane is used for official trips or unofficial, political purposes. The two newest Air Force One airplanes, both models  747-8, are being outfitted by Boeing at a combined cost of about $3.9 billion and were to take flight in 2021. The White House determines whether use of Air Force One is for official or political purposes. Many times the Boeing 747 is used for a combination of events. Specific Air Force One Costs The $200,000-plus hourly Air Force One cost covers everything from fuel, maintenance, engineering support, food and lodging for the pilots and crew and other operational costs that include the use of special communications equipment. In addition to the hourly cost of Air Force One, taxpayers cover salaries for Secret Service staff and other assistants who travel with the president. Occasionally, when there are more than 75 people traveling with the president, the federal government will use a second passenger airplane to accommodate them. What is an Official Trip? Perhaps the most common example of official Air Force One use by the president is traveling across the United States to explain and win support for his administrations policies. Another is traveling overseas on official state business to meet with foreign leaders, such as President Barack Obamas 2010 trip on Air Force One to India. When a president travels on official business, taxpayers cover all Air Force One costs including food, lodging and car rentals, according to the Congressional Research Service. During official trips taxpayers also cover the cost of travel for the presidents immediate family and staff. What is a Political Trip? The most common example of a political trip on Air Force One is when the president travels to a destination in his role not as commander-in-chief but as de facto leader of his political party. Such travel would be to attend fundraisers, campaign rallies or party events. On the campaign trail, Obama and other presidential nominees have also gotten to use armored buses that cost more than $1 million each. When Air Force One is used for political purposes, the president often reimburses the government for the cost of food, lodging and travel. The president or his election campaign pays back an amount that is equivalent of the airfare that they would have paid had they used a commercial airline, according to the Congressional Research Service. According to The Associated Press, though, the president or his campaign does not pay for the entire Air Force One operation cost. They pays an amount that is based on the number of people board the airplane. Taxpayers still pick up the cost of Secret Service agents and the operation of Air Force One. Political and Officials Trips The a president and his family and staff travel on Air Force One for a combination of political and officials purposes, they typically reimburse taxpayers for the part of the trip that is considered campaigning. For example, if half of the presidents trip is spent raising money for his or another officials election, he or his campaign will reimburse taxpayers for half the cost of his travel, food and lodging. There are gray areas, of course. When they travel and appear in public to defend their policy positions, the difference between their official duties and their activities as leaders of their political party can be difficult to assess, the Congressional Research Service state. As a result, the White House decides the nature of travel on a case-by-case basis, attempting to determine whether each trip, or part of a trip, is or is not official by considering the nature of the event involved, and the role of the individual involved.

Anatomy and physiology of the human body Essay Example for Free

Anatomy and physiology of the human body Essay Physiology (11) , anatomy and physiology (10) company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints Each week, the discussion questions will examine issues in the reading. This thread is meant to foster a better understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the human body and how that knowledge is applied to in real life situations. Discussion responses should be on topic, original, and contribute to the quality of the discussion by making frequent informed references to lesson material. Initial discussion responses should be around 100 words; responses to your classmates or instructor should be around 75 words. Make two or more responses to classmates that are thoughtful and that advance the discussion of each topic. Your initial response is to be made no later than Saturday 11:59 PM of the current unit. Additional responses are to be made no later than Tuesday 11:59 PM of the current unit. Your posts are to be substantive, referenced and free of grammatical and spelling errors. When you are ready, respond to one of the topics below. Please be sure to specify which topic you are responding to. 1. Discuss the different types of blood vessels and how their structure is uniquely suited to their functions. 2. Choose a major region of the body (for example, the thorax) and discuss the arteries and veins of that region. 3. Discuss the positive and possible negative effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system. 4. Identify and discuss the primary factors involved in the generation and regulation of blood pressure and explain the relationships among these factors. 5. Explain why a pressure difference must exist between the aorta and the right atrium. 6. Explain hepatic portal circulation. How is it different from normal circulation, and what advantages are gained from this type of circulation? This is a fun topic for a fitness trainer. The cardiovascular system is complex, but it’s even more complex when you start to factor in exercise while explaining it. Aerobic fitness is an important component of physical fitness. When your muscles need oxygen, your aerobic (cardiovascular) system must be able to efficiently deliver it to them. When your body has waste products that need to be expelled (e.g. carbon dioxide and metabolic waste products), your heart-lung complex must be up to the task. These two tasks form the functional basis of aerobic fitness. Positive effects include increasing your level of available energy, aid in relieving depression, reduce the risk of heart disease, increase the good (HDL) cholesterol. Everyone needs to be able to efficiently take oxygen into their lungs and blood and pump it to their working muscles where it is utilized to oxidize carbohydrates and fats to produce energy. If you are concerned about your health, particularly the risk of heart disease, you need to accept the fact that aerobic training can have a critical effect on the quantity and quality of your life. Some negative effects of exercise on the cardiovascular system can include a possible heart attack or stroke. Some people can tend to push themselves to hard or they can start off working out by pushing their heart a little harder than it’s used to. It’s not a very good idea to go out and try to run a marathon if you’ve spent most of your life sedentary. I used to be one of those people until I found out in 2007 that I had Tachycardia (a heart rate that is too fast). I had to adjust my workouts to accommodate the situation to include slowing down my runs and taking longer rest intervals when lifting weights. Anatomy and physiology of the human body. (2016, Nov 23). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

Philosophy and Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Philosophy and Technology - Essay Example Given any circumstance he would avoid confrontation and any kind of collision with an opposing party. War or aggression is the last thing on the mind of a pacifist. The author through the above statement is trying to convey that if a person who possesses the characteristics of a pacifist is made to work in a bomb factory he would still come up with a new idea to make a bomb. No matter how opposed a person might be towards the concept of waging a war, if the mind is put to work on a task that needs to be done, the task takes precedence against the principles. The chief duty is to design a bomb, and no matter how opposed the principles of the person concerned are, he would eventually end up innovating and creating a new type of bomb. According to the author technology has shaped the human mind and has been much of a latent threat to the very existence of mankind as much as it has been a boon. The author through his interpretation of the human psychology and the constant struggle betwee n the opposing forces of principle/conscience and duty has tried to convey that the human mind and its intrinsic qualities are overpowered by practicality and the reality of life. In this case the reality is the surrounding, the environment, and the opportunity to design a new type of a bomb. Human beings are thinkers, innovators and are prone to ideate. A constant undercurrent of the urge to experiment and innovate prevails on the human mind. The human psyche by nature is inclined to improvise and invent things from what it sees around it and in this example provided by the writer, he may go against his pacifism to design a new bomb within weeks. Even if this means going against his very fundamentals he would still be drawn to live a life of intellectual prosperity and independence. We live in an age where man’s lust for power and technological superiority overshadows basic principles of humanity and life. Man’s greed for machines and mechanisation is to such an exten t that he would let the machines take over and in turn be reduces to a defunct and cold vestige of sorts. In our age mechanisation and scientific leapfrogging has finally triumphed to an extent that we can actually feel the tendency of the machine to make physically and intellectually challenging human life impossible. (Orwell 193) Building and developing on the central theme of intellectual proliferation, am individual if confined to a secluded environment with a nature work that is opposed to him, he would eventually begin to put his mind over the job and end up doing the task. All the steam in the world could not, like the virgin build Chartres The second phrase is by Mont Saint Michel and Chartres. It exalts the triumph of technology and its ushering through the Industrial Revolution in the Western World. The power of the mother is represented through the phrase given above. It talks about the benefit of technology to the western world and the power of the Lady who ultimately se cures â€Å"†¦the place of woman in the Church to be the guardian of the primacy of the contemplative over the active, of persons over ideas, and of family over economy† (Mary Victrix 1) According to the author the power of technology is immense. Technology is compared to the power of the Lady, Virgin Mary. It was her power, influence and inspiration that led to the construction of the cathedral in Chartres, France. Mary Victrix 1). Technology is viewed

Dyson Casestudy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dyson Casestudy - Essay Example Strategic capabilities Dyson was operating in a very competitive environment. This called for the need to introduce new frameworks and innovations that would see the company survive in the market. James Dyson believed in patents. He always ensured that whatever new form of technology he used was protected by patent laws he did this so as to ensure that his designs and innovations are not copied by the competitors. Dyson also analyzed the market to establish the true market requirements. With this information, he was able to devise a product that would meet all the market requirements and satisfy them (Bessant & Tidd, 2011, p. 267). Dyson was also involved in a move that raised numerous criticisms in its home country, the United Kingdom. James Dyson decided to move its manufacturing plant from United Kingdom to Malaysia and China. This move was to ensure that the company stays competitive. The cost of production in the home country became too much and the move was to ensure that the c ost of production was minimized which will in turn lead to an increase in the amount of profit that was generated. The move to Malaysia, according to James Dyson, was so that they could have a testing facility close to their suppliers, of whom were all located in the eastern countries. This move was aimed at increasing efficiency in the company. However, the move resulted in the loss of hundreds of jobs in the United Kingdom. Imitation Competition is very stiff in the current market. This therefore means that the competitors of the company may try to imitate their biggest rivals in a bid to increase their sales. Due to the fact that James Dyson believed in patent protection so much, it became difficult for other competitors to imitate the company’s products. In my opinion therefore, I think that Dyson’s capabilities could be difficult to imitate. This is because James Dyson has studied school of arts. This therefore means that his ideas and innovations are very unique due to high innovative nature that he is capable of (Witcher & Chau, 2010, p. 79). I therefore think that the competitors may only be able to imitate Dyson’s capabilities in the design level. This is because the competitors will only get to see the product after it has been launched in the market. Dyson always ensures that all its secrets in the production line remain to be just secrets. This is also ensured by the manner in which security within the plant is handled. For starters, every door within the company is opened using a thumb print scanner. However much this is the case, there are still some areas of the company that are regarded to be off limits. That is, there are areas that not everybody is allowed to go in to. Furthermore, all of Dyson’s designs, technologies and innovations are protected by patent laws. This prohibits the competitors from copying any of their designs. As a result, Dyson’s products come out as unique and original designs. This has m ade it extremely impossible for the competitors to imitate anything with regards to Dyson’s products (Thompson & Martin, 2010, p. 167). Distinctive capabilities Dyson has over the years emerged to be at the top of its market. All this is owed to the fact that the company has several unique capabilities and qualities that help in ensuring the company remains competitive in nature. I my opinion, I think James Dyson’s unique ability to come up with new designs and innovations for the

Summarize and analyze, from a rhetorical perspective, the documentary Essay

Summarize and analyze, from a rhetorical perspective, the documentary film Parrot Confidential - Essay Example He was able to survive the ordeal thanks to a neighbor who called Animal Control. Lou found a new home in a sanctuary called Foster Parrots. In another scene, Allison highlights the life of another rescue called Fagan. Before his arrival at the Feathered Friends of Michigan sanctuary, Fagan lived in a stressful home. The heightened stress levels led to self-mutilation, which entailed plucking feathers from the chest and infliction of a bad wound on the stomach (Argo, 2013). One scene focuses on Boston residents Liz and Russ Hartman who own a yellow-napped Amazon parrot named Basil. After the return of Russ from a long business trip, the couple noticed Basils strange behavior of plucking feathers from his chest area. The self-mutilation alarmed and devastated them as they tried to understand what would drive Basil to expose himself to pain. In another scene, Jamie McLeod shares a similar outlook as the Hartmans. He views parrot rearing as a lifelong commitment. His extensive knowledge emanates from his experiences as a former breeder and those from his current job at the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary. McLeods friend Lavanya Michel takes advantage of the day-care services offered by the sanctuary. She brings her Molucaan cockatoo named Dolly to the sanctuary when she needs to attend to many errands (Argo, 2013). It is crucial to note that majority of the breeders featured are currently conservationists. For instance, Phoebe and Harry Linden abandoned their parrot-breeding project in order to provide sanctuary to abandoned birds. In another scene, Marc Johnson and his wife Karen transformed an old poultry farm in Hope Valley into a rescue center for abandoned parrots. Foster Parrots Ltd. is now home to over 500 displaced parrots cared for by a small staff and volunteers (Argo, 2013). Aristotle, a prominent ancient philosopher identified ethos, logos and pathos as the key elements of persuasion. Ethos centers on establishing an

The Student Protest Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Student Protest Movement - Essay Example In the USA, the Civil Liberties Movement had moved from the south toward the northern towns with the concerns of open accommodation, as well as the Black Awareness Movement. The German scholar movements were mainly a reaction in opposition to the perceived totalitarianism and two-facedness of the German administration and supplementary Western regimes, particularly in regard to the poor livelihood conditions of scholars (Keach, 2009, pp. 5). Students within 108 German campuses protested for the East Germany identification, the exclusion of regime administrators with Nazi accounts and for the students’ civil liberties. Madrid University learners protested the police participation in scholar demonstrations, objected the autocrat Francisco Franco's administration, and demonstrated concerning trade unions, as well as worker rights. Violent Protest in France and Italy In 1968, students utilized a wide variety of protest strategies, for instance, sit-in, professions, demonstrations, etc. However, particularly in France and Italy they often took part in violent protest. Students in Italy protested violently because they wanted to convert the political consciousness and assurance of a whole generation of youthful Italians. Scholars were facing limitations, as well as hardships and comprehended very evidently that totalitarianism and corruption within the university structure reflected an essentially exploitative societal order (Lichfiel, 2010, pp. 11). Therefore, a violent protest was their only option. They also demanded refusal of the purported campus reform bill being talked about in congress, which reintroduced restrictions on campus admission and forced mindless limits on diploma, as well as degree programs. Scholars were also confronting an administration ban on remonstrations. 16th March 1968, the police forcefully forced scholars to leave structures on the main university grounds, and the heads of the group chose to recapture the Architecture structure. In France, the bona fide logic of the 1968 violent objections was done to gain the incredible sense of emancipation, of self-determination for the scholars. The students desired the entire order, power, as well as tradition system to be brushed aside. The scholars wanted the Sorbonne campus reopened so that they could take it up and later announced it as an independent â€Å"people's institution of higher education† because they felt the campus was for everyone (O'Hagan, 2008, pp. 6). Additionally, socialists perceived a chance to act as a concession amid de Gaulle, as well as the Communists utilizing violent protests for results. On May 28th, Federation of the independent and communist Left, Francois Mitterrand declared that through violent protests they no longer have a state and was set to form a new-fangled regime. Violent protests brought about the beginning of a novel age to be dominated largely by the supposed new societal movements. Media’s framing devices to à ¢â‚¬Ëœunmake’ student protest in the 1960s Lumley says that by the initial 1968months the scholar movement within Italy had

Dangerousness and Dangerous Offenders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Dangerousness and Dangerous Offenders - Essay Example Dept. of Justice, & Canada. Health and Welfare Canada, 1984). Restrictive measures on the other hand refer to those practices that are employed by the various institutions in the criminal justice system to ensure sex offenders do not reoffend again after their conviction (Howitt, 1995). These aim at protecting the public from being offended and also monitoring the offenders not to reoffend. Some of the restrictive measures that are employed to manage these offenders include the use of sex offender registers, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Circles of Support, and Accountability, use of approved premises, license conditions, prisons, situational crime prevention, and treatment of offenders (Marshall, Eccles & Barbaree, 1993). This paper will therefore examine the strength and weaknesses of these restrictive measures to protect the public from any sexual offence. It will further pay attention to the fairness and effectiveness of these approaches in protecting the public. This section will also explore the balance between human rights of the offenders and public protection bearing in mind that these offenders are also human beings and their rights ought to be protected as much as they deserve punishment for their offence (Rainey, 2013). To begin with, sex offender register is one of the restrictive measures aimed at protecting the public from sexual offence. It is a database containing records of those required to register with the police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Welchans, 2005). This include individuals who have been jailed for more than 12 months for having committed violent offences an those who are likely to be at risk of offending. Upon initial registration, it is a requirement for the offenders to provide the police with the following information; their full names, date of birth, home address, passport details, bank details and the national insurance number. This register requires the offender to inform

Summarize and analyze, from a rhetorical perspective, the documentary Essay

Summarize and analyze, from a rhetorical perspective, the documentary film Parrot Confidential - Essay Example He was able to survive the ordeal thanks to a neighbor who called Animal Control. Lou found a new home in a sanctuary called Foster Parrots. In another scene, Allison highlights the life of another rescue called Fagan. Before his arrival at the Feathered Friends of Michigan sanctuary, Fagan lived in a stressful home. The heightened stress levels led to self-mutilation, which entailed plucking feathers from the chest and infliction of a bad wound on the stomach (Argo, 2013). One scene focuses on Boston residents Liz and Russ Hartman who own a yellow-napped Amazon parrot named Basil. After the return of Russ from a long business trip, the couple noticed Basils strange behavior of plucking feathers from his chest area. The self-mutilation alarmed and devastated them as they tried to understand what would drive Basil to expose himself to pain. In another scene, Jamie McLeod shares a similar outlook as the Hartmans. He views parrot rearing as a lifelong commitment. His extensive knowledge emanates from his experiences as a former breeder and those from his current job at the Santa Barbara Bird Sanctuary. McLeods friend Lavanya Michel takes advantage of the day-care services offered by the sanctuary. She brings her Molucaan cockatoo named Dolly to the sanctuary when she needs to attend to many errands (Argo, 2013). It is crucial to note that majority of the breeders featured are currently conservationists. For instance, Phoebe and Harry Linden abandoned their parrot-breeding project in order to provide sanctuary to abandoned birds. In another scene, Marc Johnson and his wife Karen transformed an old poultry farm in Hope Valley into a rescue center for abandoned parrots. Foster Parrots Ltd. is now home to over 500 displaced parrots cared for by a small staff and volunteers (Argo, 2013). Aristotle, a prominent ancient philosopher identified ethos, logos and pathos as the key elements of persuasion. Ethos centers on establishing an

Dangerousness and Dangerous Offenders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Dangerousness and Dangerous Offenders - Essay Example Dept. of Justice, & Canada. Health and Welfare Canada, 1984). Restrictive measures on the other hand refer to those practices that are employed by the various institutions in the criminal justice system to ensure sex offenders do not reoffend again after their conviction (Howitt, 1995). These aim at protecting the public from being offended and also monitoring the offenders not to reoffend. Some of the restrictive measures that are employed to manage these offenders include the use of sex offender registers, Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, Circles of Support, and Accountability, use of approved premises, license conditions, prisons, situational crime prevention, and treatment of offenders (Marshall, Eccles & Barbaree, 1993). This paper will therefore examine the strength and weaknesses of these restrictive measures to protect the public from any sexual offence. It will further pay attention to the fairness and effectiveness of these approaches in protecting the public. This section will also explore the balance between human rights of the offenders and public protection bearing in mind that these offenders are also human beings and their rights ought to be protected as much as they deserve punishment for their offence (Rainey, 2013). To begin with, sex offender register is one of the restrictive measures aimed at protecting the public from sexual offence. It is a database containing records of those required to register with the police under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (Welchans, 2005). This include individuals who have been jailed for more than 12 months for having committed violent offences an those who are likely to be at risk of offending. Upon initial registration, it is a requirement for the offenders to provide the police with the following information; their full names, date of birth, home address, passport details, bank details and the national insurance number. This register requires the offender to inform

Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food Products Essay Example for Free

Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food Products Essay British scientific researchers demonstrated that genetically modified DNA from crops can find its way into human gut bacteria, raising possible health concerns. This is because antibiotic-resistant marker genes are inserted with GM material, which could cause a person to be resistant to antibiotic medicines. The study was conducted at Newcastle University on seven human volunteers who, in the past, had their lower intestine removed and now use colostomy bags. After eating a burger containing GM soy, researchers compared their stools with 12 people with normal stomachs. They found to their surprise that a relatively large proportion of genetically modified DNA survived the passage through the small bowel. None was found in people who had complete stomachs. To see if GM DNA might be be transferred via bacteria to the intestine, they also took bacteria from stools in the colostomy bags and cultivated them. In three of the seven samples they found bacteria had taken up the herbicide-resistant gene from the GM food at a very low level. Michael Antonio, a senior lecturer in molecular genetics at King`s College Medical School, London, said that the work was significant because the researchers demonstrated that you can get GM plant DNA in the gut bacteria, which was previously considered to be not possible. Antonio said the research suggests that antibiotic marker genes could spread around the stomach and compromise antibiotic resistance. If this were to happen, a person could be immune to beneficial antiobiotic medicines. Marker genes are inserted into GM plants to allow identification of GM cells or tissue during development. The House of Lords has called for them to be phased out as swiftly as possible. The research was conducted at the request of the UKs Food Standards Agency, which released a statement saying the research, concluded that the likelihood of functioning DNA being taken up by bacteria in the human or animal gut is extremely low. * Genetically modified foods may gain undesirable properties. * The preservation of genetic variety in one specie is difficult. The technology make farmer to produce only one type fertile plants. * The technology may cause undesirable degeneration. So, surprisingly, low quality products may be obtained. * Genetically modified foods may change the microbial flora of the soil. It may cause deperdition of essential microorganisms on soil. This ruin natural balance. * When genetically altered microorganisms are consumed with food products, they may consolidate with human or animal organism. His combination may cause deperdition, metamorphosis, or any other strange organisms. * If the foods which were made antibiotic resistant by gene technology are consumed, it may give the same property to human. This cause failure of antibiotic-based treatments. * By this technology transferred genes may contaminate to other organisms undesirably. This may cause biologic disaster. * As a ring of nature chain, insects may be influenced by genetically modified foods and insects can develop resistant mechanism. * Even beneficial foods that carry toxic effect genes can cause human illness. * There is a risk of formation one kind of flora. * Other organisms in the same medium may be influenced by genetically modified foods. Video Transcription. This transcription will have some mistakes because it is partially automated. Hey guys! This is Heather from HealthyEatingStartsHere. com. Today I wanted to talk to you about the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I do mention genetic modification every so often and to be on the lookout for it and that’s one of the reasons why I buy organic foods. And whenever I mentioned I always got a lot of question what it is? Why is it bad? All that kind of stuff! So first of all let’s look out what exactly it is. Genetic modification is when a scientist, genetic engineer goes into the actual DNA of a seed and changes something about the DNA. What it is depends on what they are trying to do. Often in food crops what they’re doing is they’re slicing in a little bit of some other species of plant or animal into the seed for certain traits that they want that plant to have. So if you are a vegan and you’re concern about animal rights and the use of animal products in your food, you wanna be really careful about genetically modified food because they might have some animal genes place in. And that involves not only the animal gene but obviously they are taking it from somewhere so there is some kind of animal experimentation going on. Aside from that, another thing that often comes up in question of what’s the difference between genetic modification and hybridization? Because people have been making hybrids for a long time, is that bad? Well, the difference is with hybrid foods what they’re doing is that they are taking two plants and they’re putting them together, kind of like mating them and producing a slightly different second generation off spring. So, it’s different because they’re not going actually on the actual DNA of the seeds and changing things mechanically. They are cross breeding and hybridization have been going on for a long long time since the beginning of agriculture really and genetic modification is very very new. It only started being experimented with in the late 1980’s and then it’s only been on the commercial scale since the late 1990’s. So not a lot of time they have been gathering data on what the long term effects are and that is one of the main disadvantages that people talk about with genetic modification. Today I want to focus more on the positive and look at what can we come up with as better solutions to whatever it is that people are trying to which are like genetic modification. If you want to read more about the disadvantages, I did write about them in my blogs, you can check that out at HealthyEatingstartsHere. com but again let’s take a look on the positive. The benefits that people are going for in genetic modification, one of the first one is the resistant to pesticides and herbicides. What happens there is well let’s take the biggest example which is Roundup ready crops. Roundup is a chemical that is a herbicides so it kills plants. You probably heard of it, people use it on their lawn, stuff like that and basically just wipes everything out. And what’s the company that produces Roundup called Monsanto wants to do is allow farmers to go out and spray field of crops and have Roundup kill all of the weeds that they don’t want but leave the crops growing. So what they do is they go onto the seeds of these major crops and changed it so that Roundup does not kill them. So that’s one of the biggest and first uses of genetic modification and the solution there if you look at organic food production, the bases behind the whole process is about making plants healthy, making the soil healthy first so that it grows healthy plants and those healthy plants won’t have diseases won’t get pests and will grow in healthy soil and the weeds won’t even be a problem. So it eliminates the need for these Roundup ready crops, I mean it’s more complex than that but that’s the – the basic idea is let’s look at what we want and create that rather than taking how things are and kind of putting a band aid on it and trying to make it better. So you can read a little more about this over at my blog, go check that out but I wanna hear from you guys. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about genetically modified foods. And whether you think there are some major disadvantages, whether you think they’re important, what you think are some good solutions that would be really awesome thing hear from you guys, what you think some better ways of doing things would be so let me know and I’ll see you guys next time. pHey guys! This is Heather from HealthyEatingStartsHere. com. Today I wanted to talk to you about the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I do mention genetic modification every so often and to be on the lookout for it and that’s one of the reasons why I buy organic foods. And whenever I mentioned I always got a lot of question what it is? Why is it bad? All that kind of stuff!   first of all let’s look out what exactly it is. Genetic modification is when a scientist, genetic engineer goes into the actual DNA of a seed and changes something about the DNA. What it is depends on what they are trying to do. Often in food crops what they’re doing is they’re slicing in a little bit of some other species of plant or animal into the seed for certain traits that they want that plant to have. So if you are a vegan and you’re concern about animal rights and the use of animal products in your food, you wanna be really careful about genetically modified food because they might have some animal genes place in. And that involves not only the animal gene but obviously they are taking it from somewhere so there is some kind of animal experimentation going on. Aside from that, another thing that often comes up in question of what’s the difference between genetic modification and hybridization? Because people have been making hybrids for a long time, is that bad? Well, the difference is with hybrid foods what they’re doing is that they are taking two plants and they’re putting them together, kind of like mating them and producing a slightly different second generation off spring. So, it’s different because they’re not going actually on the actual DNA of the seeds and changing things mechanically. They are cross breeding and hybridization have been going on for a long long time since the beginning of agriculture really and genetic modification is very very new. It only started being experimented with in the late 1980’s and then it’s only been on the commercial scale since the late 1990’s. So not a lot of time they have been gathering data on what the long term effects are and that is one of the main disadvantages that people talk about with genetic modification. Today I want to focus more on the positive and look at what can we come up with as better solutions to whatever it is that people are trying to which are like genetic modification. If you want to read more about the disadvantages, I did write about them in my blogs, you can check that out at HealthyEatingstartsHere. com but again let’s take a look on the positive. The benefits that people are going for in genetic modification, one of the first one is the resistant to pesticides and herbicides. What happens there is well let’s take the biggest example which is Roundup ready crops. Roundup is a chemical that is a herbicides so it kills plants. You probably heard of it, people use it on their lawn, stuff like that and basically just wipes everything out. /p pAnd what’s the company that produces Roundup called Monsanto wants to do is allow farmers to go out and spray field of crops and have Roundup kill all of the weeds that they don’t want but leave the crops growing. So what they do is they go onto the seeds of these major crops and changed it so that Roundup does not kill them. So that’s one of the biggest and first uses of genetic modification and the solution there if you look at organic food production, the bases behind the whole process is about making plants healthy, making the soil healthy first so that it grows healthy plants and those healthy plants won’t have diseases won’t get pests and will grow in healthy soil and the weeds won’t even be a problem. So it eliminates the need for these Roundup ready crops, I mean it’s more complex than that but that’s the – the basic idea is let’s look at what we want and create that rather than taking how things are and kind of putting a band aid on it and trying to make it better. So you can read a little more about this over at my blog, go check that out but I wanna hear from you guys. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about genetically modified foods. And whether you think there are some major disadvantages, whether you think they’re important, what you think are some good solutions that would be really awesome thing hear from you guys, what you think some better ways of doing things would be so let me know and I’ll see you guys next time. A lot of people arent clear on what exactly genetically modified food is. Very simply, its food thats been changed on a genetic level through genetic engineering. The process usually involves splicing in a gene from a different species of plant or animal to take advantage of certain traits. Hybridization causes some confusion here, since its also a way of breeding plants (or animals) for certain traits. The difference is that hybrid food is created through cross-breeding two plants into a second generation. Genetic modification is done directly in the DNA of a seed. The main benefits producers are going for in genetically modifying food plants is a resistance to pesticides and herbicides, better tolerance of extreme weather conditions (like drought), longer shelf lives, and an increase of certain nutrients (like vitamin A-infused rice). That all sounds good on paper, but there are some serious disadvantages of genetically modified food. The most blatant one is that this GM seeds are already in widespread use in the industrial agriculture food chain without having had long-term testing. They only started small scale experiments in the late 1980s, and large scale operations started in the late 1990s. The future effects on our health, our environment and the sustainability of our food crops arent easy to predict in the best of times, but GM foods and crops throw a real curveball in the mix. Because they are a fundamentally new organism, theres a lot of speculation that GM foods are treated as allergens foreign invaders by our bodies. Theres also the potential of splicing in a gene that is a natural allergen. The disadvantages of genetically modified food dont stop at health and environmental concerns. There are some serious social justice issues, where farmers in developing nations (and even those in rich countries) are generating massive profits for large corporations without any gains for themselves. In fact, lots of farmers in India kill themselves because they just cant see a way out of the downward spiral of paying for seeds that require paying for pesticides and fertilizers and machinery, then paying for more seeds and now having to pay for irrigation systems because their land is drying out Now, thats just a quick overview of the disadvantages of genetically modified food. I dont really like to dwell too long on the negative side of things, but sometimes its important to know why you dont do certain things. What I much prefer looking at is the positive side of what you can do instead. If you look at the benefits of GM crops, there isnt a need to use genetic modification to get them. Organic methods of growing food are about making plants optimally healthy, so that they dont need pesticides, fertilizers or herbicides. Growing healthy plants from healthy soil also makes for higher nutrient levels, and getting a variety of healthy foods is a better way of getting nutrients than protein-enhanced sweet potatoes or vitamin A-enhanced rice. Growing food in polycultures (lots of different types of plants together) rather than massive monocultures (like the enormous fields of corn or soy beans you see all over North America), and using different varieties of plants brings biodiversity that can better withstand extreme environmental conditions. Its like building diversity in your investment portfolio having a wide variety of stocks helps lessen the impact of one or a few companies crashing. Local food systems make shelf life less of an issue. Besides, do you really want to eat rice that could last for a few years? When the farmers are the ones who are starving, there is something seriously wrong in our food supply chain. My main question is this: If there are so many unknowns and disadvantages of genetically modified food, why dont we put our efforts into better solutions ones that address the root of the issues? The best way to avoid the disadvantages of genetically modified food is to grow your own and if you dont have space or time for a vegetable garden, a jar of sprouts on the windowsill is still awesome. If you need pointers, you can watch me show just how easy it is to grow alfalfa sprouts at home. Want to know it? Answers to lifes questions Want to know it? This blog has a little bit of everything to challenge your mind and find answers to lifes questions. Home Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food By: Want To Know It Photo Credit wheat field image by Soja Andrzej from Fotolia. com Genetic engineering has been practiced in the form of selective breeding throughout the history of agriculture. However, the discovery in 1953 of the structure of DNA gave scientists the ability to insert genes from one life form into those of a completely separate life form, thus arriving at the modern genetic engineering movement. Genetic engineering is fraught with controversy regarding its ethical and moral implications and health effects. Cancer Genetically modified foods share certain toxic effects on the liver, pancreas, kidneys and reproductive system that may cause cancer in these organs, according to a Greek study published in the February 2009 Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition. The widespread use of recombinant growth hormone a genetically modified substance in the agricultural industry is associated with increases in IGF-1, a growth hormone that, in excess quantities, can lead to cancer. Sponsored Links Humanization Special Rapid, Powerful, Full length IgG Short time only End-of-Year Pricing www. BioAtla. com Allergy Allergic reactions to genetically modified foods may arise due to the presence of proteins derived from the plant or animal used to modify the food, according to a U. S. study published in the July 2009 Toxicological Sciences. Current safety standards involve evaluation of the foreign proteins for allergenic potential, and a database of known allergenic proteins has been compiled, along with computer programs for assessing potential allergenicity of proteins. Additionally, animal and non-animal testing methods are being developed to assist in the process of screening for allergenicity. Intestinal Immunity Genetically modified corn caused an immune reaction in mice in an Italian study published in the December 2008 Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Mice fed genetically modified corn for 30 days showed altered levels of white blood cells; interleukins, a category of protein molecules that regulate immune function; and MIP-1beta, a chemical produced by certain white blood cells that initiates inflammation. The researchers noted that young and old mice were similarly affected by the modified corn. Endometriosis Rising rates of endometriosis coincide with increased consumption of genetically modified foods over the last decade, according to a Canadian report published in the December 2010 Gynecology, Obstetrics and Fertility. The presence of pesticide residue and foreign proteins in genetically modified foods may be the culprit, say the authors, citing the low-dose hypothesis that accumulation of toxins, along with added chemicals for the stabilization and delivery of pesticides designed for use with genetically modified foods, multiply the risk factors and could be harmful for their immune-toxic effects and ability to disrupt the endocrine system. Read more: http://www. livestrong. com/article/345554-disadvantages-of-genetically-modified-food/#ixzz2G2YGRNlT. Genetically modified food has been on the market since the early 90’s and since that time has attracted both positive and negative attention. Many people believe genetically modified food to be unsafe for human consumption and a hazard to the natural environment. There have been numerous studies undertaken to determine the risks involved with genetically engineering foods. As yet no set conclusions have been reached about the risk involved with genetically engineered food and strict guidelines have been established to regulate the genetically modified foods that can be sold to the consumer. What is Genetically Modified Food? Genetically modified food is food that has been altered at the DNA level. This is done by very precise genetic engineering techniques developed by scientists. In general the aim of genetically modifying food is simple, either to make the food more marketable or make it easier to produce. Most food that is genetically modified are plant products or vegetables such as soybeans, corn and tomatoes. The genetic modification of crops happened prior to scientific engineering via breeding and cross pollination. This method is still used to create crops that are more resistant to pests or to produce plants that yield bigger harvests. Scientific genetic engineering allows for a specific gene to be taken from one organism and transplanted into another. The gene responsible for making a plant resistant to pests can be quickly and efficiently transplanted into another plant allowing it to gain this resistant property. Disadvantages of Genetically Modified Food. †¢ There have been numerous criticisms leveled at genetically modified produce and it is important that we as the consumer are informed about the possible drawbacks of a product. †¢ Changing plants may have lasting effects on other organisms in the ecosystem. The change in a plant may cause it to be toxic to an insect or animal that uses it as its main food source. †¢ Due to the widespread use of insect resistant genes in crops the insects may become resistant to the genetic modifications. This would cause a widespread loss of crops and plants that have the natural immunity leading to a loss in biodiversity. †¢ Breeding and cross pollination across unintended species could occur resulting in things such as insect resistant weeds. †¢ Cross pollination can also occur across crops that are not genetically modified leading to lawsuits about who owns the GM technology and seed. The same thing can happen between organic crops and genetically modified crops making it difficult to maintain an organic status. †¢ A huge concern is that genetic modification could cause allergies in humans due to gene modification of plants. People may find that they are now allergic to other food products – people because they contain a gene from the allergen they have. One example is the use of a Brazilian nut gene in corn. †¢ Some studies have shown that it may affect the human digestive system in a number of ways. The incorporation of substances that may interact badly with one another in food or in fact be poisonous to people may happen. The modification of certain genes may make some plant substances difficult to digest at all. †¢ A major economical concern is that the control of world food sources may be limited to large companies because they own the GM seeds and have the money to start and finish the accreditation process. †¢ Genetic modification can also make it difficult to know what you are eating, as a plant could contain animals products via genetic engineering. This could cause issues for those with dietary restrictions and religious commitments. Related Articles.

Impact of Teamwork on Organisational Problem Solving

Impact of Teamwork on Organisational Problem Solving Can Groups and Teams be seen as the silver bullet to solve organisational problems? Reflect critically on this issue drawing on theory and research. Introduction In recent years, the implementation of groups and teams has become more commonplace in firms: 78% of US workplaces use teams (Allen and Hecht, 2004) and 72% of UK organizations involve their core employees in formal teams (Kersley et al., 2013). However, scholars have generally been divided about the effectiveness of teams in solving challenges in the workplace, with varying empirical results and evidence. Despite their popularity, are groups and teams always beneficial to workplaces? In observing the drawbacks of implementing teams, it is suggested that alternative factors are equally important in solving organizational problems. This essay attempts to show that teams are not the silver bullet for all organizations by critiquing populist theories on benefits of teams, discussing additional problems that may arise from teams and lastly, by questioning the assumptions of this essay. Although Katzenbach and Smith (1993a, p.45) defined team as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable and working group as a small number of people working in a collaborative style with individual input and accountability, I will use groups and teams interchangeably and not draw a distinction between the two terms for the most part of this essay. This is in line with many writers (e.g. Allen and Hecht, 2004), who regarded them as the same and that teams are two or more people working interdependently towards achieving a common goal. Section 1: Critiquing popular theories on benefits of teams Historical view of teams: Sociotechnical systems theory (STS) The term STS was originally coined by Emery and Trist (1960) to describe systems which involve a complex interaction between people, machines, and the organizations external environment; it was about utilizing the human and technical aspects to make an organization more effective. STS was the basic foundation for the empowerment of teams, arguing that as workers gain more autonomy over their jobs, team members can make greater use of their skills and judgment to better tackle organizational problems (Cohen et al., 1996). Groups were suggested as an alternative to routine Tayloristic and Fordist frameworks by reducing boredom and by allowing workers to be more involved and interested in their tasks. This works in theory, but teams may not be that autonomous or beneficial in practice. Murakami (1997) studied the introduction of teams in fourteen car plants worldwide and although teams were given some autonomy about work distribution and internal leadership, he found that managerial power in the most important areas of car production remained unchallenged. Barker (1993) argued that while teams may appear to give workers more autonomy over their jobs, groups may represent a more subtle and intensive form of control as team members can control each others actions through surveillance or social pressures. Besides that, research has indicated that in becoming group members, individuals often lose their problem-solving facilities, become emotionally segregated and blame others for their failure (Wells, 1980 cited in Sinclair, 1992, p.616). In line with that, Naquin and Tynan (2003) agreed that teams receive joint credit for successes but often blame team failure on an individual member , leading to conflict within the group. Dunphy and Bryant (1996) argued that the implementation of self-managed teams shifts the burden of problem-solving from managers to employees, leading to intensification of work and heightened stress levels. This is in line with Rothschild and Whitt (1986) who revealed that groups can often be a source of stress rather than satisfaction and have a negative effect on employees well-being. Nevertheless, even if some workers enjoy their job more through teams, there is no evidence that this will always lead to improved performance. Some researchers have suggested that job performance leads to job satisfaction but not the reverse (Bagozzi, 1980). And even if it does improve individual performance, it may not necessarily lead to organizational effectiveness in solving problems (Sinclair, 1992). Belbins Team Roles Another theory which popularized team effectiveness was Belbins model of team roles. Belbin identified nine team roles/ contributions that are seen to be crucial for organizational effectiveness (Belbin, 1993). Each team role is considered important because it helps to provide a good balance for achieving tasks. The essential contributions are solving problems, exploring resources, coordinating tasks, imparting drive, evaluating information, developing team members, implementing ideas, perfecting details, and providing knowledge. Some modern workplaces form teams on the basis of Belbins team profiles as they supposedly allow organizations to recognize and use others strengths to best advantage (Belbin, 2014). To a certain extent, Belbins model of teams and team roles may appear to solve certain organizational problems. For example, problems at organizations may occur due to ambiguity and role conflict. When there is role ambiguity, workers are uncertain which responsibilities they should tackle, leading to anxiety. This may also lead to conflict if one worker believes that another is impinging on their role, putting newcomers in a difficult position as they are apprehensive of taking on tasks (Slaughter and Zicker, 2006). By clearly defining team roles using Belbins model, organizations may be able to avoid some of these problems. However, Belbins model has been re-examined with mixed results. For example, Fisher (1996) argued that Belbin team roles have little psychometric support and that it is unreliable to use it as the basis for team roles. Another criticism is that Belbin insinuated that there are only a limited number of ways in which people can usefully contribute to teams when in practice, roles are complex and varied. Imposing team roles onto people and expecting them to contribute to workplaces in a certain way may lead to stereotyping. For example, an individual who is actually more efficient working alone may be accused of being a bad employee just because they are not a team player (Sewell, 2001). Apart from that, Belbins original research mainly focused on upper-management level executives in Britain in the 1970s, consisting mostly of middle-class white men. This does not mean that Belbins theory of teams and team roles cannot be applied to other cultures, but it could be biased as the research was based on a specific demographic. Katzenbach and Smiths Wisdom of Teams Katzenbach and Smith (1993a) argued that teams will always outperform individuals when teams are properly understood and supported. They suggested that the mutual accountability, commitment, and skills of team members will encourage open discussions and critical problem-solving. The better teams will move beyond individual responsibilities and pursue team performance goals like increasing work quality or responding to customers faster, reducing inefficiency problems. Storey (2007) argued that this theory adopts a unitarist view of management where employees and managers are constantly in pursuit of higher productivity, which may not always be true in practice. The main critique is that Katzenbach and Smith wrote from their personal work experiences (Wilson, 2013). Their research had no solid empirical evidence and while they claimed to collect information through interviews, they did not divulge how they analyzed the data. They were also inclined to ignore public service sector or third sector examples, which could make their findings biased. Additionally, this theory played down the intrinsic qualities of organizational problems such as job satisfaction or workers feelings and personal motivations. Metcalf and Linstead (2003) argued that this approach is masculinist as it adopted a view that only emphasized better performance, with the soft components such as sensitivities and feelings of members being marginalized. However, to successfully solve organizational problems, we should consider both masculinist and soft aspects as organizational problems can be related to both. Hence, this theory fails to explain why teams would be the solutio n to all challenges. Section 2: Problems that arise from implementing teams Social loafing Secondly, teams should not be seen as a panacea because they may cause even more organizational problems. One of the problems that arise from teams is social loafing, colloquially known as free riding or laziness. Simply stated, it refers to a situation in which certain members of a group exert less effort than the others (Clegg at al., 2016). Primarily, people exert less effort in groups as they feel less accountable when they know other members will compensate by exerting additional effort on their behalf (Harkins and Szymanski, 1989). Ezzamel and Wilmott (1998) observed workplace social loafing in a company they dubbed StichCo. When teams were introduced to StitchCo, the younger and more inexperienced workers with no responsibilities were less pressured to increase their wages through bonuses. They were seen to reap the advantages of a shared team bonus, working below the minimum level of efficiency while older workers overcompensated for their lack of efforts. This created resentment and conflict among those workers who were working harder. Although challenges occur when implementing team roles as discussed earlier, one way of countering social loafing is by ensuring that team members have clear responsibilities and accountability. Theoretically, one would assume that social loafing would be much less likely to exist in work teams because team pressures can be a powerful source of conformance. Sewell (1998) pointed out that non-performing team members may be pressured to perform or leave through immense social pressures. Hence in some ways, conformance and cohesion can cancel out social loafing. Groupthink Nevertheless, cohesion in groups are not always beneficial to organizations as it may cause another problem: Groupthink. Janis (1982) coined the term Groupthink when he studied historical situations where teams with prestigious and well-educated members make disastrous decisions, such as the Bay of Pigs incident. One key characteristic of Groupthink is when members choose to stand by decisions that the group has committed itself to, despite evidence that these decisions are bad or disturbing the conscience of its members. Janis argued that the more cohesive the group, the more likely it is for each member to avoid creating disunity. It is not so much that the members are afraid of revealing their objections, but that they will readily accept the majority decision without scrutinizing its pros and cons. Groupthink also brings about risk shift, an illusion of invulnerability and enthusiasm for a decision that polarizes the group towards higher risk. For example, in May 2015, six banks were fined a total of $5.7 billion for manipulating foreign exchange markets. The traders appeared to reinforce each others belief that they were not going to be arrested, allowing them to knowingly break the law (King and Lawley, 2016). The concept of groupthink therefore undermines one of the main argued benefits of teams: workers sharing multiple perspectives to examine potential risks and to better solve problems. However, Janis argued that this does not mean all cohesive groups suffer from groupthink and that mild Groupthink may not necessarily influence the quality of a groups decision. Furthermore, there are ways to avoid Groupthink: the team might encourage people to voice their opinions by establishing that any critique of the teams decision is encouraged or some members may be assigned to analyze all decisions in a critical way. Alternatively, the organization may set up several independent groups working on the same problem and compare the decisions reached. Section 3: Questioning the assumptions of this essay Groups vs Teams We will now discuss if it is possible for teams to be the silver bullet when they are defined correctly or implemented in the right settings. One of the main assumptions of this essay is that groups and teams are the same. However, Katzenbach and Smith (1993b) argued that while many workplaces claimed to use teams, in practice, teams are uncommon as most workers are in what they called working groups. Working group members mostly work independently and focus on individual performance whereas high performance team members focus everything on the team. Since team members rely on each other and focus on team outcome rather than individual needs, they can exploit each others strengths to better tackle challenges. So perhaps, the failure of teams found by researchers such as Hackman (1998) were due to people using the term team too loosely in the workplace, when they were in fact, the failure of working groups. Katzenbach and Smith (1993b) argued that it is important to distinct working groups and teams so that managers can make better decisions about whether, when, or how to encourage and use teams. By properly defining teams, we can learn when they should be seen as a solution to organizational problems. Size of teams and organizational context This essay also used Allen and Hechts definition of a team: two or more people working interdependently towards achieving a common goal (2004). This definition is quite vague, when in workplaces, the size of a team is very important and should be defined according to the task. For example, larger teams may be inefficient for routine tasks due to overcrowding, but they are good for complex tasks as smaller teams will not have enough resources or abilities (Clegg at al., 2016). Nevertheless, Laughlin (2011) found that high ability individuals can outperform groups composed of two, three, four or five low ability members. So while team size definitely has an effect on team performance, more research needs to be done to fully understand how different factors mediate the effect of team size on effectiveness. This brings us to the next assumption of this essay: groups and teams are not the silver bullet for all organizations. However, teams can be very effective if they are used in the suitable organizational context. Wright Cordery (1999) proposed conditions for teams to succeed and fail in outperforming other organizational frameworks and there is evidence that system-wide changes are better at solving organizational problems than individual changes (Bacon Blyton, 2000). Thus, it is critical to recognize that effective problem-solving does not magically occur simply by introducing teams; time, high-level resources, and revamped support structures need to be in place to create a high performance team-based organization. Only then, perhaps teams can be perceived as a silver bullet to organizational problems, although creating the perfect setting for every task would be nearly impossible. Conclusion In a nutshell, this essay argued that teams are not the panacea by examining opposing views and limitations of popular theories such as STS, Belbins team roles, and Katzenbach and Smiths Wisdom of teams. It also discussed additional problems that may arise and questioned the assumptions of this essay to demonstrate the pros and cons of teams in different situations. Due to the word limit, this essay did not discuss all the challenges which would prevent teams from working effectively (e.g. resistance to teams, leadership of teams). Nevertheless, the original essay question remains important as teams can be effective or destructive depending on how and where they are implemented, so they should not be used sweepingly across organizations. Instead, future research on teams should be done in various industrial settings to properly define teams and to examine other factors which would affect their effectiveness in problem-solving. References Allen, N.J. and Hecht, T.D., 2004. The romance of teams: Toward an understanding of its psychological underpinnings and implications. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 77(4), pp.439-461. Bacon, N. and Blyton, P., 2000. 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