Facebook Stalkers

Gabriel Montelongo Mr. Segura English 1301. 001 18, February 2013 The Book of All Evil There is no denying that social networking is at its finest. With over 1 billion users, Facebook has pushed itself into part of everyday lives. However, Facebook isn’t all flowers and butterflies. A website that stalkers use to rub one off to whoever they stalk, should not be perceived as a good thing. Neither should it be considered a good thing when a college student tries to write his essay, and keeps getting distracted by notifications.Facebook is a tool used for stalking, addiction, but worst of all, procrastination. One of the scariest thing about Facebook is the stalkers. Facebook has made stalking easier with the use of one of its features called â€Å"Lists†. Basically what this feature does is it allows the user to single out anyone in the friends list, and stalk anyone that has been added. The stalker can even single out what kind of updates a person has; such as photos, po sts, and recent locations visited.People that use Facebook should think twice about what they share with the world. On the bright-side, Facebook does allow the ability to block stalkers, but it is rendered useless if the stalker decides to fake a new account. If anyone out there has an interest in stalking, Facebook would be the first place they would look. When awkward, socially-undeveloped, cave-dwellers want to make friends, they use Facebook. They proceed to add pretty, young women, in hopes that they get a chance to be with them.However, that almost never happens, so these people then become angry and delusional. This is how stalkers tend to form over Facebook. These stalkers then proceed to stalk their rejecters, and then later end up in creepy stalker stories. This happens almost every day on Facebook, seriously. Social networking has become so common, that not many think about how they are being manipulated. Facebook has this control over people, using something called †Å"notifications†.People post updates on their page, and if people think it’s cool, then it’ll get â€Å"likes†. Notifications are then sent to the person telling them that someone liked their update. That right there encourages the user to post more updates. The more likes that people receive, the more it makes them want to update their status. This is how it keeps its users; through making them think that people actually care about what they are saying. Facebook manages to keep its users through a clever, but mischievous design.Though widely recognized as a place for friends, Facebook is more like a spreading of disease. Through mischievous design and manipulation, Facebook can actually cause addiction. A reward system of notifications and likes can make a person feel like something was accomplished through something as simple as a status update. This accomplishing feeling make the self-conscious Facebook users feel accepted through having their statuses â€Å"liked†, and will try to reanimate themselves in search of that same feeling.Facebook addiction is now being recognized as a legitimate addiction, and will soon find itself in future psychology books. Not only is Facebook perfectly designed for stalkers, but also to distract students from finishing homework. Facebook has a billion plus users, a majority of which are teenagers and young adults. Distracting a kid couldn’t be easier with Facebook. Give a pre-teen a website full of friends, and that pre-teen could be on it for hours.The same effect happens with young college students; only the college student knows that he has an essay due Wednesday. Said student will then proceed to write the essay, only to get distracted by friends on Facebook. It is a horrible feeling when students know that not much time is left, and begin to hate themselves for procrastinating. An evil that every teenager in this day and age has to deal with, every day of their lives. Facebook is a curse; one that destroys us from the inside out.Never mind the fact that almost one in every five divorces have been Facebook related, it creates stalkers that could eventually evolve into serial killers. Facebook breeds addiction and manipulates our already screwed up society. It has students thinking that they will only be on for five minutes, which then becomes an hour. Facebook is itself a problem that causes even more problems. A problem that’s here to stay until a new socializing website comes and takes over, and causes even more problems.

Metabical Analysis Essay

All other Weight-Loss Options in Exhibit 2 are more expensive that the target $30/ month out of pocket cost. No other weight loss option offers cost containment cards. No other product combines two mechanisms for weight loss: Metabical combines two pharmacologic mechanisms to produce weight loss: Fat blocker, meditonan and appetite suppressant, calosera. Due to the dual mechanism, the medications can be dosed in lower levels and therefore have a better safety profile and fewer side effects than either of the medications that have similar mechanisms, Meridia (prescription appetite suppressant phentermine) or Xenical (originally prescription fat blocker, now over the counter in a lower dose with fewer side effects, Alli) Metabical is dosed once daily, which leads to better patient compliance than over the counter Alli, which must be taken with each meal in order to block fat absorption. Metabical is FDA approved, which demonstrates efficacy and relative safety as compared to over the counter or herbal remedies. Metabical is dispensed by prescription only, which allows physicians to have more control and awareness of what their patients are taking, and to coordinate the use of Metabical with other prescription drugs in a group of patients (moderately obese), who are prone to obesity related disease states, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, and joint injuries. Metabical is the only prescription weight loss medication with an indication for moderate obesity (BMI 28-30). Other prescription weight loss preparations are indicated for morbidly obese patients with BMI < 30. * As a prescription drug, physicians are also able to combine Metabical with nutrition counseling or behavior modification support.

Managing Human Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing Human Resources - Essay Example What Should A Company do over The Short and Long Term to Maximize the Use and Value of Its Benefits Choices to Employees? Maximization of benefit choices largely depends upon the company’s willingness to retain topmost talents. It can be stated in this similar concern that the companies may follow as well as execute different effective measures for retaining top talents. They may opt for incurring huge figure of expenses which may result in the development of high incentive schemes categorizing into monetary as well as non-monetary benefits. Specially mentioning, the companies can introduce various attractive offers and bonus plans for satisfying those employees whose continued contribution matters a lot for them (Barringer & Milkovich, 1998). Furthermore, it is to be argued that a particular company can revise all its incentive plans on a quarterly basis so as to make the top employees feel comfortable to work with the company. In addition, the companies can work upon towards reviewing the top performances of the employees by introducing effectual training programs for them. If the contributions made by the employees are highlighted and applauded, then these would eventually boost the other employees to perform their respective work even better. This process will benefit the companies both in the long run as well as in the short run. Moreover, this particular practice will also help the companies in lessening the attrition rate of the personnel by a greater degree. In this regard, it is to be affirmed that high attrition creates lots of imbalances in the overall efficiency and operations of the companies and therefore, it should be avoided (Barber, Dunham & Formisano, 2006). The companies can also maximize its benefits plans by allowing the top performing employees to avail multiple reimbursements from their respective the organizations. Besides, the companies can reward their respective employees for their unprecedented performances in terms of providi ng them with attractive tour packages and time outs resulting in rejuvenating themselves and thereby motivating them for conducting better performance in future. Furthermore, the companies can allow the employees to avail medical benefits in terms of insurance plans covering them and their whole families. The companies should provide different insurance plans so as to entitle quality benefits to the employees. They can provide health insurance along with accidental as well as life insurances to the personnel. For the purpose of attracting as well as retaining top-notch talent, the companies can make the employees to be accustomed with the overall work atmosphere by offering them with proper promotions in relation to their contribution to the company for the overall development. It can help the personnel to remain motivated in the organizations. If the benefits plans are provided to the deserving employees, then it will certainly lead towards further development of the organizations and will benefit them in long-term perspective which is quite necessary. Thus the company can make proper usage of the benefit plans for ensuring retention of top employees by a considerable level. The company can also create mass awareness of the benefit plans by entitling various types of benefits that the employees can choose

Giving adice to another student how well to do on test,why it is Essay

Giving adice to another student how well to do on test,why it is important it is to do well - Essay Example First of all, I advise that you study your lessons first thing, early in the morning while your mind is well rested and free from any worries. This will allow you to easily grasp information and remember them because your brain is not yet worked up. Moreover, the silence in the early morning allows your mind to work more efficiently without the disturbances or distractions noise and other things could bring. Secondly, it would be most helpful if you plan what you study starting from what is most difficult for you. Subjects you are having difficulty with requires more efforts to understand than those you usually enjoy so while your brain is still freshly rejuvenated, take the chance of devouring and understanding information which are difficult. Lastly, study your own notes because it is easier to remember things that you have written yourself. Of this demands that you take notes during lectures and that you have to listen well so you know the important information you need to jot

Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Indicators - Essay Example This cuts costs for businesses which would enable them to reinvest the spare cans and hire more workers. There are also other ways that should be considered to address the problem of unemployment. These include training programs that are better than those in the past. This will ensure that the skills of employees are better matched to the jobs that are newly available. The full-time employment policies should also push for full-time employment a bit faster. This is because when labor markets grow tight, companies go ahead and hire any individual even those who have been unemployed for a time greater than one year. The gross domestic product is defined as the output of the final goods and services that are produced by a country. The GDP is calculated as Personal Consumption Expenditure plus Investment plus Government Expenditure plus (Exports minus Imports) The advantage of using real GDP is that it is dynamic because it changes with the constantly new figures. It is the best indicator of the overall economic health of a nation. The past figures show that GDP has increased since the last quarter and has been showing an increasing trend for the past two years. GDP is used as a coincident indicator as it changes at the same time the economy does. A negative economic growth for two quarters that are consecutive is considered a recession and the Federal Reserve usually lower the interest rates in this period in order to increase the rate at which the economy is growing and to stimulate the economy. Real GDP takes into account inflation as we multiply the nominal GDP with a deflator. GDP tells us if the economy is growing more quickly or slower than past years. The US sustainable rate as believed by economists is between 2.5% and 3 % as that has been the average rate in the past. The five components of GDP as cited above are private consumption, government consumption, investment and net exports. The

Is a college education worth it Pro thesis paper - 1

Is a college education worth it Pro paper - Thesis Example ses required for gaining sufficient educational background, benefits of college education beat financial difficulties that should be overcome in order to profit. College education allows making life more comfortable, successful and prosperous which is explained by directly proportional correlation of taken time/ trouble and further well-being. As a proof, comparing people who start working at once after school graduation and those ones who spend additional four years for gaining qualifications Baum, Ma and Payea investigated the following: â€Å"As workers age, earnings rise more rapidly for those with higher levels of education. For example, the gap between the earnings of full-time workers whose highest degree is bachelor’s degree and those of high school graduates grows from 54% ($15,200) for 25 - to 29-year-olds to 86% ($32,000) for 45- to 49-year-olds†(5). Entering a college, students obtain skills and abilities required to that area which is chosen for their future professions what makes them more appealing to the employers and what makes them more competitive in comparison with those who missed college education. Besides the qualification itself, students are learning to make researches, to work on improvement of those basics that they are proposed, to challenge common believes, to introduce their knowledge to real life. Even though someone may contradict that there is also such a thing like self-education that does not suppose being officially a student in some college, unfortunately, statistics can prove that self study carries to success only in exceptional cases. Making a decision on the necessity of entering the college it is not enough to be ruled by self-interest because willing to live in a better society, it is everyone’s obligation to make a contribution to that. According to the research of Baum and Payea, â€Å"in addition to increasing material standards of living, reduced poverty improves the overall well-being of the population. †¦ In

Write an exemplification essay on the qualities of an effective

Write an exemplification on the qualities of an effective teacher - Essay Example in class; they have to strengthen these qualities and, finally, work on developing the qualities that they do not have since these qualities may affect the learning process of their students. An effectual instructor has to be exceptionally well prepared. This ensures that the teacher’s work in preparation for class is done on time and in such a way that students will be able to understand what their teacher is discussing. Furthermore, the teacher will have to be able to teach his students in an organized manner, which means that they will get more from him than if he had not been well organized. The teacher will have to be able to anticipate the questions which his students are likely to ask after the discussion and will have to answer these questions effectively. Therefore, it is a fact that a well-organized teacher will be able to cover more with his/her students than a teacher not se well organized. A teacher has to be in every way supportive of his/her students. This leads to the development of trust between the teacher and the students, and due to this, the latter will be more receptive when in class. As stated above, every student has unique abilities and it is up to the teacher to encourage the development of these abilities to ensure that there is more diversity in class. In this way, students with different abilities will be able to share their knowledge with each other, and this will bring about richer learning environment. A teacher has to be persistent with his/her students. There are certain students who require a persistent teacher to develop interest in learning. It is, therefore, important that the teacher maintain his/her persistence in encouraging such students to take an active interest in their education even though such students may be stubborn. If such students need special help, then the teacher should be patient enough to provide such help or, if he/she cannot do this, then he/she should ask a person more suited for the task to do so.

Human resource Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 1

Human resource - Essay Example After exploring the salary structure and job performance evaluation, the best ways to increase employees’ salary in accordance to the company’s profit earnings will be explained. Upon exploring the significance of behavioural competencies with the skill development of each employee, decision of organizational study and hr development strategy particularly with the importance of trainings as well as learning and development through an open distance learning will be tackled followed by discussing the importance and impact of employee recognition in the context of employee relation. With regards to trade union issues, the differences between multi-union, single table, single union and partnership will be discussed followed by explaining the benefits and advantages of conducting a collective consultation like redundancy, transform of under takings, health safety, pension, and work place agreement. According to Roy Ballentine of Ballentine Finn & Co.; â€Å"Getting the right people in the right jobs is important because we are running a business that depends on human capital† (Alexander, 2009). It simply means that employing a person with sufficient skills and knowledge to perform a task could enable the organization meet the business objectives. A common problem that most HR managers are experiencing today is that hiring new employees who are capable of performing the job does not literally mean that the newly employed individuals would stay with the company for a long period of time. One of the most common reasons why newly hired employees would decide to leave the company is due to the fact that they could not fit in the organizational culture or the existing team within the department. For this reason, it is a challenge for HR managers to get the right people in position. Organizational culture is a paradigm developed by individuals within the organization which over time forms a strong pattern of behaviour and belief that could significantly affect

Earthquake Preparedness in Los Angeles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Earthquake Preparedness in Los Angeles - Essay Example Land sliding and mudflows is obviously a hazard in case earthquake jolts Los Angeles. Bush fires are a big hazard associated with earthquakes. Rupturing of gas lines causes bush fires in Los Angeles after an earthquake (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010). There is a term â€Å"transform boundaries† which occurs when two plates crush past each other and a very limited convergent and divergent activity takes place. Now San Andreas fault is a major fault in California. City of Los Angeles is situated on pacific plate which is slowly moving towards north with respect to North American plate. According to predictable motion Los Angeles and landmass west of San Andreas fault will slide towards San Francisco and then towards Aleutian trench. It is not only the San Andreas fault marking the conventional margin between the pacific and other north American plates but transform faults are major cause of earthquake in Los Angeles. Recent earthquake that damaged the Los Angeles occurred in 1994 and it remained focused on the north ridge area (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010). Movement of earth’s crust is the cause of earthquakes in California and Los Angeles. North American plate is moving towards east and pacific plate is expanding towards west and the point comes where these two plates pass each other. The North American plate is moving at the speed of approximately 2 inch per year. ... Like other mountains in California and Los Angeles these mountains are also pushed up by the earthquakes in past. Although few of the faults have been buried beneath the basin of Los Angeles and inland valleys but even then many of them can still be seen on the earth surface in the region (Geschwind, 2001). Out of the recent earthquakes in Los Angeles the earthquake of 1994 focused on the Northridge area. The registered intensity of the earthquake was 7.6 on the Richter scale. The earthquake lasted for 30 seconds but aftershocks kept coming for several days. Water and gas pipe explosion, land sliding and collapse of structure resulted in sudden death of about 60 people. Power supply was cut to the houses and because of infrastructural damage people were trapped in their homes. More than 500,000 houses were without electricity supply due to natural disaster. Due to more than 11 earthquakes since 1970, the city of Los Angeles is now known as hazard city (Hyndman & Hyndman, 2010). Due t o structure of the earth and movement of plates in California, one major earthquake is expected in a century. Despite the chances of earthquake in future the attitude of people is quite different and they do not thing such an incident to take place in their lifetime. People are not ready to pay for different improvements to withstand earthquakes in future. Large companies and organizations in the city have managed to construct such huge buildings that have the capability to absorb certain amount of vibration and shock if earthquake takes place. Buildings being constructed now in the city are also vibration resistant to tackle the future earthquakes. Now earthquakes will cause relatively less damage to industrial areas as the buildings are

The Holocaus Essay Example for Free

The Holocaus Essay The Holocaust also known as Shoah, was the mass murder or genocide of approximately six million Jews during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, throughout the German Reich and German-occupied territories. Of the nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust, approximately two-thirds were killed. Over one million Jewish children were killed in the Holocaust, as were approximately two million Jewish women and three million Jewish men. A network of about 42,500 facilities in Germany and German-occupied territory were used to concentrate, hold, and kill Jews and other victims. Some scholars argue that the mass murder of the Romani and people with disabilities should be included in the definition, and some use the common noun holocaust to describe other Nazi mass murders, including those of Soviet prisoners of war, Polish and Soviet civilians, and homosexuals. Recent estimates, based on figures obtained since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, indicate some ten to eleven million civilians and prisoners of war were intentionally murdered by the Nazi regime. Historian Rudolph Rummel estimates the number of civilians and jews murdered by the Nazis at 20,946,000. The occupiers required Jews and Romani to be confined in overcrowded ghettos before being transported by freight train to extermination camps where, if they survived the journey, most were systematically killed in gas chambers. Every arm of Germanys bureaucracy was involved in the logistics that led to the genocides, turning the Third Reich into what one Holocaust scholar has called a genocidal state. Extermination camps The use of camps equipped with gas chambers for the purpose of systematic mass extermination of peoples was a unique feature of the Holocaust and unprecedented in history. Never before had there existed places with the express purpose of killing people en masse. These were established at Auschwitz, Belzec, CheÅ‚mno, Jasenovac, Majdanek, Maly Trostenets, Sobibà ³r, and Treblinka. Medical experiments A distinctive feature of Nazi genocide was the extensive use of human subjects in medical experiments. According to Raul Hilberg, German physicians were highly Nazified, compared to other professionals, in terms  of party membership. Some carried out experiments at Auschwitz, Dachau, Buchenwald, Ravensbrà ¼ck, Sachsenhausen, and Natzweiler concentration camps. The most notorious of these physicians was Dr. Josef Mengele, who worked in Auschwitz. His experiments included placing subjects in pressure chambers, testing drugs on them, freezing them, attempting to change eye color by injecting chemicals into childrens eyes, and various amputations and other surgeries. Subjects who survived Mengeles experiments were almost always killed and dissected shortly afterwards. He worked extensively with Romani children. He would bring them sweets and toys, and personally take them to the gas chamber. They would call him Onkel Mengele. Vera Alexander was a Jewish inmate at Auschwitz who looked after 50 sets of Romani twins: Legal repression and emigration Nazi policies about repression divided people into three types of enemies, the racial enemies such as the Jews and the Gypsies who were viewed as enemies because of their blood; political opponents such as Marxists, liberals, Christians and the reactionaries who were viewed as wayward National Comrades; and moral opponents such as homosexuals, the work-shy and habitual criminals, also seen as wayward National Comrades. The last two groups were to be sent to concentration camps for re-education, with the aim of eventual absorption into the Volksgemeinschaft, though some of the moral opponents were to be sterilized, as they were regarded as genetically inferior. Peukert quotes policy documents on the Treatment of Community Aliens from 1944, which showed the full intentions of Nazi social policy: persons who show themselves unable to comply by their own efforts with the minimum requirements of the national community were to be placed under police supervision, and if this did not reform them, they were to be taken to a concentration camp. One of the first, camps was Dachau,which opened on 9 March 1933. Initially the camp contained primarily communists and Social Democrats. Other early prisons—for example, in basements and storehouses run by the Sturmabteilung and less commonly by the Schutzstaffel —were consolidated by mid-1934 into purpose-built camps outside the cities, run exclusively by the SS. The initial purpose of the camps was to serve as a deterrent by terrorizing those Germans who did not conform to the Volksgemeinschaft. Those sent to the camps included the  educable, whose wills could be broken into becoming National Comrades, and the biologically depraved, who were to be sterilized, were to be held permanently, and over time were increasingly subject to extermination through labor, i.e., being worked to death. On 1 April 1933, there occurred a boycott of Jewish businesses, which was the first national antisemitic campaign, initially planned for a week, but called off after one day owing to lack of popular support. In 1933, a series of laws were passed which contained Aryan paragraphs to exclude Jews from key areas: the Law for the Restoration of the Professional Civil Service, the first antisemitic law passed in the Third Reich; the Physicians Law; and the Farm Law, forbidding Jews from owning farms or taking part in agriculture. In 1935, Hitler introduced the Nuremberg Laws, which: prohibited Aryans from having sexual relations or marriages with Jews, although this was later extended to include Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring, stripped German Jews of their citizenship and deprived them of all civil rights. At the same time the Nazis used propaganda to promulgate the concept of Rassenschande to justify the need for a restrictive law. Hitler described the Blood Law in particular the attempt at a legal regulation of a problem, which in the event of further failure would then have through law to be transferred to the final solution of the National Socialist Party. Hitler said that if the Jewish problem cannot be solved by these laws, it must then be handed over by law to the National-Socialist Party for a final solution. The final solution, became the standard Nazi euphemism for the extermination of the Jews. Early measures In German-occupied Poland Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939 increased the urgency of the Jewish Question. Poland, was home to approximately three million Jews, in centuries-old communities, two-thirds of whom fell under Nazi control with Polands capitulation. Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia, recommended concentrating all the Polish Jews in ghettos in major cities, where they would be put to work for the German war industry. The ghettos would be in cities located on railway junctions in order to furnish, in Heydrichs words, a better possibility of control and later deportation. During his interrogation in 1961, Adolf Eichmann recalled that  this later deportation actually meant physical extermination. In September, Himmler appointed Heydrich head of the Reich Main Security Office . This organization was made up of seven departments, including the Security Police, and the Gestapo. They were to oversee the work of the SS in occupied Poland, and carry out the policy towards the Jews described in Heydrichs report. The first organized murders of Jews by German forces occurred during Operation Tannenberg and through Selbstschutz units. The Jews were later herded into ghettos, mostly in the General Government area of central Poland, where they were put to work under the Reich Labor Office headed by Fritz Sauckel. Here many thousands died from maltreatment, disease, starvation, and exhaustion, but there was still no program of systematic killing. There is little doubt, however, that the Nazis saw forced labor as a form of extermination.Although it was clear by late 1941 that the SS hierarchy was determined to embark on a policy of killing all the Jews under German control, there was still opposition to this policy within the Nazi regime, although the motive was economic, not humanitarian. Hermann Gà ¶ring, who had overall control of the German war industry, and the German armys Economics Department, argued that the enormous Jewish labor force assembled in the General Government area, was an asset too valuable to waste, particularly with Germany failing to secure rapid victory of the Soviet Union. Ghettos After the invasion of Poland, the Nazis established ghettos in the incorporated territories and General Government in which Jews were confined. These were initially seen as temporary, until the Jews were deported out of Europe; as it turned out, such deportation never took place, with the ghettos inhabitants instead being sent to extermination camps. The Germans ordered that each ghetto be run by a Judenrat consisting of Jewish community leaders, with the first order for the establishment of such councils contained in a letter dated 29 September 1939 from Heydrich to the heads of the Einsatzgruppen. The ghettos were formed and closed off from the outside world at different times and for different reasons. The councils were responsible for the day-to-day running of the ghetto, including the distribution of food, water, heat, medicine, and shelter. The Germans also mandated them to undertake confiscations, organize forced labor, and,  finally, facilitate deportations to extermination camps. The councils basic strategy was one of trying to minimise losses, largely by cooperating with Nazi authorities, accepting the increasingly terrible treatment, bribery, and petitioning for better conditions and clemency. Overall, to try and mitigate still worse cruelty and death, the councils offered words, money, labor, and finally lives. The ultimate test of each Judenrat was the demand to compile lists of names of deportees to be murdered. Though the predominant pattern was compliance with even this final task, some council leaders insisted that not a single individual should be handed over who had not committed a capital crime. Leaders such as Joseph Parnas in Lviv, who refused to compile a list, were shot. On 14 October 1942, the entire council of Byaroza committed suicide rather than cooperate with the deportations. Adam Czerniakà ³w in Warsaw killed himself on 23 July 1942 when he could take no more as the final liquidation of the ghetto got under way. Others, like Chaim Rumkowski, who became the dedicated autocrat of Ã… Ãƒ ³dÃ… º, argued that their responsibility was to save the Jews who could be saved, and that therefore others had to be sacrificed. The importance of the councils in facilitating the persecution and murder of ghetto inhabitants was not lost on the Germans: one official was emphatic that the authority of the Jewish council be upheld and strengthened under all circumstances, another that Jews who disobey instructions of the Jewish council are to be treated as saboteurs. When such cooperation crumbled, as happened in the Warsaw ghetto after the Jewish Combat Organisation displaced the councils authority, the Germans lost control. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest, with 380,000 people; the Ã… Ãƒ ³dÃ… º Ghetto was second, holding 160,000. They were, in effect, immensely crowded prisons, described by Michael Berenbaum as instruments of slow, passive murder. Though the Warsaw Ghetto contained 30% of the population of the Polish capital, it occupied only 2.4% of the citys area, averaging 9.2 people per room. Between 1940 and 1942, starvation and disease, especially typhoid, killed hundreds of thousands. Over 43,000 residents of the Warsaw ghetto died there in 1941, Pogroms A number of deadly pogroms by local populations occurred during the Second World War, some with Nazi encouragement, and some spontaneously. This included the IaÅŸi pogrom in Romania on 30 June 1941, in which as many as 14,000 Jews were killed by Romanian residents and police, and the Jedwabne pogrom of July 1941, in which 300 Jews were locked in a barn set on fire by the local Poles in the presence of Nazi Ordnungspolizei, which was preceded by the execution of 40 Jewish men at the same location by the Germans. – Such were the final finding of the official investigation conducted in 2000–2003 by the Institute of National Remembrance, confirmed by the number of victims in the two graves examined by the archeological and anthropological team participating in the exhumation. Earlier higher estimates based on hearsay were disproved. Death squads The German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 opened a new phase. The Holocaust intensified after the Nazis occupied Lithuania, where close to 80% of the countrys 220,000 Jews were exterminated before the end of the year. The Soviet territories occupied by early 1942, including all of Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Moldova and most Russian territory west of the line Leningrad-Moscow-Rostov, contained about three million Jews at the start of the war. Hundreds of thousands had fled Poland in 1939. Members of the local populations in certain occupied Soviet territories participated actively in the killings of Jews and others. Ultimately it was the Germans who organized and channelled these local participants in the Holocaust. Hillgruber maintained that the slaughter of about 2.2 million defenseless men, women and children for the reasons of racist ideology cannot possibly be justified for any reason, and that those German generals who claimed that the Einsatzgruppen were a necessary anti-partisan response were lying. Army co-operation with the SS in anti-partisan and anti-Jewish operations was close and intensive. In mid-1941, the SS Cavalry Brigade commanded by Hermann Fegelein, during the course of anti-partisan operations in the Pripyat Marshes, killed 699 Red Army soldiers, 1,100 partisans and 14,178 Jews. The large-scale killings of Jews in the occupied Soviet territories was assigned to SS formations called Einsatzgruppen, under the overall command of Heydrich. These had been used to a limited extent in Poland in 1939, but were organized in the Soviet territories on a much larger scale. Einsatzgruppe A was assigned to the Baltic area, Einsatzgruppe B to Belarus, Einsatzgruppe C to north and central Ukraine, and Einsatzgruppe D to Moldova, south Ukraine, Crimea, and, during 1942, the  north Caucasus. According to Otto Ohlendorf at his trial, the Einsatzgruppen had the mission to protect the rear of the troops by killing the Jews, Gypsies, Communist functionaries, active Communists, and all persons who would endanger the security. In practice, their victims were nearly all defenseless Jewish civilians . By December 1941, the four Einsatzgruppen listed above had killed, respectively, 125,000, 45,000, 75,000, and 55,000 people—a total of 300,000 people—mainly by shooting or with hand grenades at mass killing sites outside the major towns. The most notorious massacre of Jews in the Soviet Union was at a ravine called Babi Yar outside Kiev, where 33,771 Jews were killed in a single operation on 29–30 September 1941. The decision to kill all the Jews in Kiev was made by the military governor, the Police Commander for Army Group South, and the Einsatzgruppe C Commander Otto Rasch. A mixture of SS, SD and Security Police, assisted by Ukrainian police, carried out the killings. Although they did not participate in the killings, men of the 6th Army played a key role in rounding up the Jews of Kiev and transporting them to be shot at Babi Yar. New methods of mass murder Starting in December 1939, the Nazis introduced new methods of mass murder by using gas. First, experimental gas vans equipped with gas cylinders and a sealed trunk compartment, were used to kill mental care clients of sanatoria in Pomerania, East Prussia, and occupied Poland, as part of an operation termed Action T4. A need for new mass murder techniques was also expressed by Hans Frank, governor of the General Government, who noted that this many people could not be simply shot. We shall have to take steps, however, designed in some way to eliminate them. It was this problem which led the SS to experiment with large-scale killings using poison gas. Christian Wirth seems to have been the inventor of the gas chamber. Wannsee Conference and the Final Solution The Wannsee Conference was convened by Reinhard Heydrich on 20 January 1942 in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee and brought together some 15 Nazi leaders which included a number of state secretaries, senior officials, party leaders, SS officers and other leaders of government departments who were responsible for policies which were linked to Jewish issues. The initial  purpose of the meeting was to discuss plans for a comprehensive solution to the Jewish question in Europe. Heydrich intended to outline the mass murders in the various occupied territories . . . as part of a solution to the European Jewish question ordered by Hitler . . . to ensure that they, and especially the ministerial bureaucracy, would share both knowledge and responsibility for this policy A copy of the minutes which were drawn up by Eichmann has survived, but on Heydrichs instructions, they were written up in euphemistic language. Thus the exact words used at the meeting are not known. However, Heydrich addressed the meeting indicating the policy of emigration was superseded by a policy of evacuating Jews to the east. This was seen to be only a temporary solution leading up to a final solution which would involve some 11 million Jews living not only in territories controlled then by the Germans, but to major countries in the rest of the world including the UK, and the US. There was little doubt what the solution was: Heydrich also made it clear what was understood by the phrase Final Solution: the Jews were to be annihilated by a combination of forced labour and mass murder. The officials were told there were 2.3 million Jews in the General Government, 850,000 in Hungary, 1.1 million in the other occupied countries, and up to five million in the USSR, although two million of these were in areas still under Soviet control – a total of about 6.5 million. These would all be transported by train to extermination camps in Poland, where almost all of them would be gassed at once. In some camps, such as Auschwitz, those fit for work would be kept alive for a while, but eventually all would be killed.

Overview of Cytokinins (CK)

Overview of Cytokinins (CK) FARA SHAKEEL CYTOKININS: Cytokinins (CK) are a class of plant growth substances (phytohormones) that promote cell division, or cytokinesis, in plant roots and shoots. They are involved primarily in cell growth and differentiation, but also affect apical dominance, axillary bud growth, and leaf senescence. STRUCTURE OF CYTOKININS: NATURE OF CYTOKININS: Cytokinins are compounds with a structure resembling adenine which promote cell division and have other similar functions to kinetin. Kinetin was the first cytokinin discovered and so named because of the compounds ability to promote cytokinesis (cell division). Though it is a natural compound, It is not made in plants, and is therefore usually considered a synthetic cytokinin (meaning that the hormone is synthesized somewhere other than in a plant). The most common form of naturally occurring cytokinin in plants today is called zeatin which was isolated from corn (Zea mays) Cytokinins have been found in almost all higher plants as well as mosses, fungi, bacteria, and also in tRNA of many prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Today there are more than 200 natural and synthetic cytokinins combined. Cytokinin concentrations are highest in meristematic regions and areas of continuous growth potential such as roots, young leaves, developing fruits, and seeds (Arteca, 1996; Mauseth, 1991; Raven, 1992; Salisbury and Ross, 1992). HISTORY OF CYTOKININS: In 1913, Gottlieb Haberlandt discovered that a compound found in phloem had the ability to stimulate cell division (Haberlandt, 1913). In 1941, Johannes van Overbeek discovered that the milky endosperm from coconut also had this ability. He also showed that various other plant species had compounds which stimulated cell division (van Overbeek, 1941). In 1954, Jablonski and Skoog extended the work of Haberlandt showing that vascular tissues contained compounds which promote cell division (Jablonski and Skoog, 1954). The first cytokinin was isolated from herring sperm in 1955 by Miller and his associates (Miller et al., 1955). This compound was named kinetin because of its ability to promote cytokinesis. Hall and deRopp reported that kinetin could be formed from DNA degradation products in 1955 (Hall and deRopp, 1955). The first naturally occurring cytokinin was isolated from corn in 1961 by Miller (Miller, 1961). It was later called zeatin. Almost simultaneous w ith Miller Letham published a report on zeatin as a factor inducing cell division and later described its chemical properties (Letham, 1963). It is Miller and Letham that are credited with the simultaneous discovery of zeatin. Since that time, many more naturally occurring cytokinins have been isolated and the compound is ubiquitous to all plant species in one form or another (Arteca, 1996; Salisbury and Ross, 1992). BIOSYNTHESIS AND METABOLISM: Cytokinin is generally found in higher concentrations in meristematic regions and growing tissues. They are believed to be synthesized in the roots and translocated via the xylem to shoots. Cytokinin biosynthesis happens through the biochemical modification of adenine. The process by which they are synthesized is as follows (McGaw, 1995; Salisbury and Ross, 1992): A product of the mevalonate pathway called isopentyl pyrophosphate is isomerized. This isomer can then react with adenosine monophosphate with the aid of an enzyme called isopentenyl AMP synthase. The result is isopentenyl adenosine-5-phosphate (isopentenyl AMP). This product can then be converted to isopentenyl adenosine by removal of the phosphate by a phosphatase and further converted to isopentenyl adenine by removal of the ribose group. Isopentenyl adenine can be converted to the three major forms of naturally occurring cytokinins. Other pathways or slight alterations of this one probably l ead to the other forms. Degradation of cytokinins occurs largely due to the enzyme cytokinin oxidase. This enzyme removes the side chain and releases adenine. Derivitives can also be made but the pathways are more complex and poorly understood. TRANSPORT: via xylem (transpiration stream) in peas, a signal from the leaves may signal/regulate transport of cytokinins from the roots zeatin ribosides are the main transport form; converted to the free base or glucosides in the leaves some cytokinin also moves in the phloem. Mode of action: The ratio of auxin to cytokinin plays an important role in the effect of cytokinin on plant growth. Cytokinin alone has no effect on parenchyma cells. When cultured with auxin but no cytokinin, they grow large but do not divide. When cytokinin is added, the cells expand and differentiate. When cytokinin and auxin are present in equal levels, the parenchyma cells form an undifferentiated callus. More cytokinin induces growth of shoot buds, while more auxin induces root formation. Cytokinins are involved in many plant processes, including cell division and shoot and root morphogenesis. They are known to regulate axillary bud growth and apical dominance. The direct inhibition hypothesis posits that these effects result from the cytokinin to auxin ratio. This theory states that auxin from apical buds travels down shoots to inhibit axillary bud growth. This promotes shoot growth, and restricts lateral branching. Cytokinin moves from the roots into the shoots, eventually signaling lateral bud growth. Simple experiments support this theory. When the apical bud is removed, the axillary buds are uninhibited, lateral growth increases, and plants become bushier. Applying auxin to the cut stem again inhibits lateral dominance. While cytokinin action in vascular plants is described as pleiotropic, this class of plant hormones specifically induces the transition from apical growth to growth via a three-faced apical cell in moss protonema. This bud induction can be pinpointed to differentiation of a specific single cell, and thus is a very specific effect of cytokinin. Cytokinins have been shown to slow aging of plant organs by preventing protein breakdown, activating protein synthesis, and assembling nutrients from nearby tissues. A study that regulated leaf senescence in tobacco leaves found that wild-type leaves yellowed while transgenic leaves remained mostly green. It was hypothesized that cytokinin may affect enzymes that regulate protein synthesis and degradation. CHEMISTRY: A. General adenine derivatives (amino purines) occur as: (a) the free nitrogenous base; (b) a nucleoside (base + ribose); (c) a nucleotide (base + ribose + phosphate); or (d) glycosides The free base is the active form. approximately 40 different structures known. Zeatin (Z), which was first isolated from maize (Zea mays) is the most common cytokinin. Other naturally occurring cytokinins include, dihydrozeatin (DHZ) and isopentenyladenosine (IPA). B. Synthetic cytokinins kinetin – probably byproduct of zeatin degradation there are several other substances with cytokinin activity such as benzyl adenine (benzylaminopurine; BA). C. Cytokinins and nucleic acids can occur as a modified base in tRNA, but the bases exist in the cis form, rather than the typical trans form. These modified bases that are found in all organisms from bacteria to plants to humans. The function of the tRNA cytokinins is not clear, but after hydrolysis of the tRNA the products can act as a cytokinin. The importance of the tRNA derived cytokinins in overall growth and development is not clear, either. Interestingly plants have different sets of tRNA’s with different cytokinins that participate in protein synthesis in the cytoplasm and the plastids. CYTOKININS FUNCTION: A list of some of the known physiological effects caused by cytokinins are listed below. The response will vary depending on the type of cytokinin and plant species (Davies, 1995; Mauseth, 1991; Raven, 1992; Salisbury and Ross, 1992). Stimulates cell division. Stimulates morphogenesis (shoot initiation/bud formation) in tissue culture. Stimulates the growth of lateral buds-release of apical dominance. Stimulates leaf expansion resulting from cell enlargement. May enhance stomatal opening in some species. Promotes the conversion of etioplasts into chloroplasts via stimulation of chlorophyll synthesis ROLE OF CYTOKININS IN PLANTS: Cytokinins are known from cytokinin-overproducing mutants to produce additional leaves and branches on the stem. The stems and leaves produce additional chlorophyll. Wounding often produces a new branch. Leaf senescence is delayed. Apical dominance is released. Cuttings produce adventitious roots slowly and require additional auxin to reliably root. Tumors may form at nodes. The results of applied cytokinins could include release of apical dominance as you demonstrated in kidney beans in laboratory. Cytokinins regulate the cell cycle as we learned early in the semester. Cytokinins delay senescence. You carried out this project at home with isolated wheat primary leaf tips in various solutions of plant hormones. Those treated with cytokinins should have demonstrated delayed senescence (stayed green longer). Of course, remember the auxin dose responsethere is such a thing as too much of a good thing! Cytokinins cause nutrient diversion. Cytokinin-treated leaves become sinks for nutrients such as amino acids. This is shown in a classic experiment in plant physiology CYTOKININS CONJUGATION: As you can see in the diagram below, the natural cytokinin ribosides can be attached to sugars to form glycosides that have reduced or no cytokinin activity. The plant also can produce enzymes to cleave the sugar and restore full cytokinin activity. Thus conjugation with sugars and retrieval from these bound forms is a possible pathway in plant cells. However, it is also true that the ribosides themselves are a form of conjugation. All studies to date seem to indicate that the free-base has to be cleaved from the ribose too before the compound has any true activity. Plants carry out this reaction easily and rapidly, so ribosides appear to have activity on their own, but this is an artifact. Cells in culture require the cytokinin to be freethese sometimes lack the enzymes to cleave the ribose, so supplied ribosides are inactive and the free-base must be supplied in the medium. The native cytokinins also occur as modified bases in RNA and DNA strands. In fact cis-zeatin (a less active form) is found in many tRNA molecules in almost all living cells of all species! The extent to which the free cytokinin pool is altered by conjugation with other nucleotides or released from nucleotide polymers is not clear. CYTOKININS DEGRADATION: In addition to synthesis and conjugation, the pools of cytokinins can be altered by degradation. Below is how one natural cytokinin is made inactive: REFERENCES http://www.plant-hormones.info/cytokinins.htm Kieber JJ (March 2002). Tribute to Folke Skoog: Recent Advances in our Understanding of Cytokinin Biology. J. Plant Growth Regul. 21 (1): 1–2. doi:10.1007/s003440010059. PMID11981613. Campbell, Neil A.; Reece, Jane B.; Urry, Lisa Andrea.; Cain, Michael L.; Wasserman, Steven Alexander.; Minorsky, Peter V.; Jackson, Robert Bradley (2008). Biology (8th ed.). San Francisco: Pearson, Benjamin Cummings. pp.827–30. Chen CM, Ertl JR, Leisner SM, Chang CC (July 1985). GOVERNMENT COLLEGE UNIVERSITY,LAHOREPage 1

The Versailles Treaty :: European Europe History

The Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was intended to be a peace agreement between the Allies and the Germans. Versailles created political discontent and economic chaos 1in Germany. The Peace Treaty of Versailles represented the results of hostility and revenge and opened the door for a dictator and World War II. November 11, 1918 marked the end of the first World War. Germany had surrendered and signed an armistice agreement. The task of forming a peace agreement was now in the hands of the Allies. In December of 1918, the Allies met in Versailles to start on the peace settlement.2 The main countries and their respective representatives were: The United States, Woodrow Wilson; Great Britain, David Lloyd George; and France, George Clemenceau. "At first, it had seemed the task of making peace would be easy".3 However, once the process started, the Allies found they had conflicting ideas and motives surrounding the reparations and wording of the Treaty of Versailles. It seemed the Allies had now found themselves engaged in another battle. Woodrow Wilson (1856 - 1924), the twenty-eighth President of the United States (1913 --1921).4 In August of 1914, when World War I began, there was no question that the United States would remain neutral. "Wilson didn't want to enter the European War or any other war for that matter".5 However, as the war continued, it became increasingly obvious that the United States could no longer 'sit on the sidelines'. German submarines had sunk American tankers and the British liner, 'Lusitania', in May 1915, killing almost twelve hundred people, including 128 Americans.6 This convinced Wilson to enter World War I, on the allied side. As the war continued, Wilson outlined his peace program, which was centered around fourteen main points. "They (fourteen points) were direct and simple: a demand that future agreements be open covenants of peace, openly arrived at; an insistence upon absolute freedom of the seas; and, as the fourteenth point, the formation of a general associat! ion of nations."7 The fourteen points gave people a hope of peace and lay the groundwork for the armistice that Germany ultimately signed in November 1918. Although the United States was instrumental in ending the war, Wilson was still more interested in a "peace without victors"8 than annexing German colonies or reparations (payment for war damages). However, as the Allies began discussions of the peace treaty, the European allies rejected Wilson's idealism and reasoning.

Alcohol in Our Society; Huxley’s View in Relation to Brave New World Es

Alcohol in Our Society; Huxley’s View in Relation to Brave New World Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World is a science fiction book that captures both the good and bad sides of cloning and mass production of humans through science. Huxley’s book, published in 1932, conveys his well-developed and disturbingly accurate ideas about human behavior in what was then the distant future. In addition, his writing measures the capacity for which humans can obsess over not only having a perfect society, but also having total control over everyone and everything in a world where nothing is wild and untamed. Individualism is seen as a cause of instability, and society in its entirety is broken down into five castes. For the people of the â€Å"World State†, life is based on immediate pleasure and constant happiness; sex and the use of the drug soma are a major part of every person’s life. The use of soma is so prevalent in the World State that no other drugs are ever used by anyone. It is the cure for everything and the supplement to happiness. In some ways, it is possible to say that soma is used in a fashion that could draw comparisons to the use of alcohol in the society known to humans today. On several occasions in the book, major characters show their use soma as a way to escape from harsh or uncomfortable feelings, or to further enhance their social activities. In one such case, Lenina and Henry take several doses of the drug while on a date (Huxley, 75). The use of soma, in this instance, causes the two to become rather oblivious to what is happening around them, and eventually leads to them engaging in sexual intercourse. In this sense, it can easily be seen how soma is used in a similar way as alcohol; people use i... ...ohol became an instance of how soma could be considered a good alternative to alcohol. Linda’s uncontrolled drinking, however, came as a result of her conditioning and use of soma when she was a resident of the World State. Consequently, it can be argued that everyone from the World State is an abuser of soma in that he or she uses it to escape from anything and everything, similar to the way Linda uses alcohol to escape her past and her son. Huxley is clearly using soma to make a statement about society in general, how people use alcohol and other drugs as an escape and associate them with happiness and fun. It is obvious from his writing that he believes that a society, which is so intent on self-indulgence and considers this to be â€Å"High Life†, is truly a scary thought and worth comparing such a world to our own. (www.grlzontop.com/bnw/index2.html)

surgeon general :: essays research papers

There are many leaders in the United States today. These men and women help to form the nation into what it is today and what it will be in the future. One of these important leaders of the United States is the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General has many responsibilities and priorities that form our nation’s Public Health System. These responsibilities and priorities of the Surgeon General will be explained throughout this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the Reader’s Digest Encyclopedia the Surgeon General is the chief medical officer for the United States Public Health System. This means that since 1871 the Surgeon General has been the nation’s leading spokesman on matters of public health. The first person to hold the position of Surgeon General was Dr. John Woodworth. Dr. Woodworth put together a group of physicians to assist him with health issues. The Congress recognized these men and women as the Commissioned Corps.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the years the position of Surgeon General has changed in many ways. In 1873 the official title of the Surgeon General was changed to Supervising Surgeon General and then back to just Surgeon General in 1902. According to Funk and Wagnall’s New Encyclopedia the Surgeon General was the head of the Public Health System and reported directly to the Secretary of Health. After 1968 the Surgeon General reported to the Assistant Secretary of Health.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The current Surgeon General for the United States is Dr. David Satcher. He was born in Anniston, Alabama on March second 1941. Dr. Satcher, his wife Nola, and his four children live in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Satcher received his M.D. and PhD from Case Western Reserve University in 1970. Dr. Satcher is the sixteenth Surgeon General and also the first African American man to hold this position. Fourteen men and two women have held the position since it originated in 1871. Dr. Satcher was sworn in on February thirteenth 1998 and his term will end in February 2002. He also held the position of Secretary of Health from February 1998 to January 2001. He was also the Surgeon General at this time. According to the Official Surgeon General website, Dr. Satcher has many jobs and responsibilities. First off his job is to administer the U.S. Public Health System. This is a group of public health professionals who respond to current and long-term health needs of the Nation. Dr. Satcher also provides leadership and management to the Public Health Service in the field of emergency preparedness and response activities.

Driving While Using Cell Phones

Abstract of Cell phone and drivers research paper This report assesses the risks and benefits associated with cellular phone use while driving. The interest of policymakers in this issue has been heightened by the recent decisions of selected foreign countries and several U. S localities to restrict or prohibit the use of cellular phones while driving. The weight of the scientific evidence to date suggests that use of a cellular phone while driving does create safety risks for the driver and his passengers as well as other road users.The magnitude of these risks is uncertain but appears to be relatively low in probability compared to other risk in daily life. It is not clear whether hands-free cellular phone designs are significantly safer than hand-held designs, since it may be that conversation rather than dialing or handling is responsible for most of the attributable risk due to cellular phone use while driving. The benefits of using this communication device while driving appear to be important.They include benefits to the users, households, social networks, businesses, and communities. Many of these benefits, which include public health and safety considerations, have not yet been recognized or quantified. Simple suggestions that drivers can â€Å"pull over† on the side of the road to make calls from cellular phones are unrealistic and, in certain situations, potentially dangerous. It is not know which of the benefits of cellular phone use would be foregone under various regulatory scenarios.Cellular phone use while driving should be a concern of motorists and policymakers. We conclude that although there is evidence that using a cellular phone while driving poses risks to both the driver and others, it may be premature to enact substantial restrictions at this time. Indecision about whether cellular phone use while driving should be regulated is reasonable due to the limited knowledge of the relative magnitude of risks and benefits.In light of thi s uncertainty, government and industry should endeavor to improve the database for the purpose of informing future decisions of motorists and policymakers. In the interim, industry and government should encourage, through vigorous public education programs, more selective and prudent use of cellular phones while driving in order to enhance transport safety.

Costa Launches New Flavour Drinks This Winter Essay

?Try Cioccospresso! Costa launches new flavour drinks for this different winter 12/11/2014 Costa is looking to create warmth this winter thanks to a brand new offering that will light up your taste buds. As the UK’s fastest growing coffee shop chain ,costa never stops its steps in innovation. This time, costa try to deliver an intense chocolate experience to you by offering Costa Cioccosresso, an upgraded chocolate drinks which will be available to buy in Costa and Costa Metro from 12th November 2014. It’s time to try something new besides your favorite coffee. Cioccospresso brings the zesty tastes right to your cup:chilli,vanilla,orange,mint and ginger. Combined with newly found cocoa and natural brown sugar,and topped with whipped cream and baking spices, this new drink addition offers you mellow enjoyment without adding milk. During her vocation in Mexico,Victoria Stewart, one of Costa’s barista, discovered this magic drink and brought it back to dear you. It’s even better that Cioccospresso is made with patented machine specially designed by Costa to keep its original aroma and healthy effects. Andrew Tornatore, senior marketing director for Costa’s UK, said: â€Å"This is another delicious addition to the Costa’s menu and one we’re proud to be launching. We always try to offer more healthy beverage and food to our customers, which is why we try hard discovering better ingredients and techniques. New additions like Cioccospresso is one of our achievements. Great healthy effects such as reductions of migraines,risk of cardiovascular problems and blood pressure will be shown to you while the beverage still upholding the high standards. † The initial launch will also be hold in Leicester Square branch in November 12th,Aztec historians and health experts will be attending to present more information. Except that,Costa’s online activities waiting for your involvements as well,show your â€Å"Chocolate indulgence† and win free holidays! To find your nearest store, for more information or to view a menu visit www. costa. co. uk or Costa’s Facebook fan page. Press Enquiries: Nina Chen University of Leeds 0783 5xxx xxx Tuesday 10th November, 2014.

Education Is the Single Most Important Factor in the Development?

Issue: Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country? Do you agree? IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATION Today, having a good education is really important for people. So that, most people apply a lot of tecniques which help them their work and school. Education is the single most important factor in the development of a country. Countries need a lot of things for their future because educated people are good at many things, such as communication and also to know how to improve themselves. First of all ,being good at communicating which has some advantages for people is very urgent for today’s life .It brings people a lot of feasibility and success. For example, at work people get on well and behave eachother suitable. They find possibility and become successful . But if they don’t do these ,they can lose many things . In addition to this, they may be hopeless and destroy their future. For these reason, people can have a good communication thanks to o nly education . To sum up, having good education opens people new door in their work and give them many things for their life. Another issue in the development country is that people know how to advance themselves during their all lives.For instance, educated people improve themselves during their all lives. They learn many things and in the future when they face with some problems ,they know how to deal easily, because they read or saw previous anywhere these problems . As a result, improving themselves about a lot of things is very significant for people. In the light of the above-mentioned reasons ,a country cannot develop without the education which requires an essential communication and improving themselves . In my opinion ,the education includes the most things that advance to the country. FATMA SARI

Were the American Colonists Justified in Waging War?

Tymyr Wilson 11/20/12 Mr. Jones U. S HIST. Were the American colonists justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain ? The colonists were in every right, aspect and mind not only justified but also it was about time that they stood of and actually take action against the British. The choice of going to war with them, was the only choice that they had.All diplimatical options that they had ceased to stand a chance against the tyrant Britain. From the very beginning when the colonists felt upset against their mother country and the way that they went about the law making, up until the beginning of the war, they tried all diplimatical options that they had by sending letters. When they didn’t work then they had no other means but to declare war. It was said and is very true, that the British gave a lot to the colonists and we see such helpings as in the French and Indian war.The British gave up a lot of troops and money and numerous others in fighting that war that the l east that the colonist could do is to pay the taxes. Well they do have a good right to say that since they were the contributing factor in the colonists being safe from the French and Indians. The people in the end should go about daily lives and pay the normal taxes but you do have to draw the line somewhere. The American colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Britain because of unjust laws, a King of tyranny, and both violating searches and officials.These things outraged the colonists in different ways. Forcing them to unite together and rebel against Britain, hence leading to Revolutionary War. First off, Parliament imposed many unjust laws they believed that Britain had the right to impose laws to regulate trade. However contrast the introduction of The Stamp Act was purely to gain revenue. The Stamp Act particularly affected lawyers merchants, and editors, as well as the general public parliament can make laws to bind us in all cases. The colonists wishe d to have a leader of respect who could look out for prosperity.The colonists argued that they were unfairly taxed without representation. In contrary there are many different views, concerning the causes of the Revolutionary War. The colonists felt that their privacy was offended and they were being treated inhumane fashion. Intolerable King oppressed the colonists. over the duration of time, there were many occurrences of injuries unlawful seizures. For example once the Sons Of Liberty used mob violence. Stamp agents resigned The Stamp Act was repealed. Parliament asserted with The Delatory Act. They felt it could pass numerous laws to keep control.

Robinson et al Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Robinson et al - Essay Example studies as the other studies did not report the data that was required in calculating the effects of the components of their leadership variables and used unitary leadership. Thus, studies available were too small and there was generalization of results. The second limitation is that the study did not conduct the leadership impact on both the academic and non-academic outcomes due to the limited number of studies that were available to make it practical (Robinson 2008, 58). Critiquing student 2, first post- The posting brings a very clear introduction on the different leadership styles and the impact they have on the student outcome outlining the purpose of the study very clearly. From the finding, educational leaders who continue being involved in learning and teaching have a positive impact on the student’s outcome that is very practical and essential in enhancing learning (Jogulu 2010, 711). The type of leadership will also differ among different schools according to the students’ needs thus, it is important for the schools to determine the appropriate type of leadership that is outlined clearly in the posting. For the second posting student 2, it site lack of evidence from other studies as a great limitation of the study. It questions the motivation behind continuing with the study due to non-availability of other studies. This is not a major study limitation. The unlimited unavailability of other studies should act as a great motivation of carrying out the research (Kythreotis et al. 2010, 221). The available studies are enough and relevant of conducting the study as it is only an expansion of more researches and studies, that more available evidence and correlations will be found. However, it is true that a definite bias occurs due to the skewness of the available evidence. There is coherence and logic as presented by the writer in his arguments on the influence of the leadership styles on the student’s outcome. The writer starts by outlining the

Analysis of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analysis of an Argument - Essay Example group meeting argument where Tannen defines agonism as a ritualized position for example in a debate whereby the competing groups are assigned positions and one group wins, rather than an argument resulting from the two groups natural disagreement. The book has been constructed based on the effects and roles of agonism in politics, journalism and law. A basic issue addressed in this book is the rampant agonism in the academic world. Many issues concerning academics are agonistics in nature, for example, when teachers and professors prepare the scholarly papers, they usually follow a framework that is in a position to oppose someone else’s work which they prove wrong. In this book’s context agonism is well explained by the fact that teachers and lecturers train their students and usually don’t allow them to think and work hard to interrogate ideas because they assign them with researched scholarly works. This fosters narrow-mindedness and arrogance amongst the stu dents and this does not implement the fundamental goals of education (Tannen 24). Tannen in her book explores the differences between a debate and a discussion in class in order to explain the Agonism culture deeply. In a classroom, if students are engaged in a debate, few of them will participate in the debate, some will pay attention but many of the students will indeed get turned off. Those students who are arguing will tend to simplify their points and avoids complexity in thinking. They deliberately refuse to concede a point raised by their opponents, even if they are aware that it is valid, because such a concession would render them as uncompetitive in the debate. If a class engages itself in discussing a book which involves intellectual activities such as freedom in exploring ideas, comparing the different interpretations of the book by the students and uncovering nuances, more students participate and gains a deeper and accurate understanding of the book. The students in a class discussion

A Study of Performances Improvement on IT Project Management Workers Dissertation

A Study of Performances Improvement on IT Project Management Workers ..A Case Study of China's C Information Technologies Co - Dissertation Example Moreover, Maslow’s motivational theory is used in understanding the motivation for improved performance within C Information Technologies Ltd. More importantly, the evaluation and discussion of factors affecting the performance of individuals and the strategies used by companies to improve performance are analysed and discussed within the paper. Introduction and Background The human resource function of contemporary organizations has revealed an increased focus on performance management for IT employees. Wikina (2008, p. 19) explains that this is attributed to the increased competitiveness within various markets and the changes in work activities which emanate from the advancement of information and communication technology. Performance management involves employee evaluation within the IT department which acts as a guideline for the needs of employees for skills, knowledge and abilities that will allow them to improve their productivity and performance at the work place (Gheo rghe & Hack, 2007, p. 17). China is a very competitive and rapidly growing economy especially within the IT sector. In addition, companies operating in China have experienced tremendous changes in the recent past which are related to the changing business environment and the demand for IT expertise. It is because of these challenges that most organizations and companies within China have demonstrated an increased regard for performance improvement for IT staff through employee development and training. This paper presents a report on the investigation on performance improvement among IT project management workers within C Information Technologies Ltd. The Chinese company acts as a case study for this investigation which is aimed at achieving a deeper understanding of the process of performance management as it is applicable within this company. More specifically, the study will achieve an analysis and evaluation of the characteristics of the company’s IT staff such as skills and attitudes towards work. This analysis will be conjugated with a study on the various factors which affect the performance of the C Information Technologies Ltd.’s IT staff with a view of determining the need for improvement. Furthermore the paper explores past literature on the topic to analyse and discuss the factors affecting performance management and the best strategies of improving the performance of the IT project workers within the IT industry. More significantly though is the fact that this study applies scientific methodology approach in meeting the following research questions and objectives. Objectives of the Study 1. To explore upon the theoretical framework on incentives and motivation of IT project staff which contributes to improved performance 2. To find out the important factors which affect job performance of IT project staff 3. To determine the most effective techniques and strategies in performance management which will improve the performance of IT pr oject staff within C Information Technologies Ltd. Research Questions 1. What are the performance characteristics of IT project staff within C Information Technologies Ltd? 2. What theoretical framework describes the motivations and incentives behind the level of performance among the c C Information Tec

Waterboarding and Torture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Waterboarding and Torture - Essay Example Torture refers to an act in which there is the infliction of suffering and severe pain, which may be mental or physical. The main objective of inflicting this pain encompasses obtaining information for a crime they may have committed. Numerous debates have arisen over whether waterboarding can be regarded as torture; in my opinion, waterboarding can be considered to be torture. Hostettler (2011) asserts that the use of this method to obtain information form suspects constitutes torture because it inflicts severe mental and physical suffering. Persons who undergo this form of torture have their minds and personality destabilized. Furthermore, their senses as well as mind undergo profound alteration, which results from the torture they experience. In addition, waterboarding violates the Geneva Convention, which states that war prisoners should always be treated humanely. Article 18 of the convention prohibits any form of coercion as well as mental and physical torture. Another reason why waterboarding constitutes torture is because the person under torture is in the custody of the one inflicting the pain. Thus, the victim of the torture cannot be able to rescue himself from the situation since the interrogators con trol him

Explain Descartes skeptical argument according to a prompt Term Paper - 1

Explain Descartes skeptical argument according to a prompt - Term Paper Example The fact that while we are sleeping and still see ourselves in other places doing other things raise a question about dreams. For example, you see yourself in a lecture room attending a specific lecture, but at the same time you are in your bed sleeping. This raises a question of how often we sleep at night You might argue that the brain plays images of events that were recorded during the day. Nevertheless, the images that we see in dreams are not things that occurred in the past are going to happen in the future (Simpsons 67). Thus raising the question where do dreams come from and what do they represent. There are many definitions as to what dreams are and what they represent. Most of the definitions are based on research and religion. Dreams are a sequence of views, pictures and feelings that happen while a person is numb. Dreams occur while asleep because there are parts of the brain that are most active while the body is resting. The process of having dreams is referred to as dreaming. At times, we can have more than two dreams in one night. Conclusions in dreams are not always clear because we wake up while they are about to end. It is said that we all dream, but not everyone remembers his or her dreams vividly (Bryant 2). With this in mind, how then can we explain a person who sleeps walks? Research has shown that sleepwalkers are indeed dreaming. The difference being that the dreams that they have, process communication in the subconscious levels and give messages to other body organs in order to operate them. Descartes says that there are no conclusive signs that show the distinction between being awake or asleep. The difference being dazed only supports the conception that we may be sleeping (Hill 6). In the first meditation, Descartes states that we cannot have knowledge of the external world and our bodies based on the senses. To strengthen his argument, he uses the dream argument. He states that we cannot have knowledge of the external

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of Essay

Do you believe that equity fund managers with a good knowledge of behavioural finance can consistently outperform the market on a risk-adjusted basis Give reas - Essay Example y tries to point out that as the fund managers receive information they react spontaneously and update their briefs as soon as possible and also explains that given their briefs they make choices that are normatively acceptable1. Whereas, behavioural finance as mentioned is a new phenomenon which points out areas that are more towards reality because it tries to explain investors’ or the fund managers’ decisions by application of models and tools that takes into account the irrationality of the investors; thus here, it tries to talk about what happens when fund managers do not update their briefs as quickly and also do not stay in the acceptable norms. The proponents of behavioural finance argue that use of traditional pricing or valuing techniques such as capital asset pricing models, dividend discount models, relative valuation models etc. does not always explain why the excess returns have been earned at the end of the day by the investors in the light of the efficient markets, thus suggesting that if investors were rational then these techniques would rightly project the prices and no security would have been traded excepting at their fair values. Whereas, behavioural finance attempts to points out the anomalies in the fair values and the decisions that fund managers make in the market. The flawed or the irrational human behaviour is a victim to the phenomena like herd mentality, contagion effect, loss aversion, extrapolation, hindsight bias and illusions of control2. Here emotional factors and intuition to a large extent are the decisive factors in trading. Some of the most likely occurrences that can lead to fund managers deviate from making rational decisions in the market include importance of playing safe compared to earning high risk significant gains and also following the herd versus relying on self. Fund managers when offered a sure shot amount compared to something that is doubtful are more likely to accept the sure amount and forego any larger

Performance Based Budgeting - management systems and techniques Term Paper

Performance Based Budgeting - management systems and techniques - Term Paper Example The requirements include procurement charges, maintenance charges, leisure and retreat activities. Once the budget is formulated and implemented only minor adjustment can be included in the budgets. According to Segal & Summers (2002) this type of budgeting has been used by organizations to ensure that they operate within a specific financial circle. However, budgeting tactics have advanced over the years as units are subjected to high costs of survival. Knaap (2007) argues that the modern cooperate environment does not provide room for an organization to finalize its budgeting at the beginning of a financial year. The author further argues that the specification of a finalized budget does not provide room for innovation and new operational strategies. It is advisable that units have budget specifications that allow for adjustment in case of emergencies without having a major impact to the unit. Financial analyst argue that performance based budgeting is the most significant trend th at budgeting has undergone. Performance based budgeting is a budgeting process based on missions, goals and objectives. PBB is a defined by an organization short term goals. According to Marc (2007) before setting aside funds, the objectives should be set aside. This budgeting is based on the question why should we spend, is what we spend worth the project and is the objective being met by the financial allocations we make. Generally, performance based budgeting is result oriented. Every single financial allocation is aimed at achieving a specific objective. Each objective budgeted for is directed towards achieving the long and short term goals of an organization. Due to the tightened financial crisis performance based budgeting has been the most budgeting method most organizations use. Analysts argue that performance based budgets are more accurate when compared to other budgeting tactics. According to Marc (2007)

Miller comments Essay Example for Free

Miller comments Essay During ‘The Crucible’ the acts which unfold able some characters to empower themselves: most notably Abigail Williams, Mary Warren and even John Proctor. Some characters begin with little or no power, then abuse the situations to gain power, whereas others begin with power and lose it, sometimes justly and other times unjustly. This could be seen as a moral message for the audiences of the play, warning of power abuse which could lead to devastating consequences. In the introductory comments, Miller comments before the events begin to unfold how â€Å"†¦the children were anything but thankful for being permitted to walk straight† which shows before the witchcraft trials and accusations had begun, children were powerless under the authority of the male dominated society -children had no power to roam freely. One of the people that gained power in the play is Mary Warren, who is a servant and so is one of the lowest ranks of the Puritan society- much like the children of Salem. At first she does not have any power at all as she is taught that she has to follow orders from the Proctors, who she works for. This is seen when she â€Å"lept† with â€Å"fright† upon Proctors entrance. Yet, she manages to turn from a â€Å"mouse† to a â€Å"daughter of a prince† as she suddenly gains power from working in the court, trying possible witches. Her increasing power is also shown from her defiance of Proctor when she refuses his order of not going to â€Å"court again†, and responds that she â€Å"must† and â€Å"will be gone everyday†. It also shown through stage directions, when Mary is â€Å"terrified† of Proctor but quickly becomes â€Å"erect†, which highlights her ability to overcome her fear of Proctor because of her growing confidence and power. Mary even manages to intimidate Proctor in this part of the play. When threatened with the â€Å"whip† from Proctor, she manages to threaten him further by responding â€Å"I would have you speak civilly to me, from this out. † Mary, filled with this newly found power, is able to threaten Procter to stop beating her or she will not speak so highly of his family next time. By using the phrase â€Å"from this out† shows that Mary doesn’t usually expect that kind of treatment from the Proctor, yet now she is able to demand it because of the power gain. Again, further on in the play Mary is also able to â€Å"numb† Proctor when she overthrows his â€Å"grip† on her to tell the truth about the accusations, and instead turns on him. When pressured by Abigail and the other girls, once they start accusing Mary to save themselves, she is not able to stand her ground – which highlights her feebleness and weakness which was seen at the very start of the play. This is seen as she even admits she has â€Å"no power†. This links to her inferior position in the society and even within her social group, she is not popular, and respected. This is shown when Abigail tells Mary to â€Å"shut it† and Mercy Lewis starts â€Å"pointing† and â€Å"looking† at Mary as if she were to blame. However, the fact that Mary was able to then accuse Proctor of being â€Å"devil’s man†, who is a highly respected in the village, shows that she does have more power than she started with. But she is abusing her power, to save herself and because of her lack of power on her social circle. So, this once ‘innocent’ girl who thought they â€Å"must tell the truth† took advantage of the situation so she and her friends would not be â€Å"whipped†. Overall, Mary arguably, has the most progressive power of all the girls and possibly all of the characters in ‘The Crucible’, but that’s not to say she has the most power overall. Another character like Mary Warren who gains power throughout the play is Abigail Williams. Once shunned and scorned by the inhabitants of the village because of her â€Å"blackened name†, Abigail becomes a domineering power, and is treated like a â€Å"saint†. A mere accusation from Abigail or one of her girls is enough to convict even a well-respected inhabitant of Salem like Rebecca Nurse who does â€Å"great charities†. Even though in present day we would associate â€Å"saint† with good Samaritans, which would seem absurd to see Abigail called this in present day, she was seen in this way because in puritan society if you went against god, you went against the law. So Abigail’s act of bringing Salem’s attention to the presence of the devil, and then through the court eradicating it was seen as an act of greatness. Abigail starts off as a scared young girl which is seen through Millers stage directions, as she â€Å"quavers† when being questioned by Parris about Betty’s mysterious illness. However, soon she is able to assert her power of the girls by â€Å"smashing† Betty round the face and threatening all the girls not to tell anyone about the events of the previous night, or she will â€Å"come† to them at the â€Å"black of one terrible night†. This implies they could be her prey, and if they make a wrong move she could pounce on them, which again puts her in a domineering position. This characteristic allows her to control within the group which creates more tension because Abigail also seems to be possessive which is seen when she says â€Å"Now look you. All of you†. The repetition of â€Å"you† makes the phrase quite aggressive and short commanding sentences have a strong impact, and make Abigail seem hostile but ultimately powerful. Her empowerment is also documented as the inhabitants of Salem think the â€Å"sea parts like Israel† for Abigail, so her sins are overlooked, as people take her word to be an expression of â€Å"God’s will. † This allowed Abigail to control and manipulate even the most powerful men in Salem, which is seen when Abigail threatens that Danforth- a high court official. So, Abigail Williams, who was once powerless in general society, is a perfect example of someone who became empowered by deciding the fate of other people and, by controlling and threatening people. Although, Abigail did have a powerful status among her social group from the outset and throughout which is shown when she starts â€Å"pointing with fear† and accusing Mary of â€Å"hurting her†, and quickly all the girls chime in with her. The third character who is subtly empowered is John Proctor. Despite his prideful ways, John Proctor describes himself as a sinner. His conversation with Elizabeth in act two where he exclaims for Elizabeth to â€Å"judge him not† demonstrated his internal conflict and his own unwillingness to forgive himself for his act of lechery. There are moments when his anger and disgust towards himself burst forth, such as when he exclaims to Judge Danforth: â€Å"I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours. † So, although it is not clear from the outset that John Proctor has been empowered, he has. He is able for the first time to â€Å"see some shred of goodness† in himself- his relief from his constant guilt- when he decides to deny his confession. In conclusion, all three characters were empowered through the play, which led to the unjust killing of numerous inhabitants of Salem through the false allegations of witchcraft. So, Miller uses this to show the audience the consequence of abuse of power. Abigail is the best example because she falls from her position of high power, and resorts to boarding a â€Å"ship†, in order to escape.

War of Talent in Globalization Essay Example for Free

War of Talent in Globalization Essay Today, with a number of changes taking place in the world, one thing has become a clear reality that countries have changed their policies and criterion because of increasing waves of international competition. Talent hunt on the international scale is something almost every single nation, especially the developed world, is conscious of. The competition to hunt talent for the local economy is so remarkable that countries like Germany, famous for its tradition phobia for immigration, have shown inclination to attract foreign people to their country. Moreover, countries like China and Korea have started working in the same direction. Australia and Canada can be placed in the first row of the race, though. This hunt for talent has become very swift in the present times though it is not something new. According to David (2006) around 70% professionals working in science and engineering department of U. S. are natives of non-OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries. Additionally, a great portion of expatriate professionals that come to the OECD are from developing countries. About half of the total students in OECD countries are from the developing world. It is estimated that almost in every 10 tertiary educated grown-ups, who was born in the developing world, was living in U. S. Australia, Canada, or Western Europe in the year 2001. As shown by studies of World Bank and IMF, there is high correlation between talented people with sound education and legal migration. The rate of legal educated migrants is 4% higher now than it was ten years ago (37% and 33% respectively). Moreover, highly-skilled workers’ migration is another portion of the pie that is picked by the developed world. For examples, around 600,000 highly-skilled professionals work outside their native country, at any given moment, on temporary visas. The number of students (both men and women) studying at graduate and under-graduate level abroad has also almost doubled now (1. 6 million) as compared to 20 years ago. This is all because global climate for economic warfare has changed. For example, according to World Bank’s development research group’s director L. Alan Winters, worldwide migration of people to the OECD countries is to life up overall welfare of the world. If these countries increase migration by 3%, the world welfare would grow by 150 billion dollars which would be a much better gain than removing all kinds of restrictions on trade activities; and highly skilled workers come in the most affective category of this increase in migration . According to the author such terms as brain drain, war for talent should be discarded by the entire world because there is a more positive approach that the entire world can take of such programs as high-skilled migration (HSM), because by such programs all the countries can mutually benefit from exchange of knowledge. Although it is right that less developed countries are more at stake of loss by programs like HSM, the world should create an environment where positive-sum can benefit all. What is a point of regression here to the present writer is that either is it the label of HSM or war for talent, one thing is quite clear that developed countries are attracting professionals to their lands for their own good. Then, I must ask, how is it possible to abandon such terms as represent the situation clearly? One more disagreement that I would raise here is that David (2006) has provided the current picture of what is happening in the world regarding talent, how, then, can it be rational to be only imagine that the more powerful countries would initiate efforts by which developing world can benefit? Although this is right to bring ideas about how the world should be but staying away from reality is more dangerous. For example, the writer himself presents the case of Africa and Caribbean where educational system and health care have been hollowed out. Therefore, to me war of talent hold absolutely good in today’s context of globalization and should be referred to wherever necessary.

Methods and Practices of Performance Appraisal

Methods and Practices of Performance Appraisal This chapter provides the basis for the development of this study. It will give a general overview of the relevant literature and research on performance appraisal and organizational commitment in general but with a lot of emphasis on appraisal session, supervisory behaviours during appraisal and employees satisfaction with performance appraisal and affective commitment. A brief outline of performance management, performance appraisal and organizational commitment will first be discussed as a sort of general foundation followed by some relevant aspects of performance appraisal, affective commitment and ending with a summary of the chapter. The justification is that it will facilitate the conceptualization of the variables that will be examined in this study, indicate their envisaged relationships and further provide the basis for their empirical evaluation. Although the performance appraisal session is a component of the whole performance appraisal system (Giles Mossholder, 1990) however, it is still a major part of the appraisal system since it is the only avenue for gathering employees opinions and other information (Roberts, 2002). Similarly, supervisory behaviours during an appraisal session has been indicated to be a major aspect which contributes to the effectiveness of performance appraisal session (Martin Bartol, 1986) hence some key concepts of performance appraisal session and supervisory behaviours will be applied and used to formulate the argument that there should be a positive relationship between performance appraisal satisfaction and certain supervisory behaviours during a performance appraisal session. Similarly, extant literature and research (Dessler, 1999; Paul Anantharaman, 2004) has indicated that using performance appraisals to develop employees may increase their affinity to the organization hence this review will elucidate the logic for attempting to establish a positive link between performance appraisal satisfaction and affective organizational commitment and the significance of such a relationship to organizations. 2.2 A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT In the late 1980s and 1990s, organizations started implementing combined practices aimed at building a culture of performance which involved using strategies that were believed to enhance employees input towards the overall success of the organization referred to as performance management (IPM, 1992). However the majority of these practices (e.g. goal setting, assessment and review) were already being used by organization but as individual practices (Armstrong Baron, 2005). Armstrong (1998) sees performance management as a combined and well planned method used to further improve the success of an organization by increasing employees performance and developing the abilities of teams and individual employees however Fletcher (1993a cited in Armstrong Baron, 1998) sees it as a method used by organizations to invent and share their vision with the employees by enabling them appreciate their own part towards achieving the organizations vision and in so doing help to manage and improve the performance of both the employees and organization whereas Hendry, Bradley Perkins (1997) believe it is an efficient method used to enhance the performance of individuals and teams to realize the goals of the organization. The definitions above indicate that performance management is a tool used by organizations to achieve organizational aims by effectively managing the performance of employees and the organization as a whole. Some features of performance management include: different forms of appraisals (e.g. 360- degree appraisal, peer appraisal, self appraisal); reward strategies (e.g. performance related pay, competence related, contribution related pay); coaching and mentoring; career management/ succession planning and personal development plans. 2.3 OBJECTIVES OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT According to Armstrong Baron (2005), the aim of performance management is to enhance the performance of employees and the organization by further improving good performance, having an idea of the visions of the organization, supporting individuals to achieve these aims and generally ensuring a conducive atmosphere for individual growth which will ultimately impact on the organization. Armstrong Baron, (1998) believe that the objectives of performance management could further be broken down to the following: A process which helps organizations to accomplish prolonged enhanced performance. It can act as a pillar of change towards building a more performance centred tradition. Improving employees motivation and commitment. Facilitating employee development, improving their work satisfaction and attaining their desired goals in a way that profits both employees and the organization. Strengthening team work and performance. Facilitating improved communication in the workplace amongst superiors and subordinates all year round due to continuous discussions. Affording the opportunity for employees to communicate their job desires and needs. Organizations assess the outcome of performance management by using opinions or attitude surveys of their employees, some factors used are: changes in employee attitude, motivation, productivity, achievement of financial target, changes in employees attitude, achievement of objectives, improved customer service, development of new skills and improved quality (Armstrong Baron, 2005). 2.4 DEFINITION OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Performance appraisal is the process used to assess employees performance often times against some agreed work goals to enable organizations take some decisions. Performance appraisal is a formal process of supplying employees with an unambiguous feedback based on their work performance (Carroll Schneier, 1982 cited in Dobbins, Cardy Platz Vieno, 1992) but can also occur in an informal and sometimes highly biased form in any organization (Fletcher, 1997). Performance appraisal is believed to have originated from American but has been modified to suit the UK market (see Beer et al, 1978). An effective performance appraisal should seek to understand why goals have been / not been achieved to throw more light on the employees capabilities and by so doing understand what training/ development the employee requires (Anderson, 1991). Several definitions of performance appraisal have been put forward and some of them are: An opportunity for the individual and those concerned with their performance most usually their line manager to get together to engage in a dialogue about the individuals performance, development and the support required from the manager (CIPD ,2009). Performance appraisal is, the formal assessment and rating of individuals by their managers at, usually, an annual review meeting (Armstrong, 2006, p.9). A performance appraisal is a way to regularly record an assessment of an employees performance, potential and development needs. The appraisal is an opportunity to take an overall view of work content, loads and volume, to look back on what has been achieved during the reporting period and agree objectives for the next (ACAS, p.3). Performance appraisal is the process of defining expectations for employee performance: measuring, evaluating and recording employee performance in relation to those expectations; and providing feedback to the employee. While a major purpose of performance appraisal is to influence, in a positive way, employee performance and development, the process also is used for a variety of other organisational purposes, such as determining merit pay increases planning future performance goals, determining training and development needs and assessing promotional potential of employees. (Bartol Martin, 1991 p.421 cited in Coates, 1994). Performance appraisal is also defined as, a term once associated with a rather basic process involving a line manager completing an annual report on a subordinates performance and (usually but not always) discussing it with him or her in an appraisal interview (Fletcher, 2001, p.473) he further stated that though this description still holds true in some organizations that performance appraisal is now a general term used to describe so many practices used by organizations to evaluate employees and develop their capabilities, enhance performance and distribute rewards which implies that the use to which performance appraisal is put could impact on both supervisory behaviours and employees satisfaction. 2.5 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Although some organizations sometimes use the expressions performance management and performance appraisal to mean one and the same, there are differences between them. Performance management is, a comprehensive, continuous and flexible approach to the management of organizations, teams and individuals which involves the maximum amount of dialogue between those concerned (Armstrong Baron, 2005, p.14) while performance appraisal which is narrower entails supervisors assessing and scoring their subordinates in an appraisal review. Performance appraisal plays an important role in the performance management system because it is the medium used to explain the goals and objectives of an organization, it is also the main tool used for employees performance assessment and development. It is believed that with the emergence of performance management with its broader outlook, that performance appraisal now has a fundamental task in a more incorporated and vibrant set of human resources systems which implies that performance appraisal can accomplish more than it could on its own (Fletcher, 1997). Armstrong Baron (2005) highlighted some idealised features that differentiate performance management from performance appraisal since it has been noted that the two terms are often confused with each other (Bevan Thompson, 1991). Performance management Performance appraisal Joint process through dialogue Top down assessment continuous review with one or more formal reviews Annual appraisal meeting Ratings less common Use of ratings Flexible process Monolithic system Focus on values and behaviours as well as objectives Focused on quantified objectives Less likely to be directly linked to pay Often linked to pay Documentation kept to a minimum Bureaucratic- complex paperwork Owned by line managers Owned by the HR department Fig. 1- source Armstrong Baron, 2005 p. 15 2.6 DEFINITION AND COMPONENTS OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT The phrase, organizational commitment is gradually becoming a vital organizational terminology because there is an indication that it has a positive relationship with employee behaviours that encourage organizational retention and performance (Chalofsky Krishna, 2009). OReilly Chatman (1986) defines organizational commitment as the foundation of an employees psychological attachment to the organization whereas Porter et al (1974) states that organizational commitment is comprised of three major elements: (a) strong conviction in and acceptance of the organizations aims, (b) readiness to go the extra mile for the organization, and (c) a strong desire to retain organizational membership. Meyer Allen (1991) noted that notwithstanding numerous researches, that there has been a lack of agreement with definition of concepts used in measuring organizational commitment. Moreover, the various definitions of commitment seem to point to three general components hence to minimise the issue of construct definition, they put forward three components of organizational commitment: 1. Affective commitment- the employee wants to stay because of an attachment and desire to identify and be involved with the organization. 2. Continuance commitment- the employee stays with the organization because of the need to after considering the costs related to leaving the organization. 3. Normative Commitment- the employee feels obligated to continue with the organization. These three components reflect the fact that commitment is a psychological condition that typifies the nature of the relationship an employee will have with the organization hence will affect the employees decision to exit or continue with the organization. (Meyer Allen, 1991), however they have dissimilar impact on employees behaviour (Lee Bruvold, 2003). The present study will focus on affective commitment because a Meta analysis of various researches that have tried to establish a link between work outcome and organizational commitment established that affective or attitudinal commitment showed the strongest relationship (Randall, 1990). Moreover, from the description of the three components of organizational commitment, it can be deduced that an employee that has an affective commitment for the organization will most likely exhibit more positive attitude, be willing to go the extra mile, be less likely to leave because of his/her attachment to the organization. 2.6.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT The importance attached to organizational commitment could be attributed to the fact that present day organizations lay much emphasis on teamwork, empowerment, and flatter organizational structures thereby making it a pre requisite that certain acceptable behaviours are required from employees which are often referred to as organizational citizenship behaviour. These behaviours are discretionary contributions that are organizationally related, but are neither explicitly required nor contractually rewarded by the organization, yet contribute to its effective functioning, (Meyer Allen, 1997 p.34). Although organizational commitment may be associated with certain aspects of a flatter organization (e.g. team working and empowerment) as mentioned above, however, it does not just happen because an organization operates a less bureaucratic structure. Organizations employ different outlook of organizational theory example, a unitarist view will elicit a different type of commitment from a pluralist view since these two outlook will employ different management control and forms of employees management (see Perkins, 1998 p. 14). Similarly, Caldwell et al (1990) noted that variations amongst organizations with respect to the human resources policies in place affect employees attitudes and reactions, a statement also echoed by Perkins (1998). Studies have indicated that commitment can promote the type of behaviours that yield desirable organizational outcomes (Dessler, 1999). Some of positive outcomes attributed to organizational commitment include: a positive relationship with motivation and involvement (Stumpf Hartman, 1984), affirmation of positive affect and loyalty (OReilly Caldwell, 1980), enhancement of some portions of job performance (Angle Perry, 1981) and a negative relationship with absenteeism (Angle Perry, 1981). 2.7 BASIC METHODS AND PRACTICES OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Organizations differ in characteristics (e.g. management style, size, culture, technology and sector) which imply that they will most likely implement performance appraisal practice that they perceive will be suitable for them (Bretz et al, 1992). Similarly, Tolliday Zeitlin (1991) argues that the potential for performance appraisal with regards to its implications and definitions will be a consequence of the social and organizational stance of those who use them, however, an effective performance appraisal will be a gain for both the employees and the organization (Anderson, 1991). Some basic methods of performance appraisal according to ACAS (2008) include: Rating employees characteristics are rated on a scale ranging from outstanding to unacceptable. Comparisons with objectives employees are assessed based on how far they have met already agreed goals with supervisors. Critical incidents requires the supervisor to record employees positive and negative behaviour for a period of time. Narrative report the supervisor assesses the employees job performance using own words. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales involves the use of a number of rating scales which are tailored to suit each job. Most UK organizations use appraisal of personality, appraising job related abilities and rating scales (e.g. forced distribution and behaviourally based rating scale) which are methods used for assessment and comparison appraisal while result oriented appraisal and competency based appraisal are methods use for motivation and development appraisals (Fletcher, 1997 2004). His classification was based on the two broad uses of performance appraisal which will be highlighted below. Although management by objective (MBO) is also used in UK (*ANDERSON) it is widely used in the US to appraise senior executives and professional employees while the trait based rating scale is used for more junior employees Bretz et al, (1992). 2.8 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL USES It has been stated that knowledge of the use to which performance appraisals is to be put is important to human resource development (Youngcourt et al, 2007) and essential to its design since different types of information may be required for different purposes (Cleveland, J.N., Murphy, K.R. Williams, R.E. (1989) and research has also shown that the use to which performance appraisal is put affects the rating process and results (Jawahar Williams, 1997; Ostroff, 1993). Organizations use performance appraisal to achieve numerous contradicting objectives (McGregor, 1957; Meyer, Kay French, 1965). However, some of the uses of performance appraisal are: taking reward decisions, performance improvement, employee motivation, improving communication between supervisors and subordinates, succession planning and as a formal assessment of inadequate performance (Fletcher, 1997). According to Youngcourt et al (2007) past literature/research (Cleveland, Murphy Williams, 1989, 2003) seem to point to the fact that there is a tendency for organizations to use appraisal to differentiate either among employees (the administrative use) or within employees (the developmental purpose). Cederblom (1982) also gave two broad classifications of performance appraisal use: counselling and development; evaluation and discussion of administrative decisions. Though it has been noted that appraisals can be put to multiple uses, the present study will use the two broad classifications listed above for ease of comparison with extant work. 2.9 A GENERAL SUMMARY OF PAST PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL STUDY AND LITERATURE Performance appraisals has received lots of attention from industrial and organizational psychologists (Nathan, Morhman Millman, 1991; Landy Farr, 1980) and most of these works especially the ones dealing with cognitive aspect of performance appraisal have been methodologically and conceptually sound (DeNisi, 1997 cited in Fletcher, 2001). Researchers have conceptualized rating instrument and process; characteristics of raters and ratees as a way of understanding cognitive aspect of performance appraisal but so far, have only been able to expound our knowledge of the rating formats (Landy Farr, 1980) yet, there is still no major positive impact on performance appraisal practice (Banks Murphy, 1985; Fletcher, 2001). There has been quite a number of review of extant literature and research on performance appraisal practice with their implication for future research (e.g. Levy Williams, 2004; Fletcher, 2001; Keeping and Levy, 2000; Arvey Murphy, 1998; Bretz, Milkovich Read, 1992; Cederblom, 1982). A brief summary of these reviews seem to indicate that researchers are still looking for ways of improving the practicality of performance appraisal process in organizations as stated by (Thorndike, 1949 cited in Bretz et al, 1992; Meyer, Kay French, 1965 cited in Fletcher, 2001; Kluger DeNisi, 1996; Fletcher, 1997 2001) but the direction so far shows that between 1950 and 1980, most research was dealing with ways to improve rating instruments used for appraisals which led to a call by Landy Farr (1980) for more studies on cognitive aspects of performance appraisal thereby resulting in a shift of attention in the early 1980s to a better understanding of the various behaviours exhibited by a supervisor during performance appraisal. The mid 1980s till late 1990s saw an increase in research dealing with how information is handled during performance appraisal (Arvey Murphy, 1998) which was brought to light by some researchers (e.g. Ilgen Favero, 1985; Dipboye, 1 985; Ferris Judge, 1991) when they noted that the social and situational factors affecting performance appraisal were being overlooked by researchers. In their review of extant performance appraisal research work of 1985 1990, (Bretz, Milkovich Read, 1992) writing from a US perspective noted that majority of these work were centred on supervisor/ subordinate personal qualities, psychometric issues, rating errors/accuracy, supervisor training, performance appraisal format, cognitive aspects of appraisal and feedback. They further stated majority of these work had taken place in the laboratory and had used students as respondents also, cognition has received the highest attention and even though it is quite understandable that researchers should focus a lot of attention on studying the rating aspects of performance appraisal since it entails difficult cognitive procedures, however, the performance appraisal process takes place in an applied social and political environment, hence it would be beneficial to assess the degree to which research is contributing to the performance appraisal process. This seems to be an echo of the call b y Banks Murphy (1985) that the huge focus on cognitive aspect of performance appraisal will most likely contribute to the widening gap between research and actual practice. Napier Latham (1986) noted that the lack of improvement in performance appraisal practice stems from the fact that researchers seem to focus on improving appraisal measurement rather than on the appraisal practicalities (Thorndike, 1949 cited in Bretz et al, 1992). Another review of existing study of performance appraisal from 1993 1998 carried out by Arvey Murphy (1998) further buttressed the issues raised in the Bretz et al (1992) review but Arvey Murphy also noted that research is now widening towards the notion of contextual aspect of job performance. Similarly, Fletcher (2001) writing from a UK perspective, while concurring with the views raised in the Bretz et al (1992) review also noted that there seems to be no considerable improvement in performance appraisal practice as most UK organizations indicate disappointment with their performance appraisal scheme which implies that performance appraisal not only yields unconvincing ratings but most likely is unsuccessful as an employee development and motivational tool as indicated by (Meyer, Kay French, 1965 cited in Fletcher, 2001). Keeping Levy, (2000), writing on performance appraisal reaction which is pertinent to the present work agrees with the views already noted by the studies above on performance appraisal practice in general but they further narrowed down their views to studies pertaining to appraisal reactions. They observed that performance appraisal effectiveness has been heavily researched with some of the work focusing on aspects like: appraisal frequency, faith in supervisor, participation, validity of ratings and employee reactions to performance appraisals. On the issue of appraisal reactions, they differentiated the various reaction measures that have received great deal of attention and they include: satisfaction, fairness, perceived utility, perceived accuracy but they pointed out that there seems to be some contradictions with measurements of reaction, concepts and the way some measures have been operationalized. They also noted that dependent variables should be of interest and use to human resource practice as indicated by Balzer Sulsky, (1990, cited in Keeping Levy, 2000) that most of the dependent variables so far used in extant studies are of little use to human resources practitioners while the important ones have so far been ignored by researchers. Cederblom (1982) had reviewed the appraisal session, another important area to the present study and stated that though some writers had indicated that there are some difficulties associated with an appraisal section that involves a joint discussion of development and salary, however most of these research had come up with inconclusive reports (e.g. Meyer et al, 1965; Cummings,1973 cited in Cederblom, 1982) thereby making it difficult to conclude on the noted difficulties, however some studies (e.g. Burke, Wetzel Weir, 1978 cited in Cederblom, 1982) indicated that certain discussion on reward during an appraisal session seems to increase employees satisfaction. Cederblom (1982) stated that there are some factors that have been shown to improve the effectiveness of a performance appraisal session which are: supervisors level of competence of employees job and performance; goal setting; supervisors support; encouragement of employees participation. 2.10 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SESSIONS The appraisal session involves the actual meeting of the supervisor and subordinate to discuss the subordinates past performance and possibly future goals, development and salary. It has been identified to be a key part of a performance appraisal system by contributing to its effectiveness since the appraisal session is the avenue for gathering employees opinion and other needed information Roberts (2002). There have been a number of researches on this area of performance appraisal (e.g. Burke Wilcox,1969; Greller, 1975; Burke at al, 1978; Fletcher, 2001; Asmub, 2008) however most of the studies have been centred on the appraisees experiences of the appraisal session though attention is now being directed towards the supervisors experience (Burke et al, 1978) Nathan, Morhman Millman (1991) noted that there are some shortcomings with most of the past researches as most of the them seem to have overlooked the interpersonal perspective in which appraisal occurs (Wexley Klimoski, 1984 cited in Nathan et al, 1991) and instead focused on pointing out the problems with supervisors even though they are the motivational impartial factors of the performance appraisal procedure and thus directing attention on how to reduce these errors with enhanced rating scale and training (Hogan, 1987, p.364). Their study substantiated the importance of the need for good interpersonal relationship as employees participation, the standard used to assess the employee and review of issues that are vital to the employees development are all affected by the type of supervisor/subordinate relationship. Similarly, Finn Fontaine (1984) put forward that supervisors and employees should relate together to categorize the major work attitudes that are very crucial to the appraisal which may likely involve the use of a well structured job analysis that will not only form the basis for measuring past performance but also form the foundation for building future performance. The organizational culture which affects means and manner of its communication will affect performance appraisal discussion (Maroney Buckely, 1992) since employees attitude is a function of their convictions which is guided by the organizations communication means and hierarchy (Nystrom Starbuck, 1984 cited in Maroney Buckely, 1992). Some guidelines given by Armstrong Baron (2005) for the appraisal session are: 1. Supervisors should come prepared by going through a list of the pre set goals and probably their record of employees performance for the year. They need to give consideration to the likely reasons that could have resulted in the employees high/low performance, changes that may have occurred between the last appraisal and the intended one. It is also advisable for employees to come prepared with their own records so they can contribute effectively. 2. The environment should be informal to allow for an open and honest discussion with less conflict. 3. The session should be carried out according to plans made earlier but should also allocate enough time for employees contribution. 4. Supervisors should ensure they give a positive, frank, and merited feedback which will motivate the employee especially when they are commended for high achievement. 5. The employees should have ample time to contribute so they can reveal the issues they are encountering and this also will make them feel the appraisal session was fair. 6. Allowing the employee to self appraise will afford the opportunity of seeing things from an employees perspective and will also form part of the appraisal discussion. 7. Employees performance that has been stated accurately should be the focus of the appraisal session rather than the supervisors personal view of the employee. 8. It is also advisable that both appraisee and appraiser jointly review probable causes of good/poor performance rather than it being just the supervisors views. 9. The supervisor as much as possible should stick to facts rather than discuss issues that will come as a surprise to the employee. 10. The agreed goals should be measurable and there should be a plan or discussion on how to achieve them and supervisors should ensure the session ends positively. The overview of performance appraisal uses; methods and practices; past performance appraisal research and appraisal session above is indicative of the fact that performance appraisal use, the discussion during an appraisal session (e.g. goal setting, feedback, participation, relationship between the supervisor and employee, rating score, salary and development discussion) will likely have an effect on employees satisfaction with the appraisal. Hypothesis 1: employees will be satisfied with their performance appraisal session when they have good interpersonal relationship with the supervisor, actively participate, adequate and constructive feedback, favourable rating and the appraisal discussion includes salary and development. 2.11 ISSUES AND CRITICISMS OF PERFORMANCE APPRAISALS Fletcher Williams (1992) noted that there have been issues regarding the use of performance appraisal which have lingered for years and a survey of some UK organizations (IRS, 2005, no 828, p.9) seem to buttress this point as most of the employees stated that there are issues in the way and manner performance appraisals are being delivered in organizations which they attributed to lack of training for line managers on how to develop effective performance appraisals, too much use of paperwork (IRS, 2005, no 828, p. 9). Similarly, Stroul (1987) stated that both management and employees are resentful of the mandatory yearly performance appraisal process (Stroul, 1987). Other issues noted with performance appraisal include Anderson (1993) also identified a number of problems related with performance appraisal: Classifying the standards that will be used for assessing performance. Gathering correct and sufficient data employee performance data. Managing conflicts between supervisors and subordinates. Defensive behaviour of most employees. The various issues noted above coupled with dissatisfaction with performance appraisal as indicated by organizations (Mount 1983; Stroul, 1987; Fletcher, 2001) has led to criticisms from several authors. Deeming (19